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Live coverage of the Phoenix landing
Posted on Sunday, May 25, 2008 @ 8:23 am by Peter Polito
NASA’s online television service will be streaming live coverage of the Phoenix landing. I do not know the extent of the coverage or how soon it will be beaming back live footage from Mars, but from 6–11 PM EST you can be on the cutting edge of Martian Science. This will be one of the riskiest landings in NASA history. A parachute will slow the lander’s descent initially. The parachute will be ejected and three legs will be deployed followed by a downward-pointing booster for the final deceleration. All of this will take place during the “seven minutes of darkness.” Should all go well, after seven minutes the Phoenix will go online and their will be much rejoicing, if not . . . well, let’s not think about that.
Phoenix Lander. Source: University of Arizona and JPL
Phoenix Lander undergoing ‘water hammer test’ used to measure structural integrity. Source: University of Arizona and JPL
Timeline of the Phoenix Lander’s descent. Source: University of Arizona and JPL
Recording of the Sichuan Earthquake
Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 @ 9:05 am by Peter Polito
Two hosts from NPR’s afternoon show, All Things Considered, were in the Sichuan Province when the recent earthquake struck. Melissa Block and Robert Siegel were in Chengdu, approximately 60 miles from the epicenter. Melissa Block was in the middle of the interview when the earthquake struck. The audio bit of the interview is available here (just below the photo gallery). About 40 seconds into the recording you can hear the building start to shake, she ran outside narrating what she was looking at as she ran. If you listen closely you can hear a gap in the shaking between the P and S waves. Also, note the time when the shaking starts and when she states that the shaking is subsiding, it is well over a minute.
Having never experienced a quake of this magnitude it is quite surreal to hear. And living in the Bay Area it makes me want to check my earthquake kit.
The Science of Solar System Ices
Posted on Sunday, May 11, 2008 @ 7:12 pm by Peter Polito
This past week I was at a workshop organized by the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) called the “Science of Solar System Ices: A Cross-Disciplinary Workshop.” The idea of this conference was get everyone that works on extra-terrestrial ices in the same room, at the same time, to talk about their work and how people with different expertise may help them. So why was I, a lowly grad student, in attendance? I was riding the coattails of Dr. Geoff Collins and Dr. Leonard Sklar, the PI on my research grant and adviser respectively, we presented our work in poster form and with a talk, which can be seen here (Warning: shameless self-promotion).
It truly was an eye-opening experience for me, I thought I had a pretty good handle on ice with the research I have been working on, but I discovered that I don’t know a thing about it! Here are a few of the highlights:
Donald Blankenship from the University of Texas is collecting high resolution radar data from Antarctica. The work he is doing is to better understand how the surfaces of Ganameyde and Calisto function by better understanding terrestrial processes (similar to what we’re doing with Titan channels. Should an orbiter be sent to either of these moons, a similar radar system will probably be used. I wish I had some of the images to show you
The other guy was Christophe Sotin from JPL, he is a member of the Cassini mission team and has been doing experiments on methane infiltration and interior processes of icy satellites, including Titan. He was a huge help to me in understanding Titan processes and his model for “cyrogenic” convection was quite spectacular (at least the 10% I could actually understand).
It was an incredible experience to be a fly on the wall during the two days I was there. I learned an incredible amount in fields I had previously known nothing about and met so many people who just wanted to talk ice and science . . . it was a dream come true!
Conscious use of our natural resources
Posted on Thursday, May 1, 2008 @ 7:40 am by Peter Polito
Arguably Earth’s most dire resource, but only recently receiving any major discussion, is water. As a previous post pointed out the American Southwest is projected to become a drier climate while funding for monitoring and mitigation continues to decrease.
Over the past few years the plight of the Southeast has received a fair bit of press, but overshadowed by Atlanta’s water woes is the brilliance of Clayton County. In the 1980’s the Clayton County Water Authority built a series of wetlands to replace the last step of the water reclamation process. Water entering the sewers continue on to the reclamation facility and pass through the standard filtration systems designed to remove large debris, sediment and any other solids. The purification process is completed by feeding the water into their wetland systems where organisms, from single-celled bacteria to water lilies, do the rest. After the water is gravity-fed through a series of four wetland pools, the water enters their reservoir and is available for reuse. According to a recent story on NPR, of the 26 million gallons used a day in Clayton County, the wetland reclamation process returns 10 million gallons of potable water for future use. Not only are they getting 40% of their water back but the wetlands have created 4,000 acres of green space.
Source: Clayton County Water Authority.
Constructed wetlands are proving to be more efficient, more cost effective, and more environmentally sensitive than comparable secondary treatment methods. The wetlands allow the CCWA to increase its wastewater treatment capacity, while dropping the costs incurred in the process. The cost to build wastewater facilities using constructed wetlands is $4.73 a gallon, compared to nearly $10 a gallon using the more conventional methods.
The Authority’s LAS fields and constructed wetlands are included among the over 4,000 acres of protected green space that will never fall prey to residential or commercial development. This acreage provides for hearty forests and wildlife, not to mention incredible recreational opportunities located in such a close proximity to a major metropolitan city.
In addition to money saved, there have been no complaints about odor and unlike neighboring Atlanta, the residents of Clayton County were never in danger of running out of water during the recent drought.
M4.7 near Reno, Nevada
Posted on Sunday, April 27, 2008 @ 12:37 pm by Peter Polito
Late Friday night Mogul, NV (just west of Reno) was struck by a M4.7. While a M4.7 earthquake is not terribly large, it was a very shallow quake causing items to fall off grocery shelves, minor rock falls in the surrounding hills, and some of the taller casinos to sway. This quake is the largest thus far in a swarm that began approximately two weeks ago causing seismologists at University of Nevada Reno to issue a statement warning residents of a heightened probability of a larger earthquake.
Source: University of Nevada Reno.
Following an earthquake of this size there is a small increase in the probability of a larger magnitude earthquake in the west Reno area. Citizens should also be aware of the possibility of strong aftershocks from this evenings Magnitude 4.7. Mogul-Somersett residents should expect to feel aftershocks of this earthquake for some time. It cannot be determined if this evenings Magnitude 4.7 earthquake will be the largest earthquake of the 2008 Mogul-Somersett earthquake sequence
The Seismological Laboratory at UNR has posted some terrific products related to this swarm which can be found on their website. The graph below shows clearly how the recent swarm is not just background noise but a true signal:
Source: University of Nevada Reno.