Preprints
Filtering by Subject: Life Sciences
Improving Learning and Science Outcomes in The Reservoir Observer Student Scientists (ROSS) Program Through Reflection and Skill Building Exercises
Published: 2026-05-12
Subjects: Education, Life Sciences
The Reservoir Observer Student Scientists (ROSS) program engages high school students in year-round water quality monitoring to detect and understand cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). This place-based participatory science program combines hands-on sampling, data analysis, and reflective learning to foster scientific literacy and contribute to environmental research. A mid-year [...]
Antimicrobial Resistance – A Growing Global Groundwater Challenge
Published: 2026-05-08
Subjects: Education, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Antimicrobials are composed of medications such as antibiotics and antivirals which are widely used to ensure human and animal health. However, inappropriate use of antimicrobials is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance. AMR arises from complex interactions between humans, animals, microbial organisms, medicines, wildlife and the environment. Once in the wastewater stream, antibiotics are [...]
From Snapshot Maps to Continuous Monitoring of Global Forest Carbon at 100 m Resolution (2000–2025)
Published: 2026-05-08
Subjects: Life Sciences
Accurate, high-resolution estimation of forest aboveground biomass (AGB) is critical for quantifying terrestrial carbon stocks and informing climate mitigation policy, yet existing global products remain constrained by coarse spatial resolution and limited temporal coverage that obscure sub-national-scale disturbances (Avitabile et al., 2016). This study presents a wall-to-wall global AGB product [...]
Reduced geomagnetic shielding increased UV-B radiation at Earth’s surface during the Laschamps Event
Published: 2026-04-30
Subjects: Astrophysics and Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences, Biochemistry, Biogeochemistry, Biology, Earth Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Geophysics and Seismology, Life Sciences, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology, Other Life Sciences, Paleobiology, Physical and Environmental Geography, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Planetary Geochemistry, Planetary Geology, Planetary Geophysics and Seismology, Planetary Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Statistics and Probability
Exposure to excess UV-B radiation can harm organisms through DNA damage and oxidative stress, and has likely been a key ecological and evolutionary driver throughout Earth’s history. Here, we show UV-B at Earth’s surface was significantly increased during the Laschamps Event, the last major geomagnetic excursion ca. 41ka BP. During the Laschamps, we find significant and prolonged (lasting [...]
Evaluating Sampling Bias and Model Uncertainty in Species Distribution Models of Marine Plankton Using Virtual Ecosystem Data
Published: 2026-04-28
Subjects: Life Sciences
Understanding the biodiversity and biogeography of plankton in the ocean is essential for predicting responses to environmental changes and informing ocean conservation and management strategies. Species distribution models (SDMs) are a pivotal tool in this regard. This study used data from a global marine ecosystem model as a testbed to assess the reliability of various SDMs, including [...]
Soil Remineralization in Agroecological Systems: A Critical Review
Published: 2026-04-28
Subjects: Agriculture, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Soil degradation threatens global food security, human nutrition, biodiversity, water resources, and climate stability by depleting soil organic matter, exhausting nutrient reserves, and disrupting carbon and nitrogen cycles. Conventional input‑intensive agriculture has delivered yield gains but has also contributed to widespread micronutrient deficiencies, nutrient loading of waterways, soil [...]
Species specific mangrove habitat suitability and scenario dependent blue carbon modeling under uncertainty in Soc Trang Province, Vietnam
Published: 2026-04-25
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences
This study develops an integrated framework for species specific mangrove habitat suitability and scenario dependent blue carbon planning in Soc Trang Province, Vietnam. The spatial model translates ecological zonation evidence for 11 mangrove taxa into local rules based on coastal distance and elevation, then tests those rules across 19 spatial scenarios. The carbon model carries the resulting [...]
The biodiversity paradox: declining conservation discourse amid ecological crisis in global urban policies
Published: 2026-04-24
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Despite escalating biodiversity crises, conservation discourse in urban environmental policies has declined, revealing a governance paradox in which ecological urgency is inversely correlated with policy representation. We analyzed 202 urban environmental policies from 85 countries spanning 1984-2025 using computational text analysis (LDA, NMF, hierarchical clustering). The results reveal an [...]
From sectoral silos to climate hegemony: analysis of global urban policies (1984-2025)
Published: 2026-04-23
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Contemporary urban environmental governance faces a paradox: while international frameworks advocate integration, climate discourse appears to subsume. This study analyzed 202 urban policies from 85 countries (1984-2025) using various methods, temporal discourse analysis, keyword co-occurrence networks, framing detection, and sentiment analysis. Policies accelerated exponentially, with 2010-2025 [...]
Settling and Rising Dynamics of River Litter
Published: 2026-04-22
Subjects: Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Global assessments of river litter transport, accumulation, and export to the oceans remain constrained because the particle-scale hydrodynamic variables governing litter movement are currently unknown. We resolve this by explaining the vertical dynamics of full-scale river litter in quiescent water through multi-camera, three-dimensional trajectory reconstructions of over a thousand litter items [...]
A Meteorological Indicator for Particulate Matter Emissions: Adapting the Hot-Dry-Windy Index to Predict Feedlot Evening Dust Peaks
Published: 2026-04-21
Subjects: Agriculture, Animal Sciences, Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Particulate matter emissions from cattle feedlot operations pose significant challenges to both livestock productivity and air quality in surrounding communities. The evening dust peak (EDP) has been documented for decades, but comprehensive long-term studies examining its meteorological drivers are very limited. While laboratory and field-scale investigations have demonstrated that feedlot [...]
Beyond universal access: mapping regional inequalities and spatial coldspots in India’s WaSH sector toward SDG 6
Published: 2026-04-17
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
National averages can conceal significant sectoral disparities and long-standing subnational injustices, despite the fact that India’s flagship programs had significantly improved access to water and sanitation. This report provided a thorough, data-driven evaluation of the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) in all 37 Indian states and union territories (UTs) using 25 indicators. Pearson’s [...]
Beyond national averages: a multi-method assessment of sub-national environmental sustainability and inequality in India
Published: 2026-04-17
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
India’s rapid economic growth regularly jeopardizes its environmental foundation, although important sub-national differences were typically hidden by national-level evaluations. For all 37 Indian states and union territories (UTs), this study creates the Composite index of Environmental Sustainability (CoES), a comprehensive multi-dimensional framework that integrates 36 indicators across 4 [...]
Geostatistical Assessment of Shallow Groundwater Risk in Urban Coastal Virginia: A Case Study from Virginia Beach
Published: 2026-04-14
Subjects: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Geology, Hydrology, Life Sciences, Other Environmental Sciences, Water Resource Management
Urban groundwater assessments in coastal cities often rely on public monitoring datasets that are spatially uneven and temporally discontinuous. This study evaluates shallow groundwater risk in Virginia Beach, Virginia, using 30 years of records (1991–2020) from 121 monitoring wells for groundwater levels and 55 wells with groundwater‑quality data for chloride (Cl), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn). [...]
Paleoarchean seawater and seafloor hydrothermal processes: insights from 3.5 to 3.3 Ga carbonate geochemistry
Published: 2026-04-13
Subjects: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Carbonates (3.5 to 3.3 Ga) in the East Pilbara Terrane (EPT), Western Australia, including interstitial carbonate between pillow basalts, fracture-filling calcite, sedimentary carbonates and carbonate associated with stromatolites, provide valuable geochemical archives for reconstructing Early Earth environments. This study highlights three key findings: (1) Fracture-filling calcite D-2-W from [...]