Latest news with #CommunicationsEarthEnvironment
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Volcanic eruptions may be caused by mysterious ‘BLOBS' under the Earth
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. While many science books would have you believe the Earth's lower mantle—the layer deep below the crust—is smooth, it's actually made up of a mountainous-like topography that moves and changes just like the crust above it. Further, research shows that this lower mantle contains two continent-sized structures, which researchers have dubbed big lower-mantle basal structures, or BLOBS. We don't know exactly what these BLOBS consist of, but scientists suspect they could be made up of the same materials surrounding them. In fact, new research published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment suggests that the planet's volcanic activity may be driven by volcanic plumes that move with their origins. Today's Top Deals XGIMI Prime Day deals feature the new MoGo 4 and up to 42% off smart projectors Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals The origins in question, researchers believe, could be the BLOBS found deep within the Earth. These mysterious structures appear to be the driving force behind the Earth's volcanic history, and while there are scientists hard to work trying to prove that, looking at past simulations has painted a pretty clear picture to work with. To start with, the researchers used computer models to simulate the movements of the BLOBS over 1 billion years ago. These models showed that the BLOBS produced mantle plumes that were sometimes tilted or even rose up higher. This suggests that the eruptions seen over the past billion years likely took place above the BLOBS, or at least very close to them. The researchers believe that this data shows that the Earth's volcanic activity could somehow be linked to the BLOBS, despite how deep they are in the Earth. The findings are 'encouraging,' the researchers note in a post on The Conversation, as it suggests that future simulations may be able to predict where mantle plumes will strike next. This could help us create a general volcano warning system. Despite being destructive—the Hunga volcano eruption of 2022 continues to set records years later—large volcanic eruptions also have the ability to create new islands and landmasses. Knowing where they occur—or where they occurred in the past—could help us save lives and better understand how our planet formed at different points in history. Of course, we still have a lot to learn about the mysterious BLOBS found deep in the Earth. But this research is a smoking gun that could open the door for tons of new discoveries and revelations. More Top Deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 See the
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
China's success in cleaning up air pollution may have accelerated global warming: Study
Efforts to clean up air pollution in China and across East Asia may have inadvertently contributed to a spike in global warming, a new study has found. The decline in aerosol emissions — which can cool the planet by absorbing sunlight — have added about 0.05 degrees Celsius in warming per decade since 2010, according to the study, published on Monday in Communications Earth & Environment. At that time, China began implementing aggressive air quality policies and was ultimately able to achieve a 75 percent reduction in emissions rate of toxic sulfur dioxide, the authors noted. Sulfur dioxide gas, harmful pollutants that result from fossil fuel combustion and volcanoes, are precursors of sulfate aerosols, which are the dominant aerosol species that cool the Earth today. Despite posing health threats to plants, humans and other animals, these particles are among the many types of aerosols that also cool the planet. When clouds form around aerosols, such particles can absorb solar energy from the atmosphere and thereby reduce sunlight at ground level. And if clouds are not present, aerosols can reflect sunlight back into outer space. Before China's air quality improvement policies took effect, pollution was a leading cause of premature death in the country, the study authors noted. However, with fewer cooling aerosols now present in the atmosphere, areas of East Asia and around the world have endured intensified warming — and are expected to face even more extreme heat, shifting monsoon patterns and potential disruptions to agriculture, according to the study. The plunge in sulfate levels 'partially unmasks greenhouse-gas driven warming and influences the spatial pattern of surface temperature change,' the researchers observed. 'Reducing air pollution has clear health benefits, but without also cutting CO₂, you're removing a layer of protection against climate change,' co-author Robert Allen, a climatology professor at the University of California, Riverside, said in statement. 'It highlights the need for parallel efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,' he said. Allen and his colleagues drew their conclusions based on simulations from major climate models for the years 2015 to 2049, using data from the Regional Aerosol Model Intercomparison Project, which includes contributions from the U.S., Europe and Asia. They projected a global, annual mean warming of about 0.07 degrees Celsius due to aerosol emissions reductions, with 0.05 degrees Celsius of warming per decade already occurring since 2010. Emissions reductions applied to their simulations corresponded closely with those realized over the 2010 to 2023 period in East Asia, the authors noted, adding that emissions from the region are expected to continue to decline — albeit at a slower rate. Although their work focused on sulfate aerosols, the researchers stressed that carbon dioxide and methane emissions remain the biggest drivers of long-term climate change. 'Our study focused on the recent, dramatic speedup in global warming, which is very concerning but still small compared to the overall, long-term amount of warming from increased CO2 and methane,' said lead author Bjørn Samset, a senior researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Norway, in a statement. Allen, meanwhile, also emphasized that because aerosols are short-lived in the atmosphere, the spike in global temperatures could subside in the near future. 'Sulfur dioxide and sulfate aerosols have lifetimes of about a week,' he said. 'Once they're removed, we'll eventually settle back into a warming rate that's more consistent with the long-term trend.' As other regions across the world, including South Asia, Africa and North America, begin to phase out aerosol emissions, the scientists said they plan to analyze how potential shifts could shape forthcoming climate trends. 'Air quality improvements are a no-brainer for public health,' Allen said. 'But if we want to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, we have to cut CO₂ and methane too. The two must go hand in hand.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
Coastal communities are flooding more than we realize. Here's why.
Fast-rising seas have forced some coastal communities to endure flooding far more frequently than previously thought, and much more often than federal tide gauges would suggest, according to a new findings from researchers in North Carolina. 'I view it as a harbinger of what's to come,' said Katherine Anarde, an assistant professor of coastal engineering at North Carolina State University and one of the lead authors of the study, published Monday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
