It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Monday, November 25, 2024
Healthy New Town: Revitalizing neighborhoods in the wake of aging populations
Community-led urban transformation through the Senboku Hottokenai Network Project
Credit: Kazuhiko Mori, Osaka Metropolitan University
Planned suburban residential neighborhoods in metropolitan areas known as new towns were initially developed in England. The new town movement spread from Europe to East Asia, such as to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In Japan alone, 2,903 New Towns were built, but many experienced rapid population decline and aging in the 40 years after their development. Therefore, they changed into old new towns and had to transform their facilities.
Dr. Haruka Kato, a junior associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University and Professor Emeritus Kazuhiko Mori conducted action research in Senboku New Town, one of the largest old new towns in Japan. Senboku-NT’s population declined from approximately 170,000 to 115,000 in 2022. In addition, the older generation increased by about 42,500 people, accounting for 37.1% of the total population. The demographic change made it difficult for older people to live in Senboku-NT as neighborhood shops closed one after another, leaving frail older adults unable to maintain their daily life within walking distance.
To address this problem, residents began to explore community-led projects with the help of community federations, NPOs, social welfare organizations, the government, and universities. The Senboku Hottokenai Network Project is an example initiative that gradually transformed vacant building stocks into supportive housing for older people, a group home for people with disabilities, and a community restaurant. In addition, this community-led urban transformation project spread to neighboring areas. The results of this study shed new light on the importance of community-led co-creation in transdisciplinary projects toward the Healthy New Town.
“Hottokenai in Japanese translates to ‘leave no one behind,’ which is the central promise of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr. Kato. “Our insight provides the need to implement a new town movement program to extend the urban transformation project for the Healthy New Town to other old new towns in East Asia.”
The findings were published in Habitat International.
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About OMU
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through the “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Community-led urban transformation project as transdisciplinary approach: Case of Senboku Hottokenai Network Project
A mixed picture: E-participation in Germany`s Energiewende
Citizens’ and institutional stakeholders’ views on e-participation in the context of the German Energiewende
Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) – Helmholtz Centre Potsdam
Can e-participation build acceptance and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of infrastructure planning? A new study by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) evaluates the use of e-participation technologies in the context of the German energy transition for the first time. RIFS-researcher Jörg Radtke finds that e-participation solutions that inform citizens’ while also harnessing their creative input can play a key role in the implementation of the energy transition.
In recent years, various forms of e-participation have emerged that experiment with visual and interactive technologies. So far, however, little research has been conducted to evaluate the use of e-participation formats in the context of the German energy transition. Published in the journal Technological Forecasting & Social Change, Jörg Radtke’s study “E-participation in energy transitions: What does it mean?” closes this gap: The study draws on interviews with stakeholders in a wind farm project in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the findings of an online survey on attitudes towards wind power.
"Most of the citizens surveyed are open towards using new options for creative input and visualization-based online tools because they make planning processes more transparent and tangible. It is also clear that citizens appreciate being involved decision-making processes at an early stage," says RIFS-researcher Jörg Radtke.
The study also shows that many people would be willing to participate in planning processes if e-participation formats were more inclusive and oriented towards citizens’ needs. However, this requires clear communication strategies that build trust as well as the willingness to tangibly engage with citizens' concerns in planning processes. Most online participation offerings are simply not of interest to many citizens. Radtke emphasises the need for mobilisation strategies that can generate interest in e-participation and leverage this untapped potential to build acceptance and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the energy transition.
Addressing the concerns of institutional stakeholders
However, institutional stakeholders have concerns around the efficiency and integrity of e-participation processes, in particular with respect to data security. The research also revealed concerns on the part of some institutional stakeholders that e-participation formats could be difficult to control and may exacerbate existing conflicts. Misleading charts and statistics on wind power that are disseminated through social media could spread uncontrollably in e-participation spaces, for example. In light of this, local government bodies often view e-participation merely as a means to deliver information and are reluctant to afford processes any real decision-making power.
