EurekAlert! News by Subject: Earth Science - News by Subject: Earth Science

Earth Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 11-Apr-2026 04:15 ET (11-Apr-2026 08:15 GMT/UTC)

Major collaboration launched to protect Lake Erie and Rouge River

Wayne State University - Office of the Vice President for Research
Grant and Award Announcement

A research team led by Wayne State University was awarded a $473,566, three-year grant from the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) for a major collaborative initiative focused on enhanced phosphorus removal at the nation’s largest single-site wastewater treatment facility. The collaboration aims to improve local water systems and will provide critical training for Wayne State students to become experts in wastewater treatment and environmental protection.

Funder: Great Lakes Water Authority

Climate lessons from the last interglacial for today’s climate change

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Peer-Reviewed Publication

By integrating ancient geological archives with high-tech climate simulations, researchers identified that the Levant experienced a 20% increase in rainfall during the Last Interglacial peak. The study reveals that this wetting was driven by a "thermodynamic" shift, where a warmer atmosphere held more moisture that was then dumped into the desert by intensified Red Sea Troughs. These findings suggest that such localized, high-intensity weather patterns transformed the arid southern Levant into a viable migration path for early humans moving out of Africa.

Journal: Climate of the Past
Funder: Israel Science Foundation, PAZY Foundation, Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt, European Cooperation in Science and Technology

China’s nitrogen pollution control hits air-water asymmetry: Blue skies easier than clean water

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study in National Science Review quantified “safe nitrogen boundaries” across 2,847 counties in China. It found that a cross-system management strategy could nearly halve total nitrogen pollution, bring atmospheric emissions within safe limits in most regions, and deliver benefits 2.5 times the investment required. Yet water pollution would remain above safe limits in more than half of the counties, highlighting the need for broader socioeconomic changes.

Journal: National Science Review

Researchers refine the clock of Earth’s early complex animal life

University of Lausanne
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How can we measure time more than 500 million years into the past? A study recently published in Nature Communications by researchers at the University of Lausanne presents a new geological “rock clock” that allows major climate events from the dawn of complex animal life to be dated with unprecedented precision.

Journal: Nature Communications

Decline in Japanese chum salmon linked to climate change

Hokkaido University

Today, most of the salmon consumed in Japan is imported from countries like Chile and Norway, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. But just two decades ago, Japanese chum salmon made up a much larger share of domestic salmon consumption. Their numbers have declined sharply in recent years, and new research from Hokkaido University suggests that this decline may be linked to the loss of their natural habitats along their migratory routes.

Journal: Scientific Reports

Aged silicon-rich biochar reduces cadmium accumulation in leafy vegetables

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cadmium contamination in agricultural soils threatens food safety worldwide, as the toxic metal can accumulate in crops and enter the human food chain. A new study published in the journal Biochar reports that aging silicon-rich biochar derived from rice husks can significantly reduce cadmium uptake in leafy vegetables while improving plant resistance to heavy metal stress.

Journal: Biochar

[Data Note] Geo-Disasters: Geocoding climate-related events in the international disaster database EM-DAT

A new study published in Big Earth Data introduces Geo-Disasters, a database that geocodes 9,217 climate-related disasters reported by EM-DAT from 1990 to 2023. The database enhances disaster risk analysis by providing accurate geocoded locations and offering an open, reproducible framework for integrating spatial climate and socioeconomic data. This framework supports machine learning applications for climate risk, vulnerability, and adaptation studies. The Geo-Disasters database aims to bridge critical data gaps in global climate-hazard risk assessment and inform more equitable adaptation planning. The link to Geo-Disasters Database is https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15487667.

Journal: Big Earth Data

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