DDT Pesticide Linked To Alzheimer's Disease

A study on Alzheimer's disease on 86 Alzheimer's patients and 79 healthy elderly controls show that the Alzheimer's patients have four times higher levels of DDE in their blood compared to the healthy controls. DDE is a metabolite (substance produced during metabolism) of DDT.

Although the cause of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not yet clear, researchers believe that factors such as genetic, environmental and lifestyle can influence the development of the disease. The latest finding linking DDT to AD reinforces the link between the environment and AD.

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a pesticide used in agriculture and mosquito control. It was used in the United States from the 1940s until its ban in 1972 over environmental and ecological concerns. Despite the US ban, DDT is still being used in many countries. One major reason for its use is the control of malaria spreading mosquitoes.

DDT can last up to ten years in the body. People are at risk to continuous exposure to the chemical because it can persist in the environment for a long time and that food products that come from countries using DDT will contain traces of the pesticide. This can also explain why elderly people are more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease. Scientist believe the metabolite DDE accumulates in the tissues over the years. As people get older, the levels of DDE rises making them more susceptible to AD.

In 2006, the World Health Organization called for DDT's reintroduction to fight malaria in African countries.

Understanding Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) - Multidisciplinary Session Held By The Geological Society of America (GSA)

How Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) Works
Credit: NPR, GRAPHIC BY PROPUBLICA/CREATIVE COMMONS

A multidisciplinary session on understanding the science and the water, air, and health issues behind fracking was set up by The Geological Society of America (GSA) in Denver. The goal of the session is to present to researchers and the general public, the state of the science of facking.

Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracking is the use of water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure to fracture rock for the purpose of obtaining natural gas trapped below the surface of the Earth. There are environmental and health concerns raised with fracking. Some of the risks that are attributed to fracking are water and air contamination, resulting toxic waste products, and increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (C02) levels.

The sessions held in Denver covered topics such as outdoor air emissions from fracking, and specific health risks from exposure to the process.

The sessions of note are:

• Session 064: Energy and Health: The Emergence of Medical Geology In Response to the Shale Gas Boom
• Session 022: Geochemistry of Flowback and Produced Waters From Hydraulically Fractured Black Shale
• Session 299: A Comprehensive Look at Hydraulic Fracturing For Hydrocarbon Recovery and Other Purposes

Ordinary Cars Go Green and Reduce Carbon Footprint

Product Advancements Let Drivers Go Green Without a New Car.

With gas prices soaring, environmental concerns and technological advancements in the auto and energy industry, ecological cars (eco cars) are slowly entering the mainstream market. Eco cars are vehicles that do not solely rely on fossil fuels for energy.

The most popularly used energy source for eco cars is electricity. Fuel cells (usually lithium-ion battery cells) power an electric engine that drives the car. Hybrid engines use both a gasoline engine and a battery operated one that alternates between each other depending on the most optimal choice. There are also pure electric vehicles but are limited in terms of range and use.

These type of vehicles have come into focus because of the movement to reduce the global carbon footprint. Carbon footprint can be simplified as the greenhouse gas emissions in an area, by an event, product, or person(s). The largest source of emissions come from driving fossil fueled vehicles (gasoline use). Reducing the carbon footprint from driving can be done primarily by driving less, or at the moment, developing more environment-friendly cars.

Aside from engine and power plant, there are also other ways for vehicles to go green. Taking alternative transportation (public transportation, bicycles, walking) when the distance is not too far, scheduling trips during lean traffic hours, Using more environment-friendly products can also benefit the green movement and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate During the Pliocene Period May Help Improve Climate Change Predictions

Researchers are looking back to climate conditions during the Pliocene Period, 4 to 5 million years ago, to develop a more improved model in predicting future climate change.

The climate during the Pliocene period was similar to the climate of modern times. It was cooler, drier and also experienced seasons just as today. The temperature then was around 2-3°C higher than today and sea level was 25 meters higher. Ocean temperature

The warm period during the mid-Pliocene epoch can be considered as a model of future climate today. The heat from the sun, geography and CO2 levels were similar to what it is now.