“Citizens are extremely critical of this kind of alibi participation,” says Radtke of the study’s findings. Instead, he recommends that organisers facilitate constructive debate through effective content and community moderation. The study also shows that e-participation could potentially reach a larger number of citizens than conventional participation formats thanks to its flexibility and accessibility. E-participation especially benefits people with mobility issues or limited opportunities to attend face-to-face events, enabling them to participate in public debate and contribute their opinions.
Visualisation tools in planning and participation
The study also examines the use of 3D visualisation tools and augmented and virtual reality technologies in e-participation processes. These technologies can be used to present infrastructure proposals in a manner that is easy to comprehend, enabling citizens to better evaluate plans, make specific suggestions, and provide concrete feedback. Visualisation technologies also enable planners and citizens to gain a better picture of the impacts of new infrastructure – in contrast to conventional participation formats such as dialogue events and public meetings, where proposals are frequently discussed without any real understanding of how infrastructures will impact landscapes.
Augmented reality technologies can be used to illustrate the integration of wind turbines in a specific setting, for example, enabling citizens to experience their likely visual and acoustic impacts from their “own living room window”. Using visualisation technologies in this way can help to avoid misunderstandings and invites citizens to provide creative feedback, which can improve the overall outcome of the planning process. Radtke anticipates that the adoption of AI technologies will improve accessibility and help to bridge the gap between today’s already sophisticated technical applications and citizen’s restrained interest in e-participation. Virtual flights and tours through planned wind farms, guided by virtual assistants who answer citizens’ questions, are likely to become reality one day.
Ultimately, the advantages can outweigh the possible disadvantages of digital tools: The targeted use of 3D, AR, VR and AI technologies, moderated discussion forums and new options for civic participation – such as inviting community input on the allocation of revenues from energy infrastructure – could accelerate the energy transition while also building acceptance and generating greater democratic legitimacy, says Radtke. "This analysis provides valuable insights into current attitudes towards the use of e-participation in Germany’s energy transition and concrete recommendations for the design and implementation of e-participation in future energy policy."
Publication: Jörg Radtke: E-participation in energy transitions: What does it mean? Chances and challenges within Germany's Energiewende, Technological Forecasting and Social Change Volume 210, January 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123839
E-participation in energy transitions: What does it mean? Chances and challenges within Germany's Energiewende
New theory reveals the shape of a single photon
University of Birmingham
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A new theory, that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum level has enabled researchers to define for the first time the precise shape of a single photon.
A new theory, that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum level has enabled researchers to define for the first time the precise shape of a single photon.
Research at the University of Birmingham, published in Physical Review Letters, explores the nature of photons (individual particles of light) in unprecedented detail to show how they are emitted by atoms or molecules and shaped by their environment.
The nature of this interaction leads to infinite possibilities for light to exist and propagate, or travel, through its surrounding environment. This limitless possibility, however, makes the interactions exceptionally hard to model, and is a challenge that quantum physicists have been working to address for several decades.
By grouping these possibilities into distinct sets, the Birmingham team were able to produce a model that describes not only the interactions between the photon and the emitter, but also how the energy from that interaction travels into the distant ‘far field’.
At the same time, they were able to use their calculations to produce a visualisation of the photon itself.
First author Dr Benjamin Yuen, in the University’s School of Physics, explained: “Our calculations enabled us to convert a seemingly insolvable problem into something that can be computed. And, almost as a bi-product of the model, we were able to produce this image of a photon, something that hasn’t been seen before in physics.”
The work is important because it opens up new avenues of research for quantum physicists and material science. By being able to precisely define how a photon interacts with matter and with other elements of its environment, scientists can design new nanophotonic technologies that could change the way we communicate securely, detect pathogens, or control chemical reactions at a molecular level for example.
Co-author, Professor Angela Demetriadou, also at the University of Birmingham, said: “The geometry and optical properties of the environment has profound consequences for how photons are emitted, including defining the photons shape, colour, and even how likely it is to exist.”
