Thursday, September 25, 2014
US Navy MQ-4C Triton set for 2017 Service Entry
The U.S. Navy’s newest and largest drone took another step last week towards its first operational deployment in 2017 after it completed a cross country flight to Patuxent River, Maryland, where engineers will complete more tests on the MQ-4C Triton.
Navy pilots flew the Triton at altitudes of 50,000 feet from Palmdale, California, along the U.S. southern border with Mexico and up the Atlantic Coast. The 3,290 nautical mile flight took 11 hours for the Triton to complete, Navy officials said.
Officials said the Triton will fly up to 2,000 hours before it’s deployed operationally at sea. The Navy has grand plans for the Triton once it enters operational service.
“We brought Triton home to the center of research, development, test and evaluation for naval aviation,” said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, who oversees the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO (U&W)) at NAVAIR. “The testing performed here over the next few years is critical to delivering a capability that will provide our warfighter an unparalleled awareness of the maritime environment in locations across the globe.”
The aircraft, which boasts a 130-foot wingspan and can reach altitudes of 60,000 feet, is engineered as a long-endurance surveillance platform, meaning it can stay in the air as long at 30 hours on a single mission.
Navy admirals plan to use the Triton to offer better situational awareness across the large swaths of ocean the Navy’s fleets cover. Triton will feature advanced radars that will help carrier strike groups identify enemy threats.
The Triton’s next-generation radar, called the Multi-Function Active Sensor (MFAS), is a 360-degree radar capability optimized to provide the identification of surface ships over vast areas covering thousands of miles..
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Korea's KFX Program Greatly Benefits From F-35 Purchase
In return for obtaining 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, South Korea will receive technologies related to its long-planned KFX indigenous fighter programme.
Following Lockheed’s announcement on 24 September that Seoul was on the verge of signing an order for 40 F-35s, state news agencyYonhapquoted a spokesman from South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) as saying that the F-35 technologies will play a key role in KFX.
Under the F-35 deal – which will cover deliveries to run between 2018 and 2021 – Lockheed will transfer key fighter technologies from “17 sectors”, he says.
The DAPA spokesman adds that Seoul will build 120 KFX aircraft for deployment from 2025. South Korean officials indicate the fighter will be a twin-engined design that is more capable than advanced versions of the Lockheed F-16, but less capable than leading Western fighters such as the F-35.
Technology transfer was a major consideration in Seoul’s pursuit of a replacement for its McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Northrop F-5s under its F-X III requirement, which was ultimately won by the F-35.
Industry sources say Lockheed, Boeing and Eurofighter all offered attractive technology transfer packages during the contest. Boeing offered an upgraded version of its F-15E, dubbed the Silent Eagle, while Eurofighter offered the Typhoon.
At last year’s Seoul lnternational Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, Korea Aerospace Industries, which will likely build the new jet, displayed two models of the KFX, both of which bore low-observable characteristics reminiscent of the F-35.
The aircraft will be developed with help from Indonesia, which is a 20% partner in the programme.
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A Unique Miocene Neogene Fauna From Shuitangba, China
The site of Shuitangba (Yunnan, China) preserves a unique, terminal Miocene fauna
Authors:
Jablonski et al
Abstract:
The late Miocene was an important interval in mammalian evolution because of the concatenated tectonic, climatic, and environmental changes that led to increased seasonality and heterogeneity of most terrestrial ecosystems (Ruddiman and Kutzbach, 1989; An et al., 2001; Guo et al., 2002). These phenomena had profound influences on mammalian habitats and on the anatomies and fates of many mammalian lineages (Fortelius et al., 2002; Jablonski, 2005). In Eurasia, this period was marked by the decline in diversity and abundance of obligate forest dwellers and the rise of species able to survive in more open and seasonal habitats. Southeastern Asia did not escape the effects of changing global climatic conditions of the Late Neogene, but appears to have, in part, played a role as a refugium for some mammals. The few known fossil sites of southern China are beginning to reveal the architecture of faunal change in the region. The terminal Miocene site of Shuitangba, Yunnan Province, China, provides a snapshot of this critical transition.
