Scientists from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) have linked the frequency of extreme winter weather in the United States to Arctic temperatures.

In winter, cold water masses in the North Atlantic sink from the sea surface into the deep ocean. This process, known as convection, is one of the key components of the large-scale ocean circulation. Based on long-term observations, scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have now demonstrated the influence of increased surface freshening in summer on convection in the following winter. As the researchers write now in the international journal Nature Climate Change, enhanced surface freshening and warmer winters have significantly shortened the duration of ocean convection in the last decade.

There’s a lot more snow piling up in the mountains of North America than anyone knew, according to a first-of-its-kind study.

An international collaboration between researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Nagoya University and the University of Western Australia has resulted in a breakthrough in plant biology. Since 2014, the researchers have worked on identifying the genetic background for the improved flood tolerance observed in rice, wheat and several natural wetland plants. In a New Phytologist, article, the researchers describe the discovery of a single gene that controls the surface properties of rice, rendering the leaves superhydrophobic.

A new lightweight, low-cost agricultural robot could transform data collection and field scouting for agronomists, seed companies and farmers.

The TerraSentia crop phenotyping robot, developed by a team of scientists at the University of Illinois, will be featured at the 2018 Energy Innovation Summit Technology Showcase in National Harbor, Maryland, on March 14.

Could the LRT help reduce greenhouse effect?

A rising trend in some countries, urban rail transit systems are an alternative to freight transport through cities.

In a laboratory at the University of Rochester, researchers are using lasers to change the surface of metals in incredible ways, such as making them super water-repellent without the use of special coatings, paints, or solvents.

Researchers monitoring San Francisco Bay for algal toxins have found a surprising array of different toxins in the water and in mussels collected from the bay. Four different classes of toxins, including one produced in freshwater environments, occur regularly throughout the bay, according to a study led by UC Santa Cruz researchers and published March 10 in Harmful Algae.

Human encroachment is the leading cause of death among Ontario’s at-risk birds of prey, according to a first-ever University of Guelph study.

During the nighttime, it is hotter in the city than in nearby suburbs or the countryside. But just how much hotter differs between cities. Researchers from the MSE2 (CNRS / MIT) international joint research laboratory and the Centre Interdisciplinaire des Nanosciences de Marseille (CNRS / Aix-Marseille University)1 have shown that the determining factor is how cities are structured: more organized cities, like many in North America with straight and perpendicular streets, trap more heat. Conversely, cities that are less organized, like those founded long ago, shed heat easily. The team's findings, published in Physical Review Letters (March 9, 2018), suggest new directions to explore for optimal urban planning and energy management.