Why Boeing Beat SpaceX

Boeing Co. received consistently higher rankings than Space Exploration Technologies Corp. during NASA's recent multibillion-dollar competition to build "space taxis," according to an internal agency document.

The memo—dated Sept. 15 and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal—provides an inside look at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's deliberations and reveals why agency officials rated Boeing's bid better across the board than the one submitted by SpaceX, as the smaller company is called.

Chicago-based Boeing ended up with a contract worth up to $4.2 billion, versus $2.6 billion for Southern California-based SpaceX. The goal is to use company-owned and operated spacecraft to start transporting astronauts into orbit by 2017.

The rivalry was widely viewed as the closest head-to-head matchup yet between a big traditional aerospace contractor such as Boeing and a so-called new-space upstart represented by SpaceX.

But the 29-page document, signed by NASA's associate administrator William Gerstenmaier the day before the awards were announced, depicts more of a one-sided contest. Boeing ranked above SpaceX in every major category, from technical maturity to management competence to likelihood of sticking to a timetable.

Boeing's submission was considered "excellent" for "mission suitability," whereas SpaceX got a "very good" ranking. The numerical scores for that category, according to one person familiar with the details, were separated by more than 60 points out of a possible 1,000. The document shows Boeing also garnered the highest ranking of "excellent" for technical approach and program management, compared with "very good" rankings for SpaceX.

Based on Boeing's performance on a preliminary contract, NASA concluded it had "very high confidence" in that company's likelihood of delivering what it promised—the highest ranking possible.

Despite SpaceX's historic achievement of becoming the first commercial entity to put a capsule into orbit and ferry NASA cargo to and from the international space station, the agency had somewhat less assurance in the company's ability to perform, also based on performance on its own preliminary contract. NASA determined it had "high confidence" in SpaceX's pledges.

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Did the Breakup of Pangea Drive the Evolution of Angiosperms During the Cretaceous?

Tectonic-driven climate change and the diversification of angiosperms

Authors

Chaboureau et al

Abstract:

In 1879, Charles Darwin characterized the sudden and unexplained rise of angiosperms during the Cretaceous as an “abominable mystery.” The diversification of this clade marked the beginning of a rapid transition among Mesozoic ecosystems and floras formerly dominated by ferns, conifers, and cycads. Although the role of environmental factors has been suggested [Coiffard C, Gómez B (2012) Geol Acta 10(2):181–188], Cretaceous global climate change has barely been considered as a contributor to angiosperm radiation, and focus was put on biotic factors to explain this transition. Here we use a fully coupled climate model driven by Mesozoic paleogeographic maps to quantify and discuss the impact of continental drift on angiosperm expansion and diversification. We show that the decrease of desertic belts between the Triassic and the Cretaceous and the subsequent onset of long-lasting humid conditions during the Late Cretaceous were driven by the breakup of Pangea and were contemporaneous with the first rise of angiosperm diversification. Positioning angiosperm-bearing fossil sites on our paleobioclimatic maps shows a strong match between the location of fossil-rich outcrops and temperate humid zones, indicating that climate change from arid to temperate dominance may have set the stage for the ecological expansion of flowering plants.

Large Lunar Subsurface Volcanic Structures Uncovered by Grail

Subsurface structures of large volcanic complexes on the nearside of the Moon: A view from GRAIL gravity

Authors:

Huang et al

Abstract:

The lunar nearside large volcanic complexes, such as the Rümker Hills, Aristarchus Plateau, and Marius Hills are likely sites of intense and sustained magmatic activity. These volcanic complexes, recently proposed to be shield volcanoes, are generally located at regionally high elevations and some feature relatively well-localized positive gravity anomalies. Applying localized spectral analyses on high-resolution gravity data obtained from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission and topography data returned from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft, we study the subsurface structures of these volcanic complexes. The gravity signal is predicted using a thin elastic lithospheric model that considers both surface and subsurface loads. Best-fit crustal and load densities show that the topographic highs of Rümker Hills, Marius Hills, Gardner and Kepler are mainly composed of material that has a density of more than 2850 kg m-3, which is consistent with that of emplaced igneous rocks. Both the Aristarchus Plateau and Hortensius have relatively lower crustal and surface load densities, with mean values around 2550 kg m-3, which are well consistent with the average bulk density of the lunar highland crust. These results, together with evidence of multiple volcanic edifices on the surface, suggest that the shallow crusts of the Rümker Hills, Marius Hills, Gardner and Kepler are mainly composed of dense intrusive/extrusive magmatic units, and those of the Aristarchus Plateau and Hortensius are mainly composed of low density materials with only small amounts of superimposed volcanic material. To further constrain the subsurface structures beneath these volcanic complexes, we analyze the Bouguer gravity anomalies for these regions. Results show that dense materials that might be solidified intrusions exist beneath Rümker Hills, Marius Hills, Gardner and Prinz, but no substantial dense materials have been detected beneath the Aristarchus Plateau, Hortensius, Kepler or Cauchy. The different subsurface structures among these large volcanic complexes suggest that the volcanism style at the lunar nearside is different from each other, even for those formed at the same geological time.

Distinguishing Geofacts From Artifacts

Comparative methods for distinguishing flakes from geofacts: a case study from the Wenas Creek Mammoth site

Authors:

Lubinski et al

Abstract:

Archaeologists have long struggled with distinguishing lithic materials modified by humans (artifacts) from natural objects (e.g., geofacts or zoofacts). This problem is especially difficult for finds of small numbers of flake-like lithic specimens, and particularly for very old finds. We attempt to address the artifact versus geofact problem at a paleontology site by employing three systematic and objective tests on the two recovered possible artifacts. First, they are compared with debitage attributes typically expected of artifacts and geofacts based on published experimental and actualistic data. Second, they are compared in terms of nine of these attributes with a toolstone sample from the site excavation matrix. Third, the two possible artifacts are scored for these nine attributes and graphed against the toolstone matrix sample and two samples of flintknapped debitage assemblages. In all three comparisons, the two specimens are more like artifacts than geofacts. While this does not prove the specimens are artifacts, it at least shows they cannot be easily dismissed as the sort of geofacts typically expected in the site matrix. We argue that this distinction is an important first step in the evaluation of possible lithic artifacts.

Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis: A new Dryosaurid Ornithopod From Kimmeridgian Jurassic

A new dryosaurid ornithopod (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Late Jurassic of Portugal

Authors:

Escaso et al

Abstract:

A new dryosaurid ornithopod, Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis, gen. et sp. nov., is described here based on a single specimen from the Late Jurassic Alcobaça Formation of Portugal. Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis is distinguished from all other dryosaurids by eight autapomorphic features and an unique combination of characters, some of which are also shared by other dryosaurids. Eousdryosaurus is linked with Dryosauridae, because the fourth trochanter is proximally placed and widely separated from the scar for the insertion of the M. caudifemoralis longus, which is restricted to the medial surface of the femoral shaft. Phylogenetic analysis nests Eousdryosaurus in an unresolved polytomy at the base of Dryosauridae together with Callovosaurus, Dryosaurus, and Kangnasaurus. The complete pes of Eousdryosaurus, which has a phalangeal formula of 1-3-4-5-0, supports the putative autapomorphic reduction of the dryosaurid pes that also occurs in parallel in more derived ornithopods.

Hot Norian Triassic Phytosaur on Rauisuchid Action!

hot new image done by Chris Hayes.

