Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts

2013-04-24

Suprapower Wind Turbines Supercharged with Superconductors

European Commission : CORDIS : Newsroom : Super wind turbines represent a major technological breakthrough


Harnessing the wind's energy is the objective of a new project, which aims to provide an important breakthrough in offshore wind industrial solutions.

The EU-funded project, called SUPRAPOWER, is working on a more powerful, reliable and lightweight superconducting offshore wind turbine. The four-year project has the expertise of nine European partners from industry and science under the coordination of Tecnalia in Spain.

Suprapower | Superconducting, reliable, lightweight and more powerful offshore wind turbine.

Suprapower

SUPRAPOWER (SUPerconducting, Reliable, lightweight, And more POWERful offshore wind turbine) is an EU FP7 founded research project focused on a major innovation in offshore wind turbine technology by developing a new compact superconductor-based generator.

The project aims to provide an important breakthrough in offshore wind industrial solutions by designing an innovative, lightweight, robust and reliable 10 MW class offshore wind turbine based on a superconducting (SC) generator, taking into account all the essential aspects of electric conversion, integration and manufacturability.

Wind turbines supercharged with superconductors - tech - 18 January 2013 - New Scientist

At heart, a wind turbine is simple - a series of wire coils attached to the rotor blade spin in the presence of strong magnetic fields, provided by stationary magnets. This generates a current, but the resistance in copper wire limits the amount of current that can flow through the coils. Making the coils from a resistance-free superconductor would cut down on weight and boost power generation.
Using superconductors will not be easy, though, partly due to the ultra-low temperatures they require. Developing a coil that can be cooled while simultaneously rotating with the turbine blades is a big challenge. A research project dubbed Suprapower, funded by the European Union, kicked off in December to address this problem.

TECNALIA will shake up offshore wind market with smaller wind turbines - Tecnalia. Inspiring Business


The project aims to provide an important breakthrough in offshore wind industrial solutions by designing an innovative, lightweight, robust and reliable 10 MW class offshore wind turbine based on a superconducting (SC) generator, taking into account all the essential aspects of electric conversion, integration and manufacturability.

SUPRAPOWER will pursue

  • To reduce turbine head mass, size and cost of offshore wind turbines in about a 30% by means of a compact superconducting generator.
  • To reduce O&M and transportation costs and increase life cycle using an innovative direct drive system.
  • To increase the reliability and efficiency of high power wind turbines by means of drive-train specific integration in the nacelle.

Labels: ,

2013-04-04

ARES Advanced Rail Energy Storage

Train-Based Energy Storage: Making Renewable Energy Reliable With Gravity

Jim Kelly, CEO of Advanced Rail Energy Services in California, is looking forward to testing out a means of storing electricity that is efficient, innovative and unexpected –– by moving trains.

Energy Storage - Grid Scale Energy Storage - Ares North America

During periods where excess energy is available on the grid, ARES shuttle-trains draw electricity from the grid, which powers their individual axle-drive motors, as they transport a continuous flow of masses uphill against the force of gravity to an upper storage yard.  When the grid requires energy to meet periods of high demand, this process is reversed.  The shuttle-trains provide a continuous flow of masses returning to the lower storage yard with their motors operating as generators, converting the potential energy of the masses elevation back into electricity in a highly efficient process.


Labels: , ,

2012-09-15

Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Could Mean Extreme Weather

Arctic sea ice melt 'may bring harsh winter to Europe' | Environment | guardian.co.uk

The unprecedented loss of polar sea ice may lead to 'wild extremes' in the UK and northern Europe, say researchers


The record loss of Arctic sea ice this summer may mean a cold winter for the UK and northern Europe. The region has been prone to bad winters after summers with very low sea ice, such as 2011 and 2007, said Jennifer Francis, a researcher at Rutgers University.

"We can't make predictions yet … [but] I wouldn't be surprised to see wild extremes this winter," Francis told the Guardian.

Record loss of Arctic ice may trigger extreme weather - latimes.com

Icebergs float in a bay off Ammassalik Island, Greenland. Ice melt could result in extreme weather this winter in North America and Europe, according to climate scientists. (John McConnico / Associated Press)
The loss of Arctic ice has several effects. Ice reflects heat and solar energy back into space. With less ice cover, that heat energy is instead absorbed by the ocean, which warms and melts more ice. Currently, the Arctic region is the fastest-warming region on the planet, and the change in temperature will probably influence weather patterns here and in Europe, according to Francis.

