When people think of the Arctic, snow, ice and polar bears come to mind. Trees? Not so much. At least not yet. A new NASA-led study using data from the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)shows that carbon in Alaska’s North Slope tundra ecosystems spends about 13 percent less time locked in frozenContinue Reading
Wind and solar power could generate most but not all electricity in the United States, according to an analysis of 36 years of weather data by Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira, and three Carnegie-affiliated energy experts: Matthew Shaner, Steven Davis (of University of California Irvine), and Nathan Lewis (of Caltech). Right now,Continue Reading
Thermoelectric devices, which can generate power when one side of the device is a different temperature from the other, have been the subject of much research in recent years. Now, a team at MIT has come up with a novel way to convert temperature fluctuations into electrical power. Instead ofContinue Reading
A new study shows that sunlight transforms oil spills on the ocean surface more quickly and significantly than previously thought, limiting the effectiveness of chemical dispersants that break up floating oil. A research team funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)Continue Reading
Nuclear astrophysicists successfully created the first low-energy particle accelerator beam deep underground in the United States, bringing them one step closer to understanding how the elements of our universe are built. Through the project, called CASPAR (Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research), researchers will recreate the nuclear fusion processesContinue Reading
A new study evaluating models of future climate scenarios has led to the creation of the new risk categories “catastrophic” and “unknown” to characterize the range of threats posed by rapid global warming. Researchers propose that unknown risks imply existential threats to the survival of humanity. These categories describe twoContinue Reading
Professor Aleksey Eliseev, Chief Research Associate at Kazan University’s Near Space Research Lab, comments, “To find solutions for some tasks in climate research, we need calculations for hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years. Such tasks are, for example, ice age periodization. Another group of tasks that requires huge longitudinalContinue Reading
An exhaustive global analysis of rainfall and rivers shows signs of a radical shift in streamflow patterns, with more intense flooding in cities and smaller catchments coupled with a drier countryside. Drier soils and reduced water flow in rural areas – but more intense rainfall that overwhelms infrastructure and causesContinue Reading
Mechanical engineers at the University of California, Riverside, have reported success in using inexpensive materials to produce thermoelectric devices that transform low-level waste heat into electricity. Their advance could enable a wide variety of commercial applications. For example, integrating thermoelectric generating devices into computer chips could enable the heat theyContinue Reading
Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the world’s most active volcanoes, with a persistent lava lake as one of its defining features. In a talk at the 2018 SSA Annual Meeting, Adrien Oth of the European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology discussed how he and hisContinue Reading