Environment and energy

Environment and energy

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Photo of the Auchencorth Moss peatland, around 20 km south of Scottish capital Edinburgh. Courtesy: M. Coyle, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Tracking the dangers of air pollution

environmental city illustration

From physics to environmental science: a natural evolution?

Kate Ravilious talks to three researchers who are using their "physics mindset" to bring a fresh outlook on the earth sciences

Can geoengineering ever be low risk?

Scientists debate pros and cons of climate intervention

Research headlines

Photo of steel workers. Source: https://pixabay.com/en/steel-mill-workers-foundry-metal-616536/

Clean energy is vital – but still not enough

There are some problems clean energy from wind and sun cannot solve. Two new studies provide a roadmap of the challenges ahead.

Graphic showing vegetation and soil carbon emissions in the Amazon. Source: ERL.

Balancing ecosystem services brings trade-offs

Modelling agricultural expansion in Amazon highlights difficulty of managing landscapes for multiple environmental goals

Courtesy: iStock/Chris-Hepburn

Carbon intensity of US grid dropped by 30%

Researchers decipher US electricity generation data from last 15 years

Photo of sheep from Skyelark Ranch graze a field planted with a cover crop in Brooks, California, US. Source: Joe Proudman/UC Davis

Californian grasslands set to store carbon more reliably than forests

Wildfires release carbon stored in trees but leave grassland carbon in roots and soil

Photo of Polish coal power plant. Fossil fuels are just one part of a global puzzle. Source: Petr Štefek via Wikimedia Commons [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Scientists differ on climate’s carbon dioxide sensitivity

There is another enigma in the warming puzzle: climate’s carbon dioxide sensitivity. How will life respond as carbon dioxide levels rise and heat soars?

Photo of sun and clouds. Courtesy: iStock/ELyrae

Air con led to quicker thinking during heat wave

Students in modern dorms answered cognition tests faster and more accurately

Video showcase

A harbour porpoise photographed underwater

The curious case of the porpoises and the wind farm

Photo of David Smeulders from TU Eindhoven

Rethinking energy storage

Smart City

Smart cities, the Dutch approach

Sustainable futures

Explore our special collection of videos and articles highlighting the latest interdisciplinary research on local and global environmental challenges, plus solutions for creating more sustainable technologies and societies

Elliott on Energy

Nuclear power plant blueprint. (Courtesy: iStock/Youst)

Forward energy thinking on renewables and nuclear

Photo of row of pylons in the English countryside. Courtesy: iStock/John Kelly

Renewables growing fast, but not fast enough

Illustration of different types of energy generation. Courtesy: iStock/ChrisGorgio

Renewables – limited or big and fast?

Related journal articles from IOPscience

Short-pulse lasers for weather control

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E-bike trials' potential to promote sustained changes in car owners' mobility habits

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Framing clean energy campaigns to promote civic engagement among parents

Nichole Hanus et al 2018 Environ. Res. Lett. 13 034021

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Blog

Image of sky and sea with small bright yellow landing pads or platforms.

An airborne solution for off-grid energy

robot boats

EGU 2018: robot boats assess the Danube

Victor the eagle and Jacques-Olivier Travers

EGU 2018: could eagle ‘eyes’ measure urban boundary layer?

Latest articles

Illustration showing how increased fresh river outflow enters the coastal environment, where it mixes with ambient salty ocean water. Under the influence of the Earth's rotation, this plume of fresher water turns to the right (in the northern hemisphere), flowing downstream as an alongshore current trapped to the coast. These fresher waters piled up along the shore result in an increase in sea level at the coast. Courtesy: Natalie Renier, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

How do rivers alter sea-level?

