Texas A&M study: Marine heatwaves can strengthen hurricanes

Scientists have found that ocean events, such as a heatwave and a recent storm, can contribute to strengthening hurricanes

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

Oceanographers have found that a hurricane can be considerably strengthened in the Gulf of Mexico through the compounding effects of two extreme weather events. This process could continue in the future as ocean temperatures continue to rise around the world, according to a study co-authored by a Texas A&M University at Galveston professor.

Kyeong Park, professor and head of the Department of Marine and Coastal Environmental Science at Texas A&M-Galveston, and colleagues have had their work published in Nature Communications.

The team examined Hurricane Michael, the first Category 5 hurricane on record to impact the Florida Panhandle in October 2018. Prior to Hurricane Michael, Tropical Storm Gordon in early September mixed cold bottom water with warm surface water, lowering the surface water temperature and increasing the capacity of absorbing more heat.

During the subsequent atmospheric heatwave, the water column could absorb more heat energy resulting in a marine heatwave, which later was used to strengthen Hurricane Michael to a Category 5 storm. Hurricane Michael became much stronger than was forecasted because it did not take into account this compound effect.

"During summer in the ocean, solar energy increases air temperature and surface water temperature so much that the entire water column - from surface to bottom - cannot absorb heat from the atmosphere," Park said.

Water in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer months is especially prone to these conditions, the study concluded. The compound effect of Tropical Storm Gordon followed by an atmospheric heatwave provided an optimal condition for Hurricane Michael to become stronger than expected."It does appear that a storm or hurricane can get stronger if the marine conditions are right," Park said. "Hurricanes Sally and Laura in the past few weeks are good examples of stronger hurricanes because of the compound effect we described in our paper. This pattern could also exacerbate other environmental problems in sensitive ecosystems such as bleaching of coral reefs, hypoxia (low oxygen in the water) and other problem that are predicted as global warming continues."

Network reveals large variations in shaking in LA basin after Ridgecrest earthquake

SEISMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Research News

 

The 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence has revealed areas of the Los Angeles basin where the amplification of shaking of high-rise buildings is greatest, according to a new report in Seismological Research Letters.

The 6 July 2019 magnitude 7.1 earthquake, located 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of Los Angeles, did not cause structural damage in the city. But there was significant shaking in some high-rise buildings in downtown Los Angeles--so much that their residents reported feeling nauseous from the movement.

All buildings have a natural "vibration" or sway, which civil engineers and seismologists refer to as the building's longest natural period since it marks the amount of time it takes for a building to move back and forth in one cycle in a plane parallel to the ground. High-rise buildings of 15 floors or more, long-span bridges and large diameter fuel storage tanks, among other structures, typically have natural periods of three seconds or more.

Using data from a network of seismic stations across the L.A. basin, Monica Kohler of Caltech and her colleagues determined that long-period buildings experienced the most amplification of shaking from the Ridgecrest earthquake.

But the effect was not the same throughout the basin. At six- and eight-second periods, the maximum amplification occurred in the western part of the L.A. basin and the south-central San Fernando Valley.

In the event of a future earthquake similar to Ridgecrest, a high-rise building in those areas could experience shaking four times larger than a building located in downtown Los Angeles, the researchers concluded. In a 52-story building, this means that the upper floors might sway back and forth as much as one meter (about 3 feet)--or as much as two meters in a magnitude 7.6 earthquake, straining the building's structural integrity.

When seismic waves enter the softer sediments that fill in a basin, they slow down and their energy "piles up," creating larger amplitude waves that lead to stronger shaking. Researchers around the world have found that in general, the deepest parts of the basin--those with the most sediment overlying bedrock--experience the most amplification.

However, Kohler and colleagues found only a partial correlation between basin depth and amplification in their study.

"There's always been this assumption that the deeper the sediments or the thicker the basin ... the more amplification you're going to see, and we thought we were going to see that with our results," Kohler said. "But the sites with the largest amplifications for these long periods of more than three seconds are not close to the deepest portion of the basin."

