A new analysis of old Cassini data has also verified past detections of complex organics in Saturn’s E ring, strengthening the chemical ties between the ring and its progenitor.
water
The Role of a Ditch in the Matrix
These constructed waterways are often a “no-man’s-land” between terrestrial scientists and limnologists. But ditches’ role in transport, agriculture, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and even archaeology means it’s time to take a closer look.
Microplastics Have Widely Varying Effects on Soil
A new study finds that a microplastic concentration of just 0.4% alters the drainage of soil, which could affect the growth of crops and other plants.
Move Over, Beavers. Dinosaurs Might Also Have Been Nature’s Engineers
Late Cretaceous dinosaurs may have cut back vegetation, creating large floodplains. When the asteroid hit, those floodplains became forests, a new study argues.
What Makes Beaver Ponds Bigger?
For the first time, researchers are able to add hydrologic estimates to find where reintroducing beavers could best benefit a watershed and the humans who live within it.
Waterworks on Tree Stems: The Wonders of Stemflow
Stemflow hydrodynamics offers rich physics that seeks to describe water and matter cycling within the atmosphere-biosphere-geosphere with implications for water resources planning.
Why Crop Yield Decreases at High Temperatures
Scientists find that water stress drives the connection between surface temperature and crop yield loss, providing information to help improve predictions of agricultural productivity under climate change.
Pollution from Wildfires Can Contaminate Our Water for up to 8 Years, Study Finds
An analysis of 500 watersheds found levels of organic carbon, phosphorus, and other pollutants up to 103 times higher after a wildfire.
Water Tracks: The Veins of Thawing Landscapes
Tracing and tracking change in permafrost flowpaths could reveal the dynamics of warming poles.
Scientists Spot Sputtering on Mars
Nearly a decade’s worth of data went into the first direct observation of sputtering on Mars, which researchers believe contributed to the loss of the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
