Astronauts bring back new life

It is not every day that astronauts can claim to return to Earth with a new species of life. But when the astronauts on ESA’s CAVES underground training course returned to the surface they were carrying a special type of woodlouse.

CAVES training send astronauts from all the International Space Station partner nations underground for a week to learn about working in multi-cultural teams under extreme conditions. During their six-night stay in caves in Sardinia, Italy, their scientific research included meteorology, surveying, geology and cataloguing underground life.

“Every year we scout the area to prepare for the training mission,” says Loredana Bessone, course designer and project manager. “This year, we noticed interesting-looking crustaceans in a small pond.” 

Laying bait

The astronauts set bait near the pond and in other places to attract and identify as many life forms as possible. ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen recalls: “We set four lures in pre-defined areas and had two mobile baits that we placed in areas of interest.”  

Placing bait

Cave scientists usually leave bait for three weeks. CAVES training lasts only a week so the biological sampling programme developer, Paolo Marcia, cooked up a special menu to lure the underground life: “I created really stinky bait made of liver and rotten cheese.” After three to four days, the astronauts chose a few specimens of the less common species and preserved them in alcohol to take above ground.

“We were concerned that not enough cave life had been collected, so I asked the astronauts to go back to the pond on the last day – and bingo!” says Laura Sanna, science operations director. “Afterwards, we and the astronauts checked the specimens on a list of known species” says Jo de Waele, science coordinator.  

Alpioniscus species

Swimming underground woodlice

Molecular analysis confirms the samples belong to a new species of crustaceans. Just under 8 mm long, these animals belong to the suborder of terrestrial isopods, commonly known as woodlice. Most crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps and lobsters live in water while woodlice are the only group that have fully adapted to life on land.

The ancestors of the terrestrial isopods seem to have evolved from aquatic life to live on land. Surprisingly, the astronauts found a species that has returned to living in water, completing an evolutionary full circle.

Studying samples 

“This find is important because the few aquatic woodlice we know of were thought to be primitive forms from which terrestrial woodlice had evolved. Now it is clear that these animals have evolved to live in water again,” explains isopod specialist Stefano Taiti. “It is changing our point of view on evolutionary processes in regards to terrestrial isopods living in an aquatic environment.

“The find also confirms the theory that evolution is not a one-way process but that species can evolve to live in previously forgotten habitats.““This shows that CAVES offers a truly interesting scientific programme while keeping to its main goal: to train spaceflight teams in an operational space analogue on Earth,” affirms Loredana.

For further information visit: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMUSKGPI9H_index_2.html

EDRS space network ready to go ahead

Artist impression of European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS) system

PR 39 2012 - The design of Europe’s data relay satellite system – EDRS - has been completed and approved. This marks the moment when it moves ahead with a green light from its first customer, the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security initiative from the European Union (GMES).

EDRS will provide a telecommunications network that is fast, reliable and seamless, making real-time information from satellites available on demand. EDRS will be the first commercially operated data relay system to deliver services to the Earth observation community.

It is being built through a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) between ESA and Astrium Services, using payloads carried by two satellites in geostationary orbit, hovering 36 000 km above the Equator, where their speed matches Earth’s rotation.

Data transmitted from satellites in lower orbits to either of these EDRS payloads can then be relayed to the ground. The payload includes a laser terminal developed by TESAT of Germany to transmit up to 1.8 gigabits per second over distances in excess of 40 000 km, between the lower satellites and EDRS in geostationary orbit.

A design review board of senior members from ESA, Astrium and the DLR German Aerospace Center approved the entire system design: from the satellites to the support that will be required from the ground. The industrial organisation is fully in place with all subcontracts negotiated and ESA’s partner Astrium Services ready to begin production.

“EDRS is a fantastic breakthrough for Europe, from the innovative laser communication terminal technology, which is the heart of EDRS, to the provision of operational services by 2014 through a PPP that combines the best from European space companies with the national and European space institutions,” says Magali Vaissiere, director of ESA’s Telecommunications and Integrated Applications Directorate.

The first of the two EDRS payloads will be carried on the Eutelsat-EB9B satellite, starting operation in 2014, built by Astrium and positioned at 9°E over the Equator.

The second satellite, planned for launch in 2016, will carry the second EDRS payload as well as the Hylas-3 payload from the UK’s Avanti Communications. This satellite will be built by Germany’s OHB using the SmallGEO platform, currently under development by OHB under ESA contract.

For further information visit: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMTQU91M9H_index_2.html

Ariane's future at heart of European space meets

The future of Europe's space programme came under the spotlight in this southern Italian city Tuesday, where ministers discussed rival plans for a successor to the successful Ariane 5 launcher. The 20-nation European Space Agency, meeting at ministerial level for the first time in four years, is staging two days of budget talks.

The meeting takes place against a backdrop of money worries, a fast-shifting satellite market and the growing strength of the US private sector in near-Earth space."This council (meeting) is crucial to sustain autonomous European access to Space..." France's Research Minister Genevieve Fioraso said in a speech prepared for the opening and sent to AFP.

In an interview with AFP last week, ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain said he hoped members would back a three-year budget of 12 billion euros ($15 billion) but added he would be happy with "something around 10 billion euros."It would mean a roughly stable budget compared with current levels, "but given the current situation, this is not small beer", he said.

