Where was Baltica in the Ediacaran to the Ordovician?

Ediacaran–Early Ordovician paleomagnetism of Baltica: A review

Authors:

Joseph G. Meert

Abstract:

The Ediacaran–Early Ordovician interval is of great interest to paleogeographer's due to the vast evolutionary changes that occurred during this interval as well as other global changes in the marine, atmospheric and terrestrial systems. It is; however, precisely this time period where there are often wildly contradictory paleomagnetic results from similar-age rocks. These contradictions are often explained with a variety of innovative (and non-uniformitarian) scenarios such as intertial interchange true polar wander, true polar wander and/or non-dipolar magnetic fields. While these novel explanations may be the cause of the seemingly contradictory data, it is important to examine the paleomagnetic database for other potential issues.

This review takes a careful and critical look at the paleomagnetic database from Baltica. Based on some new data and a re-evaluation of older data, the relationships between Baltica and Laurentia are examined for ~ 600–500 Ma interval. The new data from the Hedmark Group (Norway) confirms suspicions about possible remagnetization of the Fen Complex pole. For other Baltica results, data from sedimentary units were evaluated for the effects of inclination shallowing. In this review, a small correction was applied to sedimentary paleomagnetic data from Baltica. The filtered dataset does not demand extreme rates of latitudinal drift or apparent polar wander, but it does require complex gyrations of Baltica over the pole. In particular, average rates of APW range from 1.5° to 2.0°/Myr. This range of APW rates is consistent with ‘normal’ plate motion although the total path length (and its oscillatory nature) may indicate a component of true polar wander. In the TPW scenario, the motion of Baltica results in a back and forth path over the south pole between 600 and 550 Ma and again between 550 and 500 Ma. The rapid motion of Baltica over the pole is consistent with the extant database, but other explanations are possible given the relative paucity of high-quality paleomagnetic data during the Ediacaran–Cambrian interval from Baltica and other continental blocks.

A sequence of three paleogeographic maps for Laurentia and Baltica is presented. Given the caveats involved in these reconstructions (polarity ambiguity, longitudinal uncertainty and errors), the data are consistent with geological models that posit the opening of the Iapetus Ocean around 600 Ma and subsequent evolution of the Baltica–Laurentia margin in the Late Ediacaran to Early Ordovician, but the complexity of the motion implied by the APWP remains enigmatic.

Another Point of View on Europe, Ukraine and Russia

As the November 28/29, 2013 European Union’s Eastern Partnership Summit in Lithuania draws closer, expectations that Ukraine will sign an association agreement with the EU are increasing, tensions have escalated between Moscow and Ukraine, and also between Kiev and Brussels. These growing conflicts should not be seen in terms of Aesopian fables about Russia’s pursuit of the USSR’s restoration or Ukraine’s alleged European roots and destiny.

Despite claims made in the West and by the Ukrainian opposition, Viktor Yanukovich has not proven to be Moscow’s puppet. He signed Ukraine’s 2010 law ‘On the Basic Directions of Domestic and Foreign Policy’ which stipulates Ukraine’s integration “into the European political, economic and legal area for the purpose of becoming a member of the European Union.” Nor is he willing to alienate Moscow and half of his country’s populace by severing Ukraine’s deeply rooted ties to Russia. This dispute is much more about Ukraine’s balanced strategic development and power-maximizing among the contending parties.

The conflict between Russia and the EU over Ukraine’s future is based on perceived self-interest and power-maximizing; something in which all states and unions of states engage. One way states maximize their power (sometimes with unintended costly trade-offs, to be sure) is to join in various economic, political and/or military associations, alliances, unions, etc. Some states are powerful initiators and dominant players in such unions; others are latecomers joining out of weakness.

The formation of international organizations, regimes and unions is further driven by globalization’s imperative for integration among states (coupled with some disintegration within states), including now hundreds of international organizations, as one modality for power maximizing. Within the globe’s network of networks, unions of states - like individual states - seek to maximize their influence and power, by increasing the number of their members.

Thus, Ukraine seeks to increase its economic (and even political) potential by joining such unions. By joining the EU Kiev seeks markets for its products, technological development for its industries, and a role in one of the major economic, political and, one suspects, military blocs. NATO is a likely destiny after Kiev chooses the EU.

Since Russia’s strategic and political cultures value its historical great power status, Moscow is especially keen to maximize power by creating unions around its cultural, economic, political, and military potential. Specifically, it seeks to maintain its status as the main power in Central Eurasia by constructing a series of economic unions and military alliances: the Eurasian Customs Union (with Kazakhstan, Belarus, and now Armenia), the United Economic Space (Customs Union plus several Central Asian states), the Eurasian Economic Union project, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (with China’s membership containing Moscow’s ambitions, in this case).

The membership of Ukraine, the second most powerful of the former Soviet republics, would significantly enhance the clout of these Eurasian projects, thereby increasing Russia’s own economic and political power. Conversely, Ukraine’s rejection of these Eurasian unions weakens the attractiveness of these projects to other prospective members, confining them largely to Russia and the weakest post-Soviet economies. This less than robust configuration barely enhances Russia’s power in the region and in the end may prove more of a burden than a boost. Moscow’s recent inter-ethnic difficulties from legal and illegal immigration flowing from allied Central Asian states and Azerbaijan demonstrates this. One solution to combat high rates of illegal, low-skilled immigration from these countries’ would be to introduce a visa regime for them. However, Moscow’s desire to maintain a connection to these states and its own status as an attraction for their populations, dictate against instituting such a regime.

Europe also seeks to bolster its power by bringing in Eastern Europe’s largest country. Beyond increasing the common market’s economic power, Ukraine’s inclusion will promote Europe’s energy security, assuming that Ukraine’s bargaining power vis-à-vis Moscow is indeed bolstered sufficiently to preclude a gas cut off to Europe.

But a happy ending for all is not guaranteed. For Kiev, a European choice will not be all roses. There is no guarantee that Ukraine’s present leadership is capable of overcoming powerful domestic clans, corruption, and other obstacles to the domestic legal, economic and political reforms that accession to the EU requires. Ukraine’s failure to accede would drive it into Russia’s arms and foster the kind of resentment of Europe that Turkey experienced after Europe spurned its entry into the EU.

link.

(the title is a pun)

China and America Have Very Different Views of What Deterence Means

In Western strategic thought, deterrence is defined as “the threat intended to keep an adversary from doing something.” Within the framework of the NSSS, the objective is to “…deter the development, testing, and employment of counterspace systems and prevent and deter aggression against space systems and supporting infrastructure that support U.S. national security.” The Department of Defense believes that the best way to “deny a potential aggressor” is through creating interdependence within its vital space architectures through international agreements and operational tactics, techniques, and procedures. Through this, in their view, it would “deny a potential aggressor the opportunity to fight on-on-one. Instead, the aggressor must attack assets and forces of multiple countries, which expands the scope of a conflict and reduces the odds that a potential aggressor can achieve their desired outcome at an acceptable cost.”17 This concept appears to have been crafted in a strategic and cultural analysis vacuum, given the unimpeded Chinese activity in space weapons research and testing, and its very different view toward deterrence. What we as a nation or coalition perceive as an “acceptable cost” and what the Chinese perceive as deterrence and acceptable cost, given the contemporary history and objectives of the CCP and PLA, are two very different things.