The heating and cooling of Arctic seawater has been affecting the jet stream -- the river of air that flows from west to east high above the Earth’s surface -- and has slowed it down, Francis said. The jet stream controls the formation and movement of storm systems, so when its movement slows, weather conditions persist for longer periods of time over the same area. They get “stuck.”


'Astonishing' Ice Melt May Lead to More Extreme Winters | Climate Central

The extent of Arctic sea ice on Aug. 26, 2012, the day the sea ice dipped to its smallest extent ever recorded in more than three decades of satellite measurements. The line on the image shows the average minimum extent from the period covering 1979-2010. Click on the image for a larger version. Credit: NASA/JPL.

During the fall, when the sun sets once again and the Arctic Ocean begins to refreeze, the heat in the ocean gets released back into the atmosphere. Since the jet stream, which is a corridor of strong winds at upper levels of the atmosphere that generally blows from west to east across the northern mid-latitudes, is powered by the temperature difference between the Arctic and areas farther south, any alteration of that temperature difference is bound to alter the jet stream — with potentially profound implications. It just so happens that the jet stream steers day-to-day weather systems.

Arctic Paradox: Warmer Arctic May Mean Cold Blasts for Some | Climate Central

Recent scientific studies have shown that the dramatic warming that has been occurring in the Arctic during the past few decades, along with the associated loss of sea ice cover, may be changing atmospheric circulation patterns throughout the northern hemisphere. This could be contributing to the recent outbreaks of unusually cold and snowy weather. Sea ice loss during the spring and summer melt season, which leaves a thinner and more sparse ice cover throughout the fall and early winter, is a key suspect in influencing winter weather patterns. When the ice melts, it allows incoming solar radiation to warm water and air temperatures, which in turn has an influence on atmospheric pressure and circulation, and may help shift Arctic air southward, while the Arctic remains unusually warm.

One meteorologist has described the pattern this way: "This pattern is kind of like leaving the refrigerator door ajar — the refrigerator warm up, but all the cold air spills out into the house."


Labels: , ,

2012-09-02

Geoengineering by Solar Radiation Management (SRM)

Geoengineering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The concept of geoengineering (or climate engineering, climate remediation, and climate intervention[1]) refers to "the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system, in order to moderate global warming".[2][3] The discipline divides broadly into two categories, as described by the Royal Society:

"Carbon dioxide removal techniques [which] address the root cause of climate change by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Solar radiation management techniques [which] attempt to offset effects of increased greenhouse gas concentrations by causing the Earth to absorb less solar radiation."[...]

Is Geoengineering the Answer to Climate Change? | Surprising Science

Geoengineering could replicate the cooling effects of a massive volcanic eruption as a tool to reduce climate change. Photo via Wikimedia Commons

One proposed experiment would have used a balloon-tethered pipe to pump sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere and block a portion of solar radiation from reaching earth. Image via Wikimedia Commons/Hugh Hunt

Now, for the first time, a team of scientists has specifically analyzed the immediate financial costs of employing such a technique. Their results, published yesterday in the journal Environmental Research Letters, might be seen as encouraging by advocates of geoengineering—but depressing for everyone hoping to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Delivering solar geoengineering materials may be feasible and affordable

A cost analysis of the technologies needed to transport materials into the stratosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth and therefore reduce the effects of global climate change has shown that they are both feasible and affordable.Published today, 31 August 2012, in IOP

Publishing’s journal Environmental Research Letters, the study has shown that the basic technology currently exists and could be assembled and implemented in a number of different forms for less than USD $5 billion a year.
[...]
Professor Apt continued: “We hope our study will help other scientists looking at more novel methods for dispersing particles and help them to explore methods with increased efficiency and reduced environmental risk.”

The researchers make it clear that they have not sought to address the science of aerosols in the stratosphere, nor issues of risk, effectiveness or governance that will add to the costs of solar radiation management geoengineering.


