Extensive freshened water beneath the ocean floor confirmed for the first time

International team provides first detailed evidence of long-suspected hidden fresh water aquifers

MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen

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With the Munsell Soil Colour Chart the cores are described visually in colour and structure as acurately as possible. Photo: Diekamp@ECORD_IODP3_NSF

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Credit: Diekamp@ECORD_IODP3_NSF

The goal of this expedition went far beyond collecting sediment cores. Scientists also set out to sample the water stored within the sediments, including from sandy layers that act as aquifers and from clay layers that usually keep the water in place beneath the seafloor, known as aquitards. Although roughly 70 per cent of Earth’s surface is covered by water, significant volumes of water also move and are stored below ground. Many coastal communities depend on land-based aquifers for their freshwater supply. What fewer people realize is that, in many parts of the world these aquifers continue offshore, containing zones of freshened, slightly briny water beneath the ocean floor. Scientists have known these offshore systems existed since 1976, but they have remained virtually unexplored until now. During this expedition, the science team successfully documented and sampled freshened water within a zone nearly 200 metres thick below the seafloor.

Brandon Dugan: “We were excited to see that freshened water exists in multiple kinds of sediments – both marine and terrestrial. Freshened water in such different materials will help us understand the conditions that emplaced the water.” Further analyses that are conducted by the science team will help to find out where and especially when the water was placed here.

Rebecca Robinson: “The cores contain sediment with a wide range of composition and ages. It was surprising to see sediment, not rocks, throughout the section. The sediment has not yet transformed into rock – I did not expect to see that and it will be an interesting component of our future work.” In order to understand when and how the sediments were deposited, the science team is developing age models.  

Shedding light on similar water aquifers around the world

The approach used during IODP³-NSF Expedition 501 will not only deepen understanding of offshore freshened groundwater systems off the coast of New England, but will also shed light on similar hidden water aquifers around the world. Because many coastal regions rely on groundwater for their freshwater supply, the expedition’s initial findings are highly relevant to society. The research will also reveal how nutrients such as nitrogen cycle through continental shelf sediments and how these processes influence the abundance and diversity of microbes living in these environments. These goals align closely with the 2050 Science Framework for Ocean Research Drilling – one of the foundations of the IODP³ scientific programme. Ultimately, the expedition’s research will help to decipher how sediments and fluids cycle through the Earth system and improve our knowledge about sea level changes and freshwater flow beneath the seabed along our coastal shelves. “The researchers will continue to work on and with the samples to decipher more – for example, to date the groundwater more accurately which is critical to advancing our knowledge,” adds Rebecca Robinson.

The expedition is a joint collaboration between the International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP³) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF). The cores were retrieved during offshore operations between May and August 2025. For onshore operations the science team have met at the Bremen Core Repository, at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences of the University of Bremen (Germany). “We greatly appreciate being able to conduct this advanced research at MARUM, supported by its world-class laboratories, exceptional facilities, and dedicated staff,” adds Brandon Dugan

The cores will be archived and made accessible for further scientific research for the scientific community after a one year-moratorium period. All expedition data will be open access in the IODP³ Mission Specific Platform (MSP) data portal in PANGAEA, and resulting outcomes will be published.

International approach

40 science team members from 13 nations (Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA) take part in this Mission Specific Platform expedition that consists of two phases: offshore and onshore operations. Offshore Operations has taken place between May and early August 2025.

The expedition is conducted by the European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) as part of the International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP³), funded by IODP³ and the US National Science Foundation (NSF).

 

More Information:

About the expedition – https://www.ecord.org/expedition501/

Scientific Prospectus – https://iodp3.org/documents/expedition-501-scientific-prospectus/ 

About the international research collaboration – https://iodp3.org/about/
About the European part of the program – https://www.ecord.org/ 
and Mission-Specific Platform expeditions – https://www.ecord.org/expeditions/msp/concept/ 

Frequently Asked Questions – https://expedition501.wordpress.com/2025/02/19/faq1/Offshore      

IODP3 Mission Statement

To advance scientific understanding of Earth's processes and history by exploring and monitoring the subseafloor, unlocking insights into climate change, geohazards, the deep biosphere and Earth system evolution through international collaboration, cutting-edge technology, and open data sharing.