"That's of concern because the next generation building code is being developed so that it incorporates parameters that account for deep basin effects," she added, "and if you get the location of the amplification effects wrong, you're going to have an application of the building code that's not right for specific locations."

The scientists were able to see a pattern of site amplification after the Ridgecrest earthquake with the help of a network of more than 500 seismic stations across the region, including 360 stations belonging to the Community Seismic Network (CSN). The CSN consists of low-cost accelerometers placed throughout the Los Angeles area, most notably in Los Angeles Unified School District buildings. Data from the network can be processed at the sensor site or in the cloud, and Kohler calls it "a really great example of a citizen science project that has worked for a decade."

"The denser the seismic network you have, the better resolution, the better you can see small-spatial-scale variations in ground shaking," Kohler explained

She compared the results to suddenly being able to pick individual stars' features out of a cosmic blur with a better telescope. "We're seeing a level of detail that is much greater than has been seen before."

It's likely that several phenomena contribute to variations in shaking amplification around the basin, Kohler noted. She and her colleagues are especially intrigued by one possibility: that shallow buried sediment deposits associated with historic waterways and oil and gas development might play a role.

"We're actively looking into whether there's a spatial correlation between where these ancient and current water systems associated with the L.A. river could be having an effect," Kohler said, "whether there's a relationship between where the water systems exist and used to exist, and the kind of amplification you see in ground motion."

 

Can organic plant protection products damage crops?

Researchers at Göttingen University discover new disease affecting maize

UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN

Research News

 

IMAGE: RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THE SPORES OF THE FUNGUS TRICHODERMA, WHICH IS CONTAINED IN SOME ORGANIC PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS, CAN CAUSE SEVERE COB ROT IN... view more 

CREDIT: A PFORDT, UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN

Protecting crops against pests and diseases is essential to ensure a secure food supply. Around 95 percent of food comes from conventional agriculture, which uses chemical pesticides to keep crops healthy. Increasingly, however, organic pesticides are also being sought as an alternative. Some organic pesticides contain live spores of the fungus Trichoderma, which have the ability to suppress other pathogens. Researchers at the University of Göttingen have now discovered that one Trichoderma species can cause severe rot in cobs of maize (corn). The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Agronomy.

The massive outbreak of a previously unknown species of Trichoderma on corn cobs in Europe was first detected in Southern Germany in 2018. In affected plants, grey-green spore layers formed on the grains of corn and between the leaves that form the husks of the cobs. In addition, the infested grains germinated prematurely. For this study, the scientists brought maize plants in the greenhouse into contact with Trichoderma by inoculation. They were then able to prove that the dry matter content of the maize cobs is greatly reduced. Annette Pfordt, PhD student at the Department of Crop Sciences of the University of Göttingen and first author of the study, analysed 18 separate Trichoderma strains mainly from maize cobs in Southern Germany and France over two years. She found that some of these strains are highly aggressive with a cob infestation of 95 to 100 percent. By means of molecular genetic analyses, these spores could be assigned to the relatively new species Trichoderma afroharzianum. Within this species of fungus, previously unknown plant-pathogenic strains seem to have evolved which are now responsible for this newly discovered disease affecting maize.

"The species used in organic plant protection products is a close relative, namely Trichoderma harzianum. Strains of this species were not as aggressive in the study, but in the inoculation experiments they also led to a slight infestation on the cob," says Pfordt. "Although the investigations carried out so far show that the Trichoderma strains used in organic plant protection products differ from the aggressive forms now found, it is also clear that the risks from the use of living microorganisms in plant protection must be thoroughly investigated," adds Professor Andreas von Tiedemann, head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Protection at the University of Göttingen.