Labels: , ,

2012-08-26

Wood Pulp, World's New Wonder Material

Why wood pulp is world's new wonder material - tech - 23 August 2012 - New Scientist

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), which is produced by processing wood pulp, is being hailed as the latest wonder material. Japan-based Pioneer Electronics is applying it to the next generation of flexible electronic displays. IBM is using it to create components for computers. Even the US army is getting in on the act, using it to make lightweight body armour and ballistic glass.

[...]

So why all the fuss? Well, not only is NCC transparent but it is made from a tightly packed array of needle-like crystals which have a strength-to-weight ratio that is eight times better than stainless steel. Even better, it's incredibly cheap.



Nanocellulose: A cheap, conductive, stronger-than-Kevlar wonder material made from wood pulp | ExtremeTech

What’s brown and sticky, lightweight, flexible, stronger than steel, stiffer than Kevlar, and conducts electricity? Nanocellulose. Oh, isn’t actually brown and sticky either: it’s transparent.

Nanocellulose is a new wonder material that is simply plant matter that has been carefully smashed to pieces, and then reformed into neatly-woven nanoscale crystals and fibers. You generally start with wood pulp, remove any non-cellulose impurities (such as lignin) using a homogenizer, and then gently beat the mixture to separate each of the cellulose fibers. Depending on the exact process used, these fibers then form into a thick paste (pictured above) of needle-like crystals (2nm wide, hundreds of nanometers long, below left), or a spaghetti-like structure of cellulose fibrils (below right).



Nanocellulose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nanocellulose or microfibrillated cellulose (MFC), is a material composed of nanosized cellulose fibrils with a high aspect ratio (length to width ratio). Typical lateral dimensions are 5–20 nanometers and longitudinal dimension is in a wide range from 10s of nanometers to several microns. It is pseudo-plastic. Moreover, nanocellulose exhibits the property of certain gels or fluids that are thick (viscous) under normal conditions, but flow (become thin, less viscous) over time when shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed. This property is known as thixotropy. When the shearing forces are removed the gel regains much of its original state. The fibrils are isolated from any cellulose containing source including wood-based fibers (pulp fibers) through high-pressure, high temperature and high velocity impact homogenization (see manufacture below). Nanocellulose can also be obtained from native fibers by an acid hydrolysis, giving rise to highly crystalline and rigid nanoparticles (generally referred to as nanowhiskers) which are shorter (100s to 1000 nanometers) than the nanofibrils obtained through the homogenization route.


Forest Products Laboratory - USDA Forest Service

Nanotechnology

A leader in wood products research for over a century, the FPL is positioning itself to become the lead Federal research facility for the application of nanotechnology in forest products. Using structural, chemical, and mechanical evaluation techniques, interdisciplinary teams of scientists continue to expand FPL's nanotechnology research program.



Labels: , , ,

2012-07-20

Puralytics SolarBag 3L -- Reusable Sunlight Activated Water Purifier

Puralytic Solar Bag | The Filtered Files

Puralytics, a privately funded technology company located in Beaverton, Oregon is pioneering a new photochemical technology for water purification. They are building solutions to improve filtration for the global water challenges by combining the latest technological innovations with advanced engineering. The invention of the Solar Bag uses an effective and simple process for water purification.
The Puralytic Solar Bag has a backpack with handles that makes it easy to transport water to and from an available water source. Once the bag is filled with any water through the inlet debris filter, the bag is placed in the direct sunlight. It can either lie flat or hung from a tree or post. Once purified, the Solar Bag can be dispensed by a valve into a canteen or pot as required. By harnessing the power of the sun to purify water, the Puralytics Solar Bag will deliver clean drinking water that meets the World Health Organization (WHO) standards in remote areas.

Bag versus bottle? Puralytics’ new approach to pure portable water | SmartPlanet


It takes about three hours for the SolarBag to produce 3 liters of fresh water in direct sunlight (four to six hours if it is cloudy). It can be used several times per day, and Puralytics said the bag can be reused hundreds of times before it needs to be replaced.

The SolarBag exceeds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for water purifiers, according to Puralytics. “The versatility and performance of the SolarBag makes it the best water purifier on the market for remote and emergency applications,” said Mark Owen, found and CEO of Puralytics. “It’s light, simple to use, easily transportable and reliable.”


