chemistry

Hidden Beneath the Surface

Hidden Beneath the Surface

In just seven decades, the scientists say, humans have brought about greater changes than they did in more than seven millennia. Never in Earth’s history has the world changed this much, this fast. Never has a single species had the capacity to wreak so much damage — or the chance to prevent so much harm. “It’s a line in the sand,” said Francine McCarthy, a professor of Earth sciences at Brock University in Ontario, who has led research on Crawford Lake. “The Earth itself is playing by a different rule book. And it’s because of us.”

New Water Clues On Uranus And Neptune

New Water Clues On Uranus And Neptune

The ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune are water-rich worlds with deep layers of ice or possibly liquid water beneath their thick atmospheres. Their interior “oceans” are more extensive than the oceans on Earth or the ice deposits and/or subsurface lakes on Mars. There’s a lot we don’t know about the water layers on Uranus and Neptune. In May 2021, researchers in the U.S. and South Korea announced new findings suggesting the water layers of these exotic water worlds might be rich in magnesium. This finding provides clues to their interior chemistry.

‘They’re really struggling’: Inside the Neskantaga First Nation water crisis

‘They’re really struggling’: Inside the Neskantaga First Nation water crisis

When Chris Moonias woke up thirsty at 4 a.m. in his room at the Victoria Inn on a recent fall day, the first thing he did was look for a bottle of water. Though tap water was available in the bathroom, the Neskantaga First Nation chief grabbed his key, left his room, and walked to a nearby boardroom to find a bottle. He couldn’t bring himself to use the tap. His community has been under a 25-year boil-water advisory, Canada’s longest, and a distrust of running water, he says, has become pervasive among its members: “That’s the continued trauma. I'm not the only one that goes through this. If you go room to room here at the hotel, I guarantee you 100 per cent of those rooms have cases of bottled water.”

How Temperature Affects the Quality of Fresh Water

How Temperature Affects the Quality of Fresh Water

So many different factors affect the quality of freshwater lakes, but we call temperature a key driver. With the ever-intensifying effects of climate change, monitoring the impact of temperature on freshwater health is set to become all the more critical.