Simulation of the Carbon Release During the Permian Extinction and its Consequences

Initial assessment of the carbon emission rate and climatic consequences during the end-Permian mass extinction

Authors:

Ying Cui, Lee R. Kump and Andy Ridgwell

Abstract:

Numerous lines of geochemical and stable isotopic evidence indicate that the end-Permian mass extinction was accompanied by abrupt climate change induced by CO2 addition. Catastrophic end-Permian Siberian volcanism may have released a large amount of CO2 into the atmosphere and pushed the Earth's system beyond a critical threshold, causing the mass extinction. However, the injection rate, total amount and source of CO2 are largely unknown. We conducted a suite of simulations using the recently published carbon isotope records and U–Pb ages from Meishan section in Zhejiang province, China. An Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity (cGENIE; http://www.genie.ac.uk) was used to extract the pattern of CO2 release needed to replicate the observed carbon isotope excursion across the Permian-Triassic boundary. This analysis leads us to suggest that the source of CO2 must have been significantly heavier than typical biogenic or thermogenic methane to explain the significant warming that occurred during and after the extinction event. Nevertheless, as with the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, end-Permian rates of CO2 addition were likely small compared with modern fossil-fuel burning, but considerably more protracted, such that the likely total CO2 emitted significantly exceeded the modern fossil-fuel reserves. Peak emission rates corresponded to the onset of the maximum extinction interval, consistent with carbon cycle disruption, including volcanogenic CO2-induced warming (and perhaps ocean acidification), as a trigger for the end-Permian mass extinction.

Isotopic Evidence From Vazante Group in Ectasian MesoProterozoic Brazil Suggests Unexpected Glaciation

Re-Os age constraints and new observations of Proterozoic glacial deposits in the Vazante Group, Brazil

Authors:

Geboy et al

Abstract:

A new Re-Os radiometric age date for an organic-rich shale horizon from the Vazante Group in Brazil, coupled with geological observations, provide evidence for late Mesoproterozoic glacial episodes, conflicting with the general view of greenhouse conditions marked by a eustatic high stand at this time. Field observations of a reverse fault juxtaposing older Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks above younger Neoproterozoic strata provide a new stratigraphic framework and reconcile the apparent inversion of U-Pb detrital zircon ages through the succession. Combined, the geochronological, geochemical and stratigraphic evidence suggest that the Vazante Group sediments accumulated along a passive margin of the São Francisco craton and are correlative with the neighboring Paranoá Group. Biomarker, sulfur isotope and iron speciation analyses support the interpretation of a strongly stratified water column during post-glacial transgression and deposition of one of the bituminous shale horizons. The relationship of the glaciogenic Vazante Group to other late Mesoproterozoic successions, such as the non-glacial Atar Group in West Africa and Bylot Supergroup in arctic Canada, however, remains enigmatic

Is Putin Reeling Him in?

Putin and Yanokovich meet in Sochi.

T-Loramids: Turkeys Curious Walk With Missile Contract to Chinese Company

Turkey has been negotiating with a Chinese firm, the China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC), to co-produce a $3.44 billion long-range air and anti-missile defense system. This has not only strained Ankara’s relations with Washington, but also raised the question of whether the deal indicates an ideological or geopolitical shift in Turkey’s foreign policy and security aims. Although the Chinese option may indeed result in political repercussions for Turkey’s relations with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the decision itself was not motivated by ideological or geopolitical concerns. Rather, Turkey’s negotiations with Chinese defense contractors represent a purely instrumental and strategic decision for an aspiring regional power that has been seeking to bolster its own national defense industry since 1985.

Tension mounted between Turkey and the Transatlantic security community when Murad Bayar, Turkey’s undersecretary for the defense industry (SSM), announced on September 26 that Turkey had short-listed China’s FD-2000/HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system to meet its six-year air defense project, titled T-Loramids. Turkey’s decision to start “contract negotiations” to purchase critical high-tech defense equipment from China created quite a surprise and discontent in the West, especially because in early 2013 Turkey received six NATO Patriot Missile batteries from the US, Germany and the Netherlands to help defend itself against possible missile attacks from Syria. Indeed, US and NATO officials have expressed “serious concern” over Turkey short-listing the Chinese company, emphasizing that the Chinese missile defense system would not be interoperable and compatible with NATO’s collective defense capabilities. Washington is also apparently displeased by the fact that the tender was awarded to a Chinese company under US sanctions for violating the embargo on defense technology exports to Iran, North Korea and Syria.

