One of Earth's most common nanomaterials is facilitating breakthroughs in tackling climate change: clay. In a new study, researchers at Purdue University, in collaboration with experts from Sandia National Laboratories, have potentially uncovered a game-changing method for using clay to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the air to help mitigate climate change. Their work, which earned them a 2024 R&D 100 Award and has a patent application in progress, was recently published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.

The fluorescence lidar technology does not only enable a better determination of the origin of particles in the atmosphere. The method can also visualise particle layers that were previously practically invisible. This is the conclusion drawn by a team from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) from the evaluation of 250 hours of lidar measurements over Leipzig in 2022 and 2023. The researchers had repeatedly observed very thin layers of smoke at high altitudes, which originated from forest fires in Canada but could not be seen using conventional methods. This suggests that the upper troposphere over Europe may be more polluted than previously assumed, especially during the summer forest fire season, the research team writes in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. The observations suggest that thin layers of smoke can favour the formation of ice clouds. The fluorescence method offers great opportunities for a more detailed investigation of such interactions between aerosols and clouds.

The measurements in Leipzig are once again showing wildfire smoke from Canada. This smoke is therefore not only visible on satellite images, but can now be analysed in more detail using fluorescence lidar technology.

A new study investigates the environmental factors affecting the occurrence and state of palsa mires, as well as the degradation of palsas. The study covers the entire Northern Hemisphere. The new results are part of a doctoral dissertation to be examined at the University of Oulu, Finland on 6 June 2025.