Earth Sciences Environmental science

“The earth is suffering from several ‘diseases’: global warming, ocean acidification, habitat loss, etc. If any of these diseases remains uncured, other diseases will accelerate and cause new ones to appear, hence putting humanity’s well-being in danger,” said Associate Professor Masahiko Fujii. For this reason, the research staff of the Faculty of Environmental Earth Science keeps on assessing the current global environmental issues and promoting renewable energy sources as a possible solution.

A study led by scientists at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has decoded the genomes of the deep-sea clam (Archivesica marissinica) and the chemoautotrophic bacteria (Candidatus Vesicomyosocius marissinica) that live in its gill epithelium cells. Through analysis of their genomic structures and profiling of their gene expression patterns, the research team revealed that symbiosis between the two partners enables the clams to thrive in extreme deep-sea environments.

Twenty-two scholars of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) were named on Stanford University’s list of the top two per cent most-cited scientists in various disciplines, including President Professor Stephen Cheung Yan-leung, Chair Professor of Public Policy; Professor Jim Chi-yung, Research Chair Professor of Geography & Environmental Science; and Professor Wong Ming-hung, Advisor (Environmental Science).

Springer Nature and the University of Tokyo to hold SDGs Symposium 2021, “Interdisciplinary science solutions for food, water, climate and ecosystems Sustainable Development Goals”

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has developed a new nanocatalyst that recycles major greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), into highly value-added hydrogen (H2) gas.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has proposed a new approach for the highly spatially resolved human health risk assessment of both gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Governments around the world are taking steps to slow the pace of global warming. In the report titled "Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2030+", a 70 per cent reduction in carbon intensity by the year 2030 was set. Achieving this ambitious target will require a major change in behaviour at both the corporate and individual levels.

Nestled at the base of a scenic mountain range in the northeast part of Hong Kong, the campus of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) is rich in biodiversity. Members of the University community recorded over 1,270 observations of 380 species of trees, plants, insects, birds, fungi and reptiles in the worldwide City Nature Challenge 2019.

Hong Kong has been experiencing hotter summers and more scorcher days in recent years due to climate change and heat island effect. Amid the increasing number of “hot nights”, it is found that consecutive “hot nights” are more detrimental to human health than “very hot days”, although the actual temperature does not reach the level of daytime, according to a collaborative research conducted by the Institute of Future Cities at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as researchers from the University of Hong Kong. The research also identified that lack of urban greenery and poor air ventilation in a high-density context are factors that lead to more “hot nights” than “hot days” in some areas. The team suggests that better urban planning and building design are long-term mitigation measures.

A decade ago, a fish feed pellet made from food waste was just a concept. Today, although still in its initial stages, it is a patented marketable product with many different benefits.

Large improvements of air quality in China during the COVID-19 lockdown have been widely reported, but new research reveals that the two pollutants most harmful to human health, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone, were only slightly reduced.

Low oxygen levels in water (hypoxia) pose a significant threat to marine and freshwater ecosystems worldwide, as highlighted in the latest research findings of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) in an article titled “Low oxygen levels affect reproductive function in female fish – across multiple generations”, featured in Science for Environment Policy (Issue 536). This novel finding shows that hypoxia not only impairs reproduction in female fish (Oryzias melastigma), but the adverse effects can be passed on to their descendants in subsequent generations, posing a long-term threat to the sustainability of natural fish populations around the world.

The first State Key Laboratory of The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) was opened in June 2018, in alignment with the University’s ongoing efforts to promote environmental studies as a discipline complementary to education. As a consortium member of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP), the University’s role is to conduct pioneering research pertaining to solving imminent marine pollution problems that pose a significant threat to our environment and public health.

The present study screened known and unknown organohalogen compounds present in mussel and sediment samples from Hiroshima Bay. The results provided scientific evidence that unknown mixed halogenated compounds are ubiquitous in the coastal environment and possess bioaccumulative potential as high as persistent organic pollutants.

Wastewater could be used as a surveillance tool to monitor the invasion, spread and eradication of COVID-19 in communities.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has presenter in-depth study of the interaction mechanism between the lignin nanofilms.

2 Gold, 3 Silver, 5 Bronze, and 2 Participation Awards have been bestowed upon South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) at this year's Samsung Humantech Paper Awards.

South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with NASA in the United States, have successfully analyzed the main patterns of atmospheric circulation affecting the Arctic sea ice.

A study by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) found that mangroves and other marine wetlands stored 23% more carbon from the atmosphere than previously estimated, which further established the importance of “Blue Carbon” and its contribution to countering carbon emission. This article has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Communications. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14120-2)

The relationship between body size and climate in lizards and snakes is more complex than originally thought.

Rivers in southeast Asia transport more plastic to the ocean than some rivers in Europe, evidence from a new study in Environmental Research Letters suggests.

IAP outlines a set of measures to protect forests and fight climate change in response to the ongoing global crisis surrounding deforestation and forest burning

Do you have new research to share about anthropology, archeology, paleontology, sociology, climate change or endangered species? You could win the opportunity to highlight your research in Asia Research News 2020.

A recent study, affiliated with South Korea's Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has challenged themselves with developing tandem solar cells for the first time, thus received much attention for achieving 21.19% efficiency.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) has successfully proven the presence of invasive crayfish in almost all the small streams around Lake Akan in Japan, suggesting that eDNA analysis is an efficient and highly sensitive method to assess the distribution of aquatic organisms.

The rise in temperature and precipitation levels in summer in northern Japan, has negatively affected the growth of conifers and resulted in their gradual decline, according to a 38-year-long study in which mixed forests of conifers and broad-leaved trees were monitored by a team of researchers from Hokkaido University.

Cycad plant roots release signals into the soil that triggers the transformation of bacteria into its motile form, helping them move to the plant roots and establish a symbiotic partnership.

The composition of mixed brominated/chlorinated dibenzofurans (PXDFs) and diphenyl ethers in soils from an e-waste site in Ghana suggests a formation of PXDFs through condensation of the flame retardant PBDEs and subsequent bromine-to-chlorine exchange. PXDFs were substantial contributors of toxic equivalents among dioxins from e-waste burning.

Evidence of historic marine life present in Alaskan permafrost is helping scientists reconstruct ancient changes in the ice cover over the Arctic Ocean.

Geoengineering experiments underway to protect Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from climate change highlight the need for Australian law to catch up, researchers say.