In an effort to reassure Turkey’s allies, SSM Bayar, who in his position is responsible for his country’s defense procurement, held a press conference on October 3. Bayar stressed that “full integration with NATO assets was an explicit condition in the contract for the planned air defense system,” and that “as part of this program, a Turkish defense company will be tasked with integrating the missile defense system into a network operated by the Turkish Air Force.” Thus, Turkey hopes the interoperability issue with Alliance assets will be settled.

link.

The question becomes....  

Is this a ploy to get the West to hand over more technology for the local industry?  Look!  You need to hurry or look what I'll do!  

Or is it a genuine shift? 

I'd be very, very shocked if the NATO allies, especially we Americans, allowed a Chinese system to be plugged into our defense network...

NASA MSFC Solicitation: Cubsesat Solar Sail Systems

Synopsis - Oct 25, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: NNM14ZPS001L

Posted Date: Oct 25, 2013

FedBizOpps Posted Date: Oct 25, 2013

Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No

Original Response Date: Nov 01, 2013

Current Response Date: Nov 04, 2013

Classification Code: A -- Research and Development

NAICS Code: 927110

Contracting Office Address

NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Procurement Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812

Description

This notice is issued by NASA/MSFC to post a Request for Information (RFI) via the internet, and solicit responses from interested parties. Pursuant to FAR 52.215-3, this document is for information and planning purposes and to allow industry the opportunity to verify reasonableness and feasibility of the requirement, as well as promote competition. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal. This RFI is open but not limited to educational, industrial and not-for-profit organizations. Prospective offerors are invited to submit their responses no later than November 4, 2013.

NASA/MSFC is interested in solar sail systems for interplanetary robotic exploration that may be deployed from a cubesat. This RFI solicits information about solar sail systems that may be delivered for flight as soon as 2016.

link.

Boeing & Lockheed Team for New American Stealthy Bomber

Boeing and Lockheed Martin announced Oct. 25 that they will team to compete on the U.S. Air Force’s Long-Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, with Boeing as the prime contractor and Lockheed Martin as primary teammate.

The program is aimed at delivering 80-100 very stealthy, long-range bombers to the Air Force, with an initial operational capability in 2024-26, and with a unit cost ceiling of $550 million.

The development is a sign of progress in a largely classified venture that has been underway since 2007, when the two companies originally agreed to work on what was then the Next-Generation Bomber (NGB) program, aimed at delivering a new bomber in 2018. (The deal was announced in early 2008.)

NGB was canceled as a full acquisition program in 2009 in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but the Air Force was given the go-ahead to launch the LRS-B program in early 2011—with relaxed operational requirements, particularly related to endurance, and a lower cost target. Unlike NGB, the LRS-B is expected to work as part of a family of LRS systems, including a long-endurance, stealthy unmanned air system and a future cruise missile. However, NGB has continued in parallel as the umbrella for a number of risk-reduction efforts, including, according to an industry source, a large-scale flight demonstrator produced by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, who retired in late 2011 as the Air Force’s military deputy in the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, said in September at the Air Force Association’s convention that risk-reduction contracts were awarded in five key areas that are crucial technologies for the LRS-B, and where competitors will be able to score points by exceeding threshold requirements.

One government source suggested to Aviation Week that the “risk-reduction” contracts may in some cases be quite large. “The risk being hedged against is the risk of not being able to deliver an aircraft in 2025,” he says. “Unless you’re close to flying something now, you’re not going to do that.”

link.

Interesting comment, that last, eh?

The Confederate Flag is the Flag of Traitors

You can debate whether the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism. But the one thing you can't dispute: The Confederate flag was flown by traitors to the United States of America who slaughtered more than 110,000 U.S. soldiers.

