NASA Finds Newly Formed Tropical Storm Lan Over Open Waters

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible picture of newly formed Tropical Storm Lan in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.

Toward efficient high-pressure desalination

The desalination industry, a critical source of potable water in many arid regions, generated more than $13 billion last year and is expected to double within a decade. Most desalination plants today use a process called reverse osmosis (RO), which forces water through huge rolls of membranes, leaving the salt behind. One of the most expensive operational challenges for such plants is the fouling of these membranes by microorganisms.

Paris to Ban Fossil Fuel Cars by 2030

Paris announced it will ban all gas- and diesel-fueled cars within city limits by 2030, allowing only electric vehicles onto its streets, according to Reuters. 

Harvey runoff menaces Texas' coral reefs

Saline levels dropped 10 percent in one day over parts of Flower Garden Banks

Baltic clams and worms release as much greenhouse gas as 20 000 dairy cows

Baltic clams and worms release as much greenhouse gas as 20 000 dairy cows.  Worms and clams enhance the release of methane up to eight times more compared to sea bottoms without animals, shows a study by scientists at Stockholm University and Cardiff University.

While greenhouse gas emissions are increasing to unprecedented levels, the source and sink mechanisms for these emissions are still not yet fully understood. Sea bottoms have been shown to be important contributors of the two strong greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide. Firstly to the water and finally to the atmosphere, where they cause global warming.

Uncovering the Sound of 'Motherese,' Baby Talk Across Languages

Around the world, mothers speak differently to their children than they do to other adults — and Princeton researchers have found a new way to quantify that vocal shift.

Cause of Cancer Form in the Liver Identified

In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have identified the two genes whose mutation cause a serious cancer form found in the liver. The result sets concrete goals for future treatment of the otherwise incurable disease.

30-day countdown to JPSS-1 launch

The Joint Polar Satellite System-1, the first in a new series of highly advanced NOAA polar-orbiting satellites, is scheduled to lift off Nov. 10, at 1:47 a.m. PST from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Byproducts from biofuel focus of PNNL and WSU partnership

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have created a continuous thermo-chemical process that produces useful biocrude from algae. The process takes just minutes and PNNL is working with a company which has licensed the technology to build a pilot plant using the technology.

Study Casts Doubt on Warming Implications of Brown Carbon Aerosol from Wildfires

As devastating wildfires continue to rage in the western U.S. and Canada, a team of environmental engineers at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered that light-absorbing organic particulate matter, also known as brown carbon aerosol, in wildfire smoke loses its ability to absorb sunlight the longer it remains in the atmosphere.