Dr Benjamin Yuen, added: “This work helps us to increase our understanding of the energy exchange between light and matter, and secondly to better understand how light radiates into its nearby and distant surroundings. Lots of this information had previously been thought of as just ‘noise’ - but there’s so much information within it that we can now make sense of, and make use of. By understanding this, we set the foundations to be able to engineer light-matter interactions for future applications, such as better sensors, improved photovoltaic energy cells, or quantum computing.”
Exact Quantum Electrodynamics of Radiative Photonic Environments
Astronomers take the first close-up picture of a star outside our galaxy
ESO
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This is an image of the star WOH G64, taken by the GRAVITY instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI). This is the first close-up picture of a star outside our own galaxy, the Milky Way. The star is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, over 160 000 light-years away. The bright oval at the centre of this image is a dusty cocoon that enshrouds the star. A fainter elliptical ring around it could be the inner rim of a dusty torus, but more observations are needed to confirm this feature.
“For the first time, we have succeeded in taking a zoomed-in image of a dying star in a galaxy outside our own Milky Way,” says Keiichi Ohnaka, an astrophysicist from Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile. Located a staggering 160 000 light-years from us, the star WOH G64 was imaged thanks to the impressive sharpness offered by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO’s VLTI). The new observations reveal a star puffing out gas and dust, in the last stages before it becomes a supernova.
“We discovered an egg-shaped cocoon closely surrounding the star,” says Ohnaka, the lead author of a study reporting the observations published today in Astronomy & Astrophysics. “We are excited because this may be related to the drastic ejection of material from the dying star before a supernova explosion.”
While astronomers have taken about two dozen zoomed-in images of stars in our galaxy, unveiling their properties, countless other stars dwell within other galaxies, so far away that observing even one of them in detail has been extremely challenging. Up until now.
The newly imaged star, WOH G64, lies within the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the small galaxies that orbits the Milky Way. Astronomers have known about this star for decades and have appropriately dubbed it the ‘behemoth star’. With a size roughly 2000 times that of our Sun, WOH G64 is classified as a red supergiant.
Ohnaka’s team had long been interested in this behemoth star. Back in 2005 and 2007, they used ESO’s VLTI in Chile’s Atacama Desert to learn more about the star’s features, and carried on studying it in the years since. But an actual image of the star had remained elusive.
For the desired picture, the team had to wait for the development of one of the VLTI’s second-generation instruments, GRAVITY. After comparing their new results with other previous observations of WOH G64, they were surprised to find that the star had become dimmer over the past decade.
“We have found that the star has been experiencing a significant change in the last 10 years, providing us with a rare opportunity to witness a star’s life in real time,” says Gerd Weigelt, an astronomy professor at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany and a co-author of the study. In their final life stages, red supergiants like WOH G64 shed their outer layers of gas and dust in a process that can last thousands of years. "This star is one of the most extreme of its kind, and any drastic change may bring it closer to an explosive end," adds co-author Jacco van Loon, Keele Observatory Director at Keele University, UK, who has been observing WOH G64 since the 1990s.
The team thinks that these shed materials may also be responsible for the dimming and for the unexpected shape of the dust cocoon around the star. The new image shows that the cocoon is stretched-out, which surprised scientists, who expected a different shape based on previous observations and computer models. The team believes that the cocoon’s egg-like shape could be explained by either the star’s shedding or by the influence of a yet-undiscovered companion star.
As the star becomes fainter, taking other close-up pictures of it is becoming increasingly difficult, even for the VLTI. Nonetheless, planned updates to the telescope’s instrumentation, such as the future GRAVITY+, promise to change this soon. “Similar follow-up observations with ESO instruments will be important for understanding what is going on in the star,” concludes Ohnaka.
