Most recent 40 articles: |
 |
Organizations |
 |
Organizations |
|
| PHYS.ORG,PHYS.ORG - Earth,PHYS.ORG - Technology,PHYS.ORG - Biology |
|
|
|
Are carbon-capture models effective? - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 4) |
|
May 4 · Runsheng Yin is a professor in the Department of Forestry in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, where he specializes in the evaluation of ecosystem services, ecological restoration and general natural resource economics and policy. Yin has published new research identifying that carbon-capture models have not factored in what happens to the timber after trees are logged.
"The climate crisis is heightening, with 2023 representing the warmest year on record," Yin said. "Nature-based solutions have an important role to play in helping us stem the worst impacts of climate change—but rigorously assessed methods to reliably offset and reduce greenhouse gas ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Seismic waves used to track LA's groundwater recharge after record wet winter - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 4) |
|
May 4 · Shujuan Mao of Stanford University and her colleagues used a surprising technique to answer this question for the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. They analyzed changes in the velocity of seismic waves traveling through the LA basin, tracking these changes in space and time between January and October 2023.
As Mao reported at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual Meeting, their study found that groundwater levels almost completely recovered at very shallow depths—about 50 meters below the surface. However, only about 25% of the groundwater lost over the past two decades was replenished at about 300 meters and deeper, likely because it is more ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Vietnam temperature records tumble as heat wave scorches - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 4) |
|
May 4 · More than 100 temperature records fell across Vietnam in April, according to official data, as a deadly heat wave scorches South and Southeast Asia.
Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers for cooling rain.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and intense heat waves.
Vietnam saw three waves of high temperatures in April, according to data published Friday by the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, with the mercury peaking at 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) in two towns earlier ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Charting a cost-efficient path to a renewable energy grid for Australia - PHYS.ORG - Technology (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Raheel Ahmed Shaikh and colleagues modeled possible scenarios for Australia's eastern and western grids, using solar and wind generation, short-to-long-term energy storage, and financial input data to explore low-cost capacity mix. Going completely renewable would require significant expansion of both generation and storage.
Interconnecting the two grids would reduce generation capacity needs by 6% and storage power capacity needs by 14%. The least cost renewable-only grid would be dominated by wind, with between 50–75% of energy contributed by turbines.
Storage would be mandatory for any fully renewable grid. Australia would need the ability to store up to four ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Climate change threatens mountain meadows by reducing humus content, finds study - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · To recreate the effects of climate change under realistic conditions, the researchers used soil–plant mesocosms. These miniature ecosystems consist of units containing soil samples. By moving the mesocosms along an elevation gradient from higher, cooler locations to lower, warmer locations, the scientists simulated climate change. Thereby, they simulated a warming of up to 3°C, depending on the difference in altitude between the original and the new locations.
"Studying soil responses to climate change in detail helps us to better understand the long-term effects on alpine grassland ecosystems," says soil researcher Dr. Noelia Garcia-Franco. The study was carried out ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Cold sintering may rescue plastic, ceramics, battery components from landfills - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · However, cold sintering—the process of combining powder-based materials into dense forms at low temperatures through applied pressure using solvents—allows for materials to be recycled again and again.
"That's the idea with cold sintering: you can take two or more materials that were destined for the landfill, combine them and create a composite, and recycle the composite again and again, without a loss in performance," Gomez said.
In three recent papers, Gomez and his team outline three new uses for cold sintering that advance recycling in materials science.
In a paper published in Materials Horizons, researchers used cold sintering to combine ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Contemporary wildfires not more severe than historically in western US dry forests: Study - PHYS.ORG - Biology (May 3) |
|
May 3 · I addressed this question in a new study in Sustainability. Dry forests are ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and dry mixed-conifer forests with ponderosa dominant, but other trees are common. They often occur at the lower limits of forests near woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands.
Earlier, we showed these forests were historically subject to a mixture of low-, moderate- and high-severity fires, as occurred recently in a fire I photographed in a dry forest in northern New Mexico. This mixed-severity historical fire model better fits historical evidence, so the alternative low-severity fire model was rejected.
A 2023 study used US Government Landfire data to show that ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · With dancing ribbons of light visible in the sky, a team of researchers flew on a series of scenic and sometimes stormy flights into the cold unknown, trying to learn more about why one of the most frigid places on Earth is warming at a feverish pace.
"The Arctic is changing rapidly, warming at a rate two to four times faster than the global average," said Paquita Zuidema, professor and chair of atmospheric sciences at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the principal investigator of CAESAR, or Cold-Air Outbreak Experiment in the Sub-Arctic Region.
