AP - Wed Aug 10, 6:11 PM ET
Space shuttle Discovery astronaut Wendy Lawrence, left, autographs a space bear after a welcome home celebration, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005, at Ellington Field in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

AFP/File - Wed Aug 10, 3:46 PM ET
Clouds settle in over the Vehicle Assembly Building at sunrise at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Discovery astronauts have held an emotional reunion with their families as NASA sought to counter doubts about the future of the space shuttle programme.(AFP/File/Robert Sullivan)

NASA Says No New Shuttle Flights for Now
AP - 1 hour, 55 minutes ago
Bill Gerstenmaier, the space agency official leading the investigation into the foam loss, said the shuttle's fuel tanks will need modifications, which eliminates any chance of launching in September. The next available launch window would be November, then that would be it until next year because of strict lighting requirements needed to photograph any flyaway foam or shuttle damage.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

AP - Thu Aug 11, 2:06 AM ET

In this photo released by NASA, The STS-114 crew gathers in front of the Space Shuttle Discovery following landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005. From the left are astronauts Stephen K. Robinson, mission specialist; Eileen M. Collins, commander; Andrew S. W. Thomas, Wendy B. Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi representing Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Charles J. Camarda, all mission specialists; and James M. Kelly, pilot. (AP Photo/NASA)

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/science/space_shuttle

AP - Sat Aug 20,12:07 AM ET
This image released by NASA shows the space shuttle Discovery riding piggyback atop a Boeing 747 jet, as it makes its way to the Kennedy Space Center, Fl., Friday., Aug. 19, 2005.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050820/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Last Leg of Discovery's Journey Delayed
By The Associated Press

Sat Aug 20, 4:17 PM ET



Space shuttle Discovery will have to wait a day to complete the last leg of its trip home. Discovery had been expected to arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday after riding piggyback atop a jumbo jet across the country, but NASA delayed the trip for a day because of weather concerns, said Bruce Buckingham, a spokesman with the space agency.


The jet took off Friday from California and arrived at Louisana's Barksdale Air Force, one of several refueling stops. Shuttle managers were to meet Sunday morning to reasses the flight plan, Buckingham said.

An Air Force KC-135 has flown ahead of the shuttle and the modified Boeing 747 to monitor weather along the route. The expected cost of the trip: at least $1 million.

Discovery and its seven-member crew touched down Aug. 9 in California's Edwards Air Force Base after low clouds and lightning prevented the shuttle from returning to Florida during four earlier opportunities.

After landing, Discovery underwent maintenance inside a steel structure on the base two hours north of Los Angeles. Crews purged the shuttle of hazardous substances, removed fuel from the on-board tanks and attached a 10,000-pound aluminum tail cone to eliminate drag during flight.

Discovery's homecoming has been tempered by uncertainties about the shuttle program's future. The same foam problems that doomed the shuttle Columbia 2 1/2 years ago showed up during Discovery's liftoff, prompting NASA to ground all shuttle flights until 2006 so engineers could find a solution.

A chunk of foam insulation broke off Discovery's redesigned external fuel tank during liftoff on July 26, but unlike in Columbia's case, the foam missed hitting Discovery. Columbia disintegrated over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board.

NASA ground crews who inspected Discovery after its return from orbit found little damage to its exterior.

___

On the Net:

Discovery mission: http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight

Floods and Storms


Floods
Floods can be deadly - particularly when they arrive without warning. Since 1998, more than 30 people have died as a direct result of flooding in Britain alone. Actually, it takes less rain than you'd think to cloud your day.

A mere four inches of water will ruin your carpet. Six inches of fast flowing water can knock you off your feet, and two feet of flood water will float your car. But where does it all come from?

Though Britain is no stranger to bad weather at any time of the year, autumn is the classic time for storms.

This is the time of the year when the two factors that influence our weather are most likely to clash. Warm ocean currents drift up from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold air is coming down from the Arctic. When these opposing temperatures converge, it can create enormous problems.




Stormy weather
Low pressure develops on the boundary of warm and cold air - this is known to meteorologists as a 'weather front'. The air here has a natural tendency to rise, and as air rises, it cools. Any water vapour present in the air condenses to form clouds. Consequently, low pressure is generally associated with wet and windy weather.

Low pressure systems have a habit of queuing up over the north Atlantic. Like buses, sometimes one doesn't appear for ages, and then three or more come at once. That happened relentlessly in the UK between September and November 2000.

How floods happen
When rain starts to fall, it drains down from the hillsides into streams, along rivers and out into the sea. That's under normal circumstances anyway. But when rain pours for weeks at a time, the land becomes saturated and Britain's natural drainage system is likely to fail.

The upper reaches of rivers quickly fill and force the excess water downstream. In the lower reaches, water flows slower. Here, the river swells and begins to break its banks. This is entirely normal - flood plains are part of the river's natural defence mechanism.

These low-lying, wide flat areas in the lower reaches of a river provide relief and take up the excess water. It's best not to build on them, though sometimes people do.

