‘Scientists’ warning’ on climate and technology

Science Daily  February 15, 2024 Current technological systems are exacerbating climate change and the wholesale conversion of the Earth’s ecosystems. Adopting new technologies, such as clean energy technologies and artificial intelligence, may be necessary for addressing these crises. Such transformation is not without risks, but it may help set human civilizations on a path to a sustainable future. An international team of researchers (USA – UC Irvine, University of Kansas, Oregon State University, MIT, New Zealand) provided an integrative review of approaches that scholars and practitioners have taken in enacting technological change, and provide a framework for how these approaches […]

The escalating impact of global warming on atmospheric rivers

Phys.org  February 13, 2024 Researchers in Hong Kong assessed the performance of atmospheric rivers (ARs) in Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) models on both seasonal and interannual timescales within the historical period and investigated the future projection of ARs under different emission scenarios on a global scale. The multi-model mean results obtained using the PanLu detection algorithm consistently exhibited agreement with the observational AR climatology and captured interannual fluctuations as well as the relationships with large-scale drivers. The future projections revealed increased AR frequency, intensity, duration, and spatial extent and decreased landfall intervals with regional variations […]

Increased temperature difference between day and night could affect all life on Earth, say scientists

Phys.org  February 1, 2024 In the latter half of the twentieth century, a significant climate phenomenon “diurnal asymmetric warming” emerged, wherein global land surface temperatures increased more rapidly during the night than during the day. Recent episodes of global brightening and regional droughts and heatwaves have brought notable alterations to this asymmetric warming trend. An international team of researchers (Sweden, China) re-evaluated sub-diurnal temperature patterns, and revealed a substantial increase in the warming rates of daily maximum temperatures (Tmax) while daily minimum temperatures have remained relatively stable. This shift has resulted in a reversal of the diurnal warming trend, expanding […]

Near-surface permafrost could be nearly gone by 2100, scientists conclude

Phys.org   September 19, 2023 Accurate understanding of permafrost dynamics is critical for evaluating and mitigating impacts that may arise as permafrost degrades in the future; however, existing projections have large uncertainties. To better understand how near‐surface permafrost may respond to future warming, an international team of researchers (US – University of Alaska, NCAR, University of Connecticut, Columbia University, — UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Sweden) combined a surface frost index model with outputs from the second phase of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project to simulate the near‐surface (~3 to 4 m depth) permafrost state in the Northern Hemisphere […]

Gloomy climate calculation: Scientists predict a collapse of the Atlantic Ocean current to happen mid-century

Science Daily  July 25, 2023 The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a major tipping element in the climate system and its collapse would have severe impacts on climate in the North Atlantic region. In recent years weakening in circulation has been reported, but assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), based on the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) model simulations suggest that a full collapse is unlikely within the 21st century. Tipping to an undesired state in the climate is a growing concern with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Predictions based on observations rely on detecting early-warning signals, […]

New additives could turn concrete into an effective carbon sink

MIT News  March 28, 2023 According to the researchers at MIT one potential option to move towards the 2050 carbon neutrality goal is the direct gaseous sequestration and storage of anthropogenic CO2 in concrete through forced carbonate mineralization in both the cementing minerals and their aggregates. They investigated the underlying mechanisms and chemomechanics of cement carbonation over time scales ranging from the first few hours to several days using bicarbonate-substituted alite as a model system. They showed that the carbonation of transient disordered calcium hydroxide particles at the hydration site led to the formation of a series of calcium carbonate […]

Scientists Discover Intense Heatwaves Lurking at The Bottom of The Ocean

Science Alert  March 20, 2023 While surface marine heat waves can have dramatic impacts on marine ecosystems, extreme warming along the seafloor can also have significant biological outcomes. A team of researchers in the US (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of Colorado, National Center for Atmospheric Research) has developed a new model which shows that marine heatwaves can unfold deep underwater, too. The analysis focused on the west and east coasts of North America, using data spanning three decades, from 1993 to 2019, to produce simulations with a resolution of 8 kilometers or about 5 miles, fine enough to […]

Space dust as Earth’s sun shield

Phys.org  February 8, 2023 A team of researchers in the US (University of Utah, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) explored the potential of using dust to shield sunlight. They analyzed different properties of dust particles, quantities of dust and the orbits that would be best suited for shading Earth. They found launching dust from Earth to a way station at the “Lagrange Point” between Earth and the sun (L1) would be most effective. To achieve sunlight attenuation of 1.8%, equivalent to about 6 days per year of an obscured Sun, the mass of dust in the scenarios they considered must exceed 1010 […]

Scientists unveil least costly carbon capture system to date

Science Daily  January 23, 2023 Rigorous process modeling and techno-economic analyses are limited for emerging carbon capture technologies. A team of researchers in the US (PNNL, industry, Washington State University) has developed four CO2-Binding Organic Liquids (CO2BOLs), all water-lean solvents, as promising options towards energy-effective and low-cost carbon capture from point sources. CO2BOLs can capture up to 97–99% CO2 from coal fired plant. The estimated carbon capture cost is about 12–23% less expensive than the conventional aqueous amine technology. In addition to vapor liquid equilibrium and kinetics (key properties for aqueous solvents), viscosity, volatility, and hydrophobicity, also have strong impacts […]

Scientists sound alarm as ocean temperatures hit new record

Phys.org  January 11, 2023 In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by changes in ocean heat content (OHC), were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum due to the emission of greenhouse gasses and other anthropogenic substances by human activities, driving pervasive changes in Earth’s climate system. An international team of researchers (China, USA – University of St. Thomas, NCAR, NOAA, University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland, New Zealand, Italy) recorded the highest OHC since the 1950s among seven regions, four basins (the North Pacific, North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, and southern oceans). […]