Indigenous Amazonia Populations may have Declined due to Climate Change Before Great Dying
Written by AZoCleantechMay 25 2021
A new study has proposed that the effects of climate change experienced in the Amazon rainforest before the arrival of European settlers after 1492 might have implied that populations of indigenous people were already declining before the Great Dying.
Image Credit: shutterstock.com/worldclassphoto
Researchers investigating charcoal data and fossil pollen collected throughout the Amazon stated that it seems to demonstrate that human management of the rainforest might have peaked close to 1200 AD, before a few sites were abandoned, thus enabling reforestation of such regions.
The UK is moving forward with trials of mechanisms to draw carbon dioxide from the air as part of a drive to meet 2050’s net-zero emission target.
Image Credit: shutterstock.com/Dave Head
As part of a global scheme to mitigate the effects of climate change, a number of governments have pledged to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Whilst the goal is admirable, and the investment in clean energy that it requires is a positive step in the energy sector, scientists are still predicting that this action will not be enough to slow the quickening progress of global warming.
This is coupled with the fact that achieving net-zero in the next three decades may not be possible due to failure in the past to limit the emission of carbon dioxide.
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IMAGE: Infographic of the 5 methods of greenhouse gas removal to be investigated in the GGRD programme view more
Credit: UKRI
Research teams across the UK will investigate the viability of five innovative methods of large-scale greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere to help the UK reach its legislated Net Zero climate target by 2050.
The methods all have the potential to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere - but their effectiveness, cost, and limitations need to be better understood and proven at scale.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will invest £30 million in five interdisciplinary projects and a central Hub located at the University of Oxford, to conduct the research over 4.5 years. An additional £1.5 million will be invested in further studies in year 3 of the research.
05-24-2021
By
Earth.com staff writer
Heat-induced male infertility will cause some species to fall victim to climate change earlier than expected, according to an alarming new study from the University of Liverpool. The experts report that male fertility losses at high temperatures may affect as many as half of all species.
“Our work emphasizes that temperature-driven fertility losses may be a major threat to biodiversity during climate change,” said Dr. Tom Price. “We already had reports of fertility losses at high temperatures in everything from pigs to ostriches, to fish, flowers, bees, and even humans. Unfortunately, our research suggests they are not isolated cases, and perhaps half of all species will be vulnerable to thermal infertility.”
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IMAGE: New research from Florida State University shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in industrial. view more
Credit: Photo courtesy of Jade Hatton/University of Bristol
New research from Florida State University shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in industrial China, an unexpected finding that is raising questions about the effects of glacial melting in an area that is a major exporter of seafood. There are surprisingly high levels of mercury in the glacier meltwaters we sampled in southwest Greenland, said FSU postdoctoral fellow Jon Hawkings. And that s leading us to look now at a whole host of other questions such as how that mercury could potentially get into the food chain.