Sunday, January 26, 2020

Scientists to search for relatives of extinct Galapagos tortoises

Lonely George, the last giant tortoise of the Pinta species, is seen at Galapagos National Park on Santa Cruz Island in June 2006

A scientific expedition to the Galapagos Islands will spend ten days searching for relatives of two tortoise species believed to be extinct, including those of the archipelago's Lonesome George, park officials said Friday.

George, the last known member of the Pinta tortoise species, died in 2012 at over 100 years of age after refusing to mate in captivity with females from related subspecies.

Park rangers and scientists from the Galapagos National Parks (PNG) and Galapagos Conservancy will tour the Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island in hopes of "locating and removing a group of giant tortoises with partial lineage" to the extinct Pinta and Floreana species, the park said in a statement.

They chose the area because whalers and pirates who would eat the animals were thought to have dumped some of the tortoises there in the past to lighten their ships' loads.

The Galapagos Islands, located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean, were made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of their breathtaking biodiversity.

In 2008, a similar expedition took blood samples from 1,726 tortoises, 17 of which had a "significant percentage" of genes in common with the Pinta species while about 80 showed a "partial lineage" to the Floreana species, PNG said.

Studies have found "tortoises that have up to 90 percent of the extinct species' genes, meaning that at least one of their parents is a purebred and possibly lives on Wolf Volcano," said Jorge Carrion, the park's director.

The expedition is searching for suitable tortoises to begin a breeding program in captivity with the hope of eventually repopulating the islands, said expedition leader Washington Tapia.

Eleven giant tortoise species remain on the Galapagos Islands, while four others have been classified as extinct since Darwin's 1835 arrival.

Principles for a green chemistry future

by Yale University

In the most recent issue of the academic journal Science, the case is made for a future where the materials and chemicals that make up the basis of our society and our economy are healthful rather than toxic, renewable rather than depleting, and degradable rather than persistent.

The issue includes a paper, "Designing for a Green Chemistry Future," that illustrates a clear view into that future. The paper is authored by a Yale-led research team comprised of Julie Zimmerman, professor of green engineering and senior associate dean of academic affairs at F&ES; Paul Anastas, the Teresa and H. John Heinz III Professor in the Practice of Chemistry for the Environment at F&ES; and Hanno Erythropel, an associate research scientist at the Center for Green Chemistry & Green Engineering at Yale.

The team also included Walter Leitner, a leading figure in green chemistry who is a professor at the Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Germany.

"The basic idea is that green chemistry should be the basis of how we do any kind of chemistry in the future," said Erythropel. Too often, he explained, the evaluation of chemicals and the processes used to make these are focused solely on how well they function, but don't include considerations about their potential impacts during the whole life cycle. When it comes to chemical production, systems thinking must be used to create sustainable, non-toxic, and recyclable chemicals—from the design stage, through production and use, to disposal.

In the paper, they argue that the mistakes of the chemical industry over the past century do not need to be repeated in the future—and cutting-edge research and innovation in green chemistry is proving that. They highlight how green chemistry achievements have already begun the process of reinventing everything from plastics to pharmaceuticals, agriculture to electronics, energy generation and storage, and beyond. The achievements thus far are compelling but, according to Anastas, are only the beginning.

"The astounding accomplishments of green chemistry and green engineering thus far pale in comparison to the power and the potential of the field in the future," he said.

And while many examples exist of green chemistry increasing economic profits while being better for human health, the environment and sustainability, it is still the exception rather than the rule. Instead, Zimmerman says, "Sustainability requires that green chemistry and green engineering be done systematically, so that it is simply the way all chemistry is done in the future."

The greenbacks in mobile phone mines

More information: Julie B. Zimmerman et al, Designing for a green chemistry future, Science (2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.aay3060

Journal information: Science

Experts call for overhaul of pesticide regulations

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A trio of researchers from Aarhus University, Agroscope, Wädenswil and Vetagro Sup, France, Marcy l'étoile has published a Policy Forum piece in the journal Science calling for an overhaul of the regulatory frameworks that define the ways that pesticides can be used. Christopher Topping, Annette Aldrich and Philippe Berny suggest that the current system is outdated and needs to be changed because the current system is allowing more environmental damage than need be.