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When Did Plate Tectonics Start?

The mystery of what kick-started the motion of our earth's massive tectonic plates across its surface has been explained by researchers at the University of Sydney.

"Earth is the only planet in our solar system where the process of plate tectonics occurs," said Professor Patrice Rey, from the University of Sydney's School of Geosciences.

"The geological record suggests that until three billion years ago the earth's crust was immobile so what sparked this unique phenomenon has fascinated geoscientists for decades. We suggest it was triggered by the spreading of early continents then eventually became a self-sustaining process."

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Eurofighter has Manufacturing Defects

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EU Can't Deal With Disintegrating Members

THE demonstrations that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall came out of nowhere, says Günther Dauwen, and had consequences nobody could foresee. Observing the proceedings in Scotland last week, he wondered if something similar might be brewing. From a quiet fourth-floor office in Brussels Mr Dauwen runs the European Free Alliance (EFA), a rum assortment of 40 regional political groups, including the Scottish National Party (SNP), that seek greater autonomy, or, in some cases, independence, from existing countries. From the plains of Silesia to the beaches of Corsica, reckons Mr Dauwen, there is a growing clamour for power among Europe’s long-neglected regions. Scotland is a “beacon” for such places; that its independence referendum was achieved at all encouraged others to think “Yes, we can!”, even though the outcome was negative. In the run-up to the vote the EFA’s website nearly crashed under the weight of traffic.

Watching the streets of Edinburgh filling up with Saltire-waving Catalans, Flemings and South Tyroleans (not to mention Québécois, Kurds and Taiwanese) last week, a visitor might have been forgiven for assuming that something was stirring in Europe. Some commentators fretted about the prospect of “balkanisation” across the continent. Yet although parts of Europe may one day drift towards dissolution, and Catalonia is trying to hold a vote on its future, the Scottish effect was overdone. Pro-independence campaigners in Flanders or the Veneto will have taken heart from the Scottish campaign, but given the different constitutional arrangements of Belgium and Italy they will struggle to draw useful lessons from it. And it will take a lot more to rouse the good burghers of Bavaria or Frisia from their slumbers.

Outside Britain, the biggest impact of a Scottish vote for secession would have been felt within the European Union. Ever since it adopted “Independence in Europe!” as a slogan in 1988, EU membership has been central to the SNP’s proposition. For small nations, the prospect of staying in a giant trading block with its own foreign policy and currency makes the idea of statehood less daunting. In contrast to what is perceived as an oppressive multinational state, it may offer space for identities to flourish. Asked in 2007 if his country wanted to establish a “Greater Albania”, an Albanian official referred to the EU symbol: “Yes we do. It has a blue flag and gold stars on it.”

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Nolan's Interstellar: Looking a Little More Promising

DARPA Develops Electronics Anti Counterfeit Technology

Any counterfeit high-tech goods are a serious safety threat to people and cybersecurity as well as a problem for system reliability and performance.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said this week one of its contractors, working on one of the agency’s anti-counterfeit projects has developed and deployed what it calls an Advanced Scanning Optical Microscope that can scan integrated circuits by using an extremely narrow infrared laser beam, to probe microelectronic circuits at nanometer levels, revealing information about chip construction as well as the function of circuits at the transistor level.

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SCH-SCH-SCH-SCHAFT! Robotics, erm, Google Robotics Schafted Division

Robopocalypse Video! Volcano gets a Fly-by Droning

From my Son's Birthday

This was the party with ALL of his Kindergarten class his Mom put on. 

DDG-1000 Zumwalt Fires up gas Turbines

The Navy has started the massive gas turbines in its latest class of guided missile destroyer ahead of the ship’s commissioning next year, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) announced on Thursday.

The first-in-class Zumwalt (DDG-1000) fired up the two Rolls Royce MT-30 and two smaller Rolls-Royce RR450 gas turbines this week as part of testing the ships new integrated power system (IPS) that will use the combined 80 mega-watt power to power the ship and its new advanced indication motors (AIM).

“Light-off of DDG-1000’s generators is a critical step forward in the activation, test, and trials of the ship’s systems,” said Capt. Jim Downey, DDG-1000 program manager in the Thursday statement.

Unlike traditional gas turbine arrangements on U.S. naval ships, the 36 mega-watt MT-30s and 3.8 mega-watt RR450s will drive a ship-wide electrical grid. Instead of having a direct mechanical connection to the ship’s propellers or water jets, the turbines will route power electrically to complex electrical motors that will drive the ship — crucial to the Navy’s IPS concept.

IPS is the Navy’s most mature expression of the so-called decades-old electric ship concept.

The core of the idea is by removing the direct mechanical connection from the turbines commanders have more options to route power to weapon systems or sensors.

Through IPS the amount of raw power is increased making the three planned Zumwalts ideal test platforms for next generation weapons like high energy lasers or electro magnetic railguns.

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US Navy Needs Triton, Poseidon & UCLASS for ISR

The future of Navy long-range reconnaissance, the recently arrived MQ-4C Triton drone, sprawls across its hangar here, with a wingspan 13 feet wider than a Boeing 737 but a body that’s 80 percent lighter.

Designed for 24-hour-plus patrols at 50,000 feet, Triton still can’t do the job by itself, say both the program manager and the admiral in charge of all Navy drones. It will provide the high-altitude, theater-spanning coverage that cues more tactically-focused recon aircraft to zoom in (in both senses of the word). Primarily, that means the manned, land-based P-8 Poseidon and the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance & Strike (UCLASS) drone. That’s three tricky balls for the Navy to keep in the air at once, especially in a time of tightening budgets:

The P-8 entered service late last year and is meant to work intimately with Triton. But the equipment to let a P-8 crew see all of a Triton’s sensor data and to remotely control the drone “is unfunded at this point,” Capt. Jim Hoke, the Triton program manager, admitted to visiting reporters last week.

As for Triton, as of late October all three aircraft built so far will be at Pax River for testing. A fourth test aircraft was cut for lack of funds, and an important collision-avoidance radar is behind schedule. The drone will enter operational service in late 2017, on Guam, but the planned buy of 68 aircraft is in some doubt. We can probably get by with fewer, Hoke told reporters, because Triton will be more reliable and spend less time in maintenance than the planning models predict.

Meanwhile, the controversial UCLASS program has not yet asked industry to submit final designs: Its official Request For Proposals (RFP) is delayed pending a top-level review of the 2016 budget, because critics in both Congress and the Pentagon argue the Navy’s requirements focus too much on “surveillance” at the expense of “strike.”

We need all three aircraft, Rear Adm. Mathias Winter insisted when I got him alone during the Pax River visit. But, I asked, echoing the skeptics, why buy two different intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drones? In essence, his answer was that the Triton is designed to meet the theater combatant commander’s needs, while UCLASS will work directly for the carrier strike group commander.

