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  • Geology.com News – 14 Topics

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    Geology.com News – 14 Topics

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    Predicting Sea Level Rise for Miami

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:30 AM PDT

    A National Science Foundation press release gives a quick look at efforts to predict long-term sea level rise in Miami

    Mineral Rights

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:30 AM PDT

    In most countries all mineral resources belong to the government. This includes all valuable rocks, minerals, oil or gas found on or within the Earth. In the United States ownership of mineral resources was originally granted to the individuals or organizations that owned the surface. These property owners had both “surface rights” and “mineral rights”. Since then the owners have enjoyed the freedom to sell, lease, gift or bequest these rights individually or entirely to others. Now a single plot of land on the surface can have several different subsurface owners!

    $20,000 for a Canary Diamond Found in Arkansas?

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:17 AM PDT

    Tana Clymer, a 14-year-old from Oklahoma City found a nice canary-colored diamond at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas last fall. She recently sold it for $20,000.

    Related: Diamond Mines in the United States.

    Eagle Ford Output Swamps the Corpus Christi Port

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:16 AM PDT

    The oil production from Eagle Ford Shale has caused a large increase in volume at Corpus Christi port – so much that they have built a new petroleum dock and consider a plan to widen the shipping channel.

    Did Life Arise from Hydrothermal Vents?

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:14 AM PDT

    “Did life first arise on Earth in warm, gentle springs on the sea floor?

    Researchers are putting together the chemical pieces of how this process might have occurred.” Quoted from the NASA press release.

    Advocating Landslide Mapping in West Virginia

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 05:11 AM PDT

    Graduate students at West Virginia University are using LiDAR, a high resolution mapping technology, to detect and map historic and prehistoric landslides. The maps can then be used to avoid landslide areas prior to construction and identify areas where mitigation might be considered.

    Lateritic Rare Earth Deposits

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:58 AM PDT

    The Arizona Geological Survey has published Chapter 4 of the Proceedings of the 48th Annual Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals in their online archive. It is a paper by Mark Cocker: Lateritic, supergene rare earth element (REE) deposits.

    An Onshore Fuel Shortage in Nigeria?

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:55 AM PDT

    The Niger Delta is one of the best-producing oil patches on our planet but the people of Nigeria are often scrounging for gasoline.

    Earth Science Week April Newsletter

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:54 AM PDT

    The monthly newsletter for Earth Science Week is available. Don’t wait until fall to prepare for Earth Science Week 2014 (October 12-18)!

    Oarfish Video on National Geographic

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:54 AM PDT

    National Geographic has a video of a rarely-seen oar fish swimming in shallow in the Mexican state of Baja California. Staff from the Shedd Aquarium filmed the video.

    Oil By Rail into California

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:52 AM PDT

    There are no pipelines delivering crude oil to California. The state with more cars than any other receives all of its oil by ship or from domestic production. Some analysts believe that 25% of the state’s crude oil will arrive by rail by 2016.

    Real Estate Prices Near Fracking

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:45 AM PDT

    Researchers at the University of Calgary and Duke University found that homes within 1 kilometer of a shale gas well on a private water supply fell by over 20 percent in value compared to those on public water supplies. This loss can offset gains made through mineral rights sales.

    Related: What is Hydraulic Fracturing?

    Observing the Milky Way from Arizona

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:42 AM PDT

    The Bureau of Land Management has a great image of the Milky Way from Sonoran Desert National Monument.


    Higher Resolution image by Bob Wick, BLM

    Rock and Mineral Identification

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 04:26 AM PDT

    The ability to identify rocks and minerals in the field is a very important skill. The Geology.com store has a selection of rock, mineral, fossil and gem mineral kits that can be used for learning and practice. Testing tools are also available.

  • Relieving electric vehicle range anxiety with improved batteries

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    Relieving electric vehicle range anxiety with improved batteries

