• New book discusses storm surge protection for New York City

    A new book from American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), to be published on 3 December, includes sixteen papers exploring the development of storm surge barriers to protect New York City and nearby New Jersey from the effects of a future deluge

  • Increasing the efficiency of wireless networks

    A “spectrum crunch” is quickly being accelerated as customers convert from traditional cell phones to smartphones and tablets; new method, which doubles the efficiency of wireless networks, was developed by researchers; it could have broad impacts on the mobile Internet and wireless industries

  • In Pennsylvania, the U.S. mecca of fracking, more scientific research is urged

    Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a controversial method to extract natural gas or petroleum from subterranean shale by using pressurized water to blast it open; proponents of fracking have noted its potential for helping the United States achieve energy independence while also stimulating the economy and creating jobs; these proponents have met stiff resistance from environmental groups that claim fracking can result in air and water pollution and have adverse human health effects

  • Bottler wants to pump more water in Florida to send to Sandy’s victims, but the locals are angry

    Niagara Bottling LLC Is attempting to boost the amount of water it pumps from the Floridan Aquifer in Central Florida to help victims of Hurricane Sandy, but it is unclear whether the help is needed

  • “Groundwater inundation” doubles previous predictions of flooding with future sea level rise

    Scientists published a study today showing that besides marine inundation (flooding), low-lying coastal areas may also be vulnerable to “groundwater inundation,” a factor largely unrecognized in earlier predictions on the effects of sea level rise (SLR)

  • Stunt kites raise wind power to another level

    Researchers are sending stunt kites into the skies to harness the wind and convert the kinetic energy generated into electricity; the kites fly at a height of 300 to 500 meters, positioned to be caught by strong winds; cables, about 700 meters in length, tether the kites to vehicles and pull them around a circuit on rails; a generator then converts the kinetic energy of the vehicles into electricity

  • New tool for incorporating water impacts into policy decisions

    Just-released paper offers policy makers innovative framework for linking human well-being and water quality; a new tool helps in assessing and valuing the many services clean water provides — from recreation and beauty to navigation and hydropower — and incorporating them into policy decisions

  • CIA-commissioned climate change report outlines perils for U.S. national security

    U.S. national security leaders believe that the accelerating pace of climate change will place severe strains on U.S. military and intelligence agencies in coming years; the reason, according the National Research Council, the U.S. top scientific research body: climate changes will trigger increasingly disruptive developments around the world; a 206-page National Research Council study, commissioned by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence services, concludes that states will fail, large populations subjected to famine, flood, or disease will migrate across international borders, and national and international agencies will not have the capacity or resources to cope with the resulting conflicts and crises

  • Michigan launches Cyber Range – a cutting-edge cybersecurity training program

    Michigan has launched the Michigan Cyber Range, a state-of-the-art facility that prepares cybersecurity professionals in the detection and prevention of cyber attacks; the initiative pairs cybersecurity resources with hands-on training opportunities to enhance Michigan’s protection of computer systems and sensitive data

  • The world’s first circuit breaker for high voltage direct current (HVDC) will enable future DC grid

    A Swiss company solves a 100-year-old electrical engineering puzzle by developing the world’s first circuit breaker for high voltage direct current (HVDC); it combines very fast mechanics with power electronics, and will be capable of “interrupting” power flows equivalent to the output of a large power station within 5 milliseconds – this is thirty times faster than the blink of a human eye; the solution will help shape the grid of the future

  • Cleanup of most contaminated U.S. groundwater sites unlikely for many decades

    At least 126,000 sites across the United States have contaminated groundwater that requires remediation, and about 10 percent of these sites are considered “complex,” meaning restoration is unlikely to be achieved in the next 50 to 100 years due to technological limitations; the estimated cost of complete cleanup at these sites ranges from $110 billion to $127 billion, but the figures for both the number of sites and costs are likely underestimates

  • 2002 Alaska earthquake helped set standards for buildings, bridges

    The Denali 7.9 earthquake that hit Alaska in 2002 was the largest to hit the United States in more than 150 years, and the strongest ever recorded in Alaska; no one was killed and only a few people were injured; the only severe damage the earthquake caused was to a few highways, but the damage was not significant enough to close them; the earthquake set new national standards for building bridges as well as giving seismologists a better understanding of how earthquakes affect frozen ground

  • Cooler pavement materials could increase energy consumption in surrounding buildings

    A push to replace old, heat-trapping paving materials with new, cooler materials could actually lead to higher electricity bills for surrounding buildings; the new paving materials are designed to lower the overall temperature of the areas where they are used

  • Future warming likely to be on high side of climate projections: analysis

    Climate model projections showing a greater rise in global temperature are likely to prove more accurate than those showing a lesser rise, according to a new analysis by scientists at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); NCAR says that the findings could provide a breakthrough in the longstanding quest to narrow the range of global warming expected in coming decades and beyond

  • Nor'easter batters NYC, New Jersey

    A nor’easter battered New York and New Jersey on Wednesday with rain and wet snow, plunging homes back into darkness, stopping commuter trains, and inflicting yet more misery on thousands of people still trying to recover from Superstorm Sandy; ordinarily, the nor’easter would not pose major problems, but this was not the case yesterday, as the storm hit an area where electrical systems were still fragile and many of Sandy’s victims still busy cleaning their homes and coping with deepening cold