"A consensus on why and how this is occurring is still lacking, and questions remain on how ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Flood-hit Kenya and Tanzania on alert as cyclone nears - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Kenya and Tanzania were on alert on Saturday for a cyclone heading towards their Indian Ocean coastlines, threatening to pile on more misery after deadly floods that have ravaged the region.
About 400 people have lost their lives in East Africa and tens of thousands have been uprooted from their homes in recent weeks as torrential rains triggered flooding and landslides engulfed houses, roads and bridges.
Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday described the weather outlook as "dire" and postponed the reopening of schools indefinitely as the nation braced for its first-ever cyclone.
Tropical Cyclone Hidaya is projected to make landfall at the weekend on the Kenyan ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Heat wave swells Asia's appetite for air-conditioning - PHYS.ORG - Technology (May 3) |
|
May 3 · A record-breaking heat wave is broiling parts of Asia, helping drive surging demand for cooling options, including air-conditioning.
AC exhaust units are a common feature of urban landscapes in many parts of Asia, clinging like limpets to towering apartment blocks in Hong Kong or tucked in a cross formation between the windows of a building in Cambodia.
They offer relief from temperatures that have toppled records in recent weeks, with many countries in the region hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or higher.
Scientists have long warned that human-induced climate change will produce more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves.
Only 15 percent ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes, study shows - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · As the climate warms and melt rates in Antarctica increase, this fracturing could cause vulnerable ice shelves to collapse, allowing inland glacier ice to spill into the ocean and contribute to sea level rise.
Ice shelves are important for the Antarctic Ice Sheet's overall health as they act to buttress or hold back the glacier ice on land. Scientists have predicted and modeled that surface meltwater loading could cause ice shelves to fracture, but no one had observed the process in the field, until now.
The new study, published in the Journal of Glaciology, may help explain how the Larsen B Ice Shelf abruptly collapsed in 2002. In the months before its catastrophic ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Kenya floods death toll tops 200 as cyclone approaches - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · The death toll from flood-related incidents in Kenya has crossed 200 since March, the interior ministry said Friday, as a cyclone barrelled towards the Tanzanian coast.
Torrential rains have lashed much of East Africa, triggering flooding and landslides that has destroyed crops, swallowed homes, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Some 210 people have died in Kenya "due to severe weather conditions," the interior ministry said in a statement, with 22 killed in the past 24 hours.
More than 165,000 people had been uprooted from their home, it added and 90 others missing, raising fears that the toll could rise higher.
Kenya and neighboring Tanzania, ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Lake tsunamis pose significant threat under warming climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Triggered by landslides into small bodies of water, most of these tsunamis have occurred in remote locations so far, but geologist Bretwood Higman of Ground Truth Alaska said it may just be a matter of time before a tsunami swamps a more populated place like Portage Lake near Whittier, Alaska.
When he estimates where the risk of an Alaskan lake tsunami is highest, Portage Lake "is pretty much at the top of my list," Higman said.
Other sites in Alaska where the risks of lake tsunamis coincide with human activity and infrastructure include Eklutna, Seward, Valdez, Juneau, Grewingk Lake in Kachemak Bay State Park and Index Lake near Glacier View.
At the Seismological ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants - here's how - PHYS.ORG - Biology (May 3) |
|
May 3 · "Satellites observe vast areas of Earth's surface on daily to weekly schedules," said Keith Gaddis, ecological conservation program manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "That helps scientists monitor habitats that would be logistically challenging and time-consuming to survey from the ground—crucial for animals like tigers that roam large territories."
Here's how NASA and its partners help protect three of Earth's most iconic species:
Trouble (and hope) for tigers
Tigers have lost at least 93% of their historical range, which once spanned Eurasia. Roughly 3,700 to 5,500 wild tigers remain, up from an estimated low of 3,200 in 2010.
In a recent ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Nepal court orders limit on Everest climbing permits - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, a lawyer confirmed Friday, just as expeditions prepare for the spring climbing season.
The Himalayan republic is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
The verdict was issued in late April but a summary was only published this week.
Lawyer Deepak Bikram Mishra, who had filed a petition urging permits to be curtailed, told AFP that the court had responded to public concerns about Nepal's mountains and its ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
New Nevada experiments aim to improve monitoring of nuclear explosions - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers at the Seismological Society of America (SSA)'s 2024 Annual Meeting.
The 18 October explosion—the equivalent of 16.3 tons of TNT—took place in Aqueduct Mesa "P Tunnel" at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). Seismic, acoustic and electromagnetic waves from the shock were recorded by instruments near the explosion and with regional ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
New research investigates how climate change amplifies severity of combined wind-rain extremes over the UK and Ireland - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · The new study was led by experts at Newcastle University and the Met Office and investigated how future climate change may influence compound wind-rain extremes, which are events where extreme wind and rainfall occur simultaneously.
