The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
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Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
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UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld In België had je vooral BUFON of het Belgisch UFO-Netwerk, dat zich met UFO's bezighoudt. BEZOEK DUS ZEKER VOOR ALLE OBJECTIEVE INFORMATIE , enkel nog beschikbaar via Facebook en deze blog.
Verder heb je ook het Belgisch-Ufo-meldpunt en Caelestia, die prachtig, doch ZEER kritisch werk leveren, ja soms zelfs héél sceptisch...
Voor Nederland kan je de mooie site www.ufowijzer.nl bezoeken van Paul Harmans. Een mooie site met veel informatie en artikels.
MUFON of het Mutual UFO Network Inc is een Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in alle USA-staten en diverse landen.
MUFON's mission is the analytical and scientific investigation of the UFO- Phenomenon for the benefit of humanity...
Je kan ook hun site bekijken onder www.mufon.com.
Ze geven een maandelijks tijdschrift uit, namelijk The MUFON UFO-Journal.
Since 02/01/2020 is Pieter ex-president (=voorzitter) of BUFON, but also ex-National Director MUFON / Flanders and the Netherlands. We work together with the French MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP.
ER IS EEN NIEUWE GROEPERING DIE ZICH BUFON NOEMT, MAAR DIE HEBBEN NIETS MET ONZE GROEP TE MAKEN. DEZE COLLEGA'S GEBRUIKEN DE NAAM BUFON VOOR HUN SITE... Ik wens hen veel succes met de verdere uitbouw van hun groep. Zij kunnen de naam BUFON wel geregistreerd hebben, maar het rijke verleden van BUFON kunnen ze niet wegnemen...
19-07-2018
Mysterious sarcophagus to be opened in two days, Egypt’s MOA says
Mysterious sarcophagus to be opened in two days, Egypt’s MOA says
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities (MOA) has finally decided to open a mysterious sarcophagus uncovered in Alexandria within the next two days, according to Waad Allah Abu al-Ela, head of the MOA’s project sector.
On July 1 a large black granite sarcophagus was accidentally unearthed in an Alexandrian construction site. It was found at a depth of 5 meters and dates well over 2,000 years ago, likely at the Ptolemaic era between 305 BC and 30 BC.
A man’s head sculpted from Alabaster was also found, likely belonging to the owner of the tomb.
Abu al-Ela said that they will use thick pipes to raise the sarcophagus lid until they can see inside. Once something was found, a specialized restoration team will immediately take over, transferring the contents into an Alexandria museum storage to quickly start restoration procedures.
“If nothing was found inside the sarcophagus and we did not find any inscriptions on the coffin’s body, we will keep it in place until it can be lifted later,” he said.
Speculation ran wild across the globe following the discovery as the unique specifications of the tomb has prompted some experts to conclude the sarcophagus belongs to none other than Alexander the Great, who’s tomb has yet to be uncovered. Born in 356 BC and living until 323 BC, Alexander was one of the world’s greatest conquerors and ruled the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.
The MOA considers this the biggest coffin unearthed yet from Alexandria, as it weights around 20 to 30 tons, with dimensions that are 185 cm tall, 265 cm long and 165 cm wide.
As if that wasn’t enough, Ayman Ashmawy, an MOA official stated that to their surprise the layer of mortar between the coffin’s lid and the body was undamaged, meaning it had not been opened since it was buried 2000 years ago, an incredible rare occasion.
However Abu al-Ela denounced the speculation, stating that the tomb is far too poor and weak to belong to someone like Alexander the Great. He also stated that the weight of the sarcophagus is not abnormal, as coffins weighting more than 90 tons have been found in the past.
Mustafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities supported Abu Ela’s doubt, and stated that while the coffin might not be suitable for Alexander, it could still belong to an ancient Egyptian noble.
Mysterieuze zwarte sarcofaag uit Alexandrië wordt na 2000 jaar opengemaakt. Wat gaan archeologen aantreffen?
Mysterieuze zwarte sarcofaag uit Alexandrië wordt na 2000 jaar opengemaakt. Wat gaan archeologen aantreffen?
De mysterieuze sarcofaag die onlangs in Alexandrië is ontdekt, wordt vandaag of morgen geopend. Dat heeft het Egyptische ministerie van Oudheden besloten.
Begin deze maand werd bij toeval een gigantische zwarte sarcofaag gevonden in een bouwput in Alexandrië.
De graftombe bevond zich op een diepte van vijf meter en is ruim 2000 jaar oud. Er werd ook een albasten hoofd van een man gevonden, waarschijnlijk van de eigenaar van de tombe.
Alexander de Grote
Met behulp van zware pijpen zal het deksel van de sarcofaag worden gehaald. De eventuele inhoud van de tombe wordt vervolgens overgebracht naar een museum in Alexandrië.
Na de ontdekking werd op internet druk gespeculeerd over de vondst. Sommige experts claimden dat de sarcofaag toebehoort aan niemand minder dan Alexander de Grote, wiens tombe nog altijd niet is ontdekt.
Het gaat om de grootste grafkist die ooit in Alexandrië is opgegraven. De tombe weegt 20 tot 30 ton en is ruim 2,5 meter lang.
Extreem zeldzaam
Opvallend genoeg is de laag cement tussen het deksel en de grafkist onbeschadigd, wat betekent dat de tombe in ruim 2000 jaar niet geopend is. Dat is extreem zeldzaam.
Volgens het ministerie gaat het niet om de tombe van Alexander de Grote. In het verleden zijn grafkisten van meer dan 90 ton gevonden.
Are we alone in the universe? Could alien life exist, and if so, is there a reasonable explanation for why—scientifically speaking—we’ve never seen any evidence for it?
This is a question many have asked over time, although it is most famously attributed to physicist Enrico Fermi, for whom the so-called “Fermi Paradox” is named. The general premise has to do with what appears to be the contradictory nature of high probability for the existence of alien life, versus the paltry evidence to support it.
As the name suggests, the idea is famously attributed to Enrico Fermi, and was suggested under circumstances of such fame in the scientific literature that they border the mythical. As the story goes, Fermi was on his lunch break with fellow Los Alamos employees Emil Konopinski, Edward Teller, and Herbert York in 1950, when discussion about a funny little cartoon depicting dumpster-diving aliens returning from a visit to New York caught their imagination. Musing more broadly on the subject of aliens, Fermi is said to have asked, “where is everybody?”
Los Alamos National Laboratory (Public Domain)
It was a decidedly scientific question, despite its simplicity: where is the evidence of aliens, if it otherwise seems so likely that we aren’t alone in the universe?
Taking a stab at this famous conundrum, a recent paper published by a team of Oxford researchers with the University’s Future of Humanity Institute argues that the absence of evidence may, in fact, actually be evidence of absence: we may be alone after all.
The problem, researchers Anders Sandberg, Eric Drexler and Toby Ord argue, has a lot to do with human expectations, which build on earlier models for the likelihood of whether life exists elsewhere; namely the Drake equation, which supposes a decent probability that alien civilizations exist, which are technologically advanced to the degree they would be potentially observable to us.
As stated in a portion of the paper’s abstract:
We show that this conflict arises from the use of Drake-like equations, which implicitly assume certainty regarding highly uncertain parameters. We examine these parameters, incorporating models of chemical and genetic transitions on paths to the origin of life, and show that extant scientific knowledge corresponds to uncertainties that span multiple orders of magnitude. This makes a stark difference. When the model is recast to represent realistic distributions of uncertainty, we find a substantial ex-ante probability of there being no other intelligent life in our observable universe, and thus that there should be little surprise when we fail to detect any signs of it. This result dissolves the Fermi paradox, and in doing so removes any need to invoke speculative mechanisms by which civilizations would inevitably fail to have observable effects upon the universe.
As Vox reports, “the paper’s authors do not appear to be making any definitive claim about whether or not aliens exist; simply, our current knowledge across the seven parameters suggests a high likelihood of us being alone,” noting that with new forthcoming information, the Oxford team “would update that likelihood accordingly.”
Naturally, criticisms will arise from such a claim. To consider just a few of them here, it seems difficult (even in probabilistic terms) to suggest the unlikelihood of alien life elsewhere given the expansiveness of the universe, let alone the fact that so little of it has been explored by humans. Also, this isn’t the only solution to Fermi’s paradox that has appeared recently; there are constantly a variety of contrasting viewsabout what might, or might not, explain it.
Sure, Frank Drake’s famous aforementioned equation also focused on the question of alien life, and more specifically, those civilizations which would be sophisticated enough that any evidence for their existence would be detectable by us. While we might expect that a significantly advanced alien civilization would leave an easily discernible cosmic footprint, it may just the opposite: what if our cosmic neighbors have advanced to the point that they employ what we might call “cleaner,” energy sources and other sustainable technologies… and thus, maybe they’re less easily detected, as well?
Bottom line, it’s nearly impossible to conceive of what alien life and their technology would be like without anthropomorphizing the argument (that is, projecting our own ideas, values, and expectations onto things). However, there are at least a few other problems with the Oxford study, one of which has to do with what Fermi actually said about aliens in the first place.
Fermi’s ID photo from his years at Los Alamos (Public Domain).
The paper leads off, naturally, with the famous story of the Fermi lunch at Los Alamos. “While working at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1950,” the paper reads, “Enrico Fermi famously asked his colleagues: ‘Where are they?’ ” Although it’s a famous and often-cited story, some have questioned whether it’s entirely true and accurate. Robert H. Gray, writing for Scientific Americanin 2016, noted that Fermi’s fellow diners at the famous lunchtime discussion had a pretty clear memory of the conversation when asked about it years later, and noted that Fermi hadn’t been merely discussing where all the aliens were. More specifically, they had been talking about interstellartravel, and why there was so little evidence in the specific form of alien spacecraft:
Both York and Teller seemed to think Fermi was questioning the feasibility of interstellar travel—nobody thought he was questioning the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. So the so-called Fermi paradox—which does question the existence of E.T.—misrepresents Fermi’s views. Fermi’s skepticism about interstellar travel is not surprising, because in 1950 rockets had not yet reached orbit, much less another planet or star.