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Environmental Changes in the Western Interior Seaway Across the Cenomanian/Turonian Cretaceous Boundary

Paleoenvironmental and paleoceanographic changes across the Cenomanian–Turonian Boundary Event (Oceanic Anoxic Event 2) as indicated by foraminiferal assemblages from the eastern margin of the Cretaceous Western Interior Sea

Authors:

Elderbak et al

Abstract:

Two sites near the eastern margin of the Cretaceous Western Interior Sea (WIS) were investigated. The section at Cuba, Kansas (CK) is ~ 630 km east of the GSSP for the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary at Rock Canyon, Colorado (RC), and the section near Sioux City, Iowa (SCI) is ~ 315 km northeast of the Cuba site. Surprisingly, planktic foraminifera dominate all the studied samples despite the relative proximity of the sites to the paleo-shoreline and presumed neritic water depths. Such dominance suggests inhospitable benthic environments, and benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate that seafloor oxygen in the WIS decreased eastward. Therefore, the hypothesis of an influx of freshwater into the WIS from the western margin forming a fresh water cap that diminished eastward is not supported. Benthic foraminifera are scarce in most studied samples and species diversity is low. In the CK section, diversity and abundance increase abruptly in the uppermost Cenomanian Benthonic Zone at the initiation of the δ13Corg positive excursion marking the onset of Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE 2). In the SCI section, however, the Benthonic Zone is recognized only by presence of Nodosaria bighornensis that has a stratigraphic range restricted to this interval; other benthic taxa are very rare or absent. The favorable conditions of the Benthonic Zone were short-lived. While relatively diverse planktic foraminiferal assemblages, including keeled species, characterize the initial δ13C excursion at the CK site, dwarfed specimens of Heterohelix and Hedbergella dominate the assemblages at the more proximal Sioux City site. Furthermore, most of the biostratigraphic events recognized in the basin center RC section can be traced into the CK section, but not into the SCI section, including the Rotalipora spp. and Globigerinelloides bentonensis extinctions, the Heterohelix shift event, and the brief benthic recovery event. Correlation between eastern WIS sites shows that the SCI section is thicker, suggesting a major sediment source to the east. This may explain the inhospitable benthic conditions and development of a ‘dead zone’ (seasonal hypoxia) analogous to the modern shelf of the northern Gulf of Mexico proximal to active discharge of the Mississippi River. Development of estuarine circulation in the WIS provided the eastern part of the basin with input of calcareous plankton from the south including planktic foraminifera. Foraminiferal assemblages, total organic carbon (TOC), and δ13C data of the studied sections suggest a two-fold history of Greenhorn transgression and OAE 2 development. The initial phase is a global signal characterized by a positive δ13C excursion, low TOC values, and high foraminiferal species diversity. The second phase is characterized by overprinting by local conditions in the WIS, including high fluvial input, relatively high TOC values, and low foraminiferal species diversity. These findings suggest that the eastern margin records unique depositional and biotic environments further revealing the dynamic and complex nature of the WIS and its sedimentary cycles.

Asteroid 2014 OL339: Yet Another Earth Quasi-Moon

Asteroid 2014 OL339: yet another Earth quasi-satellite

Authors:

de la Fuente Marcos et al

Abstract:

Our planet has one permanently bound satellite -the Moon-, a likely large number of mini-moons or transient irregular natural satellites, and three temporary natural retrograde satellites or quasi-satellites. These quasi-moons -(164207) 2004 GU9, (277810) 2006 FV35 and 2013 LX28- are unbound companions to the Earth. The orbital evolution of quasi-satellites may transform them into temporarily bound satellites of our planet. Here, we study the dynamical evolution of the recently discovered Aten asteroid 2014 OL339 to show that it is currently following a quasi-satellite orbit with respect to the Earth. This episode started at least about 775 yr ago and it will end 165 yr from now. The orbit of this object is quite chaotic and together with 164207 are the most unstable of the known Earth quasi-satellites. This group of minor bodies is, dynamically speaking, very heterogeneous but three of them exhibit Kozai-like dynamics: the argument of perihelion of 164207 oscillates around -90 degrees, the one of 277810 librates around 180 degrees and that of 2013 LX28 remains around 0 degrees. Asteroid 2014 OL339 is not currently engaged in any Kozai-like dynamics.

Is There Evidence of Paleolithic Domestication of Dogs?

In search of Paleolithic dogs: a quest with mixed results

Author:

Morey

Abstract:

Archaeological evidence has long placed the origins of the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) just prior to the beginning of the Holocene Epoch, some 12,000–15,000 years ago. Some studies of genetic profiles of modern canids have, however, suggested a much earlier origin, dating to Paleolithic times and perhaps exceeding 100,000 years. With such studies as a backdrop, cases have been made recently on archaeological grounds for Paleolithic dogs that in certain cases exceed 30,000 years old. When examined systematically, however, some such studies exhibit conceptual and methodological flaws, calling into serious question the accuracy of the cases advanced. At least one recent study highlights that difficulty. When a series of cases for putative Paleolithic dogs is assessed, convincing cases for such dogs are confined to about the past 15,000 years, or latest Paleolithic times. Further developments on certain specific fronts may change that, but for the time being the longstanding archaeological understanding of the dog domestication time frame continues to be reasonably accurate. Recent molecular genetic studies are converging on that temporal framework as well. Archaeologists need not be automatically swayed by ongoing changes in molecular genetic profiles.

Colymbosaurus megadeirus: A Reassessment of Kimmeridgian Jurassic Plesiosaur Paleodiversity

Anatomy of Colymbosaurus megadeirus (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of the U.K., and high diversity among Late Jurassic plesiosauroids

Authors:

Benson et al

Abstract:

We describe the syntype postcranial skeletons of the cryptoclidid plesiosauroid Colymbosaurus megadeirus. C. megadeirus is the type species of Colymbosaurus, and one other valid species, C. svalbardensis, is known. Although it is in widespread usage, C. trochanterius is a not valid species, although the presence of an anteroposteriorly oriented ridge bisecting the distal surfaces of the holotype humerus allows its referral to Colymbosaurus sp. Some specimens previously referred to C. trochanterius, including the holotype of ‘Plesiosaurus’ manselii, lack this feature, or show other differences from our hypodigm, suggesting that they are taxonomically distinct from Colymbosaurus, and countering previous suggestions that the Kimmeridge Clay Formation represents a depauperate plesiosauroid fauna. Substantial differences between the atlas-axis complexes and cervical vertebrae of Kimmerosaurus langhami, ‘Plesiosaurus’ manselii, C. megadeirus, and specimens referred here to cf. Spitrasaurus indicate that at least four plesiosauroid taxa were present in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. This proposition is also supported by coracoid morphotypes, and demonstrates that Late Jurassic plesiosauroids were taxonomically diverse. Most Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous cryptoclidids belong to a monophyletic Colymbosaurinae, but Kimmerosaurus and its sister taxon Tatenectes originated independently from Middle Jurassic cryptoclidids.

Three Evolutionary Radiations of Sharks During the Famennian Devonian

Paleogeographical and paleoecological constraints on paleozoic vertebrates (chondrichthyans and placoderms) in the Ardenne Massif: Shark radiations in the Famennian on both sides of the Palaeotethys

Authors:

Derycke et al

Abstract:

Three chondrichthyan radiations are registered in the Famennian of the Ardenne Massif (Belgium). These radiations are already observed in Morocco and in the Carnic Alps, their acme being related with the early expansa transgression. Comparisons of univariate statistical descriptors like Margalef richness and Shannon–Wiener diversity index show variations between both margins of the Paleotethys, variations interpreted in terms of trophic relationships. The Ardenne area, a northern shallow carbonate platform is characterized during the Famennian by endemic shark taxa with durophagous dentition. The southern open deep-sea area, the Variscan Sea, contains large placoderms probably disclosing a negative feedback on “cladodont” chondrichthyans. This supports the hypothesis that the Armorica platelet behaved like a barrier between the central southern Laurussia and northern Gondwana.

