Category Environment/Geology

Researchers report Game-Changing Technology to Remove 99% of Carbon Dioxide from Air

University of Delaware researchers have broken new ground that could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to commercialization. Credit: Graphic illustration by Jeffrey C. Chase

University of Delaware (UD) engineers have demonstrated a way to effectively capture 99% of carbon dioxide from air using a novel electrochemical system powered by hydrogen.

It is a significant advance for carbon dioxide capture and could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to market.

The research team, led by UD Professor Yushan Yan, reported their method in Nature Energy on Thursday, February 3.

Fuel cells work by converting fuel chemical energy directly into electricity. They can be used in transportation for things like hybrid or zero-emission vehicles.

Yan, Hen...

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This AI Tool lets you visualize how Climate Change could affect your Home

climate change
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new tool with cutting-edge image recognition AI lets you visualize the future effects of climate change on any place in the world—including your own home.

The project, titled “This Climate Does Not Exist,” lets you enter the address of your current home or your favorite travel destination and see what it could look like years later once climate change has taken its toll.

You can see how Disneyland will look like covered in smog, the way extreme smog blanketed Beijing in 2014. You can see what your childhood home will look like after it is flooded by rising sea levels, the way floods devastated Indonesia in 2020 after widespread deforestation.

Extreme weather events due to climate change are already impacting corners of the globe.

In a separate ...

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NASA’s Ingenuity Helicopter Captures a Mars Rock feature in 3D

This 3D view of a rock mound called Faillefeu was created from data collected by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on September 4, 2021.
This 3D view of a rock mound called Faillefeu was created from data collected by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 13th flight at Mars on September 4, 2021. 
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter provided a 3D view of a rock-covered mound during its 13th flight on Sept. 4. The plan for this reconnaissance mission into the “South Seítah” region of Mars’ Jezero Crater was to capture images of this geologic target—nicknamed “Faillefeu” (after a medieval abbey in the French Alps) by the agency’s Perseverance rover team—and to obtain the color pictures from a lower altitude than ever before: 26 feet (8 meters).

About 33 feet (10 meters) wide, the mound is visible just north of the center of the image, with some large rocks casting shadows...

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New 3D Printable Phase-changing Composites can Regulate Temperatures Inside Buildings

New 3D printable phase-changing composites can regulate temperatures inside buildings
New phase-change material composites can regulate ambient temperatures inside buildings. Credit: Texas A&M University College of Engineering

Changing climate patterns have left millions of people vulnerable to weather extremes. As temperature fluctuations become more commonplace around the world, conventional power-guzzling cooling and heating systems need a more innovative, energy-efficient alternative, and in turn, lessen the burden on already struggling power grids.

In a new study, researchers at Texas A&M University have created novel 3D printable phase-change material (PCM) composites that can regulate ambient temperatures inside buildings using a simpler and cost-effective manufacturing process...

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