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    17 Apr 2014
    Home  »  Uncategorized   »   Relieving electric vehicle range anxiety with improved batteries Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 – 19:12 in Physics & Chemistry Related images (click to enlarge) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a nickel-based metal organic framework, shown here in an illustration, to hold onto polysulfide molecules in the cathodes of lithium-sulfur batteries and extend the batteries’ lifespans. The colored spheres in this image represent the 3D material’s tiny pores into with the polysulfides become trapped. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Electric vehicles could travel farther and more renewable energy could be stored with lithium-sulfur batteries that use a unique powdery nanomaterial. Researchers added the powder, a kind of nanomaterial called a metal organic framework, to the battery’s cathode to capture problematic polysulfides that usually cause lithium-sulfur batteries to fail after a few charges. A paper describing the material and its performance was published online April 4 in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters. “Lithium-sulfur batteries have the potential to power tomorrow’s electric vehicles, but they need to last longer after each charge and be able to be repeatedly recharged,” said materials chemist Jie Xiao of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “Our metal organic framework may offer a new way to make that happen.” Today’s electric vehicles are typically powered by lithium-ion batteries. But the chemistry of lithium-ion batteries limits how much energy they can store. As a result, electric vehicle drivers are often anxious about how far they can go before needing to charge. One promising solution is the lithium-sulfur battery, which can hold as much as four times more energy per mass than lithium-ion batteries. This would enable electric vehicles to drive farther on a single charge, as well as help store more renewable energy. The down side of lithium-sulfur batteries, however, is they have a much shorter lifespan because they can’t currently be charged as many times as lithium-ion batteries. Energy Storage 101 The reason can be found in how batteries work. Most batteries have two electrodes: one is positively charged and called a cathode, while the second is negative and called an anode. Electricity is generated when electrons flow through a wire that connects the two. To control the electrons, positively charged atoms shuffle from one electrode to the other through another path: the electrolyte solution in which the electrodes sit. The lithium-sulfur battery’s main obstacles are unwanted side reactions that cut the battery’s life short. The undesirable action starts on the battery’s sulfur-containing cathode, which slowly disintegrates and forms molecules called polysulfides that dissolve into the liquid electrolyte. Some of the sulfur — an essential part of the battery’s chemical reactions — never returns to the cathode. As a result, the cathode has less material to keep the reactions going and the battery quickly dies. New materials for better batteries Researchers worldwide are trying to improve materials for each battery component to increase the lifespan and mainstream use of lithium-sulfur batteries. For this research, Xiao and her colleagues honed in on the cathode to stop polysulfides from moving through the electrolyte. Many materials with tiny holes have been examined to physically trap polysulfides inside the cathode. Metal organic frameworks are porous, but the added strength of PNNL’s material is its ability to strongly attract the polysulfide molecules. The framework’s positively charged nickel center tightly binds the polysulfide molecules to the cathodes. The result is a coordinate covalent bond that, when combined with the framework’s porous structure, causes the polysulfides to stay put. “The MOF’s highly porous structure is a plus that further holds the polysulfide tight and makes it stay within the cathode,” said PNNL electrochemist Jianming Zheng. Nanomaterial is key Metal organic frameworks — also called MOFs — are crystal-like compounds made of metal clusters connected to organic molecules, or linkers. Together, the clusters and linkers assemble into porous 3-D structures. MOFs can contain a number of different elements. PNNL researchers chose the transition metal nickel as the central element for this particular MOF because of its strong ability to interact with sulfur. During lab tests, a lithium-sulfur battery with PNNL’s MOF cathode maintained 89 percent of its initial power capacity after 100 charge-and discharge cycles. Having shown the effectiveness of their MOF cathode, PNNL researchers now plan to further improve the cathode’s mixture of materials so it can hold more energy. The team also needs to develop a larger prototype and test it for longer periods of time to evaluate the cathode’s performance for real-world, large-scale applications. PNNL is also using MOFs in energy-efficient adsorption chillers and to develop new catalysts to speed up chemical reactions. “MOFs are probably best known for capturing gases such as carbon dioxide,” Xiao said. “This study opens up lithium-sulfur batteries as a new and promising field for the nanomaterial.” This research was funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Researchers analyzed chemical interactions on the MOF cathode with instruments at EMSL, DOE’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at PNNL. In January, a Nature Communications paper by Xiao and some of her PNNL colleagues described another possible solution for lithium-sulfur batteries: developing a hybrid anode that uses a graphite shield to block polysulfides. Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Reporting Climate Change News

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    Study: Black Carbon Ancient When It Reaches Seafloor

    10.04.2014

    Analysis finds that more than half of black carbon never reaches the ocean bottom.[more]


    Climate Models Underestimate Future Costs Says Study

    10.04.2014

    Costs of carbon emissions are being underestimated, but current estimates are still valuable for setting mitigation policy, say researchers in Nature.[more]


    Permafrost Thawing Increases Global Warming: Study

    10.04.2014

    Greenhouse gases released by thawing permafrost could accelerate global warming trends according to a new study of changes in peat chemistry as it thaws.[more]


    Mann Says Atlantic Variability Has Slowed Waming

    09.04.2014

    Climate researcher Michael Mann says that the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is in a cooling phase and has acted to help slow global warming.[more]


    Climate Feedbacks From Soil Bugs Less Than Feared

    09.04.2014

    Climate feedbacks from decomposition by soil microbes are one of the biggest uncertainties facing climate modelers. A new study shows that these feedbacks may be less dire than previously thought.[more]


    Deserts Absorb More Carbon Says New Research

    09.04.2014

    Increased amounts of ecosystem carbon have been recorded in the Mojave Desert after ten years exposure to elevated CO2 levels, according to a new paper.[more]


    Uncertainty Increases Climate Risks Say Researchers

    09.04.2014

    Two new papers highlight the issue of mathematical uncertainty in the climate system and the fact that greater uncertainty can increase risks and necessitate greater mitigation measures.[more]


    UAH March 2014 Temperature Anomaly: +0.17C

    07.04.2014

    The University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Version 5.6 global satellite-measured average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for March, 2014 is +0.17 deg. C, unchanged from February.[more]


