The evolution of growth patterns in mammalian versus nonmammalian cynodonts

The evolution of growth patterns in mammalian versus nonmammalian cynodonts

Authors:

O’Meara et al

Abstract:

One of the major evolutionary transitions of the mammaliaform lineage was the origin of a typically mammalian pattern of growth. This is characterized by rapid juvenile growth followed by abrupt cessation of growth at adult size and may be linked with other important mammaliaform apomorphies of dental replacement and morphology. Investigation of growth patterns in the tritylodontid cynodont Oligokyphus and the basal mammaliaform Morganucodon provides insight into this crucial transition. We collected mandibular depth measurements from large samples of Morganucodon and Oligokyphus and constructed distributions of mandibular depth versus frequency for each species. These were compared with distributions from species from three different growth classes of extant amniote: testudines + crocodilians, mammals + birds, and lepidosaurs. Discriminant function analysis was used to differentiate between known growth classes by using different combinations of three measures of mandibular depth distribution shape (skew, kurtosis, and coefficient of variation) as proxies for different juvenile and adult growth patterns. Classification of the fossil species showed that Morganucodon closely resembled extant placental mammals in having rapid juvenile growth followed by truncated, determinate adult growth. Oligokyphus showed intermediate growth patterns, with more extended adult growth patterns than Morganucodon and slightly slower juvenile growth. This suggests a gradual evolution of mammalian growth patterns across the cynodont to mammaliaform transition, possibly with the origin of rapid juvenile growth preceding that of truncated, determinate adult growth. In turn, acquisition of both these aspects of mammalian growth was likely necessary for the evolution of diphyodont tooth replacement in the mammaliaform lineage.

The Phylogeny of Archosauromorphs

The phylogenetic relationships of basal archosauromorphs, with an emphasis on the systematics of proterosuchian archosauriforms

Author:

Ezcurra

Abstract:

The early evolution of archosauromorphs during the Permo-Triassic constitutes an excellent empirical case study to shed light on evolutionary radiations in deep time and the timing and processes of recovery of terrestrial faunas after a mass extinction. However, macroevolutionary studies of early archosauromorphs are currently limited by poor knowledge of their phylogenetic relationships. In particular, one of the main early archosauromorph groups that need an exhaustive phylogenetic study is “Proterosuchia,” which as historically conceived includes members of both Proterosuchidae and Erythrosuchidae. A new data matrix composed of 96 separate taxa (several of them not included in a quantitative phylogenetic analysis before) and 600 osteological characters was assembled and analysed to generate a comprehensive higher-level phylogenetic hypothesis of basal archosauromorphs and shed light on the species-level interrelationships of taxa historically identified as proterosuchian archosauriforms. The results of the analysis using maximum parsimony include a polyphyletic “Prolacertiformes” and “Protorosauria,” in which the Permian Aenigmastropheus and Protorosaurus are the most basal archosauromorphs. The enigmatic choristoderans are either found as the sister-taxa of all other lepidosauromorphs or archosauromorphs, but consistently placed within Sauria. Prolacertids, rhynchosaurs, allokotosaurians and tanystropheids are the major successive sister clades of Archosauriformes. The Early Triassic Tasmaniosaurus is recovered as the sister-taxon of Archosauriformes. Proterosuchidae is unambiguosly restricted to five species that occur immediately after and before the Permo-Triassic boundary, thus implying that they are a short-lived “disaster” clade. Erythrosuchidae is composed of eight nominal species that occur during the Early and Middle Triassic. “Proterosuchia” is polyphyletic, in which erythrosuchids are more closely related to Euparkeria and more crownward archosauriforms than to proterosuchids, and several species are found widespread along the archosauromorph tree, some being nested within Archosauria (e.g., “Chasmatosaurus ultimus,” Youngosuchus). Doswelliids and proterochampsids are recovered as more closely related to each other than to other archosauromorphs, forming a large clade (Proterochampsia) of semi-aquatic to aquatic forms that includes the bizarre genus Vancleavea. Euparkeria is one of the sister-taxa of the clade composed of proterochampsians and archosaurs. The putative Indian archosaur Yarasuchus is recovered in a polytomy with Euparkeria and more crownward archosauriforms, and as more closely related to the Russian Dongusuchus than to other species. Phytosaurs are recovered as the sister-taxa of all other pseudosuchians, thus being nested within Archosauria.

There Were two DIFFERENT Sources for the Rhyacian PaleoProterozoic Banded Iron Formations

Decoupled sources of the 2.3-2.2 Ga Yuanjiacun banded iron formation: Implications for the Nd cycle in Earth’s early oceans

Authors:

Wang et al

Abstract:

The recognized worldwide gap in BIF deposition between 2.4-2.0 billion years ago has long been considered as an obstacle to fully determining the geochemical composition of seawater at that time. However, the recently dated 2.3-2.2 Ga Yuanjiacun banded iron formation (BIF) in the North China Craton (NCC) offers a possibility to redress these uncertainties. Shale-normalized rare earth element-yttrium (REE+Y) patterns of the BIF and interlayered meta-chert samples show features characteristic of other Archean and Paleoproterozoic BIFs, with HREE enrichment relative to LREE, positive La and Eu anomalies, and superchondritic Y/Ho ratios comparable to modern seawater. Very low Al2O3 (less than 0.5 wt%) and high field strength elements (HFSE) concentrations (less than 10 ppm) indicate an essentially detritus-free depositional setting, while positive Eu anomalies are attributed to an imprint of high-temperature hydrothermal fluids. Sm-Nd isotopic features further point to two periodically interacting water masses controlling the deposition of the BIF. The first is seafloor-vented hydrothermal fluids (εNd(t)∼+3.5) derived from interaction with a depleted mantle source and associated with high Fe fluxes. The second is ambient surface seawater (εNd(t)∼-2.4), which obtained its signature through weathering of the nearby landmasses and associated with high Si fluxes. Our findings suggest that the REE budget of the oceans prior to 2.3 Ga was generally dominated by hydrothermal circulation of seawater through depleted mantle-derived source rocks. However, where evolved local continental crust and/or an enriched mantle source were present, this positive mantle Nd signal became discernible in the BIFs. By comparing the Nd isotopic features of similar aged BIFs and marine carbonates, it is concluded that similar to modern oceans, the early Precambrian ocean was not well-mixed with respect to its Nd isotopic composition.

Excitement and Concern Over France's Win of the Australian Submarine Contract

Australia’s choice of French shipbuilding giant DCNS to lead the country’s ambitious 12-ship submarine construction program caught most observers by surprise. The quasi-government-owned DCNS — which often competes in international naval programs but rarely scores a major win — had been seen as an also-ran in competition with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and the Japanese government for the lucrative, Australian $50 billion (US $38 billion, €33.2 billion) Future Submarine contract.

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s April 26 announcement that the decision was “unequivocally” in favor of the French design set champagne corks popping in Paris even as Australian politicians and commentators debated the choice.

