Mar 24, 2023 05:13 PM
What happened to The Ocean Cleanup — the system that would rid the oceans of plastic?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023.../102075810
EXCERPTS: Remember The Ocean Cleanup? It was the ambitious plan hatched by a young Dutch entrepreneur to "rid the world's oceans of plastic". [...] In the years since The Ocean Cleanup was launched, designs have been tested, failed, refined, and tested again...
[...] there was an interesting addition to the design launched in 2021. Dubbed "Jenny", System 002 had not one but two ships towing its 800m-long net through the water to give it "active propulsion".
The problem with the earlier passive design was that it just wasn't gathering enough plastic. According to The Ocean Cleanup, to be effective at scale, it would have needed to deploy hundreds of passive systems, which was "unfeasible".
System 002 also had a long pocket added in the middle of the net where trash could be funnelled and accumulate. Speaking on the addition of ship power, Mr Slat said cleaning the oceans was the priority, rather than the method used. In late 2021, and again in 2022, The Ocean Cleanup announced several large hauls of plastic had successfully been brought aboard the mother ship.
[...] Which brings us to now. The Ocean Cleanup is currently testing System 002B, which includes, among other things, an onboard plastic compactor. And it says it's in the process of scaling up to System 03, which will be three times the size of the 800m 002 prototype, and will likely be the model it rolls out at scale... (MORE - missing details)
How climate change is reshaping the Alps
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230...n-the-alps
EXCERPTS: . . . As a geomorphologist and experienced mountain guide from a long line of mountaineers, Ravanel became motivated to focus on permafrost after the infamous European heat wave in 2003 triggered numerous rockfalls. Two years later, he and his colleagues set up a monitoring network in the Mont Blanc massif using human observers and cameras, which has enabled them to collect data from more than 1,500 larger rockfalls so far.
In the last few years, the number of more significant events is rapidly increasing in many parts of the Alps, says Ravanel. And there are fears that, in the coming decades, even larger rockfalls will drastically change the landscape of the mountains in the region.
With it, the danger for hikers and mountaineers grows as well. In 2017, large rockfalls from Pizo Cengalo, on the border of Italy and Switzerland, triggered an avalanche of rock and dirt that travelled down the valley, killing eight people.
Dangerous events continued to wreak havoc over last summer. And the route that was most seriously affected happened to be the most popular one – the easiest path to the top of Mont Blanc itself.
[...] Unaware of these threats, many mountaineers unfamiliar with the local context still chose to climb in dangerous conditions.
But the problem is much wider. In French Alps, says Ravanel, there are 947 elements of infrastructure located in the permafrost regions, from mountain huts to ski resort cable cars. Some of them were already affected by thawing. He believes that ensuring safety of the Alps and the many people who visit them will only be a growing challenge.
"A decade ago I was not fully aware of the huge changes we would see," says Ravanel. "So now I probably can't imagine the rate of the processes we could confront in the next decade." (MORE - missing details)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2023.../102075810
EXCERPTS: Remember The Ocean Cleanup? It was the ambitious plan hatched by a young Dutch entrepreneur to "rid the world's oceans of plastic". [...] In the years since The Ocean Cleanup was launched, designs have been tested, failed, refined, and tested again...
[...] there was an interesting addition to the design launched in 2021. Dubbed "Jenny", System 002 had not one but two ships towing its 800m-long net through the water to give it "active propulsion".
The problem with the earlier passive design was that it just wasn't gathering enough plastic. According to The Ocean Cleanup, to be effective at scale, it would have needed to deploy hundreds of passive systems, which was "unfeasible".
System 002 also had a long pocket added in the middle of the net where trash could be funnelled and accumulate. Speaking on the addition of ship power, Mr Slat said cleaning the oceans was the priority, rather than the method used. In late 2021, and again in 2022, The Ocean Cleanup announced several large hauls of plastic had successfully been brought aboard the mother ship.
[...] Which brings us to now. The Ocean Cleanup is currently testing System 002B, which includes, among other things, an onboard plastic compactor. And it says it's in the process of scaling up to System 03, which will be three times the size of the 800m 002 prototype, and will likely be the model it rolls out at scale... (MORE - missing details)
How climate change is reshaping the Alps
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230...n-the-alps
EXCERPTS: . . . As a geomorphologist and experienced mountain guide from a long line of mountaineers, Ravanel became motivated to focus on permafrost after the infamous European heat wave in 2003 triggered numerous rockfalls. Two years later, he and his colleagues set up a monitoring network in the Mont Blanc massif using human observers and cameras, which has enabled them to collect data from more than 1,500 larger rockfalls so far.
In the last few years, the number of more significant events is rapidly increasing in many parts of the Alps, says Ravanel. And there are fears that, in the coming decades, even larger rockfalls will drastically change the landscape of the mountains in the region.
With it, the danger for hikers and mountaineers grows as well. In 2017, large rockfalls from Pizo Cengalo, on the border of Italy and Switzerland, triggered an avalanche of rock and dirt that travelled down the valley, killing eight people.
Dangerous events continued to wreak havoc over last summer. And the route that was most seriously affected happened to be the most popular one – the easiest path to the top of Mont Blanc itself.
[...] Unaware of these threats, many mountaineers unfamiliar with the local context still chose to climb in dangerous conditions.
But the problem is much wider. In French Alps, says Ravanel, there are 947 elements of infrastructure located in the permafrost regions, from mountain huts to ski resort cable cars. Some of them were already affected by thawing. He believes that ensuring safety of the Alps and the many people who visit them will only be a growing challenge.
"A decade ago I was not fully aware of the huge changes we would see," says Ravanel. "So now I probably can't imagine the rate of the processes we could confront in the next decade." (MORE - missing details)