By studying the climate during the Pliocene period, researchers are hoping to find previously unknown mechanisms that may give insight on how climate reacts to certain conditions.

Pharmaceutical Pollution And Its Effect on the Environment

Wappinger Creek in New York's Hudson Valley was one of the streams investigated in the study.
Credit: Rebecca Allan

Pharmaceutical pollution may be affecting aquatic life and water quality in bodies of water such as streams and rivers. It is still unknown how this affects the environment and the organisms that is sustained by it.

Another source , albeit lesser known, of pollution is pharmaceutical pollution or contamination. Also known as PPCP or Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products as Pollutants, products involved refer to those use for personal health, cosmetic reasons, or used by agribusiness to enhance growth or health of livestock.

Pharmaceutical contamination covers pollution caused by these products such as prescription and over-the-counter medicine, therapeutic drugs, veterinary drugs, fragrances, lotions, and even cosmetics.

The main medium of pharmaceutical pollution is water. The United State's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has cited that studies have shown traces of pharmaceuticals in the nation's water bodies. Although there is no evidence of ill effects on human health, findings suggests that there may be some ecological and environmental harm when certain drugs are present.

Stanford Researchers Map Out Alternative Energy Plan For New York

In the shadow of the controversial decision whether or not to allow hydraulic fracturing in the State of New York, researchers at Stanford University has laid out a plan on the use of alternative energy.

Hydraulic fracturing is the creation and propagation of fractures in a rock layer. It is a process used to extract petroleum, natural gas and other substances from source rocks.

There have been harsh criticism and environmental concerns with the process of hydraulic fracturing. The State of New York will soon decide whether to approve this process in the state. Supporters of the decision feel that it will bring an economic boom from the resulting jobs and that it will help end dependence on imported oil.

Researchers believe that instead of focusing on hydraulic fracturing, it will be best environmentally and economically to focus on using alternative energy such as solar and wind power instead.

Comprehensive Analysis on Response Effort on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster Released

A detailed and comprehensive scientific and engineering analysis of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been prepared to better understand the disaster. It also provides additional research data to prepare for an effective response if ever it should happen again.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest oil related disaster in maritime history. It is estimated that 4.9 million barrels (189 million gallons) of oil was accidentally released into the Gulf in the three months that the well blew open. Starting April 20, 2010 when the rig exploded, the well was gushing around 53,000 barrels of oil a day. The leak was capped on July 15, 2010.

The fire on Deepwater Horizon burned for 36 hours and the rig sunk on April 22. The explosion killed eleven workers on the platform and injured 17 others.

On September 19, 2010, the US Government announced that the well is effectively and officially sealed.

Honey Bees Adapt And Evolve To Reduce Infection of Parasitic Mite, Varroa Destructor

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a serious problem plaguing beekeepers. Honeybee hives seem to die out for no apparent reason. Factors suspected to cause colony collapse disorder range from pesticides, climate change, and even electromagnetic waves.

With colony collapse disorder, the economic and agricultural damage it causes run up to billions of dollars. About 30% of the global food supply rely on the honeybees through pollination. Crops such as almonds, blueberries, watermelon, and apples are just few that heavily rely on honeybee pollination. And with beehives dying it out by the thousands year in and year out, scientists are scrambling to find a solution to this problem.

One prevalent factor that is gaining attention and long suspected to be a factor for CCD are parasitic mites. These are small insects that feed off on the honeybee, living inside it and even laying eggs on the eggs of the bees (larvae) or the bees themselves.

One reason that parasites may cause CCD is because a honeybee hive would normally die out because the queen bee has died. But with CCD, the queen bee is still present and the bee eggs are left unattended. Honeybees never leave the hive when there are bee larvae still present.

Although scientists have one time or another zeroed in on a valid reason for CCD, further research have failed to recreate and duplicate any observed findings. This leaves CCD an open mystery up to now.