“This was the absolutely unambiguous recommendation from the Department of Defence that came through the competitive evaluation process,” Turnbull said, adding that all three bids were of a “very high quality.”

link.

Scuffle in the South China Sea #43

China is planning on more military exercises in the South China Sea. 

China has been creating the Little Green...fishing boats?  And how should they be dealt with?

China has been seeking global support for its policies in the South China Sea.

China has been sending singers to the islands to entertain the troops there.

China has been stating American criticism of its South China Sea policies will boomerang.

Has the US successfully signaled to China turning the Scarborough Shoal should not be turned into a base?

Aircraft from the USS Stennis approached a Taiwanese aircraft in the South China Sea.

Indonesia, Malaysia & Philippines are increasing military cooperation.

Japan will be providing military aircraft to Philippines.

Can the US army learn from the Chinese bases?

The denial of the US aircraft carrier port call to Hong Kong by China is not the first time China has done so.

Taiwan has no plans to place anti aircraft missiles in the South China Sea.

Will Digital Farming Cause a Shift in the Agricultural Chemical Sector?

Global pesticides, seeds and fertilizer companies may be forced to re-engineer their business models as farmers adopt specialist technology that helps maximize harvests while reducing the use of crop chemicals.

New businesses are springing up that promise to tell farmers how and when to till, sow, spray, fertilize or pick crops based on algorithms using data from their own fields.

Their emphasis on reducing the use of chemicals and minerals known as farming inputs is a further challenge for an industry already struggling with weak agricultural markets worldwide.

"If our only goal is to sell as much inputs as possible by the liters of chemicals, I think we would have a real problem going forward," said Liam Condon, head of Crop Science at Bayer, the world's second-largest pesticides supplier.

Bayer bought proPlant, a developer of software for plant health diagnostics, earlier this year. Rivals are also investing in digital farming with the aim of generating service revenues that could offset any future drop in chemicals volumes.

"If you only spray half of the field that's much less inputs," Condon added. "The knowledge to get to the fact that you only spray that part of the field -- that, you can sell."

link.

Is Titan's Rotation Evidence of a Subterranean Ocean

The rotational dynamics of Titan from Cassini RADAR images

Authors:

Meriggiola et al

Abstract:

Between 2004 and 2009 the RADAR instrument of the Cassini mission provided 31 SAR images of Titan. We tracked the position of 160 surface landmarks as a function of time in order to monitor the rotational dynamics of Titan. We generated and processed RADAR observables using a least squares fit to determine the updated values of the rotational parameters. We provide a new rotational model of Titan, which includes updated values for spin pole location, spin rate, precession and nutation terms. The estimated pole location is compatible with the occupancy of a Cassini state 1. We found a synchronous value of the spin rate (22.57693 deg/day), compatible at a 3-σ level with IAU predictions. The estimated obliquity is equal to 0.31°, incompatible with the assumption of a rigid body with fully-damped pole and a moment of inertia factor of 0.34, as determined by gravity measurements.

 

23 Species of Bacteria That Grow Under Martian Atmospheric Conditions

Twenty-Three Species of Hypobarophilic Bacteria Recovered from Diverse Ecosystems Exhibit Growth under Simulated Martian Conditions at 0.7 kPa

Authors:

Schuerger et al

Abstract:

Bacterial growth at low pressure is a new research area with implications for predicting microbial activity in clouds and the bulk atmosphere on Earth, and for modeling the forward contamination of planetary surfaces like Mars. Here, we describe experiments on the recovery and identification of 23 species of bacterial hypobarophiles (def., growth under hypobaric conditions of approximately 1–2 kPa) in 11 genera capable of growth at 0.7 kPa. Hypobarophilic bacteria, but not archaea or fungi, were recovered from soil and non-soil ecosystems. The highest numbers of hypobarophiles were recovered from Arctic soil, Siberian permafrost, and human saliva. Isolates were identified through 16S rRNA sequencing to belong to the genera Carnobacterium, Exiguobacterium, Leuconostoc, Paenibacillus, and Trichococcus. The highest population of culturable hypobarophilic bacteria (5.1 × 104 cfu/g) was recovered from Colour Lake soils from Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic. In addition, we extend the number of hypobarophilic species in the genus Serratia to six type-strains that include S. ficaria, S. fonticola, S. grimesii, S. liquefaciens, S. plymuthica, and S. quinivorans. Microbial growth at 0.7 kPa suggests that pressure alone will not be growth-limiting on the martian surface or in Earth's atmosphere up to an altitude of 34 km.

SpaceX Successfully Lands Falcon9R Lower Stage on Barge Again

US Air Force Plans Airborne Laser Weapons Tests in 2021

The Air Force plans to arm its fleet of drones and fighter jets with high-tech laser weapons able to incinerate enemy targets from the sky, service officials said.

Aircraft-launched laser weapons could eventually be engineered for a wide range of potential uses, including air-to-air combat, close air support, counter-UAS(drone), counter-boat, ground attack and even missile defense, officials said.

Lasers use intense heat and light energy to precisely incinerate targets without causing a large explosion – and they operate at very high speeds, giving them a near instantaneous ability to destroy fast-moving targets and defend against incoming enemy attacks, Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Greg Zacharias told Scout Warrior in an interview.

“The promise of directed energy is that electricity is cheap. Plus, you get the speed of light working for you so incoming missiles are easier to shoot at,” Zacharias said.

Air Force Research Laboratory officials have said they plan to have a program of record for air-fired laser weapons in place by 2023.

Ground testing of a laser weapon called the High Energy Laser, or HEL, was slated to take place last year at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., service officials said. The High Energy Laser test is being conducted by the Air Force Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.

The first airborne tests are expected to take place by 2021, Air Force officials have said.

link.

Robopocalypse Report #80: Here Come the Cars

Drones:

The stalker drone is here!

The Brain Drone Race, a race of drones controlled by thought, is a real thing.

Drones are being used to deliver snacks to golf courses.

And also deliver wedding rings.  sigh.

Russia is starting its own drone racing league.

Peeping toms are starting to use drones.

In Kansas, it's likely that drones will be considered a way to harass someone in a legal sense.

Europe's air safety agency is going to study the problems of drone strike on aircraft.

There seem to be cloud seeding drones now too.

The FAA has exempted high schools and colleges from the stricter drone rules.

Are drones a problem for wild life?  Specifically bears.

Self Driving Cars:

The popular press is starting to catch onto the implications of self driving vehicles.

Google, Uber & Ford have formed a self driving car coalition.

Google is teaming up with FiatChrysler to place its self driving tech in a minivan.

GM & Lyft are getting set to test self driving taxis...electric ones.

Honda gives a glimpse of the future of driverless cars.

Volvo is turning loose self driving cars in Britain as a test.

What happens when you combine an Amazon Echo with a Tesla?

And Subaru is putting IBM's Watson into its cars.

China's Baidu will start self driving car production by 2020.

Nvidia's self driving car project, called Dave, taught itself how to drive by watching people do so.

