environ research

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Environmental sciences articles from across Nature Portfolio

Environmental science is the multidisciplinary study of all aspects of the Earth’s physical and biological environments. It encompasses environmental chemistry, soil science, ecology, climatology, vegetation cover, marine and freshwater systems, as well as environmental remediation and preservation, and agriculture and land use.

Policy credibility is a key component for an effective and efficient EU Emissions Trading System

Recent reforms of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) boosted carbon prices by tightening the cap on emission allowances and increasing political commitment to it, which effectively made actors more farsighted. Policymakers should thus view prices as an indicator of credibility as well as scarcity, and manage potential future drops in the former by renewing commitment to the cap.

• Joanna Sitarz
• Michael Pahle
• Robert Pietzcker

Microplastics, microfibres and marine snows

A digital method of studying the dynamic behaviours of marine and lake snows in the water column will help to speed up investigations of their behaviour and of the ecological impact of microplastics and microfibres in water bodies.

• Tamara S. Galloway
• Adam Porter

Organic photodetectors to monitor water contaminants

Organic photodetectors can be an alternative to silicon ones in detecting water contaminants, but their noise is too high due to disorder. Using pre-formed crystalline organic colloids to reduce the disorder in organic photodiodes helps to improve their performance to achieve detection of contaminants even at low concentrations.

• Jinsong Huang

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• Environmental chemistry
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Latest Research and Reviews

Hemispherical scale mechanisms of nitrate formation in global marine aerosols

• Hongliang Li

Improvement in the physical properties of poly(lactic acid)/thermoplastic starch blends using oligo(lactic acid)-grafted starch

Blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) are promising biodegradable plastics, although their poor compatibility results in poor physical properties. In this study, oligo(lactic acid)-grafted starch (OLAgSt) was synthesized and added to PLA/TPS blends as a compatibilizer, and the physical properties of the obtained blends were evaluated. OLAgSt was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide using the hydroxy group of tapioca starch as an initiator. OLAgSt not only enhanced the dispersion of TPS within PLA, but also improved the biodegradability of the blend in a seawater environment.

• Kazuki Shibasaki
• Hiroshi Uyama

Unveiling green corrosion inhibitor of Aloe vera extracts for API 5L steel in seawater environment

• Ahmad Royani
• Muhammad Hanafi
• Azwar Manaf

Deriving PM 2.5 from satellite observations with spatiotemporally weighted tree-based algorithms: enhancing modeling accuracy and interpretability

A super-efficient gel adsorbent with over 1000 times the adsorption capacity of activated carbon

Sedentary behaviour may cause differences in physical outcomes and activities of daily living in older cardiovascular disease patients participating in phase I cardiac rehabilitation

• Kazuhiro P. Izawa
• Kodai Ishihara
• Ikki Shimizu

News and Comment

Earth-surface monitoring is at risk — more imaging tools are urgently needed.

• Etienne Berthier
• Jeffrey S. Kargel
• Michael Zemp

The global refugee crisis is above all a human tragedy — but it affects wildlife, too

• Andrew D. Walde
• Gift S. Demaya
• Luca Luiselli

Herbicide-degrading synthetic microbiome

An article in Nature Communications reports a metabolic modelling-based framework to construct synthetic microbiomes that can degrade specific herbicides in soil.

• Christine-Maria Horejs

From lab coats to winning votes

As an atmospheric chemist in Lebanon, Najat Aoun Saliba was propelled towards activism to combat rising pollution levels and inequality. This culminated in her election to become a member of the Lebanese parliament.

• Najat Aoun Saliba
• Stephanie Greed

Root–soil–microbiome management is key to the success of regenerative agriculture

Building soil health and manipulating the soil microbiome, alongside targeted plant breeding that prioritizes preferential root architectural development, hold the key to the future success of regenerative agriculture. Greater integration is needed between disciplines focused on the rhizosphere scale with plant, microbiome and soil scientists working at the wider farm scale.

• Sacha J. Mooney
• Gabriel Castrillo
• Malcolm J. Bennett

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Environmental Research

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• Biochemistry
• Environmental Science (miscellaneous)

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The set of journals have been ranked according to their SJR and divided into four equal groups, four quartiles. Q1 (green) comprises the quarter of the journals with the highest values, Q2 (yellow) the second highest values, Q3 (orange) the third highest values and Q4 (red) the lowest values.

The SJR is a size-independent prestige indicator that ranks journals by their 'average prestige per article'. It is based on the idea that 'all citations are not created equal'. SJR is a measure of scientific influence of journals that accounts for both the number of citations received by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from It measures the scientific influence of the average article in a journal, it expresses how central to the global scientific discussion an average article of the journal is.

Evolution of the number of published documents. All types of documents are considered, including citable and non citable documents.

This indicator counts the number of citations received by documents from a journal and divides them by the total number of documents published in that journal. The chart shows the evolution of the average number of times documents published in a journal in the past two, three and four years have been cited in the current year. The two years line is equivalent to journal impact factor ™ (Thomson Reuters) metric.

Evolution of the total number of citations and journal's self-citations received by a journal's published documents during the three previous years. Journal Self-citation is defined as the number of citation from a journal citing article to articles published by the same journal.

Evolution of the number of total citation per document and external citation per document (i.e. journal self-citations removed) received by a journal's published documents during the three previous years. External citations are calculated by subtracting the number of self-citations from the total number of citations received by the journal’s documents.

International Collaboration accounts for the articles that have been produced by researchers from several countries. The chart shows the ratio of a journal's documents signed by researchers from more than one country; that is including more than one country address.

Not every article in a journal is considered primary research and therefore "citable", this chart shows the ratio of a journal's articles including substantial research (research articles, conference papers and reviews) in three year windows vs. those documents other than research articles, reviews and conference papers.

Ratio of a journal's items, grouped in three years windows, that have been cited at least once vs. those not cited during the following year.

Evolution of the percentage of female authors.

Evolution of the number of documents cited by public policy documents according to Overton database.

Evoution of the number of documents related to Sustainable Development Goals defined by United Nations. Available from 2018 onwards.