Using Solar Occultation to Determine Titan's Atmospheric and Surface Composition
Titan’s Surface Composition and Atmospheric Transmission with Solar Occultation Measurements by Cassini VIMS
Authors:
Hayne et al
Abstract:
Solar occultation measurements by the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) reveal the near-infrared transmission of Titan’s atmosphere down to an altitude of ∼40 km. By combining these observations with VIMS reflectance measurements of Titan’s surface and knowledge of haze and gas opacity profiles from the Huygens probe, we constrain a simple model for the transfer of radiation in Titan’s atmosphere in order to derive surface reflectance in the methane windows used for compositional analysis. The advantages of this model are twofold: 1) it is accurate enough to yield useful results, yet simple enough to be implemented in just a few lines of code, and 2) the model parameters are directly constrained by the VIMS occultation and on-planet measurements. We focus on the 2.0, 2.7, 2.8 and 5.0 μm windows, where haze opacity is minimized, and diagnostic vibrational bands exist for water ice and other candidate surface species. A particularly important result is the strong atmospheric attenuation at 2.7 μm compared to 2.8 μm, resulting in a reversal of apparent spectral slope in a compositionally diagnostic wavelength range. These results show that Titan’s surface reflectance is much “bluer” and more closely matched by water ice than the uncorrected spectra would indicate, although the majority of Titan’s surface has a spectrum consistent with mixtures (either intimate or areal) of water ice and haze particles precipitated from the atmosphere. Compositions of geologic units can be accurately modeled as mixtures ranging from predominantly water ice (Sinlap crater ejecta and margins of dark equatorial terrain) to predominantly organic-rich (Tui Regio and Hotei Regio), with particles in the size range ∼10 – 20 μm. In distinguishing between hypothesized formation mechanisms for Tui and Hotei Regio, their organic-rich composition favors a process that concentrates precipitated haze particles, such as playa lake evaporite deposition (Barnes et al., 2011). In other places, kilometer-scale exposures of nearly pure water ice bedrock on Titan’s surface indicate relatively locally rapid erosion compared to rates of accumulation of solid hydrocarbons precipitated from the atmosphere. Somewhat surprisingly, Titan’s vast equatorial dune fields appear slightly enriched in water ice compared to the surrounding bright regions, but the spectrum of the dune material itself may nonetheless be consistent with a predominantly organic haze-derived composition.
Early Paleolithic Artifacts From Poland are Really Geofacts, not Man-made
The alleged Early Palaeolithic artefacts are in reality geofacts: a revision of the site of Kończyce Wielkie 4 in the Moravian Gate, South Poland
Authors:
Wiśniewski et al
Abstract:
In this paper we show that a site Kończyce Wielkie 4 (SW Poland) published in JAS (2010a) by Foltyn et al. can no longer be accepted as a reliable evidence for the oldest presence of humans in the northern part of Carpathians and Sudetes Mountains (Matuyama-Brunhes). Unfortunately, in the light of conducted analysis among others with Peacock's method, it seems that the lithics from Kończyce Wielkie appear to be much more similar to geofacts rather than to artefacts. As a background for comparison Lower Paleolithic artefacts from two German sites Wallendorf and Wangen were used. Moreover, the petrological determination of the finds from Kończyce Wielkie is also dubious issue. Foltyn et al. suggested a long distance transport of lithics from several sources. As it has been demonstrated in the paper, local glacial sediments consist of rocks that are analogous to published lithic spectrum. Finally, the geological data shown by Foltyn et al. seem to be incorrect. Authors did not take into account the results concerning the regional geology that indicate clearly much younger age of layers dated by Foltyn et al. (2010a) at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene.