Experts are warning self driving cars might lead to more people having sex while driving.

A concept for a self driving car interior.

Google and Apple are supposedly buying land for their self driving car facilities.

3d Printing:

Siemens and Local Motors have teamed up to improve 3d printing cars.

UAE will start 3d printing homes soon.

Replication of colored 3d models has become easier.

Robotics:

The ZeGoBeast helps teach kids about robotics.

Two restaurants in China that replaced waiters with robots are closing.

 China builds a taser armed Dalek.

Meet Samsung's Artik.

And there's a robo mermaid.

Soon we'll be saying "and there's a bot for that!"  There's at least a bot for throwing treats to your dog.  Really.

An autonomous dome for a robotic telescope is profiled.

The 2016 FIRST Robotics Competition just wrapped up.

Roach inspired robots can work together to climb stairs.

Robots are better at soft tissue surgery than people are.

The world's smallest engine was designed to power nano bots.

The PumaBeat Bot is for runners (and I think I've seen this in San Francisco).

There are robotic CT scanners for horses now.

Boaty McBoatFace will be a robo sub.

Cyborgism:

 Google has patented the occular, an injectable device for the...ick...eye.  More here.

And Sony has patented contact lenses that are similar.

Software Bots:

Google's AI project has access to 1.6 million patients' NHS records.

Machine learning is having an impact on plastic surgery.

Amazon's Alex might help...find your lost items?!

AI on a USB stick?!

OpenAI Gym has been released.

The Robopocalypse is coming for...artists?!

Google is feeding its AI...romance novels?!  o.O  This can only end well.

Uber plans on killing their surge pricing through using machine learning.

Can machine learning help with material science?

Economics & Philosophy:

Can we trust the robots?

The Robopocalypse makes the return of manufacturing jobs to the US a mirage.

The Robopocalypse will eat our jobs!!!!

Putting AI on trial.

A Baby Boomer perspective on what to do about the Robopocalypse.

Atopodentatus unicus: The Earliest Known Herbivorous Marine Reptile From Anisian Triassic China

The earliest herbivorous marine reptile and its remarkable jaw apparatus

Authors:

Chun et al

Abstract:

Newly discovered fossils of the Middle Triassic reptile Atopodentatus unicus call for a radical reassessment of its feeding behavior. The skull displays a pronounced hammerhead shape that was hitherto unknown. The long, straight anterior edges of both upper and lower jaws were lined with batteries of chisel-shaped teeth, whereas the remaining parts of the jaw rami supported densely packed needle-shaped teeth forming a mesh. The evidence indicates a novel feeding mechanism wherein the chisel-shaped teeth were used to scrape algae off the substrate, and the plant matter that was loosened was filtered from the water column through the more posteriorly positioned tooth mesh. This is the oldest record of herbivory within marine reptiles.

A Successful Antarctic Fossil Finding Expedition

A team of scientists from around the world have uncovered more than a tonne of fossils and dinosaur remains while on an extremely gruelling and frosty expedition to Antarctica.

Fossils from the end of the age of dinosaurs, some of which were estimated to be 71 million years old, were discovered including many marine reptile remains.

"[We found] things like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs — a type of marine lizard made famous by the recent film Jurassic World," said Dr Steve Salisbury from the University of Queensland, who took part in the mission.

link.

Six Primates From Oligocene Paleogene China Discovered

In a study to be published this week in the journal Science, researchers describe unearthing a "mother lode" of a half-dozen fossil primate species in southern China.

These primates eked out an existence just after the Eocene-Oligocene transition, some 34 million years ago. It was a time when drastic cooling made much of Asia inhospitable to primates, slashing their populations and rendering discoveries of such fossils especially rare.

"At the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, because of the rearrangement of Earth's major tectonic plates, you had a rapid drop in temperature and humidity," said K. Christopher Beard, senior curator at the University of Kansas' Biodiversity Institute and co-author of the report. "Primates like it warm and wet, so they faced hard times around the world -- to the extent that they went extinct in North America and Europe. Of course, primates somehow survived in Africa and Southern Asia, because we're still around to talk about it." Because anthropoid primates -- the forerunners of living monkeys, apes and humans-- first appeared in Asia, understanding their fate on that continent is key to grasping the arc of early primate and human evolution.

"This has always been an enigma," Beard said. "We had a lot of evidence previously that the earliest anthropoids originated in Asia. At some point, later in the Eocene, these Asian anthropoids got to Africa and started to diversify there. At some point, the geographic focal point of anthropoid evolution -- monkeys, apes and humans -- shifted from Asia to Africa. But we never understood when and why. Now, we know. The Eocene-Oligocene climate crisis virtually wiped out Asian anthropoids, so the only place they could evolve to become later monkeys, apes and humans was Africa."

link.

Russia Threatening Response to NATO's military moves

Russia will reinforce its western and southern flanks with three new divisions by the year-end, officials said on Wednesday, threatening retaliation to NATO's plans to boost its military presence in eastern members Poland and the Baltic States.

While Moscow accuses the Western alliance of threatening its Russia's security, NATO says intensified military drills and its plans for increased deployments on its eastern flank are purely defensive after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 and backed separatist rebels in Ukraine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Monday NATO was weighing up rotating four battalions of troops through eastern member states amid rising tension in the Baltic.

link.

Yet to be Realized

But The Future

Fading Relics of the Past

We are not

A Biotech Company Seeks to..Raise the Dead?!

A groundbreaking trial to see if it is possible to regenerate the brains of dead people, has won approval from health watchdogs.

A biotech company in the US has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.

Scientists will use a combination of therapies, which include injecting the brain with stem cells and a cocktail of peptides, as well as deploying lasers and nerve stimulation techniques which have been shown to bring patients out of comas.

The trial participants will have been certified dead and only kept alive through life support. They will be monitored for several months using brain imaging equipment to look for signs of regeneration, particularly in the upper spinal cord - the lowest region of the brain stem which controls independent breathing and heartbeat.

link.

Eridania Basin Proposed as a Possible Mars Rover 2020 Landing Site

Eridania Basin: An ancient paleolake floor as the next landing site for the Mars 2020 rover

Authors:

Pajola et al

Abstract:

The search for traces of past Martian life is directly connected to ancient paleolakes, where ponding water or low-energy water fluxes were present for long time intervals. The Eridania paleolakes system, located along the 180° meridian, is one of the largest lacustrine environments that were once present on Mars. Morphological features suggest that it was constituted by connected depressions filled by water to maximum depths of ∼2400 m and a volume of at least 562,000 km3. We focused our attention on the northern side of the Eridania Basin, where high-albedo, uneven patches of material characterized by the absence of dust are present. Based on OMEGA and CRISM orbital imaging spectroscopy data, a large clay-bearing unit has been identified there. In particular, a set of aqueous minerals in present in the stratigraphy, being visible through erosional windows in the first several tens of meters of the sedimentary sequence. Below this capping unit, a thin Al-rich clay stratum attributable to Al-smectite and/or kaolins is present. This overlies a Fe-rich clay stratum, attributable to the nontronite smectite. At the base of the mineralogic sequence a stratum that could be either a zeolite or more likely a hydrated sulfate is present. In addition, small deposits of alunite (a rare phase on Mars), and jarosite are here found at several locations. Such stratigraphy is interpreted as originating from a surface weathering process similar to terrestrial abiotic pedogenesis; nonetheless, possible exobiologic processes can be also invoked to explain it. NASA's Spirit rover landed on Gusev crater in 2004, near the mouth of the Ma'adim Vallis, which connects this crater with the considered paleolakes system. The Eridania site provides the unique opportunity to complete the measurements obtained in Gusev crater, while investigating the exposed mineralogical sequence in its depositionary setting. In addition, the extremely favorable landing parameters, such as elevation, slope, roughness, rock distribution, thermal inertia and dust coverage, support this location as a possible landing site for the NASA Mars 2020 rover.