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Sustainable Environment Research

Call for papers: upcoming collection, nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation, guest edited by: pierre-antoine versini, amy oen, natalia rodriguez and daniela rizzi.

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Application of fluidized-bed homogeneous crystallization technology to carbon sequestration and recovery from flue gas

Authors: Po-Chun Huang, Anabella C. Vilando, Thi-Hanh Ha and Ming-Chun Lu

Emission characterizations and environmental impacts of off-road vehicles

Authors: Hsing-Wang Li, Chia-Hsiang Lai, Ku-Fan Chen, Yi-Ching Lin, Po-Yen Chien, Wei-Hsiang Chen, Kang-Shin Chen and Yen-Ping Peng

Investigating the bacterial consortia properties of electrogenic anodic biofilm in a double-chamber microbial fuel cell: electrochemical, physical, biochemical and molecular characterization

Authors: Doaa Khodary Zater, Fatma I. Elzamik, Howaida M. Abdel Basit, Gamal El-Din M. Moustafa, Dena Z. Khater and Kamel M. El-Khatib

Photodegradation of six selected antipsychiatric drugs; carbamazepine, sertraline, amisulpride, amitriptyline, diazepam, and alprazolam in environment: efficiency, pathway, and mechanism—a review

Authors: Fahimeh Mohamadpour and Farzaneh Mohamadpour

Resources recovery-rubidium recovery from desalination brine through hydrometallurgy techniques

Authors: Cheng-Han Lee, Wei-Sheng Chen and Fan-Wei Liu

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Biological wastewater treatment and bioreactor design: a review

Authors: C. M. Narayanan and Vikas Narayan

A comprehensive review on indoor air quality monitoring systems for enhanced public health

Authors: Jagriti Saini, Maitreyee Dutta and Gonçalo Marques

A system for monitoring water quality in a large aquatic area using wireless sensor network technology

Authors: Alexander T. Demetillo, Michelle V. Japitana and Evelyn B. Taboada

Study of the feasibility of a rice husk recycling scheme in Japan to produce silica fertilizer for rice plants

Authors: Ryoko Sekifuji and Masafumi Tateda

Near infrared band of Landsat 8 as water index: a case study around Cordova and Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines

Authors: Jeremy P. Mondejar and Alejandro F. Tongco

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2020-2022 Editor's Choice Articles

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The archival content of Sustainable Environment Research can be located here . 

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The primary goal of Sustainable Environment Research (SER) is to publish high quality research articles associated with sustainable environmental science and technology and to contribute to improving environmental practice. The scope of SER includes issues of environmental science, technology, management and related fields, especially in response to sustainable water, energy and other natural resources. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Water and Wastewater

• Biological processes • Physical and chemical processes • Watershed management • Advanced and innovative treatment

2. Soil and Groundwater Pollution

• Contaminant fate and transport processes • Contaminant site investigation technology • Soil and groundwater remediation technology • Risk assessment in contaminant sites

3. Air Pollution and Climate Change

• Ambient air quality management • Greenhouse gases control • Gaseous and particulate pollution control • Indoor air quality management and control

4. Waste Management

• Waste reduction and minimization • Resource recovery and conservation • Solid waste treatment technology and disposal

5. Energy and Resources

• Sustainable energy • Local, regional and global sustainability • Environmental management system • Life-cycle assessment • Environmental policy instruments • Techno-economic assessment

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2022 Citation Impact 4.9 - 2-year Impact Factor 6.4 - 5-year Impact Factor 1.899 - SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper) 0.865 - SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

2023 Speed 23 days submission to first editorial decision for all manuscripts (Median) 147 days submission to accept (Median)

2023 Usage  354,574 downloads 25 Altmetric mentions 

ISSN: 2468-2039

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Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Environmental Science and Pollution Research (ESPR) serves the international community in all broad areas of environmental science and related subjects with emphasis on chemical compounds.

• Covers all areas of Environmental Science and related subjects.
• Publishes on the natural sciences, but also includes the impacts of legislation, regulation, and the economy on pollution control.
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Volume 31, Issue 26

Latest articles

Hydrodynamics and water quality of a highly anthropized wetland: the case study of the massaciuccoli basin (tuscany, italy).

• Francesca Pasquetti
• Stefano Natali
• Roberto Giannecchini

A critical review on the influence of operating parameters and feedstock characteristics on microwave pyrolysis of biomass

• Sridhar Palla
• Dadi Venkata Surya
• Venkata Chandra Sekhar Palla

Effects of residual foaming agent and defoamer on defoaming-flocculation-filterpress characteristics of earth pressure balance shield muck

Marine macro-litter mass outweighs biomass in trawl catches along abyssal seafloors of Sardinia channel (Italy)

• Ester Carreras-Colom
• Maria Cristina Follesa
• Alessandro Cau

Residues of veterinary antibiotics in solid natural and organic fertilizers—method development and sample analysis

• Ewelina Patyra
• Zbigniew Osiński
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Environmental Systems Research

Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Xiaowei Wu, Dr. Pradnya D. Rao, Dr. Ula Rozman, Dr. Oriol Rius Ayra Submission Status: Open from 20 June 2024  |   Submission Deadline: 31 January 2025

Guest Editors: Qaisar Mahmood, Sunil Kumar and Paromita Chakraborty Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline:   30 June 2024

Minimizing environmental impacts of timber products through the production process “From Sawmill to Final Products”

Authors: Shankar Adhikari and Barbara Ozarska

Natural resource degradation tendencies in Ethiopia: a review

Authors: Simachew Bantigegn Wassie

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Editor's choices

Geospatial assessment of urban green space using multi-criteria decision analysis in Debre Markos City, Ethiopia Mihret Bizuye Anteneh, Desta Solomon Damte, Simeneh Gedefaw Abate & Abebaw Andarge Gedefaw  Research Published: 21 March 2023

Application of artificial intelligence for forecasting surface quality index of irrigation systems in the Red River Delta, Vietnam Duc Phong Nguyen, Hai Duong Ha, Ngoc Thang Trinh & Minh Tu Nguyen  Research Published: 04 July 2023

Geo-hazards assessment of the new-found industrial communities: an example from the 10th of Ramadan Industrial Region, Egypt Ahmed E. El-Rayes, Mohamed O. Arnous, David R. Green & Norhan F. Gouda  Research Published: 23 June 2023