    RSS March 2014 Anomaly +0.214C

    06.04.2014

    Remote Sensing Systems, the US data services company that provides a global temperature data set for the lower troposphere constructed from satellite instrument measurements, has released data for March 2014.[more]


    Researchers Find New Phenomenon In Atmosphere

    04.04.2014

    Recent research results show that an atmospheric hole over the tropical West Pacific is reinforcing ozone depletion in the polar regions and could have a significant influence on the climate of the Earth.[more]


    NSIDC Reports Multiyear Arctic Sea Ice Growth

    03.04.2014

    Data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center shows that Arctic sea ice reached its maximum extent on 21 March, that multiyear Arctic sea ice is thickening, and that the winter 2013/2014 period saw the fifth smallest sea ice…[more]


    UK Met Office Announces Forecast Breakthrough

    02.04.2014

    Britain’s Meteorological Office has announced a major advance in improving the skillfulness of long range weather forecasts. Details are revealed in a paper just published in Geophysical Research Letters.[more]


    Natural Variations In Atlantic Drive Extreme Winters

    02.04.2014

    Warm North Atlantic Ocean waters promote extreme winters in the US and Europe, according to new research which links long term natural variations in the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, with an…[more]


    Coral Yields Sea Level And Temperature History

    02.04.2014

    Corals reefs off the Australian coast reveal centuries of rising sea levels and temperatures, according to a new paper.[more]


    Research Suggests Climate Change Affecting Seasons

    01.04.2014

    Autumn is ending later and Spring is starting earlier in the northern hemisphere, according to new research.[more]


    Each Hemisphere Has Separate Climate History: Study

    01.04.2014

    Northern and Southern Hemisphere climates follow the beat of different drummers, according to new research.[more]


    Models And Observations Disagree Over Aerosols

    01.04.2014

    The effect of important air pollutants may be absent from key precipitation observations, according to new research.[more]


    Natural Variations In Atlantic Affect Climate Says Study

    01.04.2014

    The Atlantic Ocean dances with the Sun and volcanoes. Natural fluctuations in the ocean temperature in the North Atlantic have a significant impact on the climate in the northern hemisphere. These fluctuations are the result of a…[more]


    One Third Of The Earth Will Be Dry Warns Research

    01.04.2014

    Climate change driven global warming may spread drying to a third of Earth, says a new study, and it is heat, not just rainfall, that plays into the new projections.[more]


    Study: Microbial Methane Triggered Mass Extinction

    01.04.2014

    Methane-producing microbes may be responsible for the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history, according to a new paper in PNAS.[more]


    Baltic Sea Is Starved Of Oxygen Say Researchers

    01.04.2014

    Oxygen depletion in the Baltic Sea is ten times worse than a century ago, say researchers in a new PNAS paper.[more]


    Arctic Melt Season Lengthening As Arctic Ocean Warms

    01.04.2014

    A longer melt season for Arctic sea ice is allowing the Arctic Ocean to absorb more sunlight and warm, according to researchers from US agencies NSIDC and NASA.[more]


    Nobody Will Be Untouched Warns IPCC Chief

    31.03.2014

    Climate change is already having an impact and worse is to come, according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was published on 31 March 2014.[more]


    IPCC Issues Report Into Impacts Of Climate Change

    31.03.2014

    Today (March 31 2014) in Yokohama, Japan, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the second installment of its AR5 report into climate change which looks at the impact of climate change….[more]


    WMO Compiles List Of Recent Extreme Weather

    25.03.2014

    A list of extreme weather events observed around the world during the period December 2013 to end February 2014 has been put together by the World Meteorological Organization.[more]


    All Indicators Suggest El Nino Likely In 2014 Says BoM

    25.03.2014

    Computer models forecast an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event in 2014, according to the latest update issued by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.[more]


    Sea Level Rise Has Not Stalled Says Study

    23.03.2014

    The recent slow down in the rise of global mean sea level which appears to have co-incided with the so called pause in global warming disappears once natural short-term variability – such as the affects of the El Nino-Southern…[more]


    Research Says Arctic Sea Ice Predicts Europe’s Winters

    23.03.2014

    There is a statistical link between Arctic sea ice concentration in September and the weather that Europe experiences through the following winter, new research has found, indicating that it is important to incorporate Arctic…[more]


    Heat Waves Threaten Global Food Supply Says Research

    22.03.2014

    New research says that future heat waves will significantly reduce crop yields and threaten global food supply.[more]


    Study: EU Could Cut CO2 Emissions At Moderate Cost

    22.03.2014

    A 40 per cent cut in CO2 emissions across the EU can be achieved at a cost of less than 0.7 per cent of economic activity, say experts.[more]


    Study: Linking Storms To Climate Change A ‘Distraction’

    22.03.2014

    Leading atmospheric science researchers have pointed out in a new paper that extreme weather events will continue irrespective of climate change and that trying to link such events to global warming distracts attention from…[more]