Lockheed's Fusion Reactor Research has First Plasma

Lockheed Martin continues to invest in its portable nuclear fusion generator, with that investment recently entering a more advanced stage, according to the head of the company’s Skunk Works division.

Rob Weiss told an audience at the Atlantic Council that Lockheed is “about four months into a little bit more significant investment” into the technology, which was first revealed around two years ago.

At the time of the initial announcement, Lockheed said it was aiming for a 100 megawatt device which could fit on the back of a large truck. Such a reactor, the company claims, could power a city of up to 100,000 people.

link.

Uranus evolution models with simple thermal boundary layers

Uranus evolution models with simple thermal boundary layers

Authors:

Nettelman et al

Abstract:

The strikingly low luminosity of Uranus (Teff ≃ Teq) constitutes a long-standing challenge to our understanding of Ice Giant planets. Here we present the first Uranus structure and evolution models that are constructed to agree with both the observed low luminosity and the gravity field data. Our models make use of modern ab initio equations of state at high pressures for the icy components water, methane, and ammonia. Proceeding step by step, we confirm that adiabatic models yield cooling times that are too long, even when uncertainties in the ice:rock ratio (I:R) are taken into account. We then argue that the transition between the ice/rock-rich interior and the H/He-rich outer envelope should be stably stratified. Therefore, we introduce a simple thermal boundary and adjust it to reproduce the low luminosity. Due to this thermal boundary, the deep interior of the Uranus models are up to 2–3 warmer than adiabatic models, necessitating the presence of rocks in the deep interior with a possible I:R of 1 × solar. Finally, we allow for an equilibrium evolution (Teff ≃ Teq) that begun prior to the present day, which would therefore no longer require the current era to be a ”special time” in Uranus’ evolution. In this scenario, the thermal boundary leads to more rapid cooling of the outer envelope. When Teff ≃ Teq is reached, a shallow, subadiabatic zone in the atmosphere begins to develop. Its depth is adjusted to meet the luminosity constraint. This work provides a simple foundation for future Ice Giant structure and evolution models, that can be improved by properly treating the heat and particle fluxes in the diffusive zones.

Planet Nine is an Anomaly

Earlier this year scientists presented evidence for Planet Nine, a Neptune-mass planet in an elliptical orbit 10 times farther from our Sun than Pluto. Since then theorists have puzzled over how this planet could end up in such a distant orbit.

New research by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) examines a number of scenarios and finds that most of them have low probabilities. Therefore, the presence of Planet Nine remains a bit of a mystery.

"The evidence points to Planet Nine existing, but we can't explain for certain how it was produced," says CfA astronomer Gongjie Li, lead author on a paper accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Planet Nine circles our Sun at a distance of about 40 billion to 140 billion miles, or 400 - 1500 astronomical units. (An astronomical unit or A.U. is the average distance of the Earth from the Sun, or 93 million miles.) This places it far beyond all the other planets in our solar system. The question becomes: did it form there, or did it form elsewhere and land in its unusual orbit later?

link.

NASA's Mars Rover 2020 Builds in Momentum

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is making progress with the build up of Mars 2020 Rover, with contract awards for instrumentation and hardware. Following the recent announcement Space Systems Loral (SSL) will design and build the camera focus mechanisms, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been tasked with the design and manufacture the Skycrane descent brake.

link.

ESA Postpones Exomars Rover to 2020

The European and Russian space agencies on May 2 said their joint ExoMars 2018 mission carrying a rover and an experiment-filled landing platform to Mars would not be ready in time and would be delayed to July 2020.

The delay, which ESA and Roscosmos officials had warned of since March, will add undetermined new costs to the program. ESA is expected to present to its governments a revised ExoMars scenario in June, including the financial impact of the delay, with governments likely to make a final decision during a December meeting of ESA government space ministers.

link.

France to Build Australian Submarines, but With American Components

Australia may have awarded France a bumper contract to build its next generation of submarines, but its highly secretive combat system will come from close ally the United States.

French shipbuilder DCNS last week beat off Germany and Japan to secure the Aus$50 billion (US$39 billion) deal to design and build the 12 subs, a scaled down conventionally-powered version of its 4,700-tonne Barracuda, to be named Shortfin Barracuda.

But it will have little to do with armaments and the complex combat system, which American defence giant Lockheed Martin — which is in the running to be involved — said was “essentially the eyes, ears and sword of the boat”.

Australia has made clear it prefers the American AN/BYG-1 system, along with the joint Australian-US heavyweight Mark-48 torpedoes as its main weapon.

A decision has yet to be made on which company will be responsible for integrating the system — essentially to detect, acquire and track targets — with US defence contractor Raytheon also said to be a contender.

Given the close relationship and the fact that its technology will be used, Washington was always going to take a keen interest in Canberra’s choice to build the boats.

link.

Stealth Saga #42

Avenger/MQ-XX:

The General Atomics MQ-XX tanker entry will be based on the Avenger UCAV.

ATD-X/X-2:

Here's more information on the first flight and program.

More videos.

Mitsubishi's statement on the flight is here.

The X-2 will fly at least 50 times by the end of the year.

The X-2 is more than a symbol of national pride.

Then there is a bit more.  And some more.

PAK-FA:

Is the PAK-FA going to be the Su-50?

PAK-DA:



This is done by fans, so don't get too excited and is based on wind tunnel models from 4 years ago.

F-117:

Congress may finally let the F-117 be sent to the boneyard.  Finally.  Elsa should sing to Congress.

Stealth Hawk:

5 Years ago, the raid that killed bin Laden & exposed the Stealth Black Hawk took place.

F-22:

The USAF has sent 2 F-22 Raptors to Romania to reassure NATO of US support against Russia.

Two of the Raptors went to Lithuania. Here's a video of them being refueled on the way.

What the F-22s are doing in Europe.

F-35:

The F-35 software bugs are supposedly NOT a threat to the IOC for the F-35A.

The software is going to be patched.  The question is how.  Really.

The radar bug does not effect USMC F-35Bs because they did NOT load the latest software update.