All kinds of debris gets caught up in a flood - dead cattle, sheep, trees, gravel. If any of this flotsam gets lodged under a bridge, it creates a dam and backs up the whole system. Once that happens, there are no more chances... unless local residents are insured.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/naturaldisasters/floods_storms.shtml

Scientist: Global Warming Options Exist
Thu Sep 15, 8:53 PM ET


BURLINGTON, Vt. - Global warming poses a threat to the earth, but humans can probably ease the climate threats brought on by rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, global climate specialist Richard Alley told an audience at the University of Vermont.

Alley said his research in Greenland suggested that subtle changes in atmospheric patterns leave parts of the globe susceptible to abrupt and dramatic climate shifts that can last decades or centuries.

Almost all scientists agree that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere created as humans burn fossil fuel is warming the planet. How to respond to the warming is a matter of intense political, scientific and economic debate worldwide.

Alley said he was upbeat about global warming because enough clever people existed in the world to find other reliable energy sources besides fossil fuels.

He said people can get rich finding marketable alternatives to fossil fuel.

"Wouldn't it be useful if the United States were to have a piece of the action. Wouldn't it be useful if some bright students from UVM were to have a piece of the action," Alley said.

Alley said that Europe and parts of eastern North American could in a matter of a few years revert to a cold, windy region, akin to the weather in Siberia. Such shifts have occurred frequently over the millennia, Alley's research shows.

A gradual change in atmospheric temperature, such as global warming, could push the climate to a threshold where such a shift suddenly occurs, he said.

Alley told his audience of about 200 people in a UVM lecture hall Wednesday evening that he couldn't predict if, when or where sudden shifts toward cold, heat, drought or water could occur under global warming, but it is something everyone should consider.

"This is not the biggest problem in the world. The biggest problem in the world is getting along with each other. But it's part of that because we're not going to get along with each other if we're not getting along with the planet," Alley said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050916/ap_on_sc/global_warming_1

Vietnamese scientist warns of magnetic storm

Vietnam’s Institute of Global Physics has warned that a magnetic storm predicted to hit Earth on September 23-24 may be harmful to health, particularly for people suffering from heart disease.
Ha Duyen Chau, the institute's deputy director, said though the storm would not be as strong as the one in 2001, it would greatly elevate levels of electricity around the Earth.

Being located near the equator, Vietnam would be strongly affected, Chau said, recommending that people suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure and mental disorders should be at home.

If they had to go outside, it would be better for them to use cars to minimize the effects, he said.

Although the storm would not strongly affect the electrical transmission in Vietnam, the electricity industry should not increase its capacity at this time, and electricity and petrol agencies should watch for information on preventive measures, Chau warned further.

(Source: VNA)

http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=9375

Japanese artist to recreate destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas with laser beams


Tue Nov 1, 9:57 AM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata announced plans to recreate Afghanistan's destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas using as many as 240 laser beam images, a giant project that could also bring electricity to local people.

The 60 million-dollar exhibit, which is slated to begin in June 2007, will for several years replicate the images of the statues, which were the world's tallest standing Buddhas until the Taliban regime destroyed them.

"When I first visited Bamiyan, I was very impressed with the sights of valleys, as well as local children, local people," said the globally acclaimed artist, known for his large laser-beam art works.

"Every time I go back, I feel the growing passion of wanting to create art there," he added.

Yamagata plans to show the images for two hours from sunset four days per week. He is still in negotiation with the Afghan government and local entities on how long the exhibition will last but it will likely be for years, he said.

The hi-tech project to recreate the destroyed cultural assets could also be important for the local economy in one of the world's poorest countries.

To create the laser images, Yamagata plans to install 120 laser systems, 10 windmills and 11,988 solar energy panels.

Yamagata and the Afghan government anticipate the power generating systems would be able to supply about 100 watts for six hours daily to each household of the area which is still not being provided electricity.

Afghan ambassador to Japan Haron Amin said the project could transform Bamiyan into a tourist destination. He called it an "eco-friendly, environment-friendly and energy-friendly concept."

The Islamic fundamentalist Taliban, ignoring world protests, dynamited the two 1,500-year-old statues carved into the sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan in March 2001, branding them un-Islamic.

The regime was ousted later that year in a US-led military campaign after the September 11 attacks. In a parallel, the World Trade Center was represented by light rays in an artistic memorial after the twin towers were brought down by hijacked airplanes.

Afghan Minister of Information and Culture Sayeed Makhdum Rahin, attending a press conference in Tokyo with the artist, said the laser beams were an appropriate way to represent the destroyed statues.

"Three years ago when we had an international seminar on Afghanistan's cultural heritage, many people wanted to discuss reconstruction of Buddha statues...I did not agree with the idea," Rahin said.

"Those statues belonged to a different generation, different time and different situation.

"I'd say let's keep the spaces the way they are. Let these spaces be witnesses for what human beings did to culture and history in the beginning of the 21st century," he added.

Yamagata said he would agree with the minister "even if I weren't an artist using lasers."

"We can't change the history of destruction, so I myself think it would be silly to build something new to replace them," he said.

He doubted governments would provide financial support. Instead, he plans to raise donations by throwing charity parties and from non-governmental organizations and corporations.

He already has brought along celebrities onto his project committee including US actor Dennis Hopper, US actress Sharon Stone and Canadian film director James Cameron.