Asset management analytics for urban water mains: a literature review Atefeh Delnaz, Fuzhan Nasiri & S. Samuel Li  Review Published: 18 April 2023

Toxicological response and bioaccumulation of strontium in Festuca rubra L. (red fescue) and Trifolium pratense L. (red clover) in contaminated soil microcosms Phatchani Srikhumsuk, Tatyana Peshkur, Joanna C. Renshaw & Charles W. Knapp Research Published: 11 May 2023

Rapid spilled oil analysis using direct analysis in real time time-of-flight mass spectrometry Krishnaja Tikkisetty, Paige McCallum, Taylor Filewood, Jeffrey Yan, Honoria Kwok, Pamela Brunswick, Robert Cody & Dayue Shang  Research Published: 11 March 2023

Residential fuel consumption and technology choices: an application of FGNLS and random effects binary logit model Nuredin Juhar, Gunnar Köhlin & Alemu Mekonnen  Research Published: 10 June 2023

Measurement of ambient particulate matter (PM1.0, PM2.5 and PM10) in Khulna City of Bangladesh and their implications for human health Jobaer Ahmed Saju, Quazi Hamidul Bari, Kazi A. B. M. Mohiuddin & Vladimir Strezov  Research Published: 19 December 2023

Remote sensing supported analysis of the effect of wind erosion on local air pollution in arid regions: a case study from Iğdır province in eastern Türkiye Yahya Öztürk, Adem Yulu & Orkun Turgay  Case Study Published: 19 April 2023

Biocultural mapping: unpacking the myth of an unsuitable Country in the arid zone, Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area, Australia Katherine Thomas Research Published: 03 July 2023

Investigating the fate of polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycle compounds in spilled oils with a microcosm weathering experiment Taylor Filewood ,  Honoria Kwok ,  Pamela Brunswick ,  Jeffrey Yan ,  Jessica E. Ollinik ,  Christopher Cote ,  Marcus Kim ,  Graham van Aggelen ,  Caren C. Helbing  &  Dayue Shang   Research Published: 30 March 2022

Bivariate hydrologic risk analysis for the Xiangxi River in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China Y. R. Fan   Research Published: 29 September 2022

Hyperaccumulation of lead using  Agrostis tenuis Lorna Anguilano ,  Uchechukwu Onwukwe ,  Aghis Dekhli ,  Susanna Venditti ,  Danny Aryani  &  Alan Reynolds   Research Published: 23 December 2022

Modeling the potential impacts of automated vehicles on pollutant emissions under different scenarios of a test track Zelalem Birhanu Biramo  &  Anteneh Afework Mekonnen   Research Published: 12 December 2022

Synthesis of eco-friendly ZnO-based heterophotocatalysts with enhanced properties under visible light in the degradation of organic pollutants Jean Bedel Batchamen Mougnol ,  Frans Waanders ,  Seteno Karabo Obed Ntwampe ,  Elvis Fosso-Kankeu  &  Ali Rashed Al Alili   Research Published: 20 November 2022

Effects of compost on onion quality, yield, and thrips infestation Allan T. Showler   Research Published: 05 November 2022

Evaluation of the root system of Vetiver grass ( Chrysopogon zizanioides  L. Roberty) using different sampling methods Francisco Sandro Rodrigues Holanda ,  Luiz Diego Vidal Santos ,  Alceu Pedrotti ,  Renisson Neponuceno de Araújo Filho ,  Lucas Resmini Sartor ,  Valter Rubens Alcantara Santos-Sobrinho ,  Rayssa Juliane Souza de Jesus ,  Priscila Angel de Oliveira Silva  &  Keila Maria Araújo Andrade   Research Published: 02 September 2022

Quantify soil erosion and sediment export in response to land use/cover change in the Suha watershed, northwestern highlands of Ethiopia: implications for watershed management Nigussie Yeneneh ,  Eyasu Elias  &  Gudina Legese Feyisa   Research Published: 28 October 2022

Climate trend analysis for a semi-arid Borana zone in southern Ethiopia during 1981–2018 Mitiku Adisu Worku ,  Gudina Legese Feyisa  &  Kassahun Ture Beketie   Research Published: 04 March 2022

Appraisal of lead (Pb) contamination and potential exposure risk associated with agricultural soils and some cultivated plants in gold mines Aminu Darma ,  Sani Ibrahim ,  Ali Sani ,  Peiman Zandi  &  Jianjun Yang   Research Published: 17 June 2022

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We are glad to announce that Environmental Systems Research has been accepted by Scopus and EI-Compendex!

Aims and scope

Environmental Systems Research publishes high-quality, interdisciplinary and refereed research papers, review and comment articles, and topical collections on all aspects of environmental systems from water (terrestrial and marine), air, soil and biota . The journal aims to advance and apply scientific knowledge and practical methods to improve our understanding of environmental and sustainability issues and support evidence-based policy making and eco-friendly practice at regional or global scales. The journal particularly encourages innovative, original and cross-disciplinary research on the development and use of new or improved methodologies and technologies for scientific studies and practical work in environmental fields. The journal coverage includes, but not limited to, the following topics: - Laboratory, field and modeling studies on sources, fate, transport and effect of traditional and emerging contaminants in the environments - Monitoring, analysis, prevention, treatment and remediation methods and techniques - Modeling methods and applications related to assessment, simulation, optimization and management of resources, environmental and ecological systems - Environmental impact and risk assessment, uncertainty analysis, vulnerability/resilience assessment, and life cycle analysis - Ecotoxicology, environmental health and safety - Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining, computer graphics, and geomatics for environmental and ecological studies - Environmental biotechnology, microbiology, and genomics - New material and nanotechnology and their environmental applications - Cleaner production, green chemistry, and resource-oriented waste management - Water resources and watershed modeling, storm water management, and flood/draught control - Climate change impact assessment and adaptation planning - Environmental sustainability, circular economy, and asset management - Environmental decision making, policy, legislation and governance  

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The International Society for Environmental Information Sciences (ISEIS) is a non-profit and free-membership organization of individuals, institutions and corporations. The society is dedicated to the development of information systems technology for environmental applications. It promotes the international exchange of knowledge in the field of environmental information systems research.