The International Ocean Drilling Programme (IODP³) is committed to fostering global scientific cooperation, building capacity across nations, and promoting responsible stewardship of our planet's oceanic resources for the benefit of future generations.

 

University of Oklahoma researcher awarded funding to uncover secrets of cloud formation

University of Oklahoma

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Scott Salesky, Ph.D.

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Credit: The University of Oklahoma

NORMAN, Okla. – Scott Salesky, a researcher with the University of Oklahoma, has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to study how clouds above the sea surface are created and changed by factors such as airborne particles and atmospheric instability. His team is using advanced computer simulations to determine how these factors influence processes like solar radiation and rainfall. Through this research, they aim to improve civilian and military weather forecasting models.

Clouds in the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL), particularly those in its lowest level, are influenced by a variety of processes taking place between the ocean’s surface and the atmosphere. These turbulent interactions involve heat, water vapor and aerosols that influence cloud morphology, which in turns impacts cloud coverage and the climate. However, there is great uncertainty on how exactly these turbulent processes contribute to cloud formation.

Salesky’s research team will address these unknowns by using simulations to replicate turbulence and test how different environmental conditions shape the MABL and its clouds. Salesky, who is an associate professor in the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences’ School of Meteorology, said that MABL fluctuations have significant impacts on weather conditions: stratocumulus clouds in the layer cover around 20% of Earth’s surface, making them the dominant cloud type.

“Clouds are really crucial for understanding and predicting precipitation and severe weather, Salesky said. “If you slightly change the amount of cloud cover or cloud thickness, that changes radiative feedbacks and has major implications for Earth's climate system.”

The researchers are specifically looking at how buoyancy, wind speeds and aerosol properties affect the MABL and its associated cloud structures. To accomplish this, they’re using models that simulate both turbulent eddies – which are swirling air motions that range from around 10 meters to a kilometer in size – and the small-scale interactions within turbulence. Those complex simulations also track individual particles and droplets, allowing the team to see how they are influenced by varying conditions.

“If you have a very polluted environment, you have a high aerosol number concentration,” Salesky said. “You end up with many cloud droplets, but they tend to be a lot smaller. This causes what we call higher albedo in the cloud, meaning that it reflects more sunlight back to space. And because cloud droplets are so small, this tends to inhibit rain formation. So, you can get very cloudy conditions, but it won't necessarily precipitate.”

However, in a clean environment, “you have fewer aerosols,” he said, “which result in fewer, but larger cloud droplets whose properties are more strongly influenced by turbulence.”

Salesky’s project team is among more than two dozen groups – four of which are led by OU researchers – to earn funding through the DoD’s Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) 2024 Research Collaboration competition. DEPSCoR aims to strengthen higher education research infrastructure in underutilized U.S. states and territories. Through the competition, projects are awarded in areas associated with DoD initiatives.

The study’s findings will not only shed light on how interactions between turbulence, microphysics and aerosols impact the MABL but will also improve knowledge of how shallow marine clouds affect radiation. Salesky said that there is limited research that systematically explores how instability, aerosol properties and other factors impact different cloud regimes, or cloud types. His team’s simulations will advance understanding of precipitation, severe weather and the climate.

Salesky added that the project has military applications. “The Navy have their own weather forecasting models, and they do a lot of work to improve their parameterizations,” he said. “Things like visibility through clouds and fog are a very big deal for them.”

In addition to his DEPSCoR-funded research, Salesky is also working on other research into cloud turbulence through a grant from the National Science Foundation. He hopes to apply his work in that project – determining how to best represent small-scale interactions in simulations – to his newer study.

“There's a quote, perhaps apocryphal, from physicist and Nobel laureate Richard Feynman who called turbulence ‘the most important unsolved problems of classical physics,’” Salesky said. “It’s just a very rich area of physics, and there’s a lot we can learn. It’s always exciting to do these sort of idealized studies that help us understand the physics better, but also have real-world implications.”

