THE GAME IS AFOOT WATSON
Has IBM cracked the code of quantum computing by solving data errors?

Pascale Davies
Tue, 5 December 2023 

Has IBM cracked the code of quantum computing by solving data errors?


Technology giant IBM has reached a major milestone in its quantum ambitions and has unveiled a new chip and machine that it hopes can help solve problems beyond the scope of traditional computers.

The unveiling at an IBM event in New York on Monday comes as companies and countries race to develop quantum machines, which can carry out large numbers of calculations simultaneously and at incredible speeds.

The new chip has more than 1,000 qubits, which is the equivalent of the digital bits in an ordinary computer.

One of the main issues in developing the machines is they often struggle with data errors. However, IBM said it has a new method to connect chips inside machines which can then connect machines and with a new error-code connection could produce even more capable quantum machines in 10 years.

The first machine to use them is called Quantum System Two, which uses three so-called "Heron" chips.

"We are firmly within the era in which quantum computers are being used as a tool to explore new frontiers of science," said Dario Gil, IBM’s senior vice president and director of research.

"As we continue to advance how quantum systems can scale and deliver value through modular architectures, we will further increase the quality of a utility-scale quantum technology stack – and put it into the hands of our users and partners who will push the boundaries of more complex problems".

IBM did not predict when it could go commercial with quantum machines.
Life-changing discovery

At the annual IBM Quantum Summit, the company also unveiled 10 projects that showed off the potential power of quantum computing, such as for drug discovery.

The scale-up Algorithmiq, which is developing quantum algorithms to solve problems in life sciences, was one of them and successfully ran one of the largest scale error mitigation experiments to date on IBM’s hardware. It said the achievement positions them alongside IBM as front runners to reach quantum utility, referring to quantum computer's ability to perform reliable computations beyond the capabilities of regular computing methods, for real-world use cases.

“Today represents further validation that Algorithmiq’s core error mitigation techniques are powerful and will enable large-scale experiments on specific use cases leading us well into the quantum utility era for real commercial applications,” said Sabrina Maniscalco, co-founder and CEO of Algorithmiq.

“I’ve dedicated over 20 years of my life to the study of noisy quantum systems, as a professor, and I never thought this type of experiment would be possible so soon,” she said in comments to Euronews Next.
Quantum and AI

Additionally, IBM is pioneering the use of generative AI for quantum code programming IBM's enterprise AI platform watsonx.

"Generative AI and quantum computing are both reaching an inflection point, presenting us with the opportunity to use the trusted foundation model framework of watsonx to simplify how quantum algorithms can be built for utility-scale exploration," said Jay Gambetta, Vice President and IBM Fellow at IBM.

"This is a significant step towards broadening how quantum computing can be accessed and put in the hands of users as an instrument for scientific exploration".

Our Galaxy Appears to Be in a Huge Empty Void

APPERANCE IS ILLUSION 

SAID SOME BUDDHA

Victor Tangermann

FUTURISM
Tue, 5 December 2023 

In this article:
Pavel Kroupa
Australian astrophysicist



Enter the Void

For almost a century, astronomers have been using the Hubble-Lemaitre constant to explain the accelerating expansion of the universe, an intrinsic piece of the puzzle that supports the Big Bang theory.

In simple terms, the idea is that the speed at which galaxies move away from each other is directly proportional to how far apart they are.

But actual observations have revealed critical discrepancies, throwing scientists for a loop. This ensuing "Hubble tension" has inspired many researchers to come up with proposed solutions, but so far none has been particularly satisfying to the broad scientific community.


Now, researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany and St Andrews in Scotland say they've come up with a clever new solution.

Their new theory is predicated on recent observations that suggest our solar system is located in a region where there's relatively little matter as compared to other corners of the known universe, akin to an "air bubble in a cake," according to a press release — basically a big void where stuff is much less dense than it is elsewhere in the universe.
Hubble Bubble

The researchers came to their conclusion by studying how fast relatively close supernovae move away from the Earth. By calculating their speed, the team arrived at an entirely different value for the Hubble-Lemaitre constant.

"The universe therefore appears to be expanding faster in our vicinity — that is, up to a distance of around three billion light years — than in its entirety," explained astrophysicist and University of Bonn professor Pavel Kroupa, coauthor of a new paper published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, in the statement.

The conclusion could help explain why astronomers recently observed that there was a local "under-density" in our region of space.

"That’s why they are moving away from us faster than would actually be expected," added University of St. Andrews research fellow and coauthor Indranil Banik.