Model includes river outflow and Earth’s rotation to fine-tune sea-level projections

Scott Pruitt

Scott Pruitt resigns as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency

Pruitt came under increasing pressure following questions about his spending and housing arrangements

Photo of low-lying islands in the Maldives. Source: Pixabay/Stefanie Laubscher Creative Commons CC0

Rising sea levels could cost the world $14 trillion a year by 2100

Failure to meet the United Nations' 2 ºC warming limits will lead to dire global economic consequences

Photo of the Niassa Reserve in Mozambique. Researchers argue that the world needs more diverse, ambitious and area-specific targets for retaining important natural systems to safeguard humanity. Courtesy: JB Deffontaines

Warmer world needs more protected habitat

With climate change soon to be the main threat to biodiversity, protected habitat will be a higher priority than ever to give wildlife a chance

Photo of an olive tree affected by Xylella fastidiosa, with visual symptoms of chlorosis and defoliation. Courtesy: Juan A. Navas-Cortes

Remote sensing reveals olive tree infection early

Hyperspectral and thermal imaging find diseased plants before symptoms appear

Illustration of city and countryside. Courtesy: iStock/TolvoMedia

Will hotter temperatures reduce urban heat island intensity?

Rural areas may need more heat mitigation efforts in future

Photo of sun and clouds. Courtesy: iStock/ELyrae

Can we predict heatwaves better?

Large ensembles of climate models examine co-occurrence of atmospheric blocking and summer temperature extremes

View of the northern Antarctic Peninsula from high altitude during IceBridge's flight back from the Foundation Ice Stream, on Oct. 28. Courtesy: NASA / Maria-Jose Vinas.

West Antarctica’s rocks’ rise may slow ice melt

The southern continent is changing fast. West Antarctica’s rocks are on the rise, something which could slow the rate of ice melt

Photo of Zachary Quinlan and Nyssa Silbiger collecting water samples during the experiment. Courtesy: Henry Shiu

Nutrient pollution threatens coral reefs

Elevated nitrate and phosphate levels may leave corals vulnerable to ocean acidification

Composite image of solar panels with pylon and wind turbines. Courtesy: iStock/vencavolrab.

Asian renewables contest: China versus the rest

Renewables are booming across Asia, but there are variations in pace and rival options also play a role

Photo of red sun event, 2017. Courtesy: iStock/Inner_Vision

Dust plume in ‘red sun’ event was highly charged

Balloon-borne measurements of 2017 UK event could improve dust transport models

Photo of tree in desert. Courtesy: tuarek [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Light from plant growth shows carbon budget

Invisible flickering detected by satellite could throw new light from plant growth on mysteries of planet’s carbon budget

30 m-resolution map for mangrove soil carbon stocks for the top metre of soil in the Sundarbans along the India/Bangladesh border. Courtesy: Jonathan Sanderman et al 2018 Environ. Res. Lett. 13 055002.

Global mangrove soil carbon map aids conservation

Mapping at 30 m resolution pinpoints priority areas

Under the sea

Earthquakes could be detected using undersea telecoms cables

Laser-based technique could be a boon for seismologists

Photo of farmer collecting silage in front of wind turbines. Courtesy: iStock/Stephen Meese

UK renewables: a ‘hostile environment’?

The good news is that renewables now supply nearly 30% of UK electricity. Yet the wider investment picture looks grim

Photo of the EcoLink wildlife overpass in 2014, soon after its construction. Courtesy: By Benjamin P. Y-H. Lee (University of Kent). [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Smoke from El Niño fires subdued dawn chorus in Singapore

Acoustic recordings show biodiversity harm from 2015 haze pollution

Alternatives to plastic packaging by Sulapac.

100% biodegradable packaging company expands

Aiming to reduce plastic waste in food packaging, Sulapac joins forces with Fazer

Photo of sun. Courtesy: shutterstock/Johnny-ka

Ambitious climate targets could protect millions from heat waves

Fraction of world population exposed to severe heat waves every five years becomes three times larger under 2 °C warming

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Nanomaterials | Conference Nanotek Congress 2018 23—24 July 2018 | Sydney, Australia
Environment and energy | Conference ICSD 2018 : 6th International Conference on Sustainable Development, 12 - 13 September 2018 Rome, Italy 12—13 September 2018 | Rome, Italy
Environment and energy | Conference 10th International Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management 7—9 May 2019 | Alicante, Spain

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