Asked about security in Afghanistan, much of which is racked by violence by Taliban remnants, Afghan ambassador Amin called on foreigners to visit Bamiyan but warned them not to go through the Pakistani city of Quetta near the border.

Earlier this year two Japanese schoolteachers, reportedly on their way to Bamiyan, were shot dead on an Afghan highway linking Pakistan to the Taliban's former stronghold of Kandahar.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051101/lf_afp/afplifestylejapan_051101145758

AFP/File - Tue Nov 1, 9:57 AM ET
Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata, seen here in Bamiyan in an undated file photo, announced plans to recreate Afghanistan's destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas using as many as 240 laser beam images, a giant project that could also bring electricity to local people(AFP/File/Andrea Camuto)

...

Scientist Reading the Leaves to Predict Violent Weather


Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com
Mon Mar 13, 10:00 AM ET

When meteorologist Edward Lorenz set up his computer to model the weather in 1960, he had no idea what a complex problem he was taking on. After a while, he realized that any small change in the starting conditions of his program had a huge impact on the outcome of his experiment and in predicting the weather.

This phenomenon known as chaos, and popularly called the butterfly effect, made Lorenz and others realize that predicting weather with pinpoint accuracy will never be possible.

But scientists are getting closer.

And just like the butterfly whose single flapping of a wing on one side of the world might help precipitate a tornado on the other side, a single leaf can have large consequences for the weather.

"How well we are able to represent one leaf in a weather forecast model can be a key to predicting thunderstorms," said Dev Niyogi, an assistant professor of agronomy and earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue University. "The amount of moisture plants are emitting during photosynthesis may be considered the local trigger that trips fronts into violent weather."

Researchers in plant biology have long used models of photosynthesis to look at environmental changes. Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert solar energy into carbon dioxide. But weather simulators have never directly incorporated photosynthesis models for forecasting weather.

"We coupled a photosynthesis-based vegetation model to a weather forecast model and tested the improvement one could obtain by this for simulating severe weather situations," Niyogi told LiveScience.

This, combined with improved mapping of soil moisture, allows for better predictions of specific, local events.

"Our results showed that, while the current weather forecast and vegetation models do a fair job in simulating the weather, the results in terms of timing, location and intensity of local-scale thunderstorms can be improved by adopting more detailed photosynthesis transpiration models," Niyogi explained.

These improvements can improve forecasting of factors such as temperature and humidity anywhere from 5 to 50 percent.

"It certainly makes us think, what other factors may be important that we should be considering and how that may improve matters further," Niyogi said.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2627&ncid=2627&e=4&u=/space/20060313/sc_space/scientistreadingtheleavestopredictviolentweather

Scientists Process More Photos From Mars

2 hours, 21 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - Scientists have processed more than a dozen new photos taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which arrived at the Red Planet last month, including its first color image.

The crisp test images released Friday revealed pocked craters, carved gullies and wind-formed dunes in Mars' southern hemisphere. The diverse geologic features show the importance of water, wind and meteor impacts in shaping the Martian surface, scientists said.

The orbiter, the most advanced spacecraft ever sent to another planet, reached Mars on March 10 and slipped into an elliptical orbit. Over the next six months, it will dip into the upper atmosphere to shrink its orbit, lowering itself to 158 miles above the surface.

Last month, the orbiter beamed back the first view of Mars from an altitude of 1,547 miles. Those first test images were meant to calibrate the high-resolution camera aboard the spacecraft. The latest images were taken at the same time, but scientists spent several weeks processing them.

The Reconnaissance Orbiter will begin collecting data in November, and scientists expect the resolution of those images to be nine times higher.

The $720 million mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060409/ap_on_sc/mars_orbiter

Scientists find genes linked to heart attack risk

Thu May 11, 4:21 PM ET

BOSTON (Reuters) - A study covering more than 2,000 patients has identified two genes that are associated with an increased risk of an early heart attack, researchers said on Thursday.

Those with the genes had twice the risk of an early-onset heart attack as those without, according to the researchers from the University of California, San Francisco; Cleveland Clinic; Case Western Reserve University; Brigham Young University; and Celera Genomics, which partly funded the research.

The research linked one form of a gene known as VAMP8 to the early stages of blood-clot formation, which, when formed in the heart, can block oxygen and lead to a heart attack.

Another gene, HNRPUL1 was also found to be strongly associated with heart attack risk, although the nature of the connection was less clear.

Dr. John Kane, professor of medicine at University of California and co-author of the study, said the relatively large scale of the trial reduced the risk that the findings were the result of chance and potentially sets the stage for a diagnostic test that can predict which people are at greatest risk for a heart attack.

"A number of studies have identified genes linked to increased heart attack risk, but many of the studies have been so small that there has been a high risk of false positives," he said.

The aim of the research is to identify genetic differences that can predict for heart disease, create a screening diagnostic, and perhaps begin developing new drugs, Kane said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060511/hl_nm/celera_dc

New Eye on Hurricanes Could Improve Forecasts

Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com
Tue May 16, 1:00 PM ET

Hot plumes that tower above some hurricanes presage stronger winds at the surface, NASA researchers said today.