Since the current standard model doesn't account for these "bubbles," the researchers suggest we should reexamine some fundamental laws that date back over 100 years.

"The standard model is based on a theory of the nature of gravity put forward by Albert Einstein," Kroupa said. "However, the gravitational forces may behave differently than Einstein expected."

As a result, the team has come out in support of "modified Newtonian dynamics," which were originally proposed by Israel physicist Mordehai Milgrom in 1982.

In theory, the idea could make the Hubble tension disappear altogether. But it'll need to withstand a storm of scientific scrutiny first.

More on the cosmological constant: Scientist Says Universe Expansion May Be an Illusion

NASA commemorates 25th anniversary of International Space Station: ‘Absolutely amazing’


Tara Suter
Wed, 6 December 2023 


NASA on Wednesday celebrated 25 years of the International Space Station’s (ISS) operations.

The first two modules of the ISS, named Zayra and Unity, were joined together 25 years ago on Dec. 6, 1998. NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and ISS Program Manager Joel Montalbano spoke to the seven members of the Expedition 70 crew aboard the station Wednesday to mark the occasion.

“I cannot believe it was 25 years ago today that we grappled Zarya and joined it with the Unity node. Absolutely amazing,” Cabana said in the call with ISS crew members.

The space station itself commemorated the occasion on its account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“The station celebrates 25 years of operations today as the Exp 70 crew conducted aging, mental health, and cognition research while continuing ongoing cargo operations,” the station said in a Wednesday post.

Back in September, an international crew of astronauts known as “Crew-6” returned home after a mission to the ISS. The crew featured two NASA astronauts, Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

“After spending six months aboard the International Space Station, logging nearly 79 million miles during their mission, and completing hundreds of scientific experiments for the benefit of all humanity, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 has returned home to planet Earth,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a release.

The three-nation crew “demonstrated humanity’s shared ambition to reach new cosmic shores. The contributions of Crew-6 will help prepare NASA to return to the Moon under Artemis, continue onward to Mars, and improve life here on Earth,” Nelson continued.

Public can tune in as NASA live streams space station's 25th anniversary call to crew

Patrick Hilsman
Tue, 5 December 2023

NASA will mark the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station with a call between crew and NASA officials Wednesday. File Photo by NASA/UPI

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- NASA officials will mark the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station with a call to the crew Wednesday, and the public and tune in.

"During a space to Earth call at 12:25 EST Wednesday, Dec. 6, the Expedition 70 crew will speak with NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and Joel Montalbano, space station program manager," NASA said in a press release Tuesday.

NASA will live stream the event on NASA TV, YouTube and via the NASA App.

The commemoration will mark 25 years since the Zarya and Unity modules were connected by the crew of shuttle Endevour on Dec. 6, 1998.

Current NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana was the commander of the STS-88 shuttle mission that assembled the two modules.

"More than 3,300 research and educational investigations have been conducted on station from 108 countries and areas," NASA said. "Many lay the groundwork for future commercial destinations in low-Earth orbit and exploration farther into the solar system."

According to NASA, the ISS has been continuously inhabited for 23 years and has hosted 273 occupants.

The ISS is a rare cooperative project between Russia and the United States at a time of elevated tension between the two global superpowers caused primarily by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

On Friday, a Russian Progress spacecraft took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with supplies for the ISS.

Ukrainian university developing Earth imaging nanosatellite


The New Voice of Ukraine
Tue, 5 December 2023 

Ukrainian scientists create a nanosatellite for Earth sensing

The Kyiv Polytechnic University has received UAH 5.2 million ($141,738)

CHEAP LIKE BORSCHT

 from the state budget to complete the PolyITAN-12U imaging nanosatellite project, Vitaliy Pasichnyk, Vice-Rector for Research at the university, told Liga.Tech outlet on Dec. 5.

The funds will also be used to modernize the ground communication station that receives data from the satellite. This upgrade will also reduce the overall development and launch costs.

Read also: Top ten most effective Ukraine-made weapons

PolyITAN-12U will be the first Ukrainian nanosatellite with an optical scanner for remote monitoring and imaging. The scanner's resolution is from 2 to 4 meters per pixel, which puts it on par with leading spacecraft of this class.

Read also: Majority of Ukrainian combat drones produced domestically — Minister Kamyshin

This opens opportunities for obtaining detailed satellite images of different parts of the Earth, Pasichnyk said.