Puralytics :: Pure Water




The Details

Sunlight, even on a cloudy day, activates our new, powerful purification capability, embedded in our nanotechnology coated mesh insert. This activates the 5 photochemical processes that purify water and reduce or destroy contaminants found in virtually all water sources.

Treats up to 9 liters of water per day. Reusable hundreds of times.


Easy to Use

Fill bag with water from any fresh water source using supplied cloth filter.

Place the SolarBag in an area open to the sky. Wait 2 - 3 hours on a sunny day, or 4 - 6 hours on a cloudy day or if the source water is tea-colored.

Enjoy your safe, purified water! Again, and again, and again...


TEDx The Future of Water - YouTube

In "The Future of Water" a TEDx talk presented at Oregon State University on April 17, 2012, Puralytics CEO Mark Owen presents the water crisis, defines that the conventional solution to this crisis - municipal water purification - does not and can not supply SAFE water to the world's people, and calls for the development of a new breed of intelligent, decentralized water systems using new technologies.




Labels: , , ,

2012-05-21

Bosco Verticale a Vertical Forest Tower in Milan

DesignRulz | The World’s First Vertical Forest Tower Is Now Under Construction!


This vertical forest will span across two towers that have fabulous balconies designed to house these trees.
If we are talking about optimizing space, this vertical forest will consist of 900 trees, 5,000 bushes and 11,000 plants.  This forest, designed by architect Stefano Boeri, will produces oxygen and cuts down on all the noise pollution in Milan. If this same number of trees, bushes and plants were planted horizontally around these houses on the ground, it would require 50,000 square meters of land and 10,000 square meters of woodland.

BOSCO VERTICALE « stefano boeri

The Bosco Verticale is a system that optimizes, recuperates and produces energy. The Bosco Verticale aids in the creation of a microclimate and in filtering the dust particles contained in the urban environment. The diversity of the plants and their characteristics produce humidity, absorb CO2 and dust particles, producing oxygen and protect from radiation and acoustic pollution, improving the quality of living spaces and saving energy. Plant irrigation will be produced to great extent through the filtering and reuse of the grey waters produced by the building. Additionally Aeolian and photovoltaic energy systems will contribute, together with the aforementioned microclimate to increase the degree of energetic self sufficiency of the two towers. The management and maintenance of the Bosco Verticale’s vegetation will be centralised and entrusted to an agency with an office counter open to the public.

Project information
location: Milano, Italy
commission:
year: 2007 (on going)
client: Hines Italia
built area: 40.000 sqm
budget: 65.000.000,00€

Architectural Design:
BOERISTUDIO (Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, Giovanni La Varra)

Bosco Verticale in Milan Will Be the World's First Vertical Forest | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building


Each apartment in the building will have a balcony planted with trees that are able to respond to the city’s weather — shade will be provided within the summer, while also filtering city pollution; and in the winter the bare trees will allow sunlight to permeate through the spaces. Plant irrigation will be supported through the filtering and reuse of the greywater produced by the building. Additionally, Aeolian and photovoltaic energy systems will further promote the tower’s self-sufficiency.

Labels: , ,

2012-05-01

Water from Thin Air

Wind turbine creates water from thin air - CNN.com

(CNN) -- Wind turbines have long produced renewable energy but a French engineering firm has discovered another eco-purpose for the towering structures.

Eole Water claims to have successfully modified the traditional wind turbine design to create the WMS1000, an appliance that can manufacture drinking water from humid air.
The company aims to start rolling out the giant products for sale later in 2012, initially focusing on remote communities in arid countries where water resources are scarce.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Makers of a wind turbine claim it can generate power and water from humid air
  • Developers hope the device will bring water to rural communities in arid countries
  • The technology could be adapted to meet the needs of small cities in the future, say manufacturers


Eole Water - Give us wind, we give you water | Range




The WMS1000 Wind Turbine

For nearly 15 years, Eole Water team has been mobilized around the development of the WMS1000 wind turbine. This technology was designed around three major pillars:

Giving a sustainable access to safe drinking water

Unlike wells or boreholes, water will always be present in the air. The constraint was to design a reliable technology that can create and collect the water. Thanks to its technical expertise and its high quality components, the WMS1000 wind turbine allows anyone installed in remote areas to get to access to safe water for a period of twenty years. The device is capable of producing up to 1200 liters of water per day.

