Locals at Lake Siljan in northern Sweden have told of persistent winter ice holes that often occur in the same place year after year. Now, researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have examined the area with a completely new measurement method and discovered unexpectedly strong methane emissions from several places on the lakes in the area – which is the cause of the holes in the ice.

This type of long-term and concentrated methane emission has never been observed by a lake, and the researchers will now investigate whether the emissions are unique to Siljan – or a phenomenon that can occur in lakes all over the world.

The project holds the potential to create numerous jobs and positions the region at the forefront of new energy production.

Development of a new type of optical receiver, able to restore chaotic signals in free-space optical communication links distorted by atmospheric turbulence. By use of a system of optical antennas integrated into a programmable photonic chip, the receiver can adapt in real time, maintaining the integrity of the signal even in harsh atmospheric conditions. The study by a team of researchers led by Télécom Paris and the Politecnico di Milano, has just been published in Light: Science & Applications, and paves the way for the use of chaos-based encryption for secure, high-speed communication in hostile environments.