More information
ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer is able to combine light collected by the telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), either the four 8-metre Unit Telescopes or the four smaller Auxiliary Telescopes, creating highly detailed pictures of the cosmos. Effectively, this makes the VLTI a “virtual” telescope with a resolution equivalent to the maximum distance between the individual telescopes. This process is highly complex and needs instruments especially dedicated to this task. Back in 2005 and 2007 Ohnaka’s team had access to the first generation of these instruments: MIDI. While impressive for its time, those observations with MIDI only combined the light from two telescopes. Now, researchers have access to GRAVITY, a second-generation instrument able to capture the light of four telescopes. Its improved sensitivity and resolution made the image of WOH G64 possible. But there is more to come. GRAVITY+ is a planned upgrade of GRAVITY which will be able to take advantage of different technological updates performed at the VLTI and VLT. With these, the VLTI will be able to see objects fainter and farther than ever before.
This research was presented in a paper to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics (https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202451820).
The team is composed of: K. Ohnaka (Instituto de Astrofísica, Departamento de Física y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Andrés Bello), K.-H. Hofmann (Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Bonn, Germany [MPIfR]), G. Weigelt (MPIfR), J. Th. van Loon (Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, United Kingdom), D. Schertl (MPIfR), S. R. Goldman (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, USA).
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) enables scientists worldwide to discover the secrets of the Universe for the benefit of all. We design, build and operate world-class observatories on the ground — which astronomers use to tackle exciting questions and spread the fascination of astronomy — and promote international collaboration for astronomy. Established as an intergovernmental organisation in 1962, today ESO is supported by 16 Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO’s headquarters and its visitor centre and planetarium, the ESO Supernova, are located close to Munich in Germany, while the Chilean Atacama Desert, a marvellous place with unique conditions to observe the sky, hosts our telescopes. ESO operates three observing sites: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its Very Large Telescope Interferometer, as well as survey telescopes such as VISTA. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world’s largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. Together with international partners, ESO operates ALMA on Chajnantor, a facility that observes the skies in the millimetre and submillimetre range. At Cerro Armazones, near Paranal, we are building “the world’s biggest eye on the sky” — ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope. From our offices in Santiago, Chile we support our operations in the country and engage with Chilean partners and society.
Here’s something Americans agree on: Sports build character
Belief in the ‘Great Sport Myth’ may be problematic
Ohio State University
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a polarized nation, there is one thing that nearly all Americans agree on, according to a recent study: Sports are good for us.
Researchers from The Ohio State University and Ithaca College found that more than 9 out of 10 Americans agreed that sports build character and improved one’s health, while 84% agreed playing sports makes one popular in school and 85% said it makes one more well-known in the community.
According to 67% of those surveyed, playing sports even leads to better grades in school.
While these beliefs may seem harmless, they suggest that most Americans endorse what is called the “Great Sport Myth,” said Evan Davis, lead author of the study and assistant professor of sport management at Ithaca College.
“There are a lot of issues and problems in sports, but the Great Sport Myth glosses over them and says that sports are inherently good and pure,” Davis said.
Some youth who play sports face mistreatment including abuse and bullying, while even more experience burnout, unequal access to some sports and facilities, and other issues, said study co-author Chris Knoester, professor of sociology at Ohio State.
“The Great Sport Myth says that the positive results from sports are automatic – you just have to roll out the ball and good things are going to happen,” Knoester said. “That’s not true, but a large majority of Americans appear to buy into that.”
It is true that sports can have many benefits for those who participate, the researchers said. The issue is to make sure that people don’t get so blinded by the good things about sports that they ignore the problems.
For example, previously published Ohio State research links youth sports participation with better mental health in adulthood. But the benefits were only apparent for those who continued to play sports throughout childhood. Most youth sports participants reported dropping out of sports and commonly said they did so because it was not fun, they were not a good enough player, they did not get along with the coach or teammates, they became injured, or they did not have enough money.
These findings underline that the benefits of sports depend on the situational contexts of them, including the presence of positive, healthy interactions and inclusive cultures, Knoester said.
The Great Sport Myth is a concept developed and introduced in 2015 by influential sport sociologist Jay Coakley, a professor emeritus at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
The purpose of this new study was to use a large national survey to assess and analyze the extent to which U.S. adults endorse two essential components of the myth: the assumed personal development and social capital benefits of playing sports.
