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Biomolecules on icy worlds

Featuring image: Artists impression of Hayabusa2 approaching Ryugu. Image credit: NASA/JPL, Public Domain (CC0)

Paper: Uracil in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Authors: Y. Oba, T. Koga, Y. Takano, N. O. Ogawa, N. Ohkouchi, K. Sasaki, H. Sato, D. P. Glavin, J. P. Dworkin, H. Naraoka, S. Tachibana, H. Yurimoto, T. Nakamura, T. Noguchi, R. Okazaki, H. Yabuta, K. Sakamoto, T. Yada, M. Nishimura, A. Nakato, A. Miyazaki, K. Yogata, M. Abe, T. Okada, T. Usui, M. Yoshikawa, T. Saiki, S. Tanaka, F. Terui, S. Nakazawa, S. Watanabe, Y. Tsuda and Hayabusa2-initial-analysis SOM team

Bringing a space probe to an asteroid is hard. Bringing back a piece of that asteroid to Earth is even harder. Nevertheless, Hayabusa2 successfully brought back samples from the asteroid Ryugu and gives us valuable insight on the abundance of biomolecules in our solar system.

What the Japanese space agency JAXA accomplished is extraordinary. After the successful sample return mission of Hayabusa from asteroid 25143 Itokawa in 2010, the successor mission again was able to bring us back precious, pristine asteroid material, including gas samples. In contrast to Itokawa, the new target Ryugu represents a much more pristine asteroid, chemically connected to a class of meteorites called carbonaceous chondrites. Researchers already detected the very building blocks of life, like amino acids and nucleobases, in these meteorites. The careful analysis of the Hayabusa2 samples revealed that one of the nucleobases, uracil, is also present in Ryugu.

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Nature’s Secret Weapon: How Nature-based Solutions Can Tackle Climate Change and More

Featured Image: Two striking illustrations of the river Culm catchment in the UK. Created by local artist Richard Carman, the left image shows the existing (degraded) situation, while the right image depicts a co-created nature-based solutions scenario developed in collaboration with local stakeholders, including farmers and landowners, as part of the Co-Adapt project. These illustrations provide a clear visual representation of how nature-based solutions can be used to address environmental challenges in the area.

Papers: Soil carbon sequestration impacts on global climate change and food security; Climate-smart Soils; IPCC (2014) Report on Mitigation of Climate Change; Synthesizing US River Restoration Efforts; Limited potential of no-till agriculture for climate change mitigation; Sequestering carbon in soils of agro-ecosystems; Crop Residue Removal Impacts on Soil Productivity and Environmental Quality; Towards an EU research and innovation policy agenda for nature-based solutions & re-naturing cities.

Authors: Rattan Lal, Keith Paustian, Johannes Lehmann, Stephen Ogle, David Reay, Philip G. Robertson, Pete Smith, Humberto Blanco-Canqui and more.

Are you worried about the impact of climate change on our planet and wondering what you can do to help? Look no further than nature itself, because nature-based solutions may just hold the key to mitigating its effects through soil carbon sequestration.

Climate change is an ongoing problem that poses a significant threat to our planet. Many strategies have been proposed to mitigate climate change, including renewable energy, carbon capture and storage, and nature-based solutions (NbS). Among these, NbS have gained considerable attention because they offer a range of benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating the impact of natural disasters such as floods and droughts, and improving biodiversity.

But what are NbS, and how can they help in mitigating climate change? Nature-based solutions are interventions that work with nature to address environmental challenges. These solutions involve restoring, protecting, and managing ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, and grasslands. One of the significant benefits of NbS is soil carbon sequestration, which refers to the process of capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in soil.

Soil carbon sequestration is a powerful tool to mitigate climate change because it can store carbon for decades or even centuries. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), soil carbon sequestration can reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations by up to 15% by 2050. This approach has gained traction in Europe, where various projects have been implemented to sequester carbon in soils.

For example, in the UK, the Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit is a non-profit organization that works with farmers to adopt practices that increase soil carbon levels. One such practice is the use of cover crops, which are planted between cash crops to prevent soil erosion, improve soil health, and increase carbon sequestration. According to the organization’s website, “the planting of cover crops, such as clover, can increase soil organic matter and carbon content by up to 15% over ten years.”

