In a position paper published in Journal of Geo-information Science, a team of scientists mainly from Chinese Academy of Sciences advocate the potential of recursive intelligent geographic modeling based on the "data-knowledge-model" tripartite collaboration. They highlight the fundamental role of domain modeling knowledge driving geocomputation with geospatial data to achieve successful geographic model workflow adaptive to application context.

Around midday, Earth’s ionosphere sometimes experiences sharp, short-lived dips in its electron density—an unusual phenomenon known as a noontime bite-out. A new study takes a global view of these midday disruptions, using finely detailed ionospheric maps to compare their behavior in years of high and low solar activity. 

Grapevines, widely valued for their fruit and wine, are especially vulnerable to cold temperatures.

The research team provided a comprehensive elaboration on the development process of China's first double-spoke superconducting cavity cryomodule. They emphasized detailed explanations of the cavity's optimization and manufacturing procedures, conducted in-depth analyses of encountered challenges, and established critical references to ensure the smooth mass production and installation of CSNS-II superconducting cavity cryomodules.

Hong Kong’s rich history is interwoven with layers of untold stories, many buried beneath the surface of its bustling modern landscape. A project led by researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)’s Department of Land Surveying and Geo-informatics seeks to reveal and record the City’s lost history hidden underground by utilising cutting-edge geospatial technologies and to launch public education programmes to promote the conservation and better understanding of the City’s cultural heritage. The project has received funding of HK$3.22 million from the General Support Programme under the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF-GSP) of the Innovation and Technology Commission.

As populations worldwide continue to age, chronic back pain caused by intervertebral disc degeneration is emerging as a widespread and costly health burden.

Addressing the critical challenge of crack propagation in electrodeposited SiO₂ coatings caused by cristobalite phase transitions, the Al nanoparticles were incorporated into SiO₂ coatings for enhanced phase stability and durable temperature oxidation resistance. Incorporating Al inhibits and optimizes the generation of cristobalite, suppressing the formation of cracks, thereby reducing the parabolic oxidation rate constant of the SiO₂ coating by ​​32.4%​​ after oxidation at 900 °C for 100 h. The DFT calculations demonstrate that the introduced Al preferentially exists in a substitutional form, effectively stabilizing the K@SiO₂ lattice structure by inhibiting K migration-induced cristobalite precipitation. Thermodynamically, the negative solution energy (-4.367 eV) of K@Si_x-1AlO_2x confirms the spontaneous incorporation of substitutional Al into K@SiO₂ lattice. Structurally, substitutional Al forms a shorter Al-K bond (2.91 Å) compared to the Si-K bond (3.39 Å), which can mitigate K-induced channel distortion and hinder the migration of K. Charge distribution analysis reveals that the Mulliken charges of Al (1.040) partially neutralize the Mulliken charges of K (-2.187), reducing electrostatic repulsion and promoting localized bonding. Furthermore, the incorporation of Al can restrain the precipitation of brittle Z-phase, further contributing to improved oxidation performance.

Within the transition process of urban rail transit system, challenges of high energy consumption, increasing carbon emissions, limited economic viability, and intricate risks emerge as significant hurdles. This paper proposes a novel energy utilization framework for urban rail transit system incorporating underground energy storage systems characterized by high resilience and low carbon. Firstly, existing methods are comprehensively reviewed. Then, the integrated framework is introduced, which effectively utilizes and manages diverse renewable energy sources and the available space resources. The viability is demonstrated through a case study by combining Nanjing Metro. Finally, the suggestions research in pivotal areas are summarized.

Microplastic pollution in agricultural soils is an emerging threat to food safety and ecosystem health, yet detecting these tiny particles at low concentrations remains a major challenge.