Hypothesis: Lichen-Fungal Colonization of the Land Drove NeoProterozoic Oxidation Event?

Hypothesized link between Neoproterozoic greening of the land surface and the establishment of an oxygen-rich atmosphere

Author:

Kump

Abstract:

Considerable geological, geochemical, paleontological, and isotopic evidence exists to support the hypothesis that the atmospheric oxygen level rose from an Archean baseline of essentially zero to modern values in two steps roughly 2.3 billion and 0.8–0.6 billion years ago (Ga). The first step in oxygen content, the Great Oxidation Event, was likely a threshold response to diminishing reductant input from Earth’s interior. Here I provide an alternative to previous suggestions that the second step was the result of the establishment of the first terrestrial fungal–lichen ecosystems. The consumption of oxygen by aerobes respiring this new source of organic matter in soils would have necessitated an increase in the atmospheric oxygen content to compensate for the reduced delivery of oxygen to the weathering environment below the organic-rich upper soil layer. Support for this hypothesis comes from the observed spread toward more negative carbon isotope compositions in Neoproterozoic (1.0–0.542 Ga) and younger limestones altered under the influence of ground waters, and the positive correlation between the carbon isotope composition and oxygen content of modern ground waters in contact with limestones. Thus, the greening of the planet’s land surfaces forced the atmospheric oxygen level to a new, higher equilibrium state.

Great Barrier Reef Calcification dropped 40% Over 35 Years due to Climate Change, Ocean Acidification

An expedition from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Carnegie Institute of Science has measured a roughly 40% reduction in the rate of calcium carbonate deposited in Australia's Great Barrier Reef in the last 35 years — a scenario that could damage the reef framework and endanger the entire coral ecosystem.

Coral reefs are the most ecologically diverse and productive ecosystem in the ocean, with rich and diverse communities of fish, corals and mollusks making them a major attraction for marine and underwater tourism. Producing almost 50% of the net annual calcium carbonate in the oceans, corals play an important role in the global carbon cycle.

The ecological success of coral reefs depends on their calcium carbonate (CaCO3, limestone) structures that function as a huge filter to obtain plankton from the open ocean. Yet recent environmental changes including coastal nutrient pollution, global warming and ocean acidification caused by atmospheric CO2 increasingly threaten the existence of these unique ecosystems.

To better understand the effect of acidification on coral growth decline, Hebrew University scientists led by Prof. Jonathan Erez and Prof. Boaz Lazar at the Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, together with Carnegie Institute colleagues Dr. J. Silverman and Dr. K. Caldeira, carried out a community metabolism study in Lizard Island at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

The researchers compared calcification rates documented in 2008 and 2009 to those measured using similar techniques in 1975-6. Despite the fact that the coral cover remained similar, the researchers found that the recent calcification rates had decreased by between 27% and 49%. These lower rates are consistent with predictions that took into account the increase in CO2 between the two periods, suggesting that ocean acidification is the main cause for the lower calcification rate at Lizard Island. The prediction of how coral reef communities should respond to ocean acidification comes from work conducted by Dr. Silverman for his PhD at the Hebrew University, with Dr. Lazar and Prof. Erez as his advisers.

While previous studies on individual reef building corals have shown that they lower their calcification rates in response to ocean acidification, in the present study this was demonstrated for the whole community. These findings suggest that coral reefs are now making skeletons that are less dense and more fragile. While they still look the same, these coral reefs are less able to resist physical and biological erosion.

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Japan's JS Izumo: Helicopter Destroyer or Heli Carrier? Enters Sea Trials

Japan’s largest warship since World War II has left for its first set of sea trials last week ahead of entering the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF)fleet next year.

JS Izumo (DDH-183) departed Tokyo Bay on Sept. 23, as seen as in a video on YouTube, for the first round of what will be about six months of sea trials ahead of the ship’s commissioning next year, a JMSDF official told Jane’s Defence Weekly on Monday.

The 24,000-ton helicopter carrier is the first of two planned ships. Izumo will enter the JMSDF force next year. DDH-184 will enter the fleet in 2017, according to the Naval Institute’s Combat Fleet’s of the World.

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Rise of the Military and Space Advocate Factions in China

Much has been written about the growing influence of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) generals on China’s foreign policy. Little has been said about military entrepreneurs and other non-combatant PLA personnel moving into China’s domestic governance. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping, an unprecedented number of senior cadres from the country’s labyrinthine jungong hangtian (military-industrial and space-technology) complex are being inducted to high-level Party-government organs or transferred to regional administrations. Given the perception that officials with military backgrounds tend to be more conservative and unquestionably loyal to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, the partial militarization of the civilian Party-state apparatus will have far-reaching implications for the prospects of political and economic reforms, among others.

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Ukraine: Titters and Tatters of the Frog

Fighting continues at the Donetsk airport.  There is little more than wreckage left and its getting worse.  

Ukraine has gone for a tit for tat investigation into Russian government officials for warcrimes in the Donbass.

Ukraine is also claiming there are concentration camps outside of Donetsk.

Ukraine claims Russia has rotated in new troops to the order.  This includes batteries of ballistic missiles.  Most worrisome is the report the build up is near Kharkov.

Crimea can no longer recieve international flights.  All flights must go into and out of Russia proper.

Trains out of Crimea had been canceled for 4 days.

The Russians are planning on taking France to court over the Mistral ship delivery halt.

Shenzen's Crazy Awesome Cloud City! (but will they actually build the arcology?)

Many of the world’s cities are hundreds, even thousands of years old. They evolved from the bottom up as populations changed and demanded change. A new road here, new building there. The result is striking and wild—a kind of physical history.

But what if you could start New York or London from scratch?

To see skylines of the future—look east. Perhaps nowhere is urban growth happening more rapidly than in China. Home to a burgeoning list of megacities (population over 10 million), the country is wide open to ambitious and imaginative urban design.

n a recent contest, the city of Shenzhen went looking for creative proposals for a financial district (think London’s Canary Wharf) including three skyscrapers, a scattering of cultural buildings, and a green space linking it all together.

The co-winning design is a massive complex called Cloud Citizen that’s nearly as wide as it is tall. The structure forms a fused city skyline complete with three towers—the tallest of which would be the second highest in the world (680 meters)—and a series of giant floating skyways. Cloud Citizen would house office, commercial, leisure, and cultural space and include suspended public plazas and roads.

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The FB page of the design (find the picture which is totally wrong for the market!)

A "Low Power" Fusion Drive

A direct fusion drive for rocket propulsion

Authors:

Razin et al

Abstract:

The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD), a compact, anuetronic fusion engine, will enable more challenging exploration missions in the solar system. The engine proposed here uses a deuterium–helium-3 reaction to produce fusion energy by employing a novel field-reversed configuration (FRC) for magnetic confinement. The FRC has a simple linear solenoid coil geometry yet generates higher plasma pressure, hence higher fusion power density, for a given magnetic field strength than other magnetic-confinement plasma devices. Waste heat generated from the plasma׳s Bremsstrahlung and synchrotron radiation is recycled to maintain the fusion temperature. The charged reaction products, augmented by additional propellant, are exhausted through a magnetic nozzle. A 1 MW DFD is presented in the context of a mission to deploy the James Webb Space Telescope (6200 kg) from GPS orbit to a Sun–Earth L2 halo orbit in 37 days using just 353 kg of propellant and about half a kilogram of 3He. The engine is designed to produce 40 N of thrust with an exhaust velocity of 56.5 km/s and has a specific power of 0.18 kW/kg.

