Category Environment/Geology

Ionic salts as anti-icing agents have been extensively used to eliminate accumulation of ice on asphalt surfaces. However, salt can be easily removed by rain or automobiles and requires frequent application on roads. Besides this economic consideration, anti-icing agents compromise the mechanical properties of asphalt and have a negative impact on living organisms and the environment when used in large amounts. Incorporation of hydrophilic salts into bitumen, a hydrophobic asphalt binder, and controlled release of specific molecules from this hydrophobic medium can provide an effective solution for reducing ice formation on pavements.

As winter approaches, stores, cities and homeowners are stocking up on salt, gravel and sand in anticipation of slippery roads...

Ritchey Crater, located near the Martian equator, has impact melt deposits containing clay minerals. Impact melt forms when rock melted during an impact cools and hardens. The clay minerals found within these deposits are very likely to have formed after the impact event. Most clay minerals on Mars are thought to have formed during the earliest Martian epoch, known as the Noachian. However, evidence from Ritchey crater and other post-Noachian craters, suggests that clay formation after the Noachian was not uncommon. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Brown University

Clays and other minerals formed when rocks are altered by water have been found in multiple locations on Mars. It’s been assumed that these minerals probably formed in the earliest Martian epoch, >3.7B yrs ago...

Mathieu Dumberry from the University of Alberta is one of only a few people in the world investigating changes in Earth rotation. Credit: John Ulan for the University of Alberta

Scientists are studying past sea-level changes to make accurate future predictions of this consequence of climate change, and they’re looking down to Earth’s core to do so. “In order to fully understand the sea-level change that has occurred in the past century, we need to understand the dynamics of the flow in Earth’s core” says Mathieu Dumberry, a professor in physics at the University of Alberta.

The connection is through the change in the speed of Earth’s rotation. Melt water from glaciers not only causes sea-level rise, but also shifts mass from the pole to the equator, which slows down the rotation...

After shaking, the oil and water in the vial separate, trapping unwanted nanomaterials in the bottom of the oil layer. Credit: Michigan Tech, Sarah Bird

Nano implies small – and that’s great for use in medical devices, beauty products and smartphones – but it’s also a problem. All these tiny particles get into our water and are difficult to remove. Now, researchers have a novel and very simple way to take the nanomaterials out. The tiny nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes and other nanomaterials that make up our technology eventually find their way into water. The Environmental Protection Agency says more 1,300 commercial products use some kind of nanomaterial. And we just don’t know the full impact on health and the environment.

Instead, shaking up oil and water traps the nanomaterials, ...