The renewable energy sector is booming, and as demand for clean energy rises, so too does demand for the metals it relies on—copper and nickel chief among them. As the world continues scaling up renewables to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, demand will almost certainly top supply in the coming decades. To address this future gap, an international group of researchers and the mining giant BHP teamed up to identify the processes that determine whether or not these metals make it into accessible deposits in the crust.
Alps
Posted inENGAGE, News
Mountains Sway to the Seismic Song of Earth
The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps is in constant motion, gently swaying back and forth about once every 2 seconds.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Hydropower and Bugs
Alpine hydropower plants commonly flush sediment that accumulates at intakes, but the associated rapid rise in discharge, turbidity, and streambed instability put aquatic insects at risk.
Posted inNews
Ancient Precipitation Reveals Clues About Mountains and Climate
By studying the chemical signatures of 300-million-year-old precipitation, researchers find evidence that the supercontinent Pangea contained peaks as tall as the European Alps.
Posted inNews
Plastic Fragments Found for the First Time on a Glacier
The discovery, made in the Italian Alps, confirms the ubiquity of plastic pollution worldwide.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Karst Groundwater Contributes to Deformation in Eastern Alps
GPS data show compression and extension strains in the region resulting from changes in aquifer water levels.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How the Micrometeorology of Alpine Forests Affects Snowmelt
A field study in the Swiss Alps showed considerable spatial and temporal variability in forest air and surface temperatures, with implications for snowmelt models.