Using a satellite last summer to study hurricane Rita from above, scientists discovered that towering clouds near the storm's eye were good predictors of future storm strength.


If rain falls from clouds soaring to 9 miles high, and the rain persists, winds at the surface are likely to get stronger, the study concludes.


Specifically, if hot towers are active at least 33 percent of the time during a three-hour period, surface winds have an 82 percent chance of intensifying. Making such measurements on the fly could improve the forecast of a storm's strength just prior to landfall.


"The trick is to keep an eye on the height of rain that radars see when a hurricane approaches within 200 miles of the coast," said study leader Owen Kelley of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.


Land-based radars cannot monitor storms when they are farther offshore.


The research, announced today by NASA, was detailed last year in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The method used data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite coupled with radar data gathered from Earth's surface.


"We've found a new way to use data that's collected all the time by weather radars on the ground," Kelley said.


The center of any healthy hurricane has a well-defined eye that is typically cloud-free. The fiercest winds are in the eyewall, immediately surrounding the eye. In some hurricanes, towers of warm, moist air rise up through the eyewall and protrude from the storm top.


Scientists are still seeking an explanation for why and how the towers form.


Hurricane Rita had the fourth-lowest central pressure ever recorded in the Atlantic basin as it moved over warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico last September. It was a Category 3 hurricane when it came ashore near the Texas/Louisiana border.


Hurricane season begins June 1 and forecasters predict another busy year.

2006 Hurricane Guide
2006 Hurricane Forecast: Busy Again
How & Where Hurricanes Form
Hurricane Alley Heats Up
Gallery: Hurricanes

Visit LiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simple and stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Science, Animal and Dinosaur Image Galleries, Science Videos, Amazing Images, Interactive Features and Reader Favorites, Trivia and more. Get cool gadgets at the new LiveScience Store, sign up for our free daily email newsletter and check out our RSS feeds today!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060516/sc_space/neweyeonhurricanescouldimproveforecasts

Why is the sky blue?

On a clear sunny day, the sky above us looks bright blue. In the evening, the sunset puts on a brilliant show of reds, oranges, and pinks. Why is the sky blue?


Understanding the atmosphere and light

To understand why the sky is blue, we need to understand a little about our atmosphere and light. Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation (which means it travels in the form of waves possessing electric and magnetic properties). Light from the sun or a light bulb may look white, but it is actually a combination of colors. White light consists of all the colors we can see, and each of these colors has a different wavelength. Wavelength is the distance between the crests of the light waves as they move through space.

The colors blend continuously into one another. At one end of the spectrum are the reds and oranges. These gradually shade into yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The colors have different wavelengths, frequencies, and energies. Violet has the shortest wavelength in the visible spectrum. That means that it also has the highest frequency and energy. Red has the longest wavelength, and lowest frequency and energy.

Light travels in a straight line as long as nothing disturbs it. As light moves through the atmosphere, it continues to go straight until it bumps into a bit of dust or a gas molecule (like oxygen or nitrogen). Then what happens to the light depends on the wavelength and the size of the thing it hits.

Gas molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light. When light bumps into them, some of the light gets reflected, or bounces off the molecule, while the rest of the energy is absorbed by the molecule. While all colors are scattered by air molecules, violet and blue are scattered most. The sky looks blue, not violet, because our eyes are more sensitive to blue light (and the sun also emits more energy as blue light than as violet). This process of scattering is known as Rayleigh scattering (named after Lord John Rayleigh, who first described it in the 1870's).

As you look at the horizon, the sky appears much paler in color. To reach you, the scattered blue light must pass through more air. Some of it gets scattered away again in other directions. Therefore, less blue light reaches your eyes. The color of the sky near the horizon appears paler or even whitish. If you go to high elevations, the sky directly overhead can be very dark blue or even bluish-violet. That is because there are fewer molecules to scatter light at higher elevations, so only the shortest of wavelengths experience the most scattering as you go up further into the atmosphere. If you continued upward even more, the sky would slowly turn black as scattering diminishes even more. Space is black because there are very few molecules to scatter light.

So why are sunrises and sunsets red?



At sunrise and sunset, the sunlight passes through more atmosphere than during the day when the sun is higher in the sky. More atmosphere means more molecules to scatter the violet and blue light. If the path is long enough, all the blue and violet light gets redirected out of your line of sight, while much of the pink, orange, and red colors continue along the undeviated path between your eyes and the sun. This is why sunrises and sunsets often are composed of pink, red, and orange colors.

When more molecules are in the atmosphere than normal, say after a major volcanic eruption, the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets can occur. Dust and water particles reflect light just like gas molecules can, therefore having more molecules in the air cause more scattering to occur, causing even less pinks and yellows to reach your eyes. More oranges and reds reach your eyes in this situation leading to intense sunrises and sunsets.

This schematic shows how the path of light from the sun changes the color of the light when it reaches your eyes depending on where you are on the earth (or what time of day it is). At midday when the light is coming in overhead, the light appears blue. By sunset however, when more of the suns light passes through a thicker layer of atmosphere, more reds continue on to be seen by the eye.

