News 2019
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Environment
Results 41 - 60 of 151.
Environment - Economics - 11.10.2019
Financial crises cause one-step forward, two steps back when it comes to air quality
New research has shed light on the impact of financial crises on air pollution showing that, while emissions are reduced during a financial crisis, the positive impacts are unexpectedly short-lived as new patterns of pollution emerge. A study led by Dr Andreas Antoniades and Dr Alexander Antonarakis at the University of Sussex shows that the break out of a financial crisis is associated with reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO x ), and emissions.
Environment - Psychology - 10.10.2019
Scientists ’must be allowed to cry’ about destruction of nature
Scientists witnessing the destruction of the natural world must be supported and "allowed to cry", researchers say. In a letter published in the journal Science , three leading researchers say it is "dangerously misguided" to assume scientists are dispassionate observers. They say many scientists experience "strong grief responses" to the current ecological crisis, and there are profound risks to ignoring this emotional trauma.
Environment - 07.10.2019
China is on track to meet its ultra-low emissions goals for 2020
Polluting emissions from Chinese thermal power plants declined significantly between 2014 and 2017, according to research involving UCL. The reductions are important in helping to control China's national emissions which could lead to an improvement in air quality and considerable health benefits. A team of experts from the UK and China analysed emissions from coal, oil, natural gas and biomass power plants, with a focus on coal-fired power plants as the major contributors to ambient air pollution.
Environment - 07.10.2019
Explores how to make conservation initiatives more contagious
Research shows conservation initiatives often spread like diseases, helping scientists and policymakers design programmes more likely to be taken up. The study, led by researchers at Imperial College London, modelled how conservation initiatives are adopted across regions and countries until they reach 'scale' - at a level where they can have real impact on conserving or improving biodiversity.
Environment - Life Sciences - 04.10.2019
New report shows British wildlife is continuing to decline at an alarming rate
The UK's wildlife is continuing to decline, according to a new report co-authored by a University of Sussex Professor. The State of Nature 2019 report finds that, since rigorous scientific monitoring began in the 1970s, there has been a 13% decline in average abundance across wildlife studied. Butterflies and moths have been particularly hard hit with numbers of butterflies down by 17% and moths down by 25%.
Environment - Paleontology - 26.09.2019
Ecosystems take two million years to recover after mass extinctions
It takes ecosystems two million years to recover after a mass extinction and for them to become functional and resilient again, according to new UCL co-led research. The study Hojung Kim and Dr Sarah Alvarez) and academics from Southampton, Frankfurt and California. The team looked at 13 million years' worth of fossil plankton records in the aftermath of near annihilation of ocean plankton, during the Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction, providing a remarkable glimpse into how the marine ecosystem 'reboots'.
Earth Sciences - Environment - 24.09.2019
’Treasure trove’ of quake clues could be unearthed by wavy new technique
Imperial geologists have improved the mapping of underwater rocks, which could lead to better understanding of earthquakes and tsunami hazards. Their technique combines traditional acoustic mapping with a newer method called 2D waveform inversion. This enhanced their view of rocks along a fault line - a break in the Earth's crust - off the east coast of New Zealand's North Island.
Environment - Astronomy / Space - 24.09.2019
New satellite looking at how Earth is losing its cool gets the go-ahead
A satellite that will measure Earth's energy budget, helping to improve climate change predictions, has been selected as a future mission by ESA. FORUM (Far-infrared Outgoing Radiation Understanding and Monitoring) will measure radiation emitted by Earth into space. This will provide new insight into the planet's energy budget - how much energy it receives from the Sun, how much it retains, and how much it remits to space.
Astronomy / Space - Environment - 23.09.2019
UCL to form closer ties with the European Space Agency
A memorandum of collaboration to be agreed by UCL and the European Space Agency (ESA) is one of the most comprehensive to date between ESA and a university and builds on existing close co-operation on missions to study space weather and other phenomena in space. The memorandum, due to be signed by Jan Woerner, Director General of ESA, and David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research), will cover a swathe of topics ranging from planetary science to space policy, governance and security.
