October 5, 2011
Good Morning,
The Atacama, the now largest telescope ever built, has begun its search for the origin of the universe from its home in Chili. Read all the details in the last article; imagine the possibilities!
Until Next Time,
Erin
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Large loss of arctic ozone measuredPASADENA, Calif. - An unprecedented depletion of Earth's ozone layer in the arctic was caused by a prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere, NASA says. A NASA study published in the journal Nature found the amount of ozone destroyed in the arctic this year is comparable to that seen in some years in the Antarctic, where a "hole" in the planet's protective ozone layer has formed each spring since the mid-1980s. The ozone layer, from about 10 to 20 miles above the surface, protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Holes form when extremely cold conditions trigger reactions that convert atmospheric human-produced chlorine into forms that destroy ozone, although generally warmer conditions in the arctic normally limit the area affected, resulting in far less ozone loss in the arctic than in the Antarctic in most years. However, scientists found the cold period in the arctic lasted more than 30 days longer in 2011 than in any previously studied winter, leading to the unprecedented ozone loss. "Day-to-day temperatures in the 2010-11 arctic winter did not reach lower values than in previous cold arctic winters," Gloria Manney of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said. "The difference from previous winters is that temperatures were low enough to produce ozone-destroying forms of chlorine for a much longer time."
Images of Saturn's 'geyser' moon capturedPASADENA, Calif. - A NASA spacecraft has completed a fly-by of Saturn's "geyser" moon Enceladus, capturing images of the moon's jets of water vapor and ice, the agency said. The Cassini spacecraft flew about 62 miles above the moon's surface to allow some of Cassini's instruments, including a spectrometer, the chance to "taste" the jets themselves, a release from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said Monday. At one point during the encounter, Cassini's high-resolution camera captured pictures of the jets emanating from vents in the moon's south polar region. Scientists say they images and spectrographic data will provide a better understand how the surface coverage of icy particles coming from the vents and plumes changes with terrain type and age. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
USDA: Wood is greenest building materialWAHINGTON, D.C. - Wood is the greenest building material, yielding fewer greenhouse gases than other common building materials such as concrete and steel, a U.S. report says. A U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis of dozens of scientific studies found 2.1 tons of greenhouse gases were saved for each ton of carbon in wood products vs. non-wood materials, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. "This study confirms what many environmental scientists have been saying for years," U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "Wood should be a major component of American building and energy design." During a 100-year span, net greenhouse gas emissions of wood-based homes were 20 percent to 50 percent less than for homes built with concrete or steel, the report said. "The argument that somehow non-wood construction materials are ultimately better for carbon emissions than wood products is not supported by our research," David Cleaves, the U.S. Forest Service Climate Change Adviser, said. "Trees removed in an environmentally responsible way allow forests to continue to sequester carbon through new forest growth. Wood products continue to benefit the environment by storing carbon long after the building has been constructed."
Climate change will affect cocoa growingACCRA, Ghana - Climate change will require farmers growing cocoa, one of West Africa's most important cash crops, to adapt to changing conditions, a study says. The changes will affect Ghana and the Ivory Coast, where more than half the world's chocolate is sourced, Scientific American reported Monday. The study by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture said cocoa-growing topography in both countries would see significant changes by 2050, Climatewire reported. The suitable regions, located within 200 miles of the coast, will shrink considerably, the ICTA said. "There will be areas that remain suitable for cocoa, but only when the farmers adapt their agronomic management to the new conditions the area will experience," the study said. "There will also be areas where suitability of cocoa increases. "Climate change brings not only bad news but also a lot of potential opportunities. The winners will be those who are prepared for change and know how to adapt." Many farmers who rely on cocoa as their only crop will face difficulties, researchers said. "Many of these farmers use their cocoa trees like ATM machines," Peter Laderach, the report's lead author, said. "They pick some pods and sell them to quickly raise cash for school fees or medical expenses. The trees play an absolutely critical role in rural life."
Largest telescope captures first imagesSAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, Chile - The largest, most complex telescope ever built, high on a plateau in Chile, has begun its search for evidence of how the universe began, astronomers said. The Atacama large millimeter/ submillimeter array, or Alma, will seek to study processes occurring just a few hundred million years after the formation of the universe when the first stars began to shine, the BBC reported Monday. The telescope, consisting of an array of giant antennas at almost 10,000 feet near Chile's border with Bolivia, will usher in a "new golden age of astronomy," Alma astronomer Diego Garcia said. The European Southern Observatory, one of the organizations operating the telescope, has released the first images taken by Alma, showing a collision of two galaxies. The images show concentrations of the star-forming gas at the centers of each galaxy and also in the chaotic region where they are colliding, where new stars and planets will be born. The image was taken using just 12 antennas, but astronomers say the goal for Alma is to have 66 antennas by 2013.
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