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Categories: Ecology: Trees, Energy: Batteries
Published Deer browsing is just one of many factors shaping North American forests
(via sciencedaily.com) In a new study, a research team discovered evidence that browsing by white-tailed deer had relatively little long-term impact on two tree species in a northern forest.
Published Researchers decipher atomic-scale imperfections in lithium-ion batteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists have conducted a detailed examination of high-nickel-content layered cathodes, considered to be components of promise in next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Advanced electron microscopy and deep machine learning enabled the team to observe atomic-scale changes at the interface of materials that make up the batteries.
Published Recyclable mobile phone batteries a step closer with rust-busting invention
(via sciencedaily.com) Mobile phone batteries with a lifetime up to three times longer than today's technology could be a reality thanks to a recent innovation.
Published How plants are inspiring new ways to extract value from wastewater
(via sciencedaily.com) Scientists are drawing inspiration from plants to develop new techniques to separate and extract valuable minerals, metals and nutrients from resource-rich wastewater.
Published Forests face fierce threats from multiple industries, not just agricultural expansion
(via sciencedaily.com) Intact forests are important climate regulators and harbors of biodiversity, but they are rapidly disappearing. Agriculture is commonly considered to be the major culprit behind forest loss, but the authors of a new article show that agriculture isn't solely to blame. For forest loss associated with the 2014 world economy, over 60% was related to final consumption of non-agricultural products, such as minerals, metals and wood-related goods, and the authors argue that we must consider international trade markets when designing conservation strategies.
Published Collision risk and habitat loss: Wind turbines in forests impair threatened bat species
(via sciencedaily.com) In order to meet climate protection goals, renewable energies are booming -- often wind power. More than 30,000 turbines have already been installed on the German mainland so far, and the industry is currently scrambling to locate increasingly rare suitable sites. Thus, forests are coming into focus as potential sites. A scientific team has now demonstrated that wind turbines in forests impair endangered bat species: Common noctules (Nyctalus noctula), a species with a high risk of colliding with rotor blades, are attracted to forest wind turbines if these are located near their roosts. Far from roosts, common noctules avoid the turbines, essentially resulting in a loss of foraging space and thus habitat for this species.
Published Special drone collects environmental DNA from trees
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed a flying device that can land on tree branches to take samples. This opens up a new dimension for scientists previously reserved for for biodiversity researchers.
Published Our future climate depends partly on soil microbes -- but how are they affected by climate change?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The largest terrestrial carbon sink on Earth is the planet's soil. One of the big fears is that a warming planet will liberate significant portions of the soil's carbon, turning it into carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, and so further accelerate the pace of planetary warming. A key player in this story is the microbe, the predominant form of life on Earth, and which can either turn organic carbon -- the fallen leaves, rotting tree stumps, dead roots and other organic matter -- into soil, or release it into the atmosphere as CO2. Now, an international team of researchers has helped to untangle one of the knottiest questions involving soil microbes and climate change: what effect does a warming planet have on the microbes' carbon cycling?
Published Climate change presents a mismatch for songbirds' breeding season
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Climate change presents a mismatch for some breeding songbirds, finds a new study using a decade of nestbox data.
Published Researchers create smaller, cheaper flow batteries for clean energy
(via sciencedaily.com) Flow batteries offer a solution. Electrolytes flow through electrochemical cells from storage tanks in this rechargeable battery. The existing flow battery technologies cost more than $200/kilowatt hour and are too expensive for practical application, but engineers have now developed a more compact flow battery cell configuration that reduces the size of the cell by 75%, and correspondingly reduces the size and cost of the entire flow battery. The work could revolutionize how everything from major commercial buildings to residential homes are powered.
Published Novel design helps develop powerful microbatteries
(via sciencedaily.com) Translating electrochemical performance of large format batteries to microscale power sources has been a long-standing technological challenge, limiting the ability of batteries to power microdevices, microrobots and implantable medical devices. Researchers have created a high-voltage microbattery (> 9 V), with high-energy and -power density, unparalleled by any existing battery design.
Published Landscaping for drought: We're doing it wrong
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Despite recent, torrential rains, most of Southern California remains in a drought. Accordingly, many residents plant trees prized for drought tolerance, but a new study shows that these trees lose this tolerance once they're watered.
Published New battery could prevent post-hurricane electric vehicle fires
(via sciencedaily.com) A researcher has developed technology that could prevent electric vehicle fires, like those caused by saltwater flooding from Hurricane Ian. The technology, an aqueous battery, replaces the volatile and highly flammable organic solvents found in electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries with saltwater to create a battery that is safer, faster charging, just as powerful and won't short circuit during flooding.
Published Forests recovering from logging act as a source of carbon
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Tropical forests recovering from logging are sources of carbon for years afterwards, contrary to previous assumptions, finds a new study.
Published Lithium-sulfur batteries are one step closer to powering the future
(via sciencedaily.com) A research team has built and tested a new interlayer to prevent dissolution of the sulfur cathode in lithium-sulfur batteries. This new interlayer increases Li-S cell capacity and maintains it over hundreds of cycles.
Published New York City's greenery absorbs a surprising amount of its carbon emissions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A study of vegetation across New York City and some densely populated adjoining areas has found that on many summer days, photosynthesis by trees and grasses absorbs all the carbon emissions produced by cars, trucks and buses, and then some. The surprising result, based on new hyper-local vegetation maps, points to the underappreciated importance of urban greenery in the carbon cycle.
Published Efficient sodium-ion battery anode for energy storage
(via sciencedaily.com) Lithium is expensive and limited, necessitating the development of efficient energy storage systems beyond lithium-ion batteries. Sodium is a promising candidate. However, sodium ions, being large and sluggish, hamper sodium-ion battery (SIB) anode performance. Researchers have recently developed pyrolyzed quinacridones, new carbonaceous SIB anode materials, that are efficient, easily prepared, and exhibit excellent electrochemical properties, including high sodium-ion storage performance and cycling stability.
Published Development of next-generation solid electrolyte technology, 'stable' even when exposed to the atmosphere
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers have announced the development of solid electrolytes with enhanced atmospheric stability.
Published Rwandan tree carbon stock mapped from above
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have developed accurate nation-wide mapping of the carbon content of trees based on aerial images.
Published UK woodlands could store almost twice as much carbon as previously estimated
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source UK forests could store almost double the amount of carbon than previous calculations suggest, with consequences for our understanding of carbon stocks and humanity's response to climate change, according to a new study.