Science Features

Hold On to Your Hats: Here Comes Hurricane Season!



June 1 will mark the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season. Last year’s season was a busy one for USGS researchers. One storm after another hit U.S. coastlines, and the USGS Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies collected and analyzed data as part of the USGS Hurricane and Extreme Storm Impact Studies. Find out what they learned and what’s in store this hurricane season. Learn More

http://www.usgs.gov/

2005 Hurricane Wilma
Find information about Hurricane Wilma at Hurricane Wilma Impact Studies.
2005 Hurricane Rita
Find information about Hurricane Rita at Hurricane Rita Impact Studies.
2005 Hurricane Katrina
Find information about Hurricane Katrina at Hurricane Katrina Impact Studies.



Current Storm Tracks:
Current Tropical Storm Tracks: courtesy Dr. T. Metcalf, Univ. of Hawaii



Overview
USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program investigates the extent and causes of coastal impacts of hurricanes and extreme storms on the coasts of the United States. Our overall objective is to improve the capability to predict coastal change that results from severe tropical and extra-tropical storms. Such a capability will facilitate locating buildings and infrastructure away from coastal change hazards.

Extreme storm investigations have three integrated components:

Scanning Airborne Laser Altimetry (Lidar):
With our partners in NASA and NOAA, USGS acquires laser altimetry surveys that are providing unprecedented data to investigate the magnitude and causes of coastal change.

Oblique Aerial Video & Photography:
USGS acquires GPS-controlled pre- and post-storm oblique imagery to document coastal changes and to assist in interpreting the laser altimetry data.

Ground Surveys:
USGS deploys ground crews to document coastal changes in detail and to acquire high resolution GPS ground surveys to verify the laser altimetry data.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/

At present, USGS investigates three types of severe coastal storm impacts: hurricane impacts on the southeast U.S., extra-tropical storm impacts on the U.S. west coast during El-Niño winters, and 'northeaster' impacts on the U.S. east coast.

Hurricanes El-Niño Northeasters
HURRICANES

Hurricanes are tropical storms that have a sustained wind speed greater than 75MPH. In the northern hemisphere, these low pressure systems rotate counterclockwise. As a hurricane approaches the coast, the wind speed on the right side of the storm is added to the forward speed of the storm. Hence, the greatest impacts from storm surge, wave battering and wind speed tend to occur to the right of the eye at landfall. Storm surge is an increase in sea level along the coast caused primarily by strong onshore winds and low barometric pressure. The strongest hurricanes are Category 5, having sustained wind speeds in excess of 155MPH and storm surge in excess of 6 m (20 ft). In recorded history, only two Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States.

EL-NIÑO


Coastal erosion: Cliff erosion near Pacifica, CA in February 1998, following a series of severe storm events.

During severe El-Niño, the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean tends to be more southerly than normal, guiding winter extra-tropical storms into California and bringing extensive rainfall and large waves to the California coast. During the severe El-Niño's of 1982-83 and 1997-98 extensive coastal erosion and damage occurred along the west coast. Under El-Niño conditions of equatorial warming in the Pacific, hurricanes are less frequent in the north Atlantic. The reoccurrence of La-Niña, equatorial cooling in the Pacific, coincides with active hurricane seasons for the southeast United States.

NORTHEASTERS


Dune erosion: Compared pre- and post-storm beach profiles show dune erosion at Assateague Island (MD, VA) caused by a severe northeaster. Note the exaggeration of the vertical scale to emphasize the changes.

Northeasters, or winter extra-tropical storms impacting the east coast of the United States, can cause considerable coastal change and damage. For example, one of the most destructive storms to ever impact the mid-Atlantic states was the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962. Extensive coastal change occurred over 1,000 km of coast. Northeasters owe their destructive power to their long duration. Winds are typically below hurricane force, but can persist for several days to a week generating large waves and enhanced storm surge. In comparison, hurricanes are more severe in terms of wind speed and storm surge but the shoreline impacts tend to be more localized, confined to order 100 km of coast. Hurricanes also tend to be more short-lived moving across coastal areas in hours rather than days.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/hurricanes/storms.html

Repeat hurricanes test coastal recovery

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer
Sun May 28, 7:24 AM ET

Pelican Shoal has never been much of an island — a quarter-acre patch of sand, bleached white coral and scrub seemingly adrift in crystal clear waters seven miles southeast of Key West.

But it was one of two places in Florida where the threatened roseate tern flew once a year from the Caribbean and South America to breed. Now, after two years of pounding hurricanes, it's under water.

Using decoys and recorded sounds, scientists are trying to lure the birds, which typically come in May, to an island in Dry Tortugas National Park. That's 70 miles away.

"The type of habitat they require for nesting is very limited in the state. Now they really don't have many places to nest, if any at all," said Ricardo Zambrano, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The tern's fate is one example of how repeated hurricanes not only displace people, but destroy wildlife habitat, kill plant life and rearrange coastal environments that have for centuries served as natural barriers.

Last year's Atlantic hurricane season was the busiest since record keeping began in 1851. The season included 27 named storms with 15 hurricanes, seven of which were Category 3 or higher. Category 4 Hurricane Katrina produced the worst devastation on record in Louisiana and Mississippi. Eight hurricanes have hit or impacted Florida since 2004.

