Through observations and modeling, scientists have long known that large, deep currents in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans flow southward, converging on Antarctica. After entering the Southern Ocean they overturn — bringing water up from the deeper ocean — before moving back northward at the surface. This overturning completes the global circulation loop, which is important for the oceanic uptake of carbon and heat, the resupply of nutrients for use in biological production, as well as the understanding of how ice shelves melt._Lauren Hinkel | Oceans at MIT
Ετικέτα: climate change
Biofuels increase, rather than decrease, heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions
A new study from University of Michigan researchers challenges the widely held assumption that biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel are inherently carbon neutral._ Jim Erickson/The University of Michigan
Polar ice reveals new secrets of Earth’s climate
A team of scientists have used air bubbles in polar ice from pre-industrial times to measure the sensitivity of the Earth’s land biosphere to changes in temperature._CSIRO
Chemically Storing Solar Power
Scientists at TU Wien (Vienna) have now developed a new concept: By combining highly specialised new materials, they have managed to combine high temperature photovoltaics with an electrochemical cell. Ultraviolet light can be directly used to pump oxygen ions through a solid oxide electrolyte. The energy of the UV light is stored chemically. In the future, this method could also be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.__TU Wien
Will we ever stop using fossil fuels?
In recent years, proponents of clean energy have taken heart in the falling prices of solar and wind power, hoping they will drive an energy revolution. But a new study co-authored by an MIT professor suggests otherwise: Technology-driven cost reductions in fossil fuels will lead us to continue using all the oil, gas, and coal we can, unless governments pass new taxes on carbon emissions. __MIT News
Weekly Science Kaleidoscope (weeks #46 #47, 2015)
Εβδομαδιαία επιστημονική επιθεώρηση
Shifting Winds, Ocean Currents Doubled Endangered Galapagos Penguin Population
The new study shows how large-scale changes in the climate can act locally, said Michelle L’Heureux, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, and not an author on the new paper.
