Tootfinder

Citizen science study determines that more than one light per person is still on late at night in Germany #Germany

Citizen science study determines that more than one light per person is still on late at night in Germany
Nighttime satellite images have shown that cities are getting brighter, and light pollution is now recognized as an environmental issue. But how should local governments even begin the work of resolving this if nobody really knows what the sources of all this light are? A large citizen science project led by Dr. Christopher Kyba, at the time geographer at Ruhr University Bochum and the GFZ Helmholtz Center for Geosciences, is now shedding light on the matter.

"Microplastics are everywhere—but our methods to track them are all over the place"
#Microplastics #Plastic #Plastics

Microplastics are everywhere—but our methods to track them are all over the place
A new study from the University of Portsmouth has highlighted the growing role of citizen science in tackling one of the planet's most pervasive pollution problems: microplastics and mesoplastics. While researchers often warn that a lack of standardized protocols risks muddying the waters, this research shows that public involvement could be key to plugging the data gaps and that comparability rather than conformity is key.

Ein Bürgerforschungsprojekt hat über 234.000 #Lichtquellen in deutschen Städten erfasst.
Nach Mitternacht bleibt im Schnitt pro Person ein Licht an. #Straßenlaternen sind dabei nur ein kleiner Teil. Besonders häufig leuchten private Fenster,

Citizen science illuminates the nature of city lights - Nature Cities
This study employs a citizen science approach to identify and classify over 230,000 light sources in German city centers, suburbs and villages. The results underscore the pivotal role of citizen science in expanding knowledge of artificial light emissions and bolstering policymaking efforts to mitigate urban light pollution.

Citizen science illuminates the nature of city lights: #LightPollution

Radio Galaxy Zoo: EMU -- paving the way for EMU cataloging using AI and citizen science
Hongming Tang, Eleni Vardoulaki, RGZ EMU collaboration
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16138

Radio Galaxy Zoo: EMU -- paving the way for EMU cataloging using AI and citizen science
The Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey with ASKAP is transforming our understanding of radio galaxies, AGN duty cycles, and cosmic structure. EMUCAT efficiently identifies compact radio sources, yet struggles with extended objects, requiring alternative approaches. The Radio Galaxy Zoo: EMU (RGZ EMU) project proposes a general framework that combines citizen science and machine learning to identify around 4 million extended sources in EMU. This framework is expected to enhance the EM…

Gerade laufen die Nebula-Award-Ceremonies. Aktuell spricht die diesjährige SFWA Grandmaster Nicola Griffith: https://nebulas.sfwa.org/grand-masters/nicola-griffith/

#Blakes7 Series C, Episode 12 - Death-Watch
DEETA: So, you have an answer for the Summons to Justification. Like what? Surely not a Blood Feud? [rises to face her] I can't have killed someone who's close kin to both of you. Particularly not as your friend here is a citizen of the Vandor Confederacy. As I assume you are. [drops a metal ID card at her feet]
KARLA: [Picks it …

'Forever chemicals' detected in 65% of sampled private wells in Pennsylvania https://phys.org/news/2025-06-chemicals-sampled-private-wells-pennsylvania.html
PFAS Found in 65% of Private Wells Sampled in Pennsylvania

'Forever chemicals' detected in 65% of sampled private wells in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, 3.5 million people are served by private well systems, according to Penn State Extension. To better understand potential contamination of the groundwater feeding these systems, a team of researchers from Penn State conducted a novel three-year citizen science study of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—often referred to as forever chemicals—in 167 private wells across Pennsylvania.

The iNaturalist Sounds Dataset
Mustafa Chasmai, Alexander Shepard, Subhransu Maji, Grant Van Horn
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.00343 https://

The iNaturalist Sounds Dataset
We present the iNaturalist Sounds Dataset (iNatSounds), a collection of 230,000 audio files capturing sounds from over 5,500 species, contributed by more than 27,000 recordists worldwide. The dataset encompasses sounds from birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and amphibians, with audio and species labels derived from observations submitted to iNaturalist, a global citizen science platform. Each recording in the dataset varies in length and includes a single species annotation. We benchmark multi…