Tag Archives: carbon dioxide

A New Way to Study Permafrost Soil, Above and Below Ground

By Guest PostJanuary 6, 2013Environmentarctic landscape, arctic tundra, atmosphere, barrow region, berkeley lab, carbon dioxide, cessna aircraft, climate change, electrical resistance tomography, electromagnetic data, geophysical measurements, greenhouse gasses, ground penetrating radar, large spatial scales, lidar, lidar airborne measurements, methane, microtopography, ngee arctic project, permafrost layer, permafrost soils, polygons, remote sensing device, remote sensing tools, surface topography, susan hubbard, terrestrial ecosystem, trapped carbon

Berkeley Lab research could lead to a better understanding of the Arctic ecosystem’s impact on the planet’s climate

What does pulling a radar-equipped sled across the Arctic tundra have to do with improving our understanding of climate change? It’s part of a new way to explore the little-known world of permafrost soils, which store almost as much carbon as the rest of the world’s soils and about twice as much as is in the atmosphere.

The new approach combines several remote-sensing tools to study the Arctic landscape—above and below ground—in high resolution and over large spatial scales. It was developed by a group of researchers that includes scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). (more…)

Geothermal Energy Keeps Turkeys Comfortable and Saves Farmers’ Money; Prototype Designed by MU Engineer

By Guest PostJanuary 3, 2013Environmentair, air quality, americans, ammonia contamination, amphibians, carbon dioxide, commercial livestock operation, cook, deep drilling, doghouse, fossil fuel, geothermal energy system, geothermal unit, greenhouse gas, habitat, humidity, migratory birds, oxygen, performance data, prototype facility, thanksgiving, turkey farms, turkeys, turkeys toasty, university of missouri, wildlife, yun sheng xu

COLUMBIA, Mo. — While Americans prepare to cook millions of turkeys for Thanksgiving, a geothermal energy system developed by a University of Missouri engineer will be keeping live turkeys toasty during the chilly autumn weather. In a prototype facility, designed by a University of Missouri engineer, environmentally and economically friendly geothermal energy is keeping turkeys comfortable during both cold and hot weather. The system is designed to reduce utility costs while improving the air quality for the birds.

“This is our first prototype of a geothermal system in a commercial livestock operation,” said Yun-Sheng Xu, associate research professor in civil and environmental engineering. “Our first set of performance data suggests that farmers could cut their heating costs in half at current propane prices. Currently, two units are installed at the test farm. Other farmers could begin installing units on their turkey farms as soon as next year, for use by next winter.” (more…)

Renewable News

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2012Environmentbatteries, carbon dioxide, computer model, cory budischak, electric grid, electricity demands, electricity generation capability, electricity sources, external cost, gigawatt, greenhouse gas, human health effects, hydrogen tanks, natural gas, new jersey, pjm interconnection, power grid, power sector, reduction, renewable energy, renewable news, solar power, storage, storage mechanisms, storage medium, united states, university of delaware, willett kempton, wind, wind power

Wind, solar power paired with storage could be cost-effective way to power grid

Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today’s electricity expenses, according to new research by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College.

A well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low, the scientists found. (more…)

More Potent than Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide Levels in California May be Nearly Three Times Higher Than Previously Thought

By Guest PostDecember 9, 2012Environmentagricultural production, atmospheric measurement, berkeley lab, biogeochemical process, bottom up inventory, california, carbon dioxide, CO2, cycle of emissions, edgar, emission, environmental condition, estimate, factor, fossil fuel, greenhouse gas, laughing gas, level, marc fischer, methane, model prediction, moisture, new method, nitrogen fertilizer, nitrous oxide, noaa, temperature, total n2o, type of soil, walnut grove

Berkeley Lab researchers devise a new method to estimate state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Using a new method for estimating greenhouse gases that combines atmospheric measurements with model predictions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have found that the level of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, in California may be 2.5 to 3 times greater than the current inventory.

At that level, total N₂O emissions—which are believed to come primarily from nitrogen fertilizers used in agricultural production—would account for about 8 percent of California’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The findings were recently published in a paper titled “Seasonal variations in N₂O emissions from central California” in Geophysical Research Letters. Earlier this year, using the same methodology, the researchers found that levels of methane, another potent greenhouse gas, in California may be up to 1.8 times greater than previous estimates. (more…)

Climate Change Study Strengthens Link to Human Activities

By Guest PostDecember 5, 2012EnvironmentAntarctica, Arctic, atmospheric temperature, benjamin santer, berkeley lab, carbon dioxide, cfcs, chlorofluorocarbons, climate change, climate models, coolants, el niño, evidence, greenhouse gases, higgs boson, human factors, human influence, llnl, michael wehner, pacific decadal oscillation, phenomena, propellants, satellite data, simulations, southern oscillation, stratospheric temperature, tropospheric, tropospheric warming

Computer Models, Satellite Data Reveal Clearest Evidence Yet of Human Influence on Changing Temperatures

New research shows some of the clearest evidence yet of a discernible human influence on atmospheric temperature.

