Apologies to my readers for a lack of updates this last week. I'm driving my mother to Burleson, Texas and she is old, deaf, and mobility impaired. So it's been work. I simply haven't had the time to update here, and when I have had the time, haven't had the energy.
I was planning to get all caught up today...stopped early on purpose just to do so..but the hotel room was the hotel room from hell, which I didn't realize until we'd already got unpacked. Despite the problems - no TV, no internet, running toilet, loud refrigerator (neither of which my mom could hear, of course) my mom didn't want to move.
Finally, at 7.17 pm Central time I'm able to access the internet, but I'm too mentally exhausted to do anything except complain about how exhausted I am.
So this blog will return to form - and have new features - on this comng Sunday, when we will have arrived in Burleson and I can work all day long.
Thanks for understanding!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Exploding scuba tank kills two tourists
Daily Telegraph: Exploding scuba tank kills two tourists
AN exploding scuba diving tank killed two Polish tourists and seriously injured two others overnight on a Croatian island, officials said.
The first victim on the southern island of Vis was a 48-year-old Polish woman who died on the spot, a police spokeswoman said.
"The diving tank exploded while it was being unloaded from a boat on the coast in the port of Komiza," the transport and sea ministry said.
The cause of the blast was most likely a valve that popped out, it said.
Three other injured tourists - two men and a woman - were immediately transported to a hospital in the coastal town of Split on the mainland.
One of them, a 43-year-old man who sustained a head injury, died in the hospital overnight, its surgical department said.
The victims were in a group of 12 Polish tourists who arrived in Komiza to go scuba diving, the ministry said.
AN exploding scuba diving tank killed two Polish tourists and seriously injured two others overnight on a Croatian island, officials said.
The first victim on the southern island of Vis was a 48-year-old Polish woman who died on the spot, a police spokeswoman said.
"The diving tank exploded while it was being unloaded from a boat on the coast in the port of Komiza," the transport and sea ministry said.
The cause of the blast was most likely a valve that popped out, it said.
Three other injured tourists - two men and a woman - were immediately transported to a hospital in the coastal town of Split on the mainland.
One of them, a 43-year-old man who sustained a head injury, died in the hospital overnight, its surgical department said.
The victims were in a group of 12 Polish tourists who arrived in Komiza to go scuba diving, the ministry said.
Tension Rises As China Stops Crucial Exports to Japan
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6830166-tension-rises-as-china-stops-crucial-exports-to-japan
Chinese government has blocked exports of rare minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles to Japan.
Industry officials said that local customs officials began stopping shipments to Japan of so-called rare earth elements, preventing them from being loaded aboard ships this week at Chinese ports. News agencies reported that ministry spokesman, Chen Rongkai, had denied that any embargo had been imposed.
Prime Minister Wen JiabaoWen Jiabao personally called for Japan’s release of the captain on Tuesday, who was detained after his vessel collided with two Japanese Coast Guard ships about 40 minutes apart as he tried to fish in waters controlled by Japan but long claimed by China. Mr. Wen threatened unspecified further actions if Japan did not comply.
The New York TimesThe New York Times pointed out that any publication of government regulations or other official pronouncements barring exports would allow Japan to file an immediate complaint with the World Trade Organization, claiming a violation of free trade rules. But an administrative halt to exports, by preventing the loading of rare earths on ships bound for Japan, is much harder to challenge at the W.T.O.
Japan has been the main buyer of Chinese rare earths for many years, using them for a wide range of industrial purposes, like making glass for solar panels. They are also used in small steering-control motors in conventional gasoline-powered cars as well as in motors that help propel hybrid cars like the Prius.
American companies rely mostly on Japan for magnets and other components using rare earth elements, as the United States’ manufacturing capacity in the industry became uncompetitive and mostly closed over the last two decades.
China and Japan, the giants of Asia, account for nearly three-quarters of the region's economic activity and more than half of the region's military spending. Despite their deep economic ties and a doubling of their bilateral trade in the past five years, their relationship is increasingly strained, with dangerous implications for the United States and the world at large.
Although Japan and China have close economic ties, their diplomatic relations have been strained by clashing interests and cultural friction. The United States has an important role to play in promoting cooperation between Tokyo and Beijing and helping them adjust to a new phase in East Asia's history.
Chinese government has blocked exports of rare minerals used in products like hybrid cars, wind turbines and guided missiles to Japan.
Industry officials said that local customs officials began stopping shipments to Japan of so-called rare earth elements, preventing them from being loaded aboard ships this week at Chinese ports. News agencies reported that ministry spokesman, Chen Rongkai, had denied that any embargo had been imposed.
Prime Minister Wen JiabaoWen Jiabao personally called for Japan’s release of the captain on Tuesday, who was detained after his vessel collided with two Japanese Coast Guard ships about 40 minutes apart as he tried to fish in waters controlled by Japan but long claimed by China. Mr. Wen threatened unspecified further actions if Japan did not comply.