Operating in a full autonomy

The WMS1000 Wind Turbine was designed to produce water without any external power source. Wind is the only engine. With an installed capacity of 30kW and using air as a source of water, the WMS1000 Wind Turbine is perfectly adapted to supply remote areas completely devoid of existing infrastructures.

Preserving environment

Eole Water had to offer an innovative technology in line with current requirements related to sustainable development. Wind power is the only source of energy needed to run the water production turbines. There are no CO2 rejections, not pumping in groundwater or surface water sources. The environmental impact is practically nil.



A turbine that makes water from the desert air | SmartPlanet


How it works
Wind enters through intake vents around the nose cone of the mid-sized turbine and is then heated by a generator to become steam. The steam is compressed, which causes moisture to collect. It’s then condensed and the water is sent through pipes inside the turbine tower and into stainless steel tanks for filtration and purification. The hot air is blown out of the nacelle by a heat exchanger and air extractor.



Labels: , ,

2012-03-27

Perpetual Ocean -- Ocean Surface Currents Animation

Last year, a group of NASA scientists and animators put together this animation of the world’s ocean surface currents, based on ocean flow data for June 2005 to December 2007. The video starts over the Atlantic, and as the globe rotates, you can see the whorls and waves dancing across the ocean, the relative calm of the Pacific, and the stillness around Antarctica. [...] The tool NASA used to make the visualization — ECCO2 or Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean


ECCO2 Home Page

To increase understanding and predictive capability for the ocean's role in future climate change scenarios, the NASA Modeling, Analysis, and Prediction (MAP) program is funding a project called Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2): High-Resolution Global-Ocean and Sea-Ice Data Synthesis. ECCO2 aims to produce increasingly accurate syntheses of all available global-scale ocean and sea-ice data at resolutions that start to resolve ocean eddies and other narrow current systems, which transport heat, carbon, and other properties within the ocean.


Labels: , , ,

2012-02-24

Electricity Production by Use of Space Bacteria Found in British River

Space bacteria found in British river could be new power source for the world | Mail Online



Bacteria usually found orbiting high above the Earth have been found in a British river - and could be a new power source for the world.

The mysterious organisms, found in the the mouth of the River Wear, in Sunderland, can generate electricity using a special battery called a microbial fuel cell.

The Bacillus stratosphericus - usually found 20 miles above the Earth - is believed to have been brought to the surface by atmospheric cycling, which causes evaporated water rise into the stratosphere and then fall again.

Microbial fuel cell: How bacteria can generate electricity

Inside an MFC, the organisms produce carbon dioxide, protons and electrons when kept in a solution without oxygen.

Liberated electrons form a negatively charged anode while the protons create a positively charged cathode.This produces both charges necessary to produce an electric current.


Bugs from space offer new source of power - Press Office - Newcastle University

Publishing their findings today in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Grant Burgess, Professor of Marine Biotechnology at Newcastle University, said the research demonstrated the “potential power of the technique.”

“What we have done is deliberately manipulate the microbial mix to engineer a biofilm that is more efficient at generating electricity,” he explains.

“This is the first time individual microbes have been studied and selected in this way.  Finding B.Stratosphericus was quite a surprise but what it demonstrates is the potential of this technique for the future – there are billions of microbes out there with the potential to generate power.”

The use of microbes to generate electricity is not a new concept and has been used in the treatment of waste water and sewage plants.

Microbial Fuel Cells, which work in a similar way to a battery, use bacteria to convert organic compounds directly into electricity by a process known as bio-catalytic oxidation.

A biofilm – or ‘slime’ – coats the carbon electrodes of the MFC and as the bacteria feed, they produce electrons which pass into the electrodes and generate electricity.

Until now, the biofilm has been allowed to grow un-checked but this new study shows for the first time that by manipulating the biofilm you can significantly increase the electrical output of the fuel cell.







Labels: , ,

2012-02-02

Plastic Eating Fungi Discovered In The Amazon

Fungi Discovered In The Amazon Will Eat Your Plastic

The Amazon is home to more species than almost anywhere else on earth. One of them, carried home recently by a group from Yale University, appears to be quite happy eating plastic in airless landfills.