Similarly, in France, the 4 per 1000 initiative aims to increase soil carbon content by 0.4% per year. This initiative focuses on a range of NbS, such as agroforestry, conservation agriculture, and the use of biochar. According to a study published in the journal Nature, increasing soil carbon by 0.4% per year could offset around 3.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Soil carbon sequestration through NbS not only helps mitigate climate change but also has several co-benefits. For example, it can improve soil health, increase agricultural productivity, and reduce the risk of natural disasters such as floods and droughts. As Dr. Pauline Chivenge, a soil scientist at the University of Zimbabwe, explains:

”If we improve soil health, we can improve crop yields, and that translates into better nutrition and food security for communities”

However, it’s important to note that soil carbon sequestration alone cannot solve the climate crisis. We also need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, promote renewable energy, involve the local community and implement other sustainable practices. Nonetheless, soil carbon sequestration is an important piece of the puzzle and should be considered as part of a comprehensive climate action plan.

In conclusion, nature-based solutions such as soil carbon sequestration offer a promising strategy for mitigating climate change while providing multiple benefits. By implementing NbS practices such as agroforestry, cover crops, and conservation agriculture, we can increase soil carbon levels, improve soil health, and enhance biodiversity. By implementing NbS practices, we can all contribute to mitigating the impacts of climate change and promoting sustainable development. Here are some ways you can get involved:

  1. Educate yourself: Learn about the benefits and potential of nature-based solutions in addressing environmental challenges. Read about case studies, best practices, and research on nature-based solutions.
  2. Advocate for nature-based solutions: Speak up about the benefits of nature-based solutions in conversations with family, friends, colleagues, and community members. Encourage local leaders to consider nature-based solutions in planning and decision-making.
  3. Support conservation efforts: Donate to conservation organizations or volunteer for conservation efforts in your community. Protecting natural areas can support nature-based solutions and the ecosystem services they provide.
  4. Plant trees and native plants: Trees and native plants play an important role in sequestering carbon, improving air and water quality, and supporting biodiversity. Planting trees and native plants in your yard or community can support nature-based solutions.
  5. Support sustainable agriculture: Sustainable agriculture practices, such as agroforestry and regenerative agriculture, can support nature-based solutions by promoting soil health, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
  6. Participate in citizen science: Citizen science projects can provide valuable data for understanding environmental challenges and the effectiveness of nature-based solutions. Participate in citizen science projects in your community or online
  7. Support green infrastructure: Green infrastructure, such as green roofs and bioswales, can support nature-based solutions by reducing stormwater runoff and improving air quality. Encourage your community to invest in green infrastructure or start from your own garden by removing paved surfaces and replacing them with greenery, make your own compost etc..
  8. Support policies and funding for nature-based solutions: Policy changes and funding can help support the uptake of nature-based solutions at local and national levels. Support policies and funding initiatives that promote nature-based solutions.

By taking action and supporting NbS practices, we can all make a difference in the fight against climate change. As Dr. Bedford, a climate change expert, reminds us:

”We all have a role to play in addressing the challenges of climate change, and implementing nature-based solutions is one of the most effective ways to do so.”


Nature’s Secret Weapon: How Nature-based Solutions Can Tackle Climate Change and More by Borjana Bogatinoska is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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One Lake, Two Lake; Green Lake, Blue Lake

A large lake divided by a shallow spit of land, water to the left of the spit appears green and murky, the right side clear and blue.

Paper: Shallow lakes under alternative states differ in the dominant
greenhouse gas emission pathways

Authors: Sofia Baliña, María Laura Sánchez, Irina Izaguirre, Paul A. del Giorgio (2023)

Imagine some of the most dynamic, ecologically important lakes in the world…. you are picturing a deep, wide lake, not something knee deep and murky, or so full of aquatic plants you can’t see the bottom, right? Well, perhaps you should; while they don’t always make the most inviting swimming holes, small, shallow lakes have an outsized importance in the cycling of carbon and other nutrients through the landscape. 