The PLA defines the strategy of deterrence (weishe zhanlue) as “the display of military power, or the threat of use of military power, in order to compel an opponent to submit.” In other words, as Henry Kissinger states, China’s view of deterrence “is similar to the Western concept of preemption—anticipating an attack by launching the first blow.” While the Chinese view does have some pre-emptive characteristics, its use in history appears to relate more to coercion or compellence than pure deterrence in the Western sense. Coercion is defined as “causing someone to choose one course of action over another by making the choice that the coercer prefers appear more attractive than the alternative.” An example of this in conventional conflict would be during the Sino-Indian War in 1962. The PLA invaded India, conducted military operations, and then re-deployed back to their border positions. The goal was to coerce or compel the Indians to not push China into full-scale war and place Beijing into a better negotiating position.21 The way to accomplish this is to demonstrate that the PLA was not weak and ready to conduct those operations if needed. They had achieved what is known as escalation dominance. Having the ability to achieve a “psychological shock” enabled China to deter through force, their enemies by demonstrating their ability to fight and emerge victorious. (Mao’s motivating force, according to Kissinger, was “less to inflict a decisive military first blow than to change the psychological balance.” Having a psychological shock to their enemy, achieved the goal of “genuine deterrence.”)

This view is clearly seen in the PLA’s current definition of deterrence and falls in line with the historical view toward Western passive deterrence as “ridiculous”.

link.

This was written from the POV of someone in the space industry advocating a change to the space policy.

Perfect Bit Commitment Through Quantum Mechanics AND Relativity for 15 ms?

A breakthrough in quantum cryptography demonstrates that information can be encrypted and then decrypted with complete security using the combined power of quantum theory and relativity - allowing the sender to dictate the unveiling of coded information without any possibility of intrusion or manipulation.

Scientists sent encrypted data between pairs of sites in Geneva and Singapore, kept "perfectly secure" for fifteen milliseconds - putting into practice what cryptographers call a 'bit commitment' protocol, based on theoretical work by study co-author Dr Adrian Kent, from Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

Researchers describe it as the first step towards impregnable information networks controlled by "the combined power of Einstein's relativity and quantum theory" which might one day, for example, revolutionise financial trading and other markets across the world.

'Bit commitment' is a mathematical version of a securely sealed envelope. Data are delivered from party A to party B in a locked state that cannot be changed once sent and can only be revealed when party A provides the key – with security guaranteed, even if either of the parties tries to cheat.

The technique could one day be used for everything from global financial trading to secure voting and even long-distance gambling, although researchers point out that this is the "very first step into new territory".

This is a significant breakthrough in the world of 'quantum cryptography' – one that was once believed to be impossible. The results are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

"This is the first time perfectly secure bit commitment – relying on the laws of physics and nothing else – has been demonstrated," said Adrian Kent.

"It is immensely satisfying to see these theoretical ideas at last made practical thanks to the ingenuity of all the theorists and experimenters in this collaboration."

Any signal between Geneva and Singapore takes at least fifteen milliseconds – with a millisecond equal to a thousandth of a second. This blink-of-an-eye is long enough with current technology to allow data to be handed over encrypted at both sites, and later decrypted – with security "unconditionally guaranteed" by the laws of physics, say the team.

The researchers have exploited two different areas of physics: Einstein's special relativity – which interprets uniform motion between two objects moving at relative speeds – combined with the power of quantum theory, the new physics of the subatomic world that Einstein famously dismissed as "spooky".

Completely secure 'bit commitment' using quantum theory alone is known to be impossible, say researchers, and the "extra control" provided by relativity is crucial.

link.

Confirmed Video: Noel Maurer @ Universidad de los Andes on Petropolitics

Its in spanish though and my spanish sucks.  Love the accent, Noel. 

Noel hangs his hat on the internet here.

Possible Noel Bait: A Ted Talk on the Three Large Mexican Drug Cartels

Noel talks about these folks more.  I think we ought to try to convince him to get up and speak at Ted about them.  Or energy.  Or trade.  Or a myriad of things.  

Noel!  Do you have some lectures online somewhere?

More Wrinkles for the Long Range Strike Bomber Program

Corporate maneuvering may be throwing a wrinkle into plans for the next big U.S. Air Force combat aircraft program, the Long Range Strike-Bomber (LRS-B), as Boeing and Lockheed Martin formed a powerful team to win the $100 billion-plus program. Left as a wallflower, Northrop Grumman has pointedly not confirmed its intention to compete, indicating unhappiness with the Pentagon's approach. But with most aspects of the program classified, companies are generally silent about their plans.

Under the agreement announced Oct. 25, Boeing will be the prime contractor, with Lockheed Martin as its primary teammate. This is their second trip to the altar on the USAF's next bomber, having joined forces in 2007 on what was then the Next-Generation Bomber (NGB) (the deal was announced in early 2008). Aimed at delivering a new bomber in 2018, NGB was canceled as a full-acquisition program in 2009, due to a combination of cost, risk and the 2008 fiscal crisis, and the two companies continued work separately.

The LRS-B program is aimed at delivering 80-100 very stealthy long-range bombers to the Air Force, with an initial operational capability in 2024-26, and with a unit procurement cost ceiling of $550 million, not including engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) and upgrades. The Air Force was given the go-ahead for LRS-B in early 2011, with easier operational requirements than NGB, particularly related to endurance and a cost ceiling endorsed by senior Pentagon leadership.

Unlike NGB, the LRS-B is expected to work as part of a family of LRS systems, including a long-endurance stealthy unmanned air system (UAS) (already under development by Northrop Grumman, under a classified program) and a future cruise missile (LRS-M). It is likely to be smaller than NGB and earlier USAF bombers.

NGB has apparently survived as the umbrella title for a number of risk-reduction efforts, including, according to an industry source (AW&ST Dec. 3, 2012, p. 29), a large-scale flight demonstrator produced by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “The risk being hedged against is the risk of not being able to deliver an aircraft in 2025,” one government official adds. “Unless you are close to flying something now, you are not going to do that.”

In an attempt to avoid the massive cost overruns endemic to its advanced programs, the Pentagon is imposing new constraints on the LRS-B program. Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, who retired in late 2011 as the Air Force's military deputy in the office of the assistant USAF secretary for acquisition, said in September at the Air Force Association's convention that the Pentagon is proposing many elements of EMD will be fixed-price, with cost-reimbursable line items limited to areas where the government sees risk. Incentive payments will be tied to tangible deliverables rather than paper milestones. Senior Pentagon leadership will supervise a “should-cost” process, controlling the release of money to the program office and retaining a contingency reserve.

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Sweetman Still Holds to Aurora Project

“It’s been almost 20 years since the SR-71 was retired. If there was a replacement, they’ve been hiding it pretty well,” says Brad Leland, Lockkheed Martin's portfolio manager for air-breathing hypersonic technologies, quoted in Guy Norris' breakthrough story on the SR-72.

Very true. 20 years ago, I and a bunch of other smart and occasionally eccentric individuals, Guy included, spent a lot of time trying to track down that SR-71 replacement, and (if it existed) it was indeed hidden very well. Mind you, those responsible for hiding secret projects had a few advantages over us, including the services of unfriendly men carrying M-16s, the authority to turn large pieces of the Mojave into use-of-deadly-force-authorized no-go areas, and the resources to forge quite convincing documents that linked Area 51 to re-engineered spacecraft and dead aliens.

Indeed, if someone hasn't hidden quite a few aircraft programs very well, the taxpayer is owed a confession and a refund, because there are a few things in this murky story that are clear beyond a doubt.

[...]

One of those things was a high-speed vehicle.

Of all the evidence that came to light in the course of the media/amateur investigation of Area 51, two pieces stand out: the 1989 sighting of an unidentified aircraft over the North Sea, and the sonic booms that created a small sensation in the Los Angeles area in 1990.