All discussion of UFOs aside (since, to date, there is nothing that conclusively proves that these objects are in any way related to alien spacecraft), the minor detail of what Fermi actually meant may not be enough to change the outcome of the Oxford study’s findings, which purportedly employed “millions” of logarithmic simulations to arrive at the mathematical conclusion that we’re 53 to 99.6 percent likely to be the only civilization in the galaxy. Further, we run a 39 to 85 percent chance of being the only intelligent life in the entire observable region of the universe.
However, if we consider that the basic averages of the Oxford study boil down to there being roughly a 50% chance that we’re alone in the universe, our potential desolation still amounts to a coin flip: either we’ve got some interstellar neighbors out there somewhere, or we do not. We simply don’t know yet.
So maybe it’s a little too soon to be cashing in on whether aliens exist or not; we still have an awful lot of the universe we’ve yet to explore, and innumerable scientific advances that will be required before we can embark on our ultimate journey. For the time being, maybe it’s best to keep an open mind, and see what the innovations of the coming years have to say about what may await us out in that great and final frontier.
Our planet continues to change due to the various forcesfalling under the blanket term of climate change. While this obviously poses challenges and threats the likes of which humanity hasn’t seen since perhaps the last Ice Age, there are a few positive effects that help lessen the blow of witnessing the beginning of a new, hot and decidedly wet era of human history.
Remember that awesome Kevin Costner movie? Yeah, it’s going to be like that.
As Earth changes around us, strange animal sightings are becoming more common in populated areas likely thanks to loss of habitat and food sources. Along those same lines, the melting Arctic and Antarctic sea ices are revealing new, untouched areas of the Earth possibly containing entirely new forms of life.
In the archaeological world, a rapidly changing Earth has meant that many ancient mysteries have begun to reveal themselves from below the ground or the bottom of the seas. The latest case comes out of Ireland’s Boyne Valley where a harsh drought has meant a sharp decline in native grass and scrub plants. With that ground-covering vegetation out of the way, historians conducting aerial drone photography in the area have been able to discover a mysterious ancient ringed structure lying literally right under their feet.
The Boyne Valley
The structure appears to be composed of concentric rings, the largest of which is about 200 meters in diameter. Like other ancient henges, the rings are composed of post holes, implying that this was once some sort of walled enclosure. Anthony Murphy, founder of Mythical Ireland, says the discovery was a complete surprise to even the most seasoned local researchers:
We couldn’t believe it to be honest. It soon became apparent that were looking at something very very exciting. I was aware of the possibility that previously unrecorded things might show up, but I didn’t think they’d show up in the Boyne Valley because it’s been under intense scrutiny for the past few decades by archaeologists. Only because of the drought has it become visible.
The discovery was made not farm from Brú na Bóinne, or Boyne Valley tombs. The tombs are a UNESCO World Heritage site and date back some five or six thousand years.
The Newgrange burial mound at Boyne Valley was constructed with a network chambers and passages.
Like other Neolithic monuments, the Boyne Valley site consists of burial mounds, henges, and earthworks. Its overall purpose or use remains a mystery, though many of the structures are believed to have been used for archaeoastronomical rituals or timekeeping.
Dozens of Long White Structures On Moons Surface Found, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Dozens of Long White Structures On Moons Surface Found, Video, UFO Sighting News.
Date of discovery: March 2014 , but revisiting today. Coordinates of discovery: 3°53'18.47"S 17°34'20.73"W Method used: Google Moon map I wanted to take a look at the structures I discovered back in 2014, because many of the buildings and discoveries have been deleted or the URLs don't exist any more. These buildings are still there on Google Moon which is a free program to download and use from your desktop. The structures measure about 100-150 meters long and 10-15 meters wide. I don't think they are structures to live in, but probably have a purpose like air or breathing filtration or collecting of energy or even as a transmitting antenna. Glad to see they are still there. Scott C. Waring
65 million years ago, a monster asteroid wiped out 2/3 of all life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. But an astrophysicist explains why it’s the smaller near-Earth objects (NEOs) that pose a greater imminent threat.
Sixty-five million years ago, a 15 kilometer [9 mile] sized asteroid wiped out two-thirds of all life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. But it’s probably not this kind of monster asteroid that we should be worried about. It’s actually the smaller NEOs that pose a greater imminent threat, like the asteroid that struck Earth on June 2 that scientists only saw coming a day in advance.
Internationally renowned astronomers, astrophysicists and space researchers gathered for a conference in Garching near Munich, Germany, from May 14-June 8, 2018, for the to develop new strategies for the improved detection, scientific and commercial exploitation of and defense against NEOs.
Flyeye-telescope planned by ESA as part of the global effort to hunt out risky celestial objects such as asteroids and comets.
Image via A. Baker/ESA.
Detlef Koschny, head of the Near Earth Objects team at the European Space Agency (ESA) and a lecturer with the Technical University of Munich Chair for Astronautics, explains why scientists are increasing their research focus on smaller NEOs.
Let’s start with a basic question: How is an asteroid different from a meteorite?
Detlef Koschny: Asteroids are objects larger than one meter – for example the object that exploded over Botswana earlier this month. Meteoroids are objects smaller than one meter. If they enter and pass through a planet’s atmosphere [and hit the ground], they are called meteorites. Comets are asteroids with large amounts of volatile compounds such as water ice. If they come close to the sun, these compounds vaporize, creating their distinctive tails.
Hollywood disaster films like Armageddon always feature colossal asteroids on a direct collision course with Earth. So why should we be worried about smaller NEOs?
Detlef Koschny: NEOs that might potentially come close to or hit our planet range in size from a few millimeters to about 50 to 60 kilometers [30 to 37 miles] in diameter. We’ve detected the majority of the larger NEOs and computed their trajectories and the statistical risk for collision with Earth 100 years into the future.
We’ve mapped 90 percent of the asteroids that are a kilometer in size or larger. We know precisely where the big ones are and that they won’t pose a threat. In the “mid-size” region, the situation is completely different: We have only detected and mapped less than one percent of NEOs smaller than a kilometer.
If a 100-meter (328 feet) asteroid hit Earth, it would cause significant damage in an area the size of Germany, and even affect the surrounding region. But asteroids of this size don’t strike Earth very often. Maybe every 10,000 years on average.
Going from 100 meters down to 50 meters (164 feet), the statistical frequency of strikes increases to once every 1,000 years. Exactly a century ago in 1908, a 40-meter object struck the Earth over Tunguska, Siberia, destroying an area of forest the size of the Munich metro area.
And then if we go down to asteroid sizes around 20 meters (66 feet) – like the asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013, which ended up injuring 1,500 people – these occur on average once every 10 to 100 years. We will definitely see something like that again in our lifetime.
Nobody saw the Chelyabinsk asteroid coming before it hit. And scientists only spotted the one that hit Botswana a few hours in advance. What is the current state of NEO detection technology?
Detlef Koschny: Right now, there are two main survey programs running on Earth, both funded by our American colleagues. They utilize optical telescopes that cover a large field of view and can continually scan the night sky to detect any objects that are bright enough.
When it comes to detecting larger objects, this strategy works quite well, as these are visible even when they’re still far away from the Earth. But to detect smaller objects down to a size of 20 meters (66 feet) is very difficult. They are not bright enough to be detected until they are at least as close as the Moon.
If you only have two of these telescopes on the planet and it takes each telescope three weeks or so to cover the complete sky, you have to be really lucky that a small asteroid crosses your field of view just when you’re looking in the right direction.
That’s why we are currently developing extremely wide-field telescopes that will have the ability to scan the entire sky in just 48 hours. Additionally, within the ESA Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program, in which I work, we mobilize observatories and astronomers worldwide through the NEO Coordination Centre at the Agency’s European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) facility in Italy.
Dr. Detlef Koschny, lecturer with the TUM Chair for Astronautics and head of the Near Earth Objects team at the European Space Agency (ESA).
Image via A. Battenberg/TUM.
So what are your recommendations for improving detection and tracking capabilities, and what new detection technologies are being deployed either currently or in the near future?
Detlef Koschny: There’s a system called Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) that just went online in the U.S. It consists of small telescopes which, while they don’t see very faint objects, cover almost the complete night sky once per night. Here in Europe, we are building the Flyeye telescope, with a one-meter effective aperture. It provides us with a big field of view that is more than 100 times the size of the full moon in the night sky. In one night, with one telescope, we can cover about half the sky. The strategy to achieve this was developed by one of our master’s students here at TUM.
Our conclusion as the conference wraps up and one of the recommendations we’ll be making in the post-conference whitepaper: There’s an urgent need for more telescopes that can scan the sky for these NEOs, and a global network of telescopes that are working in concert, so that we can truly cover the smaller size range of asteroids in near-earth orbit. We definitively need to FIND these objects first before we can take any concrete action to defend ourselves against them.
Bottom line: An astrophysicist explains why it’s the smaller near-Earth objects (NEOs) that pose a greater imminent threat.
Zeewier reist 20.000 kilometer en meert aan op Antarctica
Zeewier reist 20.000 kilometer en meert aan op Antarctica
Caroline Kraaijvanger
Dit is de langst bekende biologische drijftocht ooit.
Onderzoekers hebben langs de kust van Antarctica zeewier ontdekt dat daar niet thuishoort. DNA-onderzoek wijst uit dat een deel ervan afkomstig is van de Kerguelen-eilanden in de zuidelijke Indische Oceaan. En een ander deel komt helemaal uit de Zuid-Georgia-eilanden in de zuidelijke Atlantische Oceaan. Het betekent dat dit zeewier tienduizenden kilometers heeft afgelegd alvorens het bij Antarctica aanmeerde.
