Critical lifeline systems such as transportation networks, water supply, and energy infrastructure are increasingly exposed to extreme natural hazards. A newly published review highlights how smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH), a powerful mesh-free numerical method, is transforming the simulation and visualization of complex lifeline disasters such as dam-break floods and debris flows, offering new opportunities for emergency safety assessment and disaster mitigation.

Floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) operate under complex ocean conditions, where currents generate vortex shedding that can trigger platform oscillation, affecting turbine safety and energy output. This study uses high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to explore how different flow incidence angles (0°, 90°, 180°) influence the vortex-induced motion (VIM) of a semi-submersible FOWT platform. Results show clear differences in surge, sway, and yaw responses when the current direction changes, with strong lock-in behavior occurring at reduced velocity V_R = 6–10. The work highlights how pontoons and cross braces suppress VIM amplitudes by disturbing the wake patterns. The findings provide valuable insight for improving design safety and optimizing hydrodynamic performance of FOWT platforms.

The systematic under-valuation of nature is creating growing risks for the global financial system, raising the prospect of a “Nature’s Minsky Moment” - a sudden repricing of assets triggered by ecosystem collapse. A new peer-reviewed study shows how recent advances in NatureFinTech now make it possible to measure ecosystem integrity at scale, enabling nature to be financed as critical infrastructure and laying the groundwork for a new asset class called Nature Equity.

A pioneering open-source modeling framework is enabling mapping of high-resolution, stakeholder-informed pathways to net-zero emissions for nations worldwide. Researchers at Princeton University describe a new standard for decision-support modeling, drawing from their experiences leading the influential Net-Zero America project and catalyzing an expanding global network of "Net-Zero X" studies.