Reinterpreting Theosodon hystatus, a South American Litoptern
Taxonomic reinterpretation of Theosodon hystatus Cabrera and Kraglievich, 1931 (Litopterna, Macraucheniidae ) and phylogenetic relationships of the family
Authors:
Schmidt et al
Abstract:
Associated fragments of a maxilla and mandible of Theosodon hystatus Cabrera and Kraglievich (Macraucheniidae, Litopterna) from the late Miocene Arroyo Chasicó locality (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) are described and taxonomically reinterpreted. The systematic arrangement is supported by the first phylogenetic analysis of the family. The holotype (MLP 29-IX-1-75) of T. hystatus was originally poorly described and its generic assignation was not fully justified. The comparison of MLP 29-IX-1-75 with Paranauchenia denticulata Ameghino from the ‘Mesopotamiense’ (lower member of the Ituzaingó Formation, Entre Ríos Province; late Miocene) shows significant morphological similarities that lead us to propose that T. hystatus belongs to the genus Paranauchenia Ameghino, resulting in the new combination Paranauchenia hystata. The phylogenetic analysis of Macraucheniidae supports this proposal because both taxa form a monophyletic clade, sharing one synapomorphy: metaconid of m2 lingually placed. This new taxonomic interpretation implies the geographic extension of Paranauchenia to Buenos Aires Province. The obtained phylogeny also corroborates the monophyly of Macraucheniidae, but not that of the currently considered subfamilies, because Cramaucheniinae is paraphyetic.
An Early Triassic Ichthyopterygian From Japan
An Early Triassic ichthyopterygian fossil from the Osawa Formation in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Authors:
TAKAHASHI et al
Abstract:
The Ichthyopterygia Owen 1840 is a remarkable group of Mesozoic marine reptiles with distinctive fish-shaped bodies. There are conflicting views on the taxonomic nomenclature of ichthyopterygians (e.g., Motani and McGowan, 2003; Maisch, 2010). In this study, we employed the phylogeny and nomenclature of McGowan and Motani (2003) in which the term Ichthyosauria refers to a derived clade within the Ichthyopterygia; according to this system, Utatsusaurus is a basal ichthyopterygian and not an ichthyosaurian. The phylogenetic relationships and systematics within the group have been analyzed in recent synthetic studies (e.g., Motani, 1999; Sander, 2000; McGowan and Motani, 2003; Maisch 2010), but a consensus is yet to be reached regarding the phylogenetic relationship with other reptiles (e.g., McGowan and Motani, 2003). More information on early ichthyopterygians is crucial to understand their origin. Ichthyopterygian fossil record extends from the Early Triassic Olenekian to the Late Cretaceous Cenomanian (Motani and McGowan, 2003). Early Triassic taxa have been reported from Europe, North America, and Asia (Table 1). Note that some species are represented by fragmentary specimens, whereas the ichthyopterygian affinity of a few taxa have been debated (e.g., Omphalosaurus and “Pessopteryx nisseri”; Motani, 2000, Sander and Faber 2003; McGowan and Motani, 2003; Dalla Vecchia, 2004; Maisch, 2010).
Permian–Triassic mass extinction affected the marine ecosystem seriously (Raup, 1979; Sepkoski, 1984), and the Paleozoic fauna was largely replaced by the modern fauna (Sepkoski, 1984). The occurrence of marine reptiles added a new trophic level of top predators in the Mesozoic marine ecosystem, and their radiation started in the Olenekian (Chen and Benton, 2012; Fröbisch et al., 2013). However, only a limited number of Early Triassic reptilian faunas actually document this process (e.g., Sulphur Mountain Formation in Canada, Vikinghøgda Formation in Norway, Nanlinghu Formation in China: see Table 1). The Osawa reptilian fauna is important in this regard as well.
