News by Subject Earth Science

The problem of access to safe drinking water in most parts of Bangladesh is a persistent challenge. Now, a team of scientists from Uppsala University, Sweden, and Dhaka University, Bangladesh, shows that a locally growing and previously unexploited green macroalgae species could be used to extract cellulose nanofibers, which can then be formed into paper sheets with tailored pore size that are utilized for point-of-use water treatment.

The amount of water injected for conventional oil and gas production exceeds that from high-volume hydraulic fracturing and other unconventional oil and gas production by more than a factor of 10, according to a new report. Conventional methods of oil and gas production have been used since the late 1800s. An assessment of the environmental impacts of the petroleum industry should examine the conventional production methods, as well as fracking.

An unprecedented survey has revealed the loss of about 85 percent of historical tidal wetlands in California, Oregon, and Washington. The report, published today in PLOS ONE, also highlights forgotten estuary acreage that might now be targeted for restoration.

A higher standard of wastewater treatment in the UK has been linked to substantial improvements in a river's biodiversity over the past 30 years. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology analysed data from the regular monitoring of both chemicals and invertebrates in the River Ray in Wiltshire -- downstream from Swindon's large wastewater treatment plant - between 1977 and 2016.

Researchers from the University of Kansas have described three genera and 17 new species of water scavenger beetles from the Guiana and Brazilian Shield regions of South America.