Lifeboat Foundation

Plate tectonics are the driving force behind Earth’s continental configurations, with the lithosphere (oceanic and continental crusts and upper mantle) moving due to convection processes occurring in the softer underlying asthenospheric mantle. Many earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain formations are direct consequences of the movements of these globe-spanning plates, particularly at their margins.

An intense discussion is now going on at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), starting in March 2024, and proceeding up to August, for its various instances, committees, and general assembly. The most critical point concerns the call for licenses, which are being advanced by several commercial mining entities, to explore deep sea grounds, seeking rare minerals highly in demand, fueling the energy and green transitions worldwide. Clean energy technologies require more materials, such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, and rare earth elements, than fossil fuel-based technologies. Demand for critical minerals could surge 450% by 2050 to meet Paris Agreement climate goals[1]. The deep sea, particularly in the form of polymetallic nodules (PMNs), contains significant cobalt resources. Estimates suggest that by 2035, deep-sea mining of PMNs could produce 61,200 tons of cobalt per year, which could account for up to 50% of current annual global cobalt demand[2].

For the first time, ISA is considering the revision of deep-sea mineral exploitation regulations [3]. Commercial deep-sea mining has attracted increased attention, particularly owing to potential oceanic challenges, including pollution, overfishing, biodiversity, and habitat loss, acidification, rising water temperatures, and climate change. Those favoring commercial mining highlight the need for a supply of materials necessary for global energy transition. Recent meetings in Kingston, Jamaica, have focused on revising the draft regulations for deep-sea mineral exploitation. While some progress has been made, several areas of disagreement remain, particularly regarding environmental protections and the speed of issuing commercial permits. The ISA is aiming to finalize the new regulations by July 2025, but there are concerns that this deadline may not be met.

On the commercial side, The Metals Company (TMC), Canada, anticipates submitting an application for a mining exploitation license in 2024, potentially starting mining operations in 2025, even before the regulations are fully in place. While ISA has not granted any commercial licenses for deep-sea mining, some countries are moving forward independently. Norway already passed a bill in January 2024, which authorizes prospecting for deep-sea minerals, accelerating the hunt for the precious metals that are in high demand for green technologies. Environmental scientists have warned such oceanic exploitation could be devastating for marine life. The outlook concerns Norwegian waters, nevertheless, agreements on mining in international waters could also be reached this year.

Tesla has quietly added three new climate settings to its vehicles with a new Software Update, one of which will make phone calls more enjoyable without having to touch any controls.

Tesla’s climate control system is one of the most robust and advanced in any vehicle available on the market. Everything from cabin pre-conditioning to Dog Mode to the use of a heat pump, which helps fight range loss in the winter, is available on a Tesla.

However, the company is always improving its vehicles through Over-the-Air Software Updates. Most recently, Tesla rolled out Software Version 2024.26.1, which features a few new features that make the HVAC more advanced than ever before.

137 countries around the world have signed a “net-zero” climate change agreement to end fossil fuel use and achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. Hydrogen is being touted as the next green energy source because it emits only water and oxygen when utilized as an energy source. Hydrogen production methods are divided into gray hydrogen, blue hydrogen, and green hydrogen depending on the energy source and carbon emissions. Among them, green hydrogen production method is the most eco-friendly method that produces hydrogen without carbon emissions by electrolyzing water using green energy.

A research team led by Dr. Albert Sung Soo Lee of the Convergence Research Center for Solutions to Electromagnetic Interference in Future-Mobility and Materials Architecturing Research Center at Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) with collaboration with Professor Chong Min Koo’s group at Sungkyunkwan University has developed an oxidatively stable molybdenum-based MXene as electrocatalyst support in anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers. As it is stable against oxidative high voltage conditions, if it is applied as a carrier for electrolysis catalysts, it can be used as an oxygen evolution reaction electrode material for green hydrogen production to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production.

The research has been published in Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy (“Unveiling the role of catalytically active MXene supports in enhancing the performance and durability of cobalt oxygen evolution reaction catalysts for anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers”).

“Periodic and regular monitoring of mangroves can provide useful data on survival and success of restoration efforts and can help devise adaptive management strategies as and when needed,” said Dr. Rupesh Bhomia.

What is the capacity of carbon storage for planted mangroves? This is what a recent study published in Science Advances hopes to address as a team of international researchers led by the USDA Forest Service investigated the length of time that planted mangroves can store carbon, as such insights could provide steps to replenish mangrove populations throughout the world since these populations have seen a 35 percent decrease over the past 50 years. This study holds the potential to help mitigate the impacts of climate change by naturally storing carbon and keeping it from worsening climate change across the globe.

Image of mangrove nurseries in Maputo, Mozambique. (Credit: Vilma Machava, U.S. Forest Service International Programs)

Continue reading “Discovery of Carbon Stock in 20-Year-Old Mangrove Plantations” »

You can think of our atmosphere as a big chemistry set, a global churn of gaseous molecules and particles that constantly bounce off and change each other in complicated ways. While the particles are very small, often less than 1% of the thickness of human hair, they have outsized impacts. For example, particles are the seeds of cloud droplets, and the abundance of the particles changes the reflectivity and the amount of clouds, rainfall and climate.

Cosmic rays could offer scientists another way to track and study violent tornadoes and other severe weather phenomena, a new study suggests.

“This shows that you need the water there in order to form these materials,” said Dr. Anthony Feldman. “But it needs to be cold, near-freezing mean annual temperature conditions in order to preserve the amorphous material in the soils.”

What was ancient Mars like? Was it warmer and wetter than it is today or cold and icy like present day Mars? This is what a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment hopes to address as a team of researchers comprised of NASA scientists and academics investigated whether past climates on Mars mirrored today’s climate or were much warmer and had liquid water. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the climate history of Mars and whether it had the necessary conditions to support life as we know it.

For the study, the researchers analyzed X-ray data of soil material, which the researchers refer to as “X-ray amorphous material”, obtained from NASA’s Curiosity rover in Gale Crater on Mars and compared it to similar material at sites on Earth located in Newfoundland, California, and Nevada using the same X-ray methods employed by the Curiosity rover.

Continue reading “Similarities Between Mars Soils and Newfoundland’s Subarctic Climate” »

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Spectrum has restored an outage that impacted users across Texas for about seven hours Tuesday, according to a company spokesperson.

“As of 7:30 p.m. Spectrum services have been restored in parts of Texas that were affected by a third-party infrastructure issue caused by the impact of Hurricane Beryl. We apologize for the inconvenience,” a spokesperson said in the latest update KXAN received via email Tuesday evening.

KXAN has followed up with Spectrum, asking for more details about what exactly this piece of infrastructure is and if it has a backup or reinforcement element.