In 2007, a partial skeleton of a reptile was discovered from the Lower Triassic Osawa Formation (Spathian or late Olenekian: Bando and Shimoyama, 1974; Bando and Ehiro, 1982), Inai Group, in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan (Fig. 1). This formation has yielded a number of articulated skeletons of the primitive ichthyopterygian Utatsusaurus hataii Shikama et al. 1978, which is one of the oldest animals secondarily adapted to life in open (Nakajima et al., in press). Apart from U. hataii, only two other vertebrate taxa, i.e., hybodontoid shark (Kato et al., 1995) and “Metanothosaurus nipponicus” Yabe and Shikama 1948, have been reported from the formation to science. The holotype and only specimen of the latter taxon has been missing, and the existing information is not sufficient to determine its taxonomic status (e.g., sauropterygian in Mazin [1986]; ichthyosaur and not sauropterygian in Rieppel [2000: 109]); hence this taxon is regarded as nomen dubium.
The new specimen was discovered at the base of the dark gray shale exposed along the coast in Minamisanriku Town in the northeastern corner of the Miyagi Prefecture. It was collected as a float but retained fresh surface. The locality is within 1 km from the holotype locality of Utatsusaurus hataii, and the horizon of the new specimen is correlated to the middle part of the formation and is within the stratigraphic range of Utatsusaurus (Shikama et al., 1978).
The Origin of Annelids
The origin of annelids
Authors:
Parry et al
Abstract:
Annelids are a phylum of segmented bilaterian animals that have become important components of ecosystems spanning terrestrial realms to the deep sea. Annelids are remarkably diverse, possessing high taxonomic diversity and exceptional morphological disparity, and have evolved numerous feeding strategies and ecologies. Their interrelationships and evolution have been the source of much controversy over the past century with the composition of the annelid crown group, the relationship of major groups and the body plan of the ancestral annelid having undergone major recent revisions. There is a convincing body of molecular evidence that polychaetes form a paraphyletic grade and that clitellates are derived polychaetes. The earliest stem group annelids from Cambrian Lagerstätten are errant, epibenthic polychaetes, confirming that biramous parapodia, head appendages and diverse, simple chaetae are primitive for annelids. Current evidence from molecular clocks and the fossil record suggest that crown group annelids are a Late Cambrian – Ordovician radiation, with clitellates radiating in the Late Palaeozoic. Their body fossil record is largely confined to deposits showing exceptional preservation and is punctuated by the acquisition of hard parts in major groups. The discovery of an Ordovician fossil with soft tissues has shown that machaeridians are in fact a clade of crown polychaetes. They were in existence for more than 200 million years and possess unique calcitic dorsal armour, allowing their mode of life and phylogeny to be interpreted in the context of the annelid body plan. We identify a novel clade of machaeridians, the Cuniculepadida, which exhibit a series of adaptations for burrowing.
The Environmental Impacts of Fracking Examined
Greenhouse gas emissions from the production and use of shale gas would be comparable to conventional natural gas, but the controversial energy source actually faired better than renewables on some environmental impacts, according to new research.
The UK holds enough shale gas to supply its entire gas demand for 470 years, promising to solve the country's energy crisis and end its reliance on fossil-fuel imports from unstable markets. But for many, including climate scientists and environmental groups, shale gas exploitation is viewed as environmentally dangerous and would result in the UK reneging on its greenhouse gas reduction obligations under the Climate Change Act.
University of Manchester scientists have now conducted one of the most thorough examinations of the likely environmental impacts of shale gas exploitation in the UK in a bid to inform the debate. Their research has just been published in the leading academic journal Applied Energy and study lead author, Professor Adisa Azapagic, will outline the findings at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, England, today (Monday, 22 September).
"While exploration is currently ongoing in the UK, commercial extraction of shale gas has not yet begun, yet its potential has stirred controversy over its environmental impacts, its safety and the difficulty of justifying its use to a nation conscious of climate change," said Professor Azapagic.
"There are many unknowns in the debate surrounding shale gas, so we have attempted to address some of these unknowns by estimating its life cycle environmental impacts from 'cradle to grave'. We looked at 11 different impacts from the extraction of shale gas using hydraulic fracturing – known as 'fracking'– as well as from its processing and use to generate electricity."
