‘Plastic pollution hotspots’ spawn a public health crisis across Latin America - news - Mongabay

Peat reef habitat fauna, a bluebanded snapper. Researchers from the Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS) Ocean Observatory have documented ancient forests that grew on the Mozambican coast thousands of years ago and have been found beneath the sea, where they now serve as hotspots teeming with marine life similar in biodiversity to coral reefs. The discovery raises the question of how many more of these hidden peat reefs exist around the world's coastlines and how to evaluate them as a carbon store and develop policies to protect them and their biodiversity. The paper in Scientific Reports published by the BCSS Ocean Observatory, working in collaboration with researchers from U.

A team of Russian scientists has charted water-rich deposits on Mars in unprecedented detail, uncovering around 30 "water oases" after analyzing eight years of data from the FREND neutron detector aboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. Two new concentrations of water-bearing minerals were identified, with estimated water content reaching 30 percent, up from 20 percent in the latest mappingScientists detected readings suggesting water content approaching 100 percent, though this does not confirm the presence of pure ice on the surface. The area explored by NASA's Curiosity rover is among the promising locations highlighted in the new mapThe number of known water-rich zones has risen from 23 to roughly 30. The new map could help future human missions locate water on Mars — both to produce oxygen for breathing and to generate hydrogen for rocket fuel. The findings were presented at the 17th Moscow Solar System Symposium.