The Persistent, Emerging, and Organic Pollution in the Environment (PEOPLE) is a global research and education network. As the largest consortium of its kind, PEOPLE is dedicated to innovative research, collaborative development, and cross-disciplinary education in environmental engineering and management, promotes knowledge exchange and technology transfer, and provides engineering and managerial solutions to support environmental and community sustainability.  

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Environmental Systems Research is associated with  the global Network on Persistent, Emerging and Organic Pollution in the Environment (PEOPLE Network).

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2023 Speed 3 days submission to first editorial decision for all manuscripts (Median) 58 days submission to accept (Median)

2023 Usage 505,317 downloads 46 Altmetric mentions

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Princeton Environmental Research Addressing the world’s problems

Disparities in the distribution of flood adaptation resources could be curbed by equity-weighting.

Photo Credit: Jax10289 from Getty Images

As the effects of climate change intensify, the need for efficient and equitable climate adaptation policies is becoming more urgent. This is especially true for U.S. coastal counties impacted by climate-induced sea-level rise and the socio-economically vulnerable areas within them that are often characterized by higher flood risks.  

Conventional benefit-cost analyses used to allocate adaptation resources in coastal areas have often resulted in distributional inequities. In a  study(Link is external) examining flooding adaptation measures in New York City (NYC),  researchers at Princeton University and the Environmental Defense Fund show how a new type of benefit-cost analysis can better account for the value of flood mitigation benefits to low-income households.  

The study focuses on two adaptation measures: property buyouts and retrofitting. Property buyouts are when governments purchase properties from residents in high flood-risk areas, while retrofitting involves elevating and wetproofing buildings. For each adaptation measure for each building, the researchers calculated benefit cost ratios (BCRs). The researchers calculated adaptation costs using data from the NYC Department of City Planning and the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration. The benefits of each measure was quantified by calculating the value of expected avoided damages over a 50-year time horizon.

In an alternative model, the researchers recalculated benefit cost ratios with “equity-weighted” benefits that would operationalize the assumption that a dollar saved from avoided damages would have a greater effect on a low-income household’s well-being than a high-income household. In a benefit-cost analysis, these weights effectively place more value on the benefits of buyouts and home elevations in disadvantaged communities.

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Environmental Group to Study Effects of Artificially Cooling Earth

The Environmental Defense Fund, entering controversial territory, will spend millions of dollars examining the impact of reflecting sunlight into space as global warming worsens.

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Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE)

Disparities in the Distribution of Flood Adaptation Resources Could be Curbed by Equity-Weighting, Research Suggests

Photo Credit: Jax10289 from Getty Images

As the effects of climate change intensify, the need for efficient and equitable climate adaptation policies is becoming more urgent. This is especially true for U.S. coastal counties impacted by climate-induced sea-level rise and the socio-economically vulnerable areas within them that are often characterized by higher flood risks.  

Conventional benefit-cost analyses used to allocate adaptation resources in coastal areas have often resulted in distributional inequities. In a  study examining flooding adaptation measures in New York City (NYC),  researchers at Princeton University and the Environmental Defense Fund show how a new type of benefit-cost analysis can better account for the value of flood mitigation benefits to low-income households.  

The study focuses on two adaptation measures: property buyouts and retrofitting. Property buyouts are when governments purchase properties from residents in high flood-risk areas, while retrofitting involves elevating and wetproofing buildings. For each adaptation measure for each building, the researchers calculated benefit cost ratios (BCRs). The researchers calculated adaptation costs using data from the NYC Department of City Planning and the Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration. The benefits of each measure was quantified by calculating the value of expected avoided damages over a 50-year time horizon.  

When the researchers used traditional valuation methods, the BCRs were highest in census tracts with fewer disadvantaged communities, implying that there may be an implicit bias in resource allocation towards less vulnerable populations.  

“The current application of BCRs inherently favors affluent and non-disadvantaged communities due to their higher property values,” explains lead author  Joe Lockwood , a Ph.D. student at the Department of Geoscience. “Essentially, the more valuable the property, the higher the avoided costs of damage appear, and the more justified the adaptation measure seems, economically. This skews our climate adaptation strategies to favor wealthy and non-disadvantaged communities, who may already possess the means to protect themselves.”

In an alternative model, the researchers recalculated benefit cost ratios with “equity-weighted” benefits that would operationalize the assumption that a dollar saved from avoided damages would have a greater effect on a low-income household’s well-being than a high-income household. In a benefit-cost analysis, these weights effectively place more value on the benefits of buyouts and home elevations in disadvantaged communities.

“The US Office of Management and Budget recently updated their guidelines to federal agencies to allow the use of these weights in federal benefit-cost analyses, but they have yet to be broadly applied,” explains co-author  Jesse Gourevitch , a postdoctoral fellow in the Economics Team at the Environmental Defense Fund. “This work demonstrates the feasibility of implementing these weights and what their implications might be in practice.”  

With the inclusion of equity weights, there was a substantial increase in BCRs for adaptation measures in communities such as the Bronx and Jamaica Bay. According to the researchers, this indicates that equity weightings have the potential to reduce bias in hazard mitigation funding within the United States.  

“Some governmental decisions on flood recovery and adaptation are currently prioritized using Benefit-Cost Analysis,” explains  Michael Oppenheimer , the director of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment and Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and the High Meadows Environmental Institute. “Continuing to use traditional formulas will continue historical inequity in outcomes of these programs. The new approach, if applied by governments, could begin to remedy this failure.”

The paper, “Socioeconomic distributional impacts of evaluating flood mitigation activities using equity-weighted benefit-cost analysis,” was co-authored by Joseph W. Lockwood (Department of Geoscience, Princeton University), Michael Oppenheimer (School of Public and International Affairs, Department of Geosciences, and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University), Ning Lin (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University), and Jesse Gourevitch (Economics Team, Environmental Defense Fund). The paper appeared in Environmental Research Letters on June 14th, 2024. This study was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation as part of the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub.  Lockwood received support from the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton University through the generous support of the William Clay Ford, Jr ’79 and Lisa Vanderzee Ford ’82 Graduate Fellowship Fund.

