Articles by Hannah Bird
Phys.org / Greenland's largest glacier could soon reach a tipping point, scientists say
Greenland's largest glacier, Jakobshavn Glacier, may be edging closer to a critical threshold as meltwater runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet accelerates in ways not seen in over a century, according to new research published ...
Phys.org / Earth's mantle may have been cooler than thought before Pangea's breakup
When the supercontinent Pangea began to fragment around 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic, it reshaped the face of the planet. Vast new oceans opened, continents drifted apart and the familiar geography of today ...
Phys.org / Extreme rainfall is worsening algal blooms along South Korea's coast
Extreme rainfall is reshaping coastal waters along South Korea's shoreline, flushing nutrients from land into the sea and fueling the growth of algal blooms. A new multi-year study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, ...
Phys.org / China's emissions policies are helping climate change but also creating a new problem
China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power ...
Phys.org / Warming may increase mangrove methane emissions—but these forests remain powerful carbon sinks
Mangrove forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, particularly within the marine carbon system. Growing along tropical and subtropical coastlines, these salt-tolerant trees are among nature's most efficient ...
Phys.org / Aging populations could cut global water use by up to 31%, study finds
Across the world, water scarcity is emerging as one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Climate change is pushing rivers and aquifers into unprecedented extremes, droughts and floods are intensifying, and ...
Phys.org / Saltier seas in spring double the chance of extreme El Niño events, study finds
Stronger El Niño events are more likely when springtime surface waters in the western Pacific Ocean become unusually salty, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests. Traditionally, scientists have focused on temperature ...
Phys.org / Ancient Spanish trees reveal Mediterranean storms are intensifying
Ancient pine trees growing in the Iberian mountains of eastern Spain have quietly recorded more than five centuries of Mediterranean weather. Now, by reading the annual growth rings preserved in their wood, scientists have ...
Phys.org / Chesapeake Bay's storm surge tides can be 47% higher than the open ocean
When hurricanes or strong storms sweep up the United States' East Coast and meet the shores of the country's largest estuary, Chesapeake Bay, the familiar pattern of storm activity gets a little more complicated. A new study, ...
Phys.org / Young water recharges aquifers while old water feeds crops, study finds
Groundwater replenishing beneath temperate farmland fields may come from very recent rainfall, merely one to two weeks old, whereas the water actually taken up by crops is drawn from much older sources.
Tech Xplore / Beneath the waves: Floating solar panels are stressing the seafloor
Floating solar installations offer a tantalizing vision of sustainable energy—combining wind and solar power in the same offshore space. But according to new research, the seabed may be feeling the strain of such ingenuity.
Phys.org / Weathering of the Southern Andes plays a critical role in balancing CO₂ emissions
The towering peaks of the Southern Andes are not just shaping the skyline of South America—they are also quietly influencing Earth's atmosphere.
Phys.org / Intense groundwater flow destabilizes ice in North America's Great Lakes, simulations show
Powerful pulses of groundwater flow up from beneath Lakes Michigan and Huron, which together form one of the largest freshwater systems in the world. This groundwater flux may dramatically alter how and where ice forms, with ...
Phys.org / Reversing Antarctic sea ice loss depends on ocean layering, study finds
Satellite observations have documented a pronounced decline in Antarctic sea ice extent since 2014, with especially sharp losses in recent years. Whether Antarctica's declining sea ice can recover hinges not only on how much ...
Phys.org / Atmospheric pollutants surprisingly helpful in offsetting primary productivity decline in Indian Ocean
Air pollution has become an ever-pressing issue since the Industrial Revolution began in the mid-18th century. Progressive urbanization, industrialization and agricultural development over more recent decades have been linked ...
