Category: Climate change

High altitude ice cores are precious and informs our understanding of climate change

February 7, 2024

The world is warming, and many in the scientific community has describe the temperature increases that we observe as part of a larger phenomenon known as climate change. But, how do we know that the climate has changed? One approach is to obtain past records of Earth’s climate. Another is through computer simulation under different … More High altitude ice cores are precious and informs our understanding of climate change

Optimal proportion of renewable energy in energy mix for maximising energy resilience and reducing carbon emissions

November 6, 2020

Increasing use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power could help us reduce carbon emissions and is an approach for helping cities, states and countries to decarbonise their economies. However, renewable energy’s intermittency nature such as those associated with solar and wind energy meant that its increasing use carries significant risks for energy … More Optimal proportion of renewable energy in energy mix for maximising energy resilience and reducing carbon emissions

Reducing carbon emissions from natural gas power plants

October 14, 2020

Natural gas combustion in power plants generates electricity together with carbon dioxide. While carbon capture and storage technologies exist for removing carbon dioxide from the waste stream, they remain expensive and not factored in as part of the design of new natural gas power plants. A new scheme, however, may help realise natural gas power … More Reducing carbon emissions from natural gas power plants

Laboratory experiments verify and test ideas in solar geoengineering

June 8, 2020

Solar geoengineering studies the impact of engineering approaches for ameliorating global warming effects at the large scale. Specifically, the impact of particular solar geoengineering approach would only be known once the method is deployed at a large scale such as at the state or country level. However, how do we gain a measure of safety … More Laboratory experiments verify and test ideas in solar geoengineering

Receding mountain glaciers threaten the water supply of millions of people around the world

April 18, 2020

With increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide and rising surface temperatures, glaciers in many parts of the world are receding due to increased melting. Many of these glaciers sit on mountains and serve as a storage of freshwater during the summer months. Hence, increased melting of these glaciers could potentially lead to upheaval in the … More Receding mountain glaciers threaten the water supply of millions of people around the world

Slowing of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation could impact on climate of North America and Europe

January 26, 2020

As an extension of the Gulf stream that brings warm water to northern Europe, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) plays an important role in modulating the climate of Europe and North America. However, recent measurements of the speed of flow of the current via conductivity measure revealed that the current is slowing. Potential effects … More Slowing of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation could impact on climate of North America and Europe

Relative merits of hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric cars

January 23, 2020

Currently, hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric vehicles are the two main types of zero emissions vehicles available. While both do not emit any air pollutants at street level, their use inevitably would generate carbon dioxide emissions during the production and transport of hydrogen as well as the generation of electricity at power plants using … More Relative merits of hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric cars

Thawing of Arctic permafrost releases previously entrapped microbial spores and viruses

January 11, 2020

Thawing of the Arctic permafrost has been raised in the popular media as a point of concern for the release of methane, that has greater global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide. However, a recent report in Scientific American (November 2016) highlighted the role where progressive thawing of the Arctic permafrost has already contributed … More Thawing of Arctic permafrost releases previously entrapped microbial spores and viruses

What is the current extent of warming compared to pre-industrial level?

October 24, 2019

Global warming is real, but what is the current extent of warming relative to pre-industrial level. The first point to note is the baseline usable for our understanding of how far temperature has risen compared to pre-industrial level. Continuous global surface temperature measurement was first instituted in 1850, and thus, the usable baseline for understanding … More What is the current extent of warming compared to pre-industrial level?

Could renewable energy compete without feed-in tariffs from governments?

September 12, 2019

Feed-in tariffs are currently required to enable renewable energy such as those from wind and solar to compete with conventional power from oil, coal and gas. Thus, could renewable energy compete with conventional power without feed-in tariffs from governments in the foreseeable future? The answer is very likely no, given the higher cost structure for … More Could renewable energy compete without feed-in tariffs from governments?