Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Climate science is catching up to climate change with predictions that could improve proactive response      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In Africa, climate change impacts are experienced as extreme events like drought and floods. It has now been possible to predict and monitor these climatic events, providing early warning of their impacts on agriculture to support humanitarian and resilience programming in the most food insecure countries of the world.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
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Improving urban planning with virtual reality      (via sciencedaily.com) 

What should the city we live in look like? How do structural changes affect the people who move around it? Cartographers use virtual reality tools to explore these questions before a great deal of money is spent on building measures. Using the Unity3 game engine, they recreate scenarios in 3D where people can experience potential changes through immersion. They were able to prove that the physical reaction to this experience is measurable.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Our favorite vintages and their precarious mountainside homes are at risk due to climate change, environmental scientists warn      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Tucked into the hillsides of Italy, Portugal, and Spain, some of the world's most famous -- and most difficult to maintain -- vineyards are heralded for their unique flavor profiles and centuries of tradition. But as extreme weather and changing socioeconomic conditions make this so-called 'heroic viticulture' even more challenging, scientists worry these grapes and their cultural histories are at risk. Researchers argue that farmers and scientists must work together to protect some of the world's most celebrated wines.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
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Researchers develop approach that can enable inexpensive mass manufacturing of micro-LED displays      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research describes a continuous roller printing approach that can precisely transfer thousands of microscopic semiconductor devices in a single shot. This method paves the way to creating large-scale arrays of optical components and could be used to rapidly manufacture micro-LED displays.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Severe Weather Mathematics: Modeling
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Supercomputer used to simulate winds that cause clear air turbulence      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Using Japan's most powerful supercomputer, researchers reproduced cases of clear air turbulence around Tokyo. They simulated the fine vortices responsible for this dangerous phenomenon. The usefulness of the simulation in predicting turbulence was confirmed by comparing simulation data with data from aircraft recordings. This research should improve the forecasting of turbulence.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Marine heat waves caused mass seabird die-offs, beach surveys show      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research uses data collected by coastal residents along beaches from central California to Alaska to understand how seabirds have fared in recent decades. The paper shows that persistent marine heat waves lead to massive seabird die-offs months later.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
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Testing real driverless cars in a virtual environment      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed new software to aid in the development, evaluation and demonstration of safer autonomous, or driverless, vehicles. Called the Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) method, it allows the testing of driverless cars in a perfectly safe environment.

Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Three things to know: Climate change's impact on extreme-weather events      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers found that the effects of climate change on the intensity, frequency, and duration of extreme weather events, like wildfires, could lead to massive increases in all three.

Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Birds raise fewer young when spring arrives earlier in a warming world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study of North American songbirds finds that birds can't keep up with the earlier arrival of spring caused by climate change. As a result, they're raising fewer young. By the end of the 21st century, climate change will cause springlike weather to begin 25 days earlier, but birds will only breed about seven days earlier. That change could lead to an average reduction of 12% in breeding productivity for songbird species.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather Paleontology: Climate
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New study reveals abrupt shift in tropical Pacific climate during Little Ice Age      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An El Niño event has officially begun. The climate phenomenon, which originates in the tropical Pacific and occurs in intervals of a few years will shape weather across the planet for the next year or more and give rise to various climatic extremes. El Niño-like conditions can also occur on longer time scales of decades or centuries. This has been shown to have occurred in the recent past.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Scientists propose new strategy for modern sails to help shipping sector meet its carbon reduction goals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have identified a strategy that can offset the random and unpredictable nature of weather conditions that threaten carbon emission reduction efforts in the shipping sector.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
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Turning old maps into 3D digital models of lost neighborhoods      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Imagine strapping on a virtual reality headset and 'walking' through a long-gone neighborhood in your city -- seeing the streets and buildings as they appeared decades ago. That's a very real possibility now that researchers have developed a method to create 3D digital models of historic neighborhoods using machine learning and historic Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Freely available risk model for hurricanes, tropical cyclones      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

As human-driven climate change amplifies natural disasters, hurricanes and typhoons stand to increase in intensity. Until now, there existed very few freely available computer models designed to estimate the economic costs of such events, but a team of researchers has recently announced the completion of an open-source model that stands to help countries with high tropical cyclone risks better calculate just how much those storms will impact their people and their economies.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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New nationwide modeling points to widespread racial disparities in urban heat stress      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using a combination of satellite data and modeling to study the temperatures and humidity people might feel in urban areas, researchers have pinpointed who in the U.S. is most vulnerable to heat stress.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
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City buildings could blow air taxi future off course      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Air taxis may be coming to our cities in the near future, but a new study warns regulations will need to address dangerous wind gusts around city buildings and other urban infrastructure.

Environmental: General Environmental: Water Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Severe Weather
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Flooding tackled by helping citizens take action      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have developed a new method that empowers citizens to identify solutions to climate change threats.

Environmental: General Environmental: Wildfires Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published

Wildfire smoke downwind affects health, wealth, mortality      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Smoke particulates from wildfires could cause between 4,000 and 9,000 premature deaths and cost between $36 to $82 billion per year in the United States, according to new research.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Severe Weather Geoscience: Volcanoes
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A Tongan volcano plume produced the most intense lightning rates ever detected      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

New research showed that the plume emitted by the Hunga Volcano eruption in 2022 created the highest lightning flash rates ever recorded on Earth, more than any storm ever documented.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Energy: Technology Environmental: General Geoscience: Environmental Issues Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General
Published

Metaverse could put a dent in global warming      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

For many technology enthusiasts, the metaverse has the potential to transform almost every facet of human life, from work to education to entertainment. Now, new research shows it could have environmental benefits, too.