Honey bees fight back against Varroa

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor is a major contributor to the recent mysterious death of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology finds that specific proteins, released by damaged larvae and in the antennae of adult honey bees, can drive hygienic behavior of the adults and promote the removal of infected larvae from the hive.

V. destructor sucks the blood (hemolymph) of larval and adult bees leaving them weakened and reducing the ability of their immune systems to fight off infections. Not that honey bees have strong immune systems in the first place since they have fewer immunity genes than solitary insects such as flies and moths. These tiny mites can also spread viral disease between hosts. This double onslaught is thought to be a significant contributor to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

No Evidence Neonicotinoid Pesticides Cause Bees Colony Collapse Disorder

Since 2006, beekeepers have noticed something wrong with the hives of honeybees they maintain. The colonies of bees were slowly disappearing. This phenomenon is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and its cause is still a mystery.

CCD is different from a colony dying out because the queen bee has expired or is no longer present. With CCD, the queen is still alive and present and the capped brood (bee eggs and larve) are still unhatched. This is peculiar because bees never leave the hive until the brood has hatched.

Colony Collapse Disorder is a global phenomenon. Countries experiencing CCD are Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Bee hives in Switzerland and Germany also are suffering from CCD in a lesser extent and there are reports that Taiwan is affected as well.

Although crops such as corn, wheat and rice are wind pollinated, fruits and vegetables are dependent on honeybee pollination. 80% of all flowering plants rely on honeybee pollination.

CCD is a very serious matter. Honeybees are responsible for more than 30% of the world's food. Pollination by bees is heavily relied on by agricultural crops and the number of bee colonies has fallen by 45 percent in the last 60 years. The United States has resorted to importing bees from Australia, something not done since the 1920s.

Theories abound on the exact reason for CCD such as malnutrition, pathogens and immunodeficiencies, mites and parasites, fungus, pesticides, beekeeping practices, and even electromagnetic radiation created by power lines along agricultural land. But these remain theories. After six years of extensive research and observation, the mystery still lingers and scientists are still baffled.

Pesticides not yet proven guilty of causing honeybee declines

The impact of crop pesticides on honeybee colonies is unlikely to cause colony collapse, according to a paper in the journal Science today (20 September 2012). More research is now needed to predict the impact of widely-used agricultural insecticides, called neonicotinoids, on honeybee populations.

UK scientists from the University of Exeter and Food and Environment Agency highlight flaws in previous research (published in Science, April 2012) that predicted that neonicotinoids could cause honeybee colony collapse. Neonicotinoids are among the most widely-used agricultural insecticides and honeybees ingest residues of the pesticides as they gather nectar and pollen from treated plants.

The previous research has been cited by scientists, environmentalists and policy-makers as evidence of the future impact of these pesticides on honeybees. It is likely that the research was instrumental in the French government's recent decision to ban the use of thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid that is the active ingredient of Cruiser OSR, a pesticide produced by the Swiss company Syngenta.

MIT News: Bacterial Gene Discovered Enabling Survival in Extreme Conditions

The oil slick as seen from space by NASA's Terra satellite on May 24, 2010

Newfound gene may help bacteria survive in extreme environments

In the days following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, methane-eating bacteria bloomed in the Gulf of Mexico, feasting on the methane that gushed, along with oil, from the damaged well. The sudden influx of microbes was a scientific curiosity: Prior to the oil spill, scientists had observed relatively few signs of methane-eating microbes in the area.

Now researchers at MIT have discovered a bacterial gene that may explain this sudden influx of methane-eating bacteria. This gene enables bacteria to survive in extreme, oxygen-depleted environments, lying dormant until food — such as methane from an oil spill, and the oxygen needed to metabolize it — become available. The gene codes for a protein, named HpnR, that is responsible for producing bacterial lipids known as 3-methylhopanoids. The researchers say producing these lipids may better prepare nutrient-starved microbes to make a sudden appearance in nature when conditions are favorable, such as after the Deepwater Horizon accident.

The lipid produced by the HpnR protein may also be used as a biomarker, or a signature in rock layers, to identify dramatic changes in oxygen levels over the course of geologic history.