The researchers compared shale gas to other fossil-fuel alternatives, such as conventional natural gas and coal, as well as low-carbon options, including nuclear, offshore wind and solar power (solar photovoltaics).
The results of the research suggest that the average emissions of greenhouse gases from shale gas over its entire life cycle are about 460 grams of carbon dioxide-equivalent per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated. This, the authors say, is comparable to the emissions from conventional natural gas. For most of the other life-cycle environmental impacts considered by the team, shale gas was also comparable to conventional natural gas.
link.
Is Europe Going to Follow Japan's Recent Economic Trajectory?
By now it should be clear that the monetary experiment currently being carried out in Japan (known as “Abenomics”) is fundamentally different from the kind of quantitative easing which was implemented in the United States and the United Kingdom during the global financial crisis. In the US and the UK QE was implemented in order to stabilize the financial system, while in Japan, and now the Euro Area (EA) the objective is to end deflationary pressures and reflate economies which are arguably caught in some form of liquidity trap.
In particular it is hard not to draw the conclusion that something structural and more long-term is taking place in Japan, and that that something is only tangentially related to the recent global financial crisis. One plausible explanation is that Japan’s long-lasting malaise is not simply a debt deflationary hangover from the bursting of a property bubble in 1992 but rather with the rapid population ageing the country has experienced. If this is the case then the ongoing economic stagnation in Europe may have a lot more to do with the Japan experience than it does with the recent economic dynamics seen in the UK and the US. The reason for this is simple: Europe’s population is the second oldest on the planet after Japan’s. Certainly at first sight the similarity is striking, especially when it comes to working age population dynamics.
link.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Ukraine: Russia Unhappy With Only Boiled Frog?
Fighting seems to continue in Debalsteve.
A Ukrainian Army helicopter was shotdown. It was within the LNR, which is a bit...odd.
The Ukrainians still holding the wreckage of the Donetsk Airport. Shelling by the rebels continues there.
There are reports of mass graves outside of Donetsk. Both sides point at the other.
Ukraine's government has expressed a lot of doubt the cease fire will last.
The Russians are amping up their persecution of the Tatars. They are accusing the Tatars of hoarding weapons and distributing extremist literature. This will not end well.
The Russians have commenced another very large exercise.
The Russians have sent a letter to Ukraine stating if the EU treaty is implemented, they will cut off all trade with Ukraine.
The Russians are now starting to send MiG-31s on the air "raids" against the Western nations. This is a significant departure from the past where they sent bombers and tankers only. It seems they are giving their tankers and whatnot a long range escort.
Finally, the Russians are supposed to be sending another aid convoy to eastern Ukraine.
Court Order Shuts Down Buttefly Labs Bitcoin Miner Company
A Kansas company that offered bitcoin-generating computers is being sued by the Federal Trade Commission, which said it bilked more than 20,000 consumers out of as much as $50 million.
The Leawood-based company, Butterfly Labs, failed to deliver the machines or sent worthless equipment, according to the FTC's complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City.
The court had issued a temporary restraining order that shut down the business, according to an FTC statement Tuesday, The Kansas City Star reported.
link.
The music seems appropriate...
A Review of International Treaty Obligations vs the ASTEROIDS Act
Given their desire to extract resources from asteroids, US space industry stakeholders seek assurances that whatever is extracted can be processed and sold like terrestrial resources. In order to encourage investment, these businesses need to know that outer space resources can be protected by property rights.
On July 10, 2014, Congressmen Bill Posey (R-FL) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced the ASTEROIDS Act.1 The Act seeks to facilitate the commercial exploration and utilization of asteroid resources to meet national needs and to promote the right of US commercial entities to explore and utilize resources from asteroids, in accordance with existing international obligations of the US.