Because NSASS participants are disproportionately female, white and college graduates, the researchers weighted the survey results to reflect the U.S. population more accurately.
The results showed that the majority of Americans thought sports helped people’s character, health, grades, popularity in school and recognition in the community.
But the findings also showed that various groups that people belonged to, their position in society and experiences with sports all played a role in how much they agreed with these key components of the Great Sport Myth.
The researchers found that Black Americans were more likely than white Americans to embrace aspects of the myth. That makes sense, Davis said.
“It seems as if, in the Black community, sports are often viewed in a positive light and have historically been seen as a unique way to get ahead in society,” he said.
Knoester said one particularly intriguing finding was that the more children a study participant had, the more likely he or she endorsed the elements of the Great Sport Myth.
“This might have to do with the extent that children really immerse parents in sports cultures, as they take their kids to soccer practices or other sports activities,” Knoester said.
“It seems to really encourage parents to believe in how good sports are for their children.”
Christians and conservatives were more likely to embrace the benefits of sports participation for personal development and gaining popularity in the community. Heterosexuals were more positive than those who identified as sexual minorities, and men were more positive than women and those who are nonbinary.
Not surprisingly, people who said they grew up in communities high in passion for sports and who became bigger sports fans and participants were also more likely to believe in aspects of the Great Sport Myth. But people who reported being mistreated in their sports interactions, such as being subject to cruel comments or more extreme forms of abuse, were less enthusiastic about the benefits of sports.
The researchers also analyzed how combinations of these different factors were linked to feelings about the value of sports.
Based on their answers to questions about family and community exposure to sport, immersions in sport cultures, and beliefs about the values of sports, Davis and Knoester compared those who had more negative involvement and low involvement in sports compared to those who had more positive and high involvement in sports.
Results showed an enormous difference – more than 70 percentage points – in the probability between these two groups that respondents would strongly agree that sports build character.
“It is the people who are most immersed in these sports cultures that have the greatest belief in elements of this myth,” Knoester said. “But they may also be less likely to be critical of the problems that are going on.”
Davis added: “What makes the Great Sport Myth a myth is that it’s become the preferred story about sport. If you ask people how they feel about sports, they immediately go to the positives but rarely consider the negatives.
The focus should be on the context of how sports are operating in each situation, Knoester added.
“Sports often do good things, but it is important to be critical and take the time to assess our sports environments to make sure we are really getting the best outcomes that sports can produce.”
A new comprehensive survey has highlighted an urgent need to enable more farmers and contractors to revive England’s hedgerows to meet national restoration targets. While agri-environment schemes (AES) have improved the condition of these iconic landscape features, the overall length of hedgerows remains unchanged.
Hedgerows act as field boundaries, protect livestock, support biodiversity and help mitigate climate change. However, around half of these important habitats were lost in the post-war years due to agricultural intensification. In the 2007 Countryside Survey, fewer than 50% of remaining hedgerows were judged to be in good structural condition.
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology repeated the hedgerow survey across England in a new project for Natural England. Defra has set a target to create or restore 45,000 miles of hedgerow by 2050.
UKCEH used the data to review the effectiveness of the agri-environment schemes (AES) for hedgerows and carried out a questionnaire of around 400 farmers and contractors to gain a better understanding about their hedge management practices.
Key findings
The England hedgerow survey shows that, overall, agri-environment schemes have had a positive impact on hedge condition, and that more recent schemes are supporting more restoration and planting of new hedges.
Findings of the UKCEH report, An evaluation of Agri-Environment Scheme impact on hedgerows in England, include:
There was no statistically significant change in the overall length of managed hedgerows in England between 2007 and 2023, which is estimated to have remained at around 400,000km.
The proportion of hedgerows in good structural condition increased from 43% to 55% between 2007 and 2023. For hedgerows under AES the figure rose to 63.5%, compared to 46.8% for those outside such schemes.