“The thing that interests us is that this could be a window into the geologic past,” says MIT postdoc Paula Welander, who led the research. “In the geologic record, many millions of years ago, we see a number of mass extinction events where there is also evidence of oxygen depletion in the ocean. It’s at these key events, and immediately afterward, where we also see increases in all these biomarkers as well as indicators of climate disturbance. It seems to be part of a syndrome of warming, ocean deoxygenation and biotic extinction. The ultimate causes are unknown.”

Welander and Roger Summons, a professor of Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences, have published their results this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A sign in the rocks

Earth’s rocky layers hold remnants of life’s evolution, from the very ancient traces of single-celled organisms to the recent fossils of vertebrates. One of the key biomarkers geologists have used to identify the earliest forms of life is a class of lipids called hopanoids, whose sturdy molecular structure has preserved them in sediment for billions of years. Hopanoids have also been identified in modern bacteria, and geologists studying the lipids in ancient rocks have used them as signs of the presence of similar bacteria billions of years ago.

But Welander says hopanoids may be used to identify more than early life forms: The molecular fossils may be biomarkers for environmental phenomena — such as, for instance, periods of very low oxygen.

To test her theory, Welander examined a modern strain of bacteria called Methylococcus capsulatus, a widely studied organism first isolated from an ancient Roman bathhouse in Bath, England. The organism, which also lives in oxygen-poor environments such as deep-sea vents and mud volcanoes, has been of interest to scientists for its ability to efficiently consume large quantities of methane — which could make it helpful in bioremediation and biofuel development.

For Welander and Summons, M. capsulatus is especially interesting for its structure: The organism contains a type of hopanoid with a five-ring molecular structure that contains a C-3 methylation. Geologists have found that such methylations in the ring structure are particularly well-preserved in ancient rocks, even when the rest of the organism has since disappeared.

New Process in Manufacturing Denim Jeans More Economical, Efficient, and Environment Friendly

Jeans are pants that are made from denim. Although in popular culture, these are referred to as denim jeans, blue jeans, or just jeans.

Denim jeans are identified with American culture especially the cowboy westerns. This is because jeans were popularized as work trousers during the California gold rush when Levi Strauss introduced them with copper rivets. The rivets served a purpose in that it made jeans more durable, giving more sturdiness at stress points such as pocket corners.

The denim cloth gets its name from the city of Nimes in France (de Nimes). It is a rugged cotton twill textile. One particular feature of denim is that it fades over time. In denim jeans, fading occurs at stress areas such as the upper thighs, the knees, and ankles. People tend to favor this and it is not peculiar to see new jeans that have undergone processes to make it look old,used, and/or faded.

Now, denim jeans are available in most any color. But it is primarily known for being dyed blue using Indigo. Indigo is a natural dye extracted from plants with a distinctive blue color. The cotton fibers in denim were difficult to dye using other dyes, so traditionally Indigo became the primary dye used for cotton. Today, almost all indigo dye used in manufacturing is synthetic. The few companies using natural indigo charge a premium for their product because of this.

Sustainable denim manufacturing process creates 'green' jeans

Some estimates suggest that producing one pair of jeans requires more than 2,500 gallons of water, nearly a pound of chemicals and vast amounts of energy. Multiply that by 2 billion — the number of jeans produced worldwide every year — and you get a snapshot of an industry that contributes a hefty share of wastewater and greenhouse gases to the environment.

But an emerging greener chemistry process, described at the 16th annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, could help change all of that. The conference is sponsored by the American Chemical Society's Green Chemistry Institute® (ACS GCI).

The process, called Advanced Denim, can produce a pair of jeans using up to 92 percent less water and up to 30 percent less energy than conventional denim manufacturing methods, according to Miguel Sanchez, a textile engineer at Clariant, a specialty chemical company based in Muttenz (near Basel), Switzerland, that developed Advanced Denim. In addition, it generates up to 87 percent less cotton waste (which is often burned, adding carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere) and virtually no wastewater.