The group of students, part of Yale’s annual Rainforest Expedition and Laboratory with molecular biochemistry professor Scott Strobel, ventured to the jungles of Ecuador. The mission was to allow "students to experience the scientific inquiry process in a comprehensive and creative way." The group searched for plants, and then cultured the microorganisms within the plant tissue. As it turns out, they brought back a fungus new to science with a voracious appetite for a global waste problem: polyurethane.

Yale Students' Trip to Rainforest Yields New Way to Degrade Plastic

Yale undergrads, including Jon Russell, Class of 2011, discovered organisms with Amazon Rainforest plants which can degrade plastics. The undergrads' discovery is featured in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Organism within fungi in a rainforest plant shows evidence of bioactivity when exposed to polyurethane.





Plastics News - Update: Yale students may have plastics breakthrough

The plastic, which was in a milky-white liquid form before being introduced to the fungus, had vanished when she checked on the mixture in a Petri dish two weeks later.

Anand, 23, said it was an amazing feeling. And hiking through a rainforest didn’t hurt either.

“It was really exciting. You could see that these microbes were able to break down plastic,” Anand said. “The white substance turned clear. It seemed like a long shot, so it was exciting to see that it worked.”

The fungus isn’t the only one to degrade polyurethane, but it’s special because it can do so under anaerobic conditions, or without oxygen, said Yale biochemistry Professor Scott Strobel, who oversaw the project.
[...]
In the future, Strobel said he hopes to characterize the protein the fungus produces that is responsible for bioremediation.

In the meantime, students are looking into ways to degrade polystyrene.

“We are also developing approaches to identify organisms able to degrade more complicated polymers. One of the students this year is targeting polystyrene,” Strobel said. “Because of the nature of the polymer, that is a much more difficult challenge than polyurethane.”


Labels: ,

2011-12-18

Greenhouse Gas Methane Leaking from Arctic Ocean at an Alarming Rate and Scale

Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas - Climate Change - Environment - The Independent

Russian research team astonished after finding 'fountains' of methane bubbling to surface

Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.

According to Igor Semiletov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, methane gas is 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Semiletov has studied these methane plumes for years but most of that time they were only about 30 meters in diameter. Semiletov said, "We carried out checks at about 115 stationary points and discovered methane fields of a fantastic scale — I think on a scale not seen before."

But with these methane bubbling holes having expanded to nearly one mile wide with no end to their expansion in sight , he is more than just a little bit concerned.



'Fountains' of methane 1,000m across erupt from Arctic ice - a greenhouse gas 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide | Mail Online

 The Russian research vessel Academician Lavrentiev conducted a survey of 10,000 square miles of sea off the coast of eastern Siberia.
They made a terrifying discovery - huge plumes of methane bubbles rising to the surface from the seabed.
'We found more than 100 fountains, some more than a kilometre across,' said Dr Igor Semiletov, 'These are methane fields on a scale not seen before. The emissions went directly into the atmosphere.'
Far East Siberia: The melting of 'permafrost' under the sea has led to huge releases of methane - far more abrupt and intense than anything on land

Methane bubbles trapped in ice: Normally, bubbles from the seabed turn into carbon dioxide before reaching the surface, but the East Siberian Arctic Shelf is so shallow the methane travels directly into the atmosphere


Hugh Methane Plumes in Artic discovered - YouTube



Scientists estimate that there are hundreds of millions of tonnes of methane gas locked away beneath the Arctic permafrost, which extends from the mainland into the seabed of the relatively shallow sea of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf. One of the greatest fears is that with the disappearance of the Arctic sea-ice in summer, and rapidly rising temperatures across the entire region, which are already melting the Siberian permafrost, the trapped methane could be suddenly released into the atmosphere leading to rapid and severe climate change.

Dr Semiletov's team published a study in 2010 estimating that the methane emissions from this region were about eight million tonnes a year, but the latest expedition suggests this is a significant underestimate of the phenomenon.

nsf.gov - National Science Foundation (NSF) News - Methane Releases From Arctic Shelf May Be Much Larger and Faster Than Anticipated - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

March 4, 2010
A section of the Arctic Ocean seafloor that holds vast stores of frozen methane is showing signs of instability and widespread venting of the powerful greenhouse gas, according to the findings of an international research team led by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov.


Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)