Robopocalypse Now: MIT Gave DARPA/Boston Dynamics Atlas Hands

Boy Meets...oh boy!

Lyudmila bought season passes to 6 Flags and Six Flags does a halloween ...whatever.  However, you have to get kids out of the park before about 5:30 because the zombies and whatnot come out then.  Orest and I had a father-son day because Avrora had to prepare a presentation she procrastinated on.  Lyudmila worked with her on it while I took Orest to Six Flags.  While there, Orest met Myra...and they were mutually enamored.  oh boy.  (Myra's little sister Abby was there, too.)

Ebola has Reached the United States

The United States has one confirmed case of Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday, marking the first domestic appearance of the deadly virus that has ravaged swaths of continental Africa.

The as-yet unidentified patient is located in Dallas, officials say, effectively confirming a statement issued on Monday by Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. The organization said that an unnamed patient was being tested for Ebola and had been placed in "strict isolation" due to the patient's symptoms and recent travel history.

In a press conference, CDC Director Tom Frieden said the patient in question had been traveling in Liberia, where he may have contracted the disease. He returned to the United States on the 20th of September, after which he sought care. Frieden attempted to assuage concerns about Ebola's contagious effect, saying that the virus was only spread through direct contact, and was not airborne. He vowed that officials would contain a potential spread.

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US Navy Looking at Exoskeletons for Damage Control, Cargo Work

Glamorous it isn’t, but Ripley’s loading heavy supplies aboard a Marine Corps landing craft — the kind of unsexy but essential mission that real-life exoskeletons may actually be able to do in the next few years. In an invitation-only workshop I attended this morning at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) with military officers, technical experts, and thinktank wonks, what struck me was how low some of the low-hanging fruit may be, just waiting for exoskeletons to reach out and pick it with their iron claws.

The big debate this morning, in fact, was how to balance seizing the immediate opportunities for naval forces with exploring high-risk, high-payoff areas such as damage control. Several participants pleaded to get current prototypes out into the fleet fast, hauling ammunition and other heavy objects, so the Navy can build experience with and confidence in the technology, rather than keep tinkering in the lab in pursuit of more ambitious missions where it’s easy to over-promise and under-deliver.

The conveners of the workshop, however, were more optimistic about the higher-end applications. “The killer app [is] damage control, ” Andrew Herr told me after the workshop. “[It's] a near-term possibility.”

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Rapid Faunal Change Across the Cenomanian/Turonian Cretaceous Boundary in Egypt

Stratigraphic significance of rapid faunal change across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary in the Eastern Desert, Egypt

Author:

Nagm

Abstract:

A significant and rapid faunal change across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary in the Eastern Desert of Egypt has been recognized by reconstructing the stratigraphic ranges of macroinvertebrates within the upper Cenomanian–lower Turonian Galala and Abu Qada formations. The faunal change initiated with a considerable loss of taxa during the late Cenomanian at the top of the Neolobites vibrayeanus ammonite zone, coinciding with sequence boundary SB Ce 5, ∼400 ka before the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary (93.9 Ma). Only 10% of the taxa that existed during the late Cenomanian have been recorded from lower Turonian strata. The changes in the macroinvertebrate faunas continued across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary and new faunal associations evolved after the earliest Turonian Vascoceras proprium ammonite zone of (∼200 ka after the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary). Therefore, the crisis that caused this faunal change around the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary over approximately 600 ka. The timing of the macrofaunal change recognized in the study area completely overlaps with the well-known Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 2 and most probably it is one of the effects of the major environmental perturbations (critical warming, high atmospheric CO2 concentration, and ocean water acidification) associated with this event. In addition, the sequence-stratigraphic analysis shows strong correlation exists between pattern of first and last occurrences of macroinvertebrate faunas and sea-level changes. Therefore, the oceanographic changes (rapid sea-level rise) may have also contributed to the Cenomanian–Turonian faunal change in the study area.

Monster Sized, 55,000 Solar Mass First Stars Left no Blackhole

Certain primordial stars—those between 55,000 and 56,000 times the mass of our Sun, or solar masses—may have died unusually. In death, these objects—among the Universe’s first-generation of stars—would have exploded as supernovae and burned completely, leaving no remnant black hole behind.

Astrophysicists at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the University of Minnesota came to this conclusion after running a number of supercomputer simulations at the Department of Energy’s (DOE's) National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and Minnesota Supercomputing Institute at the University of Minnesota. They relied extensively on CASTRO, a compressible astrophysics code developed at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab’s) Computational Research Division (CRD). Their findings were recently published in Astrophysical Journal (ApJ).

First-generation stars are especially interesting because they produced the first heavy elements, or chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium. In death, they sent their chemical creations into outer space, paving the way for subsequent generations of stars, solar systems and galaxies. With a greater understanding of how these first stars died, scientists hope to glean some insights about how the Universe, as we know it today, came to be.

“We found that there is a narrow window where supermassive stars could explode completely instead of becoming a supermassive black hole—no one has ever found this mechanism before,” says Ke-Jung Chen, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSC and lead author of the ApJ paper. “Without NERSC resources, it would have taken us a lot longer to reach this result. From a user perspective, the facility is run very efficiently and it is an extremely convenient place to do science.”

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paper link.

Levallois Technology (Stone Tools) may NOT Have Originated in Africa

A new discovery of thousands of Stone Age tools has provided a major insight into human innovation 325,000 years ago and how early technological developments spread across the world, according to research published in the journal Science.

Researchers from Royal Holloway, University of London, together with an international team from across the United States and Europe, have found evidence which challenges the belief that a type of technology known as Levallois – where the flakes and blades of stones were used to make useful products such as hunting weapons – was invented in Africa and then spread to other continents as the human population expanded.

They discovered at an archaeological site in Armenia that these types of tools already existed there between 325,000 and 335,000 years ago, suggesting that local populations developed them out of a more basic type of technology, known as biface, which was also found at the site.

Dr Simon Blockley and Dr Alison MacLeod, from the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, analysed volcanic material that preserved the archaeological site in the village of Nor Geghi, in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. By employing innovative procedures developed at Royal Holloway, they extracted suitable material to help date the Levallois tools.

"The discovery of thousands of stone artefacts preserved at this unique site provides a major new insight into how Stone Age tools developed during a period of profound human behavioural and biological change", said Dr Blockley. "The people who lived there 325,000 years ago were much more innovative than previously thought, using a combination of two different technologies to make tools that were extremely important for the mobile hunter-gatherers of the time.

"Our findings challenge the theory held by many archaeologists that Levallois technology was invented in Africa and spread to Eurasia as the human population expanded. Due to our ability to accurately date the site in Armenia, we now have the first clear evidence that this significant development in human innovation occurred independently within different populations."