MIT News: Air Pollution From Vehicles and Powerplants Can Cause Premature Death

New study links air pollution and early death in the U.K.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In a study appearing this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, MIT researchers report that emissions from cars, trucks, planes and powerplants cause 13,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom each year.

The researchers analyzed data from 2005, the most recent year for which information is available. They found that among the various sources of emissions in the country, car and truck exhaust was the single greatest contributor to premature death, affecting some 3,300 people per year. By comparison, the researchers note, fewer than 3,000 Britons died in road accidents in 2005.

The researchers found that emissions originating elsewhere in Europe cause an additional 6,000 early deaths in the U.K. annually; U.K. emissions that migrate outside the country, in turn, cause 3,100 premature deaths per year in other European Union nations. In some areas on the periphery of the U.K. — such as northern Scotland — almost all air pollution comes from the rest of Europe, the researchers say.

MIT’s Steven Barrett and his co-author Steve Yim began the study in light of recent events in the U.K.: London is currently in violation of air quality standards set by the E.U., and the British government may face significant E.U. fines if it fails to address its air pollution.

“We wanted to know if the responsibility to maintain air quality was matched by an ability to act or do something about it,” says Barrett, the Charles Stark Draper Assistant Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT. “The results of the study indicate there is an asymmetry there.”

Dust in the wind

Barrett worked with MIT postdoc Steve Yim to analyze emissions data provided by the British government. The team divided the country’s emissions into sectors, including road transport; power generation; commercial, residential and agricultural sources; and other transport, such as shipping and aviation.

Heat Stress May Condition Corals in Surviving Climate Change and Coral Bleaching

Corals are marine animals that lives in a cluster or colony of identical polyps. Polyps are cylindrical in shape and elongated. Coral polyps are connected to each other directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles. Corals are classified in the class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria. The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

Corals come in different shapes, sizes and colors. The color of a coral is due to an algae called zooxanthellae which is also necessary for their survival. Without the zooxanthellae algae to provide the corals the bright and brilliant colors, the coral turns white in appearance. This condition is called coral bleaching.

A team of international scientists working in the central Pacific have discovered that coral which has survived heat stress in the past is more likely to survive it in the future.

The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, paves the way towards an important road map on the impacts of ocean warming, and will help scientists identify the habitats and locations where coral reefs are more likely to adapt to climate change.

"We're starting to identify the types of reef environments where corals are more likely to persist in the future," says study co-author Simon Donner, an assistant professor in UBC's Department of Geography and organizer of the field expedition. "The new data is critical for predicting the future for coral reefs, and for planning how society will cope in that future."

Studying Coral Reefs, Global Warming and Coral Bleaching. Can Corals Adapt?

Coral reefs are found in the ocean and are an important ecosystems. These corals are inhabited by small algae called zooxanthellae. The algae provide the coral's brilliant color and use sunlight to perform photosynthesis, providing the coral with necessary oxygen.

Coral bleaching happens when coral polyps, the animals that build corals, shed the algae (zooxanthellae) that give them their color, and which are necessary for their survival. Without the zooxanthellae algae to provide the corals the bright and brilliant colors, the coral turns white in appearance.

Coral scientists are not sure what causes coral bleaching, but warming water is the most likely culprit. Corals in the Caribbean and Florida have bleached when sea surface temperatures rose and were higher than the mean sea surface temperature for as little as one month.

Coral reefs are among the ecosystems most severely threatened by global warming, but hopeful new evidence has emerged that some coral species may be able to adapt to warmer oceans.

In a study published in the journal PLoS One, an international team of researchers reports that coral populations which unexpectedly survived a massive bleaching event in 2010 in South-East Asian waters had previously experienced severe bleaching during an event in 1998.

The team analysed what happened at three sites during the 2010 event and found that in Indonesia, corals responded to higher sea temperatures in a typical way, with fast-growing branching species - such as staghorn corals – suffering severe die-offs. But at sites monitored in Singapore and Malaysia, the usual trend was reversed: normally susceptible colonies of fast-growing Acropora corals appeared healthy and fully pigmented, while most colonies of massive coral were severely bleached.