Onmogelijke reis Het is volgens onderzoekers de langste bekende biologische drijftocht ooit. En dat niet alleen: het is een reis die tevens onmogelijk werd geacht. Zo wist het zeewier polaire winden en stromingen die ondoordringbaar werden geacht, te trotseren en Antarctica – dat altijd gezien wordt als een geïsoleerd gelegen continent – te bereiken (zie kader). “Dit onderzoek laat zien dat levende planten en dieren Antarctica over de oceaan kunnen bereiken, en dat de Antarctische kustlijnen waarschijnlijk constant gebombardeerd worden met allerlei plant- en diersoorten,” aldus onderzoeker Crid Fraser. “Wij dachten altijd dat het Antarctische ecosysteem zo uniek was vanwege de geïsoleerde omgeving, maar dit onderzoek laat zien dat deze verschillen bijna volledig te wijten zijn aan extreme omgevingsfactoren, niet isolatie.”
Sterke westenwinden en oppervlaktestromingen zorgen er in principe voor dat drijvende objecten van Antarctica vandaan bewegen. Tot stormen de boel verstoren, zo stellen de onderzoekers. Hun nieuwste modellen laten zien dat hoge golven die tijdens deze stormen ontstaan grote ‘vlotten’ zeewier helpen om naar Antarctica te reizen.
Andere dieren Als zeewier op deze wijze bij Antarctica kan komen, dan kunnen nog veel meer organismen Antarctica bereiken, zo redeneren de onderzoekers. “Dit zeewier groeit niet op Antarctica, maar kan als vlot dienen voor andere planten en dieren” stelt onderzoeker Erasmo Macaya. “Als die vlotten van zeewier naar Antarctica drijven, kunnen we binnenkort enorme veranderingen zien in de ecosystemen daar.” Antarctica warmt namelijk razendsnel op. “Als planten en dieren vrij vaak over zee naar Antarctica reizen, zullen ze zich kunnen vestigen zodra de lokale omgeving voldoende gastvrij is,” aldus Fraser.
Het onderzoek heeft ook implicaties voor niet-levende drijvende objecten, zoals plastic. “Het zou goed kunnen dat de stormen en zeestromingen die dit zeewier hebben vervoerd, ook plastic naar Antarctica kunnen transporteren, waardoor het kwetsbare ecosysteem daar extra onder druk komt te staan,” vertelt onderzoeker Erik van Sebille. “We moeten er zo snel mogelijk achter komen of dat zo is.”
Dat blijkt uit nieuw onderzoek. Klein minpuntje: we kunnen er onmogelijk bij.
Het onderzoek onthult dat de aarde veel meer diamanten herbergt dan gedacht. Maar de meeste van die diamanten zitten ontzettend diep: tussen 140 en 240 kilometer onder het oppervlak.
Kratons De diamanten zitten opgesloten in de ‘wortels’ van rompgebergtes (ook wel kratons genoemd). Dit zijn een soort omgekeerde gebergten die je kunt vinden onder het centrum van de meeste aardplaten. Ze reiken tot wel 240 kilometer diep en zijn al lange tijd ‘tektonisch stabiel’. Dat betekent dat ze al zeker 1 miljard jaar geen grootschalige deformatie of metamorfose hebben ondergaan. De diepste secties van deze kratons worden ook wel aangeduid als ‘wortels’ en dringen tot in de aardmantel door. En het nieuwe onderzoek onthult nu dat deze ‘wortels’ voor wel 1 tot 2 procent uit diamanten bestaan. Als je dan het volume van de wortel van een kraton in ogenschouw neemt, moet je concluderen dat deze meer dan 1 biljard (10^15) ton diamanten herbergt. En aangezien er zo’n 10 van deze wortels zijn, zou het in totaal zelfs om 10^16 ton diamanten gaan.
Niet zo exotisch “Dit laat zien dat diamant misschien niet zo’n exotisch mineraal is, maar op de geologische schaal vrij veel voorkomt,” aldus onderzoeker Ulrich Faul. “We kunnen er niet bij, maar toch, er zijn daar veel meer diamanten dan we eerder dachten.”
Seismische activiteit De onderzoekers kwamen deze enorme voorraad op het spoor nadat ze zich bogen over een anomalie in seismische data. Al decennialang houden onderzoekers de seismische activiteit – in feite niets anders dan geluidsgolven die door de aarde reizen en ontstaan door bijvoorbeeld aardbevingen, tsunami’s en explosies – wereldwijd in de gaten. Aan de hand van deze seismische data kunnen onderzoekers zich een beeld vormen van hoe de aarde er van binnen uitziet; de snelheid waarmee de geluidsgolven door de aarde bewegen, wordt immers bepaald door de temperatuur, dichtheid en temperatuur van het gesteente waar deze doorheen moeten reizen. En zo onthult seismische data bijvoorbeeld dat geluidsgolven significant versnellen wanneer ze door de ‘wortels’ van oude kratons bewegen. En dat is vreemd (zie kader).
Kratons zijn kouder dan de omringende mantel, ook is hun dichtheid kleiner dan die van de omringende mantel. Je zou dus verwachten dat geluidsgolven wanneer ze door de diepste secties van deze rompgebergten bewegen iets versnellen. Maar de versnelling die we zien, is veel groter dan onderzoekers kunnen verklaren.
Virtuele gesteenten Die anomalie vormt het uitgangspunt van dit nieuwe onderzoek. Faul en collega’s gingen in het laboratorium na hoe geluidsgolven door verschillende mineralen bewegen. Vervolgens maakten ze ‘virtuele gesteenten’ die uit verschillende combinaties van die mineralen waren samengesteld en berekenden hoe snel geluidsgolven door deze virtuele gesteenten bewogen. Er bleek slechts één type gesteente te zijn dat geluidsgolven net zo sterk versnelde als de kratons en dat was een gesteente dat voor 1 tot 2 procent uit diamant bestond. In dit scenario bevatte het gesteente zeker 1000 keer meer diamant dan eerder werd gedacht. Maar dat had verder geen impact op de dichtheid van de kraton (die dus kleiner is dan die van de omringende mantel). “Het zijn een soort stukjes hout, drijvend op water,” legt Faul uit. “Kratons hebben een iets kleinere dichtheid dan hun omgeving, dus ze duiken niet terug de aarde in, maar blijven aan het oppervlak drijven. Dat is hoe de oudste gesteenten bewaard blijven. En wij ontdekten dat je slechts 1 tot 2 procent diamant nodig hebt voor stabiele kratons die niet zinken.”
Dat kratons zoveel diamanten herbergen, is achteraf gezien trouwens best logisch. Diamanten ontstaan namelijk diep in de aarde, onder hoge druk, bij hoge temperaturen en komen aan het oppervlak door vulkaanuitbarstingen. Deze uitbarstingen zorgen ervoor dat er geologische kanalen ontstaan die opgebouwd zijn uit een gesteente dat kimberliet wordt genoemd. Diamanten reizen door deze kanalen – samen met magma dat diep uit de aarde komt – naar boven. De meeste van deze kimberlieten kanalen zijn gevonden aan de rand van de ‘wortels’ van kratons. Het lijkt dan ook niet meer dan logisch dat deze wortels voor een deel uit diamant bestaat. “Het is indirect bewijs, maar het komt allemaal samen,” aldus Faul. “We hebben alle verschillende mogelijkheden vanuit elke hoek bekijken en dit is de enige redelijke verklaring.”
This mosaic of Cerealia Facula inside the dwarf planet Ceres' Occator Crater is based on images obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in its second extended mission, from an altitude as low as about 21 miles (34 kilometers).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
You may have seen the bizarre bright spots speckling the dwarf planet Ceres — but not like this.
NASA's Ceres-orbiting Dawn spacecraft has captured jaw-dropping new photos of several of the bright-white features, formally known as faculae, that lie at the bottom of the dwarf planet's 57-mile-wide (92 kilometers) Occator Crater.
"The new images of Occator Crater and the surrounding areas have exceeded expectations, revealing beautiful, alien landscapes," Dawn principal investigator Carol Raymond, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, said in a statement yesterday (July 16).
The $467 million Dawn mission launched in September 2007 with a bold goal: to orbit and study the two largest bodies in the asteroid belt: Vesta and Ceres. Both objects are considered leftovers from the solar system's planet-formation period (hence the mission's name).
Dawn reached Vesta in July 2011 and eyed the object up close for more than a year, finally leaving for Ceres in September 2012.
Dawn discovered the Occator Crater bright spots during its approach to Ceres in early 2015, and later found a number of other crater-associated faculae around the dwarf planet. The probe's observations have since revealed that the bright spots are salty deposits, composed primarily of sodium carbonate and ammonium chloride.
Scientists think this material was left behind when briny water boiled away into space, but they're not sure where, exactly, those brines came from — specifically, how deep underground the reservoirs were.
This close-up photo of the Vinalia Faculae in Ceres' Occator Crater was captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in its second extended mission, from an altitude as low as 21 miles (34 kilometers).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA
Dawn team members are using the probe's observations to tackle this and other questions about the 590-mile-wide (950 km) Ceres. Some of the most intriguing data and eye-popping photos come from Dawn's most recent mission phase, during which the probe has circled above Ceres at an altitude of just 21 miles or so.
Dawn spiraled down to this superlow orbit early last month and will remain there through the end of its operational life, which is expected to come in a few months. The spacecraft is nearly out of hydrazine, the fuel that powers Dawn's small orientation-controlling thrusters. When the hydrazine is gone, Dawn will be unable to point its science instruments at Ceres, or its communications gear at Earth.
The Dawn team is presenting the results from the latest (low-orbit) mission phase this week at the Committee on Space Research conference in Pasadena.