One of the most crucial agenda items was deciding on a future generation of rocket launcher to replace the ageing Ariane 5.The new rocket should provide more flexible launch options for the swiftly-changing satellite market. France is pushing for a smaller, sleeker Ariane 6 launcher system, which would require about four billion euros, culminating in a maiden flight in 2021 if all goes well.

Germany wants a less ambitious option, an Ariane 5 ME (for "Midlife Evolution"), which would be readier sooner at a putative cost of two billion euros. Weighing on many minds is not just belt-tightening but also the rise of the US private sector. Last month, the US firm SpaceX sent an unmanned freighter, Dragon, to the International Space Station under a NASA initiative to delegate resupply missions to private corporations after the phase-out of the US space shuttle.

In an interview with the BBC in London on Monday, SpaceX boss Elon Musk said Ariane 5 "has no chance" of competing on cost terms with the firm's Falcon 9 and planned Falcon Heavy rockets."If I were in the position of Ariane, I would really push for an Ariane 6," he said. SpaceX says it has an order book for more than 40 launches to resupply the ISS and place commercial and government satellites in orbit.

For further information visit: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Arianes_future_at_heart_of_European_space_meet_999.html

Europe, U.S. talk space program link

European plans to join the United States in building a manned spaceship could see a British astronaut in space before the end of the decade, officials said. A meeting of ministers of the European Space Agency's 20 member states in Italy this week will consider a proposal to join in the construction of the four-person U.S. Orion space capsule.

"Europeans will have the power to put men and women into space," Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general of the European Space Agency, told Britain's The Observer newspaper in an interview. "That would be a fantastic development for us."

"Britain has already indicated support," he said. One candidate astronaut is Britain's Tim Peake, selected three years ago for European astronaut training.

While Peake's best chance of space flight would be a mission to the International Space Station, he and his European astronaut colleagues could have the opportunity of a deep space flight if Europe joins the Orion program.

The Orion capsule, intended to carry astronauts on missions of up to six months, could take crews to the moon, an asteroid or possibly even eventually to Mars. No single nation can now afford to conduct a program of manned space exploration on its own, Dordain said.

"There is not a single space power left in the world that thinks they can afford to send men and women to explore the moon or Mars on their own national budget," he said. "This is something that will have to be done by international co-operation."

For further information visit: http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Europe_US_talk_space_program_link_999.html

Toshiba unveils dog-like robot for Fukushima plant

Japanese nuclear reactor maker Toshiba on Wednesday unveiled a remote-controlled robot resembling a headless dog that they hope will be used at the battered Fukushima power plant.The tetrapod, which weighs 65 kilograms (143 pounds) and is about one metre (3 foot, four inches) tall, is designed to be able to cover difficult terrain -- such as going up steep steps -- that regular robots struggle with.

The robot's triple-jointed legs are designed to give it maximum flexibility, with engineers saying it will be able to go into spaces where high radiation makes it impossible for workers to do so.The robot can carry a load of 20 kilograms and is equipped with cameras and a radiation meter, expected to help workers decide which parts of buildings are safe to enter and for how long.

The machine can also carry a small wired vehicle equipped with a camera and send it out to crawl into small spaces to carry out inspections. Toshiba engineer Goro Yanase said the as-yet unnamed robot could be upgraded to carry more than 80 kilograms, climb ladders and step over obstacles up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) high.

Robots have already been used inside the wrecked plant to take video footage, including the US-made PackBot and Japanese-made Quince crawler robots, but Toshiba is awaiting the go ahead from plant operator TEPCO to deploy its creation. The massive earthquake and tsunami of March 11 last year sparked an atomic emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in the northeast of the country.

Efforts to clear up after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 are still continuing, with high levels of radiation hampering operations. The decommissioning of the crippled plant is expected to take several decades.

For further information visit: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Toshiba_unveils_dog-like_robot_for_Fukushima_plant_999.html

UN nuclear chief says Iran standoff 'worrying'

The standoff on Iran's nuclear programme is worrying, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said Monday, but stressed that work for a diplomatic solution should continue.

Yakio Amano's comments came as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that Tehran was on the cusp of being able to triple output of nuclear material that, if further treated, could be used in the core of a bomb."The situation is worrying but it is important to continue to seek a diplomatic solution," Amano told reporters after talks with French President Francois Hollande.

Iran's nuclear drive is a growing international concern as Israel has given indications that it is ready to stage a military strike. US President Barack Obama has said he will not let Iran get a nuclear bomb.Amano said the "current situation is worrying but the declared material and installation facilities are under the IAEA safeguard and we can verify that they stay in a peaceful purpose.

"We are going to have a high-level dialogue with Iran on the 13th of December in Tehran. The way to solve this issue is by diplomatic means and we will continue our efforts," he said. The UN Security Council has passed four rounds of nuclear sanctions against Iran, and the IAEA's board of governors passed a resolution in September again calling on Iran to prove its programme has no military dimension.