The authors note that most of the pesticide application regulations in place in Europe, the U.S. and many other countries were implemented in the early 1990s—a time when "one pesticide, one use" was the rule of thumb. Pesticides were tested on just one crop. But they note that conditions have changed. A single pesticide is often used on a wide variety of crops. They further note that our understanding of the impact of pesticides on the environment has changed, as well—much has been learned about the impact of pesticides on non-targeted insects, birds and other creatures. And much more has been learned about the impact on rivers, streams and even the oceans as pesticides make their way into the hydrologic cycle through runoff. They point out that over just the past 10 years, the failings of current risk assessments have shown the damage that pesticides are doing to the environment.

The authors acknowledge that changing an entrenched system of regulations across multiple countries would be a massive undertaking—but say it needs to take place nonetheless. They suggest the place to start would be targeting economic and legal systems. They note that changing regulations would not necessarily harm farmers economically—more stringent rules could prevent banning of pesticides across the board by pinpointing just those crops where a ban is needed. They also suggest work needs to be done to push pesticide regulation to the international level. They note that there are still major differences in regulations between countries—the European Union recently banned chlorpyrifos, for example, because it is linked to health problems in children—but the U.S. has allowed its use because the EPA did not agree with the assessment in Europe. An international ban would solve the problem.

The authors conclude by calling for an overhaul of the risk assessment system and the establishment of another system that would allow for communicating pesticide risks to the public.

USA lags behind EU, Brazil and China in banning harmful pesticides

More information: C. J. Topping et al. Overhaul environmental risk assessment for pesticides, Science (2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.aay1144

15,000-year-old viruses found in Tibetan glacier

FOR GOD'S SAKE MONTRESSOR LEAVE THEM IN THE ICE

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org
mountain glacier

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers from The Ohio State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found a host of ancient virus groups in ice cores taken from a Tibetan glacier. They have written a paper about their discovery and uploaded it to the bioRxiv preprint server.

Back in 1992, a team of researchers collected ice core samples from a glacier in the Tibetan Plateau—they calculated the ice to be approximately 15,000 years old. Some of the samples were put into cold storage for study at a later date. Then, in 2015, another team collected ice core samples from the same glacier—they were also put into cold storage for later study. In this new effort, the researchers carried out one part of the testing planned for the cores—looking at what sort of organisms might be trapped in them.

When the two teams originally collected their ice core samples, they did not ensure the equipment they were using would not contaminate the cores they were collecting. That meant the researchers with this new effort had to take special care to remove any contamination that had occurred during initial extraction and to make sure they did not introduce any contaminants of their own.

To ensure a pristine sample, the researchers, working in a freezer, first cut off some of the outer layer of each core sample. Each of the samples was then washed with ethanol to melt off approximately 0.2 inches of ice. Each was then washed again with sterile water to melt off another 0.2 inches of ice. The team also created test samples by repeating the same cleaning procedure on ice cores that had first been covered with known viruses and bacteria. The samples that remained were then deemed pristine and ready for study.

A close look at the newly cleaned ice cores revealed the presence of 33 groups of virus genera, 28 of which are not known to modern science. The researchers noted that the viruses they found in the cores from the two sites differed from one another, likely because they represented different points in time and thus differences in climate. They note that their work might grow in importance as the planet heats up due to global warming and melts glaciers, possibly unleashing deadly viruses.

2.7-million-year-old ice core pulled from Antarctica

More information: Zhi-Ping Zhong et al. Glacier ice archives fifteen-thousand-year-old viruses, bioRxiv (2020). DOI: 10.1101/2020.01.03.894675

Computer model shows ancient Earth with an atmosphere 70 percent carbon dioxide

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A team of researchers from the University of Washington has found evidence that the Earth's atmosphere approximately 2.7 billion years ago might have been up to 70 percent carbon dioxide. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of micrometeorites and what they learned from them.

As scientists continue to study Earth's past, they look for evidence of what environmental conditions might have been like in hopes of understanding how life arose. One important piece of the puzzle is the atmosphere. Scientists suspect that its ingredients were far different billions of years ago, but they have little in the way of evidence to prove it. In this new endeavor, the researchers looked to micrometeorites as a possible source of clues. Their thinking was that any material from space that made its way to the surface of the planet had to travel first through the atmosphere—and any material that travels through the atmosphere is highly influenced by its materials, largely due to the high temperatures of atmospheric entry.