These changes are mainly driven by increased rainfall, a thermodynamic response to rising temperatures. Additional contributing factors include a strengthened jet stream and its southward displacement that brings storms through warmer areas leading to further increases in rainfall.
Publishing their findings in the journal Weather and Climate Extremes, the scientists show that the increase in intensity could lead to more frequent windstorms ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
NOAA reports continued drop in overfishing - PHYS.ORG - Biology (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Maintaining sustainable fisheries contributes significantly to the U.S. economy, provides important recreational opportunities and helps meet the growing challenge of increasing our nation's seafood supply.
In 2023, U.S. fisheries data revealed that 94% of stocks are not subject to overfishing and 82% are not overfished. These numbers show slight improvements compared to the 2022 figures of 93% and 81%, respectively.
Ongoing positive trends continued with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by three stocks, reaching an all-time low of 21 stocks, and the number of stocks on the overfished list decreasing by one stock, to 47. Since 2000, NOAA Fisheries ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Research discovers plants utilize drought stress hormone to block snacking spider mites - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Using an advanced fluorescent biosensor (ABACUS2) that can detect tiny changes in plant hormone concentrations at the cellular scale, scientists saw that abscisic acid (ABA), usually linked with drought response, started closing the plant's entry gates within 5 hours of being infested with spider mites.
Microscopic leaf pores (stomata) are important for gas exchange but are also the major sites for water loss. When there is a water shortage, plants act to conserve water by producing the drought stress hormone ABA to close their stomata.
Coincidentally, the closure of stomata also obstructs the preferred entry points for nutrient-sucking pests like spider mites. The ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Research quantifies 'gap' in carbon removal for first time - shows countries need more awareness, ambition and action - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Since 2010, the United Nations environmental organization UNEP has taken an annual measurement of the emissions gap—the difference between countries' climate protection pledges and what is necessary to limit global heating to 1.5ºC, or at least below 2ºC.
The UNEP Emissions Gap Reports are clear: climate policy needs more ambition. This new study now explicitly applies this analytical concept to carbon dioxide removal (CDR)—the removal of the most important greenhouse gas, CO2, from the atmosphere.
The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, was led by the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Research shows bumblebee nests are overheating due to climate change, threatening future populations - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · As a result of the climate crisis, global warming is driving up temperatures around the world - and bumblebees, like humans, are struggling to cope with homes that can't beat the heat.
In a new article published in Frontiers in Bee Science, scientists identify rising heat as a potential culprit for the decline in bumblebee populations worldwide, compromising bumblebees' ability to construct livable nests in which healthy larvae can develop.
"The decline in populations and ranges of several species of bumblebees may be explained by issues of overheating of the nests and the brood," said Dr. Peter Kevan of the University of Guelph, Canada, lead author of the ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Researchers develop 'founding document' on synthetic cell development - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · The development of synthetic cells could one day hold the answers to developing new ways to fight disease, supporting long-duration human space flight, and better understanding the origins of life on Earth.
In a paper published recently in ACS Synthetic Biology, researchers outline the potential opportunities that synthetic cell development could unlock and the challenges that lie ahead in this groundbreaking research. They also present a roadmap to inspire and guide innovation in this intriguing field.
"The potential for this field is incredible," said Lynn Rothschild, the lead author of the paper and an astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Rising mercury levels may contribute to declining Steller sea lion populations - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · The team's decade-long effort to study mercury in Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands—the strip of islands stretching between Russia and Alaska and separating the Bering Sea and Pacific Ocean—has revealed that the number of pups born with potentially dangerous levels of mercury in their blood and fur increased by more than 50% from 2011 to 2018 before leveling off in 2019.
Mercury—a "heavy metal," non-essential element—can be toxic to some animals, including humans, at high concentrations. Various forms of mercury can be introduced into the environment via emissions from human activities; it can also be introduced naturally through seismic ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Scientists show how to treat burns with an environmentally friendly plant-based bandage - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Following a burn, the affected area typically undergoes redness and swelling as a result of inflammation, the body's natural defense mechanism. Yet, excessive inflammation can counterproductively trigger the generation of oxygen free radicals, impeding the healing process.
Addressing this concern, researchers at IIT have devised a biocompatible bandage capable of blocking an excessive increase in the level of inflammation and reducing the number of free radicals, thus shortening the time needed for healing. Furthermore, the bandage naturally degrades within a few days, mitigating concerns about additional waste generation.