"Mass coral-bleaching events, caused by a breakdown in the relationship between the coral animals and their symbiotic algae, are strongly correlated with unusually high sea temperatures and have led to widespread reef degradation in recent decades," notes lead author Dr James Guest, currently a joint research fellow at the UNSW Centre for Marine Bio-innovation and the Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

"The severity of these events varies considerably but until now we've seen one consistent trend: certain types of coral tend to be more resistant to bleaching than others. This has led to the prediction that hardier, slow-growing massive species will replace less hardy, fast-growing branching species on reefs in the future.

Geoengineering and Its Effect on the Global Food Supply

Geoengineering is the manipulation of the planet's environment ot combat, counteract, or correct anthropogenic changes in the atmospheric chemistry. As described in Geo-engineering; Geo-engineering is the study and implementation of technical ways to change (and arguably improve) things like weather patterns, river paths, soils, climates and sea currents on Earth. Recently, geo-engineering has received special attention for efforts to combat global warming.

Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas have been increasing over the past decades, causing the Earth to get hotter and hotter. There are concerns that a continuation of these trends could have catastrophic effects, including crop failures in the heat-stressed tropics. This has led some to explore drastic ideas for combating global warming, including the idea of trying to counteract it by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth. However, it has been suggested that reflecting sunlight away from the Earth might itself threaten the food supply of billions of people. New research led by Carnegie's Julia Pongratz examines the potential effects that geoengineering the climate could have on global food production and concludes that sunshade geoengineering would be more likely to improve rather than threaten food security. Their work is published online by Nature Climate Change.

Big volcanoes cool the planet by placing lots of small particles in the stratosphere, but the particles fall out within a year and the planet heats back up. One proposal for cooling the planet is to use high-flying airplanes to constantly replenish a layer of small particles in the stratosphere that would scatter sunlight back to space. But such so-called sunshade geoengineering could have unintended consequences for climate, and especially for precipitation.

Although scientists know that climate change in recent decades has negatively impacted crop yields in many regions, the study by Pongratz and colleagues is the first to examine the potential effect of geoengineering on food security. Pongratz's team, which included Carnegie's Ken Caldeira and Long Cao, as well as Stanford University's David Lobell, used models to assess the impact of sunshade geoengineering on crop yields.

Solution to Excess Nitrogen In The Atmosphere Sought

Nitrogen is both an essential nutrient and a pollutant, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion and a fertilizer that feeds billions, a benefit and a hazard, depending on form, location, and quantity. Agriculture, industry and transportation have spread nitrogen liberally around the planet, say sixteen scientists in the latest edition of ESA's Issues in Ecology series, "Excess Nitrogen in the U.S. Environment: Trends, Risks, and Solutions," with complex and interrelated consequences for ecological communities and our dependence upon the resources they provide, as well as human health.

Pulling from a broad pool of expertise in air quality, agronomy, ecology, epidemiology and groundwater geochemistry, the sixteen authors track nitrogen through its different chemical forms and biological incarnations as it progresses across economic, environmental and regulatory bounds. They argue for a systematic, rather than piecemeal, approach to managing the resource and its consequences. "We're really trying to identify solutions," said lead author Eric Davidson, a soil ecologist and executive director of the Woods Hole Research Center. "This is a paper about how much we do know, not about what we don't know. We know about nitrogen cycles, and sources, and we know problems can be addressed in economically viable ways."

Once a critical limiting element of agricultural production, excess nitrogen now overflows from fields and stockyards, typically in the forms of ammonia and nitrate, contaminating drinking water and air, and altering the chemistry and constituency of ecological communities. "Nitrogen is readily mobile, and very efficiently distributed through wind and water," said author James Galloway, a biogeochemist at the University of Virginia. Airborne nitrogen from agricultural fields, manure piles, automobile tailpipes, and smokestacks travels with the wind to settle over distant forests and coastal areas.