Published online in the Nov. 29 early edition of the Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the study compared 20 of the latest climate models against 33 years of satellite data. When human factors were included in the models, they followed the pattern of temperature changes observed by satellite. When the same simulations were run without considering human influences, the results were quite different.

“We can only match the satellite record when we add in human influences on the atmosphere,” said Michael Wehner, a research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) Computational Research Division and a coauthor of the article, which involved colleagues from 16 other organizations and was led by Benjamin Santer, an atmospheric scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). (more…)

Berkeley Lab Applies U.S. Tools and Technologies to Spur Low-Carbon Cities in China

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2012Environmentbenchmark, carbon dioxide, carbon emission, central government, China, china energy group, china today, chinese cities, chongqing, eco city, energy foundation, Environment, green, indicator, industrial activity, intensity, low carbon, low-carbon city, modern urbanites, nan zhou, ndrc, new energy city, province, reduce emission, renewable technology, san francisco, shanghai, urban environment

When eight cities and five provinces in China were asked by the central government to develop a plan to become “low carbon,” many had no idea what to do. Some planted trees. Others decided to build up a solar panel industry. One city even thought about building a lake to be more “green.” Local government leaders were at a loss as to how to reduce their carbon emissions.

In 2008, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a joint effort to address energy and environmental challenges facing urban centers in both countries. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s China Energy Group was tasked by DOE to identify and recommend best practices, tools and technologies. With nearly 25 years experience analyzing energy use in China, the China Energy Group has tailored a variety of resources to help local Chinese officials turn government mandates into practical how-to guides for understanding their energy usage and reducing their carbon dioxide emissions. (more…)

NASA Maps How Nutrients Affect Plant Productivity

By Guest PostNovember 3, 2012Environmentamazonia, biogeochemical cycles, boreal, boreal forest, carbon cycle, carbon dioxide, data, earth, ecosystem, eleanor blyth, eurasian forest, fertile earth, fertilization, global, grasslands, grayson badgley, greenhouse gas, growth, hawaii, jet propulsion, josh fisher, laboratory, level, maps, migration, model, NASA, nitrogen, North America, north american, nutrient, ozone mapping, palo alto, pasadena, phosphorus, plant, satellite, savannas, shrublands, soil, spectrometer, stanford university, terra spacecraft, terrestrial biosphere, total, trees, tropical forest, validation site, vegetation, vegetation productivity

PASADENA, Calif. – A new analysis led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has estimated how much the growth of plants worldwide is limited by the amount of nutrients available in their soil. The maps produced from the research will be particularly useful in evaluating how much carbon dioxide Earth’s ecosystems may be able to soak up as greenhouse gas levels increase.

A research team led by JPL research scientist Josh Fisher used 19 years of data from NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and international satellites to assess the maximum possible growth of vegetation all over the world based upon available water and light conditions. The scientists then cross-compared that potential maximum with observed vegetation productivity as measured by satellites. This is the first time such an analysis has been conducted. (more…)

Small Organisms Could Dramatically Impact World’s Climate

By Guest PostOctober 26, 2012Environment21st century, atmospheric, carbon, carbon dioxide, christopher klausmeier, climate change, colin kremer, cycle, david garrison, diversity, element, elena litchman, equatorial water, evolutionary adaptation, food chain, global climate, impact, level, marine microorganism, michigan, mridul thomas, nitrogen, ocean, ocean floor, organism, phosphorous, photosynthesis, phytoplankton, population, science express, state university, temperature, tropical water, warmer

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Warmer oceans in the future could significantly alter populations of phytoplankton, tiny organisms that could have a major impact on climate change.

In the current issue of Science Express, Michigan State University researchers show that by the end of the 21st century, warmer oceans will cause populations of these marine microorganisms to thrive near the poles and may shrink in equatorial waters. Since phytoplankton play a key role in the food chain and the world’s cycles of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and other elements, a drastic drop could have measurable consequences. (more…)