Showing 20 articles starting at article 241
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Categories: Chemistry: Thermodynamics, Geoscience: Geography
Published Otters, especially females, use tools to survive a changing world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.
Published 'Forever chemicals' found to rain down on all five Great Lakes
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS or 'forever chemicals,' have become persistent pollutants in the air, water and soil. Because they are so stable, they can be transported throughout the water cycle, making their way into drinking water sources and precipitation. Precipitation introduces similar amounts of PFAS into each of the Great Lakes; however, the lakes eliminate the chemicals at different rates.
Published Jet-propelled sea creatures could improve ocean robotics
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have discovered that colonies of gelatinous sea animals swim through the ocean in giant corkscrew shapes using coordinated jet propulsion, an unusual kind of locomotion that could inspire new designs for efficient underwater vehicles.
Published Copper can't be mined fast enough to electrify the US
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Copper cannot be mined quickly enough to keep up with current U.S. policy guidelines to transition the country's electricity and vehicle infrastructure to renewable energy, according to a new study.
Published Bees and butterflies on the decline in western and southern North America
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Bee and butterfly populations are in decline in major regions of North America due to ongoing environmental change, and significant gaps in pollinator research limit our ability to protect these species, according to a new study.
Published Summers warm up faster than winters, fossil shells from Antwerp show
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In a warmer climate, summers warm much faster than winters, according to research into fossil shells. With this knowledge we can better map the consequences of current global warming in the North Sea area.
Published Final dust settles slowly in the deep sea
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source 'Dust clouds' at the bottom of the deep sea, that will be created by deep-sea mining activities, descend at a short distance for the biggest part. Yet, a small portion of the stirred-up bottom material remains visible in the water at long distances.
Published Using AI to improve building energy use and comfort
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a new method that can lead to significant energy savings in buildings. The team identified 28 major heat loss regions in a multi-unit residential building with the most severe ones being at wall intersections and around windows. A potential energy savings of 25 per cent is expected if 70 per cent of the discovered regions are fixed.
Published Scientists generate heat over 1,000 degrees Celsius with solar power instead of fossil fuel
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Instead of burning fossil fuels to smelt steel and cook cement, researchers in Switzerland want to use heat from the sun. The proof-of-concept study uses synthetic quartz to trap solar energy at temperatures over 1,000 C (1,832 F), demonstrating the method's potential role in providing clean energy for carbon-intensive industries.
Published Meet the new insect killing Utah's fir trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The balsam woolly adelgid, a tiny nonnative flightless insect, is spreading across the American West killing subalpine fir in northern Utah's recreation-heavy mountain ranges and canyons. Rsearchers document a close association between the pest's spread and warming temperatures.
Published Study tallies heatwave deaths over recent decades
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Between 1990 and 2019, more than 150,000 deaths around the globe were associated with heatwaves each year, according to a new study.
Published 90% of Floridians believe climate change is happening
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The latest 'Florida Climate Resilience Survey' found that 90% of Floridians believe that climate change is happening. Belief in human-caused climate change has surged among Florida Independents while slipping among Republicans in the state since last fall. But despite these changes, the survey found enduring support among Floridians for increased government action to address the consequences of a warming planet. The survey found 68% of all respondents want state government to do more and 69% want the federal government to do more to address climate change.
Published GPS stations measure daily ice loss in Greenland
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Monitoring the effects of climate change in Greenland has been made much easier with an innovative method.
Published Using artificial intelligence to speed up and improve the most computationally-intensive aspects of plasma physics in fusion
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers are using artificial intelligence to perfect the design of the vessels surrounding the super-hot plasma, optimize heating methods and maintain stable control of the reaction for increasingly long periods. A new article explains how a researcher team used machine learning to avoid magnetic perturbations, or disruptions, which destabilize fusion plasma.
Published 2023 was the hottest summer in two thousand years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have found that 2023 was the hottest summer in the Northern Hemisphere in the past two thousand years, almost four degrees warmer than the coldest summer during the same period.
Published Exceptionally large transverse thermoelectric effect produced by combining thermoelectric and magnetic materials
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has demonstrated that a simple stack of thermoelectric and magnetic material layers can exhibit a substantially larger transverse thermoelectric effect -- energy conversion between electric and heat currents that flow orthogonally to each other within it -- than existing magnetic materials capable of exhibiting the anomalous Nernst effect. This mechanism may be used to develop new types of thermoelectric devices useful in energy harvesting and heat flux sensing.
Published Today's world: Fastest rate of carbon dioxide rise over the last 50,000 years
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Today's rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase is 10 times faster than at any other point in the past 50,000 years, researchers have found through a detailed chemical analysis of ancient Antarctic ice.
Published New work extends the thermodynamic theory of computation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Physicists and computer scientists have recently expanded the modern theory of the thermodynamics of computation. By combining approaches from statistical physics and computer science, the researchers introduce mathematical equations that reveal the minimum and maximum predicted energy cost of computational processes that depend on randomness, which is a powerful tool in modern computers.
Published The price tag of phasing-out coal
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Coal phase-out is necessary to solve climate change, but can have negative impacts on workers and local communities dependent on coal for their livelihoods. Researchers have studied government plans for coal phase-out around the world and discovered that more than half of such plans include monetary compensation to affected parties. This planned compensation globally amounts to USD 200 billion, but it excludes China and India, the two largest users of coal that currently do not have phase-out plans. The study shows that if China and India decide to phase out coal as fast as needed to reach the Paris climate targets and pay similar compensation, it would cost upwards of USD 2 trillion.
Published Transforming common soft magnets into a next-generation thermoelectric conversion materials by 3 minutes heat treatment
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A research team has demonstrated that an iron-based amorphous alloy, widely used as a soft magnetic material in transformers and motors, can be transformed into a 'transverse' thermoelectric conversion material that converts electric and thermal currents in orthogonal directions, with just a short period of heat treatment. This is the first example that highlights the importance of microstructure engineering in the development of transverse thermoelectric conversion materials, and provides new design guidelines for materials development to realize environmentally friendly power generation and thermal management technologies using magnetic materials.