For further information visit: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/UN_nuclear_chief_says_Iran_standoff_worrying_999.html

China launches third environment monitoring satellite

Long March-2C carrier rocket carrying an environment-monitoring satellite Huanjing-1C blasts off from the launch pad at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, Nov. 19, 2012. The Huanjing-1C satellite and the other two satellites Huanjing-1A and Huanjing-1B, which were sent to the outer space in 2008, will be used to monitor the environment and help reduce natural disasters. (Xinhua/Liu Chan) 

China on Monday sent the third satellite in its "Environment I" family into the sky, sharpening its abilities in environmental monitoring and disaster forecasting. The launch marks the completion of a plan initiated by China in 2003 to create a small environmental monitoring satellite constellation, according to north China's Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

The radar satellite will join the other two operating optical satellites "Environment I" satellites, which were launched in Sept. 2008, to form a network covering most of China's territory. This "2+1" formula will help provide scientific evidence for assessing natural disaster situations, emergency aid and reconstruction as well as enable China to monitor and forecast ecological changes, pollution and natural disasters around the clock, the center said.

The satellite was carried by a Long March 2C rocket.

The rocket also carried two additional satellites designed to run tests and carry out in-orbit experiments for new-type aerospace equipment, materials, methods and miniature satellite platforms.

For further information visit: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/China_launches_third_environment_monitoring_satellite_999.html

How many Russian Earth observation satellites will be in orbit by 2015?

The Resurs-P is meant to replace the Resurs-DK, a previous generation spacecraft, which was launched into space in 2006. Image courtesy "The Voice of Russia" 

The launch of the Resurs-P spacecraft was postponed till the first quarter of 2013. This remote sensing satellite was to replace the Resurs-DK Number 1 spacecraft launched in 2006, which has already gone beyond its warranty period. Roskosmos plans to restore the group of remote sensing satellites by 2015-17, but apparently new spacecraft launch dates continue to be postponed.

The press-service of the Federal Space Agency informs that the launch of the Resurs-P remote sensing satellite will be postponed from the end of this year to the first quarter of 2013. According to the report, this decision is the result of additional tests of high-precision star sensors' photo detectors based on new technology. It was thus decided to improve the devices.

The Resurs-P spacecraft ("P" is an abbreviation of "prospective") is created at the Progress State Research and Production Space Centre (TsSKB-Progress) in Samara. It is designed for observing the Earth in the visible range of the spectrum. It is planned to place the spacecraft on a near-circular sun-synchronous orbit at an average altitude of about 475 km.

In panchromatic range (that is, when observed in all the range of the visible spectrum at once) its resolution will be approximately 1 m; in hyper-spectral mode (when a lot of images are formed in fairly narrow spectral ranges, for the Resource-P it is no less than 96 images) it will be about 3 m. The term of the spacecraft's service in orbit is 5 years.

The Resurs-P is meant to replace the Resurs-DK, a previous generation spacecraft, which was launched into space in 2006. Now the Resource-DK has already gone beyond its warranty period, and the quality of its pictures has deteriorated, in particular, their resolution has decreased from 1 to 3 m.Alongside the Resource-P launch, there were plans of placing the geo-stationary Electro-L Number 2 spacecraft in orbit next year (on the orbital position over the Atlantic Ocean) and also the Resurs-P Number 2 spacecraft.

Mikhail Khailov, head of Roscosmos' Department of Technical Policy and Quality, shared this information at the opening of the conference Modern problems of remote sensing from space on Monday, November 12.The news of the postponement of the Resource-P Number 1 launch followed later, and it has not yet been reported in what way this postponement will affect the launch of the second spacecraft of the series.

The report of Mikhail Khailov and Valery Zaichko, adviser of the head of Roscosmos, was devoted to Roskosmos' plans to deploy the remote sensing satellites group and to prospective developments in this field. Today, the Russian remote sensing satellites group is like a quilt, as it consists of different series spacecrafts, launched into space with intervals of several years.

After the Resource-DK launch in 2009, the Hydrometeorological Meteor-M spacecraft was placed on the circular sun-synchronous orbit (its developer is the VNIIEM Corporation).This is an experimental satellite designed for developing new technologies. The Meteor-M 1 operates in the visible, near-infrared and radio ranges. In particular, it is equipped with a multispectral satellite imagery camera that takes pictures with the resolution of 50-70 m.

Although the quality of its data gave rise to users' criticism, Mikhail Khailov is sure that after necessary modifications this series can be continued. After the second unit, due in 2013, it is planned to place the third Elektro-L spacecraft in the orbital position over the Pacific Ocean in 2015. Thus, in 2015 Russia will restore the geo-stationary spacecrafts group at their assigned positions.

The experimental Canopus-B satellite (developed by the VNIIEM Corporation) was also launched last year. It is now undergoing flight and technical tests. Its purpose is to monitor emergency situations, detect forest fires, and monitor agricultural activities and water resources.

For further information visit: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/How_many_Russian_Earth_observation_satellites_will_be_in_orbit_by_2015_999.html

GIS NEWS Regional conference to share experiences on land information systems projects Uganda: 17-18th January 2013

Regional conference to share experiences on land information systems projects Uganda: 17-18th January 2013

-- Secure land rights are vital to the reduction of poverty in emerging economies and enhancing economic development. With the support of international development banks several African countries have initiated the implementation of land information systems. Existing initiatives clearly show that the land information systems projects are complex and require the attention of the highest authorities in charge of land issues.