With the six-month hurricane season starting June 1 and more severe storms predicted to come more often, nature is in for a series of debilitating blows the likes of which it hasn't endured in generations. Its ability to recover will be put to the test.

Throughout the Gulf Coast region from Texas to Florida, barrier islands were battered by wind and waves, leaving many fragmented and submerged.

The Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana's coast were stripped clean in Katrina, submerging much of the 40-mile long uninhabited chain and leaving the mainland more vulnerable in the coming hurricane season.

"It takes a long time for these dunes to re-establish naturally, so the next storm that comes along will have an easier job overtopping the islands and flooding inland areas," said oceanographer Abby Sallenger, of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Louisiana had already been losing coastal wetlands at a rate of about 25 square miles a year, scientists say. It's estimated that Katrina caused a loss of 118 square miles of wetland marshes.

"What potentially could happen if you take away the barrier islands, the wetlands could even disappear faster," Sallenger said. "The marsh itself will just disintegrate and it supports an incredibly rich ecosystem."

On Florida's Atlantic Coast, Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne delivered back-to-back blows in September 2004, eroding sand dunes and filling wetlands with sediment. In some places, mangrove roots are suffocating in silt as the repeated storms pile more sand and dirt around their bases.

.....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060528/ap_on_sc/apn_coastal_environments

Forecaster sees nine Atlantic hurricanes in 2006


By Jim Loney
1 hour, 3 minutes ago

MIAMI (Reuters) - A noted U.S. storm forecaster on Wednesday predicted the Atlantic hurricane season will produce nine hurricanes, the same as his previous forecast issued nearly two months ago.

William Gray and the Colorado State University forecasting team said the six-month season beginning on Thursday will see 17 tropical storms, of which nine will become hurricanes and five will be "major" hurricanes with sustained winds over 110 miles per hour (177 km per hour).

On April 4, Gray's team issued the same forecast.

The CSU forecast fell roughly in line with other predictions for the hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. government's climate agency, said last week it expected 13 to 16 tropical storms, with eight to 10 hurricanes and four to six major hurricanes.

Gray's prediction and those of other forecasters were wildly off the mark last year, which saw a record-shattering 28 storms, including 15 hurricanes. Seven of last year's were major storms of Category 3 or higher on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity.

Those hurricanes included Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. It killed about 1,300 people and caused more than $75 billion in damage when it burst the levees in New Orleans, swamping the city.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060531/us_nm/weather_hurricanes_gray_dc

US seen lagging on stem cell research

1 hour, 7 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States is lagging behind Britain and other leading nations on stem cell research, a visiting U.S. Congressional delegation said on Thursday.

Scientists believe that stem cells, master cells in the body that can develop into any cell type, could be used to treat diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's.

But their use is controversial because the most promising stem cells for treating human diseases are derived from very early human embryos.

The United has restricted federal funding of stem cell research which Colorado Democrat Rep. Diana DeGette (news, bio, voting record) said has forced some American scientists to relocate to countries which have more lenient policies.

"In addition, leadership in this area of research has shifted to the United Kingdom, which sees this scientific area as a cornerstone of its biotech industry," she said in a statement.

DeGette and other members of the bipartisan Congressional delegation are holding meetings in Britain with government officials, agencies and scientists about advances in stem cell research, as well as ethical and regulatory issues.

Rhode Island Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin said the visit has opened his eyes about the innovations that are occurring in Britain.

"Unfortunately, this trip is also serving as a reminder of how much the scientific community in the United States is missing out on research and investment opportunities," he said.

DeGette and Delaware Republican Rep. Michael Castle (news, bio, voting record), who is also part of the delegation, introduced a bill to expand federal funding of stem cell research on human embryos that would otherwise be discarded.

It was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last year and has been introduced into the Senate. President George W. Bush has threatened to veto it.

Opponents of the research object to the use of federal funds to finance it.

Sir Richard Gardner, of Britain's national academy of science the Royal Society, who met the delegation said expanding federal funding in the United States would benefit patients and researchers in Britain and other countries.

"More federally-funded research on human embryonic stem cells in the United States would increase the number of researchers who are active in this important field and thus hasten progress toward new therapies," Gardner said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060601/ts_nm/science_stemcells_usa_dc

Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 07:10 CDT

[image][/image]



Prehistoric ecosystem found in Israeli cave


JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli scientists said on Wednesday they had discovered a prehistoric ecosystem dating back millions of years.

The discovery was made in a cave near the central Israeli city of Ramle during rock drilling at a quarry. Scientists were called in and soon found eight previously unknown species of crustaceans and invertebrates similar to scorpions.

"Until now eight species of animals were found in the cave, all of them unknown to science," said Dr Hanan Dimantman, a biologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He said the cave's ecosystem probably dates back around five million years when the Mediterranean Sea covered parts of Israel.

The cave was completely sealed off from the world, including from water and nutrients seeping through rock crevices above. Scientists who discovered the cave believe it has been intact for millions of years.

