Science | Common News Update

May252018 by adminNo Comments

Improperly recycled refrigerators not enough to explain rise in ozone-eating gas

May 24 (UPI) -- Despite reports that improperly recycled refrigerators in China could explain a recent uptick in chlorofluorocarbon emissions, NOAA scientist Steve Montzka suggests the new mystery source of CFC-11 remains unaccounted for. Earlier this month, Montzka and his colleagues identified rising levels of CFC-11, a common chlorofluorocarbon, in air samples collected in Hawaii. Emissions had been dropping globally over the last two decades. The rise in CFC-11 concentrations first showed up in 2013, suggesting the chemical's proliferation can be explained by a new source -- a source scientists think is located somewhere in East Asia. Chlorofluorocarbons like CFC-11 were used in a variety products, including refrigerators and air-conditioners, for decades before being phased out beca...

May242018 by adminNo Comments

Giant canyons discovered in Antarctica

Science

Media playback is unsupported on your device Scientists have discovered three vast canyons in one of the last places to be explored on Earth - under the ice at the South Pole. The deep troughs run for hundreds of kilometres, cutting through tall mountains - none of which are visible at the snowy surface of the continent. Dr Kate Winter from Northumbria University, UK, and colleagues found the hidden features with radar. Her team says the canyons play a key role in controlling the flow of ice. And if Antarctica thins in a warming climate, as scientists suspect it will, then these channels could accelerate mass towards the ocean, further raising sea-levels. "These troughs channelise ice from the centre of the continent, taking it towards the coa...

May242018 by adminNo Comments

Car dealer tactics stall electric car sales

Science

"Dismissive" car dealers are a major barrier to boosting sales of electric vehicles (EVs) according to a new study.Researchers, who posed as car shoppers in Scandinavia and Iceland found that sales personnel strongly pushed petrol and diesel powered cars. Around 77% of dealerships that sold EV brands didn't discuss their existence with the potential customers.Government signals are a key reason for these attitudes say the authors. In this study, the researchers visited 126 car dealerships across 15 cities in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland. The team also interviewed over 250 industry experts across the region. Of the 126 dealers visited, only 8.8% of the encounters that the shopper has left them preferring an EV opt...

May232018 by adminNo Comments

Rosetta illuminates origins of sunrise jets on comet 67P

Science

May 23 (UPI) -- Thanks to data collected by the Rosetta probe, astronomers are beginning to understand the factors responsible for the formation of sunrise jets, which are unique dust and gas jets emitted by comets. Sunrise jets are narrow strands of gas and dust extending from a comet's surface. They spring to life when a comet moves into the inner solar system and become bathed in sunlight, causing ice to melt and water vapor to envelope the orb. Using data collected by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft, which orbited and observed comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from August 2014 to September 2016, astronomers were able to catalogue the comet's gas and dust emissions. The more than 70,000 images captured by Rosetta's scientific camera system OSIRIS revealed both sudden erup...

May232018 by adminNo Comments

Risk of water shortages for England warns Environment Agency

Science

England is facing water supply shortages by 2050 unless rapid action is taken to curb water use and wastage, the Environment Agency has warned. Its new report says enough water to meet the needs of 20 million people is lost through leakage every day.Population growth and the impact of climate change are expected to add to supply pressures. The agency wants people to have a personal water target and has urged them to use water more wisely at home.The study, the first major report on water resources in England, says that population growth and climate change are the biggest pressures on a system that is already struggling. In 2016, some 9,500 billion litres of freshwater were taken from rivers, lakes, reservoirs and underground sour...