Many countries still lack adequate information on land issues and effective land administration systems. To help address this, IGN France International is happy to inform you that the international consortium currently engaged in the Design, Supply, Installation, Implementation of the Lands Information System and Securing of Land Records (DeSILISoR) Project is organizing a regional conference titled:

Modernization of land administration and management systems Implementation of land information systems (LIS):

Sharing experiences, innovations and good practices. The details of the DeSILISoR project will be presented and representatives from a number of African countries will report on their different experiences. The second day of the conference (18th January) will focus on “Land administration projects: IGN France International’s expertise and feedback”

It will provide relevant information on best practices, methodologies and requirements to initialize land projects and make them successful. Several projects IGN France International recently achieved in Africa and in Asia will be presented. Based on shared experiences and valuable best practices, this two day event has several objectives:

 •Highlight the link between land administration issues and economic growth

 •Present several LIS projects in Eastern African and see how by making land information available, they increase confidence of land buyers and stimulate the economy

 •Explore the common issues encountered during the implementation phase related to technical tools and processes, human resources, capacity building, and organization…

This two day regional conference will be held 17-18th January 2013 in Kampala, Uganda. Representatives from several countries will make presentations on the main land issues associated with their country and their experiences with the implementation of LIS projects. It will bring together representatives from government, financial institutions and civil society and provide an opportunity to share experiences, improve the quality of knowledge and enable governments to manage these crucial cross-cutting issues.

Please kindly note the entrance is free of charge but registration is compulsory.

You can register by contacting Aude ARESTE LAMENDOUR – Email Contact Further information will be sent after your pre-registration.

Contact:

Aude ARESTE LAMENDOUR Responsable marketing & communication

IGN France International

Skype: aude.lamendour

Tel: +33 1 42 34 56 56, +33 6 81 76 91 23

For further information visit: http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=1139754&printerfriendly=1

GIS NEWS Tetra4D Launches New Family of 3D PDF Products Supporting Adobe Acrobat XI Pro

-- tetra4D™, the exclusive 3D technology partner for Adobe® Acrobat®, today announced the release of 3D PDF Converter™ Version 3.5 and three new 3D PDF Enrichment™ products. With support for Acrobat XI Pro the release of this new product family reaffirms tetra4D's commitment to providing rapid updates to support the latest versions of all major 3D CAD formats and Adobe Acrobat. As the only authorized 3D solution for Adobe Acrobat, 3D PDF Solutions from tetra4D leverage the robust publishing features of Acrobat with the ubiquity of the FREE Adobe® Reader®. Customers can exchange data and collaborate in 3D enterprise-wide and throughout the supply chain with more ease than ever before.

 "We are delighted to provide this release of 3D PDF Converter within 30 days of Adobe's release of Acrobat XI Pro," commented tetra4D's Chief Technology Officer, Craig Trudgeon. "With the addition of our family of 3D PDF Enrichment products, 3D PDF Animate, 3D PDF Publish, and 3D PDF Compare, our global customer base now has the ability to re-purpose and share 3D data in downstream workflows more easily and more affordable than ever before. Sharing rich, animated 3D PDFs solves many challenges for our enterprise customers as they communicate manufacturing, assembly, and field service information around the globe and throughout their supply chains."

3D PDF Converter 3.5 provides updates for the following CAD formats: CATIA® V5-V6 2012 (a.k.a. CATIA V5 R22), Creo® 2.0, Autodesk® Inventor® 2013, Parasolid® V25, and Solid Edge® ST5. This release also adds improvements for several CAD importers and U3D Export enabling interoperability with many mainstream 3rd party applications such as: Adobe® FrameMaker®, Photoshop® and After Effects®.

3D PDF Animate™ provides users with a set of intuitive animation tools for creating dynamic 3D PDF documents with animated 3D CAD models and corresponding instructional data. 3D PDF Publish™ allows users to document 3D PDFs with process descriptions to share work instructions, publish service manuals and more associated with the embedded CAD model. 3D PDF Compare™ enables viewing and tracking of changes to parts of 3D models. Customers can accelerate collaborative design reviews, decision making and deployment of product updates enterprise-wide and throughout the lifecycle of a product with these new 3D PDF Enrichment products.

Version 3.5 of 3D PDF Converter is available for immediate download to all existing customers as part of their current maintenance contract.

FREE TRIAL

3D PDF Converter and 3D PDF Converter Suite 3.5, which includes Adobe® Acrobat® XI Pro, are available now for free trial or purchase in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish language through the tetra4D e-store and our global network of authorized resellers. More information is available at www.tetra4d.com/products

 ABOUT TETRA4D

tetra4D™ (www.tetra4d.com) provides best-in-class solutions for integrating 3D PDF into engineering, manufacturing, technical publication and AEC work-flows. Users of tetra4D's 3D PDF Converter solutions are able to make 3D and related data accessible and more valuable to all disciplines and areas both internal and external to their organization. Working with ISO, AIIM and others, tetra4D is driving the development of PDF, PDF/E and the PRC data format as open standards. As an Adobe Gold Level Technology Partner, tetra4D is the exclusive provider of 3D PDF technology to Acrobat customers. Follow us on Twitter @tetra4d, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/3dpdf, or see our products on YouTube.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Adobe's relationship to tetra4D™ and 3D PDF, please see: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/faq.html#3d-geospatial

For further information visit: http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=1139694&printerfriendly=1

Researchers tap into CO2 storage potential of mine waste

With the global price of carbon emissions credits expected to rise, SP rock could become even more valuable. However, in order to achieve substantial CO2 sequestration in SP rock, the somewhat sluggish chemical reactions that naturally fix CO2 require a jump start. 