The bandage is made from a new biodegradable ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Sister cities can help communities better navigate the climate crisis, research suggests - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · Anthropologists at Rice University suggest in a new study that establishing networks of 'sister cities' dedicated to addressing the impact of natural disasters can mitigate the devastation wrought by climate change.
Historically, these relationships have centered on social and political factors like trade relationships, diplomacy and more. But Howe and Boyer believe they can be powerful tools to aid in dealing with the physical effects of climate change, especially as cities deal with things like wildfires, extreme storms and more. As a result, they recommend forming a network called "Sister Cities for the Anthropocene" to help track and raise awareness of the spread of ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Stony coral tissue loss disease is shifting the ecological balance of Caribbean reefs - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · The outbreak of a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease is destroying susceptible species of coral in the Caribbean while helping other, "weedier" organisms thrive—at least for now—according to a new study published in Science Advances.
"Some fast-growing organisms, like algae, might thrive in the short term," said the study's lead author, Sara Swaminathan, an environmental engineering sciences Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. "But the loss of the susceptible corals could have long-lasting repercussions."
Stony coral tissue loss disease, or SCTLD, was first reported off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has since moved throughout the ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Tidal energy is coming to Alaska. But how much? - PHYS.ORG - Technology (May 3) |
|
May 3 · But Alaska's Governor, Mike Dunleavy, wants to change that.
"Despite Alaska's position as a leading producer of energy, the cost of energy in Alaska, especially in our rural communities, is extremely high," he said in a 2023 press release.
Dunleavy wants 80% of the Railbelt's electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2040—not just to achieve the state's clean energy goals but also to lower its higher-than-average energy costs. Switching to renewables, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power, could reduce how much the state spends on electricity generation by about $100 million per year (starting around 2030).
Cumulatively, ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Uncovering the reasons behind the rapid warming of the North Pole - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 3) |
|
May 3 · The North Pole region heats up faster than the rest of the world. Though this is a known fact, climate models underestimate the speed with which the region warms up. Sjoert Barten obtained his PhD on this subject at Wageningen University & Research on 26 April and shares his insights.
"We lack a proper understanding of the precise dynamics of climate warming on the North Pole. When, and by how much, are temperatures going to increase? Our lack of insight makes it hard to predict the consequences, such as the melting of marine ice," Barten explains.
However, new data obtained by a research vessel that traveled the Arctic Ocean and was stuck in the sea ice for a prolonged ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · Each year, roughly 2.47 billion gallons of lubricating oil are consumed in the United States alone for engines and industrial machinery, according to DOE, with about half eventually finding its way into the environment.
While environmentally acceptable lubricants are available, they are not optimized with additives that can greatly improve performance while posing minimal environmental impact if accidentally released. To create nontoxic, biodegradable and high-performing lubricant additives for water power turbines, researchers turned to ionic liquids, or ILs: organic liquid salts that mix well with oil, reduce friction between bearings and gears, and are stable in a range of ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Mice navigating a virtual reality environment reveal that walls, not floors, define space - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · The study, led by Dr. Guifen Chen from Queen Mary University of London, delves into the brains of mice navigating a two-dimensional virtual reality (VR) environment, revealing the surprising importance of specific visual cues for building and maintaining spatial maps. It reveals that specific visual cues - in this case, elevated walls - are crucial for stabilizing the neurons responsible for spatial navigation in virtual reality (VR).
"Our findings provide a significant step forward in understanding the precise nature of the sensory information that animals used for boundary detection," says Dr. Chen. "They not only highlight the importance of elevated boundaries in building ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · A new study led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory finds that coastal conditions have changed since 1979, driving nearshore hurricanes around the world to intensify at a quickening pace. What's more, new projections suggest this rate will continue climbing should current warming trends continue. The paper is published in the journal Earth's Future.
Much work has been done to document how hurricanes are changing in our warmer world. Past research has shown these storms may grow wetter, threatening heightened risks of flooding. Other work suggests they may strike more often in some areas and that their intensity may peak closer to ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
A clock in the rocks: What cosmic rays tell us about Earth's changing surface and climate - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try to improve projections to prepare communities for hazardous events in the future.
We rely on instrumental measurements, but such records are often short. To extend these, we use geological archives. And at the heart of this research is geochronology—a toolkit of geological dating methods that allow us to assign absolute ages to rocks.
In recent years, we have been using a state-of-the-art technique known as cosmogenic surface exposure dating which allows us to quantify the time a rock has spent on the surface, exposed to signals from outer space.