[...]

The background to the "mystery booms" is worth recounting. Seismologists at CalTech had recently finished networking the sensors distributed around the area. Out of curiosity, they began using those readings to plot the tracks of Space Shuttle landings at Edwards; only after that did they check on the unexplained "skyquakes", finding similar tracks. Although the researchers eventually accepted the USAF's contention that the booms were caused by fighters operating off the coast, one of the nation's leading sonic boom experts, Domenic Maglieri, has rejected that explanation.

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The booms ought to be easy to check out.  FOIA request for the flight times and logs of aircraft off the coast of California during the time frame Sweetman mentions.  If there was an Aurora it was almost assuredly canceled.  Remember, the time frame is when the cold war was winding down.  Aerospace companies were being massively downsized.  Giant projects were no longer in the appetite of the US: we picked between the SSC and ISS after all as an example.  We massively delayed the F-22.

Did a Great Flood Destroy the Native American Mississippian City of Cahokia?

One thousand years ago, on a floodplain of the Mississippi River near modern-day St. Louis, the massive Native American city known today as Cahokia sprang suddenly into existence. Three hundred years later it was virtually deserted.

The reasons for Cahokia's quick emergence and precipitous decline have been among the greatest mysteries in American prehistory, but new research suggests a possible cause of the city's demise: a catastrophic flood.

A team led by Samuel E. Munoz, a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, reported at the 2013 conference of the Geological Society of America that their study of sediment cores from a lake adjacent to the site of Cahokia reveals calamitous flooding of the area around 1200 C.E., just as the city was reaching its apex of population and power.

While analyzing cores from Horseshoe Lake, an oxbow lake that separated from the Mississippi River some 1,700 years ago, Munoz's team discovered a layer of silty clay 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) thick deposited by a massive ancient flood.

It's unlikely that the ancient floodwaters were high enough to inundate the ten-story mound at Cahokia's center, a structure now called Monk's Mound. (See "Cahokia: America's Forgotten City.") But a flood of such magnitude would have devastated croplands and residential areas, and may have made it impossible for a population numbering as many as 15,000 to continue inhabiting the area.

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This is How the Terrestrial World's Biosphere Will End

Swansong Biospheres II: The final signs of life on terrestrial planets near the end of their habitable lifetimes

Authors:

O'Malley-James et al

Abstract:

The biosignatures of life on Earth do not remain static, but change considerably over the planet's habitable lifetime. Earth's future biosphere, much like that of the early Earth, will consist of predominantly unicellular microorganisms due to the increased hostility of environmental conditions caused by the Sun as it enters the late stage of its main sequence evolution. Building on previous work, the productivity of the biosphere is evaluated during different stages of biosphere decline between 1 Gyr and 2.8 Gyr from present. A simple atmosphere-biosphere interaction model is used to estimate the atmospheric biomarker gas abundances at each stage and to assess the likelihood of remotely detecting the presence of life in low-productivity, microbial biospheres, putting an upper limit on the lifetime of Earth's remotely detectable biosignatures. Other potential biosignatures such as leaf reflectance and cloud cover are discussed.

pop sci write up.

Exoplanet Mass/Size/Location Distribution Starting to Become Clear

FAST RISE OF "NEPTUNE-SIZE" PLANETS (4-8 R ⊕) FROM P ~ 10 TO ~250 DAYS—STATISTICS OF KEPLER PLANET CANDIDATES UP TO ~0.75 AU

Authors:

Subo Dong and Zhaohuan Zhu

Abstract:

We infer the period (P) and size (Rp ) distribution of Kepler transiting planet candidates with Rp ≥ 1 R ⊕ and P less than 250 days hosted by solar-type stars. The planet detection efficiency is computed by using measured noise and the observed time spans of the light curves for ~120,000 Kepler target stars. We focus on deriving the shape of planet periods and radius distribution functions. We find that for orbital periods P greater than 10 days, the planet frequency dNp /dlog P for "Neptune-size" planets (Rp = 4-8 R ⊕) increases with period as vpropP 0.7 ± 0.1. In contrast, dNp /dlog P for "super-Earth-size" (2-4 R ⊕) as well as "Earth-size" (1-2 R ⊕) planets are consistent with a nearly flat distribution as a function of period (vpropP 0.11 ± 0.05 and vpropP –0.10 ± 0.12, respectively), and the normalizations are remarkably similar (within a factor of ~1.5 at 50 days). Planet size distribution evolves with period, and generally the relative fractions for big planets (~3-10 R ⊕) increase with period. The shape of the distribution function is not sensitive to changes in the selection criteria of the sample. The implied nearly flat or rising planet frequency at long periods appears to be in disagreement with the sharp decline at ~100 days in planet frequency for low-mass planets (planet mass mp < 30 M ⊕) recently suggested by the HARPS survey. Within 250 days, the cumulative frequencies for Earth-size and super-Earth-size planets are remarkably similar (~28% and 25%), while Neptune-size and Jupiter-size planets are ~7% and ~3%, respectively. A major potential uncertainty arises from the unphysical impact parameter distribution of the candidates.

Vegatation of Maastrichtian Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation Reconstructed

A snapshot into the terrestrial ecosystem of an exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur (Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA

Authors:

Vajda et al

Abstract:

A palynological investigation of sedimentary rocks enclosing an exceptionally well-preserved fossil dinosaur (Hadrosauridae) discovered in the upper part of the Hell Creek Formation in south western North Dakota was conducted in order to document the immediate paleoenvironment of this dinosaur. The specimen, an Edmontosaurus annectens is remarkable in having exceptional three-dimensional preservation of soft tissue around the skeleton, indicating rapid burial. A well-preserved palynological assemblage dominated by fern and bryophyte spores, with lesser gymnosperm and angiosperm pollen was recovered. Sparse fresh-water algae and marine dinoflagellate cysts were also recorded. The palynofacies is dominated by wood fragments, including charcoal, with little amorphous organic matter. The presence of some typical pollen taxa of the Wodehouseia spinata Assemblage Zone including Striatellipollis striatellus, Tricolpites microreticulatus, Leptopecopites pocockii as well as a diverse suite of Aquilapollenites, is fully consistent with a Late Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian) age. The palynoflora indicates a local vegetation composed of a canopy of conifers dominated by Pinaceae and a minor sub-canopy of Taxodium and cycads, as well as an understory of hydrophilous ferns, mosses and herbaceous angiosperms, indicative of a warm and humid climate – an environment where this specific hadrosaur roamed over 66 million years ago.

Dimetrodon Demonstrated to be Eating Lepospondyl Diplocaulus in Middle Permian Texas

Talk about a creature feature: A bizarre boomerang-headed amphibian that burrowed in a seasonal pond in what is now Texas often met its doom in the jaws of a reptilian fin-backed mammalian ancestor, new fossils reveal.

These two weird critters were residents of the Permian period 298 million to 250 million years ago, before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Dimetrodon, the jaguar-size finback, looked like a lizard but was actually more closely related to modern mammals. Diplocaulus, the boomerang-head, was a truly strange amphibian with an impractically wide, bony skull.

[...]

Bakker and his colleagues discovered the Dimetrodon and Diplocaulus interaction in the Craddock bone bed in Baylor County, Texas. The bone bed is scattered with the bodies of boomerang-heads, curled in what were once burrows. The amphibians seem to have burrowed into the mud to survive the dry season, the researchers reported here Monday at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.

"The bed had a reputation of just being a stew pot with everything mixed together," Bakker said. "That's totally wrong. It's beautifully layered."