Office of the Dean for Research

New research projects and collaborations selected for funding from the Office of the Dean for Research

A collaboration that explores dynamics among humans, machines, and the environment brings together researchers from the disciplines of architecture, computer science and physics. The project is one of several to be funded by the Office of the Dean for Research. Credit: Daniela Mitterberger, Princeton School of Architecture

New faculty-led projects in areas ranging from the arts and humanities to energy and the environment have been selected to receive funding from the Office of the Dean for Research.

The funds enable exploration of daring ideas and promising collaborations in ways that expand knowledge, impact society, and benefit the planet. Projects are selected via a competitive application process involving proposal reviews by anonymous peer-review panels. 

“This funding grows the capacity for researchers to investigate unconventional or untested ideas that can be difficult to fund through traditional sources,” said Dean for Research Peter Schiffer, professor of physics. “Through these funds, Princeton makes such explorations possible.”

This year, the program selected projects in five themes:

New Ideas in the Humanities

New industrial collaborations, collaborations between artists and scientists or engineers, sustainability of our planet, exploratory energy research.

The New Ideas in the Humanities fund encourages innovative scholarship on original theories as well as enduring questions. Projects may involve the development of new ideas, working groups, conferences, technologies, datasets, expanded access to scholarly resources, or major pieces of scholarly work. The following projects were funded:

Launching the next phase of On TAP: A Theatre & Performance Studies Podcast

• Brian Herrera , Associate Professor of Theater, Lewis Center for the Arts

Originally launched in 2016, On TAP: A Theatre and Performance Studies Podcast  has become a successful, far-reaching, and pathbreaking example of what collaborative humanities scholarship can be in the era of digital and social media. This award will enable a critical scholarly assessment of the podcast’s impact and allow OnTAP ’s continued production over the next two years.  

Indian Ocean trade, the global Middle Ages and the Cairo Geniza

• Marina Rustow , Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East; Professor of Near Eastern Studies and History 

Several hundred letters, legal deeds, lists and accounts dating from Indian Ocean traders from 1060 to 1250 C.E. will be published online and in print in the original Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic alongside English translations. The documents, which survived in a medieval Egyptian synagogue within a larger cache known as the Cairo Geniza, provide unparalleled information about global history before European colonialism.

Program in Law & Public Policy (P*LAW) project in legal journalism 

• Deborah Pearlstein , Director, Program in Law and Public Policy (P*LAW); Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in Law and Public Affairs

This project will bring a distinguished visiting journalist to Princeton for a two-year residence to foster innovative methods of legal journalism through original investigative research. The project will improve factual and historical research methods through the study of comparative best practices, support original interviews regarding cases of current relevance and historic significance, and disseminate findings through public events and audiovisual and archival preservation. 

The New Industrial Collaborations fund fosters research collaborations between industry and academia, helping to identify challenges and aiding the transformation of discoveries. The program requires a matching contribution from a collaborating company in the second year of the project. The following project was funded:

Real-time brain-to-image reconstructions and foundation models for neuroimaging data

• Kenneth Norman , Huo Professor in Computational and Theoretical Neuroscience; Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience; Chair, Department of Psychology
• Sanjeev Arora , Charles C. Fitzmorris Professor in Computer Science
• Jonathan Pillow , Professor of Princeton Neuroscience Institute
• Uri Hasson , Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
• Industrial Collaborator : Stability AI

Princeton scientists will collaborate with researchers at Stability AI, an open-source generative artificial intelligence (AI) company, to build a system that can visually reconstruct images based on brain activity of patients after a single fMRI brain-imaging session over a timespan of a few seconds. Such a real-time system would, with the patient’s consent, enable researchers to view the patient’s internal mental experience, providing transformative implications for basic science discovery, clinical diagnosis and treatment.

The Collaborations between Artists and Scientists or Engineers fund encourages collaborations between faculty and scholars in the arts and those in the natural sciences or engineering to promote synergistic innovations, allowing experts in seemingly unrelated fields to expand their collective knowledge in ways that benefit both disciplines. The following projects were funded:

Forever chemicals, ecological futures: A collaboration of bioremediation science and multimedia storytelling

• José Avalos , Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
• Allison Carruth , Professor of American Studies and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, Director of Blue Lab
• Peter Jaffe , William L. Knapp '47 Professor of Civil Engineering, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• David Reinfurt , Professor of the Practice, Visual Arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts

This collaboration connects biological and environmental engineering with science communication and visual media to engage diverse communities with the ecological ubiquity of long-lived environmental contaminants known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The researchers, which includes Research Associate Scholar Mansha Seth Pasricha , will combine the development of bioengineering solutions to biodegrade these forever chemicals with the production of an innovative lab-to-field series of mixed-media documentary shorts, data visualizations, and local events involving science museums, environmental justice groups, and community arts organizations to raise awareness and engage responses.

Robotic territories: A human-robot performance

• Daniela Mitterberger , Assistant Professor of Architecture
• Benjamin Eysenbach , Assistant Professor of Computer Science
• Gautam Reddy , Assistant Professor of Physics

This collaboration will investigate the dynamics among humans, machines, and the environment, advocating for a paradigm shift in how we understand and interact with our world through technology. The research aims to explore the complex domain of human and robotic interaction through the lens of performance, behavior, motion and representation with the investigative methods of research by design. The result of this research will be a live performance starring three robots and one human interacting in real-time using new bio-inspired artificial systems alongside augmented reality technologies and machine learning algorithms.

The  Sustainability of Our Planet fund focuses on discovering, developing, and adopting sustainable solutions aimed at mitigating the effects of natural resource extraction and use, climate change, land-use change, and other human activities that degrade the environment and pollute Earth. Made possible thanks to the extraordinary vision and generosity of John McDonnell, Class of 1960, the fund is co-organized by the Office of the Dean for Research, the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and the High Meadows Environmental Institute Innovation. The following projects were funded:

Accelerated discovery of ion-selective electrodes for industrial wastewater refining

• Ryan Kingsbury , Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment

This project explores a new approach to reclaiming valuable metals such as copper, nickel, lead and zinc from industrial wastewater. The technology relies on a family of chemical structures known as Prussian Blue analogs (PBAs) that act as electrodes to attract and trap specific metals. The team will conduct computational screenings to identify and optimize PBA structures, and then produce the structures and test them for their ability to remove metals. The approach has the potential to minimize waste of industrial metals, enhance recycling, and reduce dependence on mining.

