Nanowerk November 23, 2019 An international team of researchers (UK, USA – Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) has developed an MOF, denoted as MFM-520, that can capture atmospheric nitrogen dioxide at ambient pressures and temperatures—even at low concentrations and during flow—in the presence of moisture, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. Despite the highly reactive nature of the pollutant, MFM-520 proved capable of being fully regenerated multiple times by degassing or by treatment with water from the air—a process that also converts nitrogen dioxide into nitric acid. The highest rate of NO2 uptake by this material occurs at […]
Tag Archives: global warming
Nine climate tipping points now ‘active,’ warn scientists
Science Daily November 27, 2019 According to an international team of researchers (UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia) the evidence from tipping points alone suggests that we are in a state of planetary emergency: both the risk and urgency of the situation are acute. They summarize evidence on the threat of exceeding tipping points, such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest or the West Antarctic ice sheet, identify knowledge gaps and suggest how these should be plugged. They explore the effects of such large-scale changes, how quickly they might unfold and whether we still have any control over them. According […]
How Dust Could Have Brought About The Collapse of a Once Mighty Empire
Science Alert October 28, 2019 New research by an international team of researchers (Japan, Germany) suggests that the Akkadian Empire, based around the city of Akkad in ancient Mesopotamia, may have been brought low by a more unusual cause: dust storms. Fossil samples are windows in time showing that variations in climate significantly contributed to the empire’s decline. Meteorological conditions together, and a harsh environment for growing crops appears, one that most likely lead to civil unrest and societal collapse. All of which means a greater insight not just into the past, but into the changing climate conditions today. Just […]
MIT engineers develop a new way to remove carbon dioxide from air
MIT News October 24, 2019 Most methods of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of gas require higher concentrations, such as emissions from fossil fuel-based power plants. Researchers at MIT have designed a battery with stack of electrodes coated with polyanthraquinone, which is composited with carbon nanotubes. The electrodes have a natural affinity for carbon dioxide and readily react with its molecules in the airstream or feed gas, even when it is present at very low concentration. The battery absorbs carbon dioxide passing over its electrodes as it is being charged up, and then releases pure carbon dioxide as it […]
Liquid Air Could Store Renewable Energy and Reduce Emissions
IEEE Spectrum September 18, 2019 Refrigerated food warehouses and factories consume immense amounts of energy. A team of researchers and companies in Europe working under the CryoHub project sponsored by EU are now developing a cryogenic energy storage system that could reduce carbon emissions from the food sector while providing a convenient way to store wind and solar power. The system will use extra wind and solar electricity to freeze air to cryogenic temperatures, where it becomes liquid, and in the process shrinks by 700 times in volume. The liquid air is stored in insulated low-pressure tanks similar to the […]
What Is ‘Hot Lightning’? Satellites Reveal Which Strikes Are Most Likely to Start Wildfires
IEEE Spectrum August 2, 2019 The U.S. National Lightning Detection Network keeps a record of virtually all lightning that strikes the ground anywhere in the United States. That network is maintained by Helsinki-based Vaisala. The company researchers plan to combine all the data available to them to pinpoint exactly which flashes pose the greatest threat. Lightning that harbors a continuing current is more likely to start fires and damage homes or equipment. A continuing current is not as powerful as the flash itself. While a flash might have a peak current of 20,000 amps (averaged from the multiple composite strokes that […]
Ammonia from agriculture influences cloud formation over Asia
Science Daily July 11, 2019 An international team of researchers (Germany, France, Italy) has shown that the presence of ammonium nitrate particles in the upper troposphere from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Western Pacific is fed by convection that transports large amounts of ammonia from surface sources into the upper troposphere. Solid ammonium nitrate particles in the upper troposphere play a hitherto neglected role in ice cloud formation and aerosol indirect radiative forcing…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Chaos theory produces map for predicting paths of particles emitted into the atmosphere
Eurekalert July 16, 2019 Floating air particles following disasters and other largescale geological events can have a lasting impact on life on Earth. Using available wind data, researchers in Hungary have developed a model for following air particles as they travel around the globe. They found that lifetimes of particles ranged from about two to 150 days for typical volcanic ash particles, more than 10% of smaller particles survive in the atmosphere as much as one year, and more than 1% survive two years, particles coming from the area around the equator remain in the atmosphere for the longest time, […]
Distant processes influence marine heatwaves around the world
Science Daily June 17, 2019 An international team of researchers (Australia, USA – University of Washington, Canada, Spain, UK) considered marine heatwaves and their drivers in 22 regions across four ocean and climate zones, based on published papers since 1950. They found that marine heatwaves may be influenced by several factors in combination, where processes may be both local and remote to the events, other climate phenomena such as El Niño — Southern Oscillation or the North Atlantic Oscillation, with their centre-of-action in one ocean basin can increase the odds of marine heatwaves in other regions thousands of kilometres away. […]
Here are 10 ways AI could help fight climate change
MIT Technology Review June 20, 2019 A team of researchers in the US led by the University of Pennsylvania has developed a road map suggesting how machine learning can help save our planet and humanity from imminent peril. 10 of the “high leverage” recommendations from the report are: Improve predictions of how much electricity we need, Discover new materials, Optimize how freight is routed, Lower barriers to electric-vehicle adoption, Help make buildings more efficient, Create better estimates of how much energy we are consuming, Optimize supply chains, Make precision agriculture possible at scale, Improve deforestation tracking, Nudge consumers to change […]