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Tag Archives: carbon dioxide

Fungi as carbon keepers

By Stephen Ornes / April 11, 2013

A recent study of forested Swedish islands found that tiny fungi in the soil store most of the carbon found in the forest floor. Credit: Photo courtesy of Karina Clemmensen

A common type of fungus stores most of a forest floor’s carbon underground

Posted in Environment & Pollution, Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged carbon, carbon dioxide, ecology, Erik Hobbie, fungus, getinvolved, global warming, greenhouse gas, Karina Clemmensen, roots, soil, Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, trees, University of New Hampshire, Uppsala

Predators as climate helpers

By Janet Raloff / February 18, 2013

This freshwater stickleback eats the tiny animals in stream water that graze on plants and algae. This predation allows those plants and algae to collect and store carbon, rather than letting it escape into the atmosphere. Credit: Nicole Bedford, UBC

In lakes and streams, fish and insects can help protect aquatic plants that gobble up greenhouse gas

Posted in Earth & Sky, Environment & Pollution, Weather & Climate | Tagged algae, bromeliad, carbon dioxide, climate, damselfly, ecology, ecosystem, food chain, food web, getinvolved, global warming, grazers, greenhouse gases, James Estes, John Richardson, phytoplankton, ponds, predators, primary production, Santa Cruz, stickleback, stonefly, streams, topstories, Trisha Atwood, trophic levels, University of British Columbia, University of California, zooplankton

When the nose no longer knows

By Roberta Kwok / December 13, 2012

Clown fish raised in acidified waters don’t respond properly to smells. For example, they swim toward the scent of a predator instead of away from it. Credit: Simon Foale, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

Pollution can endanger aquatic animals by damaging their sense of smell

Posted in Animals | Tagged animal behavior, behavior, carbon dioxide, clown fish, CO2, copper, Danielle Dixson, dottyback, feature, fish, GABA, Göran Nilsson, James Cook University, Jen McIntyre, Kate de la Haye, Keith Tierney, neurons, nose, Ocean acidification, olfaction, Philip Munday, Plymouth University, Puyallup Research and Extension Center, rockcod, salmon, Schreckstoff, Senses, smell, topstories, University of Alberta, University of Oslo, Washington State University

Watching our seas rise

By Douglas Fox / November 8, 2012

Satellites, coral reefs, ancient Roman fishponds and sinking cities help us understand how humans are changing sea level

Posted in Weather & Climate | Tagged Antarctica, Bruce Douglas, carbon dioxide, climate, climate change, corals, El Niño, ENSO, feature, Fernando Siringan, Florida State University, Fossil fuels, glaciers, global change, global warming, greenhouse gases, Greenland, Harold Wanless, Helsinki University of Technology, hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, Jason 2, Jason-3, Jeremy Weiss, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jonathan Overpeck, Josh Willis, JPL, KAMANAVA, Martin Vermeer, meltwater, Meltwater Pulse 1A, NASA, New Orleans, NOAA, ocean height, Paul Hearty, reefs, Robert Deyle, Roman fish ponds, satellites, sea level rise, subsidence, tide gauge, topstories, University of Arizona, University of Miami, University of North Carolina, University of the Philippines

Exhaled air: A problem in buildings?

By Janet Raloff / October 30, 2012

Classrooms are one environment where carbon dioxide levels can be high. They’re also one of the last places anyone would want to risk harming reasoning abilities and thought processes. Credit: iStockphoto

New studies suggest carbon dioxide that accumulates in classrooms could limit how well the brain processes information, lead to more student absences

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged air pollutant, air pollution, air quality, Architectural Energy Corp., brain, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, carbon dioxide, CO2, cognition, concentration, decision making, Environmental Health Perspectives, exhale, getinvolved, indoor air, László Kajtár, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Mark Mendell, office buildings, Roger Hedrick, room air, school absences, schools, sickness, topstories, ventilation, William Fisk

Sniffing for bad air

By Sid Perkins / September 14, 2012

The air quality in many classrooms is unhealthy, due to poor ventilation. But simple solutions such as opening a window can help get rid of bad air. Credit: i_love_zou_york/iStockphoto

Handheld carbon dioxide sensor can help identify classrooms with unhealthy ventilation rates

Posted in Chemistry | Tagged American Chemical Society, Architectural Energy Corporation, ASHRAE, carbon dioxide, classrooms, Earth’s atmosphere, getinvolved, headache, indoor air quality, Jack Driscoll, PID Analyzers, Roger Hedrick, sensors, sleepiness, topstories, ventilation, VOCs, volatile organic chemicals

Iron versus climate change

By Roberta Kwok / August 9, 2012

A tiny organism called a diatom can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and carry the carbon to the bottom of the ocean. Credit: Marina Montresor, SZN / Alfred Wegener Institute.

Metal deposits can promote the growth of ocean algae that gobble greenhouse gas

Posted in Earth | Tagged algae, bacteria/protists/fungi, carbon dioxide, climate change, diatom, Diatoms, energetics, getinvolved, global warming, iron, iron fertilization, nature, oceanography, photosynthesis, silica, southern ocean

Sea changes

By Stephen Ornes / April 7, 2011

Blue patches indicate parts of the ocean that are more acidic than the yellow and red areas. Stars show coral reefs, which can lose their skeletons in more acidic water.

Carbon dioxide is making the oceans more acidic

Posted in Earth | Tagged acid, acids and bases, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide, chem of life, climate change, coral reefs, ecology, Fossil fuels, invertebrates, Marine snail, Ocean, Ocean acidification, pH, sea changes, solutions, water

The carbon dioxide coral generation

By Stephen Ornes / November 22, 2010

More acidic oceans could mean fewer young corals

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged acid, carbon dioxide, coral reefs, Ocean acidification

Getting the dirt on carbon

By Susan Gaidos / March 3, 2009

The circle of life continues thanks to the carbon cycle

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged carbon, carbon cycle, carbon dioxide, Decomposers, ecology, photosynthesis

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