This technology may be of interest to farmers and ranchers not only in Ukraine but also abroad. The information obtained from the satellite has the potential for commercial use, marking an important step in the development of the Ukrainian space sector.

Earth's core may be coated in a layer of crystals created by water leaking from the surface: study

Marianne Guenot
Tue, 5 December 2023 

An artist's impression of how water could seep into the Earth, creating a layer of crystals around the core.

Image courtesy Yonsei University

Water leaking into the Earth may be wrapping the core in crystals, a study has suggested.


The study may help explain a weird area in the outer core that has long puzzled scientists.


One expert said the theory needs more evidence to be widely accepted.

Water leaking from the surface of the Earth could be changing the outer rim of our planet's core and wrapping it in a layer of crystals, according to a study.

The experimental research could help crack the mystery of an elusive part of our planet known as the "E-prime layer," an area in the Earth's outer core that has long baffled scientists.

The research could also challenge the idea that the Earth's molten iron core is almost hermetically sealed, study author Dan Shim, a professor of Earth and Space exploration at Arizona State University, said in a press release.

"For years, it has been believed that material exchange between Earth's core and mantle is small. Yet, our recent high-pressure experiments reveal a different story," said Shim.

The finding "points to a far more dynamic core-mantle interaction, suggesting substantial material exchange," he said.

Another expert, however, said more evidence is needed to support this theory.
We still don't know everything about our planet's insides

The Earth's core is only about 1,800 miles under our feet, but it's more inaccessible than Mars.

Intense pressures and high temperatures mean we can't go down there to see what's going on for ourselves.

One way experts peer under our feet is by looking at how seismic waves are deflected by structures inside the Earth. And some of that data doesn't stack up with what we know about our planet.

One of these mysteries is a zone on the outer rim of our Earth's iron core where seismic waves unexpectedly slow down.

The zone, which measures between a few dozen to a few hundred miles in width, has tentatively been suggested to be a layer in its own right and was named E-prime.
Water-logged minerals could spawn crystals around the core's rim

Scientists haven't found a good explanation for that data yet, and that's important — understanding the Earth's core doesn't only help us decipher how our planet was formed and continues to evolve, but it could also shed clues on fluctuations in the Earth's magnetic field.

With their study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geosciences on November 13, Shim and his colleagues have put forward a new theory to explain the formation of the E-prime layer: that water leaking from the surface can reach the outside of the core and change its chemical composition.

This water wouldn't seep into the Earth as a liquid. Instead, it would be carried by minerals that contain a lot of hydrogen and oxygen inside their chemical structure — these are called "hydrous" minerals.

An artist's representation of crystals forming from water melding with elements found in the inner core.

Dan Shim/ASU

To support their hypothesis, the scientists simulated the high-pressure conditions of the outer core in the lab. They found that subjecting iron-silica alloys — which are thought to make up the core — to the hydrous mineral in these conditions generates hydrogen-rich and silica-poor elements, which would explain the bizarre seismic data around the E-prime layer.

Meanwhile, the scientists believe the reaction would also spark silicate crystals. These would migrate toward the mantle, creating a dense layer of silica wrapping the core, per the press release.

"We found that when water reaches the core-mantle boundary, it reacts with silicon in the core, forming silica," said Shim in the press release.

The idea is a tall order — scientists tend to think the core gets very little material from the mantle.

If proven to be true, it could also rewrite what we know about how water moves around the insides of the Earth, and would have "profound implications for the geochemical cycles that connect the surface-water cycle with the deep metallic core," the scientists said in the press release.

Jon Wade, Associate Professor of Planetary Materials at Oxford University, told Business Insider in an email the theory "requires further supporting evidence" to garner widespread approval, he said.

There is some evidence that hydrous minerals can be sucked into the Earth — a 2014 study even suggested that there could be a reservoir of water-rich minerals three times bigger than the surface oceans stored about 400 miles under the Earth's crust.

But it's not clear whether that process would bring water all the way to the core, and if it did, whether enough water would make it that far inside the Earth to trigger a reaction on a scale that could explain the E prime layer, said Wade.

"Even if there is a fair amount of water transported to the deep Earth, there are lots of places (3000km of mantle) to 'lose' water to before it makes it the core-mantle boundary," he said.

"So, could it happen? Yes, maybe. Does it? Don't know, probably a very minor amount at best," he added.

For him, a "more likely route" would be that hydrogen was encased in the core by a reaction with the core materials, but at the point of the Earth's formation, for instance.

