Posts Tagged ‘nitrogen’
Nitrogen ‘double whammy’ could alter lakes
U. WASHINGTON (US) — Nitrogen derived from human activities has polluted lakes for more than a century. The fingerprint is evident even in remote lakes thousands of miles from the nearest city. Continue…
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 14:48 - 0 Comments
Earth & Environment - Nov 9, 2011 10:48 - 0 Comments
Chesapeake dead zones return to life
JOHNS HOPKINS AND U. MARYLAND (US) — Reducing the flow of fertilizers, animal waste, and other pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay is shrinking oxygen-depleted “dead zones” in America’s largest estuary, a new study finds. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 13, 2011 12:14 - 0 Comments
How to rein in toxic bloom’s perfect storm
CORNELL (US) — The combination of climate change and nutrient runoff is expected to escalate toxic aquatic blooms, but localized efforts may be successful in controlling their spread from farms and lawns to streams, lakes, and ultimately oceans. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 30, 2011 13:48 - 0 Comments
Rock nitrogen helps trees soak up CO2
UC DAVIS (US) — Forest trees have the ability to tap into nitrogen found in rocks, boosting the trees’ growth and their ability to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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Earth & Environment - Dec 21, 2010 14:45 - 0 Comments
Waterways a haven for nitrous oxide
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, has increased by more than 20 percent over the last century, partially fueled by nitrogen in waterways. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Sep 9, 2010 14:24 - 0 Comments
Weighing the pros and cons of Miscanthus
U. ILLINOIS (US)—In the search for the perfect crop for biofuel production, Miscanthus has become the darling to many. But researchers are taking a closer look at its behavior in the field. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Jul 29, 2010 16:43 - 5 Comments
Swimming pool or toxic brew?
U. ILLINOIS (US)—Splashing around in a swimming pool on a hot summer day may not be as safe as you think. A recent study links the application of disinfectants in recreational pools to health problems such as asthma and bladder cancer. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jul 8, 2010 15:22 - 2 Comments
Racecars run faster, cleaner on ethanol
U. CHICAGO (US)—A fuel-injected racing car engine powered by E-85, an ethanol-based fuel, outperforms the same engine with a carburetor and leaded racing fuel. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jun 18, 2010 10:04 - 0 Comments
Straw keeps nitrogen down on the farm
PENN STATE (US)—When raising corn, straw left in the field after grain harvesting, along with legume cover crops, reduces nitrogen leaching into waterways, but may also lower economic return. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jun 4, 2010 10:58 - 0 Comments
Early haze likely shaded Earth from UV
U. COLORADO (US)—A thick organic haze that enshrouded early Earth several billion years ago may have been similar to the haze now hovering above Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and would have protected primordial life on the planet from the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 17, 2010 15:32 - 2 Comments
Inland air spiked with chlorine
U. WASHINGTON / U. COLORADO (US)—A new study suggests that chlorine, a chemical usually kicked into the atmosphere by sea spray, is more abundant than expected in air far from any coastline, and looks to be interacting with man-made pollution at night in ways that might affect air quality and climate. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 17, 2010 14:31 - 0 Comments
‘Green’ bean gene triggers nitrogen fix
STANFORD (US)—Nitrogen-producing bacteria living inside legumes, such as soybeans, could blunt the negative effects of fertilizer and aid efforts to make agriculture more sustainable. (more…)
Science & Technology - Mar 9, 2010 11:43 - 1 Comment
Tracking mercury’s ‘fingerprint’ in fish
U. MICHIGAN (US)—Scientists know that the primary way methylmercury affects people is through consumption of fish and shellfish. But how does the toxic substance get into species that live in the open ocean? (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 8, 2010 15:37 - 0 Comments
Could higher CO2 slow biodiversity loss?
U. MINNESOTA (US)—For years, a global rain of nitrogen from fertilizers and exhaust fumes has been linked to losses of species diversity among communities of plants. However, new research shows that rising CO2 could mitigate the loss of biodiversity brought about by nitrogen pollution. (more…)
Science & Technology - Jan 4, 2010 13:00 - 1 Comment
Ammonia snubbed in nitrogen’s clean break
CORNELL (US)—Chemists have devised a way to break the tough nitrogen-nitrogen bond in the lab and simultaneously create carbon-nitrogen bonds. They fast-tracked the process by skipping the usual energy-intensive, fossil fuel-burning step of creating ammonia. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Nov 13, 2009 12:41 - 0 Comments
Warming planet threatens desert plants
CORNELL (US)—As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, which may lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 8, 2009 16:42 - 0 Comments
Big job for oceans’ tiny ammonia eaters
U. WASHINGTON (US)—It’s not every day you find clues to the planet’s inner workings in aquarium scum. But that’s what happened when researchers cultured a tiny organism from the bottom of a Seattle Aquarium tank and found it can digest ammonia. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jul 22, 2009 10:52 - 0 Comments
In the air, ozone and some nasty chemistry
“We should be monitoring it and incorporating it into atmospheric models,” says Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, the study’s lead author, about a newly discovered, ozone-boosting chemical reaction. “We still don’t really understand important elements of the atmosphere’s chemistry.”
Earth & Environment - Jul 10, 2009 14:36 - 0 Comments
Across the globe, fertilizing crops in the extreme
The environmental consequences of using inorganic fertilizers have persisted in the United States, says Laurie Drinkwater, an agroecologist who studies the Mississippi River Basin.