Environment - Astronomy / Space - 20.09.2019
Opinion: Five climate change science misconceptions - debunked
Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography) writes about common climate change myths and explains how each can be disproven. The science of climate change is more than 150 years old and it is probably the most tested area of modern science. However the energy industry, political lobbyists and others have spent the last 30 years sowing doubt about the science where none really exists.
Health - Environment - 20.09.2019
Sustainable growth and energy insights: News from the College
Here's a batch of fresh news and announcements from across Imperial. From new models of Brazilian investment without ecological destruction, to fresh insights into photosynthesis, here is some quick-read news from across the College. Brazil's (and the world's) climate conundrum As one of the world's ten largest economies, Brazil has the potential for a unique model of economic progress.
Environment - Social Sciences - 19.09.2019
How can more walking be encouraged in cities?
A report investigating travel habits in seven European cities reveals environmental and social drivers that make people choose to walk. The new research reveals these include social factors such as how safe people feel and how concerned they are about air pollution, and urban design, such as how connected streets are and how close people are to public transport links.
Astronomy / Space - Environment - 19.09.2019
Opinion: How we detected water on a potentially habitable exoplanet for the first time
Angelos Tsiaras (UCL Physics & Astronomy) writes about the methods used to discover water vapour in the atmosphere of K2-18 b, the first potentially habitable planet outside of our solar system. With more than 4,000 exoplanets - planets orbiting stars other than our sun - discovered so far, it may seem like we are on the cusp of finding out whether we are alone in the universe.
Environment - 19.09.2019
Coastal communities highly threatened by rising sea-levels, even with climate change mitigation
An international group of scientists have urgently called on world leaders to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change. Almost every aspect of the planet's environment and ecology is undergoing changes as a result of climate change, some of which are profound if not catastrophic for the future. Rising sea-levels is one of the biggest threats.
Environment - 18.09.2019
Shifting the focus of climate-change strategies may benefit younger generations
Strategies to limit climate change that focus on warming in the next couple of decades would leave less of a burden for future generations. Research led by Imperial College London and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria, suggests a new underpinning logic for strategies that seek to limit climate change.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 17.09.2019
Identifies a climate signature in rivers globally
A new study, including scientists from Cardiff University and published today , discovers a clear climatic signature on rivers globally that challenges existing theories. If you walk from a river's source to its mouth, you walk a path that descends in elevation. In some rivers, this path will descend steeply out of the uplands, and then flatten out in the lowlands.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 16.09.2019
Identifies a climate signature in rivers globally
A new study, led by scientists from the University of Bristol and published , discovers a clear climatic signature on rivers globally that challenges existing theories. For decades geoscientists have been trying to detect the influence of climate on the formation of rivers, but up to now there has been no systematic evidence.
Environment - Microtechnics - 11.09.2019
’Flying fish’ robot can propel itself out of water and glide through the air
A bio-inspired bot uses water from the environment to create a gas and launch itself from the water's surface. The robot, which can travel 26 metres through the air after take-off, could be used to collect water samples in hazardous and cluttered environments, such as during flooding or when monitoring ocean pollution.
Astronomy / Space - Environment - 11.09.2019
First water detected on potentially ’habitable’ planet
Water vapour has been detected in the atmosphere of a super-Earth with habitable temperatures by UCL researchers in a world first. K2-18b, which is eight times the mass of Earth, is now the only planet orbiting a star outside the Solar System, or 'exoplanet', known to have both water and temperatures that could support life.
Environment - Earth Sciences - 10.09.2019
Europe’s oldest lake traces 1.4 million years of Mediterranean climate
New research by an international team of scientists, led by the University of Cologne and including the University of Bristol, has revealed a lake considered to be the oldest in Europe was first established 1.36 million years ago and has existed continuously ever since. Lake Ohrid, located at the border between the Republics of Albania and North Macedonia, is famous for its exceptional biodiversity, with more than 300 unique (endemic) animal and plant species.
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