The New York TimesThe New York Times pointed out that any publication of government regulations or other official pronouncements barring exports would allow Japan to file an immediate complaint with the World Trade Organization, claiming a violation of free trade rules. But an administrative halt to exports, by preventing the loading of rare earths on ships bound for Japan, is much harder to challenge at the W.T.O.
Japan has been the main buyer of Chinese rare earths for many years, using them for a wide range of industrial purposes, like making glass for solar panels. They are also used in small steering-control motors in conventional gasoline-powered cars as well as in motors that help propel hybrid cars like the Prius.
American companies rely mostly on Japan for magnets and other components using rare earth elements, as the United States’ manufacturing capacity in the industry became uncompetitive and mostly closed over the last two decades.
China and Japan, the giants of Asia, account for nearly three-quarters of the region's economic activity and more than half of the region's military spending. Despite their deep economic ties and a doubling of their bilateral trade in the past five years, their relationship is increasingly strained, with dangerous implications for the United States and the world at large.
Although Japan and China have close economic ties, their diplomatic relations have been strained by clashing interests and cultural friction. The United States has an important role to play in promoting cooperation between Tokyo and Beijing and helping them adjust to a new phase in East Asia's history.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Divers travel to save ensnared whale
Littlehampton Gazette: Divers travel to save ensnared whale
Expert divers have set off from East Sussex to the north of Scotland to help a humpback whale which has become entangled in rope.
Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have launched a rescue operation near the bay of Orra Wick on the north east side of Shetland.
The mammal, weighing in at 30 tonnes, is entangled in a creel line - a rope attached to cages on the seabed used to catch lobsters and crabs.
Alan Knight, from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which is based in Uckfield, East Sussex, told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland: "About 2pm yesterday I was phoned by Scottish Natural Heritage to say could we come and assist with trying to get this rope off a humpback whale. So, we immediately jumped into our cars.
"We have driven overnight and we are now at the NorthLink ferry terminal in Aberdeen and we are hoping to convince NorthLink to donate us a space for our Land Rover and our equipment trailer.
"Then we are booked on to a flight which arrives in at sometime like 3pm this afternoon."
The expert divers have completed a training course at the Centre for Coastal Studies in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, helping to free grey whales caught up in creel lines.
Mr Knight said due to the size of the whale it was a "dangerous" job.
He said: "We don't enter the water if we can help it. We will look into the water using masks. We are hoping for good visibility. I am confident that we can release the animal safely."
Expert divers have set off from East Sussex to the north of Scotland to help a humpback whale which has become entangled in rope.
Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have launched a rescue operation near the bay of Orra Wick on the north east side of Shetland.
The mammal, weighing in at 30 tonnes, is entangled in a creel line - a rope attached to cages on the seabed used to catch lobsters and crabs.
Alan Knight, from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which is based in Uckfield, East Sussex, told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland: "About 2pm yesterday I was phoned by Scottish Natural Heritage to say could we come and assist with trying to get this rope off a humpback whale. So, we immediately jumped into our cars.
"We have driven overnight and we are now at the NorthLink ferry terminal in Aberdeen and we are hoping to convince NorthLink to donate us a space for our Land Rover and our equipment trailer.
"Then we are booked on to a flight which arrives in at sometime like 3pm this afternoon."
The expert divers have completed a training course at the Centre for Coastal Studies in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, helping to free grey whales caught up in creel lines.
Mr Knight said due to the size of the whale it was a "dangerous" job.
He said: "We don't enter the water if we can help it. We will look into the water using masks. We are hoping for good visibility. I am confident that we can release the animal safely."
Monday, September 20, 2010
Outrage at 'sick' killing of monster alligator
9 News: Outrage at 'sick' killing of monster alligator
[A video of this is at the site above.]
It was hardly the "hunt" of a lifetime. It may well have been the "kill" or the "execution" of a lifetime.
[A video of this is at the site above.]
Online commentators in the US have condemned the actions of an American woman after she killed a 465kg alligator in South Carolina.
Mary Ellen Mara-Christian, 48, made headlines across the US over the weekend as the 1.52m, 52kg woman who managed to kill a 4m alligator.
But she has since been the subject of criticism after reports she took two hours to kill the animal while on a trip to Lake Moultrie as part of the state's hunting season.
"This woman should be in jail, not on TV," wrote one commentator on carolinalive.com, a South Carolina news website.
Mrs Mara-Christian, along with her husband and a hunting guide, took hours to secure the alligator with rods and snares on the boat before shooting it eight times with a .22 calibre gun.
The shots did not kill the animal and so Mrs Mara-Christian severed its spinal cord with a knife.
Internet commentators have decried Mrs Mara-Christian's behaviour as senseless brutality.
