News & Stories

Oxygen levels in the ocean have depleted over the past few decades1  due to global warming and emissions of greenhouse gas, causing pollution and disrupting our ecosystem.  In efforts to curb the trend, researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) discovered a mechanism that may eventually help an eco-friendly aquatic bacterium clean up more carbon dioxide in the ocean and produce more marine oxygen.  Like trees on land, cyanobacteria, or what commonly known as blue-green algae, perform photosynthesis in the ocean.  They provide oxygen for marine life and absorb over 20% of the world’s total carbon emission.  However, natural predation and virus infection kill nearly half of the world’s cyanobacteria on a daily basis.  A virus called cyanophage alone, wipes out one fifth of the total cyanobacterial population every day.  

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology opened its multi-purpose Eco-Park, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, today (8 September) to promote teaching and academic research on sustainability from a wider perspective.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) launches the first Air Quality Research Supersite to enhance air quality research and to tackle air pollution problems in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. With a HK$9 million Special Equipment Grant from the University Grants Committee and a HK$6 million grant from the Environmental Conservation Fund, the Supersite enables real-time characterization of ambient particulate matter (PM) in the air to strengthen understanding of the nature and sources of fine particles.