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“Six Transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” lays out integrated framework for implementing the SDGs

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change call for deep transformations in every country that require complementary actions by governments, civil society, science, and business. While significant progress is being made on some goals, no country is currently on track towards achieving all SDGs. Says Prof Sachs, “the SDGs have … Read more

Study finds big increase in ocean carbon dioxide absorption along West Antarctic Peninsula

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Climate change is altering the ability of the Southern Ocean off the West Antarctic Peninsula to absorb carbon dioxide, according to a Rutgers-led study, and that could magnify climate change in the long run. The study, led by scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, is published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The West Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing some … Read more

Astrophysicists link brightening of pulsar wind nebula to pulsar spin-down rate transition

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Astrophysicists have discovered that the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) surrounding the famous pulsar B0540-69 brightened gradually after the pulsar experienced a sudden spin-down rate transition (SRT). This discovery, made by a group of astrophysicists led by GE Mingyu and LU Fangjun at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides … Read more

Sponge skeletons as an important sink of silicon in the global oceans

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Silicon is one of the most abundant chemical elements in the universe and, after oxygen, the second one on Earth. In the ocean, it is part of sediments, minerals and rocks and, more importantly, it occurs dissolved in the seawater. This dissolved silicon plays a pivotal role in the ecological functioning of the global oceans. … Read more

New threat from ocean acidification emerges in the Southern Ocean

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The oceans act as a carbon sink and have already absorbed more than 40% of anthropogenic carbon emissions. The majority of this CO2 has been taken up by the Southern Ocean making these waters hotspots of ocean acidification (OA). Lead author of the paper published in Nature Climate Change, Dr Katherina Petrou from the University of … Read more

Wildfires could permanently alter Alaska’s forest composition

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This summer, Alaska has experienced record high temperatures and devastating wildfires. If such events become more frequent, how might that impact our northernmost forests? A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) projected that the combination of climate change and increased wildfires will cause the iconic evergreen … Read more

The Outer Solar System origins survey: a search for distant collisional remnants

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The distant Solar System contains a large reservoir of objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, which are the icy remnants of planetary formation. These small icy bodies are challenging to discover, but their orbital properties and surface composition provide critical information about the formation and evolution of the Solar System. The Outer Solar System Origins … Read more

Filter-feeding pterosaurs were the flamingos of the Late Jurassic

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Modern flamingoes employ filter feeding and their feces are, as a result, rich in remains of microscopically-small aquatic prey. Very similar contents are described from more than 150 million year old pterosaur droppings in a recent paper in PeerJ. This represents the first direct evidence of filter-feeding in Late Jurassic pterosaurs and demonstrates that their diet … Read more