In vegetable growing, "Trichoderma agents" can be used, for example to control diseases such as Botrytis (grey mould) or Fusarium and to reduce rotting pathogens on the crop products. Various organic products containing Trichoderma are available on the market. They are used almost exclusively in organic farming. Trichoderma species belong to the ascomycetes and are found worldwide in the soil, on plant roots, in decaying plant remains and on wood. They act as decomposers of substrates and as antagonists of other microorganisms. This is the first time that they have been described as pathogens on plants.

In affected plants, grey-green spore layers formed on the grains of corn and between the leaves that form the husks of the cobs

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Original publication: Annette Pfordt, Simon Schiwek, Petr Karlovsky, Andreas von Tiedemann. Trichoderma afroharzianum ear rot - a new disease on maize in Europe. Frontiers in Agronomy (2020). https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2020.547758

 

Hand pollination, not agrochemicals, increases cocoa yield and farmer income

Agroecologists from Göttingen University compare pesticides, fertilizers, manual pollination and farming costs in Indonesia

UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN

Research News

 

IMAGE: COCOA AGROFOREST IN SULAWESI (INDONESIA) view more 

CREDIT: M TOLEDO, UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN

Cocoa is in great demand on the world market, but there are many different ways to increase production. A research team from the University of Göttingen has now investigated the relative importance of the use of pesticides, fertilisers and manual pollination in a well replicated field trial in Indonesian agroforestry systems. The result: an increase in both cocoa yield and farming income was achieved - not by agrochemicals, but by manual pollination. The study was published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.

Cocoa requires cross-pollination by insects to produce fruit. It is unclear how to encourage natural pollination by tiny midges, flies or wasps: in fact, the true identity of the main pollinators has yet to be discovered. Under natural conditions, more than 90 percent of flowers are not visited by insects and do not develop fruit. These results clearly show that traditional agricultural intensification with agrochemicals is not always the best way forward.

Working together with colleagues and students of the Indonesian University of Tadulako of Palu, the scientists found that hand pollination increased the yield of cocoa trees by 161 percent. After deducting the costs of manual pollination, this meant a 69 percent increase in income for small-holder farmers. Using more pesticide and fertiliser did not increase yields.

Manuel Toledo-Hernandez, first author and PhD student in Agroecology at the University of Göttingen, pollinating a cocoa flower by hand

"Our results show how agroecological intensification can be successful by promoting biological processes or using innovative techniques such as manual pollination," explains first author Manuel Toledo-Hernández, PhD student in the Department of Agroecology at the University of Göttingen. The work was supervised by Professor Teja Tscharntke, Head of Agroecology, and Professor Thomas C. Wanger, now at Westlake University in China. They add: "Lower harvests due to insufficient pollination have a major effect on many crops in the tropics as well as in temperate latitudes. This should be taken into account much more in future efforts to increase production."

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Original Publication: Manuel Toledo-Hernández et al. Hand pollination, not pesticides or fertilizers, increases cocoa yields and farmer income. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 2020. DoI: 10.1016/j.agee.2020.107160

Full text available here until 5 November 2020: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1blSEcA-IdeTh

Contact:

Manuel Toledo-Hernández
University of Göttingen
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences - Agroecology Group
Grisebachstraße 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 177 44 72 022
Email: mtoledo@gwdg.de
http://www.manueltoledohernandez.weebly.com

Professor Teja Tscharntke
University of Göttingen
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences - Agroecology Group
Grisebachstraße 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 551 39-9209
Email: ttschar@gwdg.de
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/74726.html

COVID-19: Social dilemmas about protective measures

The psychosocial profile of people who resist adopting suitable protective behaviours against the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus provides valuable information about preventing epidemics.

UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE

Research News

 

We need to know about these psychological and social profiles so we can understand how protective actions against contagious diseases are adopted, and then define the correct preventive approaches. At the very start of the coronavirus crisis - before restrictive measures were taken - a team of health behaviour specialists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) managed to collect a large amount of data about the adoption of protective measures. Through a study published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, the Geneva psychologists analysed how people in Britain followed the precautions recommended in their country. The study focuses on how the behaviour of others influences individual decision-making, known as the social dilemma. It notes that beliefs about COVID-19, such as thinking that the disease is dangerous or feelings of vulnerability, have little impact on whether or not an individual takes up protective measures. The people least likely to adopt these measures are those who believe that the precautions taken by others mean that they do not need to take their own. These psychosocial profiles (among others identified in the study) point to possible solutions for creating prevention messages that are more effective.

A better understanding of human behaviour when it comes to making a positive contribution to a community can be used to develop more appropriate prevention measures and messaging. This is a form of behaviour analysis that is very useful for ecological issues and blood donation. Lisa Moussaoui is first author of the study as well as being a lecturer and research fellow in the health psychology research group in UNIGE's Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (FPSE). She explains the approach thus: «We are trying to understand how people make decisions and act so that preventive interventions can be made.» This is why, when the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health announced it would be introducing a semi-lockdown on March 13, 2020, the researcher and her colleagues decided to bring their expertise to bear regarding the COVID-19 health crisis.

Using the United Kingdom as a model

The Geneva psychologists turned to the United Kingdom, which - unlike Switzerland - had not yet entered lockdown: this meant the researchers could analyse behaviours before the official measures came into force, enabling them to concentrate on the initial decisive phases. A representative sample of 1,006 UK citizens served as the basis for the study, which included a series of questions relating to monitoring the adoption of the preventive measures recommended by the British health authorities. «We measured variables such as perceived vulnerability to COVID-19, the perceived severity of the disease and a number of other beliefs,» says Nana Ofosu, a doctoral student at UNIGE and co-author of the study.

Few socio-demographic differences

The psychologists observed that preventive measures were spontaneously adopted by a large section of the population. «It's a known phenomenon. Informing people about the presence of a danger is enough to bring about a massive and rapid change in behaviour. We've seen the same thing in other tragic situations, such as the AIDS pandemic. But, in spite of everything, pockets of resistance do exist,» explains Olivier Desrichard, FPSE professor and co-author of the study.

Level of education, family environment, age and the number of cases declared in the region do not influence behaviour. «It's an outcome that contradicts rumours claiming that certain categories of the population, such as young people, followed instructions less than others,» adds Moussaoui.

How other people behave: a source of social dilemma

«If no one else is doing it, why should I be the only one making the effort? « The more the study participants agreed with this question, the less they adopted preventive measures. Another factor negatively influences their adoption: the «drop-in-the-bucket» phenomenon - the feeling that your own contribution is pointless compared to the size of the danger. Finally, the study emphasises the fact that the more social contacts the participants had, such as professional relationships, the more they felt vulnerable, even though this did not inspire them to adopt the correct actions.

Preventive approach that needs refining

The study confirms the fact that social dilemmas influence behaviour. This psychosocial approach offers an interesting counterpoint to the way information is communicated about COVID-19, one that focuses on the dangerous nature of the virus and the importance of observing instructions. «It's important to know the real determinants of behaviour before embarking on a preventive action so as not to miss the intended goal. Most of the people interviewed were already convinced about the importance of respecting the recommendations. It follows,» concludes Moussaoui,» that this kind of message is not really useful to influence their behaviour».

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Tweaks to land-based conservation efforts would pay huge freshwater ecosystem dividends

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

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IMAGE: FLONA TAPAJO?S, PARA?, BRASIL BY MARIZILDA CRUPPE - REDE AMAZO?NIA SUSTANTA?VEL (6) view more 

CREDIT: REDE AMAZO?NIA SUSTANTA?VEL (6)

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Conservation projects aimed at protecting land-dwelling species could net major gains in helping species living in streams, lakes and wetlands with relatively minor adjustments, an international research collaboration that included Oregon State University has discovered.

