2023 drought in the Amazon made much worse by climate change

Climate change fueled the remarkable 2023 drought that drained major rivers, fueled huge wildfires and threatened the livelihoods of millions of people in the Amazon rainforest, scientists said on Wednesday.

Deforestation of the Amazon, the world’s largest and most biodiverse rainforest, has decreased rainfall and weakened the ability of trees and soil to retain moisture, researchers found. That made drought more acute and caused the forest to be less resilient to environmental destruction and events like wildfires.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/climate/amazon-drought-low-water.html

Study: Thousands of species not present in US MPAs

Thousands of marine species, and many vital habitats, have little to no coverage in America’s marine protected areas, according to a new study co-led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. With biodiversity loss accelerating, many governments have been leaning on protected areas to preserve important species and ecosystems. But surprisingly, much of this effort is missing a key ingredient–information on the species they are aiming to protect. This means a large fraction of those protected areas may be falling short of their mission, if not designed with biodiversity specifically in mind.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-environmental-research-center/2024/01/23/fixing-holes-in-americas-ocean-protection/

Scientists complete map of largest known deep-sea coral reef; occupies hundreds of miles in Atlantic Ocean

Scientists have mapped the largest known deep-sea coral reef, stretching hundreds of miles off the US Atlantic coast.

While researchers have known since the 1960s that coral is present off the Atlantic, the reef’s size remained a mystery until new underwater mapping technology made it possible to construct 3D images of the ocean floor.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/19/deep-sea-coral-reef-atlantic-coast