I know some will take issue with my calling the Confederacy a band of traitors, but let's be blunt -- that's what they were. They broke from the United States and created their own nation, calling it the Confederate States of America. They issued their own currency, elected their own president and Congress, raised an army and went to war with the United States of America, firing the first shot at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

What's even more troubling about the so-called Confederate flag we see so often is that it was not the official flag of the Confederacy. It's worse than that. The flag commonly referred to as the Confederate flag was actually the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Why is that worse? Because this was the flag carried on battlefields by Confederate troops during the Civil War as they killed U.S. soldiers.

go read the rest.

Martian Geological (Or Areological) Time Scale

link.

1979 Mission Street Early Design Rendering

link.

Rheinmetall Demos 1 kw to 30 kw Laser Weapons

link.

European Union to Ukraine: Release Tymoshenko or no Deal

Ukraine must still offer a "suitable solution" in the case of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko if it hopes to seal a political and trade accord with the European Union, the bloc's president said Friday.

Speaking at the end of a two-day meeting of EU heads of government, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Ukraine had made good progress on some reforms but signaled an arrangement which sees Ms. Tymoshenko released to travel to Germany for medical treatment without some form of pardon would not be enough.

"We will stick to our commitments if Ukraine also commits to what it has to do," Mr. Barroso said. "Ukraine still needs to find a suitable solution to the Tymoshenko case."

At the same press conference, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy also made clear that, as things stand, the EU would not be able to sign the trade and political deals with Ukraine at next month's Vilnius summit.

He said Ukraine needs to take "determined action and tangible progress."

"We will not discuss here how we solve this problem of selective justice and we will not discuss here in public how to solve the problem of the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko," he said. Ukrainian leaders are "fully aware that we need a solution for this case."

EU leaders discussed the Ukraine situation Friday on the second day of the Brussels summit.

The case is the main sticking point facing Ukraine as Mr. Yanukovych aims to take the former Soviet republic of some 46 million into a free-trade and political-association deal with the EU at a summit in November, despite Russian attempts to draw Ukraine into an economic bloc it is forming with ex-Soviet neighbors.

link.

Anyone doubt what a 'suitable solution' is? Really?

America's Economy is Less Dependent on International Trade Than Other Nations

AMERICA depends less on international trade than many other countries. Its imports and exports of goods add up to less than 25% of GDP; China’s are nearly 50%, Ireland’s, nearly 90%. It is not that Americans are insular; only that their vibrant domestic market is so big.

link.

Greenland Repeals Ban on Mining Radioative Minerals

Greenland has voted to axe a long-enduring ban on mining for radioactive materials, reopening the market to uranium and rare earths mining.

Yesterday’s parliamentary vote passed the decision by a staggeringly close 15-14 votes.

According to local newspaper Sermitsiaq, Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond said in the debate: “We cannot live with unemployment and cost of living increases while our economy is at a standstill. It is therefore necessary that we eliminate zero tolerance towards uranium now.”

The ban has previously prevented the extraction of some major rare earth deposits, because they are connected to radioactive materials.

Greenland is believed to have enough rare earths to fulfil one quarter of global demand – currently fulfilled 95% by China – over the next half-century.

link.

Titan's North Pole is a Land of Lakes

A combination of exceptionally clear weather, the steady approach of northern summer, and a poleward orbital path has given Cassini — and Cassini scientists — unprecedented views of countless lakes scattered across Titan’s north polar region. In the near-infrared mosaic above they can be seen as dark splotches and speckles scattered around the moon’s north pole. Previously observed mainly via radar, these are the best visual and infrared wavelength images ever obtained of Titan’s northern “land o’ lakes!”

Titan is currently the only other world besides Earth known to have stable bodies of liquid on its surface, but unlike Earth, Titan’s lakes aren’t filled with water — instead they’re full of liquid methane and ethane, organic compounds which are gases on Earth but liquids in Titan’s incredibly chilly -290º F (-180º C) environment.