"Other mechanisms may be at play that achieve the same result. It's all kind of speculative but interesting to think about!" he said.

Shim agreed that it's not clear how much water can reach the E-prime layer, but said even a small amount of water could trigger enough chemical reaction to create crystals.

He added that his calculations show that he can explain the E-prime layer "reasonably well" with a range of water transportation scenarios.

'Little ray of hope': Carbon hot spots discovered near California coast


Anthony De Leon
Tue, 5 December 2023 

Westport Headlands, north of Fort Bragg in Mendocino County. Researchers found hot spots of carbon on the seafloor that help explain how the ocean helps absorb carbon. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Scientists exploring the Northern California Coast have, for the first time, uncovered a treasure trove of carbon compacted on the seafloor — a discovery that may help unravel the ocean's power to combat climate change.

A reserve spanning 6,000 square miles of sanctuary from Point Arena in Mendocino County south to Point Año Nuevo in San Mateo County stores 9 million metric tons of carbon on the surface of the seafloor, according to a study released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The amount of carbon found sitting on the seafloor’s first four inches equates to the CO² emissions generated by 7.3 million gas-powered vehicles driven for one year or expended to power 6.4 million homes for a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agencies’ greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator.

Researchers stressed that while this is a significant discovery, leaving it undisturbed is crucial in allowing further carbon accumulation.

“This isn't a resource to be utilized, but it's to be kept intact,” said Doug George, an ocean scientist at NOAA and the study’s co-author.

The findings confirm that the ocean becomes the final resting place for greenery and dead wildlife washed from rivers, as well as marine life that dies and sinks to the seafloor. That results in more carbon being locked away in the oceans, which helps correct the CO² imbalance in the atmosphere, according to the study.

Read more: Climate change is hastening the demise of Pacific Northwest forests

The study’s lead author, Sara Hutto, explained that Earth has a set amount of carbon. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have dug up massive amounts of fossil fuels that took millenniums to form underground. By doing so, carbon is taken out of the planet and burned, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the carbon-to-carbon-dioxide balance.

“We want to make sure that we are not contributing to the climate problem but that we are doing everything we can to enhance the ocean's natural sponge-like ability to absorb carbon dioxide,” Hutto said in an interview.

She believes her team’s study proves the ocean cannot be ignored when discussing climate solutions. She said the sea is vital, given its ability to hold most of the world’s carbon, absorb the heat created by emissions, and produce one-third of the world’s oxygen.

“The ocean is a victim of climate change, but it's also one of the many solutions we need to focus on to get ourselves out of this mess,” Hutto said.

Several years ago, Hutto and her team set out to better understand the role of what experts call "blue carbon" processing plays in addressing climate change, the first study of its kind in the U.S. “Blue carbon” refers to the carbon captured and stored by marine and coastal ecosystems.

Researchers sifted through data samples of seafloor sediment in protected waters dating back to the 1950s, mapping carbon hot spots. The report showed significant amounts of carbon, particularly in muddy deltas where the river and ocean connect.

Read more: Snowed in: Can the SoCal mountains survive climate change?

Although the study into carbon hot spots is limited to Northern California, the finding prompts speculation from researchers about the potential abundance of carbon stored in sediment-rich regions, like the Gulf Coast, influenced by the runoff from the Mississippi Delta.

“The Gulf Coast is a very muddy place, so understanding that all that mud might be trapping a lot of organic carbon is a valuable component of understanding how the ocean stabilizes our climate,” George said.

Hutto highlighted that scientists have just recently initiated a deeper exploration of seabed carbon, and researching seabed carbon within potential sanctuaries could lead to formulating regulations for safeguarding the seafloor’s ecosystem.

Hutto's team says blue carbon is often overlooked in climate mitigation policies because the science behind it is in its infancy and because nature-based solutions to climate change are much messier and less straightforward than technology-derived solutions.

“This information offers a little ray of hope that the ocean is playing this really vital role for us, and maybe we're underappreciating it, and there are opportunities to protect that role,” Hutto said.

While the discovery may lead some to suggest that the newly found carbon is ripe for extraction, Hutto, said the carbon-rich mud is only surface-level and is useless for burning the way that deeper level fossil fuels are because it hasn’t been compacted enough over time like large fossil fuel reservoirs.

As long as the carbon is untouched, it is stable, but if stirred up, there’s potential for it to react with oxygen, resurface, and interact with the atmosphere, causing a CO² emissions issue.