Bion Experiments – Adam W. Brown

Ivantic.infowww.ivantic.info/Ostale_knjiige/Zdravlje/The Bion Experiments.pdf

The Bion Experiments Wilhelm Reich

It is with some trepidation that I make known these experi mental findings on the origin of vegetative life. It is not that I am.

 

Why misunderstood hand signals put cyclists at risk

 how cyclist hand signals are defined in traffic laws across different countries, finding that while many nations rely on similar gestures, the rules — and expectations — are not universal.

Rice University

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As more Americans turn to biking for commuting, exercise and recreation, the roads are growing more crowded and more dangerous as cyclist fatalities have risen sharply nationwide. While crashes are often attributed to speeding, distracted driving or inadequate infrastructure, new research from Rice University suggests another factor may quietly increase risk: Drivers and cyclists are not always communicating as clearly as they think.

“Confusion around cyclist hand signals could lead drivers to react too late or make a maneuver directly into a cyclist’s path,” said Christine Petersen, who led the research as a doctoral student in psychological sciences at Rice. “Cyclists are required by law to use hand signals, but we don’t really know whether those signals consistently help drivers understand what a cyclist is about to do.”

That gap in understanding motivated Petersen’s work. While interactions between drivers and pedestrians have been studied extensively, cyclist-driver communication has received far less attention despite the growing number of people riding bikes on shared roads.

Petersen also examined how cyclist hand signals are defined in traffic laws across different countries, finding that while many nations rely on similar gestures, the rules — and expectations — are not universal.

“There’s very limited research focused specifically on cyclists,” Petersen said. “We’ve written rules into law, but we haven’t tested whether those rules align with how people actually think and react behind the wheel.”

To explore that disconnect, the study placed drivers in realistic driving scenarios and asked them to predict a cyclist’s next move — turning left, turning right, stopping or continuing straight — based on a combination of arm signals, head movement and position on the road.

The results were clear. Drivers relied overwhelmingly on arm signals to judge a cyclist’s intentions. Other cues many people assume matter, such as where a cyclist is positioned in the lane or whether they glance over a shoulder, did not significantly improve accuracy.

Eye-tracking data revealed how drivers visually process cyclists in real time. Drivers initially focused on the cyclist’s back, keeping the rider fully in view. When a cyclist moved an arm or head, drivers’ attention shifted toward that movement, actively searching for communicative cues. Even so, drivers spent considerable time looking at a cyclist’s face, likely attempting to confirm intent through eye contact.

“Drivers aren’t ignoring cyclists,” Petersen said. “They’re trying to read them.”

But not all signals were equally effective. Straight-arm signals, pointing left to turn left or extending the right arm to turn right, were almost universally understood. In contrast, fewer than a quarter of drivers correctly interpreted the bent-arm right-turn signal that is still legally recognized in many places. Even the signal used to indicate stopping or slowing, while defined correctly by most drivers, was not the signal many said they would personally use if cycling.

“Signals that match the direction of movement, pointing where you’re going, are especially important for keeping interactions predictable and safe,” Petersen said. “Hand signals matter, but clarity matters even more.”

The study also examined what happens when drivers are cognitively distracted, even without taking their eyes off the road. When participants engaged in a simulated cellphone conversation, their ability to accurately predict cyclists’ intentions declined. Although arm signals remained the strongest predictor of accuracy, distraction reduced overall performance.

“Distraction isn’t just about looking away,” Petersen said. “Talking on a cellphone can slow reaction time and make it harder to process what a cyclist is trying to communicate.”

That risk is amplified by the fact that cyclists lack many of the visual cues drivers rely on with cars, such as brake lights and illuminated turn signals.

“Cyclists are already at a disadvantage,” Petersen said. “When a driver isn’t fully attentive, misunderstanding becomes more likely.”

For now, Petersen says the safest approach for cyclists is still to use the formal hand signals written into law, even if some are imperfect.