Using cosmic rays as a clock
Earth is ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
A laser immersion probe for smart inline monitoring of water and wastewater - PHYS.ORG - Technology (May 2) |
|
May 2 · The 2D fluorescence measurement method generates spectroscopic data directly on site in the clarifier. In conjunction with intelligent evaluation software, this process is the key to energy- and resource-efficient water treatment.
It will be presented to the public for the first time at IFAT 2024, the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste and raw materials management in Munich.
In order to monitor water treatment processes in wastewater treatment plants, operators have so far relied on 24-hour composite samples. These are collected continuously throughout the day and then analyzed in the laboratory for sum parameters, such as the total amount of organic ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
A look at the past suggests atmospheric rivers inundating California could get worse - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · In their paper published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the group describes their study of sediment core samples collected from the bottom of Leonard Lake, in northern California.
Over the past two winters, parts of California have seen much more rain than is normal for the region. The reason for it has been the creation of what have come to be called atmospheric rivers over parts of the Pacific Ocean, which dump wave after wave of rain as they move over land.
For this new study, the researchers focused on the history of atmospheric rivers dumping rain on California. They traveled to Leonard Lake in northern California to collect core sediment ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Bigger brains allow cliff-nesting seagull species to survive and thrive in urban environments - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · The findings come in a broad-ranging study by ecologists at the University of Exeter looking at potential relationships between brain size, wing shape, nesting habits and the use of urban areas. It suggests that species such as the herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull and the black-legged kittiwake possess a behavioral flexibility that enables them to nest in more challenging locations.
The study, "From the sea to the city: explaining gulls' use of urban habitats," has been published in the latest edition of Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
"Many people will be familiar with gulls nesting and foraging in urban areas," says lead author Dr. Madeleine Goumas, ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Climate is one culprit in growth and spread of dust in Middle East - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · Dust levels have increased in many parts of the Middle East chiefly due to global warming, but other human activities also share credit, says Zahra Kalantari, associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. She cites such factors as oil extraction, military conflicts and lack of cross-border coordination of water management.
Analyzing multiple sets of data over the last 40 years, the researchers found an increase in dust levels in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, parts of Iran and Egypt and countries around the Persian Gulf, while it has declined in northern Iran and southwest Turkey.
The area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in northern Iraq and along the ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Cost-effective, high-capacity and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes - PHYS.ORG - Technology (May 2) |
|
May 2 · The energy capacity and charge-recharge cycling (cyclability) of lithium-iron-oxide, a cost-effective cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, is improved by adding small amounts of abundant elements. The development, achieved by researchers at Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, and Nagoya Institute of Technology, is reported in the journal ACS Materials Letters.
Lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable in modern life, used in a multitude of applications including mobile phones, electric vehicles, and large power storage systems.
A constant research effort is underway to increase their capacity, efficiency, and sustainability. A major ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Electricity from farm waste: How biogas could help Malawians with no power - PHYS.ORG - Technology (May 2) |
|
May 2 · Decentralized household and community scale renewable energy systems like biogas plants may provide a solution. Ehiaze Ehimen and Thomas Robin study energy efficiency and energy poverty in marginalized communities. They unpack what they found in their research into the potential role of small biogas plants in meeting rural energy needs.
Why are biogas plants such a good idea?
Biogas plants are easy to set up and can be relatively inexpensive. They use readily available materials such as manure and vegetable waste, and can be built with cement and bricks. They could potentially be used to meet the electricity needs of households and small communities, especially in rural ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
For microscopic organisms, ocean currents act as 'expressway' to deeper depths, study finds - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · "We found that because these organisms are so small, they can be swept up by ocean currents that then bring them deeper than where they grow," said Mara Freilich, an assistant professor in Brown University's Division of Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences who launched the work as a Ph.D. student a joint program at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "It's often a one-way trip for these organisms, but by taking this trip, they play a critical role in connecting different parts of the ocean."
Freilich conducted the research during her Ph.D. with Amala Mahadevan, senior scientist at Woods Hole, in a close collaboration ... Read more ...
|
|
|
|
Good vibrations: Low-energy lasers induce atomic excitation in semiconductor materials - PHYS.ORG - Earth (May 2) |
|
May 2 · By leveraging intense and broad-band ultrafast terahertz pulses, scientists from Yokohama National University and their colleagues at the California Institute of Technology have demonstrated atomic excitation in a two-dimensional semiconductor material, advancing the development of electronic devices.
Their paper was published on March 19 and appears as an Editor's Pick in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials, or sheet-like nanomaterials, are promising platforms for future semiconductor applications due to their unique electronic properties. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), a prominent group of 2D materials, consist of layers of ... Read more ...
|
|
|