Author: tribulant

Our ancient ancestors seem to have survived some pretty harsh arid spells in East Africa’s Rift Valley over five million years. Quite how they kept going has long been a mystery, given the lack of water to drink. Now, new research shows that they may have been able to survive on a small networks of springs. The study from our inter-disciplinary research team, published in Nature Communications, illustrates that groundwater springs may have been far more important as a driver of human evolution in Africa than previously thought. Great rift valley. Redgeographics, CC BY-SA The study focuses on water...

Research out of the University of New Hampshire has found that some roads, as far as two miles from the shore, are facing a new hazard that currently cannot be seen by drivers – rising groundwater caused by increasing ocean water levels. Researchers have identified sections of specific New Hampshire Seacoast roads that are the most vulnerable as groundwater levels continue to rise. They include the heavily traveled Route 286 in Seabrook and Gosling Road in Portsmouth. Without drastic improvements to these routes, at or below the pavement surface, motorists can expect segments of these roadways to deteriorate more quickly,...