Several years ago, researchers found a host of micrometeorites that had landed on Earth approximately 2.7 billion years ago, putting them squarely in the Archean Eon—the time during which it is believed life first appeared on Earth. Study of the micrometeorites showed that they contained high levels of iron along with wüstite. Wüstite forms when iron is exposed to oxygen, but not on the Earth's surface. It must have been created as the grain-sized meteorites burned and fell through the Earth's atmosphere. Intrigued by the finding, the researchers created a computer model to simulate the conditions that would lead to the creation of materials such as wüstite on a rock falling through the atmosphere.

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The model showed that an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide (from 6 percent to more than 70 percent) could have created the amount of wüstite seen on the micrometeorites. The researchers note that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would have meant a warmer planet—ideal for the emergence of life in liquid water.

Oldest rocks in Australia unlock secrets of the atmosphere

More information: O. R. Lehmer et al. Atmospheric CO2 levels from 2.7 billion years ago inferred from micrometeorite oxidation, Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay4644

Journal information: Science Advances

Emmanuel Macron crisis: Support plummets amid pensions protests - shock poll
LESS THAN a third of French people trust President Emmanuel Macron as his popularity continues to fall, a poll has indicated.
By MEGAN BAYNES
PUBLISHED: 12:51, Sun, Jan 26, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron (Image: Getty)

His approval rating has fallen by further four points to just 30%, adding to the troubles afflicting his administration. The centrist’s plan to do away with France’s multiple pension schemes and replace them with a universal, points-based system sparked anger among citizens. A survey of 1,952 people by Europe Elects between January 16 - 25 revealed 68 percent of people disapprove of the President.

It's in stark contrast to polling results when Mr Macron was first election in May 2017, when the President was hitting approval ratings of about 60 percent.

Mr Macron’s tough policies appear to be at the heart of citizen’s dissatisfaction.

On Friday, a separate poll revealed 45 percent of people believe his fiscal policies had “worsened” the country’s economic situation.

France has been blighted by more than six weeks of sometimes-violent protests and wildcat strikes aimed at putting pressure on the government before it presents the final version of the pension reform bill.

The draft law looks set to go before parliament for debate on February 17.\

SNCF workers march in Paris to protest against Macron's pension reform (Image: Getty)

Although Mr Macron largely stood his ground amid the weeks-long disruption, he has agreed to scrap plans to raise the age for a full pension from 62 to 64.

Moderate unions have now dropped their strike call, however hardline unions still want the Macron administration to withdraw the plans entirely.

The protests crippled public transport and saw schools close across the country.

Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy said a dark “climate of violence” hung over the country.

The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close last Friday after dozens of people blocked the entrance to the famous art museum.

Hard-left unions, such as the militant CGT and FO, resorted to power cuts and port blockades.

Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy said a dark 'climate of violence' hung over the country (Image: Getty)

A protest march through Paris last Saturday ended with police firing tear gas and using a water cannon to disperse rioters.

At 14 percent of economic output, French pension spending is among the highest in the industrialised world.

The system would face a £14.3 billion deficit by 2025 if nothing is done.

Mr Macron wants to merge the country’s 42 different pension schemes into a single system.

He claims the new system will be sustainable and fairer, and has promised a minimum retirement payout of £840 (€1,000) a month.

However, critics say it will force people to work for longer for a smaller retirement payout.

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Taal volcano: IMMINENT eruption possible as Philippines volcano is hit by 738 earthquakes
TAAL VOLCANO could erupt explosively within a matter of hours or days after geologists reported "intense activity" of moving magma and earthquakes around the Philippines volcano.

By SEBASTIAN KETTLEY
PUBLISHED: 07:52, Fri, Jan 24, 2020 | UPDATED: 07:54, Fri, Jan 24, 2020

At least 738 earthquakes have rocked the Philippines volcano since it first erupted on January 12 this year. Taal volcano was seen spewing a column of smoke and steam between 164ft and 1,654ft (50m and 500m) into the sky early on Friday, January 24.

A Taal volcano update by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) at midnight on Friday (8am local time) warned of imminent volcanic activity in the coming “hours to days”.

Taal volcano was showing signs of magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which could trigger further “eruptive activity”.

