Japan will announce on June 28 that it is giving up on hosting a revolutionary nuclear energy project also sought by France after a long deadlock in negotiations, a newspaper reported Friday.

Japan will drop its bid at a meeting in Russia of the six partners in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) — China, the European Union, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said in its evening edition.

An official at the science ministry denied the report, saying Japan was doing its utmost to bring the multibillion-dollar project to the northern village of Rokkasho-mura.

“We are doing our best in preparation for the international conference to be held in late June,” the official told AFP.

Japan dispatched an envoy to the European Union earlier this week to conduct negotiations on ITER which again ended in a standoff.

The Nihon Keizai said Japan concluded after the Brussels meeting that the European Union was determined to bring ITER to the southeastern French town of Cadarache.

Read the complete article: Japan to Announce June 28 Giving Up Nuclear Reactor Bid: Report (The Tocqueville Connection)

Image source: NASA GSFC

Warmer oceans, more moisture in the atmosphere, and other factors suggest that human-induced climate change will increase hurricane intensity and rainfall, according to climate expert Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. His paper, “Uncertainty in Hurricanes and Global Warming,” appears in the Perspectives section of the June 17 issue of Science.

“Trends in human-influenced environmental changes are now evident in hurricane regions,” says Trenberth. “These changes are expected to affect hurricane intensity and rainfall, but the effect on hurricane numbers remains unclear. The key scientific question is how hurricanes are changing.”

Trenberth’s paper follows extensive tropical activity last year, including a record number of hurricane landfalls affecting Florida and typhoons striking Japan. These landfalls were related to persistent large-scale circulation features that steered these systems toward land, Trenberth says. It is unclear how global warming will affect these circulation patterns, he adds.

The strongest links between hurricane intensity and climate change, according to Trenberth, are a long-term rise in ocean temperatures and an increase in atmospheric water vapor. Both processes are already under way and expected to continue, he says. The additional water vapor will tend to produce heavier rains within hurricanes and an increased risk of flooding at landfall, Trenberth notes.

Most hurricanes that strike the U.S. coastline are born in the tropical North Atlantic, where sea-surface temperatures over the last decade have been the warmest on record. Water vapor over oceans worldwide has increased by about 2% since 1988. The warmer sea surface and moister atmosphere furnish potential energy for the showers and thunderstorms that fuel hurricanes.

“Computer models also suggest a shift in hurricane intensities toward extreme hurricanes,” says Trenberth.

Much more uncertain is the effect of human-induced climate change on hurricane numbers and landfalls. Models disagree on how global warming might affect the wind shear that can either support or discourage hurricane formation.

Globally, the number of hurricanes and typhoons tends to hold relatively steady from year to year. When activity increases in the Atlantic, it often decreases in the Pacific, and vice versa, based in part on El Ni

A magnesium car engine that weights just 14 kilograms has been retired after completing 65000 kilometres of trouble-free motoring.

The lightweight magnesium alloy three-cylinder diesel engine block, which was installed in a Volkswagen Lupo, has spent the past three years driving around southern Germany and Austria under testing by international engine designer AVL List GmbH.

The magnesium alloy used in the engine was developed by Australian scientists working for the Cooperative Research Centre for Cast Metals Manufacturing to support a commercial development alliance between Advanced Magnesium Technologies and the German company VAW, which was then the largest independent manufacturer of sand cast aluminium engines in Europe.

Head of the research team assembled through the CRC, Dr Colleen Bettles, from CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology (CMIT) says the engine could have kept going, but researchers were keen to cut the engine open to take a peek inside.

“We were keen to observe how the microstructure of the magnesium alloy may have changed over its operating life,” says Dr Bettles. “Our initial examination has found the alloy has stood up very well.”

“Measurement of the cylinder roundness revealed a clear ovalisation in the transverse engine direction, However the distortion still remains below the acceptable limit value. Further alloy developments could reduce this significantly.”

“This testing gives us a great deal of confidence that it is possible to get significant weight reduction savings from the use of magnesium alloys,” she says.

With current cast iron engine blocks weighing around 55 kilograms, the lightweight magnesium engine is around 70 per cent lighter.

Dr Bettles says the weight savings associated with a magnesium engine have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 200 kilograms over a vehicle’s life.

The magnesium alloy, known as AM-SC1, has been engineered to withstand long-term deformation under sustained elevated temperature, pressure and load. It has excellent strength-to-weight ratio, high shock and dent resistance, and dampens noise and vibration more than either aluminium or steel.

In another recent global technology coup, the Australian magnesium alloy has been chosen by the United States Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP) to be the basis for its low pressure/sand cast engine research project. USAMP is sponsored by the US Council for Automotive Research, which includes DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors. Australian interests in USAMP are represented by Advanced Magnesium Technology’s North American subsidiary AMT North America.