It's time to economically value the greenhouse gas-trapping potential of mine waste and start making money from it, says mining engineer and geologist Michael Hitch of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Hitch studies the value of mine waste rock for its CO2-sequestration potential, or "SP." He says mining companies across Canada will, in future, be able to offset CO2 emissions with so-named "SP rock," and within 25 years could even be selling emissions credits.

Digging, trucking and processing make mining an energy-intensive industry that emits greenhouse gases. However, mine waste rock that is rich in the mineral magnesium silicate has an inherent ability to react with CO2 and chemically "fix" it in place as magnesium carbonate-an ability that can be greatly enhanced with some processing.

Hitch and his colleagues note that this capacity for CO2 fixation can be five to ten times greater than total greenhouse gas production from some mine operations. Nickel, diamond, copper, chromite, platinum, palladium, talc, and asbestos mines could all be contenders. Some large mines, the researchers add, could fix 5 million tonnes or more of CO2 per year.

"I don't like waste," asserts Hitch. "I like to see efficient use of the resources."

Instead of using just 1 per cent of the materials from a big mining pit, he explains, a company could receive value from the non-commodity rock. "All of a sudden this material starts having value, and this material starts taking on a position in the company's cash flow as a by-product," says Hitch, adding, "It really kind of changes the dynamics of the mining operation."With the global price of carbon emissions credits expected to rise, SP rock could become even more valuable. However, in order to achieve substantial CO2 sequestration in SP rock, the somewhat sluggish chemical reactions that naturally fix CO2 require a jump start.

Two of the team's primary goals are to measure the rate of CO2 fixation in mine waste rock and tailings in a lab setting and to speed up the process. Team members have already observed that CO2 fixation is greatly accelerated in mine tailings, presumably due mainly to the large surface area exposed and available to react after rocks are crushed into small particles.

Dipple's lab reports that their previous research has demonstrated that CO2 is trapped in mineral precipitates at rates of up to 50,000 tonnes per year within tailings during mine operations, and continues to be sequestered after mine operations cease. Rates of fixation are limited by the dissolution of CO2 in water and one area of investigation involves increasing the concentration of CO2 supplied to slurry similar in chemical composition to tailings process water.

For further information visit: http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Researchers_tap_into_CO2_storage_potential_of_mine_waste_999.html

Paralysis by Analysis Should Not Delay Decisions On Climate Change, Experts Urge

— Uncertainty about how much the climate is changing is not a reason to delay preparing for the harmful impacts of climate change says Professor Jim Hall of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford and colleagues at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, writing in Nature Climate Change.

The costs of adapting to climate change, sea-level and flooding include the upfront expenses of upgrading infrastructure, installing early-warning systems, and effective organisations, as well as the costs of reducing risk, such as not building on flood plains.

Robert Nicholls, Professor of Coastal Engineering at the University of Southampton and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, says: "Some impacts of climate change are now inevitable, so it is widely agreed that we must adapt. But selecting and funding adaptation remains a challenge."

Professor Nicholls and his co-authors describe two ways of assessing how much adaptation to climate change is enough by balancing the risk of climate change against the cost of adaptation. First they describe cost-benefit analysis where the cost of the adaptation has to be less than the benefit of risk reduction. Alternatively, decision makers can seek the most cost-effective way of maintaining a tolerable level of risk. This approach is easier for policymakers to understand, but thresholds of tolerable risk from climate change are not well defined.

The Thames Estuary Gateway is the only place in the UK where a level of protection against flooding is defined in law -- a 1 in 1000 year standard of protection which needs to be maintained with rising sea levels. The authors conclude that adaptation decisions need exploration across a variety of different interpretations of risk, not a single answer.

"Like all complex problems several perspectives are needed and any single answer would misrepresent the uncertainty, but let us not let paralysis by analysis be an obstacle to action on adaptation," says Professor Hall.

"Adaptation decisions have further benefits. The tenfold increase in the Netherlands standard of flood protection proposed in 2008 has sent a message to global business that the Netherlands will be open in the future, come what may," adds Professor Nicholls.

For further information visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121127094109.htm

Thawing of Permafrost Expected to Cause Significant Additional Global Warming, Not yet Accounted for in Climate Predictions

— Permafrost covering almost a quarter of the northern hemisphere contains 1,700 gigatonnes of carbon, twice that currently in the atmosphere, and could significantly amplify global warming should thawing accelerate as expected, according to a new report released November 27 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

Warming permafrost can also radically change ecosystems and cause costly infrastructural damage due to increasingly unstable ground, the report says. Policy Implications of Warming Permafrost seeks to highlight the potential hazards of carbon dioxide and methane emissions from warming permafrost, which have not thus far been included in climate-prediction modelling. The science on the potential impacts of warming permafrost has only begun to enter the mainstream in the last few years, and as a truly "emerging issue" could not have been included in climate change modelling to date.