“They’re the shared language we currently have on the road,” she said.

At the same time, the findings raise broader questions about whether long-standing traffic laws fully reflect how people process information in fast-moving, real-world situations.

“Just because something was written into law years ago doesn’t mean it can’t be improved,” Petersen said. “Research gives us an opportunity to rethink communication and invest in better education, so drivers and cyclists understand each other.”

The study focused on a limited group of drivers, pointing to the need for future research that considers how culture, driving experience and cycling habits shape understanding. It also highlights the need for clearer, more intuitive ways to signal stopping or slowing — moments when misinterpretation can be especially dangerous.

As cycling continues to grow nationwide, Petersen said she hopes the research encourages a deeper conversation about predictability and shared responsibility on the road.

“When communication breaks down,” she said, “the risks increase for everyone.”

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DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2025.108333 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Do drivers understand cyclists’ communication cues?

Lack of information hinders regulation of ‘green’ nanopesticides

Scientists warn that terms such as “sustainable” must be used correctly and that the natural components of these products do not eliminate environmental concerns.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

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Evolution of weed control 7 days after application of green nanoherbicide, compared to control without application

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Credit: Vanessa Takeshita

New formulations of nanopesticides with natural ingredients have appeared in specialized literature using terms such as “green pesticide,” “ecological,” “based on natural elements,” and “with natural nanoparticles,” among others. However, there is no consensus on what truly constitutes a green pesticide, and these terms are used even when the active ingredients are synthetic or conventional and only encapsulated in formulations based on natural polymers.

“Commercial formulations of pesticides used in the field consist of active ingredients and so-called co-formulants, such as surfactants, dispersing agents, and emulsifiers. They represent between 50% and 90% of the total composition of commercial products, but are often vaguely labeled as ‘inert compounds’ and poorly documented, although they can sometimes be more toxic to the environment than the active ingredient itself,” warns Vanessa Takeshita, lead author of a review on the subject published in Sustainable Materials and Technologies by the Environmental Nanotechnology Group at the Institute of Science and Technology of São Paulo State University (ICT-UNESP), Sorocaba campus, Brazil.

According to her, over the last 20 years of developing nanoformulations for agriculture, the academic community has changed its strategy and approach. Initially, the focus was on reducing the amount of the formulation deposited in the environment. “The focus was on gaining efficiency for dose reduction,” she recalls, emphasizing that nanotechnology was a fundamental tool for that purpose. She adds that the products of this first generation of nanoformulations are already better for the environment than the traditional formulations used in agriculture for decades, but they still need to reach the market. 

As the work progressed, however, the team led by Leonardo Fernandes Fraceto, currently innovation coordinator at the Center for Research on Biodiversity Dynamics and Climate Change (CBioClima), a FAPESP Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Center (RIDC), and coordinator of INCT NanoAgro, found that formulations with natural characteristics capable of promoting biorecognition by the plant tended to be more efficient. “When natural molecules or natural compounds are used, the plant identifies them as known compounds. We realized that it was easier and less environmentally hazardous to be efficient using non-synthetic ingredients. So, we moved forward in developing increasingly sustainable formulations.”

According to Takeshita, this “green shift” has been an international trend in research on the subject. However, she says the search for green nanoformulations has become a means of achieving publication and scientific dissemination. “If it has ‘green’ in the name, it gets media coverage, is published, and is successful. But is it really green? To answer this question, we began scrutinizing the published work. Sometimes the polymers and active ingredients are natural, but synthetic surfactants are used in the composition for stability, or only the polymer is natural. Therefore, these terms should be used sparingly to define this new generation of pesticides.”

According to her, a product must have an active ingredient and polymer of natural origin, as well as a clean production chain, to be considered “green.” Additionally, even if a product is classified as environmentally friendly, it is essential to assess its toxicity, as biodegradability does not exempt products from associated environmental impacts.

The article traces the history of green nanopesticide research and suggests a flowchart to help decision-makers classify formulations. Based on this information, they can then move forward with registering these new, efficient, environmentally safe molecules.  

