New Atlas

Environment Audio available

Carbon reservoirs in the ocean floor may have ended the last ice age – and could bubble up again

Michael Irving February 14, 2019

A study has found a huge new potential source of carbon emissions: reservoirs of gases trapped at the seafloor, which could be released as the oceans warm up. And the team suggests that these gases belched up from the deep thousands of years ago and put an end to the last ice age.

Researchers have found that deep sea gas reservoirs could be a huge source of carbon dioxide ...

Environment Audio available

Clingy carbon capture substance can be reused indefinitely

Michael Irving January 31, 2019

Fossil fuel-fired power plants will be pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for a long time to come. Now researchers at ORNL have developed a new substance that could effectively soak up carbon from coal-fired power plant emissions, using much less energy than existing methods.

A new substance can scrub carbon dioxide from power plant emissions more efficiently than existing technology

Materials Audio available

Superfast laser pulses convert carbon nanofibers to diamond at room temperature

Michael Irving January 24, 2019

Diamond is a useful material, but its relative rarity on Earth makes it difficult to get. Now, researchers at NCSU have demonstrated a new way to convert carbon nanofibers and nanotubes into diamond fibers that can be performed in a lab more easily than existing techniques.

A new technique for converting carbon nanofibers and nanotubes into diamond fibers can be done at ...

Energy Audio available

Carbon capture system turns CO2 into electricity and hydrogen fuel

Michael Irving January 21, 2019

Inspired by the ocean’s role as a natural carbon sink, researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Georgia Tech have developed a new system that absorbs CO2 and produces electricity and useable hydrogen fuel.

Scientists have developed a new device that can absorb CO2 and produce electricity and hydrogen fuel

Environment Audio available

10-year study documents massive, mysterious ecosystem deep beneath our feet

Michael Irving December 10, 2018

A study has taken a census of life in the “deep biosphere” beneath the Earth's surface. Among the finds are bizarre creatures that can survive at record depths, pressures and temperatures, and even “zombie” bacteria that may live (in a loose sense of the word) for millions of years at a time.

Researchers have cataloged the extensive biosphere of life deep beneath the surface of the Earth

Environment Audio available

UN report reveals global carbon emissions have reached a record high

Nick Lavars November 27, 2018

A new UN report that takes stock of climate action with respect to the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement has shone new light on how we continue to come up short. Among the key points are that, after stabilizing for three years, global carbon emissions are again on the rise.

Global carbon emissions reached a record high in 2017

Materials

New material pulls carbon from the air for self-repair

Michael Irving October 11, 2018

It’s not enough to reduce our carbon output – we need to actively remove some from the atmosphere. On a small scale MIT engineers have developed a new material that can suck carbon out of the air and use it to get stronger or patch itself up.

The new hydrogel material (dark green) contains chloroplasts (light green) that let it absorb carbon from ...

Energy

MIT's lithium-carbon dioxide battery generates power and solidifies carbon

Michael Irving September 24, 2018

As the world warms up, we can’t just keep belching all our carbon dioxide out into the atmosphere. Now researchers at MIT have found another way to reuse this unwanted element – build lithium-carbon dioxide batteries.

A scanning electron microscope image of the carbon cathode of MIT's new lithium-carbon dioxide battery. Over ...

Materials Audio available

Platinum-gold mix becomes world's most durable metal alloy

Michael Irving August 16, 2018

Sandia engineers have developed the most durable metal alloy ever created. Made up of a combination of platinum and gold, the new material is 100 times more wear-resistant than high-strength steel, and the first metal alloy to join the same class as diamond. It also produces its own lubricant.

Sandia researchers Michael Chandross (left) and Nic Argibay, overseeing the testing of the platinum-gold alloy that's ...

Materials Audio available

Negative curvature schwarzite rounds out trinity of carbon nanostructures

Michael Irving August 14, 2018

Carbon atoms can form graphene sheets and buckyballs. Scientists have theorized that a third variation should exist with negative curvature, known as schwarzite. An international team has now found a way to create these structures, which may have unusual electrical, magnetic and optical properties.

The negative curve of schwarzite is represented in this graphic by the researchers