Agriculture to architecture: Straw building material

• Paul Lewis , Professor of Architecture
• Guy Nordenson , Professor of Architecture

This project will research and test straw-based construction systems with the goal of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide from building materials while fostering economic and social benefits. An agricultural byproduct, straw is inexpensive, lightweight, fast growing, and able to sequester significant amounts of carbon when used in building construction. The team will explore technical designs for straw as both insulation and structural components in ways that lead to new forms of architecture while supporting growing construction demands.

Design of zeotype-confined amines for carbon capture in humid environments

• Marcella Lusardi ,  Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Princeton Materials Institute

Materials that capture carbon dioxide from the air could play an important role in meeting climate change goals. One promising class of adsorbent materials for carbon capture is zeolites, which afford tunability in critical properties like confinement and composition, and have demonstrated success in many commercialized technologies at scale.  This project will investigate methods of tailoring the structure and polarity of zeolites to improve their ability to capture carbon in humid environments.

The Exploratory Energy Research fund exemplifies the University’s commitment to support innovative curiosity-driven energy research through new ideas and concepts aimed at finding sustainable energy solutions. The fund was established as part of Princeton’s larger  Energy Research Fund . The following project was funded:

Innovative Hybrid Plasma-Electrochemical System for Efficient and Selective Green Ammonia Synthesis

• Yiguang Ju , Robert Porter Patterson Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

This project will pioneer an environmentally friendly method for making ammonia, a chemical that can be useful in future hydrogen-based energy storage, transport and usage. The method will involve development of several technologies, including tungsten-based membranes and plasma-assisted membrane surface nitrification, which makes it possible to produce ammonia at much lower temperatures than are required for current production methods. The study will enable the efficient and sustainable synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and water using renewable electricity.

W.K. Kellogg Biological Station KBS Long-Term Agroecosystem Research

New prairie strip partial budget tool.

Rachel Drobnak <[email protected]> , Fahimeh Baziari, Scott Swinton <[email protected]> , Christine Charles <[email protected]> , Brook Wilke <[email protected]> , Elizabeth Schultheis, Jon LaPorte <[email protected]> , Christine Sprunger <[email protected]> , John Tyndall, Matt Gammans and Julie Doll <[email protected]> , Michigan State University - June 18, 2024

What does it cost to convert cropland to prairie strips?

Conservation practices require a significant investment in time and money. There are often large implementation costs, learning curves and labor required, all of which might prevent farmers and landowners from being able to adopt these practices. Additionally, when there are no tangible payments or products, the financial benefits may seem invisible. Yet, conservation practices provide many benefits to the cropping system, often by improving soil health, protecting water quality and increasing yield stability. Because of this, farmers are often eligible for payments which can offset or even result in profit when converting cropland into a conservation practice. While difficult to quantify, there are tools to help estimate the return on investment for conservation practices.  

One new practice gaining traction in Michigan, prairie strips, involves converting up to 10% of cropland to a mixture of perennial grasses, flowers and forbs. Compared to other conservation practices, prairie strips require minimal management and provide multiple environmental benefits. Prairie strips have been shown to reduce nutrient leaching, provide habitat for pollinators and prevent soil erosion, all without reducing crop yields adjacent to the prairie strip. Economically, prairie strips can increase the net profit of a field, if installed strategically. This is because prairie strips have the potential to cost less than producing crops in consistently low-yielding portions of a field.  

To help navigate the costs, savings and payments associated with prairie strips, a collaborative team of scientists, economists, outreach specialists and Extension educators at Michigan State University has come together to develop a new partial budget tool. The tool predicts that prairie strips could save farmers money if planted in areas where crops yield below 50% of the statewide average. These areas, often field borders, low-lying areas or cumbersome extensions of fields, may cost more to put into production than to restore to prairie. Additionally, if enrolling in the CRP-43 prairie strip program or other incentive programs, the cost-savings of prairie conversion increase.  

The partial budget bulletin is available here and on the MiSTRIPS website . This bulletin includes a downloadable Excel spreadsheet , which can be adjusted to accurately fit individual field operations.   

If you are interested in learning more about prairie strips or are considering installing them, please contact Elizabeth Schultheis, MiSTRIPS program coordinator, at [email protected] .  

Support for this project was provided by MiSTRIPS, Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research and the following grants: Doug and Maria Bayer Initiative (PD 63262) and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Research and Education Grant (LNC23-494).   

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension . For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu . To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters . To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts , or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Why scientists fear a second Trump term, and what they are doing about it

Several federal agencies are working to safeguard research, including climate science, from future political meddling.

When the union representing nearly half of Environmental Protection Agency employees approved a new contract with the federal government this month, it included an unusual provision that had nothing to do with pay, benefits or workplace flexibility: protections from political meddling into their work.

The protections, which ensure workers can report any meddling without fear of “retribution, reprisal, or retaliation,” are “a way for us to get in front of a second Trump administration and protect our workers,” said Marie Owens Powell, an EPA gas station storage tank inspector and president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238.

The agreement signals the extent to which career employees and Biden administration officials are racing to foil any efforts to interfere with climate science or weaken environmental agencies should former president Donald Trump win a second term. Trump and his allies, in contrast, argue that bloated federal agencies have hurt economic development nationwide and that the Biden administration has prioritized climate science at the expense of other priorities.

“One of the things that is so bad for us is the environmental agencies. They make it impossible to do anything,” the former president said in an interview with “Fox & Friends” that aired June 2, claiming that “they’ve stopped you from doing business in this country.”

The Trump administration sidelined, muted or forced out hundreds of scientists and misrepresented research on the coronavirus , reproduction and hurricane forecasting , environmental advocates said. Now as an example of what’s to come, they point to a blueprint called “Project 2025,” a plan for the next conservative administration drafted by right-wing think tanks in Washington.

