Latest news with #UniversityOfTechnologySydney
ABC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Key NSW budget apartment plan only solves 'one small part of the problem'
A key measure in the NSW budget designed to stimulate development has been described as a "drop in the ocean" that will only help tackle "one small part" of the state's housing shortage. The state government revealed on Tuesday a $1 billion plan to underwrite the pre-sale of 5,000 off-the-plan units, which it said would allow developers to get faster finance approval to build 15,000 homes. The policy, which draws inspiration from initiatives in Finland and New Zealand, has been spruiked by Premier Chris Minns as a "world-leading" means of accelerating apartment building. Planning Minister Paul Scully said developers would need to have planning approval, some pre-sales, and be ready to start construction within six months. "This is not open slather to anyone who wants to get involved," Mr Scully said on Wednesday. "You may have a 100-unit development … you need to get to 70 pre-sales in order to get finance: you've only sold 60. "Apply for the government guarantee … we underwrite and guarantee those last 10. One hundred new homes are unlocked." Martin Loosemore, a distinguished professor of construction management at the University of Technology Sydney, said the plan helped to tackle "one small part of the problem". "Whether it will lead to an increase in the number of dwellings being constructed is obviously open to question. The policy has just been introduced, so there's no evidence around at the moment," Professor Loosemore said. "It will just ease the supply blockages potentially. Nicole Gurran, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Sydney, said the policy addressed the difficulty of getting finance amid high interest rates and labour costs. "Australia is fairly unique in … developers needing to demonstrate a high level of sales before they're able to get finance for projects," she said. "Let's hope that, if this initial tranche does result in some supply, that it's the type of scheme that might be extended." Professor Gurran said the shift in Australia from the development of detached housing to units meant the financing of large projects was becoming more of a hurdle. Under the National Housing Accord signed last year, NSW is aiming to deliver 377,000 homes by mid-2029. Professor Loosemore pointed to a much bigger issue hampering housing development: a decline in construction productivity. Homes are built half as quickly as they were 30 years ago, according to a report by the Australian Productivity Commission last year. "Dwellings have obviously got more complex over that period," Professor Loosemore said. "But the real problems revolve around the lack of innovation in the industry. We're still building homes in essentially the same way that we were 50 years ago."
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Bad news for nervous fliers! Severe turbulence is set to get even WORSE thanks to climate change, scientists say - as they discover a link between 'freak wind gusts' and global warming
It's something that any nervous traveller dreads during a long-haul flight. But severe turbulence is set to get even worse - with climate change to blame. That's according to Professor Lance M Leslie and Milton Speer from the University of Technology Sydney, who have discovered a link between 'freak wind gusts' and global warming. Using machine learning techniques, the pair found that heat and moisture are 'key ingredients' for dangerous wind gusts known as 'downbursts.' Downbursts can wreak havoc during takeoff and landing, causing planes to dangerously gain or lose altitude. Based on their findings, the scientists are calling for air safety authorities and airlines to be 'more vigilant during takeoff and landing in a warming world.' 'Our research is among the first to detail the heightened climate risk to airlines from thunderstorm microbursts, especially during takeoff and landing,' they explained in an article for The Conversation. 'Airlines and air safety authorities should anticipate more strong microbursts.' Flying has long been recognised as a safe mode of travel, with an accident rate of just 1.13 per one million flights. However, in recent months, there have been several reports of planes experiencing extreme turbulence. In March, five passengers were injured by extreme turbulence that forced a United Express flight to make an emergency landing in Texas. Then in June, nine people were injured after a Ryanair flight was hit by severe turbulence, with crew and passengers left in tears and the plane forced to make an emergency landing. Until now, most studies on turbulence have focused on dangers at high-altitude, such as clear air turbulence, and jet stream instability. In contrast, there has been less research on the dangers of turbulence caused by downbursts at lower altitudes. In their new study, publihsed in the journal Climate, the researchers turned to machine learning to identify the climate drivers behind these downbursts. Their results revealed that increased heat and moisture 'spell trouble for planes'. 'Global warming increases the amount of water vapour in the lower atmosphere,' they explained. 'That's because 1°C of warming allows the atmosphere to hold 7% more water vapour. 'The extra moisture typically comes from adjacent warmer seas. It evaporates from the surface of the ocean and feeds clouds. 'Increased heat and water vapour fuels stronger thunderstorms.' The main problem with thunderstorms for planes is the risk of hazardous, rapid changes in wind strength and direction at low altitudes, according to the experts. In particular, small downbursts measuring just a few kilometres wide - dubbed 'microbursts' - can cause abrupt changes in wind speed and direction. For unlucky passengers, this results in turbulence that 'suddenly moves the plane in all directions.' Somewhat unsurprisingly, smaller planes are particularly susceptible to this type of low-altitude turbulence. 