Original press release: 65000 kilometre journey for lightweight engine (CSIRO)

The air pollution in Central London and the London borough of Croydon is being forecast daily as part of a pioneering ESA-backed project.

Around a thousand asthma sufferers and other vulnerable individuals in Croydon should soon receive text message warnings to their mobile phones before elevated air pollution days, with additional patients in other London boroughs receiving the service later on.

The YourAir service predicts levels of the pollutants nitrogen dioxide, ozone and airborne particles - exposure to which can harm people with asthma, lung and heart problems, and in the very highest concentrations can harm otherwise healthy people.

The forecasts include predictions of overall effects on health on an index from one to ten. Unlike previous systems, YourAir resolves air pollution down to the scale of individual streets - highest levels are often found along routes with heavy traffic or other pollution sources, so information on street-by-street changes in pollution help vulnerable people make informed choices about their travel routes.

The prototype service covers Central London and Croydon in South London. Croydon is one of the largest boroughs by area and the largest by population, with 330 000 residents.

YourAir is being developed by Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants (CERC) as a demonstration service of ESA’s PROMOTE project, intended to deliver atmospheric information to support informed decision making in this field and improve quality of life.

PROMOTE is itself part of Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES), a joint initiative between ESA and the European Union to integrate all available space- and ground-based information sources to develop an independent European environmental monitoring capacity from planetary to local scales.

“The YourAir service works by combining data from the various sources available,” said Iarla Kilbane-Dawe of CERC. “It combines regional air quality forecasts provided by PROMOTE with information on local road traffic patterns.

“We also employ information from monitoring stations around the city. Because their coverage is limited they don’t help with generating forecasts, but serve as a key way of validating our results, which so far have been around 90% accurate. For the next stage of the project we aim to improve the accuracy further by integrating other data sources, especially satellite observations and more data on traffic patterns.”

Regional air quality information is important because not all the pollution affecting a city actually originates there. Depending on the weather, studies show that up to half the air pollution found in some European cities might have come from elsewhere in the continent - the Ruhr in Germay for instance, or as far away as Italy’s Po Valley.

“With air pollution arising, its distribution drops off steeply away from major roads or other sources because it mixes vertically as well as horizontally,” Kilbane-Dawe explained. “On most days the air rises, taking the pollution with it - as high as 800 metres in the winter, or two kilometres in the summer. So within an hour or so of rush hour the concentrated pollution can waft away.”

Some of the highest pollution levels occur when the meteorological situation means local pollution remains trapped close to the ground, combined with pollution plumes from elsewhere.

In the case of London this happens most often during the winter - the animation above shows citywide pollution patterns during the 24 hours of 15 November 2000, when such a high pollution event took place.

“This animation was created by us for the Building Exploratory, an interactive exhibition in the London borough of Hackney,” Kilbane-Dawe added. “The traffic data used to generate this animation isn’t yet available in real time - the animation includes detailed data from all 31 London boroughs - but it illustrates well the way pollution can concentrate near major roads and follows traffic patterns, and it demonstrates what we expect will become a routine type of urban air quality forecast within a few years.”

A linked project called airTEXT involves sending a text message to the mobile phones of a thousand vulnerable individuals during the evening before days when air pollution may be moderate or high. The message will also advise on steps they can take to minimise their pollution exposure and manage their symptoms.

Also backed by PROMOTE, AirTEXT is a partnership between CERC, Croydon Council, the Croydon Primary Care Trust and the South West London Health Protection Unit.

PROMOTE and GMES

PROMOTE is an ESA project that seeks to develop beneficial operational services for organisations and citizens that will use atmospheric data to address the concerns of both policymakers and individual citizens.

The four areas in which PROMOTE services are being developed are air quality, stratospheric ozone, UV exposure and climate change. Partners in the PROMOTE consortium include M�t�o France, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) and the Max Planck Institute in Germany.

The project is part of the GMES Services Element (GSE), an initial portfolio of services being developed as part of GMES. This is a joint initiative of ESA and the European Commission designed to establish a European capacity for the provision and use of operational information for Global Monitoring of Environment and Security.

Original press release: Street-level London air pollution warnings coming via mobile phones (ESA)

The UK wind energy industry has now installed over 1000 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity, making it one of only 8 countries in the world to have surpassed this figure.

The official opening today of the most powerful wind farm in the UK to date, the 39 turbine 58.5 MW Cefn Croes wind farm in Ceredigion in Wales, brings the total to 1037.7 MW from 1273 turbines, which together generate sufficient electricity to meet the needs of well over half a million households, or a fifth of homes in greater London.

