New long-term data from a permafrost monitoring site in Healy, Alaska, suggest it was a net carbon source to the atmosphere at least since 2004 and, under current climate conditions as the region grows warmer, will continue to be one, potentially losing up to a fifth of all carbon stored… Read more
atmosphere
Innovative greenhouse gas detection software to help cities improve air quality
Professor Kevin Gurney of NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems is building a detailed three-dimensional map of the urban Washington, D.C. area that will reveal every source of greenhouse gas being emitted into the atmosphere down to individual buildings, like the Pentagon, and roads such as Pennsylvania Ave.… Read more
NAU scientists, national partners win $3.3 million to study microbes’ role in a changing world
If the fate of carbon is a test that planet Earth is taking right now, one of the answer keys is likely to be found in soil, where microorganisms—which account for nearly 15 percent of global biomass, by some estimates—eat, store and respire carbon and other nutrients. As Earth warms, how these microbes change the way they live will have potentially big consequences for where the carbon goes.
Now, a team… Read more
NAU astrophysicist leads international team in ‘unprecedented’ discovery of unique infrared light signature on Neptune’s moon Triton
Triton orbits Neptune, the eighth planet from the Sun, some 2.7 billion miles from Earth — at the cold outer fringe of our Solar System’s major planet zone. Surface temperatures hover near absolute zero; so low that common… Read more
Excavating a climate report from the past: NAU geology team joins multidisciplinary study to investigate ancient warming event
As the climate changes, extreme weather and flooding are intensifying and occurring more frequently worldwide. Scientists believe that by studying warming events in Earth’s past, they can better understand how the current warming trend is triggering other changes to the environment.
As part of a large, multidisciplinary study involving eight institutions and… Read more
Protecting future generations: NAU scientists study Arctic community’s exposure to toxic pollutants
St. Lawrence Island, just south of the Bering Strait in Arctic Alaska, is one of the most isolated places on the planet. Wild, mountainous and remote, the island is inhabited by 1,600 indigenous Yupik Eskimos who subsist by hunting and fishing.
Although the island’s natural environment may appear pristine, residents are exposed to high levels of persistent organic pollutants—toxic chemicals that remain in the… Read more