Research update published in GeoCam
A research update on some of the work being carried out at the Institute was published today in the latest issue of GeoCam, the magazine for the alumni of the Department of Earth Sciences
Nicola Mingotti
Seasonal regimes of warm water intrusion toward Antarctic ice shelves
The future of floating Antarctic ice shelves is one of the principal uncertainties surrounding projections of future sea level rise. Melting of Antarctic ice shelves is caused by relatively warm and salty Circumpolar Deep Water currents upwelling from the ocean depth. A recent article co-authored by Dr Ali Mashayek classifies near-shelf water masses using an
Novel Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production
Today was the last seminar of Lent term, and Part III student James Fidler presented his recent work on new catalyst materials for hydrogen production through electrolysis. Nobel metals are very expensive, and so research is ongoing to find affordable alternatives for catalyst production. Under the supervision of professor Clarke, James has been investigating the
Focus on Fluids: Dispersive mixing
Professor Andy Woods was recently invited to write a short “Focus on Fluids” article for the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. The article reviews some of the processes leading to dispersion and mixing in porous media, and discusses recent findings and open questions in the field. The paper is now available online here.
Aquifer thermal energy storage
Professor Matthew Jackson from Imperial College London visited us today and presented his recent work on Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems. This underground thermal energy storage technology provides large capacity, low carbon heating and cooling to the built environment. Heating and cooling of buildings currently produces 23% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and
Flows through reactive porous rocks
To celebrate his recent submission, PhD student Sam Clarke presented some of the results of his work at the weekly seminar today. During his time at the Institute, Sam has been working on reactive flows through porous rocks, with particular interest in the flows which develop around nuclear waste disposal sites. Nuclear waste items need
Decoupling polymers from fossil resources
Professor Matthew Davidson is the director of the Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change of the University of Bath. He visited us today and discussed some of the challenges in making the chemical industry more sustainable and less dependent on fossil resources. Whereas decarbonisation of the energy sector is feasible through the development of
Bubble growth in electrolysis
Methane availability is crucial to the energy transition. Currently, most hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming, a carbon-intensive process. A small amount of green hydrogen is being obtained from the electrolysis of water; however, for this carbon-free hydrogen to become prevalent, electrolysis must become much more efficient than it currently is. PhD student James
Emma’s model on interseasonal thermal energy storage
In temperate climates, many buildings need heating in winter and cooling in summer. A significant amount of energy can be saved by storing excess heat during the warmer months, and using it to warm up a building in winter. Similarly, storing the wintertime thermal energy reduces the need for air conditioning during the summer. PhD
Collapsing non-spherical bubbles
Professor Daniel Fuster is the CNRS Research Director at the Institut d’Alembert, and works at Sorbonne University in Paris. He visited us today, and presented his recent work on the collapse of non-spherical bubbles. Professor Fuster’s work was motivated by some interesting laboratory observations. In the experiments, a pulse of laser energy is used to