'Small planes with 4–50 passenger seats are more vulnerable to the strong, even extreme, wind gusts spawned by thunderstorm microbursts,' the experts added. Worryingly, as temperatures aroung the globe continue to rise, microbursts are only going to get worse. 'A warming climate increases low- to mid-level troposphere water vapor, typically transported from high sea-surface temperature regions,' the pair added in their study. 'Consequently, the future occurrence and intensity of destructive wind gusts from wet microburst thunderstorms are expected to increase.' WHY DO STORMS AND HOT WEATHER CAUSE DISRUPTION TO TRAINS AND PLANES? HOW HOT WEATHER AFFECTS AIRCRAFT Aircraft components begin to overheat and become damaged in extreme temperatures, with seals softening or melting. If temperatures exceed 47°C (116°F), planes are grounded as some aircraft manufacturers can't guarantee the necessary engine propulsion. Aeroplanes fly because the speed of the aircraft causes ambient air to travel over the wings creating lift. When the flow of air is disrupted, the wing loses, or gains, lift. Hot air is less dense than cold air, which means aircraft require more engine power to generate the same thrust and lift as they would in cooler climes. The warmer it gets, the less density there is in the air, which in turn results in less upwind for the wings. Cumulonimus clouds, which occur during thunderstorms, can also be problematic as they are associated with heavy and sudden down pours of rain. These clouds are often caused by periods of very hot weather. Thunderstorms are a challenge for a pilot because there are several dangers like wind shear, turbulence, rain, icing and lightning. HOW HEAT AFFECTS TRAINS Thousands of miles of steel tracks cross the UK, much of which is exposed to sunlight. Tracks in direct sunshine can be as much as 20°C (36°F) hotter than the ambient air temperature according to Network Rail, which manages Britain's railway infrastructure. Heatwaves can cause points failures and signal disturbances, while in some places the tracks have buckled under the heat. As temperature rises, the steel rail absorbs heat and expands, causing it to curve, or buckle. The forces the temperature change provokes pushes and pulls the track out of shape. Buckled tracks need to be repaired before trains can run again, leading to disruption.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Moon dust is less toxic than urban air pollution, scientists discover
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Moon dust may not be as harmful to humans as had been thought, with a new experiment showing that the typical air pollution on a busy street is more toxic than inhaling lunar dust. "The results contribute to the safety case for returning humans to the moon," said Brian Oliver, who is a Distinguished Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney, in a statement. Concerns about the toxicity of moon dust arose during the Apollo missions. Lunar dust is statically charged, allowing it to adhere to astronauts' space suits. After the astronauts clambered back inside their lunar lander following a moonwalk, the dust became airborne in the cabin and was inhaled, leading to the astronauts suffering respiratory problems that faded after about 24 hours. Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt described it as like having "lunar hay fever," with stinging eyes, sneezing and a sore throat. Moreover, back on Earth, the Apollo flight surgeon reported similar problems after unpacking the used spacesuits. In their case, they reported that the symptoms grew worse after every mission, suggesting that repeated exposure to lunar dust exacerbates its toxicity. Nevertheless, the anecdotal evidence is not a quantitative measure of the potential harm that lunar dust can do to humans. So Michaela Smith, who is a PhD student at the University of Technology Sydney's Respiratory Research Group, set about finding out. Smith performed experiments using two lunar simulants – replicas of real lunar dust, since samples of real lunar dust are limited – that are analogous to moon dust found in the moon's dark volcanic lowland plains and its more ancient highlands, respectively. The simulant particles are smaller than 2.5 microns (millionths of a meter), small enough to be inhaled and then trapped in the lower airways of the lungs. To represent lungs, Smith introduced the simulant dust to two different types of lung cell, namely bronchial and alveolar cells, representing the upper and lower regions of the lungs, respectively. Smith then conducted the same experiment but with airborne particulate matter sampled from a busy Sydney street, and compared the effects of lunar dust with that of air pollution. Smith found that while the irregular shape and roughness of the lunar dust still irritates the lungs, its effects are significantly less than that of air pollution. "It's important to distinguish between a physical irritant and a highly toxic substance," said Smith. "Our findings suggest that while lunar dust may cause some immediate irritation to the airways, it does not appear to pose a risk for chronic, long-term diseases like silicosis, which is caused by materials like silica dust [as on a construction site, for example]." This is good news for NASA, who are still taking the health challenges of moon dust seriously as they plan the Artemis 3 mission that will see humans return to the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972. RELATED STORIES: — NASA proves its electric moon dust shield works on the lunar surface — Astronauts could mix moon dust with old satellites to make fuel — Moon dust may help astronauts power sustainable lunar cities. Here's how. For example, one strategy is to have the astronaut's spacesuits affixed to the exterior of the lunar lander, and the astronauts enter and leave the suits through an airlock within the lander without bringing the moon dust stuck to the suits inside the cabin. However, thanks to Smith's work, the problem of moon dust is perhaps no longer quite as serious as had been anticipated. Smith's findings have been published in Life Sciences in Space Research.
