Novel three-dimensional foam current collector developed for desalination

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HEFEI INSTITUTES OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: FIGURE 1. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS OF FLOW-ELECTRODE CAPACITIVE DESALINATION UTILIZING THREE-DIMENSIONAL FOAM CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR REAL SEAWATER DESALINATION. view more 

CREDIT: ZHOU HONGJIAN

Flow-electrode capacitive desalination with three-dimensional foam current collector was developed for real seawater desalination by a research team from Institute of Solid State Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The result was published in Water Research.

Flow electrode capacitive desalination (FCDI) technique, as a novel water treatment technology, has attracted great attention for seawater desalination. The traditional FCDI device suffers low charge transfer ability and unsatisfied salt removal rate. Therefore, there is an imperative demand to explore novel current collector for enhancing the charge transfer ability and electric field distribution of FCDI device.

Three-dimensional (3D) electric method has been considered as an effective solution to amplify charge transfer ability of FCDI device for saline water treatment. It increases the surface-to-body ratio of the flow-electrode chambers, which could greatly promote the charge transfer area and electric field distribution.

What the team proposed in this research is a 3D carbon-coated nickel foam to replace titanium mesh and graphite plate as a novel current collector for the enhancement of desalination performance in FCDI device.

The 3D foam current collector served as a charge conductor. Its intrinsic 3D interconnected open-pore structure was used as the flow channel to expand the charge transfer area and electric field distribution between current collector and carbon slurry.

Researchers simulate the electric field and flow field of carbon slurry in different pore size of 3D foam and 2D titanium mesh models in the three-dimensional electric field and computational fluid dynamics simulations.

They found that the charge transfer area of the 3D foam current collector was significantly larger than that of 2D planar current collector, which could enable more AC particles to be charged effectively, and improve the charge transfer ability and desalination performance of FCDI.

Moreover, the electrochemical measurements displayed that the charge transfer resistance was reduced obviously. The electrochemically active surface of 3D foam current collector was enlarged. And it displayed excellent salt removal efficiency.

This novel 3D foam-structured current collector provides a new strategy to enhance the charge transfer ability and overall desalination efficiency of FCDI device for seawater desalinization.

CAPTION

Figure 2. 3D electric field simulation of (a) 2D planar structured and (b) 3D foam-structured current collector; The charge transfer area of (c) 2D planar structured and (d) 3D foam-structured current collector.

CREDIT

ZHOU Hongjian

---

DOI

10.1016/j.watres.2022.118642 

ARTICLE TITLE

Flow-electrode capacitive deionization utilizing three-dimensional foam current collector for real seawater desalination

Novel enzyme-free strategy developed to detect organophosphorus pesticide residues

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HEFEI INSTITUTES OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

IMAGE: FIGURE 1. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE RAPID VISUALIZATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF GLYPHOSATE RESIDUES BY RATIOMETRIC FLUORESCENCE SENSOR. view more 

CREDIT: ZHANG QIANRU

The high usage and unreasonable methods have caused the excessive residues of glyphosate in agricultural products, so it's necessary to find rapid and highly selective methods for detecting glyphosate residues. Laboratory-instruments-based methods or enzyme-inhibition methods usually have harsh environmental requirements and complex operational problems. Therefore, the establishment of a highly selective and sensitive strategy for the rapid quantitative analysis of glyphosate residues is of great importance for trade, environment, food, and human health.

A novel and simple ratiometric fluorescence sensor was developed recently, for selective and visual quantitative detection of glyphosate residues by a research team from Institute of Solid State Physics (ISSP), Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The result was published in Hazardous Materials.

The team, which was led by Prof. JIANG Changlong, has been studying visual sensing platforms for rapid quantitative detection of glyphosate in the environment and food for years.

In this work, they developed an enzyme-free portable sensing platform based on ratiometric fluorescent nanosensors for the rapid visual detection of glyphosate.

Dr. ZHANG Qianru, first author of the paper, explained how the platform worked.

The sensor consisted of as-prepared blue Carbon Dots (CDs) and gold nanoclusters (Au NCs). When glyphosate residues reacted with the CDs, aggregation-induced quenching (ACQ) leads to the rapid fluorescence quench of CDs, while the orange fluorescence of the gold nanoclusters remains unchanged.

