Oysters are one of the world’s most important seafood products, with farms producing about seven million metric tons each year. Now, researchers have unlocked the complete genetic code of a special hybrid oyster, providing a valuable tool that could help improve how these shellfish are farmed. The study, published in Scientific Data, presents the first […]
Large Ice Sheets Existed Much Earlier Than Scientists Thought
Scientists have long reconstructed the extent of ancient ice sheets by analyzing chemical signatures in seafloor sediments. The traditional view held that the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets started small about 3 million years ago and gradually grew larger over time, reaching their maximum extent only in the last 800,000 years. This progression seemed to explain […]
Ocean Currents Act Like Underwater Highways, Delivering Food to Antarctic Wildlife
In Antarctica’s frigid waters, tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill are the foundation of the entire ocean food web, feeding everything from penguins to whales. But how do these krill—and the microscopic plants they eat—end up in the right place at the right time? A new study reveals that ocean currents act like invisible highways, concentrating […]
Meltwater Pools on Greenland’s Ice Are Speeding Up Melting More Than Expected
Thousands of small pools and streams of melted water sitting on top of Greenland’s massive ice sheet are absorbing more heat from the sun than scientists previously realized, according to new research. This discovery means the ice sheet could be melting faster than current models predict, which has important implications for rising sea levels. Åsa […]
Scientists Meet in Cape Town to Plan Future Climate Intervention Research
Scientists around the world are studying different ways we might respond to climate change, including controversial approaches called solar radiation modification (SRM), which aims to reflect some of the sun’s energy back to space to cool the Earth. To better understand how these approaches might work, researchers need to run complex computer simulations using climate […]
Using AI to Better Monitor Rising Seas and Flood Risks
Coastal communities are on the frontlines of climate change. Rising seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding put homes, infrastructure, and lives at risk, especially social and economically vulnerable communities, such as Puerto Rico. A new study published in Scientific Reports introduces an innovative, AI-powered framework to track and analyze coastal water levels in places […]
Cool Roofs Offer Hope Against Extreme Heat in Rural Africa
As the planet warms, communities around the world are looking for simple, affordable ways to stay safe in rising temperatures. In rural Burkina Faso, where homes can be up to 10 degrees hotter inside than the air outside, residents face dangerous heat nearly all year round. A new study, published in BMC Public Health, explored […]
Keeping Oyster and Clam Farms Safe from Disease
A new study in Aquaculture looked at how tiny oysters and clams (called seed) can carry diseases when moved between hatcheries and farms. The authors wanted to find out which life stages are most at risk, and how careful water treatment can help protect both farmed and wild shellfish. David Bushek, an affiliate of the […]
What Happens When Wind Farms Get Old?
As more wind farms around the world get older, big decisions need to be made: should they keep running, be upgraded with new parts, or be shut down completely? Answering these questions requires accurate assessments of their reliability—how frequently failures occur and how costly those failures are. A new study in the journal Wind Energy […]
RCEI Scholars Discuss Challenges to EPA’s Endangerment Finding and Rapid Responses by the Scientific Community
On September 29, the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute (RCEI), in collaboration with the Department of Human Ecology, hosted a forum at which Rutgers experts discussed recent U.S. government-led efforts to repeal greenhouse gas regulations in the United States and the scientific community’s rapid responses to these efforts. The forum featured RCEI affiliates, William Hallman, Distinguished […]