"They tortured that alligator for hours. That's just plain sick," wrote a reader on Bostonherald.com.
"This is trophy hunting at its worst," wrote another on Cbsnews.com.
Mrs Mara-Christian was proud of her accomplishment, telling carolinalive.com that she got more than she bargained for.
"Your heart's just pumping and pumping," she said.
"He was enormous. You could see this part him coming out of the water, his big belly, then you saw his head.
"His head had to come out for me to shoot him."
She said that she sees hunting as a form of population control and she kills alligators because she loves them.
"I hunt because I want these creatures to be here forever," she told The Boston Herald.
"I shot an incredible beast and it was the hunt of a lifetime."
It was hardly the "hunt" of a lifetime. It may well have been the "kill" or the "execution" of a lifetime.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas
From National Geographic: Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas
Ker Than
Published September 14, 2010
Apparently laid to rest more than 10,000 years ago in a fiery ritual, one of the oldest skeletons in the Americas has been retrieved from an undersea cave along Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, researchers say.
Dating to a time when the now lush region was a near desert, the "Young Man of Chan Hol" may help uncover how the first Americans arrived—and who they were.
About 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Cancún, the cave system of Chan Hol—"little hole" in a Maya language—is like a deep gouge into the Caribbean coast.
In 2006, after entering the cave's opening, about 30 feet (10 meters) underwater, German cave divers swam more than 1,800 feet (550 meters) through dark tunnels spiked with rock formations. There they accidentally uncovered the Ice Age human's remains and notified archaeologists based in the surrounding state, Quintana Roo.
For the last three years researchers led by Arturo González, director of the Desert Museum in Saltillo, Mexico, have been studying and documenting the bones in place, so as not to lose any clues offered by context.
In late August scuba-diving researchers finally raised the bones for lab study, after having placed them in plastic bags of cave water and sealing the remains in plastic bins.
(Related: "Fossil Feces Is Earliest Evidence of North America Humans.")
And Then There Were Four
No fewer than 10,000 years ago, Chan Hol filled with seawater as Ice Age ice caps melted, the researchers say.
No human, they conclude, could have ended up so far back in the cave system after that point—which is why they believe the young man is at least 10,000 years old. The exact age of the bones should be determined by ongoing carbon-dating tests, which should be completed in three to four months, Gonzalez said.
The newly raised skeleton is the fourth to be found in underwater caves around the town of Tulum (map). One of the other skeletons—named the Woman of Naharon, or Eve of Naharon—is thought to be even more ancient, around 12,000 years old.
(See "Oldest Skeleton in Americas Found in Underwater Cave?")
At about 60 percent complete, the Young Man of Chan Hol skeleton is remarkably whole for a 10,000-year-old specimen, the researchers say. Especially revealing are his teeth—lack of wear tipped off the team to the individual's relatively young age at death.
For now, the bones have been sealed in a special chamber for the next six months to a year to dry out and to allow time for their minerals to harden, making the remains less fragile. Afterward, the bones will be scanned to create 3-D computer models that can be compared with the bones of other ancient Native American remains, project leader Gonzalez said.
American Originals
The skeletons found in the Quintana Roo caves could force scientists to rethink their ideas about the initial population of the Americas, Gonzalez said.
For example, the skulls of both the Young Man of Chan Hol and the Woman of Naharon have anatomical features that suggest their owners were descended from people of South Asia and Indonesia—not from northern Asia, like North America's other known early migrants.
(Related: "Clovis People Not First Americans, Study Shows.")
The discovery supports the idea that multiple groups of migrants may have entered North America via the Bering Strait—using the now submerged land bridge that once connected what are now Siberia and Alaska—at different times in history, Gonzalez said.
(See an interactive map of ancient human migration.)
A Different Yucatán
Today, the Yucatán Peninsula is covered by rain forests, but when the Young Man of Chan Hol lived, it was a semiarid savannah, said Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, a geologist at Heidelberg University in Germany, who was not involved in the research.
"The Yucatán surface was dry, and there were no rivers or lakes on the surface," Stinnesbeck said in an email.
Finding water and shade would have been a problem, and as a result humans may have found refuge and drinking water in subterranean caves, he added.
The caves may have also served a spiritual purpose, project leader Gonzales said.
The skeleton, he noted, was found in an unusual position—on its side, with legs bent and arms held straight along the sides of the body—suggesting the man had been purposely placed in the cave, perhaps as part of a funeral process.
"At the moment we do not know the cause of death, but considering the articulated position in which we found him, we think he was placed at this location," Gonzalez said.
The team also found evidence of bonfires inside the cavern, which could suggest that illuminating the cave was a part of the funeral ceremony, he added.
The cavern where the body was found may have been chosen as the young man's final resting place due to its rich trove of stalactites and stalagmites—rocky cones that hang from the ceiling and thrust up from the ground, respectively.