    NOAA February Global Temperature Anomaly 0.41C

    21.03.2014

    Here is the text of the February global climate report from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA). Global mean surface temperatures in February 2014 were the 21st warmest in the dataset which goes back to…[more]


    Study: Climate Change Accelerates Greenland Ice Loss

    21.03.2014

    Greenland’s contribution to sea-level rise was previously underestimated and needs to be accounted for in future projections, according to new research. A previously stable region of the Greenland ice sheet is undergoing dynamic…[more]


    Southern Ocean Iron Cycle Affects Carbon Uptake

    21.03.2014

    Research suggests ocean mixing plays an important role in bringing iron and other nutrients to the surface to stimulate phytoplankton growth which helps support the ocean carbon cycle.[more]


    Geological Processes Ensure Earth Remains Habitable Says Study

    21.03.2014

    Scientists explain in a new Nature paper that geological processes are responsible for ensuring that the Earth remains capable of supporting life and does not turn into a hot Venus or cold Mars.[more]


    New Studies Show How Glaciers Respond To Climate Change

    19.03.2014

    Two new papers show how analysing years of data Tibet and Himalayas can help better predict glacial response to global climate change.[more]


    Pacific Decadal Oscillation Is Widening The Tropical Belt

    19.03.2014

    Research points to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and anthropogenic pollutants as factors in widening the tropical belt.[more]


    Combining Statistical Data Can Improve El Nino Forecasting

    19.03.2014

    A statistical “Bayesian hierarchical model” allows scientists to combine various sources of information as well as previous scientific knowledge to improve forecasts of changes in the oceans such as El Nino Pacific Ocean warming…[more]


    NASA Starts New IceBridge Campaign In Greenland

    13.03.2014

    NASA’s Operation IceBridge has started a new mission flying aircraft instruments over the Greenland ice sheet and polar sea ice with one aim being to help calibrate satellite measurements.[more]


    Satellites Give Estimate Of Sea Life Carbon Capture

    12.03.2014

    Space observations have been used to help calculate how ocean life captures carbon dioxide and locks it away in biological materials.[more]


    NASA Data Sheds New Light on Changing Greenland Ice

    11.03.2014

    More accurate measurements of ice sheet discharge rates have been made possible by a NASA radar study of the Greenland ice sheet.[more]


    Australian BOM Reports Increased Chance Of El Nino

    11.03.2014

    The chances of an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event later this year have increased, according to the latest report from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Computer forecasts agree that the Pacific sea surface will warm and…[more]


    Low-End Climate Sensitivity May Be Higher Than Thought

    10.03.2014

    Cooling from atmospheric particles and from ozone may mean that IPCC low-end estimates of climate sensitivity are wrong and need to be increased by 30 per cent, according to new research. NASA says this means long term global…[more]


    Pollution Weakens Hurricanes Say Researchers

    10.03.2014

    Aerosols from human pollution tend to weaken tropical cyclones according to a new paper in Nature Climate Change.[more]


    Sun Fingered For Little Ice Age Say Researchers

    10.03.2014

    New research puts the sun in the frame for causing the Little Ice Age by triggering persistent blocking patterns in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic.[more]


    New Man Made Ozone Eating Gas Found In Atmosphere

    10.03.2014

    Four newly detected ozone-depleting substances started to emerge in the atmosphere in the 1960s, reports a study published online in Nature Geoscience. Although emissions of these compounds have been small, they are contrary to…[more]


    Researchers Map European Climate Change

    07.03.2014

    Europe will experience greater warming than the global average increase in surface temperatures, according to new research.[more]


    Arctic Sea Ice Extent Decline Continued In February

    06.03.2014

    Arctic sea ice extent in February 2014 was the fourth lowest on record for the month and almost exactly in line with the long term trend decline while sea ice extent in the Antarctic remains significantly above average,…[more]


    UAH February Global Temperature Anomaly +0.172C

    05.03.2014

    Satellite data from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) shows the February global temperature anomaly for the lower troposphere as measured by satellite was 0.172C compared with 0.203C in February 2013[more]


    New Sensitivity Estimate At Lower End Of IPCC Range

    03.03.2014

    Global temperatures will eventually rise by around 2C in response to a sustained doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to new research. This is consistent with the lower end of the range set out last year by the…[more]


    European Flood Risk Could Double By 2050

    03.03.2014

    New research projects a massive increase in financial losses due to floods in Europe over coming decades as the risk of flooding doubles, concludes a paper published online this week in Nature Climate Change.[more]


    Climate Change Weakens Southern Ocean Convection

    02.03.2014

    Changes in the salinity of ocean surface waters due to climate change are inhibiting deep ocean mixing, encouraging ocean heat storage and contributing to the so called pause in global warming, according to new research.[more]


    Climate Change Guide By UK And US Science Academies

    02.03.2014

    Britain’s Royal Society and the US National Science Academy have issued a new report describing the facts of climate change in simple terms.[more]


