• Barrier Islands Are Natural Coast Guards That Absorb Impacts from Hurricanes and Storms

    When hurricanes and storms make landfall, barrier islands absorb much of their force, reducing wave energy and protecting inland areas. Islands that have been preserved in their natural state can move with storms, shifting their shapes over time. But many human activities, such as turning these islands into tourist attractions –for example, Florida’s Sanibel Island and South Carolina’s Pawleys Island — interfere with these natural movements, making the islands more vulnerable.

  • Ukraine Warns of Looming Russian Cyberattacks

    Ukraine is again urging its companies and private organizations to immediately bolster their cybersecurity ahead of what could be a new wave of Russian attacks. The government advisory further warned that the vulnerabilities could allow Russia to launch a renewed series of targeted cyberattacks on Ukraine aimed at disabling communication and information systems.

  • How Can Countries Protect Critical Infrastructure from Cyberattacks?

    Hacking attacks on power grids, telecom networks, or governments can paralyze entire societies. That makes them a powerful military weapon, as the war in Ukraine demonstrates. How can countries protect themselves?

  • Propelling Wind Energy Innovation

    Motivated by the need to eliminate expensive rare-earth magnets in utility-scale direct-drive wind turbines, Sandia National Laboratories researchers developed a fundamentally new type of rotary electrical contact. The novel rotary electrical contact eliminates reliance on rare-earth magnets for large-scale wind turbines.

  • What Is Hurricane Storm Surge, and Why Can It Be So Catastrophic?

    As a hurricane reaches the coast, it pushes a huge volume of ocean water ashore. This is what we call storm surge. Of all the hazards that hurricanes bring, storm surge is the greatest threat to life and property along the coast.

  • Hundreds of Hospitals on Atlantic and Gulf Coasts at Risk of Flooding from Hurricanes

    Researchers identified 682 acute care hospitals in 78 metropolitan statistical areas located within 10 miles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, covering a population just under 85 million people, or about 1 in 4 Americans. They found that 25 of the 78 metro areas studied have half or more of their hospitals at risk of flooding from a Category 2 storm.

  • Champlain Towers South Investigation Completes Site Testing

    Members of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) completed testing at the former site of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida, collecting data to help improve computer models that will be used to evaluate potential causes of the June 2021 collapse.

  • 3 Reasons Hurricane Ian Poses a Major Flooding Hazard for Florida

    Hurricane Ian has now been upgraded to Category 4, with winds just under 155 mph. But the scale doesn’t take water risk into account, and flooding and storm surge are both major risks from Ian. Here are three reasons Florida is facing a high risk of water hazards this week.

  • Pipeline Leaks Likely the Result of Deliberate Act

    European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday that all indications are that leaks from two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “are the result of a deliberate act.” The 1,222-kilometer-long Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been, until recently, a major source of gas for Germany. Nord Stream 2, which is 1,234 kilometers in length, has yet to go into commercial operation.

  • Underwater Critical Infrastructure Unprotected

    The many underwater pipelines, internet lines, and power cables are not protected. Western military and intelligence services have been warning for years that as the world has become more and more dependent on this underwater network, Russia has shown a growing interest in developing the capabilities to disrupt this underwater infrastructure.

  • Suspicious Leaks in Baltic Sea Nord Stream Pipelines Connecting Russia and Germany

    Both Nord Stream natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany have developed apparent leaks within hours of one another. The cause is unknown, but some sources have hinted at sabotage.

  • New Wave Energy Technology Gets Its Sea Legs

    Clothing that charges your smart watch as you walk, buildings that vibrate in the wind and power your lights, a road that extracts energy from the friction created by moving cars, and flexible structures that change shape in ocean waves to generate clean electricity: New technology could generate electricity from ocean waves – and many other sources.

  • Burying Short Sections of Power Lines Could Drastically Reduce Hurricanes' Impact on Coastal Residents

    As Earth warms, people living near the coasts not only face a higher risk of major hurricanes but are also more likely to experience heat waves while grappling with widespread power outages. Strategically burying just 5% of power lines — specifically those near main distribution points — would almost halve the number of affected residents.

  • Puerto Rico’s Vulnerability to Hurricanes Is Magnified by Weak Government and Bureaucratic Roadblocks

    Hurricane Maria caused extensive damage to Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017 that left many residents without electricity for months. Rebuilding it has been hampered by technical, political and financial challenges. Now Hurricane Fiona has, again, exposed the sorry state of Puerto power grid.

  • Rooftop Solar Cells Can Also Help Water Conservation

    Energy generation and use are tightly bound to water consumption, and fossil-fueled electrical grid’s enormous water use is often overlooked. A given household may save an average 16,200 gallons of water per year by installing rooftop solar.