Unique microbial communities discovered beneath frozen surface of Antarctica's Lake Enigma. An international team of polar researchers has found several types of microbiota living in the water below the frozen surface of Antarctica's Lake Enigma. In their study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, group members ventured to the lake. Using ground-penetrating radar, they found that there was water deep below its frozen surface, and drilled into the lake to obtain water samples for testing.
China Focus: Testing mortise-tenon bricks on China's space station for building houses on moon. Astronauts aboard China's space station are set to arrange an experiment on brick samples made from simulated lunar soil and featuring mortise-tenon joint structure, which may pave the way for building houses on the moon using lunar soils.
Land degradation expanding by 1m sq km a year, study shows. Report calls for course correction to avoid land abuse ‘compromising Earth’s capacity to support human and environmental wellbeing’
Land degradation is expanding worldwide at the rate of 1m sq km every year, undermining efforts to stabilise the climate, protect nature and ensure sustainable food supplies, a study has highlighted.
The water level in the Caspian Sea has dropped to a minimum level and may not recover. Scientists predicted further shallowing of the reservoir, which is important for Russia.
In 2024, global consumption of natural gas could grow by 2.3%. This was predicted according to the results of the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries (GECF), the Izvestia newspaper
reports.
Experts warn of political risks in Antarctic curtain geoengineering proposal. The scientific debate around the installation of a massive underwater curtain to protect Antarctic ice sheets from melting lacks a vital political perspective. A Kobe University research team argues that the serious questions around authority, sovereignty and security should be addressed proactively by the scientific community to avoid the protected seventh continent becoming the scene or object of international discord.
In a quarter of a century the investments in oil production in Russia will grow 1.8 times to the levels of 2023, reaching 4.5 trillion Rubles. The Vedomosti newspaper writes about this with reference to the data from the Ministry of Energy for the energy strategy draft until 2050.
Key Atlantic current could collapse soon, 'impacting the entire world for centuries to come,' leading climate scientists warn. Forty-four of the world's leading climate scientists have called on Nordic policymakers to address the potentially imminent and "devastating" collapse of key Atlantic Ocean currents.
Millions in the US may rely on groundwater contaminated with PFAS for drinking water supplies. Approximately 71 to 95 million people in the Lower 48 states—more than 20% of the country's population—may rely on groundwater that contains detectable concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, for their drinking water supplies. These findings are according to a U.S Geological Survey study published in the journal Science.
Liquefied natural gas carbon footprint is worse than coal, study finds. Liquified natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account, according to a new Cornell study. "Natural gas and shale gas are all bad for the climate. Liquified natural gas (LNG) is worse," said Robert Howarth, author of the study and the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