Hedgerow height generally increased between 2007 and 2023 with the majority of hedges now taller than two metres, rather than in the one to two metre category. Hedges under AES were slightly taller than those outside schemes.
Many hedges have deteriorated in recent years due a lack of ongoing maintenance, resulting in gappy hedges or lines of trees.
The diversity of plant species at the base of hedgerows has not improved.
Biodiversity and climate benefits
Defra aims to create or restore 30,000 miles of hedgerow by 2037 and 45,000 miles by 2050. However, the Climate Change Committee recommends that the national hedgerow network should be increased by 40% by 2050, while Natural England’s long-term aspiration is a 60% increase in hedgerow extent to support thriving plants and wildlife.
Dr Lisa Norton, the UKCEH agro-ecologist who led the hedgerows study, says: “There are signs that agri-environment schemes are having a positive effect on the condition of England’s hedgerows. However, efforts to meet national targets for lengths of managed hedges are falling short.
“To meet national targets, we urgently need to increase participation in these schemes among farmers and landowners through better incentives and advice so they can rejuvenate our network of hedgerows.”
Dr Norton emphasises that increased planting and better management, including laying and coppicing, would maximise hedges’ ability to capture and store carbon, helping us reach net zero. It would also provide more habitat for insects, nesting birds and small mammals, supporting ecosystem services such as pollination and natural pest control, as well as enhance our landscapes.
In addition to AES funding, many non-governmental organisations such as the Woodland Trust provide funding and support for hedgerow and tree planting.
Farmers’ feedback
UKCEH’s survey revealed that farmers are keen to maintain their hedges both to protect livestock and improve local wildlife. However, they highlighted the need for adequate funds for planting, establishment, and ongoing management of hedges.
Agricultural contractors reported that agri-environment schemes had been designed without their input and said there had been numerous issues with managing hedgerows in line with the schemes’ regulations, affecting their businesses. They also highlighted the potential advantages of investing in farmer and contractor training in hedgerow management.
The results of UKCEH’s survey and study will be used to shape future policies and strategies aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of hedges across England. The report and a summary are available on the Defra website.
- Ends -
Media enquiries
For interviews and further information, please contact Simon Williams, Media Relations Officer at UKCEH, via simwil@ceh.ac.uk or +44 (0)7920 295384.
Notes to Editors
Surveyors recorded the lengths, locations and attribute, such as height, width and management, of all hedgerows in the English Countryside Survey squares. Plots sampling species and additional hedgerow attributes in both the woody component and the area below and adjacent to hedgerows were recorded for both randomly sampled hedgerows and for hedgerows under agri-environment scheme options in squares.
UKCEH’s questionnaire complemented a separate survey of farmers, commissioned by CPRE, which showed strong support for government plans to increase our hedgerow networks but highlighted a lack of funding is by far the biggest obstacle to planting and maintaining hedgerows.
About the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) is a leading independent research institute dedicated to understanding and transforming how we interact with the natural world.
With over 600 researchers, we tackle the urgent environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.
Our evidence-based insights empower governments, businesses, and communities to make informed decisions, shaping a future where both nature and people thrive.
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, It's just a spring clean for the May queen
The unsolved mystery sounds of the Southern Ocean #ASA187
Quack-like sounds off the coast of New Zealand in the ’80s may have been a conversation.
Acoustical Society of America
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Looking from the stern of the ship as it tows the long horizontal array of hydrophones. The tow cable can be seen going through the metal horn at the stern. The hydrophone array is several hundred meters behind the ship and about 200 meters deep.
MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 21, 2024 – Mysterious, repeating sounds from the depths of the ocean can be terrifying to some, but in the 1980s, they presented a unique look at an underwater soundscape.
In July 1982, researchers in New Zealand recorded unidentifiable sounds as a part of an experiment to characterize the soundscape of the South Fiji Basin. The sound consisted of four short bursts resembling a quack, which inspired the name of the sound “Bio-Duck.”
