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Earth Sciences
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Environment - Earth Sciences - 01.10.2024
New findings can help improve our understanding of winter weather in the St. Lawrence River Valley
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.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 19.09.2024
Western research uncovering the cause of a rapidly changing remote water system
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.
Earth Sciences - 09.09.2024
A better way to assess bridges’ earthquake safety
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.
Life Sciences - Earth Sciences - 04.09.2024
Northern elephant seals use deep-sea research sonar as dinner bell
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 04.09.2024
History lesson: Identifying a climate ’tipping point’ for ocean deoxygenation
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.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 19.08.2024
Western researchers help identify origins of Martian meteorites
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.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 02.08.2024
Study yields new insights into the link between global warming and rising sea levels
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.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 08.07.2024
Found with Webb: a potentially habitable world
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.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 03.07.2024
Treasures beneath the ocean floor? Seawater plays role in gold formation
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.
Earth Sciences - Astronomy / Space - 13.06.2024
Meteorite impact leaves rare rocks and evidence of extreme heat at remote lake in Quebec
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 20.05.2024
Warm seawater speeding up melting of ’Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn
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.
Earth Sciences - 27.02.2024
Results for: Rural communities face greater risks of radon exposure compared to urban areas
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.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 14.02.2024
Saturn’s largest moon most likely non-habitable
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.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 24.01.2024
Researchers advocate for sustainable logging to safeguard against global flood risks
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.
Astronomy / Space - Earth Sciences - 15.01.2024
Discovery changes understanding of water’s history on the Moon
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 .
Earth Sciences - Environment - 06.12.2023
Researchers discover Quebec’s deepest lake
The thick layer of sediment accumulated at the bottom of this lake could be used to study climate change, environmental changes and earthquakes that have occurred over hundreds of thousands of years .
Earth Sciences - Paleontology - 24.11.2023
More than a meteorite: The new clues about the demise of dinosaurs
McGill researchers challenge current understanding of dinosaur extinction by unearthing link between volcanic eruptions and climate change What wiped out the dinosaurs? A meteorite plummeting to Earth is only part of the story, a new study suggests. Climate change triggered by massive volcanic eruptions may have ultimately set the stage for the dinosaur extinction, challenging the traditional narrative that a meteorite alone delivered the final blow to the ancient giants.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 20.11.2023
Mapping the health of Canada’s lakes
UdeM biologists produce a first-ever social and ecological profile - in multicoloured map form - of over 600 of the country's lakes, identifying which need to be better preserved. Canada has more lakes than any country in the world - more than 900,000 - and its population depends on them for drinking water, water to irrigate crops, and water in which to fish, swim, and boat on.
Life Sciences - Earth Sciences - 25.10.2023
Biological fingerprints in soil show where diamond-containing ore is buried
Science, Health & Technology Alex Walls DNA sequencing technique can also help source minerals that are key to the green-energy transition Researchers have identified buried kimberlite, the rocky home of diamonds, by testing the DNA of microbes in the surface soil. These 'biological fingerprints' can reveal what minerals are buried tens of metres below the earth's surface without having to drill.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 24.10.2023
Killer whales’ diet more important than location for pollutant exposure
Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans' top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers in the American Chemical Society' Environmental Science & Technology report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals' blubber.