News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Rising oceans bring more than high tides and nuisance flooding to coastal zones. They also carry salt water into inland aquifers where dissolved salts can spoil drinking water. A new research effort at the University of Pennsylvania aims to identify vulnerable water systems along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where rising seas pose water quality … Read more
DNA sequencing has revealed that a bright pink lake on an island off Western Australia gets its colour from a mix of salt-loving bacteria and algae Earth 10 March 2022 By Alice Klein Aerial view of Lake Hillier, Australia Tourism Western Australia The unusual bubblegum pink colour of a remote lake in Western Australia has … Read more
The catastrophic disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 was caused by an explosion at the Reactor 4 Unit. This expelled a sizeable quantity of radioactive material into the surroundings, alongside a partial meltdown of the reactor core. The last few decades have seen substantial international efforts to safely contain and decontaminate the … Read more
China’s first Mars rover reveals how weather and ancient water changed the surface of the largest impact basin on Mars. China’s Zhurong rover landed in the Utopia Planitia, a 2,000-miles-wide (3,300 kilometers) basin in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars, in May 2021. Since then, the rover has been studying local geology, chemical composition of rocks, … Read more
Benton Harbor, Mich.—This is a city in crisis. “You can’t drink the water. You can’t brush your teeth with the water. You can’t cook with the water…. You can’t make baby formula with the water,” says Reverend Edward Pinkney, president of the Benton Harbor Community Water Council. The community’s water is not safe to drink … Read more
The first reported findings from China’s Mars rover suggest the plain it is exploring was shaped by winds – and perhaps also by water Space 7 March 2022 By Chen Ly China’s first Mars rover Zhurong with the landing platform Xinhua / Alamy China’s Zhurong Mars rover landed at Utopia Planitia – a large plain … Read more
We have a salt problem, and we’re not referring to our diets. As effective as salt is at de-icing our highways in the winter, new research reveals that its extensive use is also causing damage to freshwater ecosystems. What’s more, saltwater concentrations deemed safe by regulators in the US, Canada, and Europe aren’t doing … Read more
Surveys of Easter Island show that ancient settlements and the sites of the island’s famous giant statues are situated close to freshwater springs that are only accessible at low tide Environment 4 March 2022 By Michael Le Page The moai statues of Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui (Easter Island) Shutterstock/Alberto Loyo Undersea springs may have been … Read more
The way light reflects off morpho dragonflies’ bright blue wings helps the insects blend in with water when viewed from above, making them invisible to predators and prey Life 3 March 2022 By Jake Buehler The bright wings of morpho dragonflies can also keep the insects hidden Shutterstock/guentermanaus With dazzling blue iridescent wings, male morpho … Read more
The system uses day-night temperature differences to extract water from the air while slightly increasing electricity generation by cooling solar panels Environment 1 March 2022 By Michael Le Page A prototype of the water-harvesting device Renyuan Li A three-month trial in Saudi Arabia has shown that a solar panel add-on system can harvest water without … Read more