Gemini News

Using New Technology to Find Shipwrecks

By Gemini News 2018-09-07 12:55:27

[By Idun Haugan] An estimated three million shipwrecks lie in seabed graveyards around the world – with as many as 1000 of them around Svalbard. Each of them has their own unique story — one that’s made much more accessible with new technology. Throughout the centuries ships have weathered wars, storms, icebergs, and pirates, to name a few. Many ships have been lost in the face of these forces and gone down with all hands. They lie on the bottom...

Wings at the Bow Could Smooth Passenger Ship's Ride

By Gemini News 2018-08-31 19:25:49

For more than 150 years it has been known that placing a wing - or a foil - may be favorable at the bow of a ship. It both reduces the ship's energy consumption and provides increased comfort for passengers on board, but no one has managed to exploit this knowledge in real life. Until now. In 2021, the shipping company Havila will launch a route between Bergen and Kirkenes, and will build four new environmentally friendly ships for the stretch. This opportunity...

Tracking CO2 from Trade

By Gemini News 2018-06-17 15:22:39

[By Nancy Bazilchuk] A new database gives researchers — and potentially policymakers — the ability to see how global trade affects environmental impacts. Trade is one of the most visible hallmarks of 21st century life. Cheap shipping and global supply chains mean that goods made in one country can easily be shipped for purchase or consumption halfway around the world. But if you are trying to assess — and limit — the environmental impacts of this trade, how can you possibly...

Researchers Deploy Jellyfish to Fight Micro-Plastic

By Gemini News 2018-05-23 13:53:00

In the innovative EU project GoJelly, researchers are working to solve the micro-plastic challenge by using nature itself. The project is led by the German Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research, but the Norwegian research institute SINTEF and NTNU (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology) are involved in the hunt for jellyfish with a talent for catching microplastics. GoJelly’s goal is to develop a so-called biofilter of the mucus produced by the jellyfish. The mucus can actually adsorb both...

Introducing "Smart Bolts"

By Gemini News 2018-05-07 20:04:00

[By Frøydis Angard Ulateig] In the future, intelligent wireless bolts in wind turbines or satellites may be able to let the operator know when something is wrong. This could reduce the risk of human injuries and save cost. A research team at NTNU in Gjøvik is working to create bolts that send an alert when something is not as it should be or when maintenance is needed. Each bolt must be able to contact a control center, which will receive messages from all intelligent...

Growing Concern over Plastic Pollution in Rivers and Lakes

By Gemini News 2018-04-20 12:46:00

[By Pernille Feilberg] Almost all research on plastic contamination in water systems focuses on oceans. But the biggest problem is plastic that ends up in freshwater ecosystems, according to an NTNU biologist. Concerned citizens read about all the plastic contaminants found in the ocean – from whole patches of plastic waste to dead whales with bellies full of plastic. “But it’s not the plastic in the oceans we should be worrying about the most,” says Martin Wagner, an associate professor at NTNU’s...

Herring Larvae Could Benefit from CO2 Emissions

By Gemini News 2018-03-30 20:33:00

[By Nancy Bazilchuk] One of the many downsides of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is what happens when some of that CO2 is absorbed by the oceans. As atmospheric CO2 levels increase from burning fossil fuels, this carbon dioxide is soaked up by seawater and makes the oceans more acidic. Increased acidity is bad news for coral reefs and creatures whose shells are made from calcium carbonate, but how does it affect the entire food web? Using an unusual long-term research...

Preventing Hurricanes Using Air Bubbles

By Gemini News 2018-03-21 16:58:00

[By Ingvil Snøfugl] Many people have tried to find ways of preventing hurricanes before they make landfall, resulting in the loss of human lives. Norwegian researchers believe that the answer lies in cold bubbles. In recent years we have witnessed intense tropical storms that have taken many thousands of human lives and caused massive destruction. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina killed more than 2,000 people and caused damage worth about $110 billion. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew swept across Haiti, taking 852...

Limiting the Spread of Disease in Farmed Salmon

By Gemini News 2018-03-13 21:46:00

[By Frøy Katrine Myrhol] Currents in the ocean spread viruses that are killing large numbers of Norway's farmed salmon. Where should fish farms be built? And should they all be in use at the same time? Researchers now know more about how to limit the virus problem. Pancreas disease is a viral infection in farmed salmon that causes major economic losses because it reduces how much the fish grow and increases mortality. When farmed salmon are weakened, they also become more...

Predicting the Fate of Oil Spills in Ice

By Gemini News 2018-02-16 21:35:00

[By Nancy Bazilchuk] Global warming and political decisions are opening the Arctic and its frosty seas to increased development. But what will happen if that expansion results in oil spills in the frozen ocean? Sea ice is more complicated than you might think. It’s not solid. It’s much more like a sponge, shot through with tiny channels and pores that can contain salt, briny sea water, or air bubbles. That structure matters in the event of an oil spill. Oil...