While one large lake and a few smaller ones have been previously identified at Titan’s south pole, curiously almost all of Titan’s lakes appear near the moon’s north pole.

For an idea of scale, the large lake at the upper right above (and the largest lake on Titan) Kraken Mare is comparative in size to the Caspian Sea and Lake Superior combined. Kraken Mare is so large that sunlight was seen reflecting off its surface in 2009. Punga Mare, nearest Titan’s pole, is 240 miles (386 km) across.

Besides revealing the (uncannily) smooth surfaces of lakes — which appear dark in near-infrared wavelengths but would also be darker than the surrounding landscape in visible light — these Cassini images also show an unusually bright terrain surrounding them. Since the majority of Titan’s lakes are found within this bright region it’s thought that there could be a geologic correlation; is this Titan’s version of karst terrain, like what’s found in the southeastern U.S. and New Mexico? Could these lakes be merely the visible surfaces of a vast underground hydrocarbon aquifer? Or are they shallow pools filling depressions in an ancient lava flow?

Or, are they the remains of once-larger lakes and seas which have since evaporated? The orange-hued regions in the false-color mosaic may be evaporite — the Titan equivalent of salt flats on Earth. The evaporated material is thought to be organic chemicals originally from Titan’s haze particles that were once dissolved in liquid methane.

“Is this an indication that with increased warmth, the seas and lakes are starting to evaporate, leaving behind a deposit of organic material,” wrote Carolyn Porco, Cassini Imaging Team Leader, in an email earlier today. “…in other words, the Titan equivalent of a salt-flat?”

link.

New Subsurface Mars Compatible Microbe Found from Siberian Permafrost

Single-cell analysis of the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina soligelidi from Siberian permafrost by means of confocal Raman microspectrocopy for astrobiological research

Authors:

Serrano et al

Abstract:

Methanogenic archaea from Siberian permafrost are suitable model organisms that meet many of the preconditions for survival on the martian subsurface. These microorganisms have proven to be highly resistant when exposed to diverse stress factors such as desiccation, radiation and other thermo-physical martian conditions. In addition, the metabolic requirements of methanogenic archaea are in principle compatible with the environmental conditions of the Red Planet.

The ExoMars mission will deploy a rover carrying a Raman spectrometer among the analytical instruments in order to search for signatures of life and to investigate the martian geochemistry. Raman spectroscopy is known as a powerful nondestructive optical technique for biosignature detection that requires only little sample preparation. In this study, we describe the use of confocal Raman microspectroscopy (CRM) as a rapid and sensitive technique for characterization of the methanogenic archaeon Methanosarcina soligelidi SMA-21 at the single cell level. These studies involved acquisition of Raman spectra from individual cells isolated from microbial cultures at different stages of growth. Spectral analyses indicated a high degree of heterogeneity between cells of individual cultures and also demonstrated the existence of growth-phase specific Raman patterns. For example, besides common Raman patterns of microbial cells, CRM additionally revealed the presence of lipid vesicles and CaCO3 particles in microbial preparations of M. soligelidi SMA-21, a finding that could be confirmed by electron microscopy. The results of this study suggest that heterogeneity and diversity of microorganisms have to be considered when using Raman-based technologies in future space exploration missions.

350 8th Street Renderings

link.

1050 Valencia Street Project Still in Development Hell

link.

Third Batch of Su-34 Strike Fighters Delivered to Russian Air Force

The transfer ceremony of another batch of the serial Su-34 front-line bombers to the Russian Air Force was held today at the Novosibirsk branch of the Sukhoi Company — V.P. Chkalov Novosibirsk aircraft plant (NAZ).

The aircraft took off and headed to the place of their deployment. Several Su-34s of the 2013 State Defense Order have already been transferred to the military in May and July this year and are already in service.

link.

Husqvarna DXR Demolition Bots

I saw my first robo construction bot yesterday.  It was a little earth compactor being used in Lafayette.  I'll see if I can stop and get permission to snap a couple pix.  The outfit using it was NOT a big one.  Perhaps robotics is infiltrating construction faster than I and others had anticipated.

Building Construction Which Ties into Local Traditions