The F-35B will get its first shipboard deployment in 2017.

The USMC F-35 maintainers talk the problems of the F-35B maintenance, including the infamous ALIS.

An F-35B was fueled on the ground by a V-22.

 Thornberry's bill apparently will add back the 5 F-35As the budget didn't have, but the air force wanted.  HASC put in a total of 11 F-35s above and beyond.  A bit more here.  Slightly different here.

An F-35A at Luke AFB just dropped some GBU-12 bombs.

There are implications for the F-35I getting its own apps built on top of the F-35 avionics.

The roll out for the F-35I is to take place on June 22.

McCain is against the F-35 bulk buy.

Lockheed's manufacture of the F-35 has been slower than expected.

Until the F-35 proves it can perform in combat, Congress is not likely allow retirement the legacy aircraft.  Like the A-10.  Senator Ayotte really wants the USAF to come clean whether or not the F-35 will be replacing the A-10.  An F-35 pilot really dislikes the test saying they ought to be comparing apples to apples.

Pratt & Whitney is wrapping up the F-35 F135 engine development.

Could a connectivity problem ground the F-35?

The F-35 program office has 2,590 people working for it.  Mother of gawd...

Massive Reef Found at Mouth of the Amazon

The changes that the Amazon River promotes in the tropical North Atlantic ocean water make an unfavorable environment for reef development. Every second, 175 million liters of water mixed with sediments are brought to the ocean. The result is low sunlight penetration, variability in nutrient concentration, salinity and pH, extensive moody bottoms and significant changes in temperature and oxygenation levels towards the bottom - conditions not associated with reefs. The plume generated by the Amazon River has 1.3 million km2 and flows mostly to the North, reaching areas as far as the Caribbean Sea.

Against all the odds, 39 scientists from nine Brazilian and one North-American universities mobilized two expeditions to the mouth of the river in other to map the bottom of the ocean in the outer shelf. Two previous studies - from the 1970s and 1980s - reported the findings of single samples of carbonatic structures. None suggested the existence of a reef system underneath the river plume. Surprisingly, the researchers found reefs in a complex as extensive as 1,000 km, in depths from 10 to 120 meters, with rhodolith beds, live calcareous algae, sponges, corals and hydrocorals colonies formed from 13,000 years ago till the present. The system is an habitat for 73 species of fishes and six species of lobsters.

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United Arab Emirates Looking to Start GeoEngineering Their Precipitation Problems

Desert countries are frequently victims of their elevation. They tend to be mostly flat, making it tough for air to climb upwards and form rain clouds. The United Arab Emirates thinks there's a direct solution to this, however: make your own mountain. It's in the early stages of developing an artificial mountain that would force air upwards and create clouds that (with seeding) could produce additional rainfall. In theory, an arid landscape could become verdant over time.

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A Dinosaur Footprint Found From Carnian Triassic Spain?

Spain says a footprint of a dinosaur that roamed the area 230 million years ago has been found in northeastern Catalonia, and says it's the best preserved dinosaur print seen so far in the Iberian Peninsula.

The print of a reptile-like creature called an Isochirotherium — an ancestor of dinosaurs and crocodiles — was discovered in early April by a person out walking in Olesa de Montserrat, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Barcelona.

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Evidence of a Continental Collision Between Laurentia & Rodinia From Stenian MesoProterozoic Africa?

U–Pb Zircon (SHRIMP) ages of granite sheets and timing of deformational events in the Natal Metamorphic Belt, southeastern Africa: Evidence for deformation partitioning and implications for Rodinia reconstructions

Authors:

Mendonidis et al

Abstract:

This study provides constraints on the ages of deformation events and fabric development in deformed rocks of the Margate Terrane of the Natal Metamorphic Province. The Margate Terrane forms the southernmost of three terranes considered to represent multiple arc accretion onto the southern margin of the Kalahari Craton, and geochronological data indicate that the Margate Terrane has a long history of sporadic magmatism from ∼1180 to ∼1025 Ma. Two granite sheets of differing structural age, as revealed by deformational fabric and cross-cutting relationships, were sampled for U–Pb (SHRIMP) dating from coastal outcrop at Southbroom (30°54′43.61″S, 30°20′1.61″E). The older sheet contains fabrics related to both D1 and D2 events, whereas the younger shows evidence for syn-D2 emplacement and contains an S2 fabric. For both intrusive sheets, zircon core domains showing magmatic zoning yielded ages that are statistically identical at 1075 ± 6 Ma. This is interpreted to represent the intrusion age of the older sheet, and to sampling of a xenocrystic population in the cross-cutting sheet due to assimilation. Zircons from both sheets show metamorphic rim zones with a mean age of 1042 ± 10 Ma, which is attributed to rim growth during development of the S2 foliation, close to the intrusion age of the younger sheet. The 1075 ± 6 Ma age is comparable to the ages of other granitic units in the Margate Terrane that intruded between ∼1091 and 1070 Ma and implies that all of these predated the D1 deformation, which is considered to record the accretion of the terrane onto the Kalahari Craton. The D2 event is characterized by northward-verging folds with a pervasive southward-dipping axial planar fabric S2, which largely overprinted the S1 fabric. Previously, the pure-shear D2 deformation was considered to be older than the narrow sinistral shear zones occurring within the Mzumbe and Margate Terranes. However, dating of the D2 event at 1042 ± 10 Ma indicates that these deformations are coeval, and represent deformation partitioning during a transpressional event at ∼1050–1025 Ma that may have been related to collision with Laurentia during the amalgamation of Rodinia.

Chinese Police to Patrol...Italy?!?!

Chinese policemen are in Italy to start patrols with Italian officers in Rome and Milan in a two-week experiment.

Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday that the aim is to make Chinese tourists feel safe and noted that it's the first time China sent police to Europe for such a project.

Starting Tuesday, two Chinese uniformed policemen will patrol with Italian counterparts in Rome, while two others will patrol with Italian police in Milan. For the second week, the Chinese will switch cities.

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The Great Wall of Kenya

Kenya has confirmed it will begin construction of a 700-kilometer-long security wall along the northeastern border with Somalia as part of a broader national security plan to curb cross-border terror attacks by Somali terrorist group al-Shabab.

Addressing the media in Nairobi over the weekend, Kenya's Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said that contrary to assertions by the Somali government and some influential clans and communities on either side of the border, the fence would not limit or deter the movement of people between the two countries.

Instead, he said the fence would limit cross-border terrorist movements and enable the country to prevent attacks which have killed more than 400 people in the country since 2012.

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What Lies Beneath Titan's Seas?

Back when Cassini was approaching Saturn and we all anticipated the arrival of the Huygens payload on the surface, speculation grew that rather than finding a solid surface, Huygens might ‘splash down’ in a hydrocarbon sea. I can remember art to that effect in various Internet venues of the time. In the event, Huygens came down on hard terrain, but since then Cassini’s continuing surveys have shown that seas and lakes do exist on the moon. Over 1.6 million square kilometers (about two percent of the surface of Titan) are covered in liquid.

