Lifeboat Foundation

When lightning strikes, the electrons come pouring down.

In a new study, researchers at CU Boulder led by an undergraduate student have discovered a new link between weather on Earth and weather in space. The group used satellite data to show that lightning storms on our planet can knock especially high-energy, or “extra-hot,” electrons out of the inner radiation belt—a region of space filled with charged particles that surrounds Earth like an inner tube.

The team’s results could help satellites and even astronauts avoid dangerous radiation in space. This is one kind of downpour you don’t want to get caught in, said lead author Max Feinland.

At least 10 people including a child have died in Indonesia following a series of powerful volcanic eruptions that destroyed homes and a Catholic convent, authorities said.

The eruptions, originating from Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, hit the remote island of Flores on Monday, according the country’s National Disaster Management Agency.

They began around midnight, sending thick plumes of ash up to 6,500 feet into the atmosphere and depositing hot ash on several nearby villages.

Summary: A new method developed by researchers allows scientists to identify unique, redundant, and synergistic causality, providing a clearer view of what influences complex systems. Known as SURD, this method has implications across diverse fields, from climate science to aerospace engineering.

Traditional methods often confuse variables that are not true causes, but SURD accurately decomposes causality, minimizing errors. This tool has the potential to aid in the design of optimized systems by pinpointing causative factors more precisely.

The researchers demonstrated SURD’s utility by examining turbulence, revealing previously hidden interactions between airflow variables. Their work highlights the benefits of SURD for more accurate causal analysis in complex fields.

NASA’s Curiosity rover, currently exploring Gale crater on Mars, is providing new details about how the ancient Martian climate went from potentially suitable for life – with evidence for widespread liquid water on the surface – to a surface that is inhospitable to terrestrial life as we know it.

Although the surface of Mars is frigid and hostile to life today, NASA’s robotic explorers at Mars are searching for clues as to whether it could have supported life in the distant past. Researchers used instruments on board Curiosity to measure the isotopic composition of carbon-rich minerals (carbonates) found in Gale crater and discovered new insights into how the Red Planet’s ancient climate transformed.

“The isotope values of these carbonates point toward extreme amounts of evaporation, suggesting that these carbonates likely formed in a climate that could only support transient liquid water,” said David Burtt of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a paper describing this research published October 7 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Our samples are not consistent with an ancient environment with life (biosphere) on the surface of Mars, although this does not rule out the possibility of an underground biosphere or a surface biosphere that began and ended before these carbonates formed.”

Recent findings indicate that gamma-ray emissions from thunderstorms are far more complex and dynamic than previously understood, thanks to observations of new phenomena like Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes (FGFs).

These flashes, alongside in-depth studies on tropical thundercloud emissions, suggest that our understanding of atmospheric electricity is evolving. This is supported by extensive fieldwork during the ALOFT campaign, which gathered unprecedented data over the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas.

Thunderstorm Gamma-Ray Emissions

Dr. Lauren Schurmeier: “The methane clathrate crust warms Titan’s interior and causes surprisingly rapid topographic relaxation, which results in crater shallowing at a rate that is close to that of fast-moving warm glaciers on Earth.”

How does Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, have such a methane-rich atmosphere? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how methane that resides with Titan’s crust could be responsible for the lack of depth in Titan’s impact craters, which could explain why Titan’s atmosphere has so much methane, as well. This study holds the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of Titan and whether it could host life as we know it.

For the study, the researchers used computer models to simulate the formation and evolution of impact craters on Titan, of which only approximately 90 have been identified via satellite imagery from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.

Continue reading “Titan’s Atmosphere and Climate: Lessons from an Alien World” »

After weeks of hurricane delays, the crew successfully undocked on Wednesday and are on their way back to Earth.

How much carbon dioxide (CO₂) do plants absorb from the atmosphere? This is what a recent study published in Nature hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated what’s known as the Terrestrial Gross Primary Product (GPP), which measures the amount of CO₂ that photosynthesis removes from the atmosphere. This study holds the potential to help researchers, climate scientists, legislators, and the public better understand the role that plants play in reducing carbon emissions, along with mitigating the effects of climate change worldwide.

“Figuring out how much CO₂ plants fix each year is a conundrum that scientists have been working on for a while,” said Dr. Lianhong Gu, who is a distinguished research scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and a co-author on the study. “The original estimate of 120 petagrams per year was established in the 1980s, and it stuck as we tried to figure out a new approach. It’s important that we get a good handle on global GPP since that initial land carbon uptake affects the rest of our representations of Earth’s carbon cycle.”

Petagrams are the standard measurement used for GPP, with one petagram equaling 1 billion metric tons, and the latter being the amount of CO₂ discharged from the total number of gas-powered passenger vehicles in the world, which is approximately 1.4 billion.

How does social media influence safety messages during a natural disaster? This is what a recent study published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction hopes to address as a pair of researchers from the Stevens Institute of Technology investigated how the perspectives of natural disasters and the corresponding government responses could be impacted by false or irrelevant information being shared across a myriad of social media platforms, specifically X (Twitter) and Facebook. This study holds the potential to help scientists, governments, disaster relief efforts, and the public better understand the ramifications of social media messages and discussions on responding to natural disasters worldwide.

“It’s like being at a crowded party—if everyone’s arguing loudly about politics, it’s hard to make yourself heard over the noise,” said Dr. Jose Ramirez-Marquez, who is an associate professor in the Stevens School of Systems and Enterprises and the sole co-author on the study.

For the study, the researchers examined online discussions that occurred during four recent hurricanes: Harvey, Imelda, Laura, and Florence. The goal of the study was to ascertain online discussion patterns, and which posts and comments got the most attention as the crises unfolded. For example, the researchers found that dogs being trapped by flooding comprised 24 of the 50 most active discussions compared to 7 of those 50 being comprised of public safety. During Hurricane Florence, it was found that more than half of the 50 top discussions involved politics or animals, whereas 19 of the 50 discussed public safety.