October 08, 2018

Good Morning,

How do you measures Antarctic ice? Well, by firing laser instruments at it, of course. No, seriously!

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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* Machine learning could help regulators identify environmental violations *

Regulatory agencies tasked with protecting environmental and public health are regularly understaffed and underfunded, but new research suggests machine learning could help officials more effectively monitor potential violators.

The Environmental Protection Agency and partnering state agencies are responsible for monitoring the regulatory compliance of 300,000 facilities. Regulators, however, only have the resources to inspect less than 10 percent of those facilities each year.

To help the EPA catch violations, student researchers at Stanford University designed a model to identify facilities most likely to fail an inspection. Scientists trained the machine learning to interpret a variety of risk factors, including the facility's location, industry and inspection history.

The machine learning model can assess risk scores based on factors linked with previous violations. Scientists used the model to predict how many violations regulators would find if they prioritized inspection by the model's risk assessments.

Under a scenario unconstrained by resource limitations, the models showed regulators could catch up to seven times more violations. Under a more realistic scenario, with budgetary constraints, the machine learning-powered risk scores could help regulators identify twice as many regulatory violations.

Just like human regulators, however, computer models aren't perfect.

"They can perpetuate bias at times and they can be gamed," Stanford grad student Miyuki Hino said in a news release.

If a facility operator could figure out how the algorithm worked, they could potentially manipulate data to ensure the facility would be assessed a low risk score. Operators could also alter management practices, beefing up compliance in anticipation of an inspection and relaxing standards when the risk of an inspection was low.

Scientists acknowledged the model fails to account for changes in regulatory priorities and environmental protection technologies. However, the model's creators said updates to the algorithm could help ensure its long-term efficacy.

Student researchers described the model's potential benefits and flaws in a paper published this week in the journal Nature Sustainability.

"This model is a starting point that could be augmented with greater detail on the costs and benefits of different inspections, violations and enforcement responses," said Stanford graduate student Nina Brooks.

*-- ICESat-2 fires lasers for the first time, measures Antarctic ice --*

NASA's polar-orbiting probe IceSat-2 fired its laser instrument for the first time this week, yielding the satellite's first height measurement.

The feat happened as IceSat-2 passed over Antarctica. ATLAS, the satellite's laser instrument, fires six beams. The three pairs are fired at a rate of 10,000 pulses per second.

Every second, ATLAS bounces 300 trillion green photons off Earth's surface. By measuring the time it takes each pulse to return, ATLAS can precisely measure the height and slope of the surface below -- in this instance, the height of Antarctica's ice sheet.

"We were all waiting with bated breath for the lasers to turn on and to see those first photons return," Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, the project manager for ICESat-2's ATLAS instrument, said in a news release. "Seeing everything work together in concert is incredibly exciting. There are a lot of moving parts and this is the demonstration that it's all working together."

Though IceSat-2 and its laser instrument can and will measure a variety of surfaces, including ocean waves and forest canopies, its main focus is ice -- mainly sea ice.

"We're losing more and more sea ice every year and we don't know why," Tom Wagner, ICESat-2 program scientist, told UPI last month.

IceSat-2 launched in mid-September. Before its science mission could commence, NASA engineers had to allow time for any potential contaminants picked up during the launch and flight to dissipate. Scientists also had to test the probe's instrument and communication system.

Now, IceSat-2 has returned its first data. Mission scientists were excited to confirm the accuracy of the data gathered with the first laser pulse.

"It was awesome," said Tom Neumann, ICESat-2 deputy project scientist. "Having it in space, and not just simulating data on the ground, is amazing. This is real light that went from ATLAS to Earth and back again."

The probe's scientific mission is still a half-month away. Scientists and engineers still need to ensure the laser instrument is properly calibrated -- that its laser is angled properly and the pulses are firing at the correct frequency.

"It will take a couple of additional weeks, but about one month after launch we'll hopefully start getting back some excellent science-quality data," Neumann said.

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