Articles by Hannah Bird
Phys.org / World's largest freshwater lake is recovering after decades of decline
Lake Baikal in Siberia holds around 20% of the world's surface freshwater, making it the most voluminous freshwater lake (Lake Superior on the United States–Canada border is the largest by surface area). This makes the lake ...
Phys.org / Heavy rain can more than double glacier speeds in Alaska
Glaciers are often thought of as unyielding blocks of ice that slowly carve out the landscape as they move downhill by gravity. But sometimes their slow crawl becomes a surge that sees them move orders of magnitude faster ...
Phys.org / Volcanic eruptions in the tropics are a major factor in Earth's thermostat
Volcanic eruptions are known for their spectacular visual displays of vivid lava, as well as the devastating impacts they can have on the environment and the communities who live nearby. But they can also have far-reaching ...
Phys.org / River model reveals how coordinated water sharing could ease drought's unequal effects
Rivers provide water for everything from growing crops and running factories to the taps in our homes, but droughts can leave them struggling to meet all these demands. A new study, published in Water Resources Research, ...
Phys.org / Warming could help make the Indian Ocean a stronger climate buffer
The world's oceans help slow climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere, but how much they take up can vary throughout the year. New research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggests ...
Phys.org / Survey reveals plastic 12,800 feet deep off Ecuador as beach waste rises
Plastic pollution is a growing threat to marine environments, with discarded waste reaching from coastlines to the deepest parts of the ocean. Now, a six-year study has revealed how quickly debris can accumulate on a beach ...
Phys.org / Overlooked lakes may be helping to keep the Northern Hemisphere cool
Lakes may cover only a small fraction of Earth's surface, but new research suggests they play a bigger role in regulating the planet's climate than previously recognized. By reflecting sunlight back into space when covered ...
Phys.org / Solar farms could do more than generate clean energy—they could also cut dust pollution
Solar farms built around China's Gobi Desert could have the unexpected benefit of reducing the dust pollution reaching cities across northern China.
Phys.org / Lakes aren't just storing water—they're changing the carbon cycle
Lakes may look like picturesque stopping points along a river or stream, but they can have a big influence on what happens to carbon as it moves through a landscape. New research suggests that the more lake-rich a network ...
Phys.org / Salt may have helped turn Earth into a frozen world 700 million years ago
Earth may have been pushed deeper into a global deep freeze by something surprisingly ordinary: salt. Around 700 million years ago, Earth entered periods of extreme glaciation known as Snowball Earth, when ice is thought ...
Phys.org / UK and Ireland face greatest risk from rare tropical cyclones reaching Europe
Europe is no stranger to powerful windstorms, but some storms capable of causing serious damage have an unusual origin. Tropical cyclones can occasionally travel north from lower latitudes and reach Europe, where they can ...
Phys.org / Ancient Rome's food shortages were shaped more by logistics than climate
Ancient Rome's greatest threat to food security wasn't the weather but the challenge of getting grain to the capital, according to a new study. By comparing hundreds of years of historical records with reconstructions of ...
Phys.org / Small tropical islands face dangerous humid heat by end of the century
Millions of people living on tropical islands could face a future of increasingly dangerous heat as climate change drives longer and more intense periods of humid conditions. While rising temperatures are often discussed ...
Phys.org / Africa's wildfire season is actually getting shorter, scientists think they know why
Africa is home to around 70% of the world's burned area—the total area of land scorched by wildfires each year—making it the planet's biggest wildfire hotspot. Yet despite this, satellite observations have revealed an unexpected ...
Phys.org / Why natural forests survive heat waves better than planted forests
When a record-breaking drought and heat wave swept across China's Yangtze River Basin in 2022, forests across the region faced an extreme test. The event provided a rare opportunity for researchers to test how different forests ...