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Hypotheses for near-surface exchange of methane on Mars

Hypotheses for near-surface exchange of methane on Mars

Authors:

Hu et al

Abstract:

The Curiosity rover recently detected a background of 0.7 ppb and spikes of 7 ppb of methane on Mars. This in situ measurement reorients our understanding of the Martian environment and its potential for life, as the current theories do not entail any geological source or sink of methane that varies sub-annually. In particular, the 10-fold elevation during the southern winter indicates episodic sources of methane that are yet to be discovered. Here we suggest a near-surface reservoir could explain this variability. Using the temperature and humidity measurements from the rover, we find that perchlorate salts in the regolith deliquesce to form liquid solutions, and deliquescence progresses to deeper subsurface in the season of the methane spikes. We therefore formulate the following three testable hypotheses. The first scenario is that the regolith in Gale Crater adsorbs methane when dry and releases this methane to the atmosphere upon deliquescence. The adsorption energy needs to be 36 kJ/mol to explain the magnitude of the methane spikes, higher than existing laboratory measurements. The second scenario is that microorganisms convert organic matter in the soil to methane when they are in liquid solutions. This scenario does not require regolith adsorption, but entails extant life on Mars. The third scenario is that deep subsurface aquifers produce the bursts of methane. Continued in situ measurements of methane and water, as well as laboratory studies of adsorption and deliquescence, will test these hypotheses and inform the existence of the near-surface reservoir and its exchange with the atmosphere.

China Developing Reusable Spacecraft & Launch Vehicles

Spurred on by developments in the United States, China says it is working on reusable human spacecraft and launch vehicles.

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US Army Desperately Needs Future Vertical Lift for Pacific Theater

The deputy commander of US Pacific Command says the Army must field next-generation aircraft with greater range, speed and survivability than is achievable with today’s helicopter inventory.

Lt Gen Tony Crutchfield says the vast distances inherent in the Pacific theatre, as well as the proliferation of anti-aircraft weaponry, are challenging the current generation of army rotorcraft, namely the AH-6 Little Bird, UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook, which were all adopted in the last century.

“I firmly believe the only way we will close the gap with the problems facing us today is with Future Vertical Lift (FVL),” he says, referring to the army-led acquisition programme that will introduce a new family of aircraft with roughly double the range and speed of today’s models.

“We must have Future Vertical Lift,” he continues, speaking at an Army Aviation Association of America conference in Atlanta, Georgia on 30 April. “It is the only way we will be successful in the PACOM environment with the distances. That range and that speed and that survivability are critical to army aviation to be effective in this fight.”

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US Army Testing Lasers, Railguns in Exercise at Fort Sill

A swarm of experts from across the nation assembled for a two-week experiment at Fort Sill trying out systems with the potential to provide service members with unlimited weapons capabilities. The event, called Maneuver Fires Integrated Experiment, spanned, April 11-22, and demonstrated two types of weaponry – one using lasers and the other using electricity-propelled projectiles to acquire and destroy targets.

According to John Haithcock, director of the Fires Battle Lab on Fort Sill, counter unmanned aerial vehicle missions are the current capability gap and the focus of the weapons experiment. By conducting the experiments early in the development process, Haithcock said developers could incorporate the insights of service members who would use the equipment and report on how to improve the interfaces.

Also, the event brought out not only future technologies but current technologies that may be integrated together. The result is an integrated weapon system with command and control sensors that can do multiple missions, he said.

“As opposed to having three pieces of equipment, we can use some of this new technology and integrate it into a single vehicle,” said Haithcock.

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Carbon Isotope Disturbances Across the Smithian/Spathian Triassic Boundary in Vietnam

Carbon isotopic excursions and detailed ammonoid and conodont biostratigraphies around Smithian–Spathian boundary in the Bac Thuy Formation, Vietnam

Authors:

Komatsu et al

Abstract:

The Smithian–Spathian boundary is indicated by the first occurrence of the ammonoid Tirolites cf. cassianus in the Olenekian Bac Thuy Formation, northeastern Vietnam. The boundary is intercalated within organic-rich dark gray mudstone that accumulated under anoxic to dysoxic conditions in the An Chau and Nanpanjiang Basins on the South China Block. In Lang Son area, three conodont zones, Novispathodus ex gr. waageni, Novispathodus ex gr. pingdingshanensis, and Icriospathodus collinsoni, are recognized in the formation. The Smithian–Spathian boundary is intercalated within N. ex gr. pingdingshanensis conodont Zone. The positive excursion inδ13C with values increasing from around − 2.3‰ to + 5.7‰ was recorded in the uppermost Smithian Xenoceltites variocostatus ammonoid beds and N. ex gr. pingdingshanensis conodont Zone. The δ13C values decrease across the Smithian–Spathian boundary. These δ13C isotopic patterns are correlated with well-known positive excursions around the Smithian–Spathian boundary globally.

A Rapetosaurus Titanosaur Sauropod Lived Fast, Died Young in Cretaceous Madagascar

Precocity in a tiny titanosaur from the Cretaceous of Madagascar

Authors:

Rogers et al

Abstract:

Sauropod dinosaurs exhibit the largest ontogenetic size range among terrestrial vertebrates, but a dearth of very young individuals has hindered understanding of the beginning of their growth trajectory. A new specimen of Rapetosaurus krausei sheds light on early life in the smallest stage of one of the largest dinosaurs. Bones record rapid growth rates and hatching lines, indicating that this individual weighed ~3.4 kilograms at hatching. Just several weeks later, when it likely succumbed to starvation in a drought-stressed ecosystem, it had reached a mass of ~40 kilograms and was ~35 centimeters tall at the hip. Unexpectedly, Rapetosaurus limb bones grew isometrically throughout their development. Cortical remodeling, limb isometry, and thin calcified hypertrophic metaphyseal cartilages indicate an active, precocial growth strategy.

Abdalodon diastematicus: a new Cynodont From Upper Permian South Africa

A new taxon of cynodont from the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone (upper Permian) of South Africa, and the early evolution of Cynodontia

Author:

Kammerer

Abstract:

A new taxon of early cynodont, Abdalodon diastematicus gen. et sp. nov., is described. The new taxon is represented by a single skull from the upper Permian Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone (AZ) of the Beaufort Group (Karoo Basin, South Africa), which was previously referred to Procynosuchus delaharpeae. Abdalodon is distinguished from Procynosuchus by the presence of only four upper and three lower incisors, fewer postcanines, a well-developed depression on the lateral surface of the maxilla posterior to the canine root, a tall mandibular symphysis forming a distinct ‘chin’, a relatively short snout, and weak or absent interdigitation of sutures in the interorbital region. These features are shared with the only other Tropidostoma AZ cynodont, Charassognathus gracilis. Abdalodon is distinguished from Charassognathus by its postcanine morphology, the presence of an expanded masseteric fossa, inset postcanine tooth rows, a broader interorbital region, and proportionally shorter temporal region. Most strikingly, Abdalodon has a lengthy diastema between the canines and postcanines on both the maxilla and the dentary. Charassognathus has a short diastema between the upper canine and postcanines, but not the lowers, and diastemata are absent from the tooth rows of Procynosuchus. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Abdalodon as the sister-taxon of Charassognathus, forming a clade (Charassognathidae fam. nov.) at the base of Cynodontia. These taxa represent a previously unrecognized radiation of small-bodied Permian cynodonts. Despite their small size, the holotypes of Abdalodon and Charassognathus probably represent adults and indicate that early evolution of cynodonts may have occurred at small body size, explaining the poor Permian fossil record of the group.