Published today in Science, the findings are important because freshwater ecosystems host roughly 10% of all known species and one-third of all vertebrates despite comprising less than 1% of the Earth's surface.

Streams, ponds, lakes, rivers and swamps also play a key role in climate regulation and in providing food and fuel for communities around the globe.

Thanks to human-caused pressures over the last half-century - including habitat loss, overexploitation of resources, dam building and introduction of non-native species - freshwater vertebrates have seen their populations fall by about 80%, more than double the decline for marine and terrestrial vertebrate populations.

Climate change and pollution are exacerbating the problem, and scientists say new conservation approaches are needed to save freshwater ecosystems and the species that live in them. But typically, conservation efforts have focused much more heavily on land than water.

Bob Hughes, senior research professor of fisheries and wildlife in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences, was part of a collaboration led by scientists at Brazil's University of São Paulo and University of Lavras and Britain's Lancaster University that analyzed more than 1,500 species in the Amazon.

The scientists looked at both terrestrial and aquatic species - including fish, dragonflies, caddisflies, birds and beetles - and ran simulations of various conservation strategies.

"When the strategies prioritized only terrestrial species, the benefit to freshwater species was on average 22% of what it was for strategies that prioritized freshwater species," Hughes said. "But when we used a joint focus, it was possible to increase freshwater benefits by as much as 600% at the expense of just a 1% drop in terrestrial benefits."

Conservation projects have generally focused on protecting species that live on land, said co-lead author Cecilia Gontijo Leal from the University of São Paulo and University of Lavras, and if freshwater species are considered at all, it is assumed that they will be protected incidentally - as a by-product of efforts to conserve land species.

"But we found that to address the freshwater biodiversity crisis, freshwater species need to be explicitly incorporated into conservation planning," she said.

Co-lead author Gareth Lennox of Lancaster University said the findings illustrate "a great opportunity for conservation, where protection for one species group does not require either loss of protection for others or significant funding increases."

Because conservation energy has more often been directed at land species, information is somewhat lacking on the distribution of freshwater species, the scientists say. That means one challenge in protecting those species is not necessarily knowing where they are, particularly in tropical regions.

But because a critical factor for freshwater conservation is the concept of connectivity - the surface links between lakes, wetlands and streams - the researchers developed a new method for protecting freshwater species.

"Freshwater species crucially depend on the connectivity of river systems," said Silvio Ferraz of the University of São Paulo. "By designing conservation reserve networks that take such connectivity into consideration, we found that freshwater protection could still be doubled in the absence of species distribution data. This shows that there are few impediments to vastly improving freshwater conservation in data-poor regions of the world."

Jos Barlow from Lancaster University stressed that the urgency of the biodiversity crisis facing humanity means that the many important and endangered freshwater species can no longer be overlooked.

"Our findings show that conservation that thinks across ecosystems and habitats can provide substantially improved outcomes compared to more narrowly focused efforts," Barlow said.

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The research coalition also included scientists from Cornell University and Virginia Tech as well as researchers from Australia, Switzerland and Portugal.

A network of organizations in Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom supported the work financially.

Awakening after a sleeping pill

Patient with serious brain injury can temporarily talk, walk, and recognize family members

RADBOUD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

Research News

 

Patient with serious brain injury can temporarily talk, walk, and recognize family members

Awakening after a sleeping pill

A patient who could not move and talk spontaneously for eight years started to do so again after being administered a sleeping pill. The spectacular but temporary effect was visualized with brain scans, giving researchers from Radboud university medical center and Amsterdam UMC a better understanding of this disorder's underlying neurophysiological processes. The article has been published in Cortex.

Eight years ago, Richard, at the time a man in his late 20s, was hospitalized after a serious lack of oxygen. He survived but suffered a severe brain injury. Richard was no longer able to talk, eat independently, or move spontaneously. He was admitted to a specialized nursing home. Willemijn van Erp, an elderly care physician and researcher at Radboud university medical center, was still in training when she met Richard. "It was clear that Richard saw and heard us," she says, "but because of his brain injury, he was barely able to respond to us." This rare condition is known as akinetic mutism. Akinetic means that the patient is no longer able to move consciously. Mutism refers to the absence of speech.

