Scientists have developed new geochemical tracers that can identify hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids that have been spilled or released into the environment. The tracers have been field-tested at a spill site in West Virginia and downstream from an oil and gas brine wastewater treatment plant in Pennsylvania. “By characterizing the isotopic and geochemical fingerprints of […]
The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought in California are very likely linked to human-caused climate change, researchers report. Climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh of Stanford University and colleagues used a novel combination of computer simulations and statistical techniques to show that a persistent region of high atmospheric pressure over the Pacific Ocean–one that diverted […]
Little was known about how much mercury in the environment was the result of human activities, or how much “bioavailable” mercury was in the world’s oceans. Until now. The first direct calculation of mercury pollution in the world’s oceans, based on data from 12 oceanographic sampling cruises during the last eight years, is reported in […]