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Aging Bridge Detection Through Digital Image Correlation
Researchers have developed a novel and practical method of assessing the mechanical properties of structures, with potential application to structural health monitoring of large structures such as bridges and viaducts.
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Senate Fails to Reauthorize Chemical Facility Security Program
Chemical industry groups are warning that thousands of chemical facilities across the United States could face increased risk of terrorist attacks after the Senate last week adjourned for its summer recess without approving pending House legislation reauthorizing the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFATS) program.
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“Hacking” People, Not Systems: False Claims Attacks on Infrastructure
False claims and disinformation, especially in a social media-driven society, have become major problems with potentially severe consequences. Disinformation can be weaponized to disrupt underlying cyber-physical systems, human lives and economic productivity. Recent examples include tweets that trigger spikes in gasoline prices and false social media posts reporting impending water pumping station shutdowns. In these scenarios, chaos is caused because people, not systems or devices, are “hacked.”
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Baltic States Seek to Decouple Their Power Grids from Russia
Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are seeking to disconnect from an energy grid network shared with Russia and Belarus by early 2025. Vilnius is pushing from an earlier exit from the grid, which Tallin opposes.
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The Nuclear Arms Race’s Legacy at Home: Toxic Contamination, Staggering Cleanup Costs and a Culture of Government Secrecy
The Manhattan Project spawned a trinity of interconnected legacies. Among other things, it led to widespread public health and environmental damage from nuclear weapons production and testing. And it generated a culture of governmental secrecy with troubling political consequences.
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New National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy
Hundreds of thousands of cyber jobs in government and the private sector are vacant, and the administration says that filling them is a national security imperative. Today, the administration unveiled its ambitious National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES) which aims at addressing both short-term needs and long-terms requirements.
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Bringing Resilience to Small-Town Hydropower
Using newly developed technologies, researchers demonstrated how hydropower with advanced controls and use of a mobile microgrid, can enable small communities to maintain critical services during emergencies.
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One in Five Texans Lives in a Floodplain
Almost 6 million Texans, or about 20% of the population, live in an area susceptible to flooding and one-fifth of the state’s land is in a 100-year floodplain. Texas launched a statewide effort to harden Texas against floods and rising sea levels.
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How Well-Managed Dams and Smart Forecasting Can Limit Flooding as Extreme Storms Become More Common in a Warming World
The United States is home to over 50,000 operable reservoirs that are overseen by dozens of state and federal agencies. As rising global temperatures make extreme storms more common, the nation’s dams and reservoirs – crucial to keeping communities dry – are being tested.
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Moving Communities Away from Flooding Risks with Minimal Harm
As sea levels rise and flooding becomes more frequent, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes.
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Germany Will Rely on Imports for Its Growing Hydrogen Needs
Revisiting its national hydrogen strategy (NHS), the German government foresees a huge need for hydrogen. By 2030, hydrogen consumption may hit 130 terawatt hours — that is more than one-fifth of all current electricity consumption in Germany. But Germany will need to import as much as 70% of it.
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An American View on U.S. Investment in Critical-Mineral Mining in Australia
In May, the United States and Australia signed a compact which, among other things, aims to coordinate policies and investments to support the expansion and diversification of critical minerals supply chains. In this case, diversification basically equates to reducing dependence on China, in which various links in the critical-mineral supply chain are heavily concentrated.
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One- to Four-Family Properties with Multiple Losses Insured by the National Flood Insurance Program
What are the characteristics of properties that have experienced multiple flood losses (e.g., percentage of overall claims payments, number of losses, and structure characteristics)? What are the socioeconomic characteristics of multiple loss property (MLP) households and the communities in which they are located? What percentage of MLPs have been mitigated, what are the socioeconomics characteristics of neighborhoods where MLPs have been mitigated, and how effective has mitigation been in reducing risk?
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The Ground Is Deforming, and Buildings Aren’t Ready
There is a “silent hazard” lurking underneath our major global cities, and our buildings were not designed to handle it. With Chicago as a living lab space, Northwestern study links underground climate change to variations beneath urban areas.
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Florida’s Home Insurance Crisis Isn’t Going Away
It’s hard to make money selling home insurance in Florida. For one thing, the state is very vulnerable to hurricanes, and those hurricanes are getting stronger thanks to climate change. A legal loophole has made the state a hotbed for fraudulent litigation over insurance claims, and companies lose even more money fighting those lawsuits. And reinsurers are charging insurance companies much higher fees owing to climate change-driven disaster losses.
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More headlines
The long view
Falling Space Debris: How High Is the Risk I'll Get Hit?
An International Space Station battery fell back to Earth and, luckily, splashed down harmlessly in the Atlantic. Should we have worried? Space debris reenters our atmosphere every week.
Using Drone Swarms to Fight Forest Fires
Forest fires are becoming increasingly catastrophic across the world, accelerated by climate change. Researchers are using multiple swarms of drones to tackle natural disasters like forest fires.
Strengthening the Grid’s ‘Backbone’ with Hydropower
Argonne-led studies investigate how hydropower could help add more clean energy to the grid, how it generates value as grids add more renewable energy, and how liner technology can improve hydropower efficiency.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.