wetlands

Credit: Ethan D. Kyzivat When it comes to greenhouse gases, methane is one the biggest contributors. Not only is it massively abundant—it's about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. That makes tracking methane emissions critically important, and nowhere more so than in the Arctic, which is now the fastest…

A salt marsh in Barnstable, Massachusetts, shows signs of erosion and drowning as the sea level rises (December 2, 2022). Credit: Erin Peck Amid climate change, large dam removal projects have gained attention as a solution to the loss of coastal wetlands that reduce flooding, filter water, and provide wildlife habitat. But in a paper appearing in Science, researchers conclude that this strategy won't work in most U.S. rivers.…

Weltands boost flood storage capacity and promote the preservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. Credit: Tulane University Adding multiple smaller wetlands to the landscape can make large reservoirs more effective at flood control, according to a new study from Tulane University published in Environmental Research Letters. …

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court on Thursday limited federal protection for millions of acres of U.S. wetlands, ruling for property rights over clean water.In a 5-4 decision, the court said the Clean Water Act does not forbid developing marshy areas or dry creek beds because water does not flow regularly and directly from them into a river, lake or bay. Since the 1970s, the law has broadly protected wetlands from development because they help improve water quality and because dredge material can pollute rivers and bays.…

Some salt marshes have kept pace with sea level rise over the past century while others have foundered, according to new research in Earth’s Future. The study is the first to measure and compare wetland growth rates across much of the East Coast. Credit: James Loesch/flickrSalt marshes along the U.S. East Coast have been building elevation to keep pace with rising sea levels over the last century, according to a study published in Earth’s Future. While some marshes have adapted, there is a tipping point where they will no…

The innovative sampling design was home-built for the study, enabling accurate ecosystem-scale measurements of emissions via fast response and low losses. A high flow (5000 litres per minute) through the chimney inlet enabled sampling of the sticky highly reactive organic compounds without any inlet wall losses. A 3-D sonic anemometer is mounted above the inlet to measure wind speed in all 3 directions enabling the researchers to do eddy covariance. The…

Wetland hydrologic connectivity classification. a, Four hydrologic connectivity classes: Riparian wetlands have an outlet within one 30 m pixel from a stream and bidirectional flows. The three non-riparian classes are greater than one pixel from a stream and all have unidirectional flows. NRShw have permeable and poorly drained soils on the flowpath between the wetland and downstream water. Owing to poor drainage, subsurface flows are shallow and…

Wetlands provide fresh water and habitat, and wetlands altogether contain about a third of the world's carbon. Credit: Jia Gensuo Wetlands occupy about 6% of the Earth's surface but store one-third of global soil organic carbon. Increasing evidence shows that climate warming is altering the function and service of wetland ecosystems. However, whether climate warming will stimulate wetlands to release more greenhouse gases…

A capybara in the Iberá Wetlands (Esteros del Iberá) of northeast Argentina. Credit: Kylie Nicholson/Shutterstock Like so many of the planet's natural habitats, wetlands have been systematically destroyed over the past 300 years. Bogs, fens, marshes and swamps have disappeared from maps and memory, having been drained, dug up and built on. …

Credit: CENIEH The geologist Josep M. Parés, Geochronology and Geology Program Coordinator at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), is the lead author of a paper published in the journal Geobios about the first geochronological data for the sediments of Aïn Beni Mathar-Guefaït Basin (in the province of Jerada), to the north of the Moroccan Atlas, obtained using magnetostratigraphy and…