Chemistry: Thermodynamics Environmental: Water Environmental: Wildfires
Published

New gels could protect buildings during wildfires      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a sprayable gel that creates a shield to protect buildings from wildfire damage. It lasts longer and is more effective than existing commercial options.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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.

Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Less severe forest fires can reduce intensity of future blazes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Low- and moderate-severity forest wildfires can reduce the intensity of future fires, according to new research on 'reburns.'

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Climate change raised the odds of unprecedented wildfires in 2023-24      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Unprecedented wildfires in Canada and parts of Amazonia last year were at least three times more likely due to climate change and contributed to high levels of CO2 emissions from burning globally, according to the a new systematic review. The State of Wildfires report takes stock of extreme wildfires of the 2023-2024 fire season (March 2023-February 2024), explains their causes, and assesses whether events could have been predicted. It also evaluates how the risk of similar events will change in future under different climate change scenarios.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Canadian wildfires are affecting US air quality and raising health concerns      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate-driven wildfire events are rapidly transferring harmful particulate matter containing toxic chemicals over long distances, compromising air quality in the New Jersey and New York City areas, according to recent research.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

New York City's fireworks display prompts temporary surge of air pollution      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In 2023, roughly 60,000 firework shells exploded above Manhattan's East River as part of Macy's Fourth of July show. The resulting air pollutant levels were many times higher in the hours after the display than those seen when smoke from a Canadian wildfire had blanketed the area a month before, according to the results of a new study.

Ecology: General Environmental: Biodiversity Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

California a botanical and climate change hot spot      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Climate-driven shifts in California's biodiversity call for innovation and continued environmental stewardfship, says a new study. California's 30x30 Initiative and efforts to harmonize biodiversity with renewable energy are promising steps, while wildfire strategies need to further adapt.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Physics: General Physics: Optics Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Optical fibers fit for the age of quantum computing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new generation of specialty optical fibers has been developed by physicists to cope with the challenges of data transfer expected to arise in the future age of quantum computing.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Solar absorption by black carbon in fire clouds quantified      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Aerosol scientists quantify the extent of light absorption by black carbon in fire clouds to better model climate impacts of extreme wildfire events.

Computer Science: Encryption
Published

Mass layoffs and data breaches could be connected      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has been exploring how mass layoffs and data breaches could be connected. Their theory: since layoffs create conditions where disgruntled employees face added stress or job insecurity, they are more likely to engage in risky behaviors that heighten the company's vulnerability to data breaches.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography
Published

Researchers warn of unprecedented arsenic release from wildfires      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The wildfire season of 2023 was the most destructive ever recorded in Canada and a new study suggests the impact was unprecedented. It found that four of the year's wildfires in mine-impacted areas around Yellowknife, Northwest Territories potentially contributed up to half of the arsenic that wildfires emit globally each year.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Researchers enhance tool to better predict where and when wildfires will occur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A newly enhanced database is expected to help wildfire managers and scientists better predict where and when wildfires may occur by incorporating hundreds of additional factors that impact the ignition and spread of fire.

Computer Science: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Scientists use AI to predict a wildfire's next move      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a new model that combines generative AI and satellite data to accurately forecast wildfire spread.

Ecology: Nature Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Wildfire smoke has a silver lining: It can help protect vulnerable tree seedlings      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forest scientists studying tree regeneration have found that wildfire smoke comes with an unexpected benefit: It has a cooling capacity that can make life easier for vulnerable seedlings.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry
Published

Complex impact of large wildfires on ozone layer dynamics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In a revelation highlighting the fragile balance of our planet's atmosphere, scientists have uncovered an unexpected link between massive wildfire events and the chemistry of the ozone layer. Using satellite data and numerical modeling, the team discovered that an enormous smoke-charged vortex nearly doubles the southern hemispheric aerosol burden in the middle stratosphere of the Earth and reorders ozone depletion at different heights. This study reveals how wildfires, such as the catastrophic 2019/20 Australian bushfires, impact the stratosphere in previously unseen ways.

Ecology: Nature Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues
Published

Forest carbon storage has declined across much of the Western U.S., likely due to drought and fire      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Forests have been embraced as a natural climate solution, due to their ability to soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, locking it up in their trunks, branches, leaves, and roots. But a new study confirms widespread doubts about the potential for most forests in the Western US to help curb climate change. The paper analyzed trends in carbon storage across the American West from 2005 to 2019.

Computer Science: Encryption Computer Science: General Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Mechanical computer relies on kirigami cubes, not electronics      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a kirigami-inspired mechanical computer that uses a complex structure of rigid, interconnected polymer cubes to store, retrieve and erase data without relying on electronic components. The system also includes a reversible feature that allows users to control when data editing is permitted and when data should be locked in place.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Environmental: Wildfires
Published

Wildfires increasingly threaten oil and gas drill sites, compounding potential health risks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

More than 100,000 oil and gas wells across the western U.S. are in areas burned by wildfires in recent decades, a new study has found, and some 3 million people live next to wells that in the future could be in the path of fires worsened by climate change.