Oxford's maritime archaeology centre celebrates 20-year milestone


Jacob Manuschka
Wed, 6 December 2023 

Damian Robinson, the director of OCMA, inspecting a ship (Image: Christoph Gerigk Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation)

The Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology (OCMA) is celebrating it 20 years since its formation.

Oxford University, paired with the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) and the Hilti foundation, formed OCMA in 2003.

The aim was to create a research hub for maritime archaeology.

Originating as a research centre, OCMA now has a staff body including doctoral students specialising in water-based archaeological topics.

Initially, it started teaching undergraduates within the school of archaeology and faculty of classics.

It then expanded to masters students, offering individual courses, or the option to focus on research training relating to maritime archaeology for the entirety of their degree.

Franck Goddio, the president of the IEASM and excavation director said: "Thanks to the Hilti Foundation, cooperating with OCMA is the perfect match for us.

"Welcoming scholars and PhD students from different backgrounds to our missions and study seasons has given us further insights into our very diverse material.

"We are also happy to be able to show them innovative developments in geophysical surveys and the latest results from our archaeological excavations."

OCMA worked with IEASM on projects in the submerged cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, including Alexandria's eastern harbour.

Oxford academics supervised doctoral students researching objects from these sites, gaining access to unique collections and experiences.

OCMA and the IEASM jointly promote research through international conferences and outreach events, engaging specialists and the public.

The Hilti Foundation has supported the archaeological expeditions since 1996.

Damian Robinson, the director of OCMA, said: "Between them, the Hilti Foundation and the IEASM have been fantastic supporters of maritime archaeology in Oxford.

"Their longstanding commitment has enabled generations of students to be introduced to the discipline, several of whom have gone on to academic positions and are now teaching students of their own: it’s exciting and enriching working with Franck and the Foundation."

They publish a peer-reviewed monograph series on specialist object analyses, excavation reports, and thematic volumes based on OCMA conferences.

Future publications will include reports on the IEASM’s excavations in Alexandria.

Michael Hilti, member of the board of the Hilti Foundation, said: "The momentum brought through the cooperation with the IEASM and the University of Oxford is exactly what we want to achieve with our commitment.

"It establishes long-term specialist networks in order to break new, successful ground in the study of past civilizations and to make the discoveries, knowledge, and lessons we can learn from them accessible to all."

More information can be found at the OCMA website.

UK

Revealed: Sellafield nuclear site has leak that could pose risk to public

Anna Isaac and Alex Lawson
Tue, 5 December 2023 

Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images/Reuters

Sellafield, Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, has a worsening leak from a huge silo of radioactive waste that could pose a risk to the public, the Guardian can reveal.

Concerns over safety at the crumbling building, as well as cracks in a reservoir of toxic sludge known as B30, have caused diplomatic tensions with countries including the US, Norway and Ireland, which fear Sellafield has failed to get a grip of the problems.

The leak of radioactive liquid from one of the “highest nuclear hazards in the UK” – a decaying building at the vast Cumbrian site known as the Magnox swarf storage Silo (MSSS) – is likely to continue to 2050. That could have “potentially significant consequences” if it gathers pace, risking contaminating groundwater, according to an official document.

Cracks have also developed in the concrete and asphalt skin covering the huge pond containing decades of nuclear sludge, part of a catalogue of safety problems at the site.

These concerns have emerged in Nuclear Leaks, a year-long Guardian investigation into problems spanning cyber hacking, radioactive contamination and toxic workplace culture at the vast nuclear dump.

Sellafield, a sprawling 6 sq km (2 sq mile) site on the Cumbrian coast employing 11,000 people, stores and treats nuclear waste from weapons programmes and nuclear power generation, and is the largest such facility in Europe.Interactive

A document sent to members of the Sellafield board in November 2022 and seen by the Guardian raised widespread concerns about a degradation of safety across the site, warning of the “cumulative risk” from failings ranging from nuclear safety to asbestos and fire standards.

A scientist on an expert panel that advises the UK government on the health impact of radiation told the Guardian that the risks posed by the leak and other chemical leaks at Sellafield have been “shoved firmly under the rug”.

A fire in 1957 at Windscale, as the site was formerly known, was the UK’s worst nuclear accident to date. An EU report in 2001 warned an accident at Sellafield could be worse than Chornobyl, the site of the 1986 disaster in Ukraine that exposed five million Europeans to radiation. Sellafield contains significantly more radioactive material than Chornobyl.Interactive

The report said events that could trigger an atmospheric release of radioactive waste at the plant included explosions and air crashes.