The report recommends a special IPCC assessment on permafrost and the creation of national monitoring networks and adaptation plans as key steps to deal with potential impacts of this significant source of emissions, which may become a major factor in global warming."Permafrost is one of the keys to the planet's future because it contains large stores of frozen organic matter that, if thawed and released into the atmosphere, would amplify current global warming and propel us to a warmer world," said UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

"Its potential impact on the climate, ecosystems and infrastructure has been neglected for too long," he added. "This report seeks to communicate to climate-treaty negotiators, policy makers and the general public the implications of continuing to ignore the challenges of warming permafrost."Most of the current permafrost formed during or since the last ice age and extends to depths of more than 700 meters in parts of northern Siberia and Canada. Permafrost consists of an active layer of up to two metres in thickness, which thaws each summer and refreezes each winter, and the permanently frozen soil beneath.

Should the active layer increase in thickness due to warming, huge quantities of organic matter stored in the frozen soil would begin to thaw and decay, releasing large amounts of CO₂ and methane into the atmosphere. Once this process begins, it will operate in a feedback loop known as the permafrost carbon feedback, which has the effect of increasing surface temperatures and thus accelerating the further warming of permafrost -- a process that would be irreversible on human timescales.

Arctic and alpine air temperatures are expected to increase at roughly twice the global rate, and climate projections indicate substantial loss of permafrost by 2100. A global temperature increase of 3°C means a 6°C increase in the Arctic, resulting in an irreversible loss of anywhere between 30 to 85 per cent of near-surface permafrost.

Warming permafrost could emit 43 to 135 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2100 and 246 to 415 gigatonnes by 2200. Emissions could start within the next few decades and continue for several centuries. Permafrost emissions could ultimately account for up to 39 per cent of total emissions, and the report's lead author warned that this must be factored in to the treaty to address global climate change expected to replace the Kyoto Protocol.

"The release of carbon dioxide and methane from warming permafrost is irreversible: once the organic matter thaws and decays away, there is no way to put it back into the permafrost," said lead author Kevin Schaefer, from the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center."Anthropogenic emissions' targets in the climate change treaty need to account for these emissions or we risk overshooting the 2°C maximum warming target," he added.

Most of the recent climate projections are biased on the low side relative to global temperature because the models do not at this time include the permafrost carbon feedback, the report says. Consequently, targets for anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions based on these climate projections would be biased high.

Ecosystems and Infrastructure under Threat

Warming permafrost also brings negative consequences in terms of ecosystem and infrastructure damage.

The dominant ecosystems in permafrost regions are boreal forests to the south and tundra to the north. Permafrost is impermeable to water, so rain and melt water pool on the surface -- forming innumerable lakes and wetlands which are used by migratory birds as summer breeding grounds.

For further information visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121127094250.htm

Women 16-49 at Risk of Multiple Pollutants, Which Could Harm Brain Development of Fetuses and Babies

Women 16-49 at Risk of Multiple Pollutants, Which Could Harm Brain Development of Fetuses and Babies

— In a new analysis of thousands of U.S. women of childbearing age, Brown University researchers found that most exceeded the median blood level for two or more of three environmental pollutants that could harm brain development of foetuses and babies: lead, mercury, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

In a recent study, more than half of women of childbearing age had median or higher levels of at least two of three pollutants that could harm brain development. Nearly 23 percent of American women of childbearing age met or exceeded the median blood levels for all three environmental chemical pollutants -- lead, mercury, and PCBs -- tracked in an analysis of data on thousands of women by Brown University researchers. All but 17.3 percent of the women aged 16 to 49 were at or above the median blood level for one or more of these chemicals, which are passed to fetuses through the placenta and to babies through breast milk.

The study, published in advance online Nov. 15 in the journal Environmental Research, identified several risk factors associated with a higher likelihood of a median-or-higher "body burden" for two or more of these chemicals.The three pollutants are of greatest interest because they are pervasive and persistent in the environment and can harm fetal and infant brain development, albeit in different ways, said study lead author Dr. Marcella Thompson. But scientists don't yet know much about whether co-exposure to these three chemicals is more harmful than exposure to each chemical alone. Most researchers study the health effects of exposure to an individual chemical, not two or three together.

"Our research documents the prevalence of women who are exposed to all three of these chemicals," said Thompson, who began the analysis as a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island College of Nursing and has continued the research as a postdoctoral research associate for Brown University's Superfund Research Program with co-author Kim Boekelheide, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. "It points out clearly the need to look at health outcomes for multiple environmental chemical co-exposures."

Most of the childbearing-age women -- 55.8 percent -- exceeded the median for two or more of the three pollutants.

Risks of exposure

Data were collected between 1999 and 2004 from 3,173 women aged 16 to 49 who participated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The survey was designed to represent the national population of 134.5 million women of childbearing age. Because the original study also elicited a wide variety of information on health behaviors, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, Thompson and Boekelheide were able to identify specific risk factors associated with increased odds of having higher blood levels of lead, mercury, and PCBs.

