Cleantech News

RSS

New Technique to Reduce Plant Lignin Could Help Lower Biofuel Cost

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown for the first time that an enzyme can be tweaked to reduce lignin in plants.

24 Feb 2016

Newly Exposed Edges of Deforested Areas Highly Susceptible to Drastic Temperature Changes

The newly-exposed edges of deforested areas are highly susceptible to drastic temperature changes, leading to hotter, drier and more variable conditions for the forest that remains, according to new research from the University of Colorado Boulder.

24 Feb 2016

High Concentration of CO2 in Soil Can Change Community of Organisms Living in Soil

A high concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the soil can change the community of organisms living in the soil in the long term. At the same time it changes processes in this ecosystem like the subterranean carbon cycle and carbon storage.

24 Feb 2016

Plants and Decomposing Material in Soil Emit More CO2 than Fossil Fuels

In the concrete jungle at the core of a city, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are dominated by the fossil fuels burned by the dense concentrations of cars and buildings.

24 Feb 2016

Shipwrecks could be Used to Monitor Health of Deep-Ocean Ecosystems

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill significantly altered microbial communities thriving near shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico, potentially changing these diverse ecosystems and degrading the historically and culturally significant ships they live on, according to new research being presented here. The findings are also revealing how decades-old, or even centuries-old, shipwrecks could be used to monitor the health of deep-ocean ecosystems, and the effects of oil and gas activity in the Gulf, according to the researchers.

23 Feb 2016

Reducing U.S. Climate Emissions Could Prevent Pollution-Related Premature Deaths by 2030

Reducing U.S. climate emissions enough to avoid a 2-degree Celsius increase in global warming could prevent up to 175,000 pollution-related premature deaths nationwide by 2030 and generate health benefits of about $250 billion annually, according to a new analysis by researchers at Duke University and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

23 Feb 2016

Despite Reduced Sulfur Emissions, Atmospheric Sulfate Particles are Still Acidic

When acidic materials are spilled, the clean-up procedure involves adding a base chemical to neutralize the acid. Up to a point, the more base added, the more neutral and less toxic the spill becomes.

23 Feb 2016

Antarctic Ice Sheets More Vulnerable to Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Than Previously Thought

Results from a new climate reconstruction of how Antarctica’s ice sheets responded during the last period when atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) reached levels like those expected to occur in about 30 years, plus sediment core findings reported in a companion paper, suggest that the ice sheets are more vulnerable to rising atmospheric CO2 than previously thought.

23 Feb 2016

Warming Temperatures and Variable Precipitation Increase Severity of U.S. Forest Droughts

Forests nationwide are feeling the heat from increasing drought and climate change, according to a new study by scientists from 14 research institutions.

23 Feb 2016

Tundra Soil Study Shows Vulnerability of Permafrost Ecosystem Carbon to Climate Warming

Findings from one of the first comprehensive field studies by a collaborative team of researchers demonstrate the active layer microbiome of tundra soil was significantly altered after only 1.5 years of experimental warming—a rapid response demonstrating high sensitivity of this ecosystem to warming. Collectively, the results of this study suggest the vulnerability of permafrost ecosystem carbon to climate warming and the significance of microbial feedbacks in mediating this vulnerability.

23 Feb 2016

Study Shows Abyssal Ocean at the Equator Could Impact Climate System on Much Longer Timescales

Waves crashing on the equatorial seafloor generate centimeter-scale turbulence that is crucial for driving ocean circulation on a global scale, Stanford scientists say.

23 Feb 2016

Beneficial Fungi Associated with Tree Roots Can Boost Plant Diversity

The types of beneficial fungi that associate with tree roots can alter the fate of a patch of tropical forest, boosting plant diversity or, conversely, giving one tree species a distinct advantage over many others, researchers report.

23 Feb 2016

New Sustainable Fuel Technology Could Help Limit Global Warming by Removing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

A team of University of Texas at Arlington chemists and engineers have proven that concentrated light, heat and high pressures can drive the one-step conversion of carbon dioxide and water directly into useable liquid hydrocarbon fuels.

23 Feb 2016

New Model for Population Management Measures for Species Facing Local Extinction

By developing a new model, researchers have provided the first detailed mortality estimates for male African lions. A comparison of two populations, including the one of Cecil, exposed the signature that human impact leaves on male lion mortality.

22 Feb 2016

NIST Issues New Standard Reference Materials to Ensure Accurate Measurements of Greenhouse Gases

When it comes to tallying emissions of greenhouse gases, there is no better substitute than directly measuring the atmosphere. But this important accounting can be obscured, and even confused, if measurements of the air-borne heat-trapping chemicals are inaccurate or can’t be compared from one instrument or data set to the next.

22 Feb 2016