By Hannah Richter , Science.  Excerpt: ...proposals to cool the planet through “geoengineering” tend to be controversial. ...In a modeling study published this month in Geophysical Research Letters, scientists report that  shooting 5 million tons of diamond dust into the stratosphere each year could cool the planet by 1.6ºC —enough to stave off the worst consequences of global warming. The scheme wouldn’t be cheap, however: experts estimate it would cost nearly $200 trillion over the remainder of this century—far more than traditional proposals to use sulfur particles....  Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/are-diamonds-earth-s-best-friend-gem-dust-could-cool-planet-and-cost-trillions .

By Grace van Deelen , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Just a spoonful of ocean water is home to millions of microbes—tiny, single-celled organisms that play crucial roles in the ocean’s biogeochemical processes. A new study in  Science   illuminates which organic particles these microbes prefer to munch on, aiding scientists’ understanding of how carbon moves through the ocean on a larger scale. ...The movement of carbon from the surface of the ocean to depth, known as the biological carbon pump, helps control the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Microbes are key to this system, as they degrade organic particles as they consume them. That process releases carbon. ...The study investigated how microbes break down lipids—carbon-containing molecules that make up around 20% of organic particles in the ocean. Scientists know that some lipids reach the deep ocean, whereas others are degraded along the way. The team wanted to learn what factors might influence lipids’ fate. ...T...

By Rebecca Owen , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Every few years, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ), a seasonal climate phenomenon, disrupts global weather for periods of 9–12 months at a time. During an ENSO event, trade winds die down, allowing warmer water to circulate through the Pacific Ocean and creating unpredictable, extreme weather patterns around the world. While some locations experience heavy rainfall, others experience extreme drought and heat waves. ...About  252 million years ago , however, El Niño–like conditions may have persisted for decades at a time, a new  study  suggests. The volatile climate and extended ocean warming associated with this climate pattern may be pieces of the puzzle of what caused the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history, the Permian-Triassic extinction event, also known as the “ Great Dying .” During this period, it would have been impossible for plants and animals to endure decades-long swings in climate conditions. Most lif...

By Eromo Egbejule  and agencies , The Guardian.  Excerpt: More than year’s worth of rain fell in two days in south-east Morocco, filling up lake that had been dry for decades. Dramatic pictures have emerged of the first floods in the Sahara in half a century. ...flooding in Morocco  killed 18 people  last month....  Full article at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/11/dramatic-images-show-the-first-floods-in-the-sahara-in-half-a-century . 

By Sarah Shemkus, Energy News Network .  Excerpt: More than seven years after New Hampshire regulators first approved the idea of using community solar to create savings for low-income households, electric bill discounts are finally on the horizon for the first batch of participants. ...Community solar is widely considered an important strategy for extending the benefits of renewable energy to people unable to take advantage of rooftop solar. Nationally, some two-thirds of households can’t install solar panels, generally because they don’t own their home, don’t have a suitable roof, or can’t afford the cost of the array, said Kate Daniel, Northeast regional director for the Coalition for Community Solar Access....  Full article at https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2024/10/11/new-hampshires-low-income-community-solar-program-is-finally-nearing-the-starting-line/ .

By Stephanie E. Hampton , et al, Science.  Editor's Summary: More than half a billion people live near lakes that freeze over in the winter. However, lakes are rapidly losing winter ice cover in response to warming, and the rate of loss has accelerated over the past 25 years. Hampton  et al . reviewed the state of seasonal ice cover on lakes and discuss some of the consequences of its disappearance. Ice loss will affect culture, economy, water quality, fisheries, and biodiversity, as well as weather and climate. —Jesse Smith.  Full article at https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl3211 . 

By Pieter Sanczuk , et al, Science.  Abstract: Climate change is commonly assumed to induce species’ range shifts toward the poles. Yet, other environmental changes may affect the geographical distribution of species in unexpected ways. Here, we quantify multidecadal shifts in the distribution of European forest plants and link these shifts to key drivers of forest biodiversity change: climate change, atmospheric deposition (nitrogen and sulfur), and forest canopy dynamics. Surprisingly, westward distribution shifts were 2.6 times more likely than northward ones. Not climate change, but nitrogen-mediated colonization events, possibly facilitated by the recovery from past acidifying deposition, best explain westward movements. Biodiversity redistribution patterns appear complex and are more likely driven by the interplay among several environmental changes than due to the exclusive effects of climate change alone.  Full article at https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scienc...