Ocean Floor Can Predict the Planet's Future, Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) — New research from the University of Missouri indicates that Atlantic Ocean temperatures during the greenhouse climate of the Late Cretaceous Epoch were influenced by circulation in the deep ocean. These changes in circulation patterns 70 million years ago could help scientists understand the consequences of modern increases in greenhouse gases.Environment Clean Generations

"We are examining ocean conditions from several past greenhouse climate intervals so that we can understand better the interactions among the atmosphere, the oceans, the biosphere, and climate," said Kenneth MacLeod, professor of geological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. "The Late Cretaceous Epoch is a textbook example of a greenhouse climate on earth, and we have evidence that a northern water mass expanded southwards while the climate was cooling. At the same time, a warm, salty water mass that had been present throughout the greenhouse interval disappeared from the tropical Atlantic."Environment Clean Generations

read more

The study found that at the end of the Late Cretaceous greenhouse interval, water sinking around Greenland was replaced by surface water flowing north from the South Atlantic. This change caused the North Atlantic to warm while the rest of the globe cooled. The change started about five million years before the asteroid impact that ended the Cretaceous Period.Environment Clean Generations

To track circulation patterns, the researchers focused on "neodymium," an element that is taken up by fish teeth and bones when a fish dies and falls to the ocean floor. MacLeod said the ratio of two isotopes of neodymium acts as a natural tracking system for water masses. In the area where a water mass forms, the water takes on a neodymium ratio like that in rocks on nearby land. As the water moves through the ocean, though, that ratio changes little. Because the fish take up the neodymium from water at the seafloor, the ratio in the fish fossils reflects the values in the area where the water sank into the deep ocean. Looking at changes through time and at many sites allowed the scientists to track water mass movements.

by"environment clean generations"

Keep Reading...

Posted in: contaminated waters,Cretaceous Period,earth,environment clean generations,ocean floor,planet

Intelligent Absorbant Clening Contaminated Waters of Radioactive Materials

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear disasters.

The innovation could also solve the problem of how to clean up millions of tonnes of water contaminated by dangerous radioactive material and safely store the concentrated waste.

Professor Huai-Yong Zhu from QUT Chemistry said the world-first intelligent absorbent, which uses titanate nanofibre and nanotube technology, differed from current clean-up methods, such as layered clays and zeolites, because it could efficiently lock in deadly radioactive material from contaminated water.Environment Clean Generations

The used absorbents can then be safely disposed without the risk of leakage, even if the material became wet.

"One gram of the nanofibres can effectively purify at least one tonne of polluted water," Professor Zhu said.

"This saves large amounts of dangerous water needing to be stored somewhere and also prevents the risk of contaminated products leaking into the soil."

The technology, which was developed in collaboration with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and Pennsylvania State University in America, works by running the contaminated water through the fine nanotubes and fibres, which trap the radioactive Cesium (Cs+) ions through a structural change.Environment Clean Generations

"Every year we hear of at least one nuclear accident. Not only is there a risk of contamination where human error is concerned, but there is also a risk from natural disasters such as what we saw in Japan this year," he said.

Professor Zhu and his research team believed the technology would also benefit industries as diverse as mining and medicine.

By adding silver oxide nanocrystals to the outer surface, the nanostructures are able to capture and immobilise radioactive iodine (I-) ions used in treatments for thyroid cancer, in probes and markers for medical diagnosis, as well as found in leaks of nuclear accidents.

"It is our view that just taking the radioactive material in the adsorbents isn't good enough. We should make it safe before disposing it," he said.

"The same goes for Australian sites where we mine nuclear products. We need a solution before we have a problem, rather than looking for fixes when it could be too late."

With a growing need to find alternatives to meet global energy needs, Professor Zhu said now was the time to put safeguards in place.

"In France, 75 per cent of electricity is produced by nuclear power and in Belgium, which has a population of 10 million people there are six nuclear power stations," he said.Environment Clean Generations

"Even if we decide that nuclear energy is not the way we want to go, we will still need to clean-up what's been produced so far and store it safely," he said.

"Australia is one of the largest producers of titania that are the raw materials used for fabricating the absorbents of titanate nanofibres and nanotubes. Now with the knowledge to produce the adsorbents, we have the technology to do the cleaning up for the world."

by "environment clean generations"

Keep Reading...

Posted in: absorbant,contaminated waters,environment,environment clean generations,nuclear disasters,nuclear power,radioactive iodine,radioactive materials,silver oxide nanocrystals