    Coincidence Is The Cause Of The Pause

    01.03.2014

    Climate models do not overestimate warming and the so called pause is due to a coincidence of a number of factors, according to new research.[more]


    Study Projects Big Thaw For Antarctic Sea Ice

    01.03.2014

    The current mysterious growth in Antarctic sea ice to record levels will reverse, according to a new study based on computer models.[more]


    Japan And NASA Launch Rainfall Mission

    01.03.2014

    A new satellite to measure global rainfall and snow has been launched. Measuring precipitation globally is key for the study of the impacts of climate change.[more]


    Research Says Chances Of Models Simulating Pause Low

    26.02.2014

    The effectiveness of computer climate models is in dispute as a scientific argument over the ability of climate models to successfully simulate the so called global warming pause breaks out in the pages of Nature Climate Change.[more]


    High Climate Change Extinction Risks Predictable

    26.02.2014

    Judging the effects of climate change on extinction may be easier than previously thought, according to a paper entitled, “Life history and spatial traits predict extinction risk due to climate change,” published today (26…[more]


    January 2014 Was The Warmest Since 2007 Says NOAA

    26.02.2014

    Here is NOAA’s report on the global climate in January 2014.[more]


    Research: Volcanic Aerosols Contribute To The Pause

    23.02.2014

    New research suggests that climate models may have overestimated global warming because they do not include the impact of aerosols from volcanic eruptions. The implication is that this may be a partial explanation of the so…[more]


    New Study Analyses El Nino Taimasa

    20.02.2014

    A new study will help predict sea level changes related to El Nino.[more]


    Models Say Climate Change Causes More Arctic Cyclones

    19.02.2014

    An increase in Arctic cyclones is linked to climate change, according to a study based on historical climate model simulations.[more]


    Warning That Planet May Get Hooked On Geoengineering

    19.02.2014

    Researchers have warned in a new paper that attempts to mitigate the impact of global warming by injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere would create a severe threat unless the activity were maintained.[more]


    WMO: Worldwide Extreme Weather Seen In 2014

    14.02.2014

    Parts of the world have witnessed a series of extreme weather conditions in the first six weeks of 2014, continuing a pattern that was set in December 2013, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).[more]


    Three-In-Four Chance of 2014 El Nino Says Research

    12.02.2014

    New research published this week suggests a three-in-four chance of an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event beginning in late 2014. Meanwhile the Australian Bureau of Meteorology says the current status of the so called El Nino…[more]


    Carbon Implicated In Earth’s Most Severe Extinction

    11.02.2014

    MIT researchers find that the end-Permian extinction happened in just 60,000 years — much faster than earlier estimates – and appears to have been linked to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, possibly due to…[more]


    Research Suggests Pacific Trade Winds Cause Pause

    09.02.2014

    An article published online in Nature Climate Change today investigates how strengthened Pacific trade winds can account for 0.1C–0.2C of cooling through increased subsurface ocean heat uptake— this is enough to account for much…[more]


    Met Office: Storms “Consistent” With Global Warming

    09.02.2014

    A joint report issued by the UK Meteorological Office and the UK Centre of Ecology and Hydrology states that the recent stormy weather that has afflicted the British Isles is “consistent” with global warming although the two…[more]


    ESA Sets Out To Find Missing Ocean Heat

    07.02.2014

    Satellite and local readings show that the rapid rise in sea-surface temperatures seen in the last quarter of the 20th century has significantly slowed in the past 15 years. The European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative…[more]


    RSS January Anomaly Down On Last Year

    07.02.2014

    January data for the global lower tropospheric temperature anomaly has been released by Remote Sensing Systems showing an anomaly of +0.262C above the long term average[more]


    Alaskan Arctic Lake Ice Thinning Cuts Winter Ice Season

    06.02.2014

    Arctic lakes have been freezing up later in the year and thawing earlier, creating a winter ice season about 24 days shorter than it was in 1950, a University of Waterloo study has found.[more]


    Latest Data Shows Arctic Sea Ice Volume Has Increased

    05.02.2014

    Satellite data shows that Arctic sea ice is getting thicker as Antarctic sea ice extent continues to expand to near record levels, according to a report issued by the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, in Boulder Colorado,…[more]


    UAH January 2014 Temperature Anomaly Down On January 2013

    05.02.2014

    Satellite data from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) shows the January global temperature anomaly for the lower troposphere was +0.291C compared with +0.497C for January 2013. [more]


    WMO Chief Warns Of Continued Warming Trend

    05.02.2014

    The WMO warns today in a press statement that global warming continues even though the rate of warming is uneven due to natural variations in the climate system.[more]


    Huge Flood Costs Projected For 21st Century Sea-Level Rise

    05.02.2014

    Global average storm surge damages could increase to $100,000 billion per year by the end of century, if no adaptation action is taken, according to estimates in new research.[more]


    Huge Flood Costs Projected For 21st Century Sea-Level Rise

    05.02.2014

    Global average storm surge damages could increase to $100,000 billion per year by the end of century, if no adaptation action is taken, according to estimates in new research.[more]