“We believe that the registration process for proven green molecules should be facilitated. As long as it can be shown, throughout the various stages, that the product is more efficient, has low or no toxicity, that the formulation without the active ingredient is also non-toxic, and that the result is as good as that of a conventional formulation, or one that isn’t entirely green, the registration process could be accelerated. That’s what we’re proposing at the end of the study. We want green molecules to reach the market and producers more quickly,” the researcher argues.

Tracking and registration

Brazil still lacks specific standards for regulating nanoformulations. Everything is analyzed and reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Three institutions are involved in registering these new and conventional formulations: the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), and the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA). Europe is slightly ahead; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is developing guidelines to help regulate these products. Brazilian institutions require these guidelines for registering similar products, including tests of molecule mobility in the environment and toxicity levels. 

“We need to show MAPA that the formulation works at least as well as those already on the market; prove to ANVISA that the molecule has low toxicity, through a series of studies; and IBAMA will also request information on toxicity to non-target organisms, whether the molecule has the potential to reach groundwater, whether it’s mobile in the soil, whether it’s degradable in the environment, among other questions,” Takeshita explains. According to her, the process is usually lengthy, and even a conventional molecule can take more than ten years to be approved. 

The ideal regulatory mechanism for the agronomist would be a kind of bonus system: the greener the molecule, the faster the registration process. “But that doesn’t exempt companies from submitting all the necessary dossiers. Most likely, for nanoformulations, it’ll be necessary to submit all the studies that are already submitted for conventional pesticides, plus some additional information. The detailed characterization of this nanoparticle, for example, according to established and recognized criteria, will likely be an important step, since, as mentioned, it interacts differently with the environment.”

Nano vs. conventional

Vanessa Takeshita explains that conventional formulations are mixtures of ingredients, such as the surfactant, active ingredient, and emulsifier, that are blended together. “The molecules are loose in a mixture. This helps the active ingredient reach the plant, adhere to the surface, and remain present in the plant’s environment. A nanoformulation, on the other hand, is a structure that can be assembled in various formats, such as small squares made of layers of clay, capsules, or hydrogels. For pesticides, the capsule format [<1000 nm] is most interesting. In this case, the active ingredient is inside the capsule, which protects and carries it into the plant.”

There are many advantages. For example, the plant can be “tricked” by the capsule. The scientists call this mechanism a Trojan horse. “The plant recognizes the capsule as a compound that’s good for it, but it’s inside that the active ingredient is found. In the case of herbicides, which we need to apply to weeds in large quantities, we can apply a smaller dose because it’s possible to deliver more product directly into the plant, which is more efficient.” 

The researcher reiterates that progress has been made and that it is possible to have sustainable products that benefit agriculture. However, she acknowledges that there are bottlenecks. “It’s possible to have truly green formulations that can reach national and international markets and be used on a large scale, even for first-generation nanopesticides, i.e., those that combine synthetic or synthetic and natural compounds. The active ingredients can come from plants, microorganisms, or the substances they produce, but we know that there’s still a large gap in identifying these molecules, determining which compounds work, and extracting the active ingredients.”

Nanostructures, on the other hand, can be made with bioproducts such as zein, a protein extracted from corn; lignin, a biopolymer that supports plants; and cellulose, among others. “However, in addition to all the regulatory issues, the industry must be willing to adapt its industrial plants or develop these greener molecules for the market. A study has shown that producers are willing to pay 22% to 40% more for nanoformulations that are more efficient and less dangerous than conventional products. In other words, producers are willing to accept technology that helps them,” Takeshita summarizes.  

FAPESP also supported the work through a Regular Research Grant; four postdoctoral fellowships (24/07260-2, 23/16519-7, 23/00335-4, and 23/07905-0); a research internship abroad; a doctoral scholarship; and a scholarship for Retention of Young Doctors in Brazil. 

About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.

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Journal

Sustainable Materials and Technologies

DOI

10.1016/j.susmat.2025.e01756 

Article Title

The green horizon of agricultural nanotechnology: A pathway for truly sustainable pesticide formulations

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