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Categories: Engineering: Graphene, Environmental: Wildfires
Published Researchers design model that predicts which buildings will survive wildfire
(via sciencedaily.com) Wildfires may seem unpredictable, leaving random ruin in their wake. Engineers have now developed a model that can predict how wildfire will impact a community down to which buildings will burn. They say predicting damage to the built environment is essential to developing fire mitigation strategies and steps for recovery.
Published In nanotube science, is boron nitride the new carbon?
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers synthesized aligned forests of nanoscale fibers made of boron nitride, or 'white graphene.' They hope to harness the technique to fabricate bulk-scale arrays of these nanotubes, which can then be combined with other materials to make stronger, more heat-resistant composites, for instance to shield space structures and hypersonic aircraft.
Published Prescribed fire could reduce tick populations and pathogen transmission
(via sciencedaily.com) Prescribed fire -- a tool increasingly used by forest managers and landowners to combat invasive species, improve wildlife habitat and restore ecosystem health -- also could play a role in reducing the abundance of ticks and the transmission of disease pathogens they carry, according to a team of scientists.
Published Forest recovery after Montana's 2017 fire season
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers found thousands of seedlings growing after recent fires in Montana, especially at sites with cooler, damper conditions -- often found in the shade of the dead trees and upper canopy, as well as on the north side of mountains with higher elevations and more undergrowth. Researchers found fewer seedlings at sites with less shade and drier, hotter conditions.
Published Western wildfires spark stronger storms in downwind states
(via sciencedaily.com) A new study shows for the first time that wildfires burning in West Coast states can strengthen storms in downwind states. Heat and tiny airborne particles produced by western wildfires distantly intensify severe storms, in some cases bringing baseball-sized hail, heavier rain and flash flooding to states like Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas.
Published Trapping polaritons in an engineered quantum box
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have engineered a quantum box for polaritons in a 2D material, achieving large polariton densities and a partially 'coherent' quantum state. New insights from the novel technique could allow researchers to access striking 'collective' quantum phenomena in this material family, and enable ultra-energy efficient and high-performance future technologies. Laying a 'small' 2D material on top of a 'large' layer allowed the researchers to trap and investigate polaritons, comparing them with freely moving polaritons.
Published After 2018 'Woolsey wildfire,' Los Angeles' mountain lions are taking more risks
(via sciencedaily.com) Los Angeles is known for its movie stars and beaches. It's also known for being one of only two megacities in the world that supports a population of big cats. Despite being surrounded by a vast network of busy freeways and over ten million people, mountain lions have somehow managed to eke out a living in the wooded LA-area hills. Now, researchers have found that wildfires, and specifically the 2018 Woolsey fire, are putting the LA mountain lions' future in more doubt.
Published Land in a cyclone's wake becomes more vulnerable to forest fires
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The strong winds and torrential rains that accompany a cyclone do tremendous damage to ecosystems, and this damage can make them more prone to future wildfires. As intense cyclones are projected to become more frequent worldwide, a team of researchers examines the links between cyclones and forest fires, how they fuel one another, and why we may see fires burning in unlikely places in the future.
Published Warmer stream temperatures in burned-over Oregon watershed didn't result in fewer trout
(via sciencedaily.com) The number of trout in a southern Oregon stream system showed no decline one year after a fire burned almost the entire watershed, including riparian zone trees that had helped maintain optimal stream temperatures for the cold-water fish.
Published Study finds higher rates of traumatic injuries for outdoor workers during hotter weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Rates of traumatic injury among workers in the Oregon agricultural and construction sectors are significantly higher during periods of high heat compared with periods of more moderate weather, a recent study found.
Published Cattle grazing with virtual fencing shows potential to create wildfire fuel breaks, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) The use of virtual fencing to manage cattle grazing on sagebrush rangelands has the potential to create fuel breaks needed to help fight wildfires, a recent study found.
Published Indoor air quality experiments show exposure risks while cooking, cleaning
(via sciencedaily.com) When you're cooking or cleaning inside your home, what chemicals are you breathing, and are they potentially harmful? Chemists have given us a solid start on the answer. A large, collaborative research experiment recently attempted to map the airborne chemistry of a typical home. Researchers performed typical home activities like cooking and cleaning and used sophisticated instrumentation to document the chemistry that resulted.
Published Upgrading your computer to quantum
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have demonstrated how a nanoscale layer of superconducting niobium nitride (NbNx) can be grown directly onto aluminum nitride (AIN). The arrangement of atoms, nitrogen content, and electrical conductivity were found to depend on growth conditions, particularly temperature, and the spacing of atoms in the two materials was sufficiently compatible to produce flat layers. The structural similarity between NbNx and AIN will facilitate the integration of superconductors into semiconductor optoelectronic devices.
Published Now you don't have to wait for smoke to know where fires are likely to occur
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have developed a way to forecast which of the Great Basin's more than 60 million acres have the highest probability of a large rangeland fire. The forecasts come from a model developed by the researchers that combines measures of accumulated annual and perennial grass vegetation that is potential fire fuel with recent weather and climate data. When integrated, this information can be translated into maps showing the likelihood of a large wildfire -- greater than 1,000 acres--across the Great Basin. These forecasts also can be scaled down to predict fire risk for counties or even single pastures.
Published Novel carrier doping in p-type semiconductors enhances photovoltaic device performance by increasing hole concentration
(via sciencedaily.com) The carrier concentration and conductivity in p-type monovalent copper semiconductors can be significantly enhanced by adding alkali metal impurities. Doping with isovalent and larger-sized alkali metal ions effectively increased the free charge carrier concentration, and the mechanism was unraveled by their theoretical calculations. Their carrier doping technology enables high carrier concentration and high mobility p-type thin films to be prepared from the solution process, with photovoltaic device applications.
Published Pollutants from burning structures linger in waterways post-wildfire
(via sciencedaily.com) As the frequency of wildfires has increased, so have pollutants in the waters from burned watersheds, say researchers in a review paper that highlights the need for more research in the area.
Published Making mini-magnets
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers demonstrated a topological insulator device that opens the way towards observing the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Because the currents generated are resistant to scattering, but very sensitive to applied magnetic fields, they may be used for reducing power consumption in computing applications.
Published New AI system predicts how to prevent wildfires
(via sciencedaily.com) A machine learning model can evaluate the effectiveness of different management strategies.
Published Researchers devise tunable conducting edge
(via sciencedaily.com) Physicists have demonstrated a new magnetized state in a monolayer of tungsten ditelluride. This material of one-atom thickness has an insulating interior but a conducting edge, which has important implications for controlling electron flow in nanodevices.
Published Smoke from the Black Summer wildfires in Australia impacted the climate and high altitude winds of the southern hemisphere for more than a year and a half
(via sciencedaily.com) The 2019/20 wildfires in Australia transported more smoke into the atmosphere than observed ever before anywhere in the world. In the so-called Black Summer, three times as many particles reached high air layers as in the previous record wildfires in Canada during summer 2017. Research now reveals the climate impact of these huge fires: Smoke particles with a total mass of around one million tonnes spread across the southern hemisphere and affected the climate for about one and a half years by warming the upper atmosphere and cooling the lower atmosphere close to Earth's surface.