Such is the concern about its safety standards that US officials have warned of its creaking infrastructure in diplomatic cables seen by the Guardian. Among their concerns are leaks from cracks in concrete at toxic ponds and a lack of transparency from the UK authorities about issues at the site. The UK and the US have a decades-long relationship on nuclear technology.

Concerns about how Sellafield is run have also led to tensions with the Irish and Norwegian governments.

Norwegian officials are concerned that an accident at the site could lead to a plume of radioactive particles being carried by prevailing south-westerly winds across the North Sea, with potentially devastating consequences for Norway’s food production and wildlife. A senior Norwegian diplomat told the Guardian that they believed Oslo should offer to help fund the site so that it can be run more safely, rather than “run something so dangerous on a shoestring budget and without transparency”.Interactive

The Irish government tried to take action against Sellafield by referring it to a UN tribunal in 2006 over concerns about the site’s impact on the environment.

Scientists are trying to estimate the risk to the public from the leak from the MSSS through “ongoing radiological dose assessments”, using statistical modelling.

Sellafield is trying to extract decades of nuclear waste from MSSS, a facility dating back to the 1960s and described as “one of the highest-hazard nuclear facilities in the UK”, a task that it says could take at least 20 years. It has been leaking for more than three years.

A report in June from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said while the current risk from the leak is deemed by Sellafield to be “as low as reasonably practicable”, scientists are increasingly concerned that the full scale of the leak, and the rate at which it may pollute the groundwater, is unclear. Sellafield is understood to argue that the leak poses “no additional risk” to staff and the public.

In 2019, Sellafield reported a leak from the storage unit to the ONR. The leak significantly worsened over the next two years, and a previously unreported document reveals that 2.3-2.5 cubic metres of radioactive “liquor” has been leaking from the facility every day. This liquid is a soup of radioactive magnesium alloy filings dissolved into water, from waste cladding that encased spent Magnox nuclear fuel.

The health implications of radiation exposure vary depending on the dosage, but can include nausea and vomiting, and long-term effects such as cardiovascular disease, cataracts, cancer to those who experience high levels of radiation. High doses can be lethal.Interactive

Inspectors said that it is not possible to work out how many cracks have formed in the silo so are using guesswork and modelling based on leaks from the facility to work out the risk posed to the public and workers at the site.

A committee of scientists, tasked with monitoring Sellafield and other nuclear sites, has warned that the silo needs much closer attention.

In July last year, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment noted in its public minutes that “the leak has been continuing at the same rate since October 2020, around 2.5m [cubic meters] per day …”.

However, the extent of the radioactive material lost to the ground from the leak was redacted from the meeting minutes.

A scientist on the committee told the Guardian: “It’s hard to know if transparency is put aside because no one’s brave enough to say ‘we simply don’t know how dangerous this is – other than certainly dangerous’.

“That’s incredibly serious in the context of a site full of horrors and the legacy of experiments no one properly documented.”

Sources have warned that the site’s basic safety requirements are increasingly wearing thin, and long-term dangers are being ignored or uncontained.

“They can’t handle fire or asbestos on site, let alone the crumbling of nuclear containment materials,” one senior Sellafield employee told the Guardian.

There are also grave concerns about B30, a pond containing nuclear sludge and described as one of the most dangerous industrial buildings in Europe.

Described by workers at Sellafield as “Dirty 30”, it contains radioactive sludge from corroded nuclear fuel rods used in old power stations, and its concrete and asphalt skin ribboned with cracks. These cracks have worsened in recent months, according to sources.

Sources familiar with risk reports say they show that more than 100 safety problems at the site are a matter of serious regulatory concern. Other concerns include fire safety problems such as a lack of functioning alarms within First Generation Magnox storage ponds, one of which is B30, daily work stoppages due to a lack of suitably qualified staff trained in nuclear safety, and increasing numbers of contamination and radiation protection incidents

The November 2022 document, seen by the Guardian and prepared by the then chief nuclear officer, Dr Paul Robson, who is tasked with overseeing nuclear safety at the site, revealed a “cumulative risk” posed by failings in a range of areas, from nuclear safety to managing risks from fire and asbestos. The document was sent to Euan Hutton, who at the time was interim site director and recently became Sellafield chief executive.

According to the same internal memo, workers tasked with oversight of safety at Sellafield have “observed evidence … which indicate an erosion of nuclear safety (conventional and environmental) barriers”.

