全國中小學科展

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地球與環境科學

以雷達回波圖推估閃電發生的可行性研究

上高中後,我們將國中對閃電研究的興趣延續,國中的研究著重於閃電與降雨地形及溫溼度的關係,高中這幾年我們的目標是希望找出以容易取得的雷達迴波圖推估閃電得發生,高一及高二上學期間我們在研究過程中,對閃電的資料記錄方式、形成條件、現象等越理解,讓我們除漸漸得出穩定的研究結果,但也發現因為需不斷的調整以趨向大自然的真實狀況,我們方法有限制。本報告以我們初始研究為基礎,以調整後的方式進行深入分析,期望以其他的氣象資料輔助雷達迴波圖的可行性,並且以三維雷達回波資料分析降水粒子對閃電發生的影響,最終希望建立利用資料推估閃電發生的簡易閃電預報模式。

Climate Change Brings New Novel Virus

1. Research Motivation Have you ever seen news stating that spring is gradually disappearing from the Korean Peninsula? The characteristics of the four seasons are disappearing due to the impact of global warming. As supporting evidence, droughts and heatwaves continue during the rainy season, and unexpected heavy rainfall occurs during autumn. These abnormal temperature phenomena are greatly affecting agriculture. Crops wither due to untimely cold spells or summer droughts, and the proliferation of bacteria and pests worsens. We need to conduct a thorough investigation and response to such weather phenomena. Carbon is known to be the main culprit behind these abnormal temperature phenomena. We want to explore how carbon affects climate change and understand the implications it has. 2. Research Objectives The consequences of climate change, such as deforestation and rising sea levels, will cause significant damage to society as a whole. This will also have a profound impact on the survival of all living organisms on Earth. Unless industrialization is halted, global warming will continue, making it crucial to gain a proper understanding and find accurate alternatives. The damages caused by global warming are expanding the habitats of mosquitoes, which is expected to have an impact on the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. This can also influence the emergence of novel viruses similar to COVID-19. By examining past outbreaks of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, we aim to predict and understand such occurrences, as well as explore ways to minimize global warming. 3. Expected Benefits Based on this research, a focused exploration of the ecological impacts of global warming can provide essential data to understand the effects of climate anomalies on us and prepare for them. As these phenomena are expected to worsen over time, it will be possible to develop measures to minimize the damage caused by bacterial infections and agricultural losses.

Desert to Fertile Land: Developing TEPA‐modified montmorillonite clay as an efficient CO2 adsorbent to enhance soil fertility

Global warming is a phenomenon in which the Earth's overall temperature rises as a result of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Among the major greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming [1,2]. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), as well as changes in land use and vegetation [3]. Carbon dioxide and other gases, such as methane and nitrogen monoxide absorb infrared radiation and redirect it back to Earth, warming the planet [4]. This rise in temperature can impact ecosystems, climate, water resources, agriculture, public health, and societies in general [5]. To combat global warming and reduce carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, many countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, are working to achieve a vision to reduce carbon emissions by reducing their carbon emissions by 278 million tons per year by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement, for climate. The Kingdom is committed to generating 50% of its electrical energy from renewable sources by 2030. In addition to the shift in the local energy mix, the Saudi Green Initiative is implementing a number of ambitious programs and projects to reduce emissions. These programs include investing in new energy sources, promoting energy efficiency, and expanding carbon capture and storage programs [6]. Through these initiatives, the Kingdom will be able to achieve its climate goals and establish a sustainable future (Figure 1). In addition, the Paris Climate Change Agreement includes 196 countries and the European Union, covering most of the world. This agreement aims to achieve carbon neutrality by taking measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions [7].

King's Power - The Utilization of Agricultural Waste in the Production of Sustainable Dry Cells