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Reassessment of Mosasaurus gracilis From Turonian Cretaceous England

Reassessment of Turonian mosasaur material from the ‘Middle Chalk’ (England, U.K.), and the status of Mosasaurus gracilis Owen, 1849

Authors:

Street et al

Abstract:

The first described genus of mosasaur, Mosasaurus hoffmannii, has been coarsely diagnosed and defined since its creation, with numerous specimens and new species being assigned to the genus with little or no reference to, and thus few real similarities with, the generic type specimen. One of the earliest examples of a weakly defined and diagnosed species assigned to the genus is Mosasaurus gracilis. Location and examination of the various assigned specimens and the holotype indicate that M. gracilis shares more characters, such as a short rostrum on the dentary anterior to the first teeth, with russellosaurine mosasaurs. In addition, M. gracilis is known from Turonian deposits, whereas other species belonging to Mosasaurus are upper Campanian–Maastrichtian in age. Based on the evidence of shared characters and contemporaneity, we suggest that M. gracilis be removed from Mosasaurus because it shares more affinities with members of the Russellosaurina. This represents the first step in the very necessary process of untangling the alpha taxonomy, and subsequently the complete systematics, of the genus Mosasaurus hoffmannii.

Evidence Temnospodyl Micromelerpeton Regenerated Limbs From Gzhelian Pennsylvanian Carboniferous

Early evolution of limb regeneration in tetrapods: evidence from a 300-million-year-old amphibian

Authors:

Fröbisch et al

Abstract:

Salamanders are the only tetrapods capable of fully regenerating their limbs throughout their entire lives. Much data on the underlying molecular mechanisms of limb regeneration have been gathered in recent years allowing for new comparative studies between salamanders and other tetrapods that lack this unique regenerative potential. By contrast, the evolution of animal regeneration just recently shifted back into focus, despite being highly relevant for research designs aiming to unravel the factors allowing for limb regeneration. We show that the 300-million-year-old temnospondyl amphibian Micromelerpeton, a distant relative of modern amphibians, was already capable of regenerating its limbs. A number of exceptionally well-preserved specimens from fossil deposits show a unique pattern and combination of abnormalities in their limbs that is distinctive of irregular regenerative activity in modern salamanders and does not occur as variants of normal limb development. This demonstrates that the capacity to regenerate limbs is not a derived feature of modern salamanders, but may be an ancient feature of non-amniote tetrapods and possibly even shared by all bony fish. The finding provides a new framework for understanding the evolution of regenerative capacity of paired appendages in vertebrates in the search for conserved versus derived molecular mechanisms of limb regeneration.

Ordovician Trilobites From Argentina

Early Ordovician trilobites from the Nazareno Area, northwestern Argentina

Authors:

Tortello et al

Abstract:

The upper part of the Santa Rosita Formation (Ordovician, Tremadocian) in the Nazareno area, Cordillera Oriental, northwestern Argentina, records the vertical passage of high-energy, shallow water platform environments to offshore settings. Eighteen trilobite species are described from this locality for the first time. Although the taxa from the lower part of the succession (Leptoplastides sp., Asaphellus sp.) are scarce and non-age diagnostic, those from the upper part include diverse assemblages partially assigned to the late Tremadocian Notopeltis orthometopa Zone. Systematic descriptions of several species (Geragnostus nesossii Harrington and Leanza, G. callaveiformis Harrington and Leanza, Asaphellus jujuanus Harrington, Notopeltis orthometopa [Harrington], Mekynophrys nanna Harrington, Ceratopyge forficuloides Harrington and Leanza, Apatokephalus tibicen Přibyl and Vanĕk) are improved, the genus Nileus Dalman (including N. australis n. sp.) is first reported from the Tremadocian of western Gondwana, and new species of Asaphellus Callaway (A. nazarenensis n. sp.), Conophrys Callaway, and Apatokephalus Brøgger are described. The trilobites have their closest affinities with faunas from Norway and Sweden. Notopeltis orthometopa and Mekynophrys nanna are restricted to the uppermost part of the succession, well above the first records of most other trilobites recognized.

California's Drought Tied to Climate Change, Could be Very Frequent in the Future

The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought currently afflicting California are "very likely" linked to human-caused climate change, Stanford scientists say.

In a new study, a team led by Stanford climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh used a novel combination of computer simulations and statistical techniques to show that a persistent region of high atmospheric pressure hovering over the Pacific Ocean that diverted storms away from California was much more likely to form in the presence of modern greenhouse gas concentrations.

The research, published on Sept. 29 as a supplement to this month's issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, is one of the most comprehensive studies to investigate the link between climate change and California's ongoing drought.

"Our research finds that extreme atmospheric high pressure in this region—which is strongly linked to unusually low precipitation in California—is much more likely to occur today than prior to the human emission of greenhouse gases that began during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s," said Diffenbaugh, associate professor of Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

The exceptional drought currently crippling California is by some metrics the worst in state history. Combined with unusually warm temperatures and stagnant air conditions, the lack of precipitation has triggered a dangerous increase in wildfires and incidents of air pollution across the state. A recent report estimated that the water shortage would result in direct and indirect agricultural losses of at least $2.2 billion, and lead to the loss of more than 17,000 seasonal and part-time jobs in 2014 alone. Such impacts prompted California Governor Jerry Brown to declare a drought emergency, and the federal government to designate all 58 California counties as "natural disaster areas."

Scientists agree that the immediate cause of the drought is a particularly stubborn "blocking ridge" over the northeastern Pacific –popularly known as the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, or "Triple R"–that prevented winter storms from reaching California during the 2013 and 2014 rainy seasons.

Blocking ridges are regions of high atmospheric pressure that disrupt typical wind patterns in the atmosphere. "Winds respond to the spatial distribution of atmospheric pressure," said Daniel Swain, a graduate student in Diffenbaugh's lab and lead author of the study. "We have seen this amazingly persistent region of high pressure over the northeastern Pacific for many months now, which has substantially altered atmospheric flow and kept California largely dry."

Blocking ridges occur periodically at temperature latitudes, but the Triple R was exceptional for both its size and longevity. While it dissipated briefly during the summer months of 2013, it returned even stronger by fall 2013 and persisted through much of the winter, which is normally California's "wet season." "At its peak in January 2014, the Triple R extended from the subtropical Pacific between California and Hawaii to the coast of the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska," said Swain, who coined the term "ridiculously resilient ridge" last fall to highlight the unusually persistent nature of the offshore blocking ridge.

Like a large boulder that has tumbled into a narrow stream, the Triple R diverted the flow of high-speed air currents known as the jet stream far to the north, causing Pacific storms to bypass not only California, but also Oregon and Washington. As a result, rain and snow that would normally fall on the West Coast were instead re-routed to Alaska and as far north as the Arctic Circle.

An important question for scientists and decision-makers has been whether human-caused climate change has influenced the conditions responsible for California's drought. Given the important role of the Triple R, Diffenbaugh's team set out to measure the probability of such extreme ridging events. The team first assessed the rarity of the Triple R in the context of the 20th century historical record. They found that the combined persistence and intensity of the Triple R in 2013 was unrivaled by any event since 1948, which is when comprehensive information about the circulation of the atmosphere is first available.

To more directly address the question of whether climate change played a role in the probability of the 2013 event, the team collaborated with Bala Rajaratnam, assistant professor of Statistics and of Environmental Earth System Science, and an affiliated faculty of the Woods Institute for the Environment. Rajaratnam and his graduate students Michael Tsiang and Matz Haugen applied advanced statistical techniques to a large suite of climate model simulations. Using the Triple R as a benchmark, the group compared geopotential heights–an atmospheric property related to pressure– between two sets of climate model experiments. One set mirrored the present climate, in which the atmosphere is growing increasingly warm due to human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In the other set of experiments, greenhouse gases were kept at a level similar to those that existed just prior to the Industrial Revolution.