They found several statistically significant risk factors. The most prominent among them was age. As women grew older, their risk of exceeding the median blood level in two or more of these pollutants grew exponentially to the point where women aged 30 to 39 had 12 times greater risk and women aged 40 to 49 had a risk 30 times greater than those women aged 16 to 19.

Thompson said women aged 40 to 49 would be at greatest risk not only because these chemicals accumulate in the body over time, but also because these women were born in the 1950s and 1960s before most environmental protection laws were enacted.

For further information visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121128143944.htm

Greener Storage for Green Energy

Greener Storage for Green Energy

— Renewable energy solutions like wind and solar operate on nature's timetable. When the sun blazes or when the breeze blows, power is plentiful -- but not necessarily at the moments when consumers need it, like on a hot, calm summer night. Storing energy from these intermittent sources has aroused interest, yet practical economics and basic chemistry have limited the wider use of green energy. Storage, to be viable, cannot add much to the price of renewable electricity without making it unacceptably expensive. Fossil fuels remain the world's chief energy source due to their relatively low cost.

To give renewals a fighting chance, a team led by engineers and chemists at Harvard University will use a one-year, $600,000 innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program to develop a new type of storage battery. The grant may be subject to renewal beyond a year, depending on performance. The award is part of a $130-million funding effort by ARPA-E through its "OPEN 2012" program, designed to support innovative energy technologies.

Called a flow battery, the technology offers the prospect of cost-effective, grid-scale electrical energy storage based on eco-friendly small organic molecules. Because practical implementation is a core driver for the program, the researchers are collaborating with Sustainable Innovations, LLC, a commercial electrochemical system developer.

"Storage of very large amounts of energy is required if we are to generate a major portion of our electricity from intermittent renewable sources such as wind turbines and photovoltaics," says lead investigator Michael Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). "Currently no cost-effective solution exists to this large-scale storage problem. Flow batteries may make stationary storage viable in the marketplace, and that will enable wind and solar to displace a lot more fossil fuel."

By contrast, in solid-electrode batteries, such as those commonly found in cars and mobile devices, the power conversion hardware and energy capacity are packaged together in one unit, and cannot be decoupled. Consequently they can maintain peak discharge power for less than an hour before being drained. Studies indicate that 1 to 2 days (the cycle of day/night) are required for rendering renewables like wind and solar dispatch able through the current electrical grid.

To store 50 hours of energy from a 1-megawatt wind turbine (50 megawatt-hours), for example, a possible solution would be to buy solid-electrode batteries with 50 megawatt-hours of energy storage. The effective result, paying for 50 megawatts of power capacity when only 1 megawatt is necessary, however, makes little economic sense."Not only are existing solid-state batteries impractical for storing intermittent wind and solar energy, but flow batteries currently under development have their own set of limitations," says Aziz. "The chemicals used for storage in flow batteries can be expensive or difficult to maintain."

Aziz believes that using a particular class of small organic molecules may be the key. These molecules, which his team has already been working on, are found in plants and can be synthesized artificially for very low cost. They are also non-toxic and can be stored at room temperature. Furthermore, they cycle very efficiently between the chemical states needed for energy storage.

For further information visit: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121129103414.htm

NASA's Kepler Wraps Prime Mission, Begins Extension

NASA's Kepler Wraps Prime Mission, Begins Extension

NASA is marking two milestones in the search for planets like Earth; the successful completion of the Kepler Space Telescope's three-and-a-half-year prime mission and the beginning of an extended mission that could last as long as four years.

Scientists have used Kepler data to identify more than 2,300 planet candidates and confirm more than 100 planets. Kepler is teaching us that the galaxy is teeming with planetary systems and that planets are prolific, and is giving us hints that nature makes small planets efficiently.

So far, hundreds of Earth-size planet candidates have been found, as well as candidates that orbit in the habitable zone, the region in a planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of a planet. None of the candidates is exactly like Earth. With the completion of its prime mission, Kepler now has collected enough data to begin finding true sun-Earth analogs - Earth-size planets with a one-year orbit around stars similar to the sun.

"The initial discoveries of the Kepler mission indicate at least a third of the stars have planets and the number of planets in our galaxy must number in the billions," said William Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The planets of greatest interest are other Earths, and these could already be in the data awaiting analysis. Kepler's most exciting results are yet to come."

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope searches for planet candidates orbiting distant suns, or exoplanets, by continuously measuring the brightness of more than 150,000 stars. When a planet candidate passes, or transits, in front of the star from the spacecraft's vantage point, light from the star is blocked. Different-sized planets block different amounts of starlight. The amount of starlight blocked by a planet reveals its size relative to its star.

Kepler was launched March 6, 2009. Its mission was to survey a portion of the galaxy to determine what fraction of stars might harbor potentially habitable, Earth-sized planets. Planets orbiting in or near habitable zones are of particular interest. Kepler began the search for small worlds like our own on May 12, 2009, after two months of commissioning. Within months, five exoplanets, known as hot Jupiters because of their enormous size and orbits close to their stars, were confirmed.

Results from Kepler data continue to expand our understanding of planets and planetary systems. Highlights from the prime mission include:-- In August 2010, scientists confirmed the discovery of the first planetary system with more than one planet transiting the same star. The Kepler-9 system opened the door to measurement of gravitational interactions between planets as observed by the variations in their transit timing. This powerful new technique enables astronomers, in many cases, to calculate the mass of planets directly from Kepler data, without the need for follow-up observations from the ground.

