Looks can be deceiving.

Look at a hundred lakes in the agricultural heartland of the United States and you will likely see green lakes surrounded by green fields. The nitrogen and phosphorus in agricultural fertilizers that help crops grow also fuel the growth of algae and cyanobacteria that in excess can turn lakes the color of pea soup.

New research shows that equatorial waves — pulses of warm ocean water that play a role in regulating Earth’s climate — are driven by the same dynamics as the exotic materials known as topological insulators.

Tucked into the apple-growing hills of Western Massachusetts is the Harvard Forest, a 3,700-acre wooded preserve that hosts school kids on field trips, day-tripping hikers, and, for more than a quarter century, a highly unusual science experiment.

Gradual environmental changes due to eutrophication and global warming can cause a rapid depletion of oxygen levels in lakes and coastal waters. A new study led by professors Jef Huisman and Gerard Muyzer of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) shows that microorganisms play a key role in these disastrous regime shifts. The researchers’ findings were published in the journal Nature Communications on 6 October.

Nearly half of the organic carbon stored in soil around the world is contained in Arctic permafrost, which has experienced rapid melting, and that organic material could be converted to greenhouse gases that would exacerbate global warming.

Nearly 1 million acres of trees were cut down in Queensland, Australia from 2015 to 2016, representing a 33 percent rise in deforestation, according to a new government land survey.

If you want to do something about global warming, look under your feet. Managed well, soil’s ability to trap carbon dioxide is potentially much greater than previously estimated, according to Stanford researchers who claim the resource could “significantly” offset increasing global emissions. They call for a reversal of federal cutbacks to related research programs to learn more about this valuable resource.

Mayfly nymphs are prominent insects in freshwater ecosystems worldwide and an important food source for fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. Unfortunately they are also very sensitive to pollution.

Researchers in the Faculty of Science have been interested in better understanding why mayfly nymphs are so vulnerable to environmental insult. They believe that the answer lies in the insects’ gills, which help them acquire oxygen from the surrounding water. But little is known about the physiology of these organs.

Remote sensing technology has detected what could be a win for both spotted owls and forestry management, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station and the University of Washington.

When a normally cold stream in Iceland was warmed, the make-up of life inside changed as larger organisms thrived while smaller ones struggled, according to two papers published by researchers from The University of Alabama.