carbon dioxide

WSU researchers are working on methods to reduce carbon emissions entering the atmosphere by separating carbon dioxide out of industrial processes.

By Tina Hilding, College of Engineering & Architecture

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University researchers have been heavily involved in the design, development and testing of a NASA observatory set to launch at 2:56 a.m. Tuesday, July 1, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer

PULLMAN, Wash. – Researchers led by a Washington State University biologist have found that arid areas, among the biggest ecosystems on the planet, take up an unexpectedly large amount of carbon as levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. The findings give scientists a better handle on the earth’s carbon budget – how much carbon remains in the atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming, and how much gets stored in the land or ocean in other carbon-containing forms.

PULLMAN – Several researchers in Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Laboratory for Atmospheric Research are assessing air chemistry with the aid of an NSF grant to better understand air pollution and its impacts.

Lamb

The grant, totaling more than $200,000, will help Brian Lamb, Regents Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his team in their study of emissions and chemistry. Their research will primarily be done in the Tianjin region of China. Because this part of China is tremendously urban, it will give the researchers ample data on the quantity of pollutants being released in urban areas, leading to a … » More …

George Mount

A NASA rocket, launched this morning from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, ended in disaster when a mechanical failure caused it and the attached Orbiting Carbon Observatory research satellite to plummet into the ocean.

The observatory represented many years of collaborative work and research by scientists including George Mount, professor in WSU’s Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Laboratory for Atmospheric Research.

NASA’s website states that the Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite “failed to reach orbit after its 4:55 a.m. EST liftoff Feb. 24 from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base.

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Washington State University recently was awarded a 2004 Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy Management from the office of outgoing Washington Gov. Gary Locke. The award, presented during the Jan. 28 WSU Regents meeting, is a recognition of a number of energy-efficiency improvements and environmental achievements made universitywide.Among the improvements cited by the award are a 29,538-ton annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (the equivalent of taking 3,938 cars off the road) and an annual savings in electric energy equivalent to the amount of electricity needed to serve 900 homes.In particular, efforts by Terry Ryan, energy manager for Facilities Operations, were lauded in the governor’s … » More …