It said this “reduces the effectiveness of the protection of the workforce, the public and the environment against significant events”.

The document confirms accounts from insiders, officials and diplomats that suggest significant safety shortfalls on site. It suggests these problems have worsened over the past decade, dramatically increasing the risk of a big incident at one of the most toxic nuclear sites in the world. It states there are “significant weaknesses” in the company’s safety capabilities.

The sensitivity of the site for the UK’s nuclear weapons programme and ongoing efforts to build and maintain nuclear infrastructure has led to allegations of cover-ups over Sellafield’s safety problems. The allegations of cover-ups were also related to the 1957 fire at the site, which was seen as one of the worst nuclear disasters in European history at the time.

Now, fire safety at Sellafield is a growing concern among insiders, and at the regulator.

The ONR warned in its latest review of the Sellafield site, published in March this year, that “regulatory intelligence indicates that improvements are required in conventional safety, fire safety, cybersecurity and progressing high-hazard risk reduction”.

A Sellafield spokesperson said: “We are proud of our safety record at Sellafield and we are always striving to improve.

“The nature of our site means that until we complete our mission, our highest hazard facilities will always pose a risk.

“We continuously measure and report on nuclear, radiological, and conventional safety.

“Employees are empowered to raise issues and challenge when things aren’t right.Interactive

“Any incidents, including those highlighted by the Guardian, are reported to our regulator, published on our website, and shared for scrutiny in public meetings.”

An ONR spokesperson said: “ONR and the Environment Agency have been holding Sellafield Ltd to account to ensure they are doing everything that is feasible to minimise the consequences of this leak.

“Safely removing the historic waste from this facility (MSSS) and placing it into modern storage facilities, which began in the summer of 2022, is both a national and an ONR priority.”

Sustainability

Can This Startup Revive Soviet-Era Hydrofoil Tech?

The aerospace engineer behind Regent Craft is developing a “seaglider” that could be classified as a boat and travel as fast as 180 mph over water.

A rendering of Regent’s 12-passenger seaglider.

Source: Regent

By Magdalena Del Valle
December 5, 2023 

In the 1960s, Soviet engineers built a mashup of a plane and a boat that could fly a few feet above an ocean or lake at high speeds. The vehicle, which they called the ekranoplan, or screenplane, took advantage of a property of airflow that gives extra lift by pushing air down to the surface. But only a few dozen ekranoplans were produced—including one dubbed the Caspian Sea Monster—and the idea was largely forgotten.

Billy Thalheimer says it’s time for another look, at least when the idea is paired with hydrofoil technology. By adding electric propulsion and hydrofoils to improve balance, a revamped ekranoplan—he calls it a seaglider—can offer a carbon-free alternative for overwater routes such as New York to Boston, Los Angeles to San Diego, or Miami to the Bahamas. “There is something inherently novel about a seaglider,” says Thalheimer, an aerospace engineer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who in 2020 co-founded Regent Craft Inc., a Rhode Island company dedicated to reviving the idea.

An ekranoplan on the shore of the Caspian Sea in 2022.

Photographer: Alexander Manzyuk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Regent says the hydrofoils—winglike structures under the hull—can solve the limitations the Soviets faced, such as instability, difficulty operating in rough seas and the high speeds needed for takeoff. And without kerosene-burning jet engines, Thalheimer says, seagliders will cost far less than commercial aircraft to operate and maintain.

Regent, an acronym for Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport, is backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights Peter Thiel and Mark Cuban, and in April it appointed Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing Co.’s former chief executive officer, to its advisory board. In October, Regent raised $60 million from investors including Japan Airlines, Lockheed Martin, and the UAE’s Strategic Development Fund.

The company says seagliders can be technically classified as boats even though they’re designed to fly about 30 feet above the water. Consequently, in most places, they would fall under maritime authority; In the US, that means regulation by the Coast Guard rather than the Federal Aviation Administration, which could make the route to market quicker. Thalheimer, though, insists Regent will adhere to all flight security guidelines. “There is an incredible amount of safety analysis and procedure that goes in,” he says.


Thalheimer says the company has completed successful tests of a remote-controlled prototype with an 18-foot wingspan. And it’s working on a full-scale version with a wingspan of 64 feet—slightly more than a plane of similar capacity—that it plans to test next year. Regent aims to begin commercial operations as early as 2025, offering a 12-passenger model with a range of 180 miles. Later in the decade, it aims to introduce a version that will carry up to 100 passengers.