Since the sensor was not dependent on enzymes, the rapid visualization response and reading detection of glyphosate were achieved in a very short time (2 s) by fluorescence chromaticity change, and the limit of detection (LOD) was as low as 4.19 nM, which was far below the maximum contamination level.

In addition, the researchers combined 3D printing technology and smartphone color recognizer APP to develop a portable fluorescent detection platform for rapid visualization and quantitative monitoring of glyphosate under real-time/field conditions, providing a new strategy for rapid on-site detection of pesticide residues.

CAPTION

Figure 2. Smartphone-based monitoring platform for visual quantitative detection of glyphosate.

CREDIT

ZHANG Qianru

JOURNAL

Journal of Hazardous Materials

DOI

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129320 

ARTICLE TITLE

Enzyme-free and rapid visual quantitative detection for pesticide residues utilizing portable smartphone integrated paper sensor

New treatment option shows promise in clearing HPV infection

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON

Daily use of a mushroom extract supported the immune system in clearing human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, according to researchers with UTHealth Houston. The study was published today in Frontiers in Oncology.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (1R03CA212935).

“Our results show that AHCC® supplementation may help most patients eliminate their HPV infection and may decrease the long-term risk of HPV-related cancers,” said Judith A. Smith, PharmD, lead researcher on the study and professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “Through this study, as well as multiple other studies, our research has shown that the AHCC supplement is safe.”  

AHCC (active hexose correlated compound) is a proprietary mushroom extract.

The study focused on women with a minimum two-year history of persistent high-risk HPV. Patients in the treatment group received the supplement AHCC for six months, followed by six months of a placebo. Patients in the placebo group received a placebo for 12 months. The study found that 14 of 22 patients (63.6%) in the treatment arm became HPV-negative.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were about 43 million HPV infections in 2018, many among people in their late teens and early 20s. HPV infections can cause health problems, including genital warts and cancers. However, HPV vaccines can help eliminate infection and side effects.

“We have no other effective treatment for persistent HPV infections other than watchful waiting. While AHCC supplementation may not help everyone, it is readily available today for patients to ask their clinicians about using to support their immune system in clearing persistent HPV infections,” Smith said.

Additional UTHealth Houston authors include Joseph A. Lucci III, MD; Yu Bai, MD; Anjali A. Gaikwad; Lata Mathew; Barbara Rech; and Teresa T. Byrd, MD, now with WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center. Other authors include Jonathan P. Faro, MD, with Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Randall J. Olsen, MD, with Houston Methodist.

Media Inquiries: 713-500-3030

---

JOURNAL

Frontiers in Oncology

Local economic data encourages legislators to open emails—but only Democrats do

Randomized study shows that including data for legislators on the local economic impact of an issue can encourage engagement, but it varies by party

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Personalizing outreach to legislators to include the local economic impact of an issue can increase engagement with research among Democratic, but not Republican, legislators. 

The findings, published in the journal Implementation Science, support including economic evidence when communicating with legislators, but also signal the value of tailoring communication by political party.

Legislators make policy decisions that influence public health, and effectively sharing scientific research with them can increase the likelihood that their decisions align with research. However, little is known on how to best communicate research to policymakers. 

“We have very little evidence to help guide us on, for instance, which data to include in a policy brief or emphasize in emails to elected officials and their staff,” said Jonathan Purtle, associate professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health and the study’s lead author. 

Purtle and his colleagues hypothesized that including economic and local data would increase legislators’ engagement with materials about evidence-supported policies—in this case, policies specific to adverse childhood experiences, including child maltreatment and community violence, which are risk factors for behavioral health issues in adulthood. State legislators are in a unique position, the study’s authors say, to make policy decisions that reduce children’s exposure to these adverse experiences, including introducing and expanding programs that reduce caregiver stress and increase economic security.

To test their idea, the researchers conducted a study in which they emailed information about adverse childhood experiences and behavioral health to 6,509 state legislators from all 50 states (nearly 90% of state legislators). Two emails were sent to each legislator two weeks apart.

The legislators were randomly assigned to three groups: one that received state-specific data about the prevalence of adverse childhood events and state-specific data on the economic impact of adverse childhood events on public systems, a second that received state-tailored prevalence data but no economic data, and a third “control condition” that received national prevalence data and no economic data. The email subject lines, text, and policy brief content were tailored to each of the three groups.

The researchers then measured the rates of email views, policy brief link clicks, requests for consultation with the researchers, and mentions of child maltreatment terms in legislators’ social media posts after the emails went out.

