Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Colorado School of Mines are applying a new technique to identify defects in silicon solar cells that cause a drop in efficiency. The lessons learned at the atomic level could lead to improvements in the way manufacturers strengthen their products against what is known as light-induced degradation (LID), which shaves the efficiency of silicon solar cells by about 2 per cent, which adds up to a significant drop in power output over the 30- to 40-year lifespan of the technology deployed in the field. Solar cells made from silicon account for more than 96 per cent of the global market, and the most commonly used semiconductor used in the manufacture of these cells is made from boron-doped silicon. But boron-doped silicon is susceptible to LID, so manufacturers have developed methods to stabilize the solar modules.

Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Worldwide, lake temperatures are rising and seasonal ice cover is shorter and thinner. This affects lake ecosystems, drinking water supply, and fishing. International research now shows that these global changes in lake temperature and ice cover are not due to natural climate variability. They can only be explained by massive greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution. To demonstrate this, the team has developed multiple computer simulations with models of lakes on a global scale, on which they ran a series of climate models. The researchers found clear similarities between the observed changes in lakes and model simulations of lakes in a climate influenced by greenhouse gas emissions. Besides measuring the historical impact of climate change, the team also analysed various future climate scenarios.

Source: www.sciencedaily.com