58 news posts related to Environmental Chemistry

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A more acidic ocean will bend the mermaid’s wineglass

Mermaid's wineglass

New research from the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories shows that a more acidic ocean can weaken the protective shell of a delicate alga. The findings, published Sept. 9 in the journal Biology Letters, come at a time when global climate change may increase ocean acidification. The creature in question is Acetabularia acetabulum, commonly called the mermaid’s wineglass. Reaching a height of just a few inches, this single-celled alga lives on shallow seafloors, where sunlight can still filter down for photosynthesis. 

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Poplar trees are best bet for biofuel in UW-led research project

Poplar chips

Groves of poplar trees could one day fuel our vehicles and be the source of chemicals that we use in our daily lives. A five-year, $40 million study is laying the foundation for a Pacific Northwest industry that converts sustainably produced poplar feedstock into fuels and chemicals. The research, led by the University of Washington, will seed the world’s first wood-based cellulosic ethanol production facility. 

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CO2 emissions change with size of streams and rivers

Sampling from one of the Wyoming study sites.

Freshwater streams and rivers actually release carbon dioxide, but the source of those emissions has been unclear to scientists for years. Now, researchers have shown that the greenhouse gas appears in streams by way of two difference sources—either as a direct pipeline for groundwater and carbon-rich soils, or from aquatic organisms releasing the gas through respiration and natural decay. David Butman, professor of environmental and forest sciences and civil and environmental engineering, is part of the team that recently found that CO2’s origins—land or life—depend largely on the size of the stream or river. 

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Scientists weigh in on carbon emissions' effect on future ocean conditions

Photo: J Meyer

Ahead of major climate talks at COP21 this year in Paris, scientists are offering insights to the far-reaching effects of rising carbon dioxide levels on the ocean. Spearheaded by the Oceans 2015 Initiative, which brought together 22 scientists and policy experts from nine different countries, the results were published this week in the journal Science and focus on how warming waters, rising seas, and ocean acidification drive changes to the global ocean. 

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Genetic switch lets marine diatoms do less work at higher CO2

The diatom used in the study is found throughout the world’s oceans, and carries out a big part of the planet’s photosynthesis. It was the first marine diatom of its type to have its full genome sequenced.

Tiny drifting algae called diatoms generate about 20 percent of the oxygen produced on Earth each year—more than all of the world’s rainforests. A new study from the College of the Environment’s School of Oceanography and Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology looked at how common species of diatoms will adjust to sudden and long-term increases in carbon dioxide. The scientists found that when CO2 spikes, as might happen during a sudden change in ocean currents, the diatoms produce a signaling molecule that reduces the energy-intensive process required to concentrate the carbon dioxide. 

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