Shallow depths tend to lead to warmer temperatures and more concentrated growth of algae and aquatic plants, not always the most desirable features for recreation.  But what these lakes might lack aesthetically, they make up for with a massive contribution to the global carbon cycle. Combine the abundance of small lakes with a tendency for frequent mixing of the water column, and high rates of organic input from the surrounding watershed and small lakes pack a big punch in terms of cycling nutrients, including carbon, through pathways in both the water and lake bottom sediments. 

These carbon cycling power houses are tricky to pin down because they can operate in what scientists call two different ‘stable states’: a murky, turbid state, dominated by algal growth that blocks the sunlight from reaching the bottom, and a clearwater state where plants anchored in the lake bottom sediments are dominant. A number of natural events, including floods, droughts, or changes in surrounding vegetation can lead to a ‘flip’ between states. Human activity can lead to a ‘flip’ as well, for example, in the Pampean Plains of Argentina, agricultural practices have added excess nutrients to the system, which tends to push lakes toward the murky, turbid state. The two lake states not only look different from the surface, but also have important differences in rates of photosynthesis, burial of organic material, and circulation in the water.

Knowing the importance of small lakes to global carbon cycling, a team in Argentina did a detailed investigation on how the different states impact carbon cycling and green house gas emissions.  By monitoring sets of turbid and clear shallow lakes in the Pampean Plains over the course of a year, they found important seasonal differences in rates of carbon dioxide (CO2) diffusion into and out of water column, and in the flux of methane (CH4) from lake bottom sediments.

Through monitoring instrumentation suspended in the air above the lakes, as well as measurements taken in the water and sediments, researchers were able to observe weather-driven seasonal changes. The biggest differences were between winter and spring: cold, clear lakes tended to act as CO2 source. When the lakes warmed up, they started to move gas from the water into the atmosphere and became carbon sinks, while turbid lakes did the opposite. 

Figure 3 from Baliña et al. (2022) showing the different pathways and relative ratios for carbon flow in clear-water, vegetated lakes (on the left) compared to more green, or turbid, lakes with heavy algal growth on the right. In total, the total greenhouse gas emissions (or CO2 equivalents) for both lake states was similar, but came from different pathways in the lake.

Over an annual cycle, clear lakes had as much as 5 times the CO2 emissions to the atmosphere as compared to turbid lakes, mainly attributed to the vegetation. Turbid lakes, however, had a higher annual emission of CH4. On balance, the two groups of lakes had roughly the same total contribution to green house gas fluxes, but the seasonal variability and differences in carbon pathway are important to understand as we continue to learn more about these dynamic ecosystems and how they change over time.


One Lake, Two Lake; Green Lake, Blue Lake by Avery Shinneman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Microscopic Miners: How invisible forces create tropical caves

Featured Image: Scientist Ceth Parker moving through a passageway within an iron formation cave.  Photo courtesy of the University of Akron.

Paper: Enhanced terrestrial Fe(II) mobilization identified through a novel mechanism of microbially driven cave formation in Fe(III)-rich rocks

Authors: Ceth W. Parker, John M. Senko, Augusto S. Auler, Ira D. Sasowsky, Frederik Schulz, Tanja Woyke, Hazel A. Barton

Consider this: microscopic creatures literally moving tons of rock before your very eyes. It seems too fantastical, but maybe not if you’re in the Brazilian tropics. In new work, scientists have detailed these stealthy and microscopic processes, naming a new cave generation pathway called exothenic biospeleogenesis, or “behind-wall life-created” caves.

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Getting to Grips With the Sixth Mass Extinction

Featured Image: It is well-understood that the Earth’s biodiversity is in severe decline. However, it is less clear if this decline can now be called a mass extinction. Public domain image via. The Wilderness Society.

Paper: The Sixth Mass Extinction: fact, fiction, or speculation?

Authors: Robert H Cowie, Philippe Bouchet & Benoît Fontaine

Human-driven emissions and land use changes have impacted Earth’s biosphere greatly, causing global extinction rates to climb fast. However, does the current undeniable biodiversity crisis meet the requirements to be called a mass extinction? 