On September 9, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Subcommittee on Space, held a hearing titled, “Exploring Our Solar System: The ASTEROIDS Act as a Key Step.” The hearing addressed a host of topics, many of which were not germane to the Act. Fortunately, Joanne Gabrynowicz, Professor Emerita and former editor-in-chief of the University of Mississippi Journal of Space Law, offered testimony on the legal difficulties associated with crafting legislation for novel space activities. This article briefly explores some of these difficulties with a focus on international obligations that should be considered in an attempt to draft a law creating property rights over outer space resources.
link.
Robopocalyse Coming for the Cephalopods...Again
Humans, and the machines we make, are particularly unwieldy swimmers. Many types of fish can travel at speeds of up to 10 body lengths per second. By contrast, an Olympic swimmer manages no more than about one body length per second. And while nuclear submarines can travel at about 80 kilometres per hour, that translates into much less than half a body length per second.
This kind of performance has long fascinated marine engineers who would dearly love to match it. In particular, they have puzzled over the way certain sea creatures can accelerate from a standing start at rates of up to 120 metres per second squared. That’s 10g!
Among the creatures that demonstrate this extraordinary fast-start acceleration are the octopus, squid and certain jellyfish. Marine biologists have long observed these creatures’ ability to avoid prey by filling their bodies with water and squirting it out to generate propulsion. In this way, the octopus, for example, can accelerate at more than 10 body lengths per second squared.
hat gave Gabriel Weymouth at the University of Southampton and few pals an idea. Why not build their own robotic octopus capable of squirting in the same way and seeing whether it can match its natural cousins’ performance. The results are something of a surprise.
Their underwater robot is essentially a copy of an octopus’s head, which expands when it is filled with water and squirts it out through a nozzle at the rear. This robot has no tentacles but instead, the team fitted small fins to the rear to stabilise its movement through the water.
So the robot is roughly ellipsoidal in shape, measuring 27 centimetres in length and is 5 times longer than it is wide. It is created by stretching a rubber membrane over a set of polycarbonate ribs. Weymouth and co chose this shape because of its ability to glide many body lengths through water.
The team then filled the robot with water under pressure, causing the rubber membrane to expand into a bluff body shape that is particularly unsuited to gliding. Finally, they released the robot in a pool and filmed its progress through the water at a rate of 150 frames per second as water squirting through a rear-facing nozzle propelled it along.
The results are extraordinary. As the water starts to squirt out of the nozzle, the robot begins to accelerate. However, it moves little during the first half second or so since its bluff body shape prevents efficient progress.
But then, as the robot shrinks, it accelerates rapidly. And here’s the thing: Weymouth and co say that its maximum acceleration is 14 body lengths per second squared and that it reaches speeds of 10 body lengths per second.
link.
Second Hand F-16 Fighters Might end up in China
Ma Zhiping, the general manager of China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, said in an article in China Aviation News that as F-16s are being decommissioned world wide, refurbished Fighting Falcons could be sold to China’s traditional markets.
link.
South Korea Moves Ahead With Procuring 40 F-35s
South Korea has approved a deal to acquire 40 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for about KRW7.3 trillion (USD7.1 billion).
The Defense Acquisition Program Executive Committee headed by Minister of National Defense Han Min-gu approved the signing of a letter of offer and acceptance at a meeting in Seoul on 24 September.
Deliveries to South Korea of the F-35A - the conventional take-off and landing variant - will start in 2018, according to a statement by Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, Program Executive Officer for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office.
"[South] Korea becomes the third Foreign Military Sales customer joining Israel, Japan, and our eight partner nations on the programme," Lt Gen Bogdan added. "This is a good day for the F-35 programme and we look forward to working with the Republic of Korea government in executing its F-35 programme."
The F-35A will fulfil the Republic of Korea Air Force's (RoKAF's) FX-III requirement, under which Seoul originally planned to buy 60 aircraft to replace 1970s-era McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom IIs. The original estimate quoted for 60 F-35As was USD10.8 billion, one reason why the RoKAF approved a reduced fleet of 40 aircraft.
link.
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