news 2023

A new way to monitor the flow of rivers from satellites could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk. A new way to monitor the flow of rivers from satellites could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk, scientists say. University of Glasgow researchers have developed the first method of measuring the speed of river flows by analysing video footage captured from orbit.

Humans have wiped out around 1,400 bird species - twice as many as previously thought - with major implications for the ongoing biodiversity crisis, a new study involving UCL researchers has found. Many of the world's islands were previously untouched paradises, but the arrival of people to places like Hawaii, Tonga and the Azores led to far-reaching impacts including deforestation, overhunting and the introduction of invasive species.

Laundry bag for capturing microplastics released from synthetic textile products. Microfiber pollution. Environmental awareness. Our clothes are contributing to hundreds of thousands of tonnes of microfibres being released into the environment. Not enough is currently known about the impact this is having.

The emissions pathways of most companies in high-emitting sectors are not aligned with the climate targets of the Paris Agreement. To better contribute to national and global sustainability efforts, corporate behaviour must change. This is the main message of a new study by Imperial College Business School published in Nature Communications.

A new study, by an international team of scientists, has found the presence of seabirds on islands near to tropical reefs helps corals to 'bounce back' much quicker from bleaching events. Bleaching can cause mass die off of corals when seas are too hot. The research, led by Lancaster University, with support from the University of Southampton, shows that this accelerated recovery is a result of faster coral growth near seabird colonies.

New genetic research has revealed how British otters were able to recover from species loss in the 1950s with the help of their counterparts from Asia. Using genome sequencing data, a team from Cardiff University's Otter Project showed that much of the genetic diversity of British otters was lost when chemical pollution led to severe population declines in the 1950-1970s.

Levels of banned chemicals in UK-stranded orcas are 30 times over the toxic threshold, uncovers new research. Levels of banned chemicals in UK-stranded orcas are 30 times over the toxic threshold, uncovers new research. The finding is just one alarming discovery from the investigation into the scale at which chemical pollution threatens the future of marine mammals.

The world's first transatlantic flight run on 100% sustainable aviation fuel is taking off today from London Heathrow, bound for New York. The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 flight, which is taking off on 28 November 2023 from London Heathrow (LHR) to New York John F Kennedy Airport (JFK), is the first to showcase the feasibility of flying on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over such a distance.

Highway tunnel in mountain. Traffic on the road. Transportation from above. Cars as a source of air pollution. Existing consumption and production systems, which use natural resources to meet societal needs for food, shelter, energy and health, are unsustainable. Although researchers from different disciplines have long investigated how these systems can become more sustainable, scientists from socio-technical and socio-environmental research communities are now seeking to join forces.

Researchers hoping to rebrand a marine pest as a nutritious food have developed the world's first system of farming shipworms, which they have renamed 'Naked Clams'. Naked Clams taste like oysters, they're highly nutritious and they can be produced with a really low impact on the environment. Dr David Willer These long, white saltwater clams are the world's fastest-growing bivalve and can reach 30cm long in just six months.

Heat transferring from the surface to the deep ocean in the North Atlantic helped reduce climate swings during the last 1,000 years, according to a newly published paper led by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and UCL. The paper, published in Science , presents records from North Atlantic sediments that allowed the researchers to investigate temperature changes in the surface and deep ocean throughout the last 1,200 years.

Delayed action on climate change is costing lives and livelihoods, with people exposed to dangerously high temperatures and predictions of a 4.7-fold increase in heat related deaths by mid-century, finds the latest Lancet Countdown report led by UCL researchers. The 2023 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change delivers a concerning health stocktake, with new global projections revealing the grave and mounting threat to human health as a result of climate inaction.

A new study by the University of Southampton has been launched to assess the relationship between measures aimed at enhancing ship energy efficiency and underwater radiated noise emissions. The report was commissioned by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) to highlight the synergy between the two as ships move through the water.

A floating, solar-powered device that can turn contaminated water or seawater into clean hydrogen fuel and purified water, anywhere in the world, has been developed by researchers. These are the sorts of solutions we will need to develop a truly circular economy and sustainable future Erwin Reisner The device, developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge, could be useful in resource-limited or off-grid environments, since it works with any open water source and does not require any outside power.

Faster warming in the Arctic will be responsible for a global 2C temperature rise being reached eight years earlier than if the region was warming at the average global rate, according to a new modelling study led by UCL researchers. The Arctic is currently warming nearly four times faster than the global average rate.

People are beginning to reconsider their reproductive decisions due to complex concerns about climate change, with many choosing to forego childbearing, or reduce the number of children they have as a result, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published in PLOS Climate , is the first systematic review to explore how and why climate change-related concerns may be impacting reproductive decision-making.

Some barnacles are 'morphing' to protect themselves from predatory warm-water sea snails, which are expanding into their territory due to climate change. Research led by the University of Southampton and published in the Journal of Biogeography shows how temperate prey species are adapting to changing water temperatures, which carry the threat of warm-water predators encroaching into their territory.

Stratospheric clouds over the Arctic may explain the differences seen between the polar warming calculated by climate models and actual recordings, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and UNSW Sydney. Our study shows the value of increasing the detail of climate models where we can Deepashree Dutta The Earth's average surface temperature has increased drastically since the start of the Industrial Revolution, but the warming effect seen at the poles is even more exaggerated.

Academics at the University of Glasgow's School of Social & Environmental Sustainability have contributed to the world's first mapping of climate change adaptation, which finds that systematic networking has been insufficient. Academics at the University of Glasgow's School of Social & Environmental Sustainability have contributed to the world's first mapping of peer-reviewed literature on climate change adaptation, which finds that systematic networking has been insufficient.

Research by Cardiff University has shown that the warmer, wetter winters in the UK caused by climate change are likely to impact the stability of insect populations in streams. The research, spanning four decades, has demonstrated that stream insects are affected by warmer, wetter winters caused by fluctuating climate over the Atlantic Ocean.