Tag Environment
Clouds, like blankets, trap heat and are melting the Greenland Ice Sheet
A new study shows clouds are playing a larger role in heating the Greenland Ice Sheet than scientists previously believed, raising its temperature by 2 to 3 degrees compared to cloudless skies.
Between soil and snow
Professors Jonathan Pauli and Benjamin Zuckerberg explain the subnivium — habitat between the ground and winter snow cover that is being affected by climate change.
Bird habitat changing quickly as climate change proceeds
The climatic conditions needed by 285 species of land birds in the United States have moved rapidly between 1950 and 2011 as a result of…
Study finds people transformed how species associated after 300 million years
The researchers found a surprising and very recent shift away from the steady relationship among species.
Greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater higher than thought
Do not underestimate the babbling brook. When it comes to greenhouse gases, these bucolic water bodies have the potential to create a lot of hot air.
Small landscape changes can mean big freshwater gains
A typical bird's-eye view of the Midwest offers a patchwork landscape covered mostly by agriculture but mottled with forest, wetland, grassland, buildings and pavement. This pattern influences the quality and supply of the many natural benefits the landscape provides people, including freshwater.
Ph.D. student wins Germany’s Green Talents Award
Samuel Zipper, a Ph.D. student in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Freshwater and Marine Sciences Program, is the only American among 27 up-and-coming scientists from around…
Moving fast to study nitrate in the Mississippi, algae in Mendota
The Mississippi River has long had its explorers. From de Soto to Marquette, Lewis and Clark to Clemens, the fourth largest river in the world has for centuries inspired enchantment.
Embrace the chaos: Predictable ecosystems may be more fragile
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says managing our environment for predictable outcomes is risky. In fact, more often than not, it backfires.
Heat waves hit heat islands hardest
Extreme summers like that of 2012 - which saw record temperatures in cities across the U.S. - may be atypical, but experts say they will return, especially as the planet warms under climate change. And as they do, cities will be especially vulnerable.
Experts help Green Bay establish new island chain to benefit shipping and wildlife
A partnership between the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the shipping industry and other organizations to restore a chain of islands in Green Bay is, literally, for the birds.
Communities have turned to water resources program for 50 years
Lake Marion is a shallow sliver of a lake on the edge of Mazomanie, Wisconsin. Created in the 1850s by a dam that fed a nearby mill, the lake has become a valuable aquatic habitat and a popular bass fishing spot for locals.
Researchers study Wisconsin’s deepest natural lake to help preserve ‘an ecological jewel’
UW-Madison researchers have teamed up with community leaders to analyze Green Lake, Wisconsin's deepest natural inland lake and a crucial habitat for lake trout and other cold water species.
A new kind of wood chip: collaboration could lead to biodegradable computer chips
In an effort to alleviate the environmental burden of electronic devices, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers has collaborated with researchers in the Madison-based U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) to develop a surprising solution: a semiconductor chip made almost entirely of wood.
Starved for fire, Wisconsin’s pine barrens disappear
A century spent treating wildfires as emergencies to be stamped out may have cost Central Wisconsin a natural setting that was common and thriving before the state was settled.
Tolerance of wolves in Wisconsin continues to decline
Wolf. The very word can conjure an image of a venerable pack of canines passing quietly through moonlit woods. Or, it can evoke anger over livestock lost at the jaws of a hungry predator.
Brazilian beef industry moves to reduce its destruction of rain forests
Expansion of cattle pastures has led to the destruction of huge swaths of rain forest in Brazil, home to the world's largest herd of commercial beef cattle. But a new study led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Holly Gibbs shows that market-driven "zero deforestation agreements" have dramatically influenced the behavior of ranchers and the slaughterhouses to which they sell.
Bigger bang for your buck: Restoring fish habitat by removing barriers
A few years ago, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Limnology created the first map of all the road crossings and dams blocking the tributary rivers that feed the five Great Lakes. These tributaries serve as migratory highways, providing fish like walleye and lake sturgeon access to headwater breeding grounds.
Engineered softwood could transform pulp, paper and biofuel industries
Scientists have demonstrated the potential for softwoods to process more easily into pulp and paper if engineered to incorporate a key feature of hardwoods. The finding, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could improve the economics of the pulp, paper and biofuels industries and reduce those industries' environmental impact.
‘My Earth’ energy-tracking app encourages sustainable behaviors
For a generation motivated by technology and fast-moving information, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has created an energy-tracking app to make reducing day-to-day energy usage more accessible.