Rock glaciers look very different from conventional glaciers. Instead of exposed ice, they resemble sprawling fields of loose rock, while potentially concealing large quantities of ice below the surface. These formations are widespread across Utah’s Wasatch and Uinta ranges and can also be found on the Colorado Plateau in the La Sal Mountains near Moab. […]
Virginia Tech chemist and chemical engineer Guoliang “Greg” Liu and his research team have developed a method for transforming polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into polyalphaolefin, an important ingredient used in lubricants including engine oil. Published Aug. 5 in Nature, the work could offer a way to address two separate environmental problems at once: the difficulty of recycling […]
El Niño can supercharge the impacts global warming. But burning fossil fuels could also be strengthening the destructive climate phenomenon. A new study suggests that El Niños – the natural climatic chaos agent that pops up periodically and spikes global temperatures – are getting stronger because of human-caused climate change. El Niños are more than […]
Marine heatwaves are increasingly being recognized as more than an environmental problem. New research warns that prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures can also threaten human physical and mental health. Researchers from Adelaide University and the University of Hong Kong say marine heatwaves should be treated as an important public health concern. They argue […]
Scientists have identified a previously unknown natural process in the Arctic that can cause the number of cloud-forming particles in the atmosphere to surge. The discovery could have important implications for cloud cover, how much sunlight is reflected back into space, and how the Arctic responds to future climate change. The findings, published August 5 […]
A lush knee-high jungle grows in the Arctic, but warming is changing Earth’s mini-greenhouse. With no tall trees reaching to the sky, Alaska’s North Slope tundra can look desolate. But up close, “the tundra’s kind of like the jungle”, says Adam Bloom, a Florida Atlantic University plant biology student. Except this lush Arctic jungle tops […]
The average global sea surface temperature outside polar regions reached 21.1°C on Saturday. The world’s oceans have reached their highest daily temperature on record, with global sea surface temperatures hitting 21.1°C on 22 August – a new high made particularly striking by the time of year, according to the European Union’s climate change data. The […]
Delegates of 179 members of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification engage with local communities and business partners to find solutions for land degradation which affects half of world’s population and creates poverty and mass migration. Geography says that 70% of land mass on our planet is suitable for human life. The rest is an […]
Gulf countries are keen to grow their industrial base and are pouring hundreds of billions into data centres and AI infrastructure to write the next chapter of their new-age economies. However, none of that is possible without the very basic resource: water. The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, is leading the race for AI investment. The capital, […]
From the recovery of depleted fish stocks to the protection of some of the UAE’s most threatened species, Abu Dhabi’s conservation efforts have transformed significantly over the past three decades. Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) marks its 30th anniversary this year, but for Secretary General Dr Shaikha Al Dhaheri, the emirate’s environmental story stretches back […]
