Articles by Hannah Bird
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 ...
Phys.org / Geysers on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus may form from a 'mushy zone'
Searching for life on other celestial bodies, or at the very least the necessary components to support it, has been fascinating scientists and enthusiasts for centuries. While planets are the obvious choice, their moons can ...
Phys.org / Greenland ice sheet could fully melt after reaching specific tipping point, study finds
Greenland's ice sheet currently spans over 1.7 million square kilometers and is the largest freshwater reservoir in the northern hemisphere. The ice sheet has already lost over a trillion tonnes of its total mass since the ...
Phys.org / Heavy metal toxicity found in Chinese port poses risk to seafood safety
Heavy metals naturally occur in the Earth's crust, but human activities can increase their concentration in the environment, including domestic sewage and waste disposal, fumes from vehicle exhausts, fertilizer runoff, mining ...
Phys.org / Sahara rainfall historically driven by tropical plumes not monsoons, study finds
Africa is often synonymous with its drylands that cover two-thirds of the continent. Relief is brought through rainfall during the monsoon season, which is vital to help replenish water reserves for communities and wildlife ...
Phys.org / Climate-driven changes have already threatened more than half of Central Europe's productive agricultural landscape
Droughts are a serious consequence of climate change, devastating ecosystems, along with the organisms and communities who inhabit them. Understanding the impact of this upon agricultural productivity is vital to ensure sustainable ...
Phys.org / Azraq Basin fossils reveal mammals shrank during Pleistocene-Holocene climate shift
Earth's climate changed dramatically during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene 130,000 to 7,000 years ago, when cold glacial cycles transitioned into the current warmer interglacial. Such a climatic evolution had considerable ...
Phys.org / Mars's two distinct hemispheres caused by mantle convection not giant impacts, study claims
Mars has northern and southern hemispheres like Earth, but their defining characteristics are markedly different, a phenomenon known as Martian dichotomy. The Southern Highlands are older, higher in elevation and more cratered ...
Phys.org / Mars's rare disappearing solar wind event explained
Mars's atmosphere and climate are impacted by interactions with solar wind, a stream of plasma comprised of protons and electrons that flows from the sun's outermost atmosphere (corona), traveling at speeds of 400–1,000 kilometers ...
Phys.org / Rockfall frequency from French mountains has doubled since Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age was a period of significant cooling from the early 14th to mid-19th centuries, which saw mean temperatures across the northern hemisphere drop by up to 2°C and the advancement of glaciers.