The idea of dramatically reducing the cost of the production dry cell, reducing its carbon footprint, and being able to be an alternative to current materials such as biochars really propels the interest of performing this project research. Biochars from durian husk, bamboo and coconut shell are promising alternative chemical materials of the anodes in the dry cell due to their eco-friendly traits and availability in the trophic areas which covers about 40% of the land on earth. Using the technique of pyrolysis, the latest and the best technique to produce a high carbon content biochars, the dry cell uses the potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte and manganese dioxide as the catalysts that make the biochar mixture to produce maximum voltage of 65% from the dry cell sold in the current market. The voltage analysis of the biochar dry cell was done in our school science laboratory and then, characterization tests analysis was carried out on the products from the specific biomass namely the SEM/EDX analysis, at the Material Characterization Laboratory (MCL), Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra 馬來西亞. Based on our research, the biochar obtained from the raw materials (Durian Husk, Bamboo and Coconut Shell) had shown different characteristics. The bamboo biochar had shown the most amount of carbon content which is 86.64% more than the durian husk biochar (72.77%) and coconut shell biochar (65.57%). On the other hand, based on the micrograph, we observed that the durian husk biochar had shown much created pores rather than bamboo biochar and coconut shell biochar. In our study, we found out that the average voltage produced by the three different biochars have shown that Durian Husk char dry cell produced the highest voltage which is 0.97V, more than the bamboo char (0.62V) and coconut shell char (0.73V). In conclusion, the biochar dry cell produced are much cheaper in term of its production as our biochar dry cell uses biomass that are freely available and comes from renewable source of energy, the best ingredient for Green Technology.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY UPCYCLING APPROACH TO INCREASE IMPACT RESISTANCE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE STRUCTURES: USE OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE AS CONSERVATION MATERIAL

Within the scope of sustainable cities and responsible consumption, which are among the goals of sustainable development, it is aimed to contribute to life safety, defense industry, protection from disasters and economy with the new generation environmental building technologies and materials to be developed in the field of construction. It is a critical issue to protect reinforced concrete structures, piers, bridge piers, overpasses against impacts, and to reduce the damages and economic losses in disaster situations. Reinforced concrete scaffolding is the load-bearing component of the structure and its impact resistance is crucial to the overall safety of the concrete structure. Therefore, there is a need to develop technologies that can protect structures against explosion and impact loads. Within the scope of the project, environmentally friendly and low-cost concrete materials with industrial waste glass, aluminum, plastic material additives, which can be used in columns, which are the most important part in the strength of reinforced concrete structures to prevent explosion and impact damage, were produced and their strengths were analyzed. The use and design of these materials in the strength of concrete creates the originality of the project. When the results obtained in the project were examined, it was observed that the steel fiber concretes with the addition of waste glass, aluminum ring, disc, beverage can and plastic bottle were resistant to high pressure when compared with the control groups without additives, and the change in surface height after the impact test, visual analysis and load-time graphics showed this. It is seen that the additives have a cushioning effect against the impact, absorbing the energy against the force by 87.6% and increasing the strength significantly. In this project, where it is aimed to increase the strength of concrete structures by using the impact energy absorption feature of waste glass, plastic and aluminum, products with high added value are developed, contributing to the literature and the construction sector. With the large-scale use of the project, the costs spent on the disposal of waste materials will be reduced, the upcycling based on re-using the waste products will be contributed, and the loss of life and property due to impacts and explosions will be prevented.

Quantitative environmental DNA metabarcoding for the enumeration of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.)

Understanding species abundance is critical to managing and conserving planetary biodiversity. Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are keystone species of cultural, economic, and ecological importance in Alaska and especially Southwest Alaska. Traditional methods of enumerating salmon such as weirs and visual surveys are often costly, time-intensive, and reliant on taxonomic expertise. Environmental DNA (eDNA), which identifies and quantifies species based on DNA they shed in their habitats, is a potential cost- and time- saving alternative. The relative ease of collecting eDNA samples also enables citizen scientist involvement, expanding research coverage. Currently, more research is required to define eDNA’s potential and limits. This project investigates whether quantitative eDNA metabarcoding can accurately quantify the abundances of six fish species: the five Pacific salmon species plus rainbow trout. Water samples were collected from eight creeks in the Wood River watershed of Southwest Alaska. eDNA metabarcoding and subsequent bioinformatics processing produced a read count for each species. These were compared to visual survey counts, taken to be the true counts for the purposes of this study. Data analyses showed a positive, linear relationship between visual survey count and eDNA count for sockeye salmon. The regressions were significant for both the early (p = 0.089) and late (p = 0.030) sampling dates when 𝛼 = 0.10. eDNA detections of non-sockeye species generally corresponded to visual survey observations of species presence or absence. Overall, the results of this study support eDNA’s potential to be an alternative or supplement to standard methods for the enumeration of fish species.