A Regent prototype.Source: Regent

Richard Pat Anderson, an engineering professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida questions Regent’s ability to deploy its seaglider as quickly as Thalheimer predicts. Although the science behind the idea is sound, he says, a battery-powered Cessna prototype that seats 12 people has a range of only about 25 miles. And he says Regent is overly optimistic in its predictions regarding FAA approval. “If they’re forced to be regulated under FAA rules,” he says, “it could be years before it wins certification.”

The goal is to make craft that can be recharged in as little as 15 minutes. Regent says its aircraft will depart from standard docks or piers, cruising the harbor at low speeds while floating on their hulls. Once in open water, they’ll rise onto hydrofoils at about 50 mph. Then taking advantage of what’s called the wing in ground effect, they’ll lift off from the hydrofoils and travel just above the surface at speeds up to 180 mph, meaning it might take just over an hour to reach downtown Boston from Manhattan.

France’s Brittany Ferries, Philippine air charter operator INAEC, and Hawaiian regional carrier Mokulele Airlines have placed nonbinding orders for the two models. “We believe they will be successful and that they will be timely,” says Stan Little, CEO of Surf Air Mobility, the parent of Mokulele. “The team they have assembled proved to us that they have the best shot at perfecting the technology.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Hedge Fund Trader Shah Extradited to Denmark a Year After Arrest

Adveith Nair and Sanne Wass
Wed, 6 December 2023 

Sanjay Shah   Businessman


(Bloomberg) -- Sanjay Shah, a hedge-fund trader accused of defrauding the Danish state of $1.3 billion in the Cum-Ex trading scam, has been handed over to Denmark to face criminal charges just over a year after he was arrested in Dubai.

Shah was taken into custody by police on his arrival in Copenhagen on Wednesday, and will be taken to court for a bail hearing on Thursday morning, Danish police said in a statement.

Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said he was “more than satisfied” with the extradition and that it sends “an important signal that you cannot achieve impunity by staying abroad.”

Denmark and the United Arab Emirates signed an extradition deal in March last year, with Shah’s handover being one of the main purposes.

Danish prosecutors allege Shah oversaw the Cum-Ex trading scam involving a global network of bankers, lawyers and agents who earned vast sums of money from Denmark’s tax authority by using a loophole on dividend payouts to reap duplicate tax refunds. Shah has consistently maintained his innocence.

“The extradition process has been slow, opaque and haphazard,” Shah’s Danish defense lawyers, Kaare Pihlmann and Mikael Skjodt, said in a statement earlier on Wednesday. “We are relieved that the uncertainty is now over.”

Shah’s trial in Denmark has already been delayed three times because he hadn’t been extradited on time.

While the case is now scheduled to begin in January, it’s likely to be further postponed as his lawyers need three to six months to prepare, Pihlmann told Bloomberg by phone.

Denmark has brought criminal charges against a total of nine people related to the scandal, in which the state was defrauded of about 12.7 billion kroner ($1.9 billion). Shah will be tried with British hedge fund trader Anthony Patterson, who was extradited to Denmark in July and jailed pending trial.

The Nordic nation is also pursuing a civil lawsuit against Shah and his associates in London, where a trial is scheduled to go ahead in April after the UK’s top court rejected attempts by Shah’s lawyers to stop the case.

Chris Waters of London firm Meaby & Co Solicitors, coordinating the worldwide defense of Shah and his companies, said the trades undertaken by Shah were lawful and that he will “vigorously defend himself in both the Danish and London courts.”

“Mr. Shah continues to challenge whether he can receive a fair trial in Denmark and this matter is ongoing,” Waters said.

Gray List

UAE’s WAM news agency said the minister of justice had approved the extradition. The move “confirms the UAE’s determination to collaborate with international partners in the pursuit of international justice, and to strengthen the integrity of the international financial system,” WAM said.

The Gulf country is ramping up efforts to exit a global watchdog’s “gray list” of countries subject to greater oversight for shortcomings in tackling illicit finance. Last year, officials said they planned to sign multiple extradition agreements as part of efforts to cleanse its image.

That followed Shah’s arrest, and after authorities detained Atul and Rajesh Gupta — who’re wanted in South Africa on charges of money laundering and fraud. A local court this year denied the African nation’s plea to extradite the Gupta brothers.

--With assistance from Karin Matussek.

(Updates with details on Shah’s arrival in Copenhagen in second paragraph)

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