<p> Inclement challenges of a changing climate and humanity's desire to explore extraterrestrial environments both necessitate efficient methods to obtain freshwater. To accommodate next generation water technology, there is a need for understanding and defining the energy efficiency for unconventional water sources over a broad range of environments. Exergy analysis provides a common description for efficiency that may be used to evaluate technologies and water sources for energy feasibility. This work uses robust thermodynamic theory coupled with atmospheric and planetary data to define water capture efficiency, explore its variation across climate conditions, and identify technological niches and development needs.  </p> <p><br></p> <p> We find that desalinating saline liquid brines, even when highly saline, could be the most energetically favorable option for obtaining water outside of Earth. The energy required to access water vapor may be four to ten times higher than accessing ice deposits, however it offers the capacity for decentralized systems. Considering atmospheric water vapor harvesting on Earth, we find that the thermodynamic minimum is anywhere from 0x (RH≥ 100%) to upwards of 250x (RH<10\%) the minimum energy requirement of seawater desalination. Sorbents, modelled as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), have a particular niche in arid and semi-arid regions (20-30%). Membrane-systems are best at low relative humidity and the region of applicability is strongly affected by the vacuum pumping efficiency. Dew harvesting is best at higher humidity and fog harvesting is optimal when super-saturated conditions exist. Component (e.g., pump, chiller, etc.) inefficiencies are the largest barrier in increasing process-level efficiency and strongly impact the regions optimal technology deployment. The analysis elucidates a fundamental basis for comparing water systems energy efficiency for outer space applications and provides the first thermodynamics-based comparison of classes of atmospheric water harvesting technologies on Earth.</p>

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<p dir="ltr">Smart windows, dynamically adjusting optical transmittance, face global adoption challenges due to climatic and economic variability. Aiming these issues, we synthesized a methyl cellulose (MC) salt system with high tunability for intrinsic optical transmittance (89.3%), which can be applied globally to various locations. Specifically, the MC window has superior heat shielding potential below transition temperatures while turning opaque at temperatures above the Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST), reducing the solar heat gain by 55%. Such optical tunability is attributable to the particle size change triggered by the temperature-induced reversible coil-to-globular transition. This leads to effective refractive index and scattering modulation, making them prospective solutions for light management systems, an application ahead of intelligent fenestration systems. MC-based windows demonstrated a 9°C temperature decrease compared to double-pane windows on sunny days and a 5°C increase during winters in field tests, while simulations predict an 11% energy savings.</p><p dir="ltr">Incorporating MC-based phase change materials in passive solar panels indicated optimized energy efficiency, offering a sustainable alternative. Real-time simulations validate practical applicability in large-scale solar panels. Furthermore, a temperature-responsive sorbent with a dark layer demonstrates an optimal optical and water uptake performance. Transitioning between radiative cooling and solar heating, the sorbent exhibits high water harvesting efficiency in lab and field tests. With an adjustable LCST at 38 ℃, the cellulose-based sorbent presents a potential solution for atmospheric water harvesting, combining optical switching and temperature responsiveness for sustainable water access. Furthermore, the ubiquitous availability of materials, low cost, and ease-of-manufacturing will provide technological equity and foster our ambition towards net-zero buildings and sustainable future.</p>

Dans le contexte du réchauffement et du changement climatique, il est important d’étudier les distributions, les cycles saisonniers et les tendances des gaz à l’état de trace dans l’atmosphère tels que la vapeur d’eau. L'Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand a en charge plusieurs dispositifs d’observation dont le site instrumenté Cézeaux, Opme et Puy de Dôme (CO-PDD) situés dans le centre de la France (45◦ N, 3◦ E). Le site des Cézeaux dispose d’un LIDAR Rayleigh – Mie - Raman fournissant en routine des profils verticaux de vapeur d’eau et de paramètres optiques caractérisant les cirrus. Le site du puy de Dôme est équipé d’un spectroscope à cavité optique (CRDS-Picarro). Des mesures de colonnes totales de vapeur d’eau sont disponibles sur tous ces sites par GPS. Le site d’Opme est équipé d’un pluviomètre. Enfin Météo-France effectue le travail de contrôle qualité des données météorologiques sur les stations de mesure en France et ces données ont été utilisées dans cette