Nov_Dec_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 2 5 T here is growing international inter- est in the effects of climate change on the environment, with sea lev- el rise (SLR) anticipated to be the most threatening facet of climate change. Sea level rise is expected to result in the great- est damage to infrastructure in coast- al regions around the world, leading to economic losses of up to $50 billion by 2050 [1] . Part I of this article (October 2017 AM&P ) discussed potential solutions and ongoing efforts in the materials science and engineering community to counter SLR and provided a philosophical out- look and direction to push interdisciplin- ary collaborative materials research to counter and improve SLR preparedness for coastal areas. This article discusses long-term approaches including various methodologies to convert CO 2 green- house gas released fromburning fossil fu- els to other forms of fuel and value-added products, thus mitigating climate change and its associated effects, including SLR. LONG-TERM APPROACHES While short-term approaches fo- cus on solutions to counter SLR for the next three to four decades, long-term approaches should focus on mitigat- ing climate change and SLR. Strategies *Member of ASM International and solutions based on short-term ap- proaches will only provide limited sup- port in the long term. Sea levels are changing due to melting of ice as global temperatures increase due to increas- ing greenhouse gases in the atmo- sphere (Fig. 1). The main cause of SLR must be addressed to completely mitigate the rise. Melting of ice can only be re- duced or halted if the concentration of greenhouse gases can be brought to an existing natural level. Thus, long- term planning and approaches are key factors to mitigate climate change and SLR. Consumption of fossil fuels is the major contributor to increased green- house gases, and a shift to “green” non-fossil energy sources such as wind, solar, tidal, and geothermal can lower dependence on fossil fuels for energy requirements. However, the industri- al revolution was based on fossil fuels and moving away from it will take sig- nificant time and effort. In fact, many researchers and governments are wary of completely moving away from fossil fuels, as a major portion of the econo- my of many countries depends on the production and sale of fossil fuels. Con- sumption of fossil fuels will contin- ue for the foreseeable future and thus will generate a significant amount of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases. This makes CO 2 inexpensive and abundant in the atmosphere. CO 2 CONVERSION APPROACHES A crucial area of research is to con- vert CO 2 greenhouse gas released from burning fossil fuels to other forms of Fig. 1 — Compiled historical data showing increasing sea levels compared to histori- cal rates. Data shown were obtained from different measuring techniques. Purple: salt marshes data; green, orange, and indigo: tide gauge data; and cyan: altimetry data. Courtesy of T.F. Stocker, et al., IPCC 2013. THE ROLE OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING IN IMPROVING SEA LEVEL RISE PREPAREDNESS – PART II E RO E G – Efforts are underway in every sector of the scientific community to explore and develop possible strategies and solutions to counter sea level rise and climate change. Harpreet Sidhar, Benjamin Boesl, and Arvind Agarwal, FASM,* Florida International University, Miami Many large glaciers in Greenland are at greater risk of melting frombelow than previously thought, according to newmaps of the seafloor around Greenland created by an international research team. Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Ian Fenty.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA4MTAy