Earth, Environmental & Agricultural Sciences

In the pristine waters of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, scientists have discovered fascinating patterns in cloud formation that could have major implications for understanding Earth’s climate. Recent research conducted by Dr Gerald Mace from the University of Utah and colleagues reveals how air masses passing over the Antarctic continent naturally boost cloud brightness through a complex chain of chemical and physical processes. This natural phenomenon may hold important clues for improving climate models and predicting future climate change.

Marine litter poses a global threat to the health of our oceans, but disproportionately affects small coastal nations such as Belize through impacts on natural habitats, economies, and livelihoods. Through the Commonwealth Litter Programme, Peter Kohler from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science and his colleagues have detailed the steps that were taken to support Belize in adopting the Caribbean’s first Marine Litter Action Plan in August 2019.

Wood has been used for centuries to make various structures. However, its properties are typically considered on a large scale and assumed to be consistent. This oversimplification can lead to unexpected variations in product performance and less than optimal utilisation of the timber resource. Examination of the intricate structure of pine trees’ growth rings formed during the annual growing season provides a chance to determine if wood’s properties are as consistent as commonly assumed and, if not, why not. Professor Emeritus Steven Cramer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has investigated the differences in properties between wood types that comprise the growth rings of loblolly pine trees.

Plastic pollution has become a critical environmental problem, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic widely used in food and beverage packaging being a major contributor. Dr Mojtaba Enayati from Troy University’s Center for Materials and Manufacturing Sciences (CMMS) is leading innovative research aimed at utilising the labels from PET water bottles as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective catalyst for chemically recycling PET waste into valuable monomers and other value-added materials. This innovative work provides an elegant solution for recycling PET by sourcing key components from the PET bottles themselves.

The Moon’s airless surface is constantly bombarded by micrometeoroids, cosmic rays, and extreme temperature swings. These harsh conditions gradually break down rocks and create the fine-grained lunar soil known as regolith. Dr Markus Patzek and Dr Ottaviano Rüsch at the University of Münster are leading a team of researchers (known as the Precious Space Team) who are uncovering new details about how different types of lunar rocks respond to thermal stress and how dust behaves on boulder surfaces. Their work sheds light on the complex processes that shape airless planetary bodies over time.

Florida grapples with mounting challenges related to inland flooding due to heavy precipitation, along with coastal flooding from rising sea levels and coastal storms. One important approach to address precipitation-originating flooding is to embrace land use practices runoff management in the upstream portions of at-risk watersheds, where sustainable design can relieve the pressures on drainage systems from continuing dense urban development in the low-lying Florida landscape. Dr L Donald Duke, from The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University, plays a pivotal role in this endeavour. His work encompasses creating and evaluating flood-resilient land use practices and planning to manage stormwater runoff on the watershed scale.

Hydroponic farming is experiencing rapid growth worldwide, offering a sustainable and efficient method of producing fresh, nutrient-rich crops. However, the unique conditions of hydroponic systems also present complex food safety challenges. Dr Sanja Ilic and Dr Melanie Lewis Ivey, researchers at The Ohio State University, are at the forefront of efforts to understand and mitigate the risks of human pathogen contamination in commercial hydroponic production. Their pioneering work is providing crucial insights and practical guidance to help ensure the safety and nutritional value of hydroponically grown leafy greens.

In the world of forestry, understanding how densely packed trees are in a given area is crucial for effective forest management. However, traditional methods for measuring this ‘stand density’ have limitations. Now, a new approach developed by an independent researcher offers a more nuanced and accurate way to assess forest density across different species and environments.

Understanding the dynamics of Earth’s ancient climate is an important avenue of research. By examining past climate variability, we can improve our understanding of natural climate cycles and factors influencing current climate change. Dr Yassine Ait Brahim of the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) in Morocco worked with colleagues to analyse isotopic data recovered from cave mineral deposits in Northwest Africa. This exciting research is focused on the precipitation history of the Sahara Desert, which, perhaps astonishingly, had periods of vegetation cover and mega-lakes.

Ecohydrological systems comprised of soil, water and vegetation are intricately connected, and changes in one component can trigger feedback mechanisms throughout the network. Understanding how these complex interactions occur and propagate is challenging. To address this, Dr Allison Goodwell and Professor Praveen Kumar from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have characterised information flow — a mathematical concept initially developed for communication systems — to better quantify and understand these interactions. Their research offers new insights into ecosystem responses, evolving precipitation patterns, and ecohydrological models, advancing our understanding of environmental dynamics.

Essential oils (EO) are potent in enhancing plant stress responses and mitigating seed-borne diseases, particularly in high-value crops such as tomatoes. While their direct impacts are recognised, the indirect influences on plant growth, metabolism, and immune responses against phytopathogens remain uncertain. Dr Marta Berrocal-Lobo, an esteemed Associate Professor and researcher at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, in collaboration with the Group of Biopesticides led by Dr Azucena Gonzalez-Coloma, is unravelling the transcriptomic and metabolic responses of tomato seeds treated with an antifungal EO against the pathogen Fusarium oxysporum sp. Their findings pave the way for harnessing EO in sustainable agriculture.