    Climate Study: Major Changes in Vegetation Distribution by 2100

    30.01.2014

    As climate change warms the Earth’s surface the distribution of plant species could be affected, warns a new study. This report courtesy of the University of Arkansas.[more]


    Global Warming Snow Decline Threat to Ice Shelves

    30.01.2014

    Disappearing snow increases the risk of collapsing ice shelves in Antarctica that will release ice into the sea and so help increase sea levels, according to new research.[more]


    BoM Computers Spy Hints Of El Nino

    28.01.2014

    Computer models used by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) suggest that an El Nino Pacific Ocean warming event may be triggered later this year, according to the latest update on the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)…[more]


    Asian Ozone Pollution In Hawaii Linked To Climate

    28.01.2014

    Asian ozone pollution in Hawaii is tied to climate variability, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience. This report from Princeton University.[more]


    Reconstructed Data Ranks 2013 Hotter Than 1998

    27.01.2014

    A reconstruction of the Met Office temperature record suggests that 2013 was, in fact, warmer than the El Nino year of 1998, that temperatures have been rising since 1998, that global warming continues and that the so called…[more]


    Aerosols Cloud Picture Of Global Warming

    27.01.2014

    A new paper in Science highlights the uncertain role that aerosols play in climate change.[more]


    Tropical Carbon Cycle Sensitivity Has Doubled

    26.01.2014

    The sensitivity of the carbon cycle to tropical temperature variations has doubled, research shows.[more]


    2013 Tied As 6th Warmest Year On Met Office Data

    25.01.2014

    The UK Meteorological Office has updated its HadCRUT4 annual temperature database to include figures for 2013. The data shows that 2013 tied with 2002 and 2009 as the sixth warmest year on record. This means that the so called…[more]


    Dust Deposition In Southern Ocean Affected Past Climate

    24.01.2014

    The journal Science publishes results from a Polarstern expedition in the mostly unexplored South Pacific which discovered that dust blown out to land and falling onto the ocean affected the climate in the past[more]


    Antarctic Ice Loss At Odds With Ozone Depletion

    23.01.2014

    A recent paper suggests that the recent expansion of Antarctic ice is at odds with what computer models predict should happen as a result of the depletion of stratospheric ozone and the Antarctic ozone hole even though the…[more]


    Ancient Forests Stabilised Earth’s CO2 And Climate

    23.01.2014

    New research suggests that forests played a key role in controlling atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in the past.[more]


    Arctic Inland Waters Emit Lots Of CO2

    23.01.2014

    Assumptions about the absorption of carbon by the land in polar regions may be overestimated unless they take into account the emission of carbon by inland waters, according to new research.[more]


    A Resolution Of The Antarctic Sea Ice Paradox

    22.01.2014

    A new paper claims to explain the paradox of why sea ice is growing in the Antarctic despite global warming. A combination of observational data and modelling reveals the potential significance of the north and tropical Atlantic…[more]


    Land Use Not Climate Change Driving Flood Losses

    22.01.2014

    Changing landscapes are to blame for increased flood risk and not global warming says new research. Here is the news release describing the findings of the research which has just been published in the Hydrological Sciences…[more]


    Asian Air Pollution Affecting World’s Weather

    22.01.2014

    Researchers have found that air pollution over Asia – much of it coming from China – is impacting global air circulations.[more]


    Pause Due To Internal Variability And Pollution

    21.01.2014

    The so called pause in global warming that has been apparent since the late 1990s may be due to air pollution and to a greater frequency of La Nina Pacific Ocean cooling events as well as to other factors such as volcanic…[more]


    NOAA Says 2013 Was The Fourth Warmest Year

    21.01.2014

    The globally averaged temperature for 2013 tied with 2003 as the fourth warmest year since record keeping began in 1880, according to NOAA scientists. Here is the text of the NOAA press release and of the summary of the NOAA…[more]


    NASA Says 2013 Was Seventh Warmest Year

    21.01.2014

    NASA scientists say 2013 tied with 2009 and 2006 for the seventh warmest year since 1880. While this appears to confirm that the so called pause in global warming that began around 1998 appears to have continued in 2013, NASA…[more]


    Extreme El Nino Events To Double Say Researchers

    19.01.2014

    Extreme weather events fuelled by unusually strong El Ninos, such as the 1983 heatwave that led to the Ash Wednesday bushfires in Australia, are likely to double in number as our planet warms, according to researchers from the…[more]


    Water Cycle Amplifies Abrupt Climate Change Say Researchers

    19.01.2014

    New research shows that historic changes in the water cycle were the main drivers of widespread environmental change in western Europe. This has implications for the impact of the water cycle on climate change today.[more]


    NASA Uses Drone To Scan For Signs Of Climate Change

    17.01.2014

    NASA searches for climate change clues in the gateway to the stratosphere using a Global Hawk research aircraft. This is the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX).[more]