Officials have urged local residents within an 8.6 mile (14km) radius from the volcano to immediately evacuate.

The current alert level is 4, meaning a “hazardous explosive eruption is possible”.

Taal volcano: The Philippines volcano could erupt in a

matter of hours or days (Image: GETTY)

Taal volcano: 725 earthquakes have rocked Taal volcano

since January 12 (Image: GETTY)

READ MORE

Taal volcano erupts: Philippines eruption blasts ash 9 miles up

The official Taal Volcano Bulletin for January 24 reads: "DOST-PHIVOLCS strongly reiterates total evacuation of Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas identified in the hazard maps within the 14km radius from Taal Main Crater along the Pansipit River Valley where fissuring has been observed.”

Of the 738 earthquakes recorded since last week, at least 176 peaked at magnitudes 1.2 to magnitudes 4.1.

And between January 23 and January 24 local time, the Philippine Seismic Network (PSN) detected at least seven new volcanic tremors around Taal.

However, by Friday, the Taal Volcano Network has also recorded 486 smaller tremors undetectable by the PSN – a sign of magma moving deep underground.

Should the volcano erupt in the coming days, officials fear Taal will spew thick clouds of ash onto neighbouring regions.

Civil aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid the airspace around Taal volcano

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS)

A 3.1-mile-tall (5km) plume of ash is predicted to drift towards areas to the west and northwest of the volcano’s main crater.

A bigger eruption belching out a 4.3-mile-tall (7km) plume of ash is expected to reach Laguna and Quezon provinces.

The eruption will also pose a danger to aircraft passing near to the smokestack.

Taal volcano: The Philippines volcano sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire (Image: USGS)

Taal volcano: The smokestack from the volcano threatens aircraft (Image: GETTY)

The Taal Volcano Bulletin warned on Friday: “Residents around the volcano are advised to guard against the effects of heavy and prolonged ashfall.

“Civil aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid the airspace around Taal volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from the eruptions column pose hazards to aircraft.

“DOST-PHIVOLCS is continually monitoring the eruption and will update all stakeholders of further developments.”

Taal volcano erupted on January 12 this year after a 43-year-long slumber.

The initial blast was a phreatic one, meaning it was driven by steam rather than molten rock.

Taal volcano than erupted for a second time on January 13, this time magnetically.

The eruptions blanketed the nearby Batangas. Laguna, Cavite and parts of the Metropolitan Manila in ash.

On Wednesday morning, Taal volcano was not seen spewing ash into the skies.

Airlines have, however, notified officials volcanic ash at heights of about 19,000ft (5,800m) up.

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Venezuela opposition leader Guaido to visit Canada, meet with Trudeau

AMERICAN PUPPET VISITS CANADA TO THANK TRUDEAU FOR HIS SUPPORT

#HANDSOFFVENEZUELA

Venezuela opposition leader Guaido to visit Canada, meet with Trudeau
The Associated PressStaff Sunday, January 26, 2020

Opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks during a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, May 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

TORONTO -- Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido will visit Canada on Monday as part of an international tour aimed at bolstering support for his challenge to socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.

The office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he and senior Cabinet ministers would meet with Guaido, whose trip defied a travel ban imposed by Venezuela's pro-Maduro Supreme Court.

"I commend Interim President Guaido for the courage and leadership he has shown in his efforts to return democracy to Venezuela, and I offer Canada's continued support," Trudeau said in a statement.

Canada is one of more than 50 nations that recognized Guaido -- head of the South American nation's congress -- as Venezuela's interim president last year on grounds that Maduro's reelection was illegitimate.

Canada also has imposed sanctions against officials of Maduro's government and has joined five other nations in referring Maduro to the International Criminal Court.

Despite the international backing for Guaido, Maduro retains control over all practical aspects of government in Venezuela.

Guaido earlier made stops in in London, Paris, Madrid and the Davos Economic Forum.

Minor earthquake in B.C.’s Fraser Valley ‘lightly’ felt throughout the region

BY SEAN BOYNTON GLOBAL NEWS
Posted January 25, 2020

The approximate location of an earthquake that struck in B.C.'s Fraser Valley on Jan. 25, 2020. Google Maps

A minor earthquake that struck B.C.’s Fraser Valley Saturday morning was still felt by people across the region.

