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Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published Eco-friendly cooling device with record-breaking efficiency
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed an eco-friendly refrigeration device with record-breaking cooling performance in the world, setting to transform industries reliant on cooling and reduce global energy use. With a boost in efficiency of over 48%, the new elastocaloric cooling technology opens a promising avenue for accelerating the commercialization of this disruptive technology and addressing the environmental challenges associated with traditional cooling systems.
Published New theory could improve the design and operation of wind farms
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new model accurately represents the airflow around rotors, even under extreme conditions. The first comprehensive model of rotor aerodynamics could improve the way turbine blades and wind farms are designed and how wind turbines are controlled.
Published Occupational exposure to particles may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Exposure to dust and particles at work may increase the risk of chronic kidney disease, a new study shows. Among Swedish construction workers, followed since the 1970s, the risk was 15% higher among exposed.
Published AI approach to drought zoning
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A recent study shows that climate change may cause many areas in Canada to experience significant droughts by the end of the century. In response, the researchers have introduced an advanced AI-based method to map drought-prone regions.
Published Sharing risk to avoid power outages in an era of extreme weather
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Heat waves, droughts, and fires place growing stress on the West's electric grid. New research suggests that more integrated management of electricity resources across the region could significantly reduce the risk of power outages and accelerate the transition to clean energy.
Published Molecular wires with a twist
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed molecular wires with periodic twists. By controlling the lengths of regions between twists, the electrical conductivity of individual polymer chains can be enhanced. This work may lead to novel organic electronics or single-molecule wires.
Published Renewable energy policies provide benefits across state lines
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New research suggests U.S. states with clean energy policies provide benefits to their neighbors, including states without their own renewable energy policies.
Published Environmental laws failing to slow deforestation
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Australia's environmental laws are failing to stop high rates of tree clearing to make way for agriculture, development and mining.
Published Incorporating humidity improves estimations of climate impacts on health
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Governments, medical institutions and other bodies require accurate models on health-related matters in order to better organize their activities. Climate change has measurable impacts on society, including on human mortality. However, current models to assess the health impacts of climate change do not account for every environmental parameter, especially humidity, which could influence heat stress perceived by the human body, leaving room for improvement. Researchers have now incorporated humidity data from hundreds of cities into so-called heat stress indicators (HSIs) and assessed their performances in predicting heat-related deaths.
Published Demand for low-quality credits undermines the voluntary carbon market, study finds
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have shown that the 20 companies retiring the most offsets from the voluntary carbon market -- or VCM -- over the past four years have largely relied on low-quality, low-cost credits. These include major oil companies, airlines and aircraft makers, automotive manufacturers, logistics operators, and others.
Published Action plan to help patients with lung disease cope with wildfire smoke
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A multidisciplinary team has developed an action plan to help patients with respiratory diseases mitigate the consequences of poor air quality from wildfires.
Published Researchers develop index to quantify circular bioeconomy
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source As the world faces the challenges of mitigating climate change and providing resources for a growing population, there is increasing focus on developing circular economies for sustainable production. But to evaluate strategies and impacts, it is necessary to have reliable metrics. Researchers have now developed a Circularity Index that provides a comprehensive method to quantify circularity in bioeconomic systems. In a new paper, they outline the method and apply it to two case studies -- a corn/soybean farming operation and the entire U.S. food and agriculture system.
Published Forest loss intensifies climate change by increasing temperatures and cloud level, which leads to decrease of water
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers report that deforestation during the last two decades induced a higher warming and cloud level rise than that caused by climate change, which threatens biodiversity and water supply in African montane forests.
Published Urban street networks, building density shape severity of floods
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The design of streets and layout of buildings have an impact on a city's resilience in the face of increasingly severe floods brought on by climate change. Researchers look at buildings and other urban structures as physicists consider elements in complex material systems. With this insight, the researchers have developed a new approach to urban flood modelling and found their results helpful in analyzing city-to-city variations in flood risk globally.
Published Preservation of organic carbon in the ocean floor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The preservation of organic carbon in marine sediments has long been a key question remaining unclear in understanding the long-term carbon cycling on Earth. Recently, scientists have gained new insights into the dynamic cycling of iron-bound organic carbon in subseafloor sediments.
Published Morphable materials: Researchers coax nanoparticles to reconfigure themselves
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A view into how nanoscale building blocks can rearrange into different organized structures on command is now possible with an approach that combines an electron microscope, a small sample holder with microscopic channels, and computer simulations, according to a new study.
Published New twist on synthesis technique promises sustainable manufacturing
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers developed a new method known as flash-within-flash Joule heating (FWF) that could transform the synthesis of high-quality solid-state materials, offering a cleaner, faster and more sustainable manufacturing process.
Published Nitrogen interventions as a key to better health and robust ecosystems
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source An international research team combined multidisciplinary methods to evaluate how nitrogen interventions could improve air quality and reduce nitrogen deposition. Their study found that interventions, such as improving fuel combustion conditions, increasing agricultural nitrogen use efficiency, and reducing food loss and waste, could significantly lower premature deaths attributed to air pollution, crop losses, and ecosystems risks.
Published Scottish and Irish rocks confirmed as rare record of 'snowball Earth'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The study found that the Port Askaig Formation, composed of layers of rock up to 1.1 km thick, was likely laid down between 662 to 720 million years ago during the Sturtian glaciation -- the first of two global freezes thought to have triggered the development of complex, multicellular life.
Published Revolutionizing thermoelectric technology: Hourglass-shaped materials achieve a 360% efficiency boost
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A groundbreaking technology has been unveiled that improves the efficiency of thermoelectric materials, which are key in converting waste heat into electricity, by altering their geometry to resemble an hourglass. Unlike previous research that solely depended on the material properties of thermoelectric substances, this new approach is expected to have widespread applications in thermoelectric power generation.