    Study: EU Can Cut Carbon 40 Percent At Moderate Cost

    16.01.2014

    Analysis by the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum suggests that the European Union could achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to help offset climate change at relatively moderate cost. This news report…[more]


    Global Warming’s “Biggest Offenders” Named

    16.01.2014

    The United States, China, Russia, Brazil, India, Germany and the United Kingdom are named as the seven countries accounting for most of the temperature increase believed to be due to climate change, according to a new study. This…[more]


    Intensity Of East Asian Tropical Cyclones Has Increased

    16.01.2014

    A study published today highlights growing threat of intense tropical cyclones hitting East Asia. The intensity of such storms has increased over the last 30 years. This is consistent with what many climate scientists would…[more]


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    An OPEC Nation Ships Its First Oil in 9 Months

    Posted: 17 Apr 2014 06:54 AM PDT

    Further to my note yesterday, there seems to a lot of focus recently on one particular commodity: oil.Producers within the energy world and beyond have been desperately seeking crude exposure. Largely because this one of the few commodities whose price has held up globally.The last few months have strengthened oil’s unstoppable image. At the start of the year, it looked like prices might break down–with WTI having fallen from $110 to near $90. But a recent bounce has taken it decidedly back above $100. Signalling that the party is still continuing.But…Read more…

    Israel and Egypt: A Natural [Gas] Match

    Posted: 16 Apr 2014 03:02 PM PDT

    Israel’s newfound natural gas wealth is moving the country from energy importer to potential exporter, altering the energy balance of the region in the process. Even more interesting is that Israel’s most promising export market just slipped from energy exporter to importer—that country is Egypt. Israel has historically been a natural gas importer, but recent offshore discoveries will likely change that. Concentrated in the Tamar (estimated 10 trillion cubic feet) and Leviathan (estimated 19 trillion cubic feet) fields, Israel’s…Read more…

    300mpg Diesel-Electric Hybrid Unveiled by Volkswagen

    Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:53 PM PDT

    The star of this week’s Qatar motor show will undoubtedly be Volkswagen’s “one-liter car,” the diesel hybrid XL1, which is able to achieve more than 300 mpg. The $60,000 XL1 is powered by an 800cc, two-cylinder turbodiesel powerplant (half a BlueMotion engine), producing 47bhp, supported by a 27bhp electric motor hat fuelled by lithium-ion batteries. The batteries can be charged from a domestic plug, allowing the car to travel 22 miles solely on electric power.  Over the past decade governments worldwide have been…Read more…

    Private Sector Driving U.S. Wind Market Forward

    Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:42 PM PDT

    The onshore wind energy sector is booming in the United States, where there’s enough of the renewable resource on hand to meet the annual demands for 15 million homes.  It may take one of the biggest retailers in the world, however, to usher in the necessary change in energy consumption. The American Wind Energy Association said wind energy in the United States accounted for more than 4 percent of all the electricity generated in the country last year and the trend was on pace to continue.  America, the AWEA said, is increasingly…Read more…

    Are Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles Dead On Arrival?

    Posted: 16 Apr 2014 02:31 PM PDT

    The national vision by politicians, economists, industrialists and environmentalists to transition to hydrogen economy by 2030 seems deadlocked, with hydrogen fuel cells projected to represent a $3 billion market of about 5.9 GW by 2030, according to Lux Research, Figure 1.(1)The dream of fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen from zero-carbon sources such as renewable power or nuclear energy comes from estimates that the cost of avoided carbon dioxide would be more than $600 a metric ton – ten times higher than most other technologies under…Read more…

    Oil Limits and Climate Change – How They Fit Together

    Posted: 16 Apr 2014 01:36 PM PDT

    We hear a lot about climate change, especially now that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently published another report. At the same time, oil is reaching limits, and this has an effect as well. How do the two issues fit together?In simplest terms, what the situation means to me is that the “low scenario,” which the IPCC calls “RCP2.6,” is closest to what we can expect in terms of man-made carbon emissions. Thus, the most reasonable scenario, based on their modeling, would seem to be the purple…
  • California Regulators Decide Utilities Can’t Charge #Solar-Killing Fees

    California Regulators Decide Utilities Can’t Charge Solar-Killing Fees

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    rooftop-solar-californiaCREDIT: Shutterstock

    On Tuesday, California regulators issued a decision that state utilities could not charge certain fees for solar-plus-storage systems in homes and offices, clearing the way for such projects to proceed.

    For about a year, California’s big three utilities — Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, and San Diego Gas And Electric — have been charging customers, be they individuals or businesses, various fees for setting up a solar system on their property that includes battery storage. That includes an $800 interconnection application fee, as well as various other charges that can bring the cost between $1,400 and $3,700. The utilities also insisted such systems go through an extensive review process for, they claimed, safety purposes, and to ensure the systems weren’t just storing power produced by the utilities and then seeking credit for it under California’s net metering rules.