The researchers found that including local economic data significantly increased engagement with the emails—meaning emails that included “economic impact” in the subject line were more likely to be opened. However, this was only true for Democrats. In contrast, including economic data had no effect on Republican legislators, who were more likely to engage with emails that included national data on adverse childhood events than state-specific data. Democratic legislators were overall more likely to engage with the emails, and while they were the most likely to open those with localized economic data, they were still slightly more likely than their Republican counterparts to open emails with national data.

Among all legislators, the view rate for the first email was 42.6% higher in the first group that included both state-tailored data and economic data than in the second that included state-tailored data but no economic data and 20.8% higher than the third group that only included national data and no economic data. This shows that state-specific data on the prevalence of adverse childhood experience did not increase engagement compared to national data. 

In addition, the local and economic data had no effect on how many legislators clicked on the policy brief link or requested consultations with the researchers. The tailored data had a mixed effect on social media posts from legislators depending on how the researchers analyzed the terms used in social media posts.

“Our results provide concrete guidance to inform disseminating research to legislators, but also highlight a need for future research that tests the effects of tailoring materials for legislators by political party,” said Purtle, who is also the director of policy research at NYU’s Global Center for Implementation Science.

Additional study authors include Katherine L. Nelson, Luwam Gebrekristos, and Félice Lê‑Scherban of Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health and Sarah E. Gollust of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. The research was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (76069).

About the NYU School of Global Public Health

At the NYU School of Global Public Health (NYU GPH), we are preparing the next generation of public health pioneers with the critical thinking skills, acumen, and entrepreneurial approaches necessary to reinvent the public health paradigm. Devoted to employing a nontraditional, interdisciplinary model, NYU GPH aims to improve health worldwide through a unique blend of global public health studies, research, and practice. The School is located in the heart of New York City and extends to NYU's global network on six continents. Innovation is at the core of our ambitious approach, thinking and teaching. For more, visit: http://publichealth.nyu.edu/

---

JOURNAL

Implementation Science

DOI

10.1186/s13012-022-01214-7 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Randomized controlled/clinical trial

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Partisan differences in the effects of economic evidence and local data on legislator engagement with dissemination materials about behavioral health: a dissemination trial

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

22-Jun-2022

High vaccination rates blunted Delta variant surge in some US states

A joint modelling initiative by nine teams predicted the US surge of COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the summer of 2021, and found vaccination uptake to be critical to limiting transmission

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ELIFE

 

IMAGE: SARS-COV-2, THE VIRUS THAT CAUSES COVID-19 view more 

CREDIT: PUBLIC DOMAIN

US states with low vaccination rates bore the brunt of the COVID-19 surge caused by the Delta variant during the summer of 2021, says a study published today in eLife.

The study reaffirms the importance of high vaccination rates in preventing COVID-19 illness and deaths during variant-driven surges. The results may also help improve future modelling of COVID-19 surges.

To help public health officials plan and mitigate the potential effects of COVID-19, modelling teams from across the US joined forces to create the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub in December 2020. The teams worked together to provide six to twelve-month nationwide and state-by-state projections of COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

“This study details the projections we made as the more transmissible Delta variant emerged in the United States in the spring of 2021,” explains co-lead author Shaun Truelove, Assistant Scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, US. “Using nine different models and four defined scenarios, each team assessed how virus control measures, such as mask wearing or vaccination availability and uptake might change the trajectory of COVID-19 as the Delta variant spread at state and national levels.”

The models projected that cases would begin to rise in July 2021 and peak in mid to late September 2021, with the number of hospitalisations and deaths also rising. They also predicted that states with the lowest vaccination rates would see the most cases, hospitalisations and deaths. 

“While the timing of these projected surges was accurate, the real numbers during the Delta surge far surpassed what we projected,” says co-lead author Claire Smith, Doctoral Student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “For example, in the worst-case scenario, the models projected about 516,000 cases during the first four weeks of the projection period (July 4 to July 31, 2021), but about 1.2 million occurred during this period.”

While their predictions about which states would see the worst surges were accurate, even these states saw more cases than anticipated. “We have learned a lot about this virus since the Delta variant, especially about waning of immunity and immune escape variants. The lack of these in the models had a major impact on our expectations of how large the resurgence could be,” says Truelove. In their projections, most models did not include waning of natural or vaccine-derived immunity; this and other incorrect assumptions about the virus or human behaviour during the surge likely contributed to these underestimations. These results highlight the challenges of modelling an ongoing epidemic and may help improve future modelling efforts.