"Every species we examined had no eyes which means they lost their sight due to evolution," said Dimantman.

Samples of the animals discovered in the cave were sent for DNA tests which found they were unique, he said. The cave has been closed off as scientists conduct a more detailed survey.

"This is a cave of fantastic biodiversity," Dimantman said.



http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/521148/prehistoric_ecosystem_found_in_israeli_cave/?source=r_science

Scientists discover 8 new species

By ARON HELLER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Jun 1, 4:34 PM ET


JERUSALEM - Israeli scientists have discovered an ancient ecosystem containing eight previously unknown species in a lake inside a cave, where they were completely sheltered from the outside world for millions of years.

The newly discovered crustaceans and invertebrates were found last month in a cave near the city of Ramle in central Israel, team leader Amos Frumkin announced Thursday.

"This is a very unique ecosystem that is completely isolated from the surface," said Frumkin, a cave researcher in the geography department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The cave, located 328 feet below ground in a limestone quarry, includes tunnels that extend about a mile and a half. Inside, a large underground lake holds the previously unknown species, some similar to scorpions and shrimp.

Allen G. Collins, a research fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, said the find "underscores how little we know about life on our planet and how important it is to keep looking."

"I imagine this is a unique situation, to have a cave system with both marine and freshwater systems, and it is quite interesting in an underground situation," he said. "The scorpion-like creatures as well as the shrimp-like creatures that were found are unique."

The animals had been completely sheltered from the outside world by a thick layer of chalk that was impenetrable to water or exterior nutrients, Frumkin said.

Aside from one scorpion-like creature, all other species discovered were found alive. None were more than two inches long.

Frumkin said similar caves have been discovered in Romania and Mexico, but none were as isolated. Unlike most animals, which depend on the photosynthesis food chain, the newly discovered species live off a completely independent and self-sustaining ecosystem.

Israel Naaman, Frumkin's research assistant, made the initial discovery. He had been conducting a survey of caves when he came across a small hole that just kept growing.

"I thought it was just a small hole and I couldn't believe what I had found; surprise after surprise," he said.

When one of the volunteer staff crouched down to measure the temperature of the warm, sulfuric water he suddenly jumped up and yelled "there is something moving here."

Naaman acknowledged the species were likely endangered from oxygen exposure during the discovery process but said he was confident in the scientific importance of the find. He said he believes further exploration will reveal additional new life forms.

The Israeli researchers have shared their findings with international experts for further review and classification and hope to publish their conclusions soon.

The limestone cave is believed to be the second-largest in Israel. In order to explore it, researchers had to climb ropes and crawl through most of it. Due to its scientific significance and the fact that it is located inside an active quarry, the cave is now closed to visitors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060601/ap_on_sc/israel_lost_world

the previously unknown species, some similar to scorpions and shrimp.

Europe's 1st lunar mission reaches moon

AP - Sun Sep 3, 4:11 AM ET This image provided by the Canda-France-Hawaii Telescope Corp shows the impact, bright spot in upper right, on the moon of Europe's first spacecraft to the moon, Smart-1, Sunday Sept. 3, 2006. The impact, in a volcanic plain called the Lake of Excellence, was captured by observers on earth, and scientists hoped the resulting cloud of dust and debris would provide clues to the geologic composition of the site. The black line on both sides of the impact is due to the brightness of the event causing a processing error on those scan lines. (AP Photo/HO)

BMW to roll out hydrogen-powered 7 Series



Tue Sep 12, 6:33 AM ET

MUNICH (Reuters) - BMW will roll out the world's first hydrogen-burning car in serial production early next year, the German premium automaker said on Tuesday, eager to put its stamp on cars with green credentials.

The specially equipped 7-Series executive cars emit only water vapor when running on hydrogen.

The car hits the market next April and will be shown at the Los Angeles car show in November, the company said. It had said in March the hydrogen cars would arrive within two years.

A spokesman said the car would be leased to selected customers rather than sold because of its high price. Leasing rates would be similar to those for a top-end BMW 760LI with a full-service package.

The BMW 7 Series Hydrogen 7 Saloon is powered by a 260 hp twelve-cylinder engine and accelerates from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.5 seconds. Top speed is limited electronically to 230 km/h.

BMW has said it intends to build a few hundred such cars at first. They will be able to switch between burning standard petrol and hydrogen so that drivers will not be left stranded while the infrastructure to deliver hydrogen is built up.

"The integration of hydrogen drive in an existing vehicle concept which has already proven its merits in the market paves the way for an alternative to conventional drive concepts fully accepted in the market and with all the assets the customer is looking for in practice," BMW said.

The space that two fuel tanks take up means only the 7-Series will offer the hydrogen package at first. BMW's long-term goal is to offer hydrogen motors in all its cars.

BMW unveiled the world's fastest hydrogen-powered car at the 2004 Paris auto show. Dubbed the H2R, it can exceed 300 kilometers (185 miles) per hour and reaches 100 km per hour from a standing start in around six seconds.