"Next to his head are a group of stalagmites that could have evoked a special resting place," Gonzalez said, "or perhaps the place to begin a journey after death."
Ker Than
Published September 14, 2010
Apparently laid to rest more than 10,000 years ago in a fiery ritual, one of the oldest skeletons in the Americas has been retrieved from an undersea cave along Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, researchers say.
Dating to a time when the now lush region was a near desert, the "Young Man of Chan Hol" may help uncover how the first Americans arrived—and who they were.
About 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Cancún, the cave system of Chan Hol—"little hole" in a Maya language—is like a deep gouge into the Caribbean coast.
In 2006, after entering the cave's opening, about 30 feet (10 meters) underwater, German cave divers swam more than 1,800 feet (550 meters) through dark tunnels spiked with rock formations. There they accidentally uncovered the Ice Age human's remains and notified archaeologists based in the surrounding state, Quintana Roo.
For the last three years researchers led by Arturo González, director of the Desert Museum in Saltillo, Mexico, have been studying and documenting the bones in place, so as not to lose any clues offered by context.
In late August scuba-diving researchers finally raised the bones for lab study, after having placed them in plastic bags of cave water and sealing the remains in plastic bins.
(Related: "Fossil Feces Is Earliest Evidence of North America Humans.")
And Then There Were Four
No fewer than 10,000 years ago, Chan Hol filled with seawater as Ice Age ice caps melted, the researchers say.
No human, they conclude, could have ended up so far back in the cave system after that point—which is why they believe the young man is at least 10,000 years old. The exact age of the bones should be determined by ongoing carbon-dating tests, which should be completed in three to four months, Gonzalez said.
The newly raised skeleton is the fourth to be found in underwater caves around the town of Tulum (map). One of the other skeletons—named the Woman of Naharon, or Eve of Naharon—is thought to be even more ancient, around 12,000 years old.
(See "Oldest Skeleton in Americas Found in Underwater Cave?")
At about 60 percent complete, the Young Man of Chan Hol skeleton is remarkably whole for a 10,000-year-old specimen, the researchers say. Especially revealing are his teeth—lack of wear tipped off the team to the individual's relatively young age at death.
For now, the bones have been sealed in a special chamber for the next six months to a year to dry out and to allow time for their minerals to harden, making the remains less fragile. Afterward, the bones will be scanned to create 3-D computer models that can be compared with the bones of other ancient Native American remains, project leader Gonzalez said.
American Originals
The skeletons found in the Quintana Roo caves could force scientists to rethink their ideas about the initial population of the Americas, Gonzalez said.
For example, the skulls of both the Young Man of Chan Hol and the Woman of Naharon have anatomical features that suggest their owners were descended from people of South Asia and Indonesia—not from northern Asia, like North America's other known early migrants.
(Related: "Clovis People Not First Americans, Study Shows.")
The discovery supports the idea that multiple groups of migrants may have entered North America via the Bering Strait—using the now submerged land bridge that once connected what are now Siberia and Alaska—at different times in history, Gonzalez said.
(See an interactive map of ancient human migration.)
A Different Yucatán
Today, the Yucatán Peninsula is covered by rain forests, but when the Young Man of Chan Hol lived, it was a semiarid savannah, said Wolfgang Stinnesbeck, a geologist at Heidelberg University in Germany, who was not involved in the research.
"The Yucatán surface was dry, and there were no rivers or lakes on the surface," Stinnesbeck said in an email.
Finding water and shade would have been a problem, and as a result humans may have found refuge and drinking water in subterranean caves, he added.
The caves may have also served a spiritual purpose, project leader Gonzales said.
The skeleton, he noted, was found in an unusual position—on its side, with legs bent and arms held straight along the sides of the body—suggesting the man had been purposely placed in the cave, perhaps as part of a funeral process.
"At the moment we do not know the cause of death, but considering the articulated position in which we found him, we think he was placed at this location," Gonzalez said.
The team also found evidence of bonfires inside the cavern, which could suggest that illuminating the cave was a part of the funeral ceremony, he added.
The cavern where the body was found may have been chosen as the young man's final resting place due to its rich trove of stalactites and stalagmites—rocky cones that hang from the ceiling and thrust up from the ground, respectively.
"Next to his head are a group of stalagmites that could have evoked a special resting place," Gonzalez said, "or perhaps the place to begin a journey after death."
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Research on suspected shipwreck in Lake Michigan moves ahead
From Detroit Free Press: Research on suspected shipwreck in Lake Michigan moves ahead
The effort to confirm whether a suspected shipwreck site in Lake Michigan is the long-lost Griffon, the first European sailing ship on the Great Lakes, just took a step forward.
Virginian Steve Libert, who discovered the site that could be the Griffon, has selected the Center for Maritime and Underwater Resource Management from Laingsburg, near Lansing, to do the Phase II archeological work on the site, it was announced today.
