Switchgrass Produces Biomass Efficiently
A USDOE and USDA study concluded that 50 million U.S. acres of cropland, idle cropland, and cropland pasture could be converted from current uses to the production of perennial grasses, such as switchgrass, from which biomass could be harvested for use as a biofuel feedstock. view more (2009-11-24)
Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers. view more (2009-11-09)
Iron controls patterns of nitrogen fixation in the Atlantic
Scientists including researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and the University of Essex have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from deserts, and large-scale oceanic circulation control the availability of a crucial nutrient, nitrogen, in the Atlantic. view more (2009-11-03)
Wolves, moose and biodiversity: An unexpected connection
Moose eat plants; wolves kill moose. What difference does this classic predator-prey interaction make to biodiversity? view more (2009-11-02)
Caltech researchers reveal unexpected sources of nitrogen fixation
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have identified an unexpected metabolic ability within a symbiotic community of microorganisms that may help solve a lingering mystery about the world's nitrogen-cycling budget. view more (2009-10-16)
Improving China's acid rain control strategy
Scientists are reporting the first evidence that China's sharp focus on reducing widespread damage to soil by acid rain by restricting sulfur dioxide air pollution may have an unexpected consequence: Gains from that pollution control program will be largely offset by increases in nitrogen emissions, which the country's current policy largely... view more... (2009-10-15)
Key new ingredient in climate model refines global predictions
For the first time, climate scientists from across the country have successfully incorporated the nitrogen cycle into global simulations for climate change, questioning previous assumptions regarding carbon feedback and potentially helping to refine model forecasts about global warming. view more (2009-10-12)
Mystery Solved: Marine Microbe Is Source of Rare Nutrient
A new study of microscopic marine microbes, called phytoplankton, by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of South Carolina has solved a ten-year-old mystery about the source of an essential nutrient in the ocean. view more (2009-09-30)
Study shows more corn for biofuels would hurt water
More of the fertilizers and pesticides used to grow corn would find their way into nearby water sources if ethanol demands lead to planting more acres in corn, according to a Purdue University study. view more (2009-09-29)
Diamonds may be the ultimate MRI probe, say Quantum physicists
Diamonds, it has long been said, are a girl's best friend. But a research team including a physicist from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently found that the gems might turn out to be a patient's best friend as well. view more (2009-09-23)
Denitrification, its importance once diluted, may be back on top, Princeton-led team says
After more than a decade of inquiry, a Princeton-led team of scientists has turned the tables on a long-standing controversy to re-establish an old truth about nitrogen mixing in the oceans. view more (2009-09-03)
Hot and cold moves of cyanide and water
Scientists have long known that molecules dance about as the temperature rises, but now researchers know the exact steps that water takes with a certain molecule. view more (2009-09-03)
Sustainable fertilizer: Urine and wood ash produce large harvest
Results of the first study evaluating the use of human urine mixed with wood ash as a fertilizer for food crops has found that the combination can be substituted for costly synthetic fertilizers to produce bumper crops of tomatoes without introducing any risk of disease for consumers. view more (2009-09-02)
NOAA study shows nitrous oxide now top ozone-depleting emission
Nitrous oxide has now become the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human activities, and is expected to remain the largest throughout the 21st century, NOAA scientists say in a new study. view more (2009-08-28)
Nitrogen fixation and phytoplankton blooms in the southwest Indian Ocean
Observations made by Southampton scientists help understand the massive blooms of microscopic marine algae - phytoplankton - in the seas around Madagascar and its effect on the biogeochemistry of the southwest Indian Ocean. view more (2009-08-17)
Diet, population size and the spread of modern humans into Europe
Accumulating carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from fossil humans in Europe is pointing towards a significant shift in the range of animal resources exploited with the spread of modern humans into Europe 40,000 years ago. view more (2009-08-11)
Earth's biogeochemical cycles, once in concert, falling out of sync
What do the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," global climate change, and acid rain have in common? They're all a result of human impacts to Earth's biology, chemistry and geology, and the natural cycles that involve all three. view more (2009-08-04)
Urban water ecology at the ESA annual meeting
Increasingly, human urban development overlaps with habitat for wild animals and plants, creating environments that degrade natural landscapes. view more (2009-08-03)
Nitrous gases and zinc in the crosshairs
The Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area established by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has issued the MAK and BAT Values List for 2009. This year's list contains 62 changes and new entries. view more (2009-07-29)
Biodiesel on the wing: A 'green' process for biodiesel from feather meal
Scientists in Nevada are reporting development of a new and environmentally friendly process for producing biodiesel fuel from "chicken feather meal," made from the 11 billion pounds of poultry industry waste that accumulate annually in the United States alone. view more (2009-07-23)
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