    Solar system installers said the hurdles have ground new solar-battery projects to a halt. SolarCity, the biggest solar provider in the US, said that only 12 of the 500 customers that signed up for its solar battery systems have been connected to the grid. Among other efforts, SolarCity has started up a pilot project to provide commercial buildings with both a solar array and battery produced by Tesla Motors.

    But Tuesday’s decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) scuttled many of those obstacles. Under CPUC’s proposal, distributed generation systems (usually solar, but not limited to it) that are eligible for net metering, and that are over 10 kilowatts, must keep their storage component under that 10 kilowatt capacity. For smaller systems, there would be no size limit. Systems over 10 kilowatts will also need a separate meter to keep track of the interchange between electricity generation and battery charging. For smaller systems, local data from the net metering system will be used to tease out the energy drawn into the battery. “Trusting the solar-storage system to measure its own give-and-take status against the grid,” as GreenTech Media put it.

    A final ruling on CPUC’s decision could come as early as May 15. And according to Bloomberg Businessweek, SolarCity has already restarted its application process for new solar-plus-storage systems in light of CPUC’s move. The previous regime of fees and studies had convinced the company to halt the applications back in March.

    “I think it’s going to streamline it quite a bit. There were customers who weren’t able to pay these interconnection fees who we can now move forward,” Peter Rive, SolarCity’s co-founder and CTO, told GreenTech Media. Other companies like Sunverge and Outback Power also filed briefs in support of CPUC’s decision.

    Grid operators and utilities worry that the rise of battery storage and distributed generation like solar will cause more and more customers to simply defect from the grid entirely. In a blog post on SolarCity’s website, Rive attempted to allay those fears, pointing out that the spread of batteries at the residential, commercial, and utility level could work to grid operators’ advantage if properly harnessed.

    “In this scenario, grid operators are suddenly empowered to store and discharge solar energy where and when it’s needed most, smoothing out peaks and ramps, while powering more of the total grid consumption with clean and renewable sources,” Rive wrote. “Additionally, utilizing storage to unlock massive benefits in the areas of frequency and voltage support can further lower grid costs. Many of these capabilities are available now through distributed resources, even without storage, and we should work together to put them into the hands of utilities for the benefit of the ratepayers.”

    T

  • Methane oxidation over A-site ordered and disordered Sr0.8Gd0.2CoO3-δ perovskites

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    Methane oxidation over A-site ordered and disordered Sr0.8Gd0.2CoO3-δ perovskites

    Chem. Commun., 2014, Accepted Manuscript

    DOI: 10.1039/C4CC00913D
    Received 04 Feb 2014, Accepted 17 Apr 2014
    First published online 17 Apr 2014

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     Articles   Chapters

    Maltose and pectin assisted sol–gel production of Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 solid electrolyte nanopowders for solid oxide fuel cells

    Zihua Wang, Tim P. Comyn, Mojtaba Ghadiri and Girish M. Kale
    J. Mater. Chem., 2011,21, 16494-16499
    Abstract

    Rietveld refinement of XRD data of single phase microstrain free Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 nanocrystalline powders produced by a low temperature (500 °C) process.

     

    Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from wet nitrogen using La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ – Ce0.8Gd0.18Ca0.02O2-δ composite cathode

    Ibrahim Amar, Christophe Petit, Rong Lan, Gregory Mann and Shanwen Tao
    RSC Adv., 2014, Accepted Manuscript
    Abstract

    Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from wet nitrogen in an electrolytic cell using a La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ – Ce0.8Gd0.18Ca0.02O2-δ composite cathode and an oxide-carbonate composite electrolyte has been investigated. La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ was prepared via…

     

    Structural and microstructural stability of ceria – gadolinia electrolyte exposed to reducing environments of high temperature fuel cells

    S. P. S. Badwal, D. Fini, F. T. Ciacchi, C. Munnings, J. A. Kimpton and J. Drennan
    J. Mater. Chem. A, 2013,1, 10768-10782
    Abstract

    Doped ceria is stable in DCFC and CO2 electrolysis environments, but microstructure degenerates in hydrogen leading to degradation of electrical properties.

     

    Characterization of 3D interconnected microstructural network in mixed ionic and electronic conducting ceramic composites

    William M. Harris, Kyle S. Brinkman, Ye Lin, Dong Su, Alex P. Cocco, Arata Nakajo, Matthew B. DeGostin, Yu-chen Karen Chen-Wiegart, Jun Wang, Fanglin Chen, Yong S. Chu and Wilson K. S. Chiu
    Nanoscale, 2014,6, 4480-4485
    Abstract

    Electron and X-ray microscopy are used to characterize a composite oxygen separation membrane in terms of its constituent phases, and their impact on performance.

     

    Superior power density solid oxide fuel cells by enlarging the three-phase boundary region of a NiO–Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 composite anode through optimized surface structure

    Daeil Yoon, Qing Su, Haiyan Wang and Arumugam Manthiram
    Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 14966-14972
    Abstract

    A novel, facile approach to modify the surface structure of the anode powder particles leads to superior power density SOFCs.