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Dreaming of a green Moon – farming lunar fields

Featuring image: Cress can grow nearly everywhere, but can it also survive on the Moon? Bastet78, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Paper: Plants grown in Apollo lunar regolith present stress-associated transcriptomes that inform prospects for lunar exploration

Authors: A.-L. Paul, S. M. Elardo and R. Ferl

Plants surround us everywhere and dominate our planet. We feed from them, we build our homes from them and we need them as a source for oxygen. We couldn’t imagine a world without them. But can we take them with us, when we visit other worlds?

In space science, plants have already played an important role. They are often used as model organisms for experiments and in future space missions they might even be used as important additions to the astronauts’ food and life supply. Thus, they already made their way up to the International Space Station. Now for the first time, Paul and colleagues have tried to grow plants in original lunar soil, finding that we may be able to take our green companions with us to the Moon.

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A Historical Link Between Thiamine Deficiency in Salmon and the Presence of Thiaminase in their Prey

Featured Image: A salmon in a stream on the Oregon coast. Photo credit: Conrad Gowell

Paper: Thiaminase activity of gastrointestinal contents of salmon and herring from the Baltic Sea

Authors: S. Wistbacka, A. Heinonen, and G. Bylund

Flintstones vitamins are generally marketed for children, but should fish be taking them too? Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency in fish, especially species of salmon, is a widespread issue with serious implications, as this vitamin is an integral compound required by virtually all living organisms. Vitamin B1 deficiency can lead to an array of negative health outcomes for salmon, which collectively manifest as the condition known as thiamine deficiency complex. This condition inhibits many salmon and other anadromous fish (those that migrate from the oceans to rivers to spawn) from spawning, posing a major problem for their long-term survival.  

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Defining and Contextualising the Anthropocene

Feature Image: Huge amounts of waste symbolise the impact of human activity on the Earth System. Public domain image by Antoine Giret

Paper: The Anthropocene: Comparing Its Meaning in Geology (Chronostratigraphy) with Conceptual Approaches Arising in Other Disciplines

Authors: Jan Zalasiewicz et al.

Journal:  Earth’s Future

We are now entering a new geologic time due to the planetary-scale impact of human activity. The Anthropocene is widely accepted as this new epoch, but debate is still ongoing about its scientific basis and when this new epoch began. As so many different disciplines are involved in defining and characterizing the Anthropocene, it has become difficult to properly define. A recent paper by Jan Zalasiewicz and colleagues aims to provide context as the broad subject spills over into other areas of science, art and the humanities. They emphasise that future studies should stick to the original stratigraphic and Earth System Science meaning of the term to avoid confusion around the term.

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The role of carbon in a changing Arctic

Paper: Freshening of the western Arctic negates anthropogenic carbon uptake potential

Authors: R.J. Woosley and F.J. Millero

Journal: Limnology and Oceanography

As human generated emissions of carbon dioxide continue to increase, scientists seek to understand the potential for ‘sinks’, or places that the excess CO2 can move in the global carbon cycle, to take up and store some of the increased emissions. Understanding how these carbon sinks may react to increasing global emissions helps to better predict both the rate of atmospheric increase in the future and the potential response of global ecosystems, including major sinks in forests and oceans.

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Iceland’s constantly changing landscape: A Book Review

Featured Image: Lake in a volcano’s crater at Mývatn, Iceland. Photo by Philipp Wüthrich on Unsplash.

Book: Iceland: Tectonics, Volcanics, and Glacial Features, Geophysical Monograph 247 (First Edition, 2020)
Author: Dr. Tamie J. Jovanelly
Figure Illustrations: Nathan Mennen
Additional Text: Emily Larrimore
Publisher: American Geophysical Union, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

I have always wanted to go to Iceland and travel the countryside marveling at the island’s unique geology and icy wonder. Reading through Iceland: Tectonics, Volcanics, and Glacial Features by Dr. Tamie J. Jovanelly, I felt like I got my chance to tour Iceland; this time with a very experienced guide. Dr. Jovanelly has been to Iceland more than ten times since 2006 to explore and study and her familiarity with the place and the people who live there is engrained in this text.

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