The power output of wind farms can be increased by an order of magnitude—at least tenfold—simply by optimizing the placement of turbines on a given plot of land, say researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) who have been conducting a unique field study at an experimental two-acre wind farm in northern Los Angeles County.

The quest to derive energy from wind may soon be getting some help from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) fluid-dynamics expert John Dabiri—and a school of fish.

Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a blueprint for a wind farm that borrows techniques from schools of fish.

Jellyfish and other small swimming marine creatures can have a huge impact on ocean mixing, researchers in California report. Increasingly, scientists have been thinking about the possible role ocean animals may play in larger-scale ocean mixing, the process by which layers of water interact to distribute heat, nutrients and gases throughout the oceans, California Institute of Technology researchers said Thursday in a release. The perspective we usually take is how the ocean -- by its currents, temperature, and chemistry -- is affecting animals, says John Dabiri, a Caltech bio-engineer who, along with Caltech graduate student Kakani Katija, discovered the new mechanism.

The ocean's smallest swimming animals, such as jellyfish, can have a huge impact on large-scale ocean mixing, researchers have discovered.