States that met higher goals for vaccination early in the Delta surge averted more than 1.5 million cases and 21,000 deaths, the teams suggest. “These estimates should be treated with caution however, because they do not include the impact of waning which reduces vaccine effectiveness, particularly against symptomatic disease. Our estimates of vaccine protection against severe disease (hospitalisations and deaths) are more robust. Overall, because of the underestimation of deaths associated with the Delta wave, the actual numbers of lives saved are likely much higher,” says Cécile Viboud, a senior research scientist at the Division of International Epidemiology and Population Studies, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, US.

“Efforts to increase vaccination rates are critical and will save lives before and during future resurgences,” she concludes.

Viboud is a co-senior author of the study alongside Michael Runge, a research ecologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center, United States Geological Survey, Laurel, Maryland.

##

Media contacts 

Emily Packer, Media Relations Manager

eLife

e.packer@elifesciences.org

+44 (0)1223 855373

George Litchfield, Marketing and PR Assistant

eLife

g.litchfield@elifesciences.org

About eLife

eLife transforms research communication to create a future where a diverse, global community of scientists and researchers produces open and trusted results for the benefit of all. Independent, not-for-profit and supported by funders, we improve the way science is practised and shared. From the research we publish, to the tools we build, to the people we work with, we’ve earned a reputation for quality, integrity and the flexibility to bring about real change. eLife receives financial support and strategic guidance from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, the Max Planck Society and Wellcome. Learn more at https://elifesciences.org/about.

To read the latest Epidemiology and Global Health research published in eLife, visit https://elifesciences.org/subjects/epidemiology-global-health.

---

JOURNAL

eLife

DOI

10.7554/eLife.73584 

ARTICLE TITLE

Projected resurgence of COVID-19 in the United States in July-December 2021 resulting from the increased transmissibility of the Delta variant and faltering vaccination

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

21-Jun-2022

Helium: A byproduct of the natural gas industry

Helium's unique properties make it the perfect gas for many important applications

Article by: Hobart M. King, PhD, RPG



Helium Blimp: Most people have heard of helium being used as a lifting gas for weather balloons, blimps, and party balloons. These are very minor uses of helium. The use that consumes more helium than any other is cooling the magnets in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines in medical facilities. 

Goodyear blimp photo by Derek Jensen.

What is Helium?

Helium is a chemical element and a colorless, odorless, tasteless, inert gas. It has the smallest atomic radius of any element and the second-lowest atomic weight. It is lighter than air.

Most people know that helium is used as a lifting gas in blimps and party balloons, but they can't name another way in which helium is used. In its most important use, liquid helium (a super-cold liquid at -269 degrees Celsius or -452 degrees Fahrenheit) is used to cool MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines used in medical facilities.

Other important uses of helium include: a protective gas for welding, an inert gas for controlled atmosphere manufacturing, a fugitive gas used for leak detection, and a low-viscosity gas for pressurized breathing mixtures.

Where Does Helium Come From?

Very little helium is present in Earth's atmosphere. It is such a light element that Earth's gravity cannot hold it. When present at Earth's surface, unconfined helium immediately begins rising until it escapes the planet. That's why party balloons rise!

Some natural gas fields in the United States have enough helium mingled with the gas that it can be extracted at an economical cost. In some of these fields, the natural gas contains over 7% helium by volume. Companies that drill for natural gas in these fields produce the natural gas, process it, remove the helium as a byproduct, and sell the helium for a spectacular price.

Helium-bearing natural gas deposits: Deposit model for helium-bearing natural gas fields in the United States. Helium is produced by the decay of uranium and thorium in granitoid basement rocks. The liberated helium is buoyant and moves toward the surface in porosity associated with basement faults. The helium then moves upward through porous sedimentary cover until it is trapped with natural gas under beds of anhydrite or salt. These are the only laterally-persistent rock types that are able to trap and contain the tiny, buoyant helium atoms. This geological situation only occurs at a few locations in the world, and that is why rich helium accumulations are rare.