觀音山火山熔岩與其礦物比例研究 A Study on the Mineral Ratios of Guanyinshan Volcanic Rock

透過親手磨製岩石薄片及礦物比例數據,探討觀音火山熔岩的差異與其差異原因。根據前人研究得知,觀音山經過五次噴發,共有七種不同的火山岩。比對地質圖,尋找各層出露地點共17處,進行田野調查、空拍記錄及樣本採集,並磨製岩石薄片共14片,進行岩相觀察與礦物面積比例計算。 本研究觀察到觀音山熔岩有漸變關係,符合鮑氏反應序列。從橄欖石玄武岩→普通輝石玄武岩→普通輝石安山岩→兩輝石安山岩→紫蘇輝石安山岩→黑雲母角閃石安山岩。 並依據新的田野調查資料,修正觀音山的地質圖資;建立火山噴發歷程模擬動畫;製作立體地形模型,以瞭解對地質地貌關係,皆可做為日後觀音山地球科學教育之參考。

Investigating the Effects of Temperature and Carbon Dioxide Levels on Nannochloropsis oceanica Using a Hemocytometer Counting Method

Climate changes that include ocean acidification and global warming are serious problems in the ecosystem, affecting marine phytoplankton, including Nannochloropsis oceanica. In the effort to further explore the impact of rising temperature and carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations on oceanic ecosystems, the phytoplankton Nannochloropsis oceanica was used as a model organism. This study explored the effect of temperature change and CO₂ concentration on the growth of Nannochloropsis oceanica, achieving 243 samples that were tested with three different temperatures (24 degrees Celsius (°C), 28°C, 32°C) and CO₂ concentrations (0 milliliter (ml)/min, 0.4 ml/min, 0.6 ml/min), utilizing a hemocytometer counting method. Results indicate that the CO₂ concentration has a significant effect on the population of Nannochloropsis oceanica. But the temperature doesn't affect a lot. The Nannochloropsis oceanica in the lowest temperature and highest concentration of CO₂ in its environment had the highest population growth, and in the highest temperature and lowest concentration of CO₂, it had the lowest population growth. Results show the serious negative effect of climate change on the cosystem and the importance of environmental protection. Population blooms due to excess CO₂ taking up ocean resources causing dangerous ecological imbalances.

Investigating the Effects of Temperature and Carbon Dioxide Levels on Nannochloropsis oceanica Using a Hemocytometer Counting Method

Climate changes that include ocean acidification and global warming are serious problems in the ecosystem, affecting marine phytoplankton, including Nannochloropsis oceanica. In the effort to further explore the impact of rising temperature and carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations on oceanic ecosystems, the phytoplankton Nannochloropsis oceanica was used as a model organism. This study explored the effect of temperature change and CO₂ concentration on the growth of Nannochloropsis oceanica, achieving 243 samples that were tested with three different temperatures (24 degrees Celsius (°C), 28°C, 32°C) and CO₂ concentrations (0 milliliter (ml)/min, 0.4 ml/min, 0.6 ml/min), utilizing a hemocytometer counting method. Results indicate that the CO₂ concentration has a significant effect on the population of Nannochloropsis oceanica. But the temperature doesn't affect a lot. The Nannochloropsis oceanica in the lowest temperature and highest concentration of CO₂ in its environment had the highest population growth, and in the highest temperature and lowest concentration of CO₂, it had the lowest population growth. Results show the serious negative effect of climate change on the cosystem and the importance of environmental protection. Population blooms due to excess CO₂ taking up ocean resources causing dangerous ecological imbalances.

探討影響臺灣周遭海域波浪能蘊藏量的關鍵因素 English Title:Investigation of Key Factors Influencing Wave Energy Potential in the Surrounding Waters of Taiwan

團隊透過分析臺灣台灣周遭八個處海洋浮標測站資料,自2021年1月到2024年10月為止之示性波高、平均週期、平均風速、海溫等資料間之相關性,並試從不同位置測站之海洋條件與大氣因素,來綜合探討影響臺灣周遭海域波浪能蘊藏量的關鍵因素。並透過分析海溫與波浪能變化的關係,試圖瞭解全球暖化平均海溫上升,對臺灣周遭波浪能蘊藏的變化趨勢。 團隊發現影響臺灣周遭海域波浪能蘊藏的因素,除了季節性季風的影響,黑潮主流以及澎湖水道的黑潮支流湧升流,也都 可能 是影響臺灣周遭海域波浪能蘊藏的重要因素。團隊也發現,在臺灣周遭海域波浪能蘊藏與海溫變化有負相關的趨勢,此現象與臺灣中央研究院針對過去70年,全球波浪能的變化趨勢並不一致。其原因可能是臺灣所屬地理位置環境的關係,也可能是分析的數據資料僅有4年無法準確看出趨勢變化。