CMURM is a nonprofit group specializing in underwater archeology, shipwreck management and education. Their credits include work on the Titanic, and the conservation plan for preserving the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald, Michigan’s most famous shipwreck.
The Griffon disappeared in 1679, carrying furs that were to help finance the expedition of René-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle. La Salle went on to explore the Mississippi River and much of the future Louisiana Purchase. The ship’s whereabouts have taken on almost iconic status among shipwreck hunters, who often refer to the Griffon as the Holy Grail of Great Lakes wrecks.
This next phase of the research will be non-invasive, using high-resolution sonar scans and advanced bottom profiling to make the site. It also will involve diving on the wreck and identifying artifacts in the hopes of coming up with something like the king of France’s seal on a cannon, for example, that would prove it was the Griffon.
Earlier research, including sonar scans, a magnetometer and bottom profiling of the mysterious site have indicated the site could date to the Griffon’s era, and while they have not proven it’s the Griffon, they have not ruled out the Griffon as the site’s origin. The early work showed there could be something in the area with acoustic and magnetic signatures that are similar to those of a shipwreck.
“The assessment phase in archaeology is similar to crime scene investigation in law enforcement,” said Ken Vrana, CMURM director. “We work from a prewritten research design to collect scientifically generated facts needed to answer the primary question on the minds of maritime enthusiasts throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond — is this Le Griffon?”
What comes after this phase will depend on what’s found. Under the terms of the agreement between Libert, the state of Michigan, and France, which under maritime law could claim wreck, the investigation must be completed by January 2012.
The effort to confirm whether a suspected shipwreck site in Lake Michigan is the long-lost Griffon, the first European sailing ship on the Great Lakes, just took a step forward.
Virginian Steve Libert, who discovered the site that could be the Griffon, has selected the Center for Maritime and Underwater Resource Management from Laingsburg, near Lansing, to do the Phase II archeological work on the site, it was announced today.
CMURM is a nonprofit group specializing in underwater archeology, shipwreck management and education. Their credits include work on the Titanic, and the conservation plan for preserving the bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald, Michigan’s most famous shipwreck.
The Griffon disappeared in 1679, carrying furs that were to help finance the expedition of René-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle. La Salle went on to explore the Mississippi River and much of the future Louisiana Purchase. The ship’s whereabouts have taken on almost iconic status among shipwreck hunters, who often refer to the Griffon as the Holy Grail of Great Lakes wrecks.
This next phase of the research will be non-invasive, using high-resolution sonar scans and advanced bottom profiling to make the site. It also will involve diving on the wreck and identifying artifacts in the hopes of coming up with something like the king of France’s seal on a cannon, for example, that would prove it was the Griffon.
Earlier research, including sonar scans, a magnetometer and bottom profiling of the mysterious site have indicated the site could date to the Griffon’s era, and while they have not proven it’s the Griffon, they have not ruled out the Griffon as the site’s origin. The early work showed there could be something in the area with acoustic and magnetic signatures that are similar to those of a shipwreck.
“The assessment phase in archaeology is similar to crime scene investigation in law enforcement,” said Ken Vrana, CMURM director. “We work from a prewritten research design to collect scientifically generated facts needed to answer the primary question on the minds of maritime enthusiasts throughout the Great Lakes region and beyond — is this Le Griffon?”
What comes after this phase will depend on what’s found. Under the terms of the agreement between Libert, the state of Michigan, and France, which under maritime law could claim wreck, the investigation must be completed by January 2012.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Military increases interest in bioluminescence
Military increases interest in bioluminescence
NEW LONDON, Conn. — Some day, the secrets of fireflies or glowing sea plankton could save a soldier in battle, a SEAL on a dive or a pilot landing after a mission.
That’s the hope behind a growing field of military-sponsored research into bioluminescence, a phenomenon that’s under the microscope in laboratories around the country.
For university scientists who specialize in bioluminescence, an organism’s ability to illuminate with its own body chemistry, military research grants are offering a chance to break ground.
A possible military use of bioluminescence would be creating biodegradable landing zone markers that helicopters can spot even as wind from their rotors kicks up dirt.
The military could also develop bioluminescent “friend vs. foe” identification markers and security systems, and methods to track weapons and supplies on the battlefield.
First described around 500 B.C. by the Greek philosopher Anaximenes, bioluminescence is familiar by its sight — if not its name — to children catching fireflies and to divers entranced by lanternfish and other sea life.
It’s also the factor behind the renowned Bio Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, where floating microorganisms called dinoflagellates leave neon-blue trails when disturbed.
The phenomenon is noteworthy because it creates light without heat, said Bruce Branchini, a chemistry professor at Connecticut College in New London.
For the military, that could mean using bioluminescence to mark objects or locations wouldn’t make them vulnerable to an enemy with heat-seeking technology.