Related: A New Use of Helium - Hard Drives

Why Some Natural Gas Contains Helium

Most of the helium that is removed from natural gas is thought to form from radioactive decay of uranium and thorium in granitoid rocks of the basement rock below the gas field. As a very light gas, it is buoyant and starts rising upwards as soon as it forms.

The richest helium accumulations are found where three conditions exist:

1) the granitoid basement rocks are rich in uranium and thorium;

2) the basement rocks are fractured and faulted - which provides escape paths for the helium; and,

3) porous sedimentary rocks above the basement faults are capped by an impermeable layer of halite or anhydrite.

When all three of these conditions are met, helium might accumulate in the porous sedimentary rock layer.

Helium has the smallest atomic radius of any element, about 0.2 nanometers. So, when it forms and starts moving upward, it can fit through very small pore spaces within the rocks. Halite and anhydrite are the only sedimentary rocks that can block the upward migration of helium atoms. Shales that have their pore spaces plugged with abundant organic materials (kerogen) sometimes serve as a less effective barrier.

Helium-bearing natural gas deposits: Map showing the natural gas fields that serve as important sources of helium in the United States. The natural gas produced from these fields contains between 0.3% to over 7% helium. The helium is removed from the gas for commercial sale. Image by Geology.com using location data from the United States Geological Survey. [2]

Where is Natural Gas Rich in Helium?

Most unprocessed natural gas contains at least trace amounts of helium. But, very few natural gas fields contain enough helium to justify recovery. A natural gas source must contain at least 0.3% helium to be considered as a potential helium source.

In the United States, all of the natural gas processed for helium comes from fields in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming as shown on the accompanying map. The Hugoton Field in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas; the Panoma Field in Kansas; the Keyes Field in Oklahoma; the Panhandle West and Cliffside Fields in Texas, and the Riley Ridge Field in Wyoming account for most of the U.S. helium production. [2]

Other countries with helium production include: Algeria, Canada, China, Poland, Qatar, and Russia. [3]

Helium in MRI machines: The number one use of helium is cooling the magnets in the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines used to diagnose disease and injury in medical facilities.

A New Use for Helium: The first helium-sealed hard drive was produced in 2013. Helium enables the drive to use less energy, produce less heat, make less noise, take up less space, hold more data, and produce fewer vibrations than a standard hard drive. Learn more. Photo copyright iStockphoto / deepblue4you.
Uses of Helium

Helium has a number of properties that make it exceptionally well-suited for certain uses. In some of these uses, helium is the best possible gas to use, and in a few there is no adequate substitute for helium. Several uses of helium along with the properties that make it suitable for the use are described below.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The number one use of helium is in the magnetic resonance imaging machines used in medical facilities to assess injuries and diagnose illness. These machines utilize a magnetic field that is produced by a superconducting magnet. These magnets generate an enormous amount of heat. Liquid helium is the cooling substance of choice for regulating the temperature of these magnets. Because helium has the second-lowest specific heat of any gas and the lowest boiling/melting point of any element, there is no foreseen substitute for helium in this very important use.

Lifting Gas

Helium has the second-lowest atomic weight of any element. Only hydrogen has a lower atomic weight. As a lighter-than-air gas, helium has been used as a "lifting gas" for airships and balloons. Blimps, dirigibles, zeppelins, anti-aircraft balloons, weather balloons, and other lighter-than-air craft have all used helium as a lifting gas. It is much safer than hydrogen because it is not flammable. This was the most important category of helium use until the end of World War II. Much lower amounts of helium are now used as a lifting gas.

Purging gas: Helium is used by NASA and the Department of Defense to purge liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen from fuel tanks and fuel delivery systems of rocket engines. Helium is inert and has a freezing temperature that is so low that it remains a gas through the purging process. A flow of helium into these systems has even been used during emergencies to extinguish fires. Image by NASA.

Purging Gas

Helium has the lowest melting and boiling point of any gas. It melts and boils at temperatures close to absolute zero. Because it remains a gas at very low temperatures, it can be used as a purging gas for fuel tanks and fuel delivery systems that are filled with very cold liquids such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Because it is inert and has a low freezing temperature, it can displace these fuels safely without freezing. Large amounts of helium are used by NASA and the Department of Defense for purging rocket propulsion systems.

Controlled Atmosphere Manufacturing

Helium is an inert gas. The only gas with a lower reactivity is neon. This low reactivity makes helium a valuable gas to use in manufacturing and repair processes when an inert atmosphere is required. Helium also has the second-lowest density of any gas along with a very high thermal conductivity. These properties of helium gas make it the atmosphere of choice for many metallurgical processes, growing perfect crystals in chemical vapors, manufacturing optical fibers, and other uses.