Remarkable effect There is a small chance that patients with this condition will temporarily recover after administering the Zolpidem sleeping medication. Van Erp: "Because Richard's situation seemed hopeless, the family and I decided to administer this medication to Richard. Against all expectations, Zolpidem had remarkable effects. After taking the sleep pill, Richard started talking, wanted to call his father, and started recognizing his brothers again. With some help, he could even get up from his wheelchair and walk short distances."

Overactive brain Researchers at Amsterdam UMC, including neurosurgeon resident Hisse Arnts, have used brain scans to demonstrate the differences between the two situations. This provided them with information that could be important for Richard and other patients with severe non-congenital brain injuries. Arnts: "Richard's brain scans show overactivity in certain parts of the brain. This overactivity causes noise and somehow shuts down the 'good brain activity'. We have discovered that administering this sleeping medication can suppress this unwanted brain overactivity, creating space for speech and movement."

Research continues The researchers presented their findings and a video of Richard in the magazine Cortex. The research has since continued. Zolpidem's positive effects have a limited duration, which is why the researchers are now looking for a more permanent solution for Richard and other patients with this specific form of severe brain injury.

Stellar explosion in Earth's proximity

Discovery of iron-60 and manganese-53 substantiates supernova 2.5 million years ago

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH (TUM)

Research News

 

IMAGE: THIS MANGANESE CRUST STARTED TO GROW ABOUT 20 MILLION YEARS AGO. IT GREW LAYER BY LAYER UNTIL IT WAS RETRIEVED A FEW YEARS AGO AND ANALYZED IN THE MAIER-LEIBNITZ-LABORATORY AT... view more 

CREDIT: DOMINIK KOLL / TUM

When the brightness of the star Betelgeuse dropped dramatically a few months ago, some observers suspected an impending supernova - a stellar explosion that could also cause damage on Earth. While Betelgeuse has returned to normal, physicists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have found evidence of a supernova that exploded near the Earth around 2.5 million years ago.

The life of stars with a mass more than ten times that of our sun ends in a supernova, a colossal stellar explosion. This explosion leads to the formation of iron, manganese and other heavy elements.

In layers of a manganese crust that are around two and a half million years old a research team led by physicists from the Technical University of Munich has now confirmed the existence of both iron-60 and manganese-53.

"The increased concentrations of manganese-53 can be taken as the "smoking gun" - the ultimate proof that this supernova really did take place," says first author Dr. Gunther Korschinek.

While a very close supernova could inflict massive harm to life on Earth, this one was far enough away. It only caused a boost in cosmic rays over several thousand years. "However, this can lead to increased cloud formation," says co-author Dr. Thomas Faestermann. "Perhaps there is a link to the Pleistocene epoch, the period of the Ice Ages, which began 2.6 million years ago."

Ultra-trace analysis

Typically, manganese occurs on earth as manganese-55. Manganese-53, on the other hand, usually stems from cosmic dust, like that found in the asteroid belt of our solar system. This dust rains down onto the earth continuously; but only rarely do we perceive larger specks of dust that glow as meteorites.

New sediment layers that accumulate year for year on the sea floor preserve the distribution of the elements in manganese crusts and sediment samples. Using accelerator mass spectrometry, the team of scientists has now detected both iron-60 and increased levels of manganese-53 in layers that were deposited about two and a half million years ago.

"This is investigative ultra-trace analysis," says Korschinek. "We are talking about merely a few atoms here. But accelerator mass spectrometry is so sensitive that it even allows us to calculate from our measurements that the star that exploded must have had around 11 to 25 times the size of the sun."