Was an Impact the Source of a Hadrean Zircon?

Differentiated impact melt sheets may be a potential source of Hadean detrital zircon

Authors:

Kenny et al

Abstract:

Constraining the origin and history of very ancient detrital zircons has unique potential for furthering our knowledge of Earth's very early crust and Hadean geodynamics. Previous applications of the Ti-in-zircon thermometer to >4 Ga zircons have identified a population with relatively low crystallization temperatures (Tzirxtln) of ∼685 °C. This could possibly indicate wet minimum-melting conditions producing granitic melts, implying very different Hadean terrestrial geology from that of other rocky planets. Here we report the first comprehensive ion microprobe study of zircons from a transect through the differentiated Sudbury impact melt sheet (Ontario, Canada). The new zircon Ti results and corresponding Tzirxtln fully overlap with those of the Hadean zircon population. Previous studies that measured Ti in impact melt sheet zircons did not find this wide range because they analyzed samples only from a restricted portion of the melt sheet and because they used laser ablation analyses that can overestimate true Ti content. It is important to note that internal differentiation of the impact melt is likely a prerequisite for the observed low Tzirxtln in zircons from the most evolved rocks. On Earth, melt sheet differentiation is strongest in subaqueous impact basins. Thus, not all Hadean detrital zircon with low Ti necessarily formed during melting at plate boundaries, but at least some could also have crystallized in melt sheets caused by intense meteorite bombardment of the early, hydrosphere-covered protocrust.

China's Manuacturing Grew More Slowly Than Expected

China's manufacturing activity was weaker than expected in April, according to a survey by an industry group.

The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing says its purchasing managers' index declined to 50.1 in April from the previous month's 50.2 on a 100-point scale. Numbers above 50 indicate activity is expanding.

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A Proposed Strategic Roadmap for Exploring Enceladus

Strategic map for exploring the ocean-world Enceladus

Author:

Sherwood

Abstract:

Among the many “ocean worlds” of our solar system, Enceladus appears unique in its combination of astrobiologically relevant and exploration-worthy attributes: extensive liquid-water ocean with active hydrothermal activity, containing salts and organics expressed predictably into space. The Enceladus south polar plume allows direct access to telltale molecules, ions, isotopes, and potential cytofragments in space. Plume mass spectroscopy and sample return, in situ investigation of surface fallback deposits, direct vent exploration, and eventually oceanographic exploration can all be envisioned. However, building consensus to fund such ambitious exploration hinges on acquiring key new data. A roadmap is essential. It could start with cost-capped onramps such as flythrough analysis of the plume, following up on Cassini measurements with modern instruments; and sample return of plume material for analysis on Earth. A methodical mission sequence in which each step depends on emergent results from prior missions would push in situ oceanographic exploration into the second half of this century. Even for this scenario, prioritization by the next planetary Decadal Survey would be pivotal.

Evidence of a Varying Environment on Mars Based on Comparisons to Rio Tinto, Spain

Orbital evidence for clay and acidic sulfate assemblages on Mars based on mineralogical analogs from Rio Tinto, Spain

Authors:

Kaplan et al

Abstract:

Outcrops of hydrated minerals are widespread across the surface of Mars, with clay minerals and sulfates being commonly identified phases. Orbitally-based reflectance spectra are often used to classify these hydrated components in terms of a single mineralogy, although most surfaces likely contain multiple minerals that have the potential to record local geochemical conditions and processes. Reflectance spectra for previously identified deposits in Ius and Melas Chasma within the Valles Marineris, Mars, exhibit an enigmatic feature with two distinct absorptions between 2.2 and 2.3 µm. This spectral ‘doublet’ feature is proposed to result from a mixture of hydrated minerals, although the identity of the minerals has remained ambiguous. Here we demonstrate that similar spectral doublet features are observed in airborne, field, and laboratory reflectance spectra of rock and sediment samples from Rio Tinto, Spain. Combined visible-near infrared reflectance spectra and X-ray diffraction measurements of these samples reveal that the doublet feature arises from a mixture of Al-phyllosilicate (illite or muscovite) and jarosite. Analyses of orbital data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) shows that the martian spectral equivalents are also consistent with mixtures of Al-phyllosilicates and jarosite, where the Al-phyllosilicate may also include kaolinite and/or halloysite. A case study for a region within Ius Chasma demonstrates that the relative proportions of the Al-phyllosilicate(s) and jarosite vary within one stratigraphic unit as well as between stratigraphic units. The former observation suggests that the jarosite may be a diagenetic (authigenic) product and thus indicative of local pH and redox conditions, whereas the latter observation may be consistent with variations in sediment flux and/or fluid chemistry during sediment deposition.

NASA Seeking Proposals for Deep Space Habitat

NASA is soliciting proposals for the development of prototypes for deep space habitats that will give astronauts a place to call home during long-duration missions supporting the agency’s Journey to Mars.

The solicitation, Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2), is a follow-on to the NextSTEP Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) released in October 2014 and requesting industry proposals for concept studies and technology development projects in the areas of habitation, advanced propulsion and small satellites.

NASA’s Orion crew spacecraft and Space Launch System are the agency’s first major components for establishing a human presence in deep space. With these transportation systems progressing toward their maiden flight in 2018, NASA now is looking toward investments in deep space habitation — the next major component of human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

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First Future Vertical Lift VTOL Will be the Medium Class

The first Future Vertical Lift aircraft to be fielded by the Army will come in the medium-lift category, where attack and cargo lift helicopters reside, Maj. Gen. William Gayler, the new Army Aviation Center of Excellence commander at Fort Rucker, Ala., said at the Aviation Association of America’s Mission Solutions Summit Friday.

Gayler said that since Congress required the Army to consider the FVL program as a joint program to include the Marine Corps and the Air Force, the need to be joint is driving the decision on which type of helicopter will be built first. The Army is still leading the effort.

The Army’s acquisition approach divides up the type of helicopters to be built as a family of helicopters to replace the service’s current fleet into five “capability sets.” The first set is the lightest variant while the fifth is the heaviest. Capability set 3 refers to the medium-lift variant.

Because the Marines and Air Force are more interested in a medium-lift, the Army has decided to focus on that weight class for the first helicopters that will be fielded starting in the early 2030s, according to Gayler.