Leak Detection

Helium has a very low viscosity, a high diffusion coefficient, and the smallest atom of any element. These characteristics make helium very hard to contain. If a system has a leak, helium will escape. Helium gas is therefore used to test for leaks in high vacuum systems, fuel systems, and other containments.



Helium breathing mixtures: Helium is used to prepare breathing gas mixtures for deep-water diving. Helium is inert and has a low viscosity under pressure, which allows easier breathing. Image by NOAA.

Breathing Mixtures

Helium and other inert gases are used to prepare breathing mixtures for deep-water diving and medical treatments. Helium is used here because it is inert, has a very low viscosity and is easier to breathe under pressure than any other gas.

Welding Gas

Helium is used as a protective atmosphere when welding. An inert gas atmosphere protects hot metals from oxidation and other reactions that might occur rapidly at high temperatures.

Uses of helium: Relative amounts of helium consumed by various uses in the United States during 2011. Graph by Geology.com using data from USGS.

Helium: A Nonrenewable Resource

Helium is a gas that is only found where a coincidence of unlikely situations occur. Although it is continually being produced by radioactive mineral decay in Earth's crust, its rate of natural production and accumulation is so slow that it should be considered a nonrenewable resource.

Helium Information

[1] Helium in New Mexico: Ronald F. Broadhead, New Mexico Geology, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, November 2005.

[2] Helium 2010: Joseph B. Peterson and Peter J. Madrid, Minerals Yearbook, United States Geological Survey, January 2012.

[3] Helium 2012: Peter J. Madrid, Mineral Commodity Summaries, United States Geological Survey, January 2012.

[4] Selling the Nation's Helium Reserve: Committee on Understanding the Impact of Selling the Helium Reserve, National Research Council, The National Academies Press, 2010.

[5] Testimony on the Helium Stewardship Act of 2013: Testimony before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, United States Government Accountability Office, GAO-15-734T, July 8, 2015.

[6] Fast-Rising Helium Prices May Pop Balloon Sales: Rachel Rodgers and Sharon Barricklow, an article in the Decatur Herald-Review, February 2015.

Helium Gluts and Helium Shortages

In 1925 the United States established the National Helium Reserve to serve as a strategic supply of helium for use in airships and for other defense purposes. At that time the country was producing much more helium than was being consumed.

After World War II the amount of helium used as a lifting gas declined, but demand for helium as a purging gas when refueling rocket engines and as a coolant in nuclear weapons facilities surged. Still, more helium was being produced than consumed.

In 1995, Congress decided that the National Helium Reserve was not essential and initiated a program to sell the helium as part of the Helium Privatization Act of 1996. [4]

Then, for almost two decades, Congress allowed the helium to be sold at an enormous discount to free-market prices. Up to 1/2 of the world's helium demand was being met through sales from the National Helium Reserve. In some years more helium was exported out of the United States to other countries than was consumed domestically. [2] Those who purchased helium from the government got a fantastic deal, and those who purchased helium in the free market paid a much higher price.

Dumping of National Helium Reserve stock into the market depressed the price of helium so much that it was being used as a cheap substitute for argon and other gases that have a much less limited supply.

Because commercial helium production was not rewarded or heavily utilized, the market was undersupplied when National Helium Reserve sales were replaced by an auction system in 2014. In the first auction, two bidders purchased the entire yearly allocation of 93 million cubic feet of helium at more than double the previous year's market price. After the auction another 1 billion cubic feet was sold to the same two bidders. [5]

Since the first auction, the price of helium has continued to rise because production of new helium falls short of consumption. The price increase has triggered investment in new helium processing plants. However, helium can only be produced from natural gas fields with salt or anhydrate as a trap rock. These only occur in a few parts of the world.

Under current law, the National Helium Reserve will be sold out by 2022. Hopefully the rising investment in helium recovery plants will be adequate to meet the needs of helium consumers when that important source of helium is gone.

