Nuclear WasteNew Treatment Technology Could Reduce Nuclear Waste Burden Published 12 October 2021 Researchers have developed a novel treatment technology that may help to significantly reduce the burden of nuclear waste. This breakthrough could therefore significantly speed up disposal of such material and reduce the overall cost of dealing with our legacy waste. Researchers at the

EvacuationDisasters: To Flee or Not to Flee By Sonia Fernandez Published 12 October 2021 The Montecito debris flows that occurred in January 2018 were the result of a rare confluence of two uncommonly severe events: the Thomas Fire — at that time the largest wildfire in California history — which for weeks burned through Ventura

EarthquakesEarthquake System Model with Better Detection Capabilities Published 12 October 2021 researchers developed a machine learning model that improves the accuracy of detecting earthquakes by 14.5 percent compared to the most accurate current existing model. Two University of Wyoming researchers developed a machine learning model that improves the accuracy of detecting earthquakes by 14.5 percent compared

Water securityNuclear Physics Used to probe Floridan Aquifer Threatened by Climate Change Published 12 October 2021 Florida is known for water. Between its beaches, swamps, storms and humidity, the state is soaked. And below its entire surface lies the largest freshwater aquifer in the nation. As rising sea levels threaten coastal areas, scientists are using

Water securityNuclear Physics Used to probe Floridan Aquifer Threatened by Climate Change Published 11 October 2021 Florida is known for water. Between its beaches, swamps, storms and humidity, the state is soaked. And below its entire surface lies the largest freshwater aquifer in the nation. As rising sea levels threaten coastal areas, scientists are using

By Jeff Seldin Published 8 October 2021 CIA director William Burns Thursday announced the creation of a new China Mission Center to make sure the agency’s resources and existing efforts are working together to face the growing threat. The United States top spy agency is making changes in response to what it describes as an “an

ExplosivesHow Big Was the 2020 Beirut Explosion? Published 8 October 2021 On 4 August 2020, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history pulverized a Beirut port and damaged more than half the city. The explosion resulted from the detonation of tons of ammonium nitrate, a combustible chemical compound. The explosive yield estimates varied widely,

Energy SecurityHydrogen Can Play Key Role in U.S. Decarbonization Published 8 October 2021 “Hydrogen is not really an energy source. It is rather an energy carrier or what we often call an energy vector,” says Berkeley Lab’s Ahmet Kusoglu. “So, you have to produce hydrogen from another energy source, store it, and then use or

Planetary SecurityDisrupting Asteroids to Protect the Earth Published 8 October 2021 If an asteroid is on an Earth-impacting trajectory, scientists typically want to stage a deflection, where the asteroid is gently nudged by a relatively small change in velocity, while keeping the bulk of the asteroid together. Researchers have examined how different asteroid orbits and

Nuclear WeaponsU.S. Has a Stockpile of 3,750 Nuclear Warheads Published 7 October 2021 The United States has disclosed the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal for the first time since former President Donald Trump decided to keep the figures a secret. At the height of the cold war, in 1967, the U.S. nuclear stockpile