“Since it’s a DoD joint program, we think the right answer is to go with [capability set 3] with other services, but we obviously will still be very interested in 1 or 2 as well,” Gayler said.

There has been talk about whether the first variant of FVL would be a light reconnaissance-type helicopter in order to fill a gap left open when the Army decided to retire the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The service is temporarily filling the gap by teaming AH-64 Apache Attack helicopters with Shadow unmanned aircraft systems.

But Gayler’s comments seem to put that debate to rest.

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AVX Reveals Future Vertical Lift Class One Proposal

AVX Aircraft of Benbrook, Texas has responded to the US Army’s request for information on the smallest of five planned Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capability sets with two 7.5t (16,700lb) winged coaxial compound helicopter configurations that the company’s chief executive describes as vertical takeoff fighter aircraft for light reconnaissance, attack, assault and medical evacuation missions.

The baseline swept-wing, 13.4m (44ft) diametre rotor concept would be powered by two 3,000shp Improved Turbine Technology Programme (ITEP) engines and is designed to meet a demanding set of core requirements proposed by the US Army in its “Capability Set 1” RFI document. The requirements that emerged for that next-generation rotorcraft category required a more robust design than the 4.5t (10,000lb) light single that AVX discussed with the Army back in January for Capability Set 1 (CS1), prior to the 18 February RFI release.

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And, interestingly, to replace the Chinook, AVX would want to use a tilt rotor.

What's Beneath West Antarctica's Ice Sheet?

Three recent publications by early career researchers at three different institutions across the country provide the first look into the biogeochemistry, geophysics and geology of Subglacial Lake Whillans, which lies 800 meters (2,600 feet) beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

The findings stem from the Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Collectively, the researchers describe a wetland-like area beneath the ice. Subglacial Lake Whillans is primarily fed by ice melt, but also contains small amounts of seawater from ancient marine sediments on the lake bed. The lake waters periodically drain through channels to the ocean, but with insufficient energy to carry much sediment.

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Remains of Miocene Neogene Hominoid Nacholapithecus kerioi From Northern Kenya

Sacral vertebral remains of the Middle Miocene hominoid Nacholapithecus kerioi from northern Kenya

Authors:

Kakuchi et al

Abstract:

This study describes two new sacral specimens of Nacholapithecus kerioi, KNM-BG 42753I and KNM-BG 47687A, from the Aka Aiteputh Formation in Nachola, northern Kenya, excavated in 2002. They are of roughly equal size and are considered to belong to males. When scaled by body mass, the lumbosacral articular surface area of the better preserved specimen, KNM-BG 42753I, is smaller than that in Old World monkeys but similar to that in extant great apes and New World monkeys, as well as Proconsul nyanzae. The relatively narrow dimensions of the first sacral vertebral body in the transverse and sagittal planes are characteristics of N. kerioi and P. nyanzae and similar to those of extant great apes. In N. kerioi, lumbosacral surface area relative to body mass is small. This may simply be an extension of a trend from the previously reported small thoracolumbar vertebrae to the sacrum. ​The first sacral vertebrae of N. kerioi and Epipliopithecus vindobonensis have a higher craniocaudal vertebral body reduction (CVR; a higher CVR indicates a wider cranial width relative to a narrower caudal width), similar to that in Old World monkeys. Old World monkeys have a higher CVR, and usually have three sacral vertebrae, fewer than seen in extant great apes, which have a lower CVR and four to six (sometimes as many as eight) sacral vertebrae. New World monkeys have a lower CVR than Old World monkeys, but generally possess only three sacral vertebrae, and have a large caudal articular surface, which may be related, at least in the Atelidae, to the grasping ability of their tails. The possibility that N. kerioi had only three sacral vertebrae cannot be ruled out, because E. vindobonensis and Old World monkeys, with higher CVRs, have sacra consisting of three sacral vertebrae.

Mark Witton on Pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus

The Late Jurassic, Solnhofen Formation pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus muensteri is an exceptional flying reptile. We tend to overlook it a bit now - it's been known for almost two centuries, which is long enough to temper enthusiasm for any fossil species - but it's a remarkable animal for a number of reasons. Far from a typical example of the rhamphorhynchid lineage, it's the rhamphorhynchiest of all pterosaurs with a jaw full of large, conical teeth, elongate extensions to its jaw tips, exceptionally long and slender wings, delicate hindlimbs and walking digits, and a long, stiff tail famously adorned with a diamond or triangular shaped vane*. It also arguably has the best fossil record of any pterosaur. It's known from over 100 specimens, many of them being complete, articulated skeletons with at least some three-dimensionality, as well as providing excellent soft-tissues remains. Excepting embryos, we have complete growth series from tiny juveniles to chunky adults with 1.8 m wingspans, and its preservation is such that fine details of bones can be gleaned through careful mechanical or acid preparation. Its osteology is subsequently better known that any other pterosaur. The Cretaceous pterodactyloid Pteranodon might be known from more fossils (greater than 1400), but these flattened, disarticulated remains are nowhere close to the fossil quality of Rhamphorhynchus.

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Five new Species of Ediacaran Biota Described From NeoProterozoic Lantian Formation of South China

Systematic description of putative animal fossils from the early Ediacaran Lantian Formation of South China

Authors:

Wan et al

Abstract:

The early Ediacaran Lantian Formation in South China contains some of the oldest known representatives of morphologically complex macroorganisms, including various macroalgae and putative animals. The macroalgal fossils have been described previously in several publications, but no taxonomic treatment has been published for the putative animal fossils. This hampers our ability to fully evaluate and communicate the significance of these potentially important Ediacaran macrofossils. To address this deficiency, here we provide a systematic description of these putative animal fossils from the Lantian Formation, including four new genera and five new species: Lantianella laevis gen. et sp. nov., L. annularis gen. et sp. nov., Piyuania cyathiformis gen. et sp. nov., Qianchuania fusiformis gen. et sp. nov. and Xiuningella rara gen. et sp. nov. Morphological comparisons of these fossils and potential modern analogues are provided and critically assessed.

The Soviet Pompeii

“MY MOTHERLAND is the Soviet Union,” reads a sentence written in cursive script in one of the exercise books scattered on the floor of an abandoned school in Pripyat, a Soviet-era ghost town in Ukraine next to the Chernobyl nuclear plant. The town, built for the plant’s workers and their families, was evacuated on the afternoon of April 27th 1986, some 36 hours after the worst nuclear-power disaster in history. Today Pripyat is being reclaimed by nature and tourists. What were once streets have become forest paths. Concrete blocks of flats decorated with Soviet symbols and slogans are barely visible through the trees.

Some 200 pensioners eventually returned to villages in the area, but Pripyat itself remains dead, a Soviet Pompeii. Tourists and journalists stroll past rusting propaganda stands, taking photographs of scattered gas masks, clothes, toys and textbooks in abandoned schoolrooms. Some may have been positioned there deliberately by tour organisers.

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Demand for Office Space in San Francisco has Dropped

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