“The sound was so repeatable, we couldn’t believe at first that it was biological,” said researcher Ross Chapman from the University of Victoria. “But in talking to other colleagues in Australia about the data, we discovered that a similar sound was heard quite often in other regions around New Zealand and Australia.”
They came to a consensus that the sounds had to be biological.
Chapman will present his work analyzing the mystery sounds Thursday, Nov. 21, at 10:05 a.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.
“I became involved in the analysis of the data from the experiment in 1986,” Chapman said. “We discovered that the data contained a gold mine of new information about many kinds of sound in the ocean, including sounds from marine mammals.”
“You have to understand that this type of study of ocean noise was in its infancy in those days. As it turned out, we learned something new about sound in the ocean every day as we looked further into the data—it was really an exciting time for us,” he said.
However, the sounds have never been conclusively identified. There are theories the sounds were made by Antarctic Minke whales, since the sounds were also recorded in Antarctic waters in later years, but there was no independent evidence from visual sightings of the whales making the sounds in the New Zealand data.
No matter the animal, Chapman believes that the sounds could be a conversation. The data was recorded by an acoustic antenna, an array of hydrophones that was towed behind a ship. The uniqueness of the antenna allowed the researchers to identify the direction the sounds were coming from.
“We discovered that there were usually several different speakers at different places in the ocean, and all of them making these sounds,” Chapman said. “The most amazing thing was that when one speaker was talking, the others were quiet, as though they were listening. Then the first speaker would stop talking and listen to responses from others.”
He will present the waveform and spectrum of the recordings during his session, as well as further evidence that the work was a conversation between multiple animals.
“It’s always been an unanswered issue in my mind,” Chapman said. “Maybe they were talking about dinner, maybe it was parents talking to children, or maybe they were simply commenting on that crazy ship that kept going back and forth towing that long string behind it.”
Do pipe organs create an auto-tune effect? #ASA187
Pipe organs create sympathetic resonance in concert halls and church sanctuaries
Acoustical Society of America
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Ashley Snow studied the resonant effects of the D-K Organ on concert hall acoustics at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
MELVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 20, 2024 – The pipe organ, with its strong timber base and towering metal pipes, stands as a bastion in concert halls and church sanctuaries. Even when not in use, the pipe organ affects the acoustical environment around it.
Researcher Ashley Snow from the University of Washington sought to understand what effects the world’s largest class of musical instrument has on the acoustics of concert halls that house them.
“The question is how much the pipe organ contributes to an acoustic environment—and the bigger question is, what portion of music is the acoustic environment, and vice versa?” Snow said.
Snow will present data on the sympathetic resonance of pipe organs and its effect on concert hall acoustics on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET as part of the virtual 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.
Snow hypothesized that the pipe organ creates an auto-tune effect since its pipes sympathetically resonate to the same frequencies they are tuned to. This effect may enhance the overall musical sound of ensembles that play in concert halls with organs.
A sine-sweep—a resonance test in which a sine-wave shaped signal is used to excite a system—was played through loudspeakers facing the organ pipes and measuring the response with a microphone at different positions. Data was gathered by placing microphones inside and around the organ pipes during a musical performance and a church service.
“I was way up in the ranks dangling a probe microphone into the pipes, trying my hardest not to make a sound or fall,” Snow said.
Snow verified experimentally that sympathetic resonance does occur in organ pipes during musical performances, speeches, and noises at frequencies that align with musical notes, and that the overall amplitude increases when the signal matches the resonance of one or more pipes.
Investigation into the significance of these effects on the overall quality of musical performance to listeners in the audience is still ongoing. Snow hopes to expand this research by comparing room acoustics between rooms with and without the presence of an organ, along with categorizing and mathematically modeling the tuning system of various world instruments. “What about the sympathy of a marimba, cymbal, or piano strings? Or the mode-locking of horns in a band? Would it sound the same if these things were separated from each other? For better or for worse? I want people to think about that.”