Earthquakes Canada said the 1.9-magnitude quake struck around 9:15 a.m. just north of Agassiz and about 15 kilometres northeast of Chilliwack.

There were no reports of damage, but several people said they felt shaking in Chilliwack and Abbotsford.

READ MORE: 4.5-magnitude earthquake strikes off Vancouver Island, reported felt in Vancouver

“It was a very loud bang which shook the house, followed by more ‘normal’ rumble/shaking,” said Dana Wilford, who lives in the Harrison Hot Springs area near Agassiz.

“It wasn’t a ‘typical’ quake for sure.”

The quake happened less than 24 hours after a 4.5-magnitude quake struck off the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island.

That earthquake was felt as far away as Metro Vancouver, which seismologists say is due to seismic activity on a major Pacific tectonic plate.

That plate is different from the one where several large quakes struck in quick succession off the northern coast of Vancouver Island around Christmas.

(AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner file photo)
Second earthquake in two days strikes near Agassiz
A 2.6-magnitude recorded Saturday morning

ASHLEY WADHWANI Jan. 25, 2020

There’s been a second earthquake in only a few days time in Agassiz.

A 2.6-magnitude quake was recorded at 9:20 a.m. Saturday roughly four kilometres north of the Fraser Valley town at a depth of just under seven kilometres, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Magnitude 2.6 #earthquake near #Agassiz #BC this morning. Reports of people hearing a loud "boom" and houses shaking.

— Darren Kennedy (@TheDarrenK) January 25, 2020

On Thursday evening, locals were woken by a 1.6-magnitude rumble. Yesterday, a 4.8-magnitude shake was recorded off the coast of Ucluelet on Vancouver Island at 1:30 p.m.

People across Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland took to social media saying they felt it.

READ MORE: 4.8 earthquake shakes Vancouver Island’s west coast

A new method for dating ancient earthquakes

by Linnaeus University

Constraining the history of earthquakes produced by bedrock fracturing is important for predicting seismic activity and plate tectonic evolution. In a new study published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports Jan 17, 2020, a team of researchers presents a new microscale technique to determine the age of crystals grown during repeated activation of natural rock fractures over a time range of billions of years.

The dramatic energy release of an earthquake forms as bedrock segments move in relative opposite directions to each other due to the collision or spreading of the tectonic plates that makes up the Earth's crust. The movement occurs along fault planes where new mineral crystals grow simultaneously.

The bedrock of Scandinavia, up to two billion years old, displays an extensive network of fractures formed at different episodes stretching from the early history of the Scandinavian crust to modern times. In rock samples retrieved from deep boreholes in Sweden, new microscale radioisotopic dating of individual fault crystals reveals the dominant fracturing episodes affecting Scandinavia.

Mikael Tillberg, a doctoral student at the Linnaeus University, Sweden, and first author of the paper, explains, "The ages of our analysed crystals matches several distinct periods of extensive mountain range formation when plate boundaries were directly neighboring Scandinavia. These temporal constraints demonstrate that our newly developed approach is suitable to untangle complex fracturing histories."

Thomas Zack, of Gothenburg University, Sweden, and a co-author of the study, describes how the dating method works. "Specific minerals contain radiogenic elements where certain isotopes decay over time. The abundances of these isotopes in tiny crystals formed on fracture surfaces are measured with high precision and detailed spatial resolution."

"The link between crystal growth and the frictional movement of earthquakes is ensured by identifying striation lines formed on fracture surface crystals by the movement. This microscopic investigation precedes age analysis to enable a simple and robust procedure for dating of faulting," Henrik Drake at Linnaeus University, also a co-author, adds.

Mikael Tillberg summarizes on the significance and possible future applications of this technique:

"Repeated earthquake episodes produce a chaotic array of broken rock and mineral growth even in a single crystal or on a particular fracture surface. Our methodology can resolve these sequences and connect the microscale mechanisms involved in fracturing to continent-wide plate tectonic forces. This allows reconstruction of geological models for diverse applications such as seismicity and infrastructure engineering."

Europe's largest meteorite crater home to deep ancient life

More information: Mikael Tillberg et al. In situ Rb-Sr dating of slickenfibres in deep crystalline basement faults, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-57262-5

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