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The increase in operating temperature of PV generators leads to degradation of their performance. These adverse effects of high temperatures are considered as one of the most important problems that solar panel operation faces in hot weather areas. A lot of research has been undertaken to study this aspect and find ways of limiting the harm caused by such high temperatures. To overcome this harm and to maintain the operating temperature of the PV cells within the optimum range specified by manufacturers, cooling the solar panels often becomes indispensable. This paper discusses the heat transfer through the solar panel layers and studies the effect of high temperature on the solar panel performance in a hot desert environment. It also presents the development of a new solar panel structure viz. by installing an aluminum heat sink to reduce the effect of temperature rise and thus improve the solar panel performance. The study focuses on a pole-mounted solar panel for a street lighting apparatus in extremely hot desert conditions with fluctuating wind speeds. It will be shown that adding an aluminum heat sink to the solar panel bottom mitigates the effect of increased temperature and hence modifies the solar panel operating point by increasing both the efficiency and the lifetime. The solar cell temperature is decreased by 16.4% as a result of the aluminum heat sink installation on the solar panel back sheet and consequently, the accumulated energy produced by the the solar panel is increased by 13.23% per day.

A thin layer of Al2O3nanoparticles has been deposited on top of a water-free PEDOT layer to modify wettability for obtaining pinhole-free homogenous tin-based perovskite films, resulting in better device performance.

A clean and sustainable energy source, biogas is widely accessible worldwide. The caloric value of biogas is related to its methane content, and therefore removal of other gases is essential for reaping the benefits of this cleaner resource. In contrast to other classical techniques, membrane technology is relatively new yet extremely promising for methane enrichment. The methane enrichment performance of polymeric membranes is constrained, hence newer material combinations have been investigated to enhance membrane performance. In this study, blend membranes comprised of polyetherimide (PEI) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) in varying proportions were prepared by adopting the wet-phase inversion technique. The generated pure, and blend membranes were characterized for the morphological, thermal, and structural study. The interactions of PEI and PVAc in blend samples were verified by FTIR analysis. On the other hand, SEM investigation indicated that the membranes have an anisotropic porous structure with a dense skin layer at the top. Subsequently, a single glass transition temperature (Tg), as validated by DSC analysis, indicates that the blended polymers are miscible. Furthermore, membranes' performance for gas separation was assessed regarding selectivity and permeance at feed pressures ranging from 2 to 6 bar. The permeation results showed that the CO2 permeance has increased by 40.47% with the addition of 4 wt % PVAc at 2 bar pressure. Furthermore, ideal selectivity improves as the blend ratio increases; nonetheless, the highest value for CO2/CH4 ideal selectivity was attained with a 2 wt % PVAc addition and at 2 bar pressure, which is approximately 26% greater than the pure PEI membrane. At 4 bar pressure, optimum CO2/N2 selectivity value of 22.50 was achieved. The findings indicate that PVAc is an excellent option for expanding the separation performance of blended polymeric membranes for biogas enrichment.

AbstractEarth's present‐day response to enhanced glacial melting resulting from climate change can be measured using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. We present data from 62 continuously operating GPS instruments in Iceland. Statistically significant upward velocity and accelerations are recorded at 27 GPS stations, predominantly located in the Central Highlands region of Iceland, where present‐day thinning of the Iceland ice caps results in velocities of more than 30 mm/yr and uplift accelerations of 1–2 mm/yr2. We use our acceleration estimates to back calculate to a time of zero velocity, which coincides with the initiation of ice loss in Iceland from ice mass balance calculations and Arctic warming trends. We show, through a simple inversion, a direct relationship between ice mass balance measurements and vertical position and show that accelerated unloading is required to reproduce uplift observations for a simple elastic layer over viscoelastic half‐space model.