The interdisciplinary research team found that the extreme geopotential heights associated with the Triple R in 2013 were at least three times as likely to occur in the present climate as in the preindustrial climate. They also found that such extreme values are consistently tied to unusually low precipitation in California, and the formation of atmospheric ridges over the northeastern Pacific.

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Japan Boosts Space Spending, esp Military Space

Japan’s Cabinet is asking the nation’s finance ministry for a 19.4 percent increase, to 327 billion yen ($3.05 billion), in space spending for the upcoming fiscal year to support projects that include a laser-optical data-relay satellite and a civilian Earth-observing satellite carrying a missile warning sensor as a hosted payload.

The request, which encompasses the space activity of 11 government ministries, also includes 13.7 billion yen to complete a seven-satellite Quasi Zenith regional navigation system and 13 billion yen for the next-generation H-3 launcher, scheduled for a 2020 debut, according to budget documents released by the Office of National Space Policy (ONSP), a part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet that is responsible for drafting space budgets.

Notably, however, the budget contains no funding for a proposed constellation of satellites for maritime domain awareness, although sources suggested that a number of new and ongoing satellite technology efforts could eventually feed into that program. The finance ministry in December rejected the ONSP’s 8 billion yen request for the Maritime Domain Awareness constellation for fiscal year 2014 on the grounds that it was poorly defined.

For the first time since 2009, the space budget request is being made separately from the defense ministry’s request for missile defense activities. When missile defense funding is included, the total request jumps to 358.4 billion yen, compared with 324.2 billion yen last year, for a total combined increase of 10.5 percent, according to ONSP figures.

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Is China Really Still a Developing Country?

[China] has long sought to insulate the government from pressure to sign onto carbon dioxide curbs and emissions targets pushed by Europe and the United States. It sabotaged the 2009 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, and stalled the 2010 conference in Cancun. At least the logic has been consistent: Because China's a developing country, the leadership in Beijing argues, its responsibilities -- and capabilities -- are far less than they would be otherwise. "As a responsible major developing country, China will make an even greater effort to address climate change," said Zhang, in an address after Obama's speech, "and take on international responsibilities that are commensurate with our natural conditions."

But is China still a "developing" country?

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Ukraine: Frogs in Winter

Despite the fact the world's press seems to have largely moved on, the situation in Ukraine is far from over.

The heaviest fighting is at the Donetsk airport. The Ukrainian forces are holding on though I have to wonder about their supplies at this point. 9 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and an APC lost to tank fire. The Ukrainians claim to have killed 50 rebels in their two attacks.

Ukraine is not going to be ready for winter. Gas supplies are low. Russia cut off supplies earlier. Hungary just cut off the backflow into Ukraine as well as GazProm's insistence. The other flows they are getting are not enough and Ukraine will be in deep trouble. Expect deep trouble for Kiev's government as the temperature drops.

Russia has repeatedly voiced demands to modify the treaty between the EU and Ukraine. The EU came out and said 'no' finally.

Russia hs opened a criminal case against Ukraine? Government officials in it? for genocide against the Russian speaking portions of Ukraine, especially the Donbass. I can only groan over this one, but, well, not only that. I have to wonder what this is being developed as the pretext for though.

Japan has further strengthened sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine's economy is burnt toast. Russia's in going down the tubes as well: the claims are this is due to the sanctions.

Even so, Poroshenko has stated Ukraine will apply for membership in the European Union in 2020.

China Actively Courting Other Nations for its Upcoming Space Station

China is open to cooperation with foreign nations on its manned space station project, according to a senior space official.

"We reserved a number of platforms that can be used for international cooperative projects in our future space station when we designed it," Yang Liwei, deputy director of China Manned Space Agency, said at a news conference following the opening ceremony of the 27th Planetary Congress of the Association of Space Explorers in Beijing on Wednesday.

"In addition to collaboration in applied experiments, we also designed adapters that can dock with other nations’ spacecraft," he said.

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Butterfly Labs Case Updated: BFL Mined Bitcoin Using Customers' Rigs

A week ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) shut down Butterfly Labs (BFL), one of the reasons for this being that “consumers who have purchased the machines or services cannot use them to generate Bitcoins because Defendants [Butterfly Labs] never provide them with the machines or services.” The FTC released new court filings today for its Butterfly Labs case. The most recent report by the FTC against Butterfly Labs is that they mined for bitcoins on their customers’ miners before shipping them (if they even shipped them at all), and didn’t tell the customer: Fraud.

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The World's First 3d Printed Car

Henry Ford’s assembly line famously transformed the automobile industry in the 20th century – and a new company is hoping to bring about a similar revolution in the 21st, with its recently unveiled 3-D printed vehicle.

The company is Local Motors, designers of the Strati. The car was printed in about 44 hours on site earlier this month at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. In contrast to the thousands of components in a traditional vehicle, the Strati consists of fewer than 50 parts. Most of its body is built from extruded plastic of the kind that Lego bricks are made of.

That makes it both drastically simpler, and potentially cheaper in the future, than conventional cars. “If this works, even a little, it will reform parts or all of the industry,” Local Motors CEO Jay Rogers told Fox News.

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My Son the Builder

US Marines Embracing Logistics Robopocalypse: Testing Unmanned Convoy Technologies

It probably won’t look like Google’s self-driving Prius, but the Marine Corps will soon get a hybrid-electric unmanned prototype vehicle as driverless technology gets more tactical.

The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory will build that prototype in 2016, said David Dahn, project officer for the Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate, the lab’s driverless vehicle project. It’s one of many developments planned to increase Marines’ tactical advantage as autonomous vehicle technology gets smarter and more capable.

The diesel-electric hybrid requirement came after the Advanced Warfighting Experiment at Rim of the Pacific in Hawaii, where Marines got to test out the GUSS system on a Polaris off-road vehicle — a cross between a tactical golf cart and a four-wheeler — during various exercises.

“One of the complaints we got from the Marines all the time: it’s diesel engines, too loud,” Dahn said. “These are dismounted forces; they just want to be off in the jungle. They don’t want a lot of noise going on and when you’ve got a diesel vehicle within 100 yards of you, it makes it a little bit difficult to be stealthy.”

In the coming year, the lab will also work to refine the system’s towing and backing capabilities, possibly adding a third sensor to the rear of the vehicle to improve its “sight” when it hits reverse. In an upcoming limited technical assessment next year, Dahn said lab personnel will also work to improve how the system characterizes and classifies terrain through multispectral imagery.

Budget cuts mean fewer dollars to invest, but with a lighter footprint and planning for distributed missions, the Marine Corps could benefit from driverless vehicles, said John Bryant, senior vice president of Defense Programs at Oshkosh Defense. Oshkosh’s TerraMax unmanned ground vehicle technology has been in development for years and is now so sophisticated it’s impossible to tell there’s no driver behind the wheel, he said.

“You don’t need a convoy full of people to handle a logistics convoy,” Bryant said. “You could supply a remotely stationed outpost with nobody in the convoy. You could have remote units leave their vehicles somewhere, engaged in a fight and a raid or reconnaissance and then call the vehicles up to meet them. It allows so much flexibility for the warfighter.”

One of the greatest challenges with the technology, Bryant said, is convincing troops to trust that it works.

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Office of Naval Research Testing Ground-Based Air Defense (GBAD) Air Defense Laser

The Office of Naval Research is testing a solid-state, vehicle-mounted laser weapon designed to incinerate a range of air and ground targets such as enemy drones, rockets and even IEDs, service officials told Military​.com.

