Manganese plays a surprising role in soil carbon sequestration

Manganese plays a surprising role in soil carbon sequestration

Manganese in the soil of boreal forests has been found to work against the carbon storage capacity of these crucial northern habitats. Located predominantly in cold regions at high latitude, boreal forests are estimated to store nearly 30 percent of the world’s soil carbon, making them the world’s largest reservoir of land-based carbon. This stored … Read more

Blueprint for mandating indoor air quality for public buildings in form of standards

Blueprint for mandating indoor air quality for public buildings in form of standards

A group of international experts led by QUT Professor Lidia Morawska has presented a blueprint for national indoor quality standards for public buildings, in an article in the journal Science. The experts addressed setting standards for three key indoor pollutants — carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), PM2.5 which are particles so small they can … Read more

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

The source of pollutants in rivers and freshwater lakes can now be identified using a comprehensive new water quality analysis, according to scientists at the University of Cambridge and Trent University, Canada. Microparticles from car tyres, pesticides from farmers’ fields, and toxins from harmful algal blooms are just some of the organic chemicals that can … Read more

Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help prevent autism, ADHD in children, new study shows

Parental avoidance of toxic exposures could help prevent autism, ADHD in children, new study shows

Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be preventable if parents avoid toxic exposures and adopt interventions such as environmental house calls, according to a published study led by researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). Using a validated, self-administered questionnaire now used worldwide to … Read more

Open waste burning linked to air pollution in Northwestern Greenland

Open waste burning linked to air pollution in Northwestern Greenland

A case study on the effects of open waste burning on air quality in Northwestern Greenland calls attention to the importance of no-one-left-behind sustainable air quality monitoring in the Arctic region. To better understand the air quality risks faced by remote Arctic communities, an international team monitored aerial pollutants at a community in Northwestern Greenland. … Read more

How extratropical ocean-atmosphere interactions can contribute to the variability of jet streams in the Northern Hemisphere

How extratropical ocean-atmosphere interactions can contribute to the variability of jet streams in the Northern Hemisphere

The interaction between the oceans and the atmosphere plays a vital role in shaping the Earth’s climate. Changing sea surface temperatures can heat or cool the atmosphere, and changes in the atmosphere can do the same to the ocean surface. This exchange in energy is known as “ocean-atmosphere coupling.” Now, researchers from Kyushu University have … Read more