Branchini, who recently received a $225,000 grant for his work studying lightning bugs, is examining ways to use their proteins to mutate the greenish-yellow glow to create what’s called “far red.”
That light, just short of infrared, is just off the spectrum of human vision and is the same light produced in the signals of television remote controls.
“What they’re going to do with it, I don’t know,” Branchini said. “I don’t have secret clearance, I don’t go to secret meetings. They’ll work on the practical applications, but what interests me the most is the research portion.”
Hugh De Long, deputy director of math, information and life sciences at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, said it has given about $500,000 in grants yearly for bioluminescence studies since 2002 or 2003.
The Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation also give grants for bioluminescence work, sometimes several million dollars at a time. They hope for long-term benefits for the military, health researchers and other government entities by encouraging the basic biological research with financial incentives.
De Long said although government researchers also work on bioluminescence, tapping the knowledge of academics throughout the United States is key.
“It’s much more beneficial and efficient for the military to go out to the university community and say, ‘Hey, look, this is an area that will tie in with some of the stuff we’re doing, and we want to fund that,’ ” De Long said.
Because it’s basic research, it hasn’t been used in many applications yet, he said. The university professors do publish their findings in papers, though, so the knowledge becomes available to the broader scientific world.
Soldiers have used bioluminescent creatures in battle for centuries, including Japanese troops who smeared one creature’s dried remains on their wet hands to help them read maps and compasses during World War II.
But bioluminescence can be a foe, too, especially for the Navy if its vessels or divers are amid the microorganisms that glow when disturbed.
“Any boat, any submarine any scuba diver, Navy SEAL or whatever can leave a big long trail of light behind them,” said Sonke Johnsen, a marine biologist at Duke University in Durham, N.C. “That ultimately is a reason for the Navy to be concerned. With the right kind of camera you could see that from space, or at least from an airplane.”
Johnsen recently received a $7.3 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to study the brightness, reflection and other features of sea creatures’ bioluminescence.
Like Branchini, Johnsen isn’t sure how the Navy might eventually be able to use his findings but is glad for the chance to continue his research.
“I don’t do any classified research and it’s fairly basic, but some of it obviously could have some applications down the road for military purposes,” he said.
NEW LONDON, Conn. — Some day, the secrets of fireflies or glowing sea plankton could save a soldier in battle, a SEAL on a dive or a pilot landing after a mission.
That’s the hope behind a growing field of military-sponsored research into bioluminescence, a phenomenon that’s under the microscope in laboratories around the country.
For university scientists who specialize in bioluminescence, an organism’s ability to illuminate with its own body chemistry, military research grants are offering a chance to break ground.
A possible military use of bioluminescence would be creating biodegradable landing zone markers that helicopters can spot even as wind from their rotors kicks up dirt.
The military could also develop bioluminescent “friend vs. foe” identification markers and security systems, and methods to track weapons and supplies on the battlefield.
First described around 500 B.C. by the Greek philosopher Anaximenes, bioluminescence is familiar by its sight — if not its name — to children catching fireflies and to divers entranced by lanternfish and other sea life.
It’s also the factor behind the renowned Bio Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, where floating microorganisms called dinoflagellates leave neon-blue trails when disturbed.
The phenomenon is noteworthy because it creates light without heat, said Bruce Branchini, a chemistry professor at Connecticut College in New London.
For the military, that could mean using bioluminescence to mark objects or locations wouldn’t make them vulnerable to an enemy with heat-seeking technology.
Branchini, who recently received a $225,000 grant for his work studying lightning bugs, is examining ways to use their proteins to mutate the greenish-yellow glow to create what’s called “far red.”
That light, just short of infrared, is just off the spectrum of human vision and is the same light produced in the signals of television remote controls.
“What they’re going to do with it, I don’t know,” Branchini said. “I don’t have secret clearance, I don’t go to secret meetings. They’ll work on the practical applications, but what interests me the most is the research portion.”
Hugh De Long, deputy director of math, information and life sciences at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, said it has given about $500,000 in grants yearly for bioluminescence studies since 2002 or 2003.
The Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation also give grants for bioluminescence work, sometimes several million dollars at a time. They hope for long-term benefits for the military, health researchers and other government entities by encouraging the basic biological research with financial incentives.
De Long said although government researchers also work on bioluminescence, tapping the knowledge of academics throughout the United States is key.
“It’s much more beneficial and efficient for the military to go out to the university community and say, ‘Hey, look, this is an area that will tie in with some of the stuff we’re doing, and we want to fund that,’ ” De Long said.
Because it’s basic research, it hasn’t been used in many applications yet, he said. The university professors do publish their findings in papers, though, so the knowledge becomes available to the broader scientific world.
Soldiers have used bioluminescent creatures in battle for centuries, including Japanese troops who smeared one creature’s dried remains on their wet hands to help them read maps and compasses during World War II.
