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New Insights into Physical Processes Controlling Change in Reflectivity of Greenland Ice Sheet

Greenland's snowy surface has been getting darker over the past two decades, absorbing more heat from the sun and increasing snow melt, a new study of satellite data shows.

4 Mar 2016

Simple, Reliable and Efficient Design to Harness Power from Ocean Currents

Fossil fuels propelled the Industrial Revolution and subsequent technological advances. However, our future cannot be based on them, if only because they are a finite resource; and we are very close to exhausting them.

4 Mar 2016

Results of GLUES Project Provide New Insights into Sustainable Land Use

The way we use land is changing. Demand for farmland, food and energy seems insatiable, but land is a finite resource. The research programme "Sustainable Land Management" investigated the consequences of this land use under global change and developed strategies for a sustainable use within a 7-year research program ending in 2016.

4 Mar 2016

Scientists Reveal New Way to Make Carbon Neutral and Carbon Negative Electric Vehicles

A multidisciplinary research team have developed a method to produce electric vehicles that are both carbon negative and carbon neutral. This means that the vehicle will be able to reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as they are driven.

4 Mar 2016

Chemists One Step Closer to Achieving Sustainable Biofuels

Vehicle fuels obtained from plant wastes are generally climate friendly and sustainable. However obtaining energy stored in stems, twigs, and bark is a challenging process as it is locked up in the cellulose.

3 Mar 2016

Saline Groundwater Better than Seawater for Reverse Osmosis Desalination

A team of researchers from the Ben-Gurion University Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, the BGU Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, and the Israel Geological Survey have established that compared to seawater, saline groundwater obtained from coastal aquifers is a better water source for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. The main reasons for this are the reduced pre-treatment costs and minimal membrane fouling. The research findings have been published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal.

3 Mar 2016

Wastewater Treatment Facilities Ineffective at Removing Certain Chemicals

Farmers in drought areas are especially concerned by this question. As fresh water resources become scarce, one option for water-conscious farmers is to water crops with treated wastewater.

3 Mar 2016

UCSB Researchers Analyze Negative Effects of Green Products

If you buy a hybrid SUV rather than a conventional SUV of equal size, you naturally think you have chosen the "green" option. But that hybrid vehicle is not greener than a conventional compact car that gets poorer mileage than the hybrid.

3 Mar 2016

Carbon Stored in Arctic Soil’s Permafrost Layer Could Accelerate Global Warming

Neil Sturchio, professor and chair of the University of Delaware's Department of Geological Sciences, is exploring how the thawing of permafrost, a subsurface layer of soil that remains mostly frozen throughout the year, affects vegetation and the carbon cycle in the Toolik Lake area of the Alaska's North Slope.

3 Mar 2016

Physicists Aim to Develop Novel Types of Photovoltaic Cell

Physicists at the University of Salford, along with twelve international partners, have launched a research project that aims to develop novel types of photovoltaic (PV) cell.

3 Mar 2016

Sustainable Sensor Solutions for Inspecting Offshore Wind Turbines

Offshore wind turbines are constantly exposed to harsh environments and suffer the consequences. Especially their foundations, which are moored in the ocean floor. From time to time divers have to descend to examine these structures for flaws. In the future these kinds of underwater checks will become easier and faster, with the aid of newly developed sensor ring. At Hannover Messe, held between April 25 and 29 this year, researchers will be displaying a system to achieve this.

3 Mar 2016

Exposure to Certain Air Pollutants may Impact Pregnancy Outcomes

Pregnant women with asthma may be at greater risk of preterm birth when exposed to high levels of certain traffic-related air pollutants, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

2 Mar 2016

Carbon Fee Needed to Spur Replacement of Carbon Fuels with Clean Energy

A new study reports that current rising temperatures already noticeably load the 'climate dice', with growing practical impacts. As a bottom line, the lead author, Dr James Hansen, argues that a carbon fee is needed to spur replacement of carbon fuels with clean energy.

2 Mar 2016

New Biomass Pretreatment Method Could Help Efficient Production of Biofuels and Biochemicals

A team of researchers from Japan's Tohoku University has developed a new method for the pretreatment of organic material, or "biomass", which could lead to more efficient production of biofuels and biochemicals.

2 Mar 2016

Significant Step Forward in Understanding Processes Naturally Occurring Enzymes Use to Degrade Microbe-Resistant Biomass

Scientists at the University of York are part of an international research team that has made a significant step forward in understanding the processes naturally occurring enzymes use to degrade microbe-resistant biomass, a key aim in the development of biofuels.

2 Mar 2016