Y.Hong
Author: admin
Temperature and precipitation responses to a stratospheric aerosol geoengineering experiment using the Community Climate System Model 4
Summary
As the global climate continues to change it may become critical to explore possibilities for climate intervention and remediation to counteract warming by greenhouse gases. One such ‘geoengineering solution’ proposes to inject reflective aerosol particles into the atmosphere to decrease insolation, the amount of radiation coming from the sun received by the Earth. Given constraints due to a lack of technology and restricted physical experimentation, we study the unintended potential consequences of this experimental solution by examining the temperature and precipitation response to historical scenarios, projected radiative forcing, and idealized geoengineering scenarios to counteract radiative forcing due to human influences, using the Community Climate System Model version 4, CCSM4. The model projects increased temperature globally, increased precipitation in the Tropical Pacific, and decreased precipitation in some semi-arid regions if climate change continues without mitigation. Although these changes are not as severe with geoengineering, global temperature and precipitation are still redistributed globally. This research helps to understand the possible effects of geoengineering on the radiative balance affecting the Earth’s temperature and hydrologic cycle.
Aspen Anderson and Toby Ault
Click here for PDF file: August2014(1)
The Analysis of the Effects of Smoke and Water Vapor on Insect Pheromone Communication and Physical Condition: An Investigation of the Causes of Colony Collapse Disorder
Summary
Since the outbreak of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) disappearance in the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder (CCD) in 2006, investigations dedicated to finding the causes of CCD have suggested possible factors; however, a singular cause has not yet been identified. This project aims at identifying how external factors in the environment, such as water vapor and smoke, can affect the social behavior and physical condition of honey bees. It was hypothesized that water vapor could block insect pheromone communication and that smoke could accumulate on the antennae of insects, interrupting pheromone communication. House crickets (Acheta domesticus) were used to test water vapor’s effect on pheromone communication because they communicate with pheromones like honey bees. Crickets were exposed to vinegar, mimicking the alarm pheromone, to confirm a social response. Next, we tested water vapor’s ability to block pheromone communication. To test the effect of smoke’s presence in the environment, red harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) were used, due to their anatomical similarity to bees. The red harvester ant experiments measured the degree to which smoke particles accumulated on their body parts. The results showed that smoke particles did accumulate during exposure to smoke. This study provides evidence that external factors in the environment of insects may act as pheromone blocking agents and thus obstruct the insects’ ability to communicate through pheromone messages. This conclusion may provide an explanation for the observations in CCD such as the honey bee disappearance and diminishing health.
Orvill Delatorre and Ann Lambert
Development of Two New Efficient Means of Wastewater Treatment
Summary
Wastewater accumulation is a daunting issue. This global concern stimulates scientists to search for more effective ways of treating wastewater and preserving natural resources. In this study, we have augmented current treatment efficiencies and general effectiveness by creating two new methods. Using hollow fiber membrane (HFM) based liquid-liquid extraction technology in water treatment, we have demonstrated that this technique is more efficient than the current available methods at extracting organic components into the organic phase inside the HFM. Meanwhile, we have used polymeric resins to absorb both neutral and charged organic components in wastewater. Both newly developed methods have the potential to be industrialized for combating the human-caused wastewater contamination issue with increased vigor and efficiency.
Gilbert W. Bao, Albert M. Bao, Xiaojing Liu and Youxin Li
Click here for PDF file: February2014
Juvenile Mental Health
Modern people, especially teenagers, are facing unprecedented challenges in this fast paced society. In China, more and more juveniles are becoming so concerned about their future career path that an increasing percentage of these young people gradually suffer mental diseases such as anxiety and depression.
As one of the biggest countries in the world, China has a population of over 1.4 billion and this number seems to be increasing year by year according to official databases. Large numbers of young children are educated ever since they were born to catch up with or outcompete their peers, rendering many of them, mostly starting from the age of 6 or even younger, having to bear far more academic responsibilities to fulfil their so-called dreams than the majority of other counterparts in this world. Initially, things may not seem so serious to them as they were still young and not too much engaged in the society. Yet, as the intervention of social media and other technological inventions becomes available, young students are clearer than ever about their current and future conditions as they step into their teenage life. Unfortunately, many of the young teenagers arrive at the conclusion that they should stay simple and normal without the need to work hard to strive towards unrealistic goals since they realize that talents are almost everywhere and they are not so needed as expected in this society while their parents still push them on the way to become outstanding members of the society. As a consequence, many young people feel stressed and nervous on a regular basis, causing themselves to be finally harassed by anxiety, which has become one of the most common phenomenons in modern societies of China in the present day.
What is worse is that with the advent of the one of the most serious pandemics, namely the coronavirus disease which broke out in the late 2019, young teenagers are facing yet another serious challenge that they cannot avoid by their own will. The truth is with the viruses spreading and evolving over time, they have posed a threat to young students’ physical fitness significantly by increasing the possibility of getting them sick much more easily than before, which potentially weakens the immune system as a whole to this new generation. Many adults have become mildly handicapped due to this pandemic, not to mention that teenagers have to strive hard to balance between keeping fit and studying hard. This unexpected situation has led many ambitious young teenagers to gradually lose their hope to become great as they have planned before since they simply do not have the power to bear too much responsibility and be so energetic to engage in complicated work or tasks as freely as ever. In China, the rising percentage of young people getting depressed has become so prevalent that the government is still on its way to figure out how to deal with the social challenge.
Ziluo Cheng