But bioluminescence can be a foe, too, especially for the Navy if its vessels or divers are amid the microorganisms that glow when disturbed.
“Any boat, any submarine any scuba diver, Navy SEAL or whatever can leave a big long trail of light behind them,” said Sonke Johnsen, a marine biologist at Duke University in Durham, N.C. “That ultimately is a reason for the Navy to be concerned. With the right kind of camera you could see that from space, or at least from an airplane.”
Johnsen recently received a $7.3 million grant from the Office of Naval Research to study the brightness, reflection and other features of sea creatures’ bioluminescence.
Like Branchini, Johnsen isn’t sure how the Navy might eventually be able to use his findings but is glad for the chance to continue his research.
“I don’t do any classified research and it’s fairly basic, but some of it obviously could have some applications down the road for military purposes,” he said.
Monday, September 13, 2010
"Protected" sub wreck plundered
(Holland Class sub)Daily Mail Online: Wreck of 'protected' Royal Navy sub plundered by thieves who dived down 90ft to reach it
The wreck of an historic Royal Navy submarine has been plundered by thieves who dived 90ft to the sea bed to remove part of it.
HMS Holland, which sank in bad weather off the Sussex coast while being towed to a scrapyard in 1912, is protected by law because of its historical importance.
Now police are investigating after divers from the Nautical Archaeology Society discovered during a routine check that its torpedo tube hatch is missing.
Thieves are thought to have floated the 66lb piece of ironwork to the surface in 90ft of water by attaching buoyancy balloons.
Experts say it was an audacious raid which may have been carried out at the request of a collector with an interest in naval history. Both Sussex Police and English Heritage, which is responsible for the wreck's care, have appealed for the return of the artefact and hope that someone in the diving community may provide them with a lead.
Police say that whoever took the hatch, which is about 30in in diameter, is liable for prosecution under the Protection of Wrecks Act.
The Holland 5, as the wreck is known, lay undiscovered until the mid-Nineties. It is the only surviving example of five Holland class vessels commissioned by the Admiralty to test the fighting capability of submarines, which were at the time a relatively new type of technology. They were top secret and only a few senior officers and crew knew of their existence.
The submarines were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness between 1901 and 1903. The 64ft-long vessels were fitted with one of the first periscope designs, had a top speed of 9.2mph and a crew of eight.
But they were unreliable – an attempt in 1903 to sail round the Isle of Wight on the surface ended in four of them breaking down before they had covered much more than four miles.
Britain was one of the last major maritime powers to form a submarine fleet because senior Admiralty staff considered it to be unacceptably devious to attack the enemy from beneath the waves.
Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, Controller of the Royal Navy, said in 1901 that submarine warfare was 'underhand, unfair and damned un-English'.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Has the lost treasure of the Tsars been found at the bottom of the world's deepest lake?
Daily Mail: Has the lost treasure of the Tsars been found at the bottom of the world's deepest lake?
Lost Tsarist gold worth billions of pounds may have been discovered at the bottom of the world's deepest freshwater lake.
In the past few days the crew of a mini submarine carrying out a mapping exercise in Lake Baikal spotted some 'shiny metal objects' some 1,200ft down in the murky depths.
Legend has it that 1,600 tons of gold was lost when White Army commander Admiral Alexander Kolchak’s train derailed and plunged into the Siberian lake.
Another version has it that troops retreating on foot and horsecarriage across Baikal’s icy surface froze to death as temperatures hit -60C (minus 76F) in the winter of 1919-20.
When the spring thaw arrived, they and the sacks of Imperial gold sank to the bottom of the massive lake.
Search: The Mir-2 mini-submarine is lowered into the waters of Lake Baikal. It may have found billions of pounds worth of lost Tsarist gold on the floor of the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lake in Siberia
Admiral Kolchak was a hero during First World War but was executed by the Bolsheviks for leading the White Army during the Russian Civil War
Last year remnants of a train and ammunition boxes were found in the lake but in recent days the Mir-2 submersible made this new discovery 1,200 feet below the surface at Cape Tolsty.
'Deep-sea vehicles found rectangular blocks with a metallic gleam, like gold, 400 metres below the surface,' said one source.
Moscow News reported the story with the headline ‘Lost gold of the Whites found in Baikal’.
Explorers attempted to grab hold of the shiny objects with the mini-sub’s manipulator arm but failed due to the loose gravel on the lake’s floor.
Sources say that the submariners know the exact spot and are planning a new mission to determine if they have found the gold, and if so to bring a sample to the surface.
Last year, Inna Kyrlova, the deputy director of the Fund for the Protection of Lake Baikal, one of the bodies funding the research, acknowledged that the submarines were exploring locations reputed to be linked to Kolchak’s gold.
