Physical sciences, Earth sciences

Current methods of measuring electron transfer in photovoltaic panels are ambiguous, but new research supported with EU funding is helping to distinguish between the response of the substrate and that of the sensitiser.

Fish population dynamics models are essential tools used to estimate fishing impact and provide key indicators of exploitation. A EU-funded project is helping to provide a new generation of models harnessing the progress made in monitoring using in situ and satellite data.

As a debilitating heatwave, nicknamed ‘Lucifer’ by the press, currently engulfs southern Europe, a new study part-supported by two EU-funded projects has warned that a rise in global temperatures of three degrees would reverse Europe’s dedicated efforts to reduce ozone pollution.

Before they can be licensed by public authorities and welcomed by the public, CO2 storage plans first need to be perceived as safe and reliable. A key concern in this regard is the prevention of CO2 leakage. Numerous options and strategies exist, but it’s not always easy to identify the most suitable one.

A novel gas combustion method removing the need for expensive gas separation has been successfully scaled-up. The novel method has gas-to-steam efficiency penalties much lower than alternative CO2 capture technologies, as well as a CO2 avoidance cost reduced by 60 % compared to amine scrubbing. The consortium is already looking to extend it to biomass combustion.

With the objective of facilitating access to loans for environmental investments by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the European Commission, in partnership with the European Investment Fund, has launched the "Growth and Environment" pilot programme.With support fr...

The European Commission, DG XVII, has published the July 1994 issue of "Energy in Europe" on energy policies and trends in the European Union.The multilingual report presents a series of articles on energy policy and programmes in the European Union and in an international c...

Among second generation carbon capture technologies stands ‘Calcium carbonate looping’ (CCL). But even though it is considered less toxic than alternatives and proved to yield low efficiency penalties, the method is still far from being market-ready. SCARLET-enabled breakthroughs are expected to give it a push.

Climate change is increasing water scarcity around the world and the inter-dependencies of global trade mean that the impact could ripple far and wide, including across Europe, as the EU-funded project IMPREX warns.

How best to defend the rights of small-scale fishermen, ensure they receive fair pay and boost their competitiveness? The EU-funded SUCCESS project thinks one key step is to raise awareness and they are proposing to do so by labelling.

The size of Delaware, four times as big as London, quarter the size of Wales – whatever the description it is clear that one of the largest icebergs ever recorded has calved from the Arctic ice shelf, a NASA satellite confirmed on 12 July.

Bus operators from Germany and South Tyrol, Italy are partnering to procure 63 fuel cell buses for their public transport systems as part of the EU-funded JIVE project.

Recent archaeological analyses of ochre finds in Ethiopia builds on a previous EU-funded project which discovered the emergence of symbols usage by homo sapiens, earlier than previously thought

Findings from the EU-funded ALP-AIR project indicate that current assessments of nitrogen oxide pollution from traffic are underestimated, by up to a factor of four.

Subtropical ocean gyres are known to be zones of accumulated floating plastic debris. However, accumulation at the polar latitudes has been less studied. A recently published study extensively sampled the Arctic Ocean for floating debris and uncovered some interesting findings.

A new study, building on a previously funded EU project, explores the influence of groundwater locations on East African ancestral survival, with the suggestion that they also acted as a spur for evolution.

NASA hopes to send a manned mission to Mars in the mid-2030s. On a planet where temperatures can fall to -125C generating energy presents a key challenge and new techniques are about to be tested. The best equipment needs the people to use it, so resilience experiments are also under way.

The latest research*eu RESULTS PACK– a collection of articles on EU-funded projects dedicated to a specific field of scientific research – is now available in free, accessible PDF. This brochure focuses on how innovative EU-funded research is delivering innovative solutions to increase green growth through resource efficiency and the move towards a truly genuine circular economy.

Visible-light imaging of the heliosphere has revolutionised the study of solar wind by adding to in situ measurements. Building on this advance, European space scientists are combining their expertise to generate unique catalogues and advance our understanding of the whole Sun-to-Earth system.

The EU-funded FLOTEC project’s tidal turbine has now matched the performance of established offshore wind turbines, generating over 18MWh (megawatt-hour) within a continuous 24 hour testing period and heralding an age of more competitive tidal energy supply.

Reducing emissions and cutting operating costs – just two of the benefits waiting for the first long-range, 100% electrically powered passenger and vehicle ferries. An announcement in May brings the reality closer as the partner of an EU-funded project announces the market launch of a modular, lithium-ion battery system for ferries.

An international team of scientists has argued that if the asteroid that likely caused the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs had hit the Earth only a minute or two earlier (or later), the extinction may never have taken place and, the dinosaurs might have survived, and us humans may never have existed.

The Mediterranean has been described as ‘under siege’ because of the intense pressure it is under from a variety of human activities. But more information is needed to see what impact the activities are having on the ecosystem and its resources. An EU-funded project has published a report to help plug the information gap.

Barriers on Europe’s rivers can improve fishing, be a source of energy and reduce the passage of invasive species, but they can also be a flood risk, interfere with migration patterns and fragment habitats. So what’s the best approach to reconnecting our rivers? One EU-funded project is providing some answers.

By providing a better understanding of the Arctic’s biogeochemical cycles of trace elements, the EU-funded ARCTIC GEOTRACES project is shedding more light on the Arctic Ocean’s resilience to global changes and so also pointing to its likely future.