While BMW is developing fuel-cell driven cars as well, it says it is concentrating on the combustion engine because the sum total of its features and characteristics offers the largest number of advantages and benefits all in one

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060912/bs_nm/autos_bmw_hydrogen_dc_1

Taiwan turns to wind power for renewable energy
Fri Oct 28,11:59 AM ET

CHUPEI, Taiwan (AFP) - Wind ruffling his hair, Jeffrey Lee unlocks the gate of a bamboo fence surrounding two gigantic windmills, reads the meter, and smiles.

Wind speed is good and enough electricity is being generated by the turbines to power Cheng Loong Corporation's paper mill in the remote coastal area of Chupei, northern Taiwan.

The 93-meter (306.9 feet) high, Denmark-designed windmills have generated about 20 million watts of electricity for the mill's use over the past two years, worth some 36 million Taiwan dollars (1.07 million US).

They have also become an unlikely popular tourist attraction.

"The two white wind turbines have become a new landmark of Hsinchu county," Lee, a 46-year-old engineer, says proudly. "Taiwan's west coast will feature hundreds of windmills a few years from now."

Taiwan imports nearly all of its energy needs and projects like this are part of a nationwide effort to generate electricity from renewable sources, including hydraulic, wind and solar power.

It should account for 10 percent of domestic supply by 2011, up from the present 5.45 percent, with wind-power totalling more than 2,000 megawatts, equivalent to the amount needed to power 4.75 million homes for a year.

Like Asian neighbours such as China and the Philippines, Taiwan has awakened to the need for sustainable energy production, a need made more acute by recent spikes in global oil prices.

In 2000 the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in 2000 decided to help fund investment in renewable energy in response to calls from conservation groups.

Cheng Loong executives inaugurated the Chupei turbines, which have a combined capacity of 3.5 megawatts, in late 2002 at a cost of 115 million Taiwan dollars (3.43 million US), with 50 million being subsidized by the government.

They have been impressed by the revenues, but when the company, which reported 1.1 billion Taiwan dollars in net profit on revenues of 20.04 billion dollars last year, recently looked to expand its wind power operations they found several others were one step ahead.

Cheng Loong's competitors had applied with the government for the acquisition of land on which hundreds of turbines will be built to create wind farms along the north and west coast of the island.

State-run Taipower, which provides most of the island's electricity, currently has 40 wind turbines with a total of almost 48 megawatts' capacity, and is planning to build another 147 wind turbines on Taiwan and the island of Penghu in the Taiwan Strait before the end of 2010.

Each turbine costs at least 100 million Taiwan dollars.

Another major company setting sight on the island's wind power industry is Germany-based InfraVest WindPower, which plans to build wind turbines with at least 300 megawatts of capacity, says David Chang, the company's senior electrical manager.

Twenty-five InfraVest wind turbines in the central county of Miaoli, each with a capacity of 2.0 megawatts, are due to become operational before the year's end, he says, adding that up to 70 others located near that area are scheduled to come on stream next year.

Chen Wu-hsiung, head of Taipower's Wind Power Construction Institute, says that despite the rush, producing renewable energy is "no easy task".

Industry experts complain of low electricity prices, preventing a worthwhile return on investment.

"Some companies have displayed interest in investing in the wind power sector, but the government has not come up with strong incentives to woo the potential investors," Cheng Loong's Lee says.

"It would take private investors some 10 years to get back their money. That's a bit too long," InfraVest's Chang says.

Taipower last raised electricity prices 22 years ago. Despite soaring coal, oil and natural gas prices, the company has repeatedly been ordered to cut power prices to help the government stabilize domestic consumer prices.

As a result, the company in 2005 may suffer a deficit of 6.1 billion Taiwan dollars (183.18 million US) -- the first loss since the company was established 59 years ago -- according to a budget approved by parliament.

"That would put Taipower in an unfavourable position to raise funds from the capital market here and abroad to continue with its investment projects," a Taipower spokesman says.

Taipower plans to build 546 offshore wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 megawatts from 2010-2020. Each of those turbines will cost an estimated 200 million Taiwan dollars.

Out of the 546, 176 would be built off Penghu, which Chen says is one of the best located wind farms in the world. Electricity would be transmitted to Taiwan through 40-kilometer (25 mile) undersea cables.

The rest of the planned offshore turbines would be located some 10-15 kilometers off the western counties of Changhwa and Yunlin.

Domestic consumption of power has risen at an average 4.5 percent a year over the past few years and Taiwan's energy companies have been exploring other alternative energy sources, like hydraulic and solar power.

"As hydraulic power is nearly saturated on Taiwan after decades of development and solar power is not really commercially viable, wind power has the most potential as a source of clean energy for the coming decade," Taipower's Chen says.

Taipower's hydraulic power plants have a combined capacity of 1,868 megawatts, just over five percent of the island's usage, while it also operates three nuclear power plants and is building a fourth, the last that will be permitted in Taiwan under an accord between the main political parties.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051028/sc_afp/taiwanenergy_051028155919

AFP/File - Fri Oct 28,11:59 AM ET
Jeffrey Lee, vice chief engineer of Taiwan's Cheng Loong Corp., points at a board of digits showing the wind speed and amount of electricity being generated by the two wind turbines being installed at the company's Chupei mill in northern Taiwan, 14 October 2005(AFP/File/Ben Yeh)