The excavations revealed that boomerang-heads were common in the pond — and that something was snacking on them.

"We have hundreds of these, mostly chewed, and even the guys in burrows got attacked," Bakker said.

The shed teeth, "like bullets in a crime scene," revealed the attacker to be Dimetrodon, he said. The finback's sharp fangs and long snout would have enabled it to bite boomerang-heads hiding in burrows, perhaps after partially excavating them with its sharp, digging claws.

One cluster of eight juvenile boomerang-heads was found stacked together, suggesting they all occupied the same burrow. Dimetrodon likely killed the top three, including one whose nose was bitten clean off (taking part of the brain with it). The other five boomerang-heads survived the Dimetrodon, only to perish during the next dry season, Bakker said.

link.

Evidence of at Least Three Proterozoic Islands Arcs in the Northern Arabian–Nubian Shield

Three successive Proterozoic island arcs in the Northern Arabian–Nubian Shield: Evidence from SIMS U–Pb dating of zircon

Authors:

Eyal et al.

Abstract:

Four isolated metamorphic complexes located within post-collisional granitoids occupying up to 70% of the total area, were distinguished in Sinai (Egypt) and Elat area (southern Israel), the northernmost part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield. The metamorphic rocks include metasediments, felsic and mafic metavolcanic rocks intruded by granitic, dioritic, and gabbroic plutons, all subjected to penetrative deformation.

We present new SIMS U–Pb dating of zircons from 13 rock units comprising metasediments, volcanic rocks, gneisses and plutons from three metamorphic complexes (Sa'al, Feiran–Solaf, and Kid). In addition we present a SIMS U–Pb titanite age of a granitic gneiss previously dated using zircon. On the basis of the new and published U–Pb data, three successive Meso- to Neoproterozoic island arcs formed during a period of ca. 500 My are recognized. The Sa'al arc (represented by the oldest arc rocks in the ANS) evolved from 1.03 to 0.93 Ga (100 My); the Feiran–Elat arc developed from ca. 870 to 740 Ma (130 My), and the Kid arc formed from ca. 640 to 620 Ma (20 My). Evidence for an older, ca. 1.1 Ga, pre-Sa'al island arc was established from the zircon xenocryst population, though no exposures of rocks of this age were found. In the Sa'al and Kid arcs both volcanic and sedimentary rocks are preserved, whereas in the Elat–Feiran arc volcanic rocks are missing. We suggest that at ~ 700 Ma the Elat−Feiran arc was subjected to rifting that resulted in separating of the Qenaia block and its movement to the SE.

China's Economic Model Has Hit A Wall: Are They Serious About Reform Now?

The message from Beijing could not be clearer: China needs to shift to a more balanced economy that is socially and environmentally sustainable.

That was the conclusion of a key Communist Party meeting a decade ago, yet what followed was more of the same: rapid investment-led expansion, which turned China into the world's no.2 economy, but left it laden with debt, environmental damage and excess capacity.

Fast forward to 2013 and China's new leadership is again promising more harmonious development and the question is how to tell whether, this time, it is for real.

link.

China Opposes Release of Rare Earth Elements WTO Report

China said Friday it opposes the release of a WTO report about its export curbs on rare earths — exotic minerals used in mobile phones and other high-tech products — following news accounts that the document rejects Beijing's policy as a trade violation. The report by World Trade Organization experts is not a final ruling and leaks would violate the trade body's rules, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. It gave no details of the report.

Japan's Jiji Press news agency and The Financial Times, citing unidentified officials, have said the report sides with the United States, the European Union and Japan. In a March 2012 complaint to the WTO, they said export curbs improperly favor Chinese domestic manufacturers in violation of Beijing's free-trade commitments. China has about 30 percent of global deposits of rare earths but accounts for more than 90 percent of production. It alarmed foreign companies by limiting exports in 2009 amid efforts to build up domestic manufacturers to capture more of the profits that go to producers of mobile phone batteries and other products.

[...]

"China has repeatedly stressed that China's policy objective is to protect resources and the environment and achieve sustainable development, and that it has no intention of protecting domestic industries in a way that distorts trade," the commerce ministry statement said. Beijing's export curbs pushed up rare earths prices on global markets. That prompted foreign producers to announce plans to re-open or develop mines in California, Canada, India, Russia and elsewhere.

link.

Is It Mom or Dad's Fault, ahem, DNA?

A new technique successfully takes on a longstanding challenge in DNA sequencing – determining whether a particular genetic sequence comes from an individual's mother or father. The method, described in a Ludwig Cancer Research study in Nature Biotechnology, promises to accelerate studies of how genes contribute to disease, improve the process of matching donors with organs and help scientists better understand human migration patterns.

"The technique will enable clinicians to better assess a person's individual risk for disease. It is potentially transformative for personalized medicine," says Bing Ren, Ludwig scientist at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, who led the research on the new technique, called "HaploSeq."

"Current sequencing technologies are fast and rapidly getting cheaper – an individual's genome can now be sequenced in about a week for $5,000," says Ren. "In the not too distant future, everyone's genome will be sequenced. That will become the standard of care." But, he explains, "There has been a problem with this scenario." Except for the sex chromosomes, everyone has two copies of each chromosome. One copy comes from mom, and the other from dad. Current techniques cannot distinguish between the two copies of each gene and, therefore, are not very good at determining whether particular genetic differences, such as a single-letter change in the DNA, originate with an individual's mother or father – muddying genetic analyses.

Ren's new technique, a mixture of molecular biology and computational biology approaches, bypasses this problem. The method enables researchers to quickly determine which genetic variants occur together on the same stretch of chromosome and, therefore, came from the same parent. "This advance has direct implications for the utility of genomics in clinical practice and will also have profound effects on genetic research and discovery," says Ludwig scientist Siddarth Selvaraj, who contributed to the study with Ren and fellow Ludwig researcher Jesse Dixon.

More immediately, the technique will enable clinicians to better assess a person's individual risk for disease, a cornerstone of personalized medicine. For instance, people at risk for a disease such as cancer often have more than one DNA mutation. HaploSeq could enable clinicians to determine if the two mutations are on the same chromosome or on different chromosomes, which can help in risk assessment – for instance, risk may be reduced if two mutations are on the same chromosome, since the 'good' chromosome can often compensate.

Similarly, the method, with further honing, has the potential to refine the currently cumbersome process of determining whether there is a genetic match between an organ donor and recipient. A large number of genes contribute to compatibility between donor and recipient, but there is a lot of genetic variability in these genes. The new technique could help determine whether DNA differences between donor and recipient are likely to be a good match. "This will require more study," says Ren, "but by creating a DNA database, it may be possible to more accurately and expediently pair recipients and donors."

The new method will also help researchers analyze human migration and determine ancestry from their DNA sequences. "In principal," says Ren, "you could compare your genetic sequence to your neighbor's and ask if you have any recent ancestors in common. With our technique we can study each individual and how they relate to other individuals. As we accumulate data from many individuals we can more precisely determine their relationships." Such findings will also bolster an ongoing international project to assess worldwide human genetic variation, the HapMap project.

link.

An Essay on Creating Life on a Gas Giant for the Cosmos Series

link.

These images, especially the last one, really captivated me as a teen.  They are gorgeous.  They are fascinating.  They are utterly alien.

Combine This With Boston Dynamic's Atlas and...

Never need to worry about a Zombie Apocalypse again.

I'd swap a kinect for hydra, but that's just me.

