Air Quality – Page 2 – PossibleThreat Articles

Volcanic ash sparks a new discovery

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Atmosphere, Earth Science, Exotic Species, Geology, Natural Disasters, Tsunamis, Volcanoes

Imagine you're getting ready to fly to your favorite vacation destination when suddenly a volcano erupts, sending massive amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, and forcing the cancellation of your flight. That's exactly what happened in April 2010 when Eyjafjallajokull, a volcano in Iceland, erupted and disrupted air travel in Europe for 6 days. Scientists are now using plasma physics to predict the characteristics of these hazardous ash plumes.

News Science

Clay minerals call the shots with carbon

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Chemistry, Forest, Geochemistry, Global Warming, Graphene, Organic Chemistry, Quantum Physics

Clay minerals suspended in seawater binds sedimentary organic carbon to their mineral surfaces. But the quantity of carbon that is bound and the source of that carbon very much depends on the clay mineral in question. A research team has shown this by studying sediments in the South China Sea.

News Science

'Artificial leaf' successfully produces clean gas

October 21, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Alternative Fuels, Energy and Resources, Energy and the Environment, Graphene, Organic Chemistry, Renewable Energy, Sustainability

A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an 'artificial leaf' that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to gasoline.

News Science

Atmospheric pressure impacts greenhouse gas emissions from leaky oil and gas wells

October 19, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Atmosphere, Energy and the Environment, Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Oil Spills, Pollution, Rainforests

Fluctuations in atmospheric pressure can heavily influence how much natural gas leaks from wells below the ground surface at oil and gas sites, according to new research. However, current monitoring strategies do not take this phenomenon into account, and therefore may be under- or over-estimating the true magnitude of gas emissions.

News Science

Airborne chemicals instantly identified using new technology

October 16, 2019 0 Comments Air Pollution, Air Quality, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Inorganic Chemistry, Optics, Organic Chemistry, Pollution

Scientists have developed a device that can identify a wide range of airborne gases and chemicals instantly.

News Science

Did early mammals turn to night life to protect their sperm?

October 16, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Early Mammals, Environmental Science, Fossils, Human Biology, Insomnia Research, Origin of Life, Pollution, Pregnancy and Childbirth

Humans are diurnal — we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became exclusively nocturnal, and stayed so until the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

News Science

New material captures carbon dioxide and converts it into useful chemicals

October 11, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Chemistry, Climate, Environmental Issues, Global Warming, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Organic Chemistry

The captured CO2 can be converted into useful organic materials.

News Science

Electronic solid could reduce carbon emissions in fridges and air conditioners

October 10, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Electronics, Environmental Issues, Environmental Science, Global Warming, Materials Science, Spintronics, Thermodynamics

A promising replacement for the toxic and flammable greenhouse gases that are used in most refrigerators and air conditioners has been identified.

News Science

Identifying a cyanobacterial gene family that helps control photosynthesis

October 8, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Botany, Endangered Plants, Genetics, Global Warming, Life Sciences, Rainforests, Sustainability

A new study has identified a family of genes in cyanobacteria that help control carbon dioxide fixation.

News Science

China is on track to meet its emissions goals for 2020

October 7, 2019 0 Comments Air Quality, Energy and Resources, Energy and the Environment, Energy Issues, Energy Policy, Environmental Policies, Environmental Science, Petroleum, STEM Education

Polluting emissions from Chinese thermal power plants declined significantly between 2014 and 2017, according to new research. The study analyzed data from 2014, when China introduced the ambitious Ultra-Low Emissions (ULE) Standards Policy for renovating coal-fired power stations to limit air pollutant emissions, to 2017.