-- In January 2011, the Kepler team announced the discovery of the first unquestionably rocky planet outside the solar system. Kepler-10b, measuring 1.4 times the size of Earth, is the smallest confirmed planet with both a radius and mass measurement. Kepler has continued to uncover smaller and smaller planets, some almost as small as Mars, which tells us small rocky worlds may be common in the galaxy.

-- In February 2011, scientists announced Kepler had found a very crowded and compact planetary system - a star with multiple transiting planets. Kepler-11 has six planets larger than Earth, all orbiting closer to their star than Venus orbits our sun. This and other subsequently identified compact, multi-planet systems have orbital spacing relative to their host sun and neighboring planets unlike anything envisioned prior to the mission.

-- In September 2011, Kepler data confirmed the existence of a world with a double sunset like the one famously portrayed in the film "Star Wars" more than 35 years ago. The discovery of Kepler-16b turned science fiction into science fact. Since then, the discoveries of six additional worlds orbiting double stars further demonstrated planets can form and persist in the environs of a double-star system.

-- Recently, citizen scientists participating in Planet Hunters, a program led by Yale University, New Haven, Conn., that enlists the public to comb through Kepler data for signs of transiting planets, made their first planet discovery. The joint effort of amateur astronomers and scientists led to the first reported case of a planet orbiting a double star. The three bodies are, in turn, being orbited by a second distant pair of stars.

For further information visit: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASAs_Kepler_Wraps_Prime_Mission_Begins_Extension_999.html

NASA NEWS :NASA Innovator of Year Hunts for Extraterrestrial Amino Acids

NASA Innovator of Year Hunts for Extraterrestrial Amino Acids

The hunt for the organic molecules that create proteins and enzymes critical for life here on Earth has largely happened in sophisticated terrestrial laboratories equipped with high-tech gadgetry needed to tease out their presence in space rocks and other extraterrestrial samples.

A technologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., now wants to take that search to the sources themselves. Stephanie Getty, who recently was selected as Goddard's Innovator of the Year for her trailblazing work in the area of advanced instrumentation, has won $1.2 million from NASA's Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development (ASTID) program to advance the Organics Analyzer for Sampling Icy Surfaces (OASIS).

This miniaturized liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer leverages technologies developed under previous Goddard-sponsored research and development efforts to study the chirality, or "handedness," of amino acids on the icy moons of the outer planets, asteroids, and Kuiper Belt Objects.

"It's like we're packing up a well-equipped Earth lab and flying it to an asteroid or another solar system body, where we can get access to a pristine supply of these organic molecules to study," Getty said, adding that by going to the source, scientists reduce the risk of contaminating samples with Earth-borne compounds."With an instrument like OASIS, we could get that much closer to understanding how organic chemicals formed in the solar system, whether the potential for life exists elsewhere, and what may have seeded life here on Earth."

And OASIS would carry out this science with 100 time’s greater sensitivity than what was possible with previously flown liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometers, she added.

Why Amino Acids?

The hunt for amino acids in extraterrestrial sources began 50 years ago when scientists discovered a variety of non-terrestrial amino acids in meteorites, remnants of asteroids that had fallen to Earth. Their discovery revolutionized the field of astrobiology, reigniting the question of whether life, as we know it, existed elsewhere in the solar system and beyond.

Amino acids, in part, hold the key to ultimately answering that question. They are the building blocks of proteins - the workhorse molecules of life, used in everything from creating hair and fingernails, to the enzymes that speed up or regulate chemical reactions inside cells.

Just as the 26 letters of the alphabet are arranged in limitless combinations to make words, life uses 20 different amino acids in a huge variety of arrangements to build millions of different proteins. Amino acids demonstrate another interesting characteristic. Although they come in two non-superimposable forms - left-handed and right-handed - only abiotic or non-biological organic compounds use both.

The amino acids that give rise to life must have the same orientation or chirality, which means they use only one of the two available mirror images of the amino-acid structure. Left-Handed BiasLife on Earth got established with only the left-handed version, leading scientists to wonder whether this inclination arose because of random processes or whether meteorites may have seeded this propensity.

To find out, Getty's colleagues at the Goddard Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory have studied carbon-rich meteorites and tiny grains collected from the Wild 2 comet. They discovered an excess of the left-handed amino acids in some of the meteorite samples they studied, suggesting that left-handed amino acids got their start in space, where conditions in asteroids favoured the creation of this particular orientation.

"Research shows that meteorites seeding the early Earth could have jump started left-handed-based protein in life as we know it today," said OASIS Co-Investigator Danny Glavin, a world-renowned expert in extraterrestrial organic chemistry at NASA Goddard. "They contributed these molecules that may have created an initial bias toward left-handedness."

The question is, does the bias exist on other solar system bodies, and if so, does it favor left- or right-handed amino acids? OASIS's ability to detect amino acids and determine their chirality - the ratio of left- to right-handed molecules - will be an important capability for ultimately answering that question, Glavin said.

For further information visit: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Innovator_of_Year_Hunts_for_Extraterrestrial_Amino_Acids_999.html