Russia and Ukraine Scuttle Plans for Antarctic Marine Sanctuary

Russia and the Ukraine on Friday again scuttled plans to create the world's largest ocean sanctuary in Antarctica, pristine waters rich in energy and species such as whales, penguins and vast stocks of fish, an environmentalist group said.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources wound up a week-long meeting in Hobart, Australia, considering proposals for two "marine protected areas" aimed at conserving the ocean wilderness from fishing, drilling for oil and other industrial interests.

"It seems pretty clear that a small group of countries led by Russia wanted to wreck the agreement," Steve Campbell, director of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance which campaigns for protecting the Antarctic seas, said by phone from London.

For the sanctuary proposals to pass, they need backing from all 200 delegates from 25 member countries, many of which have conflicting interests.

Russia and Ukraine also actively blocked the two proposals in July, with China withdrawing support for one.

link.

1095 Market Project Ready to Move Forward

link.

How the Balkhash–West Junggar Remnant Ocean was Lost During the Late Paleozoic in Central Asia

How was the Carboniferous Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean filled and closed? Insights from the Well Tacan-1 strata in the Tacheng Basin, NW China

Authors:

Di Li, Dengfa He, Xuefeng Qi and Ningning Zhang

Abstract:

The Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean is a conspicuous tectonic feature that had an important effect on the Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the Central Asian orogenic belt. How the Carboniferous Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean was filled and closed is poorly understood. In this study, we focus on the integrated tectonic–sedimentary evolution of the Tacheng Basin, which is located in the eastern part of the Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean, using high-resolution seismic reflection, well-line, geochronological and geochemical data to establish the filling of the basin by sediments and its evolution. The Carboniferous Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean basin was filled with Early Carboniferous deep marine mudstone and interbedded sandstone with minor andesite, basalt and tuff, and Late Carboniferous basalt, andesite, breccia and tuff and shallow marine mudstone and sandstone. The Carboniferous igneous assemblage mainly consists of basalt with high Nb content and (Nb/La)PM values and concomitant magnesian andesites with adakite geochemical characteristics of high Sr and low Y and Yb, suggesting a subduction-related tectonic setting. Zircons in the tuff that underlies the basalts and magnesian andesites were dated to ca. 315 Ma by LA–ICP–MS U–Pb. The identified unconformity between the Carboniferous and Lower Permian from seismic reflection profile in Well Tacan-1 subdivided the Carboniferous–Early Permian strata into two tectonostratigraphic units. The Lower Permian sequences overlap the Carboniferous strata and the facies transition from the submarine Carboniferous to the terrigenous Lower Permian indicates that the Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean closed during the Early Permian. These new data suggest that the sedimentary filling of the basin was in response to subduction and accretionary processes and that oceanic subduction was an important mechanism that led to the shrinking, filling and closure of the Balkhash–West Junggar remnant ocean because of compression. Therefore, lateral crust growth through subduction–accretionary processes still played an important role in the Carboniferous construction of western Junggar.

Half of Russia's Air Force Jets are Nonfunctional

 the authors describe the parlous state of ”technical readiness” in the Air Forces.

All VVS units are supposed to be in “permanent readiness,” with not less than 80 percent of the airplanes in their established composition in a serviceable state.

But Safronov and Kiseleva report only 42 percent of VVS airplanes overall, and 49 percent of its combat airplanes, are serviceable.

The most serious situation with fitness for flying is found in Tu-160 and Tu-22 [Tu-22M3] bombers, the MiG-29 and MiG-25, An-22 transports, L-39 trainers, and others for which serviceability hovers around 20-25 percent.

In 2013, the VVS had 696 airplanes in need of repair, but as (or if) new ones reach the inventory toward 2020, the number in need of repair will reportedly decline to just 49.

link.

Will the IMF be a Player in the EU-Russian Tug-o-war Over Ukraine?

The increased coziness with the EU has annoyed Moscow, which wants Ukraine to instead join the customs union it has formed with several other former Soviet republics. As in other similar cases, there have been vague threats that Moscow might use its control of energy resources to punish Kiev for tilting westward. Lithuania's president said recently that Ukraine faces "huge, huge pressure from Russia" not to ink the agreement with the EU.

If Ukraine persists, there's a real chance of economic retaliation from Moscow. And that in turn could put the International Monetary Fund smack in the middle of the high-stakes dispute.

link.

Mangalyaan: India's November 5th Attempt to Beat China to the Red Planet

MUCH goes bang over India at this time of year, amid celebrations for Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. By one estimate, Indians spend over $800m a year on fireworks. But, in cosmic terms, they barely leave the ground. How much more exciting that a single, 4.5 billion-rupee ($74m) rocket is set to whoosh high into the sky on November 5th.

This one is not intended to explode, though in December 2010 scientists had to blow up a rocket that went haywire after a launch. Instead the idea is to send a craft to Mars. If all goes well, the rocket will lift Mangalyaan (“Mars vehicle”), which looks like a big box of gold foil, into orbit round the Earth. After stretching its solar wings and fiddling with its trajectory, it will set off on the nine-month trip to Earth’s neighbour.

link.

Autism Strongly Correlated to Genes Related to Linguistic Impairment, OCD, etc

Lorenzo Miodus-Santini an 11-year-old sixth-grader from Princeton, who was classified as autistic at only 13 months old, was never a big talker. As an infant he didn't babble or coo. When he was a toddler beginning to speak, he would learn one word but forget another.

His older brother, Christian, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, shared some similar characteristics – difficulty with reading, processing words and speaking clearly. Doctors said he had language impairments but was not autistic.

New research published online today in the American Journal of Psychiatry, by scientists at Rutgers University and The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, reveals that there is a genetic link connecting family members with autism like Lorenzo Miodus-Santini to those like his brother, Christian, who have specific language impairment characterized by speech and language difficulties that can't be explained by cognitive or physical problems.

The research project leader Linda Brzustowicz, Rutgers professor and chair of the Department of Genetics, in the School of Arts and Sciences, says that genes in a narrow region of two chromosomes (15q23-26 and 16p12) responsible for oral and written language impairments can result in similar behavioral characteristics with one family member developing autism and the other having only language difficulties.

Specific language impairment is one of the most common learning disabilities, affecting an estimated 7 percent of children. It is not considered to be an autism spectrum disorder. Autism effects one in 88 children nationally – with nearly five times as many boys than girls diagnosed – about half of whom have some degree of language impairment.

"In this group of families we are trying to find genetic factors that might connect them," says Brzustowicz, who collaborated on the study with Christopher W. Bartell, principal investigator in the Battelle Center for Mathematical Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "This research is important because it is hard to understand autism until we find the genes that might be involved."

While scientists don't believe that there is one single gene that causes autism but rather a number of genes that increase the risk, Brzustowicz and her team of researchers are working to identify genetic patterns in these families in order to help gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to autism, a developmental brain disorder that appears in the first three years of life.

In the Rutgers autism study, 79 families – mostly from New Jersey and Pennsylvania – with one child with autism and at least one with specific language impairment underwent extensive in-home testing. Besides taking blood samples for genetic testing, family members including parents, children, and grandparents and in some cases even uncles, aunts and cousins underwent a battery of tests to assess grammar, vocabulary and language processing.

"Our results indicate that there are shared patterns of DNA and visible behavioral characteristics across our group of study families," says Judy Flax, an associate research professor working on the study with Brzustowicz.

In addition to the language findings, researchers also found strong evidence of a genetic link in the areas of obsessive-compulsive, repetitive behaviors and social interaction skills, other symptoms associated with autism.