thèse. La validation des données sur le site du puy de Dôme a été la première la première exploitation dans cette thèse. Des comparaisons des données sur le puy de Dôme ont montré un très bon accord entre les données de vapeur d’eau extraites de la station météorologique du puy de Dôme, de Météo France et les donnes CRDS du puy de Dôme, avec une corrélation de 0.94 et 0.98 respectivement. Les profils verticaux obtenus par LIDAR ont permis de sélectionner une anomalie de vapeur d’eau et d’identifier une intrusion stratosphère-troposphère en analysant les processus dynamique associés à cette anomalie. Les données OLR ont montré que cette intrusion est accompagnée de convection profonde et enfin LACYTRAJ confirme l'origine stratosphérique d’une partie de la masse d'air présente au-dessus de Clermont-Ferrand au cours de l’anomalie. Les longues séries d’observations (ex : Puy de Dôme 1995-2015) et des ré-analyse ECMWF ERA-Interim (1979-2017) et la diversité des sources de données (ex : satellites AIRS et COSMIC), nous permettent de documenter, analyser et comparer la variabilité, les cycles et la tendance de la vapeur d'eau à la surface et dans la troposphère, à différentes échelles de temps et déterminer les processus géophysiques responsables des distributions de vapeur d'eau sur le site CO-PDD. Le cycle annuel de la vapeur d'eau est clairement établi pour les deux sites de différentes altitudes et pour tous les types de mesure. Les sites de Cézeaux et du puy de Dôme ne présentent presque aucun cycle diurne, suggérant que la variabilité de la vapeur d'eau à la surface sur ces deux sites est plus influencée par les systèmes météorologique sporadiques que par les variations diurnes régulières. Les données LIDAR montrent une plus grande variabilité mensuelle de la distribution verticale que les produits satellites COSMIC et AIRS. La colonne totale de vapeur d'eau GPS sur le site des Cézeaux présente une tendance positive (0,42 ± 0,45 g/kg*décade entre 2006-2017). L'analyse par régressions multi-linéaires montre que les forçages continentaux (East Atlantic, East Atlantic-West Russia) ont une plus grande influence que le forçage océanique (Nord Atlantic Oscillation) sur les variations de vapeur d'eau. / In the context of global warming and climate change, it is important to study the distributions, seasonal cycles and trends of trace gases in the atmosphere such as water vapor. of the Observatoire de Physique du Globe de Clermont-Ferrand is in charge of several observation devices including the instrumented site Cézeaux, Opme and Puy de Dôme (CO-PDD) located near the center of France (45◦ N, 3◦ E). The site of Cézeaux is instrumented by a Rayleigh - Mie–LIDAR Raman providing routine vertical profiles of water vapor mixing ratio and optical parameters characterizing cirrus clouds. The puy de Dôme site is equipped with an optical cavity spectroscope (CRDS-Picarro). Measurements of total water vapor columns are available on all these sites by GPS. The Opme site is equipped with rain gauges. Finally, Météo-France performs the quality control work and of data on meteorological stations in France and these data were used in this thesis. The validation of the puy de Dôme data was the first the first task in this thesis. Comparisons between the puy de Dôme data sets showed a very good agreement between the water vapor datafrom the OPGC meteorological station of Puy de Dôme, Météo France and CRDS data with a correlation of 0.94 and 0.98 respectively. The vertical profiles deduced from the LIDAR allowed to identify a water vapor anomaly and a stratosphere-troposphere intrusion associated with this anomaly. OLR data showed that this intrusion could be linked with deep convection and LACYTRAJ confirms the stratospheric origin of a part of the air mass present above Clermont-Ferrand. Long series of observations (eg Puy de Dôme 1995-2015) and ECMWF ERA-Interim re-analysis (1979-2017) and the diversity of data sources (eg AIRS and COSMIC satellites), allowed us to document, analyze and compare the variability, cycles and trend of surface and tropospheric water vapor at different time scales and determine the geophysical processes responsible for water vapor distributions at the site of CO-PDD. The annual cycle of water vapor is clearly established for the two sites of different altitudes and for all types of measurement. Cézeaux and puy de Dôme present almost no diurnal cycle, suggesting that the variability of surface water vapor at this site is more influenced by a sporadic meteorological system than by regular diurnal variations. The LIDAR dataset shows a greater monthly variability of the vertical distribution than the COSMIC and AIRS satellite products. The Cézeaux site presents a positive trend for the GPS water vapor total column (0.42 ± 0.45 g/kg*decade during 2006–2017) and a significant negative trend for the surface water vapor mixing ratio (−0.16 ± 0.09 mm/decade during 2002–2017). The multi-linear regression analysis shows that continental forcings (East Atlantic Pattern and East Atlantic-West Russia Pattern) have a larger influence than oceanic forcing (North Atlantic Oscillation) on the water vapor variations.