The plan calls for a sweeping reorganization of the executive branch, one that would concentrate more power in Trump’s hands. At the EPA, it recommends eliminating the office of environmental justice , which was created in 2022 to address the pollution that disproportionately harms poor and minority communities.

Soon after President Biden took office, his administration began imposing scientific integrity policies across the federal government, setting rules that protect research from political interference or manipulation. Many such policies are in place — though research advocates say they aren’t durable because they aren’t enshrined in federal law, and could be undone with new executive actions.

At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where a 2020 investigation found that agency leaders violated its scientific integrity policy after Trump showed a doctored hurricane forecast map , stricter standards took effect in March. A similar policy will soon be extended to the Commerce Department, including to the political appointees whose violations were detailed in the 2020 probe.

At the EPA, the new scientific integrity provision is part of a four-year contract with the agency. The provision ensures that workers’ complaints will be assessed by an independent investigator, rather than a political appointee.

While any new president could quickly transform policies around scientific integrity through new executive orders, the union contract provision is one advocates had urged as a way to make the protections harder to undo without a legal fight.

Powell said the Trump administration especially targeted climate researchers at the agency. Trump has called global warming a “hoax,” and during his first year in office, his political appointees barred three EPA scientists from speaking about climate change at a conference in Rhode Island.

Mandy Gunasekara, who served as EPA chief of staff under Trump, rejected allegations that his administration tried to suppress climate science. She said this research is likely to continue regardless of who’s in the White House.

“Climate change will continue to be an important issue in a future conservative administration, but it’s not going to be the most important issue so that it displaces the agency fulfilling its full mission,” said Gunasekara, who wrote the chapter on the EPA in “Project 2025.”

There are nonetheless heavy anxieties within the EPA over the Project 2025 proposals, said Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, a former EPA official who advised agency leaders this week at a regularly scheduled meeting on the transition to the next administration. She said she reminded them that proposals to cut staff, for example, would require the cooperation of Congress.

“A lot of things on the wish list can’t happen that easily,” said Orme-Zavaleta, who serves on the board of the Environmental Protection Network, a group of former EPA employees that works to support the agency and its mission.

EPA spokesman Remmington Belford said in an email that the agency is “pleased” with the contract provision and “committed to ensuring the agency has a strong foundation of science that is free from political interference and inappropriate influence.”

While helpful, the provision won’t be a panacea, said Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit advocacy group, which helped advise AFGE on the scientific integrity language.

“It will be impossible to fully Trump-proof any agency or protect any scientist if Trump wins a new term and either the House or Senate is in Republican control,” Whitehouse said. “Then there will be absolutely no meaningful oversight.”

Interior Department braces for more cuts

The Interior Department — which manages vast swaths of public land and federal waters and oversees everything from offshore oil drilling to endangered species protections — could come under intense scrutiny in a second Trump administration.

In the interview with “Fox & Friends,” Trump was asked about government programs that he would slash in a second term. “We’re going to do, like, Department of Interior,” he said in response.

It remains unclear whether Trump wants to eliminate the Interior Department or merely reduce its budget and staffing levels. Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s 2024 campaign, did not directly respond to a request for clarification.

Trump “cut red tape and gave the [oil and gas] industry more freedom to do what they do best — utilize the liquid gold under our feet to produce clean energy for America and the world — and he will do that again as soon as he gets back to the White House,” Leavitt said in an emailed statement.

Career employees exited the Interior Department in droves during Trump’s four years in office. At the end of his presidency, there were 4,900 fewer employees at the agency than at the beginning, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management.

The exodus was especially large at Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, which oversees roughly 245 million acres of public lands. After Trump briefly moved the BLM’s headquarters from Washington to Grand Junction, Colo., more than 87 percent of the affected employees either resigned or retired.

William Perry Pendley, who served as acting BLM director under Trump, defended the relocation, saying the vast majority of public lands are in the West.

“If you want to be involved with the stakeholders — the governors, the county commissioners, the local people — then you’ve got to be out West,” Pendley said, adding that Biden administration officials in Washington are “badly out of touch.”

In addition to the BLM move, in July 2017, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reassigned dozens of top career officials as part of a broader reorganization of the department. Joel Clement, a scientist and policy expert, was removed from his role as director of Interior’s Office of Policy Analysis and reassigned to an accounting position for which he had no experience.

In a whistleblower complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel — and in an opinion piece in The Washington Post — Clement accused Zinke of illegally trying to force career staffers to quit.

“That incident was a case study in them going after the people who do the science,” Clement, who now works at a philanthropic foundation, said in an interview. Ultimately, Interior’s internal watchdog found no written communications from Zinke that supported the allegation.

In April, the Office of Personnel Management finalized a rule that will allow federal employees to keep their existing job protections and right to due process, including the right to appeal a reassignment or firing. The rule overturns a Trump directive, known as Schedule F, that allowed his administration to force out thousands of career employees by changing their status to at-will workers who could be fired without due process.

New federal law is needed, some say

NOAA leaders and observers said the agency is better equipped to withstand the sort of pressure scientists faced when Hurricane Dorian was approaching the U.S. coast in 2019, and Trump used a marker to extend the hurricane forecast cone to include Alabama.

His warning prompted a quick clarification from NOAA forecasters that Alabama was not, in fact, in the likely path of the storm, and then a statement from agency leaders reaffirming Trump’s incorrect assertion. An investigation found undue political influence led to the release of that statement, violating NOAA’s scientific integrity policy.

The agency has since updated that research policy — in January 2021 and again this March, said Cynthia Decker, NOAA’s scientific integrity officer.

The policy includes guidelines on how scientists should conduct themselves, and asks them to articulate their findings openly and clearly to the public. It establishes that “credible allegations of fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and interference with or undue influence on accurate public reporting of science” can result in “personnel actions” and even referral to the inspector general’s office.

An extension of those policies to cover the Commerce Department is expected in the coming months, Decker said. It would include a mechanism by which even political appointees could be subject to allegations that they violated the integrity policy, something that could lead to a review or investigation and potential discipline, Decker said.

These updates are important because they set “that moral and intellectual compass to remind people where the curbs are in the road,” said Craig McLean, a 40-year veteran of NOAA who served as the agency’s acting chief scientist during the Trump administration.