“Air defense covers rockets, artillery, mortars, UAVs, vehicles and IEDs – anything you can kill with a laser. This program is focused on going after the UAV threat. As we move into the future that broader threat set is fair game,” said Lee Mastroianni, program manager for the so-called Ground-Based Air Defense Directed Energy On-the-Move Program, or GBAD,

Using volumetric radar, command and control systems and a laser kill platform, the GBAD is a small, compact mobile weapons system designed to integrate onto a HMMWV or Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, said Mastroianni.
The GBAD is being prepared for a 10-kilowatt laser weapon demonstration in February of next year, Mastroianni explained.

Upcoming demonstrations are likely to be held at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Va., China Lake, Calif., or White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

“We’ve already done a demo detecting the passing of information to the laser kill platform and tracking and targeting,” he said. “In February we will be doing an end-to-end demonstration using surrogate technologies.
“As we move into 2016 and 2017, we’ll be working with our objective laser of 30-kilowatts and moving toward actual on-the-move targets. We will move around the battlespace to identify, track and mitigate the targets.”

The ONR research and development program for the GBAD is slated to finish up by 2017 in order to transition the effort to the Marine Corps. At this point, the plans are to then move the program into an Engineering Manufacturing and Development, or EMD, acquisition phase before heading toward formal production and delivery for operational use.

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/Orbitally/ Forced Sea Level Changes During the Turonian/Coniacian Cretaceous?!

Orbitally forced sea-level changes in the upper Turonian–lower Coniacian of the Tethyan Himalaya, southern Tibet

Authors:

Chen et al

Abstract:

Although the mid-Cretaceous is considered to be a typical interval of greenhouse climate and high sea level, cooling events associated with regressions were inferred in recent years. We conducted a biostratigraphic, chemostratigraphic, sequence stratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic investigation of upper Turonian–lower Coniacian marine strata in the Tethyan Himalaya zone, to retrace the sea-level variations and to clarify their global correlations. According to the planktonic foraminiferal zonation, the studied interval is part of the late Turonian–early Coniacian Marginoruncana sigali and D. concavata Zones. The carbon isotope curve shows a good correlation to reference curves in the Boreal and western Tethys realms with all major and minor late Turonian δ13C events identified, indicating that the C-isotope curve provides an excellent tool for global stratigraphic correlation in the Turonian. Based on the lithological variations of clastic input and physical and chemical proxies, the succession is divided into two third order and eight fourth order sequences. Spectral analysis indicates that fourth order sea-level changes were linked to the astronomically stable 405-kyr eccentricity cycle. Comparison with classic global sea-level curves, we suggest that late Turonian–early Coniacian sea-level changes along the southeastern Tethyan margin were controlled by eustasy. The significant regressions during ∼90–89.8 Ma and ∼92–91.4 Ma, which are recorded in different continents, may be interpreted as the result of continental ice expansion, giving some support to the notion that ephemeral polar ice sheets existed even in the super-greenhouse world.

Oceanic Tidal Heating in the Icy Moons is Significant

Comparative estimates of the heat generated by ocean tides on icy satellites in the outer Solar System

Author:

Tyler

Abstract:

This study illuminates scenarios whereby the heat produced by the dissipation of ocean tides is significant in the heat budgets maintaining liquid oceans on icy satellites in the outer Solar System. It has been shown in previous work that ocean tides, if resonantly forced, can supply heat at or exceeding the rates necessary for maintaining these oceans. It has also been shown that because of feedbacks these resonant configurations may be unavoidable under typical situations. This study extends from the previous work and seeks to examine the full set of dynamically-consistent ocean tidal solutions to describe the parameter dependencies that may cause one ocean to become trapped in such a vigorous ocean state while allowing another to freeze—why do some of these satellites have oceans, and others do not? It is found that even with no other sources of heat, a liquid ocean on many of these satellites would be maintained by ocean tidal heat because the process of freezing (which changes the thickness of the remaining liquid ocean and thereby the eigenmodes) would push the ocean into a resonant configuration, with the associated increase in heat production preventing further freezing and stabilizing the configuration. An ocean on Io or Mimas would suffer extreme tides (with heat generated exceeding 1 W/m2) unless an implausibly large volume of water were present to lift the eigenmodes of the configuration out of resonance with the tidal forces. Europa can maintain a thick (∼∼100 km) ocean due to an obliquity-forced tidal resonance, while parameters for most other satellites suggest eccentricity-driven resonance scenarios involving much thinner ocean thicknesses (1-10’s km). But these thin ocean thickness in the latter scenarios will be altered by ice cover: As the ice cover damps the ocean tidal response, significant heat is still generated which would stall freezing but the ocean thicknesses are modified to larger values than would be expected without ice cover.

Environment First Northern European Settlement by Homo sapiens sapiens Colonized was a Cold Steppe

Early modern human settlement of Europe north of the Alps occurred 43,500 years ago in a cold steppe-type environment

Authors:

Nigst et al

Abstract:

The first settlement of Europe by modern humans is thought to have occurred between 50,000 and 40,000 calendar years ago (cal B.P.). In Europe, modern human remains of this time period are scarce and often are not associated with archaeology or originate from old excavations with no contextual information. Hence, the behavior of the first modern humans in Europe is still unknown. Aurignacian assemblages—demonstrably made by modern humans—are commonly used as proxies for the presence of fully behaviorally and anatomically modern humans. The site of Willendorf II (Austria) is well known for its Early Upper Paleolithic horizons, which are among the oldest in Europe. However, their age and attribution to the Aurignacian remain an issue of debate. Here, we show that archaeological horizon 3 (AH 3) consists of faunal remains and Early Aurignacian lithic artifacts. By using stratigraphic, paleoenvironmental, and chronological data, AH 3 is ascribed to the onset of Greenland Interstadial 11, around 43,500 cal B.P., and thus is older than any other Aurignacian assemblage. Furthermore, the AH 3 assemblage overlaps with the latest directly radiocarbon-dated Neanderthal remains, suggesting that Neanderthal and modern human presence overlapped in Europe for some millennia, possibly at rather close geographical range. Most importantly, for the first time to our knowledge, we have a high-resolution environmental context for an Early Aurignacian site in Central Europe, demonstrating an early appearance of behaviorally modern humans in a medium-cold steppe-type environment with some boreal trees along valleys around 43,500 cal B.P.

Jaggermeryx naida: a new Miocene Neogene Anthracothere From Egypt

Anthracotheres from Wadi Moghra, early Miocene, Egypt

Authors:

Miller et al

Abstract:

The early Miocene site of Wadi Moghra, Qattara Depression, Egypt, is important for interpreting anthracothere (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) evolution, because the Moghra sediments preserve a higher diversity of anthracotheres than any other pene-contemporaneous site. New specimens from Moghra are described and form the basis for the systematic revision of Moghra anthracotheres provided here. Among the important discoveries recently made at Moghra is the first complete skull of Sivameryx moneyi. Other new specimens described here include two new species of Afromeryx, and a new genus and species, all of which are unique to Moghra. A review of biogeographic information supports the conclusion that three of the Moghra anthracotheres (Brachyodus depereti, B. mogharensis, and Jaggermeryx naida, n. gen. n. sp.) are members of late surviving lineages with a long history in Africa, while three other species (Afromeryx grex, n. sp., A. palustris, n. sp., and Sivameryx moneyi) represent more recent immigrants from Eurasia.