news 2024

Wildfires have turned the Far North into a carbon emitter, putting the region's permafrost at risk, according to an alarming new report co-authored by UdeM researcher Oliver Sonnentag. Increasingly frequent and severe wildfires have become a yearly concern for many Arctic communities, and a chapter of a new U.S. report involving one Canadian university - Université de Montréal - suggests that they are also having a significant impact on carbon emissions in the region.

Visiting USask research team and Biogeoscience Institute educators deepen our understanding of water movement and flooding impacts in Sibbald Valley The beaver is a well-known symbol associated with Canada.

Rain, freezing rain or snow? Study uses new data to identify factors that will help meteorologists A recent study at McGill University provides new insights into how winter storms develop in the St. Lawrence River Valley, findings that could potentially improve the accuracy of winter weather forecasts in the region.

Nestled in the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah, a series of pristine lakes are facing a new threat - humans. Geography professor and chair Katrina Moser led a team of researchers in the region this summer to better understand how human activity, like agriculture and warming temperatures because of climate change, is leading to dramatic changes in a water system far from populous areas.

New model combines artificial intelligence with statistical techniques to help decision-makers prepare for and react to seismic events Researchers from McGill University have developed a more efficient way to assess how likely a bridge is to be damaged in an earthquake. The information could help authorities prioritize infrastructure for upgrading and improve emergency response plans.

Massive volcanic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions contributing to an extreme global ocean deoxygenation event over 120 million years ago has modern day implications for understanding a climate warming "tipping point," according to new research published in Nature this week, led by a scientist at Ocean Networks Canada, a University of Victoria initiative.

Northern elephant seals were repeatedly captured on camera in the deep Pacific Ocean using sonar from an Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) observatory as a dinner bell to forage for their next fish feast, according to a new study led by University of Victoria researchers. The research study published in the peer-reviewed PLOS ONE journal provides a unique, first-ever visual glimpse into the elusive mammal's deep-sea behaviours, with a focus on their sophisticated feeding strategies, prey preferences as well as resting habits.

An international research team has identified the specific origins of most of the Martian meteorites that are now on Earth. They've traced the meteorites to five craters where they were launched off Mars after impact. The craters are located within two volcanic regions on the red planet called Tharsis (the region containing Olympus Mons, the largest shield volcano in the solar system) and Elysium.

Understanding the relationship between the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the earth beneath is key to predicting future climate change impacts, finds McGill-led study La version française suivra. A McGill-led study suggests that Earth's natural forces could substantially reduce Antarctica's impact on rising sea levels, but only if carbon emissions are swiftly reduced in the coming decades.

A team of astronomers from UdeM has made an exciting discovery about the temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b: it could be a promising "super-Earth" covered in ice or water. When the exoplanet LHS 1140 b was first discovered, astronomers speculated that it might be a mini-Neptune: an essentially gaseous planet, but very small in size compared to Neptune.

Understanding how gold forms is crucial for knowing where to find it and how to extract it sustainably. McGill researchers have answered a long-standing question in geology that could lead to new ore discoveries. Researchers traveled to the remote Brucejack gold deposit in northwestern British Columbia to study and collect ancient ore-bearing rocks.

For more than a decade, Western University planetary geologist Gordon "Oz" Osinski has led expeditions to Kamestastin Lake in Labrador. The environment is a perfect training ground because the properties and rock formations - created by the violent impact (and extreme heat) of an asteroid 36 million years ago - uniquely mimic the surface on the Moon.

Satellite data provides first evidence of ocean water intrusion beneath Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier  For the first time, there is visible evidence showing that warm seawater is pumping underneath Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier-ominously nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier. An international team of scientists-including a researcher from the University of Waterloo-observed it using satellite imagery and warns that it could accelerate catastrophic sea level rise in 10 to 20 years.

UCalgary researchers find elevated radon gas levels in rural homes with close proximity to drilled groundwater wells. Henk de Haan built his home southwest of Okotoks, Alta. He was attracted to the wide-open spaces, mountain views, and fresh air. What he didn't count on was radon.  "When we built the home, I didn't know radon was a potential problem.

A study led by astrobiologist Catherine Neish for Western University shows the subsurface ocean of Titan - the largest moon of Saturn - is most likely a non-habitable environment, meaning any hope of finding life in the icy world is dead in the water. This discovery means it is far less likely that space scientists and astronauts will ever find life in the outer solar system, home to the four 'giant' planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

It's time to recognize the power of healthy forests in managing global growing flood risk, and to shift towards more sustainable forestry practices and policy. This call is emphasized by UBC researchers in a peer-reviewed article published recently in the journal Science of the Total Environment . Dr. Younes Alila , a hydrologist and professor in the faculty of forestry, and his graduate student Henry Pham synthesized decades of hydrology studies and found that many "severely and consistently underestimated" the impact of forest cover on flood risk.

New research from Western University shows the early lunar crust, which makes up the surface of the Moon, was considerably enriched in water more than 4 billion years ago, counter to previously held understanding. The discovery is outlined in a study published today in the journal Nature Astronomy .