But as strong as the policies may be, they aren’t permanent, some critics note. Legislation introduced in the two most recent sessions of Congress would have codified a requirement that federal agencies adopt scientific integrity policies and could establish legal penalties for violating them.

With such a law in place, “the next president can’t say, ‘No, I don’t care,’” when violations of scientific integrity arise, said Andrew Rosenberg, a former NOAA official and a senior adviser at the Center for Ocean Leadership at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Daniel Weiner, director of the elections and government program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, said government scientists will inevitably face pressures from on high.

“There are always going to be political concerns pushing back on the science,” Weiner said. “I would expect that regardless of who wins the election.”

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• How Americans Get News on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram

1. TikTok users’ experiences with news

Table of contents.

• How people get news on TikTok
• Views about news on TikTok
• How people get news on X
• Views about news on X
• How people get news on Facebook
• Views about news on Facebook
• How people get news on Instagram
• Views about news on Instagram
• Acknowledgments
• The American Trends Panel survey methodology

TikTok is an increasingly popular source of news for Americans – particularly young adults. A 2023 Pew Research Center study found that 14% of all U.S. adults say they regularly get news on the video-based platform . Among TikTok users, the share regularly getting news there is growing. And the vast majority of adult TikTok news consumers are under age 50, including 44% who are 18 to 29.

But TikTok’s future in the United States is uncertain. ByteDance, the platform’s China-based owner, is facing an order from the U.S. government to either divest from TikTok or be banned in the country.

Our survey looks at U.S. TikTok users’ experiences with getting news. Among the key findings:

• Regardless of whether they turn to TikTok for news, most users see news-related content. TikTok users report seeing funny posts (84%) and people’s opinions (80%) related to current events at higher rates than news articles (57%) or breaking news information (55%).
• TikTok news consumers are equally likely to get news from influencers or celebrities as they are from news outlets or journalists. About two-thirds of those who regularly get news on TikTok (68%) say they ever get news from influencers or celebrities, and 67% get news from news outlets or journalists. An even higher share (84%) say they get news from other people they don’t know personally (beyond influencers, journalists, advocacy groups, and friends, family and acquaintances).
• TikTok news consumers are more likely than Americans who get news on Facebook and Instagram to view the news they get there as unique . Among those who regularly get news on TikTok, 35% say the news they get there is mostly news they would not have gotten elsewhere. By comparison, 14% of Facebook news consumers say the same about news they see on Facebook.

Four-in-ten TikTok users say they regularly get news on the site. And when it comes to the reasons Americans use TikTok, relatively few cite news.

Read more: Reasons for using TikTok

Among TikTok users, 15% say getting news is a major reason they use the platform, with an additional 26% citing it as a minor reason. The majority of users, however, say getting news is not a reason they use TikTok (58%).

Regardless of whether they turn to TikTok for news, a majority of TikTok users report seeing news-related content on the platform.

Most users say they ever see funny posts that reference current events (84%) or people expressing opinions about current events (80%) on TikTok. Smaller majorities say they ever see news articles (57%) – whether from posts, reposts, links or screenshots – or information about a breaking news event as it’s happening (55%) on the platform.

What sources people get news from on TikTok

TikTok news consumers are equally likely to get news from influencers or celebrities as they are from news outlets or journalists.

Among U.S. adults who say they regularly get news on TikTok, around two-thirds say they ever get news on the platform from influencers or celebrities (68%) or from news outlets or journalists (67%). Other sources of information, such as advocacy or nonprofit organizations (55%) and friends, family and acquaintances (48%), are less common.

Beyond these four types of sources, the vast majority of TikTok news consumers (84%) say they get news from other people they don’t know personally . In fact, accounts in this category are the most commonly cited source of news for TikTok news consumers, who are more likely than news consumers on other major social media sites to get news from other people they don’t know personally.

Inaccurate information

About a quarter of U.S. adults who regularly get news on TikTok (23%) say they extremely or fairly often see news on the platform that seems inaccurate. Roughly half (49%) say they sometimes see information that seems inaccurate, while 28% say they rarely or never see inaccurate news.

Views by party

Among TikTok news consumers, similar shares of Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party (22%) and Democrats and Democratic leaners (23%) say they often see news that seems inaccurate on the platform.

TikTok’s influence on the news users see

As lawmakers express concerns about the potential for the Chinese government to influence content on TikTok, most U.S. TikTok news consumers say they think the platform influences which news stories they see there at least to some extent. This includes roughly one-in-five (18%) who say TikTok influences the news content they see there a lot and an additional 44% who say TikTok does this some.

About a quarter of TikTok news consumers (27%) say the site does not influence which news stories they see there much, while 11% say TikTok exerts no influence at all.

Similar shares of Republicans (59%) and Democrats (63%) say they think TikTok influences which news stories they see on the platform at least somewhat.

TikTok as a source of unique news

There is no consensus among U.S. adults who regularly get news on TikTok whether the news they get there is mostly unique or not. About a third (35%) say it’s mostly news they would not have gotten elsewhere, while 27% say it is mostly news they would have gotten elsewhere if they did not use TikTok. And 37% say the news they get on TikTok consists of both kinds of information about equally.

Democrats (33%) are more likely than Republicans (18%) to say the news they get on TikTok is mostly news they would have gotten elsewhere if they didn’t use the platform.

Feeling worn out by news on TikTok

Americans who regularly get news on TikTok are less likely to say they feel worn out by the news they see there compared with news consumers on the other sites studied.

About one-in-ten TikTok news consumers (11%) say they extremely or fairly often feel worn out by the news they see on the platform, while 36% say they sometimes do.

News consumers who see at least some political content (i.e., posts about politics or political issues) on TikTok are more likely than those who see less politics-related content to feel worn out by the news they see on the platform at least sometimes (56% vs. 33%).

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How Americans Navigate Politics on TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram

Many americans find value in getting news on social media, but concerns about inaccuracy have risen, social media and news fact sheet, social media seen as mostly good for democracy across many nations, but u.s. is a major outlier, the role of alternative social media in the news and information environment, most popular, report materials.

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