Earthworm distribution in global soils Earthworms are key components of soil ecological communities, performing vital functions in decomposition and nutrient cycling through ecosystems. Using data from more than 7000 sites, Phillips et al. developed global maps of the distribution of earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass (see the Perspective by Fierer). The patterns differ from those typically found in aboveground taxa; there are peaks of diversity and abundance in the mid-latitude regions and peaks of biomass in the tropics. Climate variables strongly influence these patterns, and changes are likely to have cascading effects on other soil organisms and wider ecosystem functions. Science , this issue p. 480 ; see also p. 425

Considering the vulnerable climatic conditions in most parts of the planet, a successful transition toward a carbon-free future is a critical challenge worldwide. In this respect, around 35% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emission (GHG) is associated with the power sector (especially electrical energy). To this end, a vast of electrical energy has been used by the people in buildings. Specifically, a significant amount of energy in buildings is used for heating, cooling, and ventilation. While the available literature highlights the importance of neat, clean, and green electrical energy for the decarbonization of society, a critical gap exists in such literature. That is, most of the literature under this stream deals with the supply side (production) of electrical energy, while the demand side (consumption at an individual level) was neglected. To bridge this critical knowledge gap, this study investigates how the CSR engagement of a hotel organization can promote the energy-related pro-environmental behavior (ERPEB) among the employees with the intervening effect of employees’ environmental commitment (EMEC) and Green intrinsic motivation (GRIM). Further, the conditional indirect role of altruistic values was also tested in this study. The data were collected from different hotel employees in Pakistan with the help of a self-administered questionnaire. We tested the hypothesized relationship through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results confirmed that CSR can be a potential motivator to impact the ERPEB of employees, while EMEC and GRIM mediated this relationship significantly. The findings of this study also confirmed the conditional indirect role of altruistic values. These findings offer various theoretical and practical contributions which are conversed in detail.

Abstract The lack of precipitation for an extended period is what meteorologists call a drought, and it results in low soil moisture and crop water stress. Drought has become one of the most important global challenges due to inadequate water supplies. Drought monitoring is frequently conducted using the SPI (standardized precipitation index) and the SPEI (standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index). The goal of this work is to use SPI and SPEI to investigate the differences in drought characteristics across different physiognomy types in Bangladesh and to highlight how drought characteristics change over time and spatial scales when considering different geomorphologies. This study used monthly precipitation and temperature data from 29 metrological stations for 39 years (1980–2018) for calculating SPI and SPEI values. To determine the significance of drought characteristic trends over different temporal and spatial scales, the modified Mann–Kendall trend test and multivariable linear regression (MLR) techniques were used. The results are as follows: (1) Overall, an increasing dry trend was found in Eastern hill regions, whereas decreasing trends were found rest of the regions in all time scale (range is from − 0.008 year−1 to − 0.015 year−1 for 3-month time scale). However, except for the one-month time scale, the statistically significant trend was identified mostly in the north-central and northeast regions, indicating that drought patterns migrate from the northwest to the center region. (2) Drought intensity increased gradually from the southern to the northern regions (1.26–1.56), and drought events occurred predominantly in the northwestern regions (27–30 times), indicating that drought meteorological hotspots were primarily concentrated in the Barind Tract and Tista River basin over time. (3) According to the MLR, longitude and maximum temperature can both influence precipitation. Findings can be used to improve drought evaluation, hazard management, and application policymaking in Bangladesh. This has implications for agricultural catastrophe prevention and mitigation.

AbstractThis paper presents projected changes in extreme temperature and precipitation events by using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) data for mid-century (2036–2065) and end-century (2070–2099) periods with respect to the reference period (1985–2014). Four indices namely, Annual maximum of maximum temperature (TXx), Extreme heat wave days frequency (HWFI), Annual maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation (RX5day), and Consecutive Dry Days (CDD) were investigated under four socioeconomic scenarios (SSP1-2.6; SSP2-4.5; SSP3-7.0; SSP5-8.5) over the entire globe and its 26 Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) regions. The projections show an increase in intensity and frequency of hot temperature and precipitation extremes over land. The intensity of the hottest days (as measured by TXx) is projected to increase more in extratropical regions than in the tropics, while the frequency of extremely hot days (as measured by HWFI) is projected to increase more in the tropics. Drought frequency (as measured by CDD) is projected to increase more over Brazil, the Mediterranean, South Africa, and Australia. Meanwhile, the Asian monsoon regions (i.e., South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia) become more prone to extreme flash flooding events later in the twenty-first century as shown by the higher RX5day index projections. The projected changes in extremes reveal large spatial variability within each SREX region. The spatial variability of the studied extreme events increases with increasing greenhouse gas concentration (GHG) and is higher at the end of the twenty-first century. The projected change in the extremes and the pattern of their spatial variability is minimum under the low-emission scenario SSP1-2.6. Our results indicate that an increased concentration of GHG leads to substantial increases in the extremes and their intensities. Hence, limiting CO2 emissions could substantially limit the risks associated with increases in extreme events in the twenty-first century.