Analysis of citizen scientist's observations in 2015 reveals atmospheric phenomena

(a) A wide stable auroral red (SAR) arc is observed at 09:27 UT (left), a Strong Thermal 

Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE) at 09:51 UT (center), and a partial arc with

 green picket fence structures at 10:02 UT (right). Auroral activity is observed at the

 bottom (south) of each image. West is to the right; (b, c, and d) show decomposed images

 in red, green, and blue colors, respectively, at the same times as panel (a). At 09:27 UT

 (left) no arc is observed in the green and blue channels. At 09:51 UT (center), the three 

channels detect the arc. At 10:02 UT (right), the main emission comes from the green

 channel where picket fence structures are observed. A partial arc is also observed in the

 red channel to the right of the image. Credit: Geophysical Research Letters (2022). 

DOI: 10.1029/2022GL098511

A team of researchers from New Zealand, the U.S. and Canada has confirmed the first observation of a SAR arc evolving into a STEVE. In their paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the group details their analysis of multiple sets of data used to describe the rare and unique atmospheric event and what it showed them about such events in general.

In 2015, citizen scientist I. Griffith noticed something unusual happing in the night sky above him over Dunedin, New Zealand. An arc of light, which he described as blood red, moved across the dark sky. Intrigued, he grabbed his camera and began filming the action. Over the course of the next 30 minutes, the arc slowly transformed into what has come to be known as a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE). Curious about what he had witnessed, he sent what he had captured to the professional stargazers at the University of Otago, also in Dunedin. Also intrigued, the group sent the images to other colleagues. Eventually a team of researchers was formed to study the event.

The movie shows the entire sequence of observations, together with unwarped movies in red, green, and blue channels, respectively. Credit: C. Martinis et al, Rainbow of the Night: First Direct Observation of a SAR Arc Evolving Into STEVE, Geophysical Research Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1029/2022GL098511

The researchers gathered data from other sources, including satellites and a sky-imager at a local observatory. In studying all the data, it became clear that the first images captured by Griffith showed a stable auroral red (SAR) arc, which is a subauroral structure and an event that is not actually an aurora but does occur in the atmosphere due to as yet unknown reasons.

The researchers noted that its arrival coincided with a geomagnetic storm—a disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere—suggesting that the light was due to charged particles in the upper atmosphere. Then, as the arc began to subside, the red turned to mauve, the signature of a STEVE, which is not very well understood either. And then, as the STEVE began to fade, other light appeared nearby which was described as a green picket fence, which has been reported before—and of which even less is known.

The researchers note that all three of the light events were not auroras, as all three appeared to be the result of locally generated energy, rather than of particles coming from elsewhere. They also noted that the event was the first known to have all three seen together.Mysterious STEVE light emissions emanate from Earth's magnetosphere

More information: C. Martinis et al, Rainbow of the Night: First Direct Observation of a SAR Arc Evolving Into STEVE, Geophysical Research Letters (2022). DOI: 10.1029/2022GL098511

Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters

© 2022 Science X Network

Review suggests current global efforts are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A pair of climate scientists at Concordia University has concluded that despite efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions by many nations, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the middle of this century will not be met. In their paper, published in the journal Science, H. Damon Matthews and Seth Wynes reviewed the current global climate system and compared it to efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.

Scientists around the world are united in their belief that greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, are leading to a warming planet. And because of the dangers posed by such warming, people around the globe have been working toward reducing emissions. Prior research has suggested that these emissions have already led to an increase of 1.25 degrees Celsius. So governments around the world have agreed to set a goal of reducing CO2 emissions over the next three decades to curb warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. In their review, the researchers found little to no evidence indicating that the goal will be met.

In their work, Matthes and Wynes looked at research describing the current state of the global climate system. As part of that effort, they looked at past trends that have led to the warming increases already observed, and efforts by others to use such data to predict warming in the future based on different levels of greenhouse gas emissions. They analyzed efforts around the globe aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and used them to make estimates regarding their impact on slowing global warming.

In the end, the pair found that given current circumstances, there is almost zero chance that the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal will be met. They note that to meet that goal, emissions would have to fall by approximately 43% by 2030—instead, emissions levels are still rising. They suggest the primary barriers to success are the lack of a proper global technological system and the political will to effect change. They conclude that the world is simply not seriously committed to reaching the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal.