Canada – Les OVNI sont majoritairement observés au Québec
Canada – Les OVNI sont majoritairement observés au Québec
L’organisme manitobain UFO Research a compilé des données sur les observations d’OVNI survenues au Canada au cours de l’année 2017. Il s’avère que le Québec est la province où ce genre de phénomène est le plus souvent rapporté.
En 2017, 1101 observations d’OVNI ont été rapportées au Canada. Le Québec en regroupe, à lui seul, 518, ce qui constitue un véritable record ! Ce nombre est en nette augmentation depuis 2016 où « seulement » 430 objets volants non identifiés avaient été signalés.
La province de l’Ontario, qui est la plus peuplée du pays, ne compte que 241 observations d’OVNI, tandis que 128 ont été rapportées en Colombie-Britannique.
Parmi les grandes métropoles du pays, c’est à Montréal que la population a observé le plus d’OVNI avec 74 signalements. En seconde position, on retrouve Toronto avec 57 observations.
Les récits d’OVNI sont très différents et les témoins ont vécu des expériences parfois étonnantes. Ainsi, un objet gris en forme de beignet a été vu en train de tourner sur lui-même à Rimouski. À Saint-Jean-Baptiste, un engin de couleur rouge s’est approché de 10 campeurs avec de s’éloigner dans la stupeur générale.
Selon cet organisme, 8 % des cas recensés demeurent complètement inexpliqué, alors que 43 % ne sont que de simples « lumières dans le ciel ».
Les durées de ces observations sont d’environ 15 minutes après quoi les OVNI disparaissent à la vue des témoins.
Depuis 1989, année à partir de laquelle Ufology Research a commencé à collecter ses données, le nombre de signalements n’a cessé de croître. Au tournant des années 2000, la tendance s’est accrue de manière surprenante. 2012 fut une année exceptionnelle puisque près de 2000 OVNI ont été observés.
A senior SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) astronomer recently posted an essay on UFOs inside the Huffington Post where he first said: "Allow me to first be aware that that is a phenomenon worth of interest. If aliens are honestly striking out in our 'hood, it is difficult to assume every other truth extra worth of observe." Then he concludes with: "The truth is, in case you're positive that our planet is website hosting alien visitors, the way to advantage popularity for your point of view is to prove it, now not insist that the hassle lies with 1/3 parties. The blame sport is a cop-out."
WTF is that this man announcing? UFOs are critical however it is up to others to do all of the hard yards and show that UFOs and aliens are associated. You can pretty much hear the author scream out WE REQUIRE PROOF so long as the weight is on others to provide you with the smoking gun!
WE REQUIRE PROOF! That's all first-class, well and suitable in principle, an in a perfect global, besides the common member of the awesome unwashed does not have the call-logo, instructional bona-fides or assets required. No depend what 'proof" the exquisite unwashed provide up, the WE REQUIRE PROOF demands of the numerous (scientists) outweigh the skills of the few (the super unwashed) to proved the required goods. If I ring up a pinnacle scientist at a pinnacle college and say I actually have a bit of an alien spaceship, do you without a doubt suppose they'll pay attention to me or slam down the cellphone uttering "every other bloody wacko losing my time"! So the 'blame sport' is perhaps greater a plea for people with the medical bona-fides, and the resources and the credibility and revered home institutions to take the fantastic unwashed a tad more significantly with regards to UFO reviews and get their hands grimy analyzing the problem.
I play the blame game. I placed blame on individuals who may want to, but may not get their hands dirty. It's highbrow cowardice pure and simple. The fairly apparent if unstated message is I'm interested by ET, I'm a SETI scientist via career, however I'm now not interested in UFOs except someone else provides the proof that there may be an actual alien connection. I'm now not interested in UFOs due to the fact I might not get outside investment to look at them. That's because I've were given an excessive amount of on my plate already. That's due to the fact I'd instead sit on my ass and allow the top notch unwashed do the dirty work. That's due to the fact a person may make amusing of me, like my expert colleagues. The sociology (workplace politics) of the technological know-how community normally runs some thing alongside the strains of don't stray beyond the mainstream; do not think out of the box; don't rock the boat or you may become like Jonah and tossed overboard with out a whale in sight.
So holier than thou essays like that published by using 'Mr. SETI' aren't absolutely beneficial; relevant scientists need to place up a few reputable technology or shut up considering the fact that if they are truely not a part of the answer, they're part of the problem status within the way of an answer!
Let's forget about the super unwashed for the instant; allow's talk nerdy speak and cope with proof, no longer proof, just evidence, that some thing atypical is afoot thru observations from astronomers, expert colleagues of SETI scientists, and their reported anomalous observations which can be in the scientific literature. Now albeit it's 'colleagues' from several generations ago and way before cutting-edge SETI instances, but that doesn't regulate their educational bona-fides nor what they said inside the professional literature.
I talk to the numerous ancient sightings of Neith (suggested satellite tv for pc of Venus) and the intra-Mercurial planet Vulcan in conjunction with severa different sightings of alleged planets inside the orbit of Mercury. Not one, or but multi-dozens of reports are in the scientific literature for each. That's similarly to those multi-dozens of sightings of unexpected by uncharted and unknown items that made unexpected transits of the Sun and Moon. So, expert astronomers are on file as having seen, for all sensible functions, unidentified 'aerial' phenomena. Now we recognise there may be no Neith and there's no Vulcan, and many others. So exactly what did scientists in the astronomical career take a look at? A UFO with the aid of some other name remains a UFO. Okay, it is simply proof, not proof. Still, UFO observations are not completely the property of the exquisite unwashed.
WE REQUIRE PROOF! Okay, even though scientists do not need to actively take part, their demand WE REQUIRE PROOF (lay it at the slab in my lab) sounds affordable, till you realise that the ones identical scientists receive the reality of many other things that they similarly can not study on a slab inside the lab, matters that simplest may be visible or photographed.
An obvious working example is the ones stars inside the night time sky. You see them; you can picture them, however so far you can't observe the bodily object within the laboratory! You cannot placed a celebrity on the slab. So, if stars are ideal, why now not UFOs? Well, stars may be consequently they're; UFOs cannot be therefore they are not*.
Scientists have a readymade excuse for now not being able to verify the bona-fides of stars as laboratory specimens; they're out of attain - way too remote to grab keep of. But they nevertheless argue that stars aren't illusions or misidentifications or all-in-the-thoughts or hoaxes due to the fact astrophysical concept supports stars being what scientists consider they may be. Of direction in a manner of speakme starlight may be 'captured' and analysed in the lab, and at least stars have the decency of making their appearance on agenda. Still, you can't have a look at up close and private the physical megastar itself.
So as a generality, in defence to an anti-UFO stance, scientists will say there are theoretical reasons for accepting the reality of factors they can not positioned their mitts on, implying that there are no theoretical motives supporting the UFO ETH (ExtraTerrestrial Hypothesis). Alas and alack, as an extra counterattack, as stars (and rainbows - see beneath) are supported with the aid of astrophysics' idea, there is also an actual theoretical situation that almost demands that there be UFOs and that UFOs be extraterrestrial spacecraft - it is called the Fermi Paradox. That simply essentially says that even supposing there may be handiest one superior technological civilization 'available' with the ability to "boldly go", then the time it would take to discover (even at low sub mild velocities - say 1% to 10% the speed of light) and colonize end-to-cease our galaxy is however a tiny, tiny fraction of the age of our galaxy. So where is each person? They need to, in the event that they exist in any respect, through rights be right here. Why would they pay unique interest to the 0.33 rock from the Sun? While stars and planets are dimes-a-dozen, abodes with biospheres are likely as uncommon as chook's tooth - that is why. Planet Earth is a hen's tooth! Alas, even as astrophysical theory passes their muster, the Fermi Paradox does not reduce their mustard apparently.
Okay, for terrestrial scientists, physical famous person-stuff cannot be placed at the lab's slab. But there are parallels a lot in the direction of home wherein that excuse of extreme distance falls far brief. Now here is a parallel. The rainbow is the case in point. If scientists can play UFO skeptic, I can play the position of rainbow skeptic.
If you are saying you've got seen a rainbow, you cannot prove that to me since you can't convey the rainbow, or any part of it (like say the related pot-of-gold), into my lab and region it on the slab for me to hammer away at or placed underneath the microscope. You obviously trust inside the truth of rainbows, but you can't put the only you see inside the sky to your lab's slab either. Okay, you understand and I recognise that rainbows exist, but the important factor is that you can't show to me (or anybody) that you saw a rainbow. We all understand eyewitness testimony, ain't really worth the fee of spit in a bucket. As for snap shots, being the grand skeptic I am, absolute confidence your photos of rainbows are fakes, pure and easy. I REQUIRE PROOF of rainbows and you cannot provide it.
Can you capture and put an real rainbow within the sky right into a laboratory surroundings and situation it to merciless and unusual punishments? You can artificially create one in the lab, but it is not quite the identical thing - it is not the real McCoy. And what approximately that associated physical trace - the pot-of-gold at the quit of the rainbow? I've but to examine of any laboratory evaluation of that pot and that gold. How can we are aware of it's honestly gold with out slab-in-the-lab analysis? Maybe its idiot's gold! And much like Pandora's 'box' is truly a jar and not a container, maybe the 'pot' is in reality a bowl! Of path the scientists can't quite get at the pot-of-gold since it is guarded with the aid of a leprechaun, and no scientist is going to admit being thwarted with the aid of a little inexperienced guy (or kidnapped by way of a bit grey one both for that count).
Okay, I could be foolish not to agree with your commentary and to disclaim the fact of rainbows, but its k for clinical skeptics to ignore the rainbow parallel when it comes to UFOs. Eyewitness testimony regarding UFO sightings isn't always really worth the fee of the paper it is published on; images of UFOs are indeed pure Photoshop fakery.