Buildings play a significant role in our global energy consumption, accounting for one-third of the total energy used worldwide. Unfortunately, they are also responsible for nearly 40% of carbon dioxide emissions generated annually. To combat climate change, address energy scarcity, and achieve net-zero carbon goals, focusing on sustainable renewable energy and energy-efficient building technologies is key. Dr Praveen Cheekatamarla of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working with his colleagues to advance energy-efficient and decarbonisation technologies. Their work is critical in tackling these challenges and analysing innovative solutions.

The Snake River in the northwestern United States was once home to abundant populations of Chinook salmon. However, the building of hydropower dams has led to a dramatic drop in their numbers and puzzling changes in their migratory behaviour. Dr Charles Coutant and other biologists in the region embarked on a mission to uncover exactly how these dams are interfering with the crucial downstream journey of young Chinook salmon. His creative approach, drawing on knowledge from many different fields, has revealed a hidden culprit that may be throwing these fish off course.

The Snake River in the northwestern United States was once home to abundant populations of Chinook salmon. However, the building of hydropower dams has led to a dramatic drop in their numbers and puzzling changes in their migratory behaviour. Dr Charles Coutant and other biologists in the region embarked on a mission to uncover exactly how these dams are interfering with the crucial downstream journey of young Chinook salmon. His creative approach, drawing on knowledge from many different fields, has revealed a hidden culprit that may be throwing these fish off course.

Sufficient water of good quality is vital for humankind and nature. A growing global population increases the demand for water of suitable quality. In addition, climate change and increases in extreme weather events, such as droughts and heatwaves, directly affect the availability, quality, and use of water. These three factors – availability, quality, and use – interact in complex ways. Prof. Dr. Michelle van Vliet at Utrecht University is pioneering our understanding of the drivers of clean water scarcity under global change and proposing solutions to this. With her team, she focuses on the challenge of ensuring sufficient water of suitable quality to meet human demands and ensuring healthy ecosystems in our changing world.

Microplastics are tiny pollutants threatening our oceans and marine life. Current approaches to detect them are time-consuming and expensive. Oceanographers Dr Jennifer Brandon and Dr Christopher Verlinden from Applied Ocean Sciences (AOS) in the USA have developed a game-changing sensor that can swiftly detect and analyse microplastics, cutting through the existing time and cost barriers.

The proliferation of single-use plastics, particularly polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), presents a significant environmental challenge. Of the 300-400 million tons of plastic produced annually, up to 80% is discarded, often ending up in landfills or polluting our oceans. This not only creates severe environmental hazards but also represents a massive waste of chemical energy, equivalent to approximately 3.5 billion barrels of oil yearly. In response to this challenge, Dr Kenneth Poeppelmeier of Northwestern University and his team are pioneering an innovative approach to upcycle these plastics using catalytic hydrogenolysis.

The worldwide loss of coastal oyster reefs negatively affects many organisms that rely on reefs for refuge from predators. Dr Keith Walters and his team at Coastal Carolina University created a series of reefs along the northern South Carolina shoreline using recycled oyster shells from local restaurants. Their investigations of differences in physical characteristics and predator-prey dynamics on newly created and existing natural reefs document that within a year, reef restoration provided a functional habitat for reef-reliant species, quickly reestablishing a key oyster reef ecosystem service.

Animal food products are a vital component of the global diet, and the question of how to sustainably provide meat, milk, eggs, and fibre to an increasing world population has become a hot topic. Animal agriculture can impact the environment through pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and the intensive use of resources such as energy and water. The National Animal Nutrition Program (NANP) Summit Committee gathered experts to share advancements in the sustainable farming of various animals used in food production and to explore the impact of climate change and the sustainability of animal agriculture.

Meat and dairy provide nutrients and proteins necessary for our survival, and remain key food sources in a rapidly growing global population. The National Animal Nutrition Program Summit Committee gathered global experts to share advancements in animal nutrition and sustainable farming to explore a range of topics related to sustainable agriculture, including emissions, feed sustainability, the nutritional benefits of animal products, laboratory-grown meat, and food security.

Sewage is usually treated in large, centralised facilities or local on-site septic systems. The latter can involve lower costs and energy requirements, although we must ensure that on-site options such as septic systems do not negatively impact the surrounding ecosystem. Dr William Robertson from the University of Waterloo, Canada, investigates the removal of polluting nutrients from wastewater before it is released into the environment. He has shown that a conventional septic system can provide long-term and sustainable contaminant removal from wastewater.

Particulate matter in the atmosphere affects air quality, which can impact visibility, our health, and the climate. Since amendments to the 1990 Clean Air Act in the United States, decreases in particulates derived from anthropogenic emissions have been achieved. Dr Jenny Hand from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere has utilised a monitoring network across the United States to define seasonal and regional trends in atmospheric particulate matter from 2000 through 2021, identify their sources, and critically, make recommendations for future target emission reductions.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps the sun’s heat. It can be added to the atmosphere when gas bubbles escape aquatic sediments and rise through an overlying water column. The controls on gas bubble escape and ascent are not fully understood and require further investigation. Dr Regina Katsman from the University of Haifa has conducted numerical modelling investigating the effects of varying water body conditions on the patterns of ascent of methane gas bubbles.

Climate change is making extreme weather more frequent in the UK, creating challenging conditions for farmers. Mr Nigel Jenner is Chief Technical Advisor at Avalon Fresh Limited and has a long history of advising farmers on how to get the best from their crops. He is leading a project to explore how novel microbial treatments can increase resilience in apple crops in an effort to reduce the substantial losses faced by the apple growers in Kent and Medway in the UK.