Including all types of emissions shortens timeline to reach Paris Agreement temperature targets

More information: H. Damon Matthews et al, Current global efforts are insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abo3378

Journal information: Science 

© 2022 Science X Network

Melting Arctic ice could transform international shipping routes, study finds

by Brown University

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

With climate change rapidly warming the world's oceans, the future of the Arctic Ocean looks grim. Climate models show that parts of the Arctic that were once covered in ice year-round are warming so quickly that they will be reliably ice-free for months on end in as few as two decades. The Arctic's changing climate will endanger countless species that thrive in sub-zero temperatures, scientists say.

Another critical consequence of melting ice in the Arctic? The potential for shorter, more eco-friendly maritime trade routes that bypass the Russian-controlled Northern Sea Route.

In a new study, a pair of climate scientists at Brown University worked with a legal scholar at the University of Maine School of Law to predict how Arctic Ocean ice melt could affect the regulation of shipping routes over the next few decades. They projected that by 2065, the Arctic's navigability will increase so greatly that it could yield new trade routes in international waters—not only reducing the shipping industry's carbon footprint but also weakening Russia's control over trade in the Arctic.

The study was published on Monday, June 6, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"There's no scenario in which melting ice in the Arctic is good news," said Amanda Lynch, the study's lead author and a professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Brown. "But the unfortunate reality is that the ice is already retreating, these routes are opening up, and we need to start thinking critically about the legal, environmental and geopolitical implications."

Lynch, who has studied climate change in the Arctic for nearly 30 years, said that as a first step, she worked with Xueke Li, a postdoctoral research associate at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, to model four navigation scenarios based on four likely outcomes of global actions to halt climate change in the coming years. Their projections showed that unless global leaders successfully constrain warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over the next 43 years, climate change will likely open up several new routes through international waters by the middle of this century.

According to Charles Norchi—director of the Center for Oceans and Coastal Law at Maine Law, a visiting scholar at Brown's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and one of the study's co-authors—those changes could have major implications for world trade and global politics.

Norchi explained that since 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has given Arctic coastal states enhanced authority over primary shipping routes. Article 234 of the convention states that in the name of "the prevention, reduction and control of marine pollution from vessels," countries whose coastlines are near Arctic shipping routes have the ability to regulate the route's maritime traffic, so long as the area remains ice-covered for the majority of the year.

Norchi said that for decades, Russia has used Article 234 for its own economic and geopolitical interests. One Russian law requires all vessels passing through the Northern Sea Route to be piloted by Russians. The country also requires that passing vessels pay tolls and provide advance notice of their plans to use the route. The heavy regulation is one among many reasons why major shipping companies often bypass the route's heavy regulations and high costs and instead use the Suez and Panama canals—longer, but cheaper and easier, trade routes.

But as the ice near Russia's northern coast begins to melt, Norchi said, so will the country's grip on shipping through the Arctic Ocean.

"The Russians will, I'm sure, continue to invoke Article 234, which they will attempt to back up with their might," Norchi said. "But they will be challenged by the international community, because Article 234 will cease to be applicable if there's no ice covered-area for most of the year. Not only that, but with melting ice, shipping will move out of Russian territorial waters and into international waters. If that happens, Russia can't do much, because the outcome is driven by climate change and shipping economics."

According to Lynch, previous studies have shown that Arctic routes are 30% to 50% shorter than the Suez Canal and Panama Canal routes, with transit time reduced by an estimated 14 to 20 days. That means that if international Arctic waters warm enough to open up new pathways, shipping companies could reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by about 24% while also saving money and time.

"These potential new Arctic routes are a useful thing to consider when you recall the moment when the Ever Given ship was stranded in the Suez Canal, blocking an important shipping route for several weeks," Lynch said. "Diversifying trade routes—especially considering new routes that can't be blocked, because they're not canals—gives the global shipping infrastructure a lot more resiliency."

And it's better to ask questions about the future of shipping now, Lynch said, rather than later, given how long it can take to establish international laws. (For context, she said, it took 10 years for world governments to negotiate the Convention on the Law of the Sea.) Lynch hopes that kicking off the conversation on the Arctic's trade future with well-researched scholarship might help world leaders make informed decisions about protecting the Earth's climate from future harm.

"Flagging these coming changes now could help prevent them from emerging as a crisis that has to be resolved rapidly, which almost never turns out well," Lynch said. "To actually craft international agreements with some forethought and deliberation is certainly a better way to go."Unsustainable Arctic shipping risks accelerating damage to the Arctic environment

More information: The interaction of ice and law in Arctic marine accessibility, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2202720119

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Scienc

Provided by Brown University