Earth

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 29, 2015 -- What can mathematical modeling teach us about the micrometeorology of the southern Amazonian 'transitional' forest? Quite a lot, it turns out. This particular forest is located between the rain forest of the Amazon Basin and the tropical Brazilian Savanna, so it plays a crucial role in both regional and global biogeochemical cycling.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29, 2015 -- It's almost New Year's Eve, and many will be ringing in 2016 with champagne, wine, beer and cocktails. But for those who overindulge, the next day is accompanied by another tradition: the New Year's Day hangover. In this episode of Reactions, we look at the chemistry behind the lousy effects of a hangover and offer some tips to limit its symptoms. Check it out here and impress your friends this new year: https://youtu.be/1ixWfo69ONA.

A group of researchers in Japan and China identified the requirements for the development of new types of extremely low power consumption electric devices by studying Cr-doped (Sb, Bi)2Te3 thin films. This study has been reported in Nature Communications.

A new metamaterial with an unusual refraction of light will speed up computers

A team of scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics in the Russian Academy of Sciences has proposed a two-dimensional metamaterial composed of silver elements, that refracts light in an unusual way. The research has been published on Nov. 18, 2015 in Optical Material Express. In the future, these structures will be able to be used to develop compact optical devices, as well as to create an 'invisibility cloak.'

Recent race-related events in Ferguson, Mo., St. Louis, Baltimore, Chicago, Charleston, S.C., and New York City -- all point to the continuing need to study and understand race relations in modern America. These events show how race and stereotypes are intertwined and can lead to explosive situations and protests.

An animation of satellite imagery over the course of two days shows a massive low pressure system that generated severe weather in the southwestern and central U.S. bringing snow, heavy rainfall, flooding and tornadoes. The video, created by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, combined visible and infrared imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite.

The 30-second animation shows the movement of the massive storm system from Dec. 26 to early Dec. 28, 2015.

Understanding where and how phase transitions occur is critical to developing new generations of the materials used in high-performance batteries, sensors, energy-harvesting devices, medical diagnostic equipment and other applications. But until now there was no good way to study and simultaneously map these phenomena at the relevant length scales.

A research group at Osaka University has succeeded in observing at the intended timing two-phonon quantum interference by using two cold calcium ions in ion traps, which spatially confine charged particles.

A phonon is a unit of vibrational energy that arises from oscillating particles within crystals. Two-particle quantum interference experiments using two photons or atoms have been previously reported, but this group's achievement is the world's first observation using two phonons.

Ice core records are rich archives of the climate history during glacial-interglacial cycles over timescales of up to ~800 kyr before the current age. In ice core studies, the accurate and precise dating of the core samples is a central issue that must be investigated to better constrain the timing, sequence, and duration of past climatic events.

Scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have demonstrated a new way of controlling electrons by confining them in a device made out of atomically thin materials, and applying external electric and magnetic fields. This research, published on Dec. 23, 2015 in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, was led by Professor Antonio Castro Neto and his research team at the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials (CA2DM) of the NUS Faculty of Science.

Using mathematical models, scientists have 'looked' into the interior of super-Earths and discovered that they may contain compounds that are forbidden by the classical rules of chemistry -- these substances may increase the heat transfer rate and strengthen the magnetic field on these planets. The findings have been presented in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 22, 2015 - Researchers at MINAO, a joint lab between The French Aerospace Lab in Palaiseau and the Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures in Marcoussis, have recently demonstrated metamaterial resonators that allow emission in the infrared to be tuned through the geometry of the resonator.

Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) is a songbird that breeds in New England mountaintop forests threatened by climate change. Research forthcoming in The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that this threat could be exacerbated by competition from related birds living downslope. Climate change may cause Bicknell's Thrushes' preferred habitat of spruce-fir forests to shift to even higher elevations, constricting their range, and new data suggests that aggression from related Swainson's Thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) could drive them uphill even faster.

Boulder, Colo., USA - Reconstructing the magnitude of past volcanic eruptions is important in informing predictions about future eruptions and hazards. This is difficult to accomplish from records on land -- old eruptions are often eroded away, buried beneath later eruptions, or obscured by vegetation and soil. Most volcanoes are close to the oceans, so much of the erupted material falls into seawater and accumulates on the seafloor.

A team of physicists from ITMO University, Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute and Australian National University have researched the phenomenon of phase transition between photonic crystals and metamaterials - two types of periodic structures capable of manipulating light in intricate ways. The study helps to gain an insight into the fundamental properties of periodic structures and opens new possibilities for the design and creation of new electromagnetic materials. The results of the study were published in Nature Communications.