Brzustowicz says the next step will be to sequence the whole genome of those who participated in the study in order to compare the families to see if scientists can pinpoint any specific genes or mutations that are common to all.

link.

I think they ought to include parental ages of the children.  It would be MORE than illuminating.

Careful How You Sample For Paleo Diversity Studies

Spatial Bias in the Marine Fossil Record

Authors:

Daril A. Vilhena and Andrew B. Smith

Abstract:

Inference of past and present global biodiversity requires enough global data to distinguish biological pattern from sampling artifact. Pertinently, many studies have exposed correlated relationships between richness and sampling in the fossil record, and methods to circumvent these biases have been proposed. Yet, these studies often ignore paleobiogeography, which is undeniably a critical component of ancient global diversity. Alarmingly, our global analysis of 481,613 marine fossils spread throughout the Phanerozoic reveals that where localities are and how intensively they have been sampled almost completely determines empirical spatial patterns of richness, suggesting no separation of biological pattern from sampling pattern. To overcome this, we analyze diversity using occurrence records drawn from two discrete paleolatitudinal bands which cover the bulk of the fossil data. After correcting the data for sampling bias, we find that these two bands have similar patterns of richness despite markedly different spatial coverage. Our findings suggest that i) long-term diversity trends result from large-scale tectonic evolution of the planet, ii) short-term diversity trends are region-specific, and iii) paleodiversity studies must constrain their analyses to well-sampled regions to uncover patterns not driven by sampling.

MacArthur BART Station Redevelopment Rendering

link.

1415 Mission Rendering

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Geology and Tectonics of Continental Interiors

Tectonics and melting in intra-continental settings

Authors:

Weronika Gorczyk and Katharina Vogt

Abstract:

Most of the geodynamic theories of deformation as well as metamorphism and melting of continental lithosphere are concentrated on plate boundaries and are dominated by the effects of subduction upon deformation of the margins of continental lithospheric blocks. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that suture zones, or mobile belts, presumably representing fossil subduction zones, or other types of pre-deformation which occur far from present plate boundaries, play a key role in intra-continental deformation. In such zones, the crust is strongly sheared and the mantle lithosphere is metasomatized. Reworking of such settings reveals a surprisingly large range of instabilities that develop in compressed lithosphere with lateral heterogeneities inherited from previous deformational processes. Structural complexity arises, which is sensitive to lithospheric age and tectonic setting. This complexity influences localization of deformation, topographic evolution, melt generation, and melt generation, ascent and emplacemnt. In this paper, using fully coupled petrological-thermomechanical modeling, various tectonic responses are correlated with magmatic events in intra-continental settings and are compared to observed intra-cratonic orogenies and magmatic events.

More Good Economic News From Africa via the Economist

AFRICA is a continent rich in minerals and oil. China has an economy that requires them in abundance. Since the mid-1990s the economy of sub-Saharan Africa has grown by an average of 5% a year. At the start of this period Africa’s trade with China was negligible. It is now worth around $200 billion a year. Most of Africa’s exports are raw materials. China sends manufactured goods back in return.

It can thus be quite hard to see past the role of China’s ravenous appetite for raw materials in Africa’s recent economic success. Natural resources make up a quarter or more of export revenues for around half of the 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Nine of them, including Nigeria and Angola, which have two of Africa’s largest economies, benefit from exports of oil and gas.

Yet mining and oil are far from the whole story. A study published this week by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finds that eight of the 12 fastest-growing economies in Africa in recent years did not rely on natural resources. Together these economies grew more quickly even than the group of oil producers.

link.

How Big a Reform is Coming to China's Economy?

RUNNING the world’s biggest country requires sacrifice. For the Communist Party’s top 376 officials on its central committee, the sacrifice includes the occasional weekend. From Saturday November 9th until the following Tuesday, they will gather in Beijing for the third time since Xi Jinping became head of the party nearly a year ago. The “third plenum”, as this meeting will be called, is the new leadership’s chance to lay out its stall on economic reform. In the past similar gatherings have shaken the world. The third plenum in 1978, for example, sealed Deng Xiaoping’s authority over the party, allowing his vision of “reform and opening up” to prevail. Another third plenum, in 1993, set the stage for a ruthless shake-out of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

If the past provides the inspiration for ambitious reform, the present furnishes the compelling need for it. In recent years China’s growth has slowed significantly to under 8%—and were it not for a timely fiscal stimulus would be slower still. Some of the slowdown is inevitable, the consequence of a diminishing technological gap with the rest of the world and a declining working-age population. But two other macroeconomic trends are causing concern. The investment spending sustaining China’s growth appears to be yielding sharply lower returns. At the same time, credit is growing faster than GDP (see chart 1). It suggests that people are borrowing to buy assets, particularly land and property. The more these assets appreciate, the more people borrow.

Will Mr Xi rise to the occasion?

link.

Comparing the ISS Space Freighters

The ATV is, uh, huge.


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Kewl Fan Trailer for Chinese Lunar Mission Chang'e 3

Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum: An Extremophile Which Uses Rare Earth Elements in its Metabolism

Rare earths are among the most precious raw materials of all. These metals are used in mobile telephones, display screens and computers. And they are apparently indispensable for some organisms as well. A team of researchers, including scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg, has discovered a bacterium which needs rare earths to grow - in a hot spring. Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum requires lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium or neodymium as co-factor for the enzyme methanol dehydrogenase, with which the microbes produce their energy. The use of rare earths is possibly more widespread among bacteria than previously thought.

[..]

In living organisms, the rare earths really are rare, on the other hand. As they dissolve hardly at all in water, most organisms cannot use them for their metabolism. This makes their discovery in a mudpot of volcanic origin in the Solfatara crater in Italy all the more surprising. Microbiologists from the Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, have found a microbe which cannot live without some of the rare earths.

Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum belongs to a group of bacteria which have chosen an extremely inhospitable habitat: They thrive best at a pH value of between 2 and 5 and temperatures of between 50 and 60 degrees - conditions which are lethal for other organisms. Methylacidiphilum even tolerates pH values below 1, which corresponds to concentrated sulphuric acid.

The microbes produce their energy from methane. They have a special enzyme, methanol dehydrogenase, which processes the methanol produced in the decomposition of methane with the aid of metal co-factors. Most of these bacteria use calcium for this process.

In the course of their investigations, the Nijmegen researchers noticed that Methylacidiphilum thrives only with original water from the mudpot. None of the trace elements which the researchers added to the Petri dishes encouraged the bacteria to grow. An analysis of the water showed that it contained concentrations of rare earths that were one hundred to one thousand times higher than normal.

Thomas Barends and Andreas Dietl from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research investigated the three-dimensional structure of methanol dehydrogenase. They thereby noticed that Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum had inserted not calcium, but an atom of a different metal in its methanol dehydrogenase.

"Suddenly, everything fit together," explains Thomas Barends. "We were able to show that this mysterious atom must be a rare earth. This is the first time ever that rare earths have been found to have such a biological function." Methylacidiphilum uses the rare earths lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium and neodymium in its methanol dehydrogenase instead of calcium. The bacterium needs them to produce energy from methane.

link.

American Drones With Frickin Laser Beams on Their...Wings

U.S. military researchers are hiring two defense companies to develop technology for pod-mounted laser weapons to protect manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR)-guided surface-to-air missiles.

Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are choosing the Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems segment in Redondo Beach, Calif., and the Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training segment in Akron, Ohio, for Project Endurance to develop laser weapons to defend aircraft from missiles.

Northrop Grumman is receiving a $14.6 million contract, and Lockheed Martin is receiving an $11.4 million for the Endurance program. The contracts were announced Monday.