But in reality, UFOs offer up way extra physical proof than the rainbow. Despite that pot-of-gold on the cease of a rainbow legend, rainbows leave at the back of no physical strains; no physiological consequences, and no electromagnetic results; they make no sounds, and so forth. UFOs aren't so hampered. So, if crunch-comes-crunch, the truth of UFOs have plenty greater going for them in terms of bodily evidence than the truth of rainbows. Of course no scientist in their proper mind might show off scepticism of the existence of rainbows even with none bodily evidence backing them up, however with regards to UFOs, it is a different horse of some other coloration - but is it certainly a one-of-a-kind horse, and is it truely of a special hue?
Of route one motive physical scientists receive the fact of the rainbow is that they have got seen one themselves (many maximum probable) and seeing is believing as lengthy because it's they who are doing the seeing. If they themselves had witnessed a UFO event they (and their colleagues) couldn't pick out then I'm certain they would be a good deal greater open and willing to simply accept some other's eyewitness testimony. A bit of a double wellknown there of direction however this is human nature and scientists aren't exempt from that weakness. Unfortunately, UFOs tend to be a rarer commodity than rainbows and therefore witnessed way much less regularly, together with viewings via scientists.
While UFOs have a better bodily evidence quota than rainbows, they also have a better strangeness quota too, which is not to say that rainbows do not have a unusual mythological air of mystery approximately them. I wonder if the scientist who accepts the fact of the rainbow additionally accepts that the rainbow is a bridge to heaven (Asgard) consistent with Norse mythology and made famous within the conclusion to Richard Wagner's first "Ring Cycle" opera "Das Rheingold". Christian mythology has the rainbow as a sign that as a minimum the subsequent time God lays waste to the sector it may not be thru the Big Wet, although I doubt you will discover that in any textbook on optical and atmospheric phenomena. And if you're into cryptozoology, the Australian aborigines have a Rainbow Serpent (which doubles as a writer deity), however alternatively, scientists are not referred to for his or her curiosity into the real life of unknown mega-fauna or polytheistic creator deities** either for that count. In reality, you name the subculture; you will discover a rainbow mythology contained within. Rainbows are related to spirits and demons and all way of omens from the good, to the bad and the ugly that scientists will reject as component and parcel of their notion machine.
So, in which do scientists draw the road? Rainbows - sure; rainbow serpents and rainbow bridges - no. And this distinction is rightly so, IMHO. But when they reject out of hand a phenomenon that genuinely has extra and better evidence than say rainbows (auroras and sprites might be other cases in point) then eyebrows must be raised and questions requested - like please give an explanation for your good judgment.
While on the problem of things mythological, allow's move reminiscent of the celebrities and planets and other celestial objects. There's a huge mythology from many historical cultures that generally is going hand-in-hand with how those celestial items and night time sky patterns came to be. Astronomers do not aid those tall tales both considering they have got different greater scientific theories that explain the origins of stars and constellations. Still, its competing theories of a way to account for say, the Pleiades famous person cluster. Once upon a time it turned into Zeus. Today it is astrophysics. Who's to say considering that neither scenario may be subjected to a definitive WE REQUIRE PROOF slab-in-the-lab test.
By the way, as a very last counterattack, I have not but visible any SETI scientist provide you with proof high quality on ET, so IMHO it is nevertheless a tied ball game. But rather than have opposing groups, SETI scientists might also as properly take a look at UFOs as properly when you consider that SETI to this point has a batting common of zero. Perhaps that's what comes from scientists setting all their ET eggs in only the SETI basket.
*And the Sun can't have sunspots due to the fact all of us understand that the Sun is best; meteorites cannot exist seeing that we all know stones can't fall from the sky;
**Though faith inside the reality of God is hardly ever unknown to exist in some bodily scientists, even though like stars and rainbows, they can't placed God at the slab of their lab either. Somehow the WE REQUIRE PROOF standards don't remember in this case.
Cancer survival rates could be greatly improved if scientists are successful in developing microscopic medical weapons that obliterate cancerous cells.
Nanomachines may be tiny – 50,000 of them would fit across the diameter of a human hair – but they have the potential to pack a mighty punch in the fight against cancer.
A graphic showing the tiny nanomachine
Image: TOUR GROUP/RICE UNIVERSITY
Researchers at Durham University in the UK have used nanobots to drill into cancer cells, killing them in just 60 seconds.
They are now experimenting on micro-organisms and small fish, before moving on to rodents. Clinical trials in humans are expected to follow and it is hoped that the results may have the potential to save millions of lives.
The number of cancer cases is predicted to rise by 2035
Image: World Health Organization (WHO) GloboCan, BBC
The mechanics of nanobots
These minute molecules have components that enable them to identify and attach themselves to a cancer cell.
When activated by light, the nanobots’ rota-like chain of atoms begin to spin at an incredible rate – around two to three million times per second. This causes the nanobot to drill into the cancer cell, blasting it open.
The study is still in its early stages, but researchers are optimistic it has the potential to lead to new types of cancer treatment.
Dr Robert Pal, of Durham University, said: “Once developed, this approach could provide a potential step change in noninvasive cancer treatment and greatly improve survival rates and patient welfare globally.”
The spinning nanobots burrow into cancer cells to destroy them
Image: Tour Group/Rice University
Nanobots in our veins
The destructive properties of the nanobots make them perfect for killing cancer cells. But the technology can also be used to repair damaged or diseased tissues at a molecular level.
In the future, these nanomachines could essentially patrol the circulatory system of the human body. They could be used to detect specific chemicals or toxins and give early warnings of organ failure or tissue rejection.
Another potential function may involve taking biometric measurements to monitor a person’s general health.
A computer-generated image of a nanobot
Image: Tour Group/Rice University
Searching for oil
The medicinal advantages of nanobots are clear to see, but industry might also benefit from the technology.
Oil and gas is one example. The idea is that nanobots could be injected into geologic formations thousands of feet into the earth. Changes to the chemical make-up of the machines would point to the location of reservoirs.
The crater lakes at the summit of Kelimutu volcano in Indonesia change colors from day to day. The colors can change from white, green, blue and brown to black.
Landsat 8 views from space of the 3 lakes at the summit of the Kelimutu volcano in Indonesia, known to change color unpredictably, via NASA Earth Observatory.
This composite image of Kelimutu volcano in Indonesia was the NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day for July 6, 2018. It called them volcanic mood rings and explained:
From milky white to vibrant turquoise to blood red, the three lakes at the summit of the Kelimutu volcano are known to unpredictably change color – a phenomenon unique to this volcano on the Indonesian island of Flores.
These images, acquired by the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8, show the various colors of the crater lakes on three different days. All three crater lakes appear on the crest of the volcano with the eastern two lakes sharing a common crater wall … Depending on when you visit, the colors can range from white, green, blue, brown or black. In 2016, the lakes changed colors six times.
Local folklore contends the lakes are the resting place for the dead, and that a person’s good or bad deeds in life determine which of the three lakes becomes his or her resting place.
Science says the changing colors of Kelimutu’s summit lakes are caused by fumaroles, or volcanic vents that release steam and gases, producing upwelling in the lakes and bringing denser, mineral-rich water from their bottoms to their surfaces. NASA Earth Observatory explained:
All of the lakes contain relatively high concentrations of zinc and lead.
While minerals play a part in the coloring, another key factor is the amount of oxygen present in the water. Like your blood, these lake waters appear bluer (or greener) when low in oxygen. When they are oxygen-rich, they appear blood red or even cola black.
Bottom line: NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day for July 6, 2018, showing the three variously colored lakes at the summit of Kelimutu volcano in Indonesia.
Whether you find flocks of birds terrifying or mystifying, you can objectively say that they’re pretty skilled at not ramming into each other mid-flight.
Looking to the success of birds, group of European researchers has successfully enabled a group of 30 quadcopters to fly in sync after programming the drones to mimic the flight of a flock of birds.
Dr. Gábor Vásárhelyi, the first author of this new research published on Wednesday in the Science Robotics journal, tells Inverse he believes collective bird movement holds the answer to solving an issue we’ll soon be faced with: Keeping thousands of drones from colliding over our heads. Dr. Agoston E. Eiben, a co-author of the new study, describes their development of drone technology that mimics how birds flock together as “natural computing.”
Here’s how they did it: Researchers spent six years observing pigeons with GPS devices to determine if they could reproduce these aerial formations of the birds with autonomous drones. For drones, mastering synchronized flight may be a crucial first step to mastering real-world delivery routes.
Flight simulation of 30 autonomous drones moving in a confined area at 6 m/s (13.4 mph) using the method developer by Vásárhelyi and his colleagues.
“When the first cars appeared on the streets people were walking in front of them and ringing a bell that cars were coming, but soon there we a diversity of cars moving in coordinated ways throughout cities, something similar is going on with drones,” Vásárhelyi says. “Now, every drone has a single pilot, soon these drones will have such a density in the air that we need to make them able to communicate with each other.”
Realistic simulations of 30-1000 drones flocking in confined environments
Why Drone Delivery Could Be Big Business
This in-air communication is crucial, because of the intense interest in drone delivery as a business. Multi-national companies and startups alike are working to make these services a reality.
The best-known player in the competition to develop delivery drones is probably Amazon: The e-commerce giant makes 1.6 million daily deliveries in the United States, according to one estimate. Even if its future Prime Air service would take care of a quarter of those deliveries, that would be thousands of autonomous drones that would some system to make sure they don’t slam into each other, or anything else.
30 drones light up the night sky.
Drone Delivery Faces Regulatory Obstacles
In March 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that drone registration outnumbered that of airplanes. Standard planes use control centers to coordinate their flights but with so many drones in the sky, it would be impossible to develop a drone-ports to manage them all. Eiben tells Inverse that each drone will need to have the capability of managing itself.
