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Topics: Environment

  • New research shows that conifers have special strategies to survive the harsh winters in the north. Photo: Johnér Bildbyrå AB

    The science behind Christmas trees: How conifers brave winter's worst

    As the festive season approaches, evergreen conifers adorn homes worldwide. But while Christmas trees bring warmth and joy into our lives, they endure some of the harshest conditions on Earth in their natural habitats. Most people take it for granted that they maintain their needles lush and green in freezing winters but now scientists can unwrap the science behind conifers’ winter survival.

  • A mixed forest leads to less damage to trees, according to extensive data analysed by Micael Jonsson and his colleagues. Photo: Ulrika Bergfors

    Mixed forests reduce the risk of forest damage in a warmer climate

    Forests with few tree species pose considerably higher risk of being damaged and especially vulnerable is the introduced lodgepole pine. This is shown in a new study by researchers from Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala. The results can be useful for preventing forest damages and financial losses related to the forest industry.

  • Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Machine Auguries: London. © Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg LCC. Courtesy of Bildmuseet. Photo: Malin Grönborg

    Press invitation: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg / Machine Auguries

    With AI-generated birdsong under an artificial dawn sky, Machine Auguries warns of our infatuation with technology at the expense of nature. In Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s immersive sound and light installation, which opens at Bildmuseet on 18 October, the dawn chorus is slowly taken over by synthetic birdsong.

  • At the Dåva waste treatment plant in Umeå, microalgae are grown in wastewater, both in greenhouses and outdoors, to be used for producing biodegradable plastics. Photo: Christiane Funk

    Researchers aim to create biodegradable plastic – from algae

    The Waste2Plastic project at Umeå University has received SEK 15 million from the Swedish Energy Agency and its industrial partners to produce biodegradable plastics, PHA, using microalgae. The algae are grown in wastewater in Umeå and convert carbon dioxide from flue gases into biomass.

  • Aerial view of an unmodified boulder-bed stream showing the density of boulders and the diverse habitats these create. Photo: Richard Mason and Jens Andersson

    Clues from the ice age can help restore Swedish streams

    Human intervention has destroyed critical habitats for salmon and trout in Swedish streams. Researchers at Umeå University have discovered crucial clues to help restore the streams to their natural state. "To understand the processes that shape them, we need to think more about how glaciers function, rather than streams,” says Lina Polvi Sjöberg.

  • In the sea, phytoplankton are the first step when methylmercury is absorbed into the food web. The image was taken under a microscope and shows a spring bloom of phytoplankton in the Bothnian Sea. Photo: Marlene Johansson

    Uptake of methylmercury by phytoplankton is controlled by thiols

    Methylmercury is one of the chemicals that poses the greatest threat to global public health. People ingest methylmercury by eating fish, but how does the mercury end up in the fish? A new study shows that the concentrations of so-called thiols in the water control how available the methylmercury is to living organisms.

  • Tropical cloud forests have a unique biodiversity. Researchers from Umeå are investigating how plant and animal life is affected by climate change. Foto: Amy Grist

    Major grant will put Umeå at the forefront of tropical climate research

    The biodiversity of rainforests is threatened by climate change. Researcher Daniel Metcalfe conducts large-scale experiments to predict the consequences – but was ready to shut down when the funds ran out. Now, he has been awarded a major government grant from Formas to continue and expand the work.

  • Tan Luong, doctoral student at the Department of Chemistry. Photo: Trung Nguyen

    Water films – the silent architects of chemical transformations

    Air moisture landing on surfaces of materials forms thin, invisible, water films. These films play crucial roles in Earth’s soils and atmosphere as well as in new technologies. A thesis at Umeå University sheds new light on how this silent architect mediates chemical reactions.

  • Cheap forest waste can be used to make supercapacitors. Photo: Johnér bildbyrå AB

    Carbon from forest waste can be used for future energy storage

    Researchers found how to convert cost free forest waste, like pine cones, into carbon materials useful for energy storage. The method allows for easy and environmentally friendly dispersion of carbon in water, even when it is not water-soluble. The blend can then be sprayed onto a surface to produce electrodes for supercapacitors.

  • Through laboratory testing, Norafiqah Ismail has developed three families of more environmentally friendly solvents for the production of artificial membranes. Photo: Naser Tavajohi

    Non-toxic solvents provide greener production of artificial membranes

    Artificial membranes play a vital role in healthcare, energy storage and resource recovery. However, the fabrication is not environmentally friendly. In a thesis from Umeå University, Norafiqah Ismail introduces alternative solvents that outperforms traditional toxic ones in terms of cost, sustainability, and performance.

  • Yelena Popova, Unnamed, 2011. Courtesy of the artist.

    Contemporary Art in the Nuclear Anthropocene

    The upcoming exhibtion at Bildmuseet, Sweden, brings together artists from Europe, Japan, the USA and Australia to investigate experiences of nuclear technology, radiation and the complex relationship between knowledge and the deep time. "Perpetual Uncertainty / Contemporary Art in the Nuclear Anthropocene" is opened by Hans Adolfsson, Vice Chancellor at Umeå University, on Sunday October 2nd.

  • Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace and now a Swedish environmental archeologist

    Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace and now a Swedish environmental archeologist

    Philip Buckland, senior lecturer in environmental archaeology and deputy head at the Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Umeå University, has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (FRES). A large number of internationally recognised entomologists, including Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace, have been and are, Fellows of the Society.