Project Endurance, previously part of the DARPA Excalibur laser weapons program, focuses on miniaturizing component technologies, developing high-precision target tracking, identification, and lightweight agile beam control to support target engagement.

link. 2nd link. 3rd link.

Via Avleak: Lockheed Ready to Start on Mach Six SR-72 After Seven Years of Secret Research, Ready for 2018 Demo

Ever since Lockheed’s unsurpassed SR-71 Blackbird was retired from U.S. Air Force service almost two decades ago, the perennial question has been: Will it ever be succeeded by a new-generation, higher-speed aircraft and, if so, when?

That is, until now. After years of silence on the subject, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has revealed exclusively to AW&ST details of long-running plans for what it describes as an affordable hypersonic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike platform that could enter development in demonstrator form as soon as 2018. Dubbed the SR-72, the twin-engine aircraft is designed for a Mach 6 cruise, around twice the speed of its forebear, and will have the optional capability to strike targets.

Guided by the U.S. Air Force’s long-term hypersonic road map, the SR-72 is designed to fill what are perceived by defense planners as growing gaps in coverage of fast-reaction intelligence by the plethora of satellites, subsonic manned and unmanned platforms meant to replace the SR-71. Potentially dangerous and increasingly mobile threats are emerging in areas of denied or contested airspace, in countries with sophisticated air defenses and detailed knowledge of satellite movements.

A vehicle penetrating at high altitude and Mach 6, a speed viewed by Lockheed Martin as the “sweet spot” for practical air-breathing hypersonics, is expected to survive where even stealthy, advanced subsonic or supersonic aircraft and unmanned vehicles might not. Moreover, an armed ISR platform would also have the ability to strike targets before they could hide.

Although there has been evidence to suggest that work on various classified successors to the SR-71, or some of its roles, has been attempted, none of the tantalizing signs have materialized into anything substantial. Outside of the black world, this has always been relatively easy to explain. Though few question the compelling military imperative for high speed ISR capability, the astronomical development costs have made the notion a virtual nonstarter.

But now Lockheed Martin believes it has the answer. “The Skunk Works has been working with Aerojet Rocketdyne for the past seven years to develop a method to integrate an off-the-shelf turbine with a scramjet to power the aircraft from standstill to Mach 6 plus,” says Brad Leland, portfolio manager for air-breathing hypersonic technologies. “Our approach builds on HTV-3X, but this extends a lot beyond that and addresses the one key technical issue that remained on that program: the high-speed turbine engine,” he adds, referring to the U.S. Air Force/Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) reusable hypersonic demonstrator canceled in 2008.

[...]

Fundamental lessons were learned, particularly about flight control systems that could maintain stability through the transonic speed regime. Lockheed Martin’s work proved the configuration could “take off without departing,” Leland notes. “We were able to drive down the takeoff speed and keep it stable and controllable. We proved all that in a whole series of wind-tunnel tests.”

Just as importantly, the Skunk Works design team developed a methodology for integrating a working, practical turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system. “Before that, it was all cartoons,” Leland says. “We actually developed a way of transforming it from a turbojet to a ramjet and back. We did a lot of tests to prove it out, including the first mode-transition demonstration.” The Skunk Works conducted subscale ground tests of the TBCC under the Facet program, which combined a small high-Mach turbojet with a dual-mode ramjet/scramjet, and the two sharing an axisymmetric inlet and nozzle.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s parallel HiSTED (High-Speed Turbine Engine Demonstration) program essentially failed to produce a small turbojet capable of speeds up to Mach 4 in a TBCC. “The high-speed turbine engine was the one technical issue remaining. Frankly, they just weren’t ready,” recalls Leland. This left the Skunk Work designers with a familiar problem: how to bridge the gap between the Mach 2.5 maximum speed of current-production turbine engines and the Mach 3-3.5 takeover speed of the ramjet/scramjet. “We call it the thrust chasm around Mach 3,” he adds.

Although further studies were conducted after the demise of the HTV-3X under the follow-on Darpa Mode-Transition program, that fell by the wayside, too, after completion of a TBCC engine model in 2009-10. So, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet Rocketdyne “sat down as two companies and asked ourselves, ‘Can we make it work? What are we still missing?’” says Leland. “A Mach 4 turbine is what gets you there, and we’ve been working with Rocketdyne on this problem for the last seven years.”

Finally, he says, the two achieved a design breakthrough that will enable the development of a viable hypersonic SR-71 replacement. “We have developed a way to work with an off-the-shelf fighter-class engine like the F100/F110,” notes Leland. The work, which includes modifying the ramjet to adapt to a lower takeover speed, is “the key enabler to make this airplane practical, and to making it both near-term and affordable,” he explains. “Even if the HiSTED engines were successful, and even if Blackswift flew, we’d have had to scale up those tiny turbines, and that would have cost billions.”

[...]

Lockheed has run scaled tests on components. “The next step would be to put it through a series of tests or critical demonstrations,” Leland says. “We are ready for those critical demonstrations, and we could be ready to do such a demonstration aircraft in 2018. That would be the beginning of building and running complete critical demonstrations. As of now, there are no technologies to be invented. We are ready to proceed—the only thing holding us back is the perception that [hypersonics] is always expensive, large and exotic.”

The 2018 time line is determined by the potential schedule for the high-speed strike weapon (HSSW), a U.S. hypersonic missile program taking shape under the Air Force and Darpa (see page 36). “We can do critical demonstrations between now and then, but we don’t believe it will be until HSSW flies and puts to bed any questions about this technology, and whether we can we truly make these, that the confidence will be there.” In spite of the recent success of demonstration efforts, such as the X-51A Waverider, Leland observes that “hypersonics still has a bit of a giggle factor.”

link.

Let me say again: there was NO Aurora project.  oy.  This just helps prove it.

Flipside.  This would be a kewl compliment to the next gen bomber they are working on.  Something quick and something persistent.

Single Tectonic Plate Planets: a Model & Implications

Partial melting in one-plate planets: Implications for thermo-chemical and atmospheric evolution

Authors:

A.-C. Plesa and D. Breuer

Abstract:

In the present work, we investigate the influence of partial melting on mantle dynamics, crustal formation, and volcanic outgassing of a one-plate planet using a 2D mantle convection code. When melt is extracted to form crust, the mantle material left behind is more buoyant than its parent material and depleted in radioactive heat sources. The extracted heat-producing elements are then enriched in the crust, which also has an insulating effect due to its lower thermal conductivity compared to the mantle. In addition, partial melting can influence the mantle rheology through the dehydration (water depletion) of the mantle material by volcanic outgassing. As a consequence, the viscosity of water-depleted regions increases more than two orders of magnitude compared to water-saturated rocks resulting in slower cooling rates. The most important parameter influencing the thermo-chemical evolution is the assumed density difference between the primitive and the depleted mantle material (i.e., between peridotite and harzburgite). With small or negligible values of compositional buoyancy, crustal formation including crustal delamination is very efficient, also resulting in efficient processing and degassing of the mantle. The convecting mantle below the stagnant lid depletes continuously with time. In contrast, with increasing compositional buoyancy, crustal formation and mantle degassing are strongly suppressed although partial melting is substantially prolonged in the thermal evolution. The crust shows strong lateral variations in thickness, and crustal delamination is reduced and occurs only locally. Furthermore, two to four different mantle reservoirs can form depending on the initial temperature distribution. Two of these reservoirs can be sustained during the entire evolution – a scenario possibly valid for Mars as it may explain the isotope characteristic of the martian meteorites.