There needs to be underlying, decentralized software to make sure [drones] don’t collide.”
“We have a massive e-commerce industry. If drone delivery gets big than urban environments will be a major hurdle for various drones sharing the same airspace,” says Eiben, a professor of computer science at VU University Amsterdam. “There needs to be underlying, decentralized software to make sure they don’t collide, it’s core to this advancement.”
Eiben explained drone delivery has been held back by the “reality gap” — or the rift between what works in simulation and what works in real life. Previous studies found that even though solutions seemed promising on the computer screen, testing them on hardware would yield disappointing results. But not this time.
Vásárhelyi and his other colleagues built their own custom drones, implemented their bird-inspired models, which were refined by Eiben’s software expertise and dunked on prior research. They managed to get 30 quadcopters to self-organize themselves using GPS modules, just like our feathery, avian friends. They managed to pull this off by not only determining the distance to the closest drone but also calculate the speed and acceleration of their fellow robots.
But don’t worry, this isn’t the beginning of some futuristic version of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Vásárhelyi sees great potential for this type of technology to be used for search and rescue missions, as well as enabling drone deliveries.
So if the day comes where quadcopters are delivering parcels right to your window sill, remember to thank the birds. The OG drones.
Researchers have discovered what appears to be a cache of diamonds hidden in the Earth’s mantle. This suggests that, at a geological scale, diamond might not be the exotic mineral we once thought it to be — they may be quite common, though not easily accessible.
Diamond embedded in a rock matrix.
Image credits: Rob Lavinsky.
Earthquakes and diamonds
The world’s deepest borehole goes down 12.262 kilometers (40,230 ft). How is it then that we know so much about the depths of the Earth, which boasts an average radius of over 6,300 km? As is so often the case, scientists have gathered a trove of data which enabled them to infer many things beyond sight — in this case, of the Earth’s interior properties.
Seismometers record the ground movement on a seismograph. Based on the wiggles of the seismograph, certain pieces of information can be drawn, particularly about the nature of the ground the wave has passed through. Of course, this is a great simplification and the seismogram analysis process is much more intricate, often involving a great deal of complexity and mathematical algorithms. You can pick up simpler things, like where the earthquake epicenter was and how much energy the earthquake had, or use the data for complex things — like constructing an image of what the Earth’s interior might look like.
A simplified “slice” of the Earth, showing its major components (not to scale).
Image credits: Siyavula Education.
For decades, agencies such as the USGS, universities, and research groups have been keeping track of this seismic activity. Among many other things, scientists have noticed an intriguing anomaly: the velocity of some seismic waves in some areas could not be explained with our existing knowledge of the Earth’s structure.
In this particular case, an MIT team aimed to identify the composition of so-called cratonic roots that might explain the spikes in seismic speeds. They concluded that the reason for this anomaly is diamonds.
“This shows that diamond is not perhaps this exotic mineral, but on the [geological] scale of things, it’s relatively common,” says Ulrich Faul, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. “We can’t get at them, but still, there is much more diamond there than we have ever thought before.”
Cratons
Cratons whose ancient rocks are widely exposed at the surface are typically called shields. If the ancient rocks are largely overlain by a cover of younger rocks, the craton is generally referred to as a platform.
Image credits: USGS.
The Earth’s crust made out of mobile, dynamic tectonic plates. We don’t see that because the movement is essentially unnoticeable at a human scale, but at a geological scale, tectonic plates move about quite a lot. Most tectonic plates’ movement is on the scale of a few centimeters per year.
Cratons are very old and stable parts of the Earth’s tectonic crust. Most cratons on Earth have survived cycles of merging and rifting of continents, and are typically located at the interior of tectonic plates. They have a thick crust and deep lithospheric “roots” that can extend several hundred kilometers into the Earth’s mantle.
Cratons are also colder and less dense than the surrounding mantle, which means that they would yield slightly faster seismic waves — but this alone can’t entirely account for the speed anomaly. So there must be something else.
“The velocities that are measured are faster than what we think we can reproduce with reasonable assumptions about what is there,” Faul says. “Then we have to say, ‘There is a problem.’ That’s how this project started.”
In order to solve this conundrum, Faul and colleagues started assembling virtual rocks which could theoretically exist at the temperature and pressure conditions in those parts of the mantle. They then calculated how fast seismic waves would pass through these structures, to see if this would fit the observed seismic data.
They found that the data would be best explained by a craton rock composition of 1 to 2 percent diamond. This would translate to about quadrillion tons of diamond.
In a way, this makes a lot of sense. We know that diamonds are forged deep in the bowels of the Earth, in high-pressure, high-temperature environments. The only reason why we’re able to find diamonds is that they’re brought closer to the surface by volcanic eruptions which act like “pipes” — bringing them to the surface, where we at least have a chance of finding them.
Of course, it’s important to note that Faul and colleagues found no direct evidence that the craton roots do contain diamonds, it’s just that this explanation seems to fit best. But this line of thinking has brought us so far, so at least for now, it seems convincing enough.
“It’s circumstantial evidence, but we’ve pieced it all together,” Faul says. “We went through all the different possibilities, from every angle, and this is the only one that’s left as a reasonable explanation.”
Journal Reference: Joshua M. Garber et al. Multidisciplinary “Constraints on the Abundance of Diamond and Eclogite in the Cratonic Lithosphere”, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (2018). DOI: 10.1029/2018GC007534.
Ever had a moment when you feel like you’re important and what you do matters? Here’s the antidote.
Infrared view of a section within the North Galactic Pole, a region near the constellation Coma Berenices. Every point of light in this image represents anentire galaxy.
Image: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE; M. W. L. Smith et al 2017.
At a first glance, not much is going on in this image — just some yellowish noise on a blue-green background. But this photo from ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory shows much more than you’d think: every yellowish speck is a galaxy.
This is the North Galactic Pole, an area which covers some 180 square degrees of the sky and features a galaxy-rich cluster known as the Coma Cluster, which contains at least 1,000 points of light (read: galaxies).
Visual depiction of the spherical coordinate system for a point P.The polar angle is in blue, the azimuthal angle in red.
Just like on Earth, astronomers define observations using a coordinate system — but unlike the XYZ coordinate systems you might be more familiar with, they use a spherical coordinate system. In the former, a point is described by its X, Y, and Z coordinates.
A visual depiction of the spherical coordinate system for a point P. The polar angle is in blue, the azimuthal angle in red.
In a spherical system, a point is also described by three coordinates but, in this case, it’s the radial distance of that point from a fixed origin, the polar angle, and the azimuth angle. It can be a bit weird to wrap your head around, but it can be much easier to navigate astronomical observations.
So here, we have the North Galactic Pole, which lies far from the cluttered disc of the Milky Way and offers a good view of the distant Universe beyond our home galaxy.
Zoomed-in view showing about 8 percent of the entire photo width. How many galaxies can you count? Image: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE; M. W. L. Smith et al 2017. via Gizmodo.
The image above was taken at a wavelength of 250 μm, in the infrared range (the human visible range is generally within 0.4 – 0.7 μm). It was taken using the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS). Unfortunately, Herschel isn’t active anymore — it functioned from 2009 to 2013, using its instruments to study the sky in the far infrared range.
Aside from making us feel incredibly small and showing us just how puny our struggles really are, these pictures also help astronomers to estimate how many galaxies there are in the Universe. Recent surveys have estimated that number to be around 20 trillion, which is 20 times more than previous estimates gathered using the Hubble telescope. All these galaxies are packed with billions of stars, which can also host planets just like Earth.
Jupiter is definitely the most popular planet in the Solar System — at least as far as moons are concerned.
Image credits NASA / JPL-Caltech / JunoCam.
In Roman mythology, Jupiter (Zeus for the Greek) is quite the player. Never content to let a pretty mortal get by without his (usually unwanted) affections, the mythos abounds with the thunder god’s, um, transgressions. Which, quite understandably, gets everyone in deep trouble with his wife Juno (Hera in Greek mythology).
New research shows that the planet Jupiter is also quite happy to collect consorts. Twelve new moons have been discovered orbiting it, bringing the gas giant’s total collection to an impressive 79 moons — more than any other planet in the Solar System. One of these moons, according to the researchers who made the discovery, is an “oddball” that might help explain how the ochre giant got all of its moons. In a twist of mythological foreshadowing, it likely wasn’t a peaceful process.
The team from the Carnegie Institution for Science (story source) first spotted the moons in the spring of 2017. They weren’t looking for the moons per se — the team was actually looking for very distant objects in the Solar System as part of the hunt for Planet X, nestled somewhere far beyond Pluto. Some of the members involved in this research were actually part of the team that proposed the existence of this planet in the first place.
But back to the moons. As luck would have it, the researchers were simply looking in the right place at the right time to spot the gas giant — so they decided to have a look.
“Jupiter just happened to be in the sky near the search fields where we were looking for extremely distant Solar System objects, so we were serendipitously able to look for new moons around Jupiter while at the same time looking for planets at the fringes of our Solar System,” said team leader Scott Sheppard.
Based on these observations, members of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) calculated the orbits of the recorded bodies — and were surprised to see that they didn’t match any of Jupiter’s known moons.
“It takes several observations to confirm an object actually orbits around Jupiter,” said Gareth Williams, from the IAU’s Minor Planet Center, who was involved in the orbit calulations. “So, the whole process took a year.”
Various groupings of Jovian moons with the newly discovered ones shown in bold. Image credits Roberto Molar-Candanosa / Carnegie Institution for Science.
Nine of these bodies are more distant relative to other Jovian moons, and orbit in retrograde — the opposite direction of the planet’s spin. These distant moons form at least three distinct orbital groups; the team believes they’re the remnants of larger bodies that broke apart during past collisions with asteroids, comets, or other moons. They generally take about two years to orbit their host planet.
