All articles tagged with #sediments
A new PLOS Biology study shows fungi in Arctic fjord waters and sediments play a significant role in storing carbon by taking up dissolved amino acids and converting organic matter into biomass, challenging the idea that bacteria dominate marine carbon cycling and highlighting fungi as key agents of carbon sequestration in fragile Arctic ecosystems.
A seismic study using data from hundreds of stations finds thick, soft sediments beneath Greenland’s ice bed, enabling faster glacier movement than hard rock; the bed’s patchy distribution could speed ice loss and alter sea‑level forecasts, highlighting the need for denser bed mapping and integrated meltwater–flow models.
The presence of microplastics in lake sediments, often used to determine the onset of the Anthropocene, is proving to be an unreliable marker as researchers have found that plastic particles can infiltrate deep into older sediments, muddying the ability to accurately date the start of the geological age marking human impact on the environment. The study, published in Science Advances, revealed that microplastics, including biodegradable plastics, have migrated into sediments dating back more than 200 years, challenging the use of microplastics as precise markers for defining the Anthropocene.
Scientists suggest that an ancient mud lake in the Hydraotes Chaos region of Mars could be a promising site to search for evidence of past life. Unlike the vast flood channels in other sediment-rich regions, the mud lake's flat basin simplifies exploration and is more directly connected to Mars' subsurface, where habitability may have persisted longer than on the surface. The region's age of one billion years increases the chances of finding intact biomolecules, as they would not have been exposed on the surface for as long. While there are currently no plans for a mission to this specific region, researchers have identified a potential landing site for future exploration.