The researchers were also able to determine the half-life of manganese-53 from comparisons to other nuclides and the age of the samples. The result: 3.7 million years. To date, there has only been a single measurement to this end worldwide.

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The research was funded by the German Research Foundation as part of the Cluster of Excellence "Origin and Structure of the Universe". In addition to the Technical University of Munich, the Laboratorio TANDAR, the Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Martín (Argentina), the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and the Helmholtz Center in Dresden-Rossendorf were participated in the research.

Publication:

G. Korschinek, T. Faestermann, M. Poutivtsev, A. Arazi, K. Knie, G. Rugel, and A. Wallner Supernova-Produced 53Mn on Earth Physical Review Letters, 125, 031101, July 17, 2020 - DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.031101

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news relea

OPCW probes couldn't prove chemical use in 2 Syria attacks

MIKE CORDER, Associated Press•October 2, 2020

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog said Friday that two investigations into alleged attacks in Syria in 2016 and 2018 couldn't establish that chemicals were used as weapons in either case.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons issued two reports by its Fact-Finding Mission into attacks in Saraqib in the Idlib region on Aug. 1, 2016, and in Aleppo on Nov. 24, 2018.

The report on the Saraqib attack said that open source reports suggested around 30 people, mainly women and children experienced breathing difficulties. The reports also “indicated the presence of a substance with an odor similar to that of chlorine,” the OPCW report said.

Opposition groups blamed the attack on Syrian government forces, an allegation Syria rejected, the OPCW report said.

The Fact-Finding Mission wasn't able to visit the site of the alleged incident or the hospital where injured victims were treated. It had to rely on data including interviews, hospital records and videos and photographs.

Its investigations and analysis “did not allow the FFM to establish whether or not chemicals were used as a weapon,” according to the report issued Friday.

The alleged chlorine attack in Aleppo was blamed on rebel forces.

“Social media reported that armed opposition groups dismissed accusations that they had used poisonous gases to attack areas controlled by the government in the city of Aleppo,” the OPCW report said.

Despite visiting hospitals to collect medical records and analyzing samples, the Aleppo investigation also didn't establish whether chemicals were used as a weapon, the report said.

In the past, a joint U.N.-OPCW investigative mechanism accused Syria of using chlorine and the nerve agent sarin during the civil war, while the Islamic State group was accused of using mustard gas twice in 2015 and 2016.

In April this year, an OPCW investigation blamed the Syrian air force for a series of chemical attacks using sarin and chlorine in late March 2017 on the central town of Latamneh.

The Syrian government has consistently rejected repeated allegations that it launched chemical weapons attacks.

#SCHADENFRUEDE 

West Virginia mail carrier guilty of election fraud after altering ballot requests to Republican

Joshua Bote, USA TODAY•October 1, 2020


A West Virginia postal carrier pled guilty to mail and election fraud after admitting he changed the political affiliation on multiple voter ballot requests from Democrat to Republican.

Thomas Cooper, 47, admitted to attempted election fraud and injury to the mail Thursday after an affidavit was filed against him in May.

Cooper held a contract with the U.S. Postal Service to pick up mail in three towns in Pendleton County.

In April, per a statement from the Department of Justice, the county clerk found absentee ballot requests from eight voters that were tampered with a black ink pen, five of which had their party affiliation switched to Republican. Three others that had their affiliation already set to Republican were altered, but did not have their political party changed. All ballots were located in Pendleton County.

Bennie Cogar, a West Virginia Attorney General's Office investigator working on behalf of the secretary of state's office, said in the affidavit filed in May that Cooper admitted to having tampered with some of the requests he delivered "as a joke." He did not know any of the voters whose requests he changed.

Despite ongoing accusations about mail-in voter fraud, including those by President Trump, cases have been minimal — and Trump himself has voted absentee. State leaders from both parties have granted more absentee ballots to residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WV mail carrier guilty of election fraud changed absentee ballot forms