Triple Brown Dwarf System Found

 

DISCOVERY OF A VISUAL T-DWARF TRIPLE SYSTEM AND BINARITY AT THE L/T TRANSITION

Authors:

Radigan et al

Abstract:

We present new high contrast imaging of eight L/T transition brown dwarfs (BDs) using the NIRC2 camera on the Keck II telescope. One of our targets, the T3.5 dwarf 2MASS J08381155+1511155, was resolved into a hierarchal triple with projected separations of 2.5 ± 0.5 AU and 27 ± 5 AU for the BC and A(BC) components, respectively. Resolved OSIRIS spectroscopy of the A(BC) components confirms that all system members are T dwarfs. The system therefore constitutes the first triple T-dwarf system ever reported. Using resolved photometry to model the integrated-light spectrum, we infer spectral types of T3 ± 1, T3 ± 1, and T4.5 ± 1 for the A, B, and C components, respectively. The uniformly brighter primary has a bluer J – Ks color than the next faintest component, which may reflect a sensitive dependence of the L/T transition temperature on gravity, or alternatively divergent cloud properties among components. Relying on empirical trends and evolutionary models we infer a total system mass of 0.034-0.104 M ☉ for the BC components at ages of 0.3-3 Gyr, which would imply a period of 12-21 yr assuming the system semimajor axis to be similar to its projection. We also infer differences in effective temperatures and surface gravities between components of no more than ~150 K and ~0.1 dex. Given the similar physical properties of the components, the 2M0838+15 system provides a controlled sample for constraining the relative roles of effective temperature, surface gravity, and dust clouds in the poorly understood L/T transition regime. For an age of 3 Gyr we estimate a binding energy of ~20 × 1041 erg for the wide A(BC) pair, which falls above the empirical minimum found for typical BD binaries, and suggests that the system may have been able to survive a dynamical ejection during formation. Combining our imaging survey results with previous work we find an observed binary fraction of 4/18 or $22_{-8}^{+10}$% for unresolved spectral types of L9-T4 at separations gsim 0.''1. This translates into a volume-corrected frequency of $13^{+7}_{-6}$%, which is similar to values of ~9%-12% reported outside the transition. Our reported L/T transition binary fraction is roughly twice as large as the binary fraction of an equivalent L9-T4 sample selected from primary rather than unresolved spectral types ($6^{+6}_{-4}$%); however, this increase is not yet statistically significant and a larger sample is required to settle the issue.

Diet in the Context of Sauropod Dinosaur Gigantism

Herbivory and Body Size: Allometries of Diet Quality and Gastrointestinal Physiology, and Implications for Herbivore Ecology and Dinosaur Gigantism

Authors:

Marcus Clauss, Patrick Steuer, Dennis W. H. Müller, Daryl Codron and Jürgen Hummel

Abstract:

Digestive physiology has played a prominent role in explanations for terrestrial herbivore body size evolution and size-driven diversification and niche differentiation. This is based on the association of increasing body mass (BM) with diets of lower quality, and with putative mechanisms by which a higher BM could translate into a higher digestive efficiency. Such concepts, however, often do not match empirical data. Here, we review concepts and data on terrestrial herbivore BM, diet quality, digestive physiology and metabolism, and in doing so give examples for problems in using allometric analyses and extrapolations. A digestive advantage of larger BM is not corroborated by conceptual or empirical approaches. We suggest that explanatory models should shift from physiological to ecological scenarios based on the association of forage quality and biomass availability, and the association between BM and feeding selectivity. These associations mostly (but not exclusively) allow large herbivores to use low quality forage only, whereas they allow small herbivores the use of any forage they can physically manage. Examples of small herbivores able to subsist on lower quality diets are rare but exist. We speculate that this could be explained by evolutionary adaptations to the ecological opportunity of selective feeding in smaller animals, rather than by a physiologic or metabolic necessity linked to BM. For gigantic herbivores such as sauropod dinosaurs, other factors than digestive physiology appear more promising candidates to explain evolutionary drives towards extreme BM.

No Triconodont Mammals in Cretaceous Argentina

A revision of the putative Late Cretaceous triconodonts from South America

Authors:

L.C. Gaetano, C.A. Marsicano and G.W. Rougier

Abstracts:

Austrotriconodon mckennai and Austrotriconodon sepulvedai, from the Campanian Los Alamitos Formation, Patagonia, Argentina were originally described as triconodont mammals and the sole members of the family Austrotriconodontidae. These mammals were represented by isolated cheek teeth originally regarded as molariforms, but their peculiar morphology later raised doubts about their purported triconodont affinities. Nevertheless, the morphological bases supporting the alternative taxonomic views have not been fully documented. We present here detailed comparisons of Austrotriconodon with other Late Cretaceous taxa and conclude that Austrotriconodon specimens should be assigned to Meridiolestida and Mesungulatoidea. These isolated teeth are likely premolars and might represent unknown dental positions of already described species or correspond to taxa that are yet to be formally recognized. According to our interpretation, there is still no record of Cretaceous triconodonts in South America, but we support the triconodont affinities for Jurassic taxa from the Cañadón Asfalto Formation in central Patagonia.

The Wilson Cycle: The Rise and Fall of Supercontinents Through Deep Time

The supercontinent cycle: A retrospective essay

Authors:

R. Damian Nance, J. Brendan Murphy and M. Santosh

Abstract:

The recognition that Earth history has been punctuated by supercontinents, the assembly and breakup of which have profoundly influenced the evolution of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, is arguably the most important development in Earth Science since the advent of plate tectonics. But whereas the widespread recognition of the importance of supercontinents is quite recent, the concept of a supercontinent cycle is not new and advocacy of episodicity in tectonic processes predates plate tectonics. In order to give current deliberations on the supercontinent cycle some historical perspective, we trace the development of ideas concerning long-term episodicity in tectonic processes from early views on episodic orogeny and continental crust formation, such as those embodied in the chelogenic cycle, through the first realization that such episodicity was the manifestation of the cyclic assembly and breakup of supercontinents, to the surge in interest in supercontinent reconstructions. We then chronicle some of the key contributions that led to the cycle's widespread recognition and the rapidly expanding developments of the past ten years.

African Economic Growth Expected to be 6% in 2014

Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth is expected to increase to six percent in 2014, from five percent this year, supported by investment in infrastructure and production capacity, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday.

The IMF had predicted in May that the region would grow 5.7 percent this year and 6.1 percent in 2014.

It said the slight downward revisions were due mainly to weaker global economic conditions, while budget delays in oil producer Angola and oil theft in Africa's top crude exporter Nigeria also hurt growth.

Inflation on the continent is expected to be less than six percent next year, its third year of decline due to benign prospects for food prices and the continuation of prudent monetary policies, the IMF said.

It expects growth to pick up next year.

"The improvement relative to 2013 reflects higher global growth, especially in Europe, and other expected favorable domestic conditions," the IMF said in its regional report, giving Nigeria's electricity reforms and hopes of improved oil output there as an example.

"The main factor behind the continuing underlying growth in most of the region is ... strong domestic demand, especially associated with investment in infrastructure and export capacity in many countries."

link.

Did Russia's Duma Just Pass a Law Justifying Collective Punishment?

I am not going to reproduce the lead in paragraphs from the source for this post.  The language is pretty inflammatory.  While the subject is surprising and very negative by itself, taking rhetorical liberties when its something this serious is far from laudable.

If this is true, this is...horrifying.  

I doubt I'll get a response, but if there is a Russian legal expert who happens to be a reader, some insight would be great.