BWEA CEO Marcus Rand commenting on this industry landmark stated:
“Wind energy in the UK has now firmly arrived. The industry is experiencing record growth and will continue to grow both on and offshore over the coming years as it plays its key role in helping to meet the Government�s climate and renewable targets.

We anticipate a further six gigawatts of new wind projects will be up and running in the UK by the end of 2010, split evenly between on and offshore developments. Achieving this objective will deliver energy security, environmental and industrial benefits for the UK.”

Breaking the gigawatt barrier comes in a record year of growth for the UK wind industry, with a total of 18 new wind projects totalling some 500 MW of capacity expected to be officially commissioned by year end, taking UK wind generation to over 1% of UK electricity supply, and on track for expectations of the sector. The UK wind industry is projected to meet some three quarters of the Government’s target for renewables by 2010, representing an investment of 7bn into the sector, according to a survey carried out by the British Wind Energy Association.

The news that wind broke the gigawatt barrier coincides with the release of a new opinion poll carried out as part of BWEA’s Embrace the Revolution campaign, which was launched in Wales today. The research shows that an overwhelming majority of people in Wales - three quarters - agree that wind farms are necessary to help meet the country’s current and future energy needs.

Original press release: UK wind breaks gigawatt barrier (BWEA)

By pairing a sleek new air sampler designed at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) with a diode laser from SpectraSensors, Inc., researchers have hit on a technology that can capture highly accurate atmospheric water vapor data during routine commercial flights. The data will benefit researchers and forecasters, who need more frequent, accurate measurements at various altitudes worldwide to improve weather forecasts and monitor climate change.

This month UPS is flying the Water Vapor Sensing System II (WVSS II) on 25 of its Boeing (B-757) aircraft based in Louisville, Kentucky, to compare the data to measurements from weather balloons, satellites, and other instruments and to evaluate its performance aboard commercial planes.

Currently water vapor data is gathered by an older style of sensor using a thin-film capacitor. These sensors are launched on weather balloons every 12 hours from stations around the country. Satellites also gather water vapor data, but at low vertical resolution. The WVSS II aboard commercial flights will gather data more often, at higher vertical resolution, and at lower cost than satellites and balloons.

“Water vapor sounds boring,” says recently retired UCAR scientist Rex Fleming, who designed the innovative air sampler, “but it’s essential to almost everything that happens in the atmosphere.” Better water vapor data from around the U.S. and the world can improve forecasts of thunderstorms, microbursts, turbulence, fog, ceiling visibility, rotating wakes from other aircraft, snow and ice storms, and year-round precipitation, he says.

Water vapor also plays an important role in small storms that develop quickly and wreak havoc with airline schedules and safety. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates these storms can cost the aviation industry more than $1 billion annually.

Improved aviation weather forecasts can make flying safer, allow airlines to expand the number and location of routes, provide alternate landing options, and save fuel. Over the long term, the new data can verify computer model projections of climate change, which indicate water vapor steadily increasing in Earth’s atmosphere. As a greenhouse gas, water vapor is 10 times more potent than carbon dioxide and its increase is a key factor in the rising global temperatures appearing in the models.

The FAA certified the WVSS II for commercial aircraft flights last December. Preliminary results show the WVSS II data are highly consistent with the balloon data up to 35,000 feet. This month’s tests should lead to verification of the sensing system for other uses by forecasters, air traffic controllers, and research scientists.

“In a typical year, more water in the form of vapor and clouds flows over the dry state of Arizona than flows down the Mississippi River,” says Fleming. “Yet we have not had a sensing system to collect accurate water vapor data frequently enough to be really useful for forecasts.” Commercial aircraft can fill a critical gap in atmospheric observations by gathering accurate data throughout the global atmosphere, he adds.

Mounted flush on the outside of the plane, Fleming’s sampler channels air into the measurement cell housed in a casing the size of a cigar box just inside the aircraft shell. The sampler weeds out most ice crystals, particles, rain, and other distractions to improve the sensitivity of the measurement. The laser frequency itself sees only water vapor in the air flow.

UPS has provided wind and temperature data to meteorologists from more than half its air fleet since 1994. In 1997, UPS added water vapor information, expressed as relative humidity, from a first-generation test sensor installed on 30 aircraft. The new second-generation sensors are expected to be far more accurate and reliable, especially at higher altitudes and colder temperatures.

Southwest Airlines will begin flying the system when further government funds are available. The German Weather Service is in the process of certifying the sensor, and Lufthansa will be installing four units on commercial flights later this year. New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa will collaborate with the German Weather Service on an initial purchase of ten units.

The FAA’s Aviation Weather Research Program and NOAA’s Office of Global Programs funded development of the WVSS II. The diode laser cell was designed by Randy May of SpectraSensors, the manufacturer of the product.

Original press release: Improved Water Vapor Sensor Takes to the Skies (NCAR)