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Syracuse University Professor Contributes to Study of Antarctic Ice-Sheet Stability

A professor in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences is joining the growing debate over the fate of the world’s largest ice sheet, whose sudden melting is sending shockwaves throughout the geophysics community.

1 Feb 2016

Scientists Use Leaves and Sodium to Make Batteries

ACS Applied Materials Interfaces recently published a study by University of Maryland scientists, who have discovered a new method for preparing batteries. This new preparation method starts with baking a leaf, and then adding sodium. The scientists used a carbonized oak leaf filled with sodium as a negative terminal or anode for the demonstration battery.

1 Feb 2016

Berkeley Lab-Led Research Team Simplifies Fabrication of Silicon Solar Cells

A team of researchers, led by the Berkeley Lab, have simplified the process of forming silicon solar cells, by applying a new blend of materials to a conventional design. Solar panels are arranged with solar cells that help to convert energy from the sun into electricity.

1 Feb 2016

Researchers Discover Solution to Extract Gold from Electronic Waste

Stephen Foley, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S), and his team appear to possess the Midas touch when it comes to research on the extraction of gold.

29 Jan 2016

Many Climate Adaptation Strategies May Have Negative Impact on Nature and People in the Long-Term

Worldwide responses to climate change could leave people worse off in the future according to a recent study conducted by CSIRO, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the University of Queensland.

29 Jan 2016

UAB Scientists to Explore Feasibility of Generating Energy from Urban Wastewater

Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), headed by Julián Carrera, Maria Eugenia Suárez-Ojeda and Julio Pérez, will coordinate a project within the European Union's LIFE programme to explore the feasibility of treating urban wastewater and generating energy at the same time. This is the first project in this programme to be coordinated by the UAB.

29 Jan 2016

Fish Populations across the World's Oceans Contaminated with Persistent Organic Pollutants

A new global analysis of seafood found that fish populations throughout the world's oceans are contaminated with industrial and agricultural pollutants, collectively known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The study from researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego also uncovered some good news¾concentrations of these pollutants have been consistently dropping over the last 30 years.

29 Jan 2016

Study Assesses Effects of Artificial Light on Nesting Patterns of Sea Turtles on Florida Beaches

Newly published research that started as a high school science project confirms that the density of sea turtle nests on Florida beaches is reduced where artificial lights along the coast deter nesting females.

29 Jan 2016

Gigantic Blades Could Lead to 50-MW Offshore Wind Energy in U.S.

A new design for gigantic blades longer than two football fields could help bring offshore 50-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to the United States and the world.

29 Jan 2016

Undoped Silicon Enables Simple, Efficient and Cheap Solar Cells

Scientists have simplified the method to manufacture silicon solar cells, that convert sunlight to electricity, with high efficiency by adding a new mix of materials to a typical design.

28 Jan 2016

Quick and Cost-Effective Energy Transformation Now a Reality

Within 15 years the United States will be able to bring down greenhouse gas emissions caused by power production by up to 78% below the levels in 1990, and still fulfill the increased power demand.

28 Jan 2016

Researchers Identify How Marine Flowering Plant Adapts to Saline Environments

To mitigate carbon emissions in the atmosphere, researchers have turned to sinks--reservoirs that accumulate and store carbon such as tropical rainforests, but also including a variety of terrestrial plants as well as oceans. However, another lesser known but very large carbon sink is located along the earth’s soft-sediment shorelines.

28 Jan 2016

Carbon Dioxide Concentrations Increases as Plant Productivity Improves

All over the world, monitoring stations are registering rising atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. However, in high northern latitudes another trend can also be seen: seasonal variation in carbon dioxide concentration has been increasing since the 1960s. This is mainly due to increasing plant growth in the North, according to a paper published in the latest issue of Science by researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Biogeochemistry in Jena and their colleagues at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and from the US. Higher temperatures allow more forests to expand, enhancing photosynthesis. In summer, the vegetation absorbs more carbon dioxide.

28 Jan 2016

Researchers Explore Methods Commonly Used to Reconstruct Climate Variables from Tree-Ring Data

Current approaches to reconstructing past climate by using tree-ring data need to be improved on so that they can better take uncertainty into account, new University of Otago-led suggests.

28 Jan 2016

New Study Shows Mercury Levels in Rainfall Increasing at Many North American Sites

An analysis of long-term trends in the amount of mercury in rainfall and other forms of precipitation in North America found recent increases at many sites, mostly in the center of the continent. At other sites, including those along the East Coast, mercury levels in rainfall have been trending steadily downward over the past 20 years.

28 Jan 2016