But she added: 'Our expedition’s primary interest is the flora, fauna and geology of Baikal and monitoring current conditions in the lake.'
Doomed: Tsar Nicholas II and his family were slain by Bolshevik troops on July 16, 1918 but much of their wealth was spirited away by loyalist forces
Kolchak was a hero in the First World War who later led the pro-Tsarist White Army against the Bolsheviks after the 1917 October Revolution.
He had a few early successes but was eventually arrested by Lenin’s henchmen and executed by firing squad in January 1920.
The Russians reneged on a promise to hand him over to the British military mission in Irkutsk.
His body was hidden by revolutionaries under the ice of the Angara River which flows out of Baikal.
Had he escaped, it is likely he would have sought exile in London - bringing the gold with him.
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake. It has an average depth of 2,442ft and contains about 20 per cent of the world's surface fresh water
If the alleged treasure has been found, it could spark an ugly scramble between the Russian state, descendants of the last Tsar Nicholas the Second, and countries - possibly including Britain - that could argue they are owed outstanding debts by the fallen Romanov regime.
In 2008, historian Sean McMeekin outlined how the Bolsheviks seized the Tsar's gold bullion - which was Europe's largest strategic gold reserve - then sold it off to help pay for the revolution.
In his book History's Greatest Heist, McMeekin claimed Lenin's henchmen secretly auctioned off the treasure abroad.
The mini-sub team - currently conducting a mapping exercise in the lake - have not said when they will return to the scene.
The vast Lake Baikal contains 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water.
Lost Tsarist gold worth billions of pounds may have been discovered at the bottom of the world's deepest freshwater lake.
In the past few days the crew of a mini submarine carrying out a mapping exercise in Lake Baikal spotted some 'shiny metal objects' some 1,200ft down in the murky depths.
Legend has it that 1,600 tons of gold was lost when White Army commander Admiral Alexander Kolchak’s train derailed and plunged into the Siberian lake.
Another version has it that troops retreating on foot and horsecarriage across Baikal’s icy surface froze to death as temperatures hit -60C (minus 76F) in the winter of 1919-20.
When the spring thaw arrived, they and the sacks of Imperial gold sank to the bottom of the massive lake.
Search: The Mir-2 mini-submarine is lowered into the waters of Lake Baikal. It may have found billions of pounds worth of lost Tsarist gold on the floor of the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lake in Siberia
Admiral Kolchak was a hero during First World War but was executed by the Bolsheviks for leading the White Army during the Russian Civil War
Last year remnants of a train and ammunition boxes were found in the lake but in recent days the Mir-2 submersible made this new discovery 1,200 feet below the surface at Cape Tolsty.
'Deep-sea vehicles found rectangular blocks with a metallic gleam, like gold, 400 metres below the surface,' said one source.
Moscow News reported the story with the headline ‘Lost gold of the Whites found in Baikal’.
Explorers attempted to grab hold of the shiny objects with the mini-sub’s manipulator arm but failed due to the loose gravel on the lake’s floor.
Sources say that the submariners know the exact spot and are planning a new mission to determine if they have found the gold, and if so to bring a sample to the surface.
Last year, Inna Kyrlova, the deputy director of the Fund for the Protection of Lake Baikal, one of the bodies funding the research, acknowledged that the submarines were exploring locations reputed to be linked to Kolchak’s gold.
But she added: 'Our expedition’s primary interest is the flora, fauna and geology of Baikal and monitoring current conditions in the lake.'
Doomed: Tsar Nicholas II and his family were slain by Bolshevik troops on July 16, 1918 but much of their wealth was spirited away by loyalist forces
Kolchak was a hero in the First World War who later led the pro-Tsarist White Army against the Bolsheviks after the 1917 October Revolution.
He had a few early successes but was eventually arrested by Lenin’s henchmen and executed by firing squad in January 1920.
The Russians reneged on a promise to hand him over to the British military mission in Irkutsk.
His body was hidden by revolutionaries under the ice of the Angara River which flows out of Baikal.
Had he escaped, it is likely he would have sought exile in London - bringing the gold with him.
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake. It has an average depth of 2,442ft and contains about 20 per cent of the world's surface fresh water
If the alleged treasure has been found, it could spark an ugly scramble between the Russian state, descendants of the last Tsar Nicholas the Second, and countries - possibly including Britain - that could argue they are owed outstanding debts by the fallen Romanov regime.
In 2008, historian Sean McMeekin outlined how the Bolsheviks seized the Tsar's gold bullion - which was Europe's largest strategic gold reserve - then sold it off to help pay for the revolution.
In his book History's Greatest Heist, McMeekin claimed Lenin's henchmen secretly auctioned off the treasure abroad.
The mini-sub team - currently conducting a mapping exercise in the lake - have not said when they will return to the scene.
The vast Lake Baikal contains 20 per cent of the world’s fresh water.
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