Two others form a closer group that orbits in the prograde — the same direction as Jupiter’s rotation. Since they both have similar orbital distances and inclinations relative to Jupiter, they’re also likely remnants from a larger moon that since broke apart. They take just shy of a year to orbit Jupiter.
The most surprising moon, however, is the runt of the litter.
“Our other discovery is a real oddball and has an orbit like no other known Jovian moon,” Sheppard explained. “It’s also likely Jupiter’s smallest known moon, being less than one kilometer in diameter.”
This tiny moon has a more inclined orbit and keeps a wider berth to the planet that the prograde group. Its orbit crosses that of the outer, retrograde group, making head-on collisions much more likely between itself and this latter group.
This situation could explain how Jupiter got so many moons. Today, head-on collision would break any of the bodies “down to dust”, Shepard says, and could shatter a larger body into the tiny moons of today. It’s possible then that the current various moon groupings were formed in the distant past through such collisions.
The oddball itself could be all that remains of a much larger prograde moon that impacted with other bodies to create the retrograde group identified by the team. It has yet to be christened, but the name Valetudo (the Roman goddess of health and hygiene and Jupiter’s great-granddaughter) has been suggested.
WETENSCHAP & PLANEETDe wetenschap schenkt ons meestal klare antwoorden, maar roept soms ook extra vragen op. Volgende ontdekkingen doen je waarschijnlijk bedenkelijk met de wenkbrauwen fronsen.
Onderzoekers houden zich normaal zoet met de grote levensvragen. Zo riep Archimedes luidkeels eureka uit eenmaal hij zijn beroemde natuurkundewet neerschreef die verklaart waarom een schip blijft drijven. Newton testte met behulp van een appel uit hoe de zwaartekracht werkt en Thomas Edison gaf ons meer dan enkel kaarslicht: de gloeilamp.
Natuurlijk is het vandaag de dag wat moeilijker om een belangrijk onopgelost vraagstuk te vinden. Dus houden wetenschappers zich bezig met bedenkelijke experimenten met even bizarre resultaten. Nieuwsgierigheid is toch de motor van de wetenschap?
1. Één kilogram veren
“Wat weegt meer? Een kilogram lood of een kilogram veren?” Het is een klassieke instinker. Logischerwijs zouden beide opties evenveel wegen. Het hoopje pluimen is waarschijnlijk wel een pak groter.
Toch bewees een proef het tegendeel. Onderzoekers blinddoekten enkele personen waarna ze een doos gevuld met lood en een doos gevuld met hetzelfde gewicht aan veren moesten optillen. Wanneer men hen vroeg om de zwaarste doos aan te duiden, selecteerden de meeste proefpersonen de doos met veren.
2. Van vetberg naar biodiesel
In 2017 werd Londen geteisterd door een gigantische blokkade van de rioleringen. Bijna 250.000 kilogram samengekoekt vet, luiers, toiletdoekjes en ander afval had zich opgehoopt en verhinderde de goede werking het rioolbeheer.
Eenmaal de bevoegde instanties de reusachtige berg afval verwijderden, gingen de beelden de wereld rond. Het prikkelde niet enkel de nieuwsgierige kijker maar ook enkele wetenschappers. Ze beweerden dat ze de vetberg voor andere doeleinden konden gebruiken. Ze besloten de berg in kleinere stukken te hakken en het afval van het vet te scheiden. Dat vet zetten ze uiteindelijk om in biodiesel, een milieuvriendelijkere brandstof dan diesel en benzine. Zo’n 350-tal bussen konden een dag rondrijden met het resultaat van het experiment.
3. De kracht van pinguïnuitwerpselen
Wanneer pinguïns poepen, doen ze dat gewoon vanuit hun nest. Dat lijkt misschien niet zo netjes. Toch bevuilen de zeevogels hun slaapplaats niet. Ze bewegen hun achterste simpelweg naar de rand van het nest waarna ze met enorm veel druk hun uitwerpselen naar achter spuiten. De druk die daarbij komt kijken is veel groter dan die bij de menselijke ontlasting. Je zou er als ongelukkige pinguïn maar net achter staan.
In 1994, toen de anticonceptiepil een beetje beter in de markt lag, onderzochten wetenschappers wat voor ’n zichtbaar effect het pilletje had op vrouwen. Zo ondervonden ze dat vrouwen die de pil innamen feller blonken dan vrouwen die dat niet deden.
Al lijkt het niet meteen geloofwaardig, recenter onderzoek bewijst dat een anticonceptiepil een invloed uitoefent op 150 verschillende biologische functies. Eentje daarvan is waarschijnlijk verantwoordelijk voor een vettere en glimmende huid.
5. Een vinger in de poep tegen het hikken
In de jaren ’90 kon een zestigjarige man maar niet stoppen met hikken. Een vervelend kwaaltje vond hij. Dus bezocht hij zijn dokter. Die dacht dat het misschien te wijten was aan de neussonde die zijn patiënt moest dragen. Maar ook na het verwijderen van de sonde stopte het hikken niet. Vervolgens schreef hij de oude man enkele medicijnen voor. Tevergeefs.
Tenslotte zocht de wanhopige dokter zijn antwoord bij een eerder gerapporteerd geval. Daar werd de patiënt van zijn lijden verlost met behulp van een prostaatmassage. Kortom, de dokter stak zijn vinger in de poep van zijn patiënt en vreemd genoeg kon dat soelaas bieden.
6. De gevaren van een grasmaaier
Heb je jezelf al eens ooit pijn gedaan tijdens het grasmaaien? Dan ben je niet alleen. In 1988 ondervonden enkele onderzoekers dat maar liefst 70.000 van de verwondingen in de Verenigde Staten te wijten waren aan grasmaaiers. Daarvan ging het bij vijf procent om een pijnlijke wonde aan het oog.
Al denk je dat het er misschien op vooruit ging omdat grasmaaiers heel wat hipper zijn, nieuwe studies bewijzen het tegendeel. Intussen blijkt de grasmaaier verantwoordelijk te zijn voor 75 doden per jaar. Ook het aantal gewonden wordt alleen maar groter. Meestal gaat het om verwonde vingers of handen.
7. Kleur van medicatie doet er toe
Nog voordat we een pilletje innemen, vraagt ons brein zich al of het zal werken of niet. De kleur en vorm ervan beïnvloeden het verdict. Blauwe medicatie wordt als kalmerend waargenomen. Pillen met een rode en oranje kleur hebben een tegengesteld effect. Van zulke pillen verwacht men een stimulerend effect en die verwachting wordt meestal ingelost, zelfs bij placebo’s. Gele varianten hebben dan weer een antidepressieve werking en heldere kleuren blijken over het algemeen een beter effect te hebben dan neutrale kleurtjes.
8. Viagra verlost hamsters van hun jetlag
Hoe ze in godsnaam op het idee kwamen, weet niemand. In 2007 vermoedden enkele vernuftige onderzoekers dat Viagra een handje kon helpen bij het verwerken van hamsters hun jetlag. Ze wijzigden de tijdzone en simuleerden een verschil van zes uur. Na het toedienen van Viagra bleken de hamsters tot vijftig procent sneller te herstellen van het tijdsverschil dan de hamsters die geen hulp kregen. Of de sekspil eenzelfde invloed heeft op de mens moet nog onderzocht worden.
wiggenraadJe hond kiest weloverwogen hoe en waar hij zijn uitwerpselen achterlaat.
9. Honden poepen enkel noord of zuid
Let eens op de manier waarop je hond poept. Tenslotte toont onderzoek aan dat de dieren steevast naar het noorden of het zuiden kijken wanneer ze hun uitwerpselen lozen. Blijkbaar doen ze dat omdat ze zich bewust zijn van het magnetisch veld van onze aarde. En ze zijn niet alleen. Ook koeien en herten houden er rekening mee. Leg gerust een kompas naast je trouwe viervoeter wanneer hij nog eens hurkt.
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The Hunt for Earth’s Deep Hidden Oceans
The Hunt for Earth’s Deep Hidden Oceans
Water-bearing minerals reveal that Earth’s mantle could hold more water than all its oceans. Researchers now ask: Where did it all come from?
A couple hundred pebble-size diamonds, plucked from Brazilian mud, sit inside a safe at Northwestern University. To some, they might be worthless. “They’re battered,” said Steve Jacobsen, a mineralogist at Northwestern. “They look like they’ve been through a washing machine.” Many are dark or yellow, far from the pristine gems of jewelers’ dreams.
Yet, for researchers like Jacobsen, these fragments of crystalline carbon are every bit as precious — not for the diamond itself, but for what is locked inside: specks of minerals forged hundreds of kilometers underground, deep in Earth’s mantle.
These mineral flecks — some too small to see even under a microscope — offer a peek into Earth’s otherwise unreachable interior. In 2014, researchers glimpsed something embedded in these minerals that, if not for its deep origins, would’ve been unremarkable: water.
Not actual drops of water, or even molecules of H20, but its ingredients, atoms of hydrogen and oxygen embedded in the crystal structure of the mineral itself. This hydrous mineral isn’t wet. But when it melts, out spills water. The discovery was the first direct proof that water-rich minerals exist this deep, between 410 and 660 kilometers down, in a region called the transition zone, sandwiched between the upper and lower mantles.
This diamond from Juína, Brazil, originally formed deep inside Earth. It contains an inclusion of ringwoodite, a water-bearing mineral.
University of Alberta
Since then, scientists have found more tantalizing evidence of water. In March, a team announced that they had discovered diamonds from Earth’s mantle that have actual water encased inside. Seismic data has also mapped water-friendly minerals across a large portion of Earth’s interior. Some scientists now argue that a huge reservoir of water could be lurking far beneath our feet. If we consider all of the planet’s surface water as one ocean, and there turn out to be even a few oceans underground, it would change how scientists think of Earth’s interior. But it also raises another question: Where could it have all come from?
