Chicago’s streets aren’t only cooled by trees. Any greenery helps beat the heat, a new Geophysical Research Letters study finds. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Bert Kaufmann
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Featured Research
All greenery, not only trees, helps reduce heat in Chicago
Tree cover is a well-established cooling mechanism for urban areas. New analysis of on-the-ground temperature measurements finds that while trees do significantly cool Chicago streets, other kinds of vegetation help bring down the heat, too. [Geophysical Research Letters study]
Both indoor and outdoor air quality affected by Indonesian peat fires
Peatland fires are common in some parts of Indonesia due to peat swamp drainage. Measurements from a network of air quality sensors reveal similar outdoor and indoor PM2.5 levels during the dry fire season, suggesting that retreating indoors may not help those suffering under poor air quality. [GeoHealth study]
The Sun’s magnetic field helped shape distant corners of the early solar system
Did the Sun’s magnetic field reach the far edges of the solar system three million years ago? New evidence from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu, coupled with samples from three meteorites, says that the Sun’s magnetic field could have changed how mass accreted more than 650 million miles out from the center of the solar system. [AGU Advances study]
Air pollution tied to arthritis prevalence in China
Air pollution is associated with a variety of poor health outcomes. A new study finds that air pollution in China is correlated with the development of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and that the effect is amplified in areas without nearby greenspace. [GeoHealth study]
Smartphone map app accurately predicts cholera risk
Cholera is a water-borne illness that is endemic in some countries. A new smartphone app used population, epidemiological and environmental data to inform people in a remote region of Bangladesh of their local cholera risk, accurately estimating the risk of the disease over two years. [GeoHealth study]
How an ocean-sized lake may have formed on ancient Mars
The catastrophic collapse of Mars’s atmosphere may have melted its polar ice cap, creating an ice-covered southern sea. [Eos research spotlight] [JGR Planets study]
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