Water World
Without water, life as we know it would not exist. Neither would the living, dynamic planet we’re familiar with today. Water plays an integral role in plate tectonics, triggering volcanoes and helping parts of the upper mantle flow more freely. Still, most of the mantle is relatively dry. The upper mantle, for instance, is primarily made of a mineral called olivine, which can’t store much water.
But below 410 kilometers, in the transition zone, high temperatures and pressures squeeze the olivine into a new crystal configuration called wadsleyite. In 1987, Joe Smyth, a mineralogist at the University of Colorado, realized that wadsleyite’s crystal structure would be afflicted with gaps. These gaps turn out to be perfect fits for hydrogen atoms, which could snuggle into these defects and bond with the adjacent oxygen atoms already in the mineral. Wadsleyite, Smyth found, can potentially grab onto lots of hydrogen, turning it into a hydrous mineral that produces water when it melts. For scientists like Smyth, hydrogen means water.
Deeper in the transition zone, wadsleyite becomes ringwoodite. And in the lab, Jacobsen (who was Smyth’s graduate student in the 1990s) would squeeze and heat bits of ringwoodite to mimic the extreme conditions of the transition zone. Researchers doing similar experiments with both wadsleyite and ringwoodite found that in the transition zone, these minerals could hold 1 to 3 percent of their weight in water. Considering that the transition zone is a roughly 250-kilometer-thick shell that accounts for about 7 percent of Earth’s mass (by comparison, the crust is only 1 percent), it could contain several times the water of Earth’s oceans.
Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Quanta Magazine
These experiments, however, only gauge water capacity. “It’s not a measurement of how wet the sponge is, it’s a measurement of how much the sponge can hold,” said Wendy Panero, a geophysicist at Ohio State University.
Neither were the experiments necessarily realistic, since researchers could only test lab-grown ringwoodite. Apart from a few meteorites, no one had ever seen ringwoodite in nature. That is, until 2014.
Tantalizing Clues
While soccer fans converged on Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, a small group of geologists headed to the farmlands around Juína, a city almost 2,000 kilometers west of Brasilia. They were on the hunt for diamonds that had been panned from local rivers.
As diamonds form in the heat and high pressure of the mantle, they can trap bits of minerals. Because diamonds are so tough and rigid, they preserve these mantle minerals as they’re blasted to the surface via volcanic eruptions.
The researchers bought more than a thousand of the most speckled, mineral-filled crystals. One of the scientists, Graham Pearson, took several hundred back to his lab at the University of Alberta, where, inside one particular diamond, he and his colleagues discoveredringwoodite from the transition zone. Not only that, but it was hydrous ringwoodite, which meant it contained water — about 1 percent by weight.
“It’s an important discovery in terms of plausibility,” said Brandon Schmandt, a seismologist at the University of New Mexico. For the first time, scientists had a sample of the transition zone — and it was hydrated. “It’s definitely not crazy, then, to think other parts of the transition zone are also hydrated.”
But, he added, “it would also be a little crazy to think that one crystal represents the average of the entire transition zone.” Diamonds, after all, form only in certain conditions, and this sample might come from a uniquely watery place.
To see how widespread hydrous ringwoodite could be, Schmandt teamed with Jacobsen and others to map it using seismic waves. Due to convection, hydrous ringwoodite can sink, and as it drops below the transition zone, the rising pressure wrings water out, causing the mineral to melt. Just beneath the transition zone where mantle material is descending, these pools of molten minerals can abruptly slow seismic waves. By measuring seismic speeds under North America, the researchers found that, indeed, such pools appear common below the transition zone. Another studymeasuring the seismic waves under the European Alps found a similar pattern.
Abundant mantle water got yet another boost in March when a team led by Oliver Tschauner, a mineralogist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, discovered diamonds that contain actual pieces of water ice — the first observation of freely existing H2O from the mantle. The samples might say more about the wet conditions that formed the diamond than the existence of any ubiquitous reservoir. But because this water — a high-pressure form called ice-VII — was found in a variety of locations across southern Africa and China, it could turn out to be relatively widespread.
“A couple years from now, we’ll find ice-VII is much more common,” said Steve Shirey, a geologist at the Carnegie Institution for Science. “It’s telling us we have the same story that hydrous ringwoodite is telling us.”
But if the story is that the mantle is brimming with water, the cliffhanger leaves us wondering how it all got there.
Watery Origins
According to the standard tale, Earth’s water was imported. The region around the sun where the planet formed was too hot for volatile compounds like water to condense. So the nascent Earth started out dry, getting wet only after water-rich bodies from the distant solar system crashed into the planet, delivering water to the surface. Most of these were likely not comets but rather asteroids called carbonaceous chondrites, which can be up to 20 percent water by weight, storing it in a form of hydrogen like ringwoodite.
But if there’s a huge stockpile of water in the transition zone, this story of water’s origin would have to change. If the transition zone could store 1 percent of its weight in water — a moderate estimate, Jacobsen said — it would contain twice the world’s oceans. The lower mantle is much drier but also voluminous. It could amount to all the world’s oceans (again). There’s water in the crust, too. For subduction to incorporate that much water from the surface at the current rate, it would take much longer than the age of the planet, Jacobsen said.
If that’s the case, at least some of Earth’s interior water must have always been here. Despite the heat in the early solar system, water molecules could have stuck to the dust particles that coalesced to form Earth, according to some theories.
Yet the total amount of water in the mantle is a highly uncertain figure. At the low end, the mantle might hold only half as much water as in the world’s oceans, according to Schmandt and others.
On the high end, the mantle could hold two or three times the amount of water in the oceans. If there were much more than that, the additional heat of the younger Earth would have made the mantle too watery and runny to fracture the continental plates, and today’s plate tectonics may never have gotten started. “If you have a bunch of water in the surface, it’s great,” said Jun Korenaga, a geophysicist at Yale University. “If you have a bunch of water in the mantle, it’s not great.”
But many uncertainties remain. One big question mark is the lower mantle, where extreme pressures turn ringwoodite into bridgmanite, which can’t hold much water at all. Recent studies, however, suggest the presence of new water-bearing minerals dubbed phase D and phase H. Exactly what these minerals are like and how much water they might store remains an open question, Panero said. “Because it is a wide-open question, I think that the water content in the mantle remains open for debate — wide open.”
Measuring Earth’s interior water storage isn’t easy. One promising way is to measure the electrical conductivity of the mantle, Korenaga said. But those techniques aren’t yet as advanced as, say, using seismic waves. And while seismic waves offer a global view of Earth’s interior, the picture isn’t always clear. The signals are subtle, and researchers need more precise data and a better understanding of the properties of more realistic mantle material, instead of just ringwoodite and wadsleyite. Those two minerals constitute about 60 percent of the transition zone, the rest being a complex mix of other minerals and compounds.
Finding more diamonds with hydrous minerals would help, too. In Jacobsen’s lab, that job falls to graduate student Michelle Wenz. For each diamond, she uses powerful X-rays at Argonne National Laboratory to map the location of every mineral speck, of which there may be half a dozen. Then, to identify the minerals, she blasts X-rays onto each bit and measures how the rays scatter off its crystal structure. Of the hundreds of diamonds in the lab, all from Brazil, she’s gone through about 60. No water yet.
Water or not, she said, these capsules from the deep are still amazing. “Each one is so unique,” she said. “They’re a lot like snowflakes.”
Correction:This article was revised on July 11, 2018, to correct a typographical error; it is the mantle, not the ocean, that could hold two or three times the amount of water in the oceans.
De zoektocht naar verborgen oceanen in het onbereikbare binnenste van de aarde. Waar komt dit water vandaan?
De zoektocht naar verborgen oceanen in het onbereikbare binnenste van de aarde. Waar komt dit water vandaan?
Diamanten uit het onbereikbare binnenste van de aarde blijken water te bevatten. Dat lees je goed: water.
Als de mineralen worden gesmolten, komt er water uit tevoorschijn. Deze waterrijke mineralen bevinden zich op een diepte van 410 tot 660 kilometer in de mantel en mogelijk nog veel dieper.
Sommige wetenschappers stellen dat zich ver onder onze voeten een gigantische watervoorraad bevindt.
Belangrijke rol
Als je al het oppervlaktewater op aarde als één oceaan ziet, dan kunnen zich onder de grond met gemak enkele oceanen bevinden. De vraag is nu waar al dit water vandaan komt.
Water speelt een belangrijke rol bij platentektoniek, vulkaanuitbarstingen en zorgt ervoor dat delen van de mantel zich vrijer kunnen bewegen.
Het bovenste gedeelte van de mantel bestaat vooral uit olivijn, een mineraal dat weinig water kan opslaan.
Maar vanaf een diepte van 410 kilometer verandert olivijn als gevolg van hoge temperaturen en druk in wadsleyiet, dat veel gemakkelijker water opslaat.
Meerdere keren
Op nog grotere diepte wordt wadsleyiet ringwoodiet. Deze mineralen bestaan voor zo’n één tot drie procent uit water.
Aangezien het gebied waarin ze voorkomen zeven procent van de massa van de aarde uitmaakt, kan het meerdere keren de totale hoeveelheid van al het water op aarde bevatten.
In maart ontdekte Oliver Tschauner van de Universiteit van Nevada in Las Vegas diamanten uit de mantel die stukjes waterijs bevatten. Het was de eerste aanwijzing dat H2O voorkomt in de mantel.
Sneeuwvlokken
Als de mantel vol water zit, is water van de aarde niet van buitenaf naar onze planeet gekomen. Dat water moet er dan altijd al zijn geweest.
Studente Michelle Wenz doet in het laboratorium onderzoek naar de diamanten. “Ze zijn allemaal zo uniek,” zei ze. “Ze lijken erg op sneeuwvlokken.”
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Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.
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