Subglacial Lake Ellsworth 'Advance Party' Returns After Antarctic Expedition

Lake Ellsworth is a subglacial lake under approximately 3.4 km of ice in West Antarctica, A subglacial lake is a lake under a glacier, typically an ice cap or ice sheet. Lake Ellsworth is approximately 10 km long and is estimated to be tens of meters in depth. It is strongly considered as a site for direct exploration due to the possibility that it may harbor unique life forms as well as its relatively easy accessibility.

After being granted permission in March 2009 to study the lake by the Natural Environment Research Council, a team of four British engineers has returned to the UK after completing the gruelling journey.

Lake Ellsworth is one of the most remote and hostile locations on the planet. The team's mission is to put in place equipment and supplies for an ambitious project later this year. Enduring temperatures of minus 35°C the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth 'Advance Party' has successfully paved the way to explore an ancient lake buried beneath 3 km of Antarctic ice. A powerful 'tractor-train' towed nearly 70 tonnes of equipment across Antarctica's ice over deep snow and steep mountain passes. In December a science and engineering team will make the 16,000 km journey from the UK to collect water and sediments from the buried lake.

More than 400 subglacial lakes have so far been discovered beneath Antarctica's vast ice sheet. The most well-known of these is Lake Vostok in East Antarctica. A Russian team hopes to penetrate and collect samples from this lake soon

Lake Ellsworth will be the first Antarctic subglacial lake to be measured and sampled directly through the design and manufacture of space-industry standard 'clean technology'; the first of its kind to be developed. Scientists have been planning for more than 15 years to access the lake in the quest to yield new knowledge about the evolution of life on Earth and other planets. Lake-bed sediments could also provide vital clues about the Earth's past climate. Through a bore hole, drilled using high-pressure hot water, the team will lower a titanium probe to measure and sample the water, followed by a corer to extract sediment from the lake.

Newly Discovered Criegee Biradicals Shown to Naturally Cool The Planet

Scientists have reported the discovery of the Criegee Biradical. Criegee Biradicals are formed from a chemical reaction between ozone and alkenes in the atmosphere. Alkenes are chemical compounds which are mostly released by plants.

Although these chemical intermediates were hypothesised in the 1950s, it is only now that they have been detected. They are named after Rudolf Criegee, a German chemist, who first proposed the mechanism involved.

To understand a Criegee biradical, it is best to define what a biradical is. A biradical in organic chemistry is an even-electron chemical compound or molecule with two free radical centres (unpaired electrons) which act independently of each other. Free radicals are mostly produced in the atmosphere from the photodissociation or breakdown-by-photons of more stable species. Their subsequent chemistry is central to such environmental issues as stratospheric ozone depletion and tropospheric oxidant production.

The scientists from The University of Manchester, The University of Bristol and Sandia National Laboratories report the potentially revolutionary effects of Criegee biradicals. The paper is published in the journal Science.

These invisible chemical intermediates are powerful oxidisers of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, produced by combustion, and can naturally clean up the atmosphere. Scientists now believe that, with further research, these could play a major role in off-setting climate change.

Glacial Water Shrinking in Peru

PRESS RELEASE: Retreating glaciers threaten water supplies

Glaciers are retreating at an unexpectedly fast rate according to research done in Peru's Cordillera Blanca by McGill doctoral student Michel Baraer. They are currently shrinking by about one per cent a year, and that percentage is increasing steadily, according to his calculations.

But despite this accelerated glacial shrinking, for the first time, the volume of water draining from the glacier into the Rio Santa in Northern Peru has started to decrease significantly. Baraer, and collaborators Prof. Bryan Mark, at the Ohio State University, and Prof. Jeffrey McKenzie, at McGill, calculate that water levels during the dry season could decrease by as much as 30 per cent lower than they are currently. "When a glacier starts to retreat, at some point you reach a plateau and from this point onwards, you have a decrease in the discharge of melt water from the glacier," explained Baraer.

Video: The economic effects of a shrinking glacier in Peru

"Where scientists once believed that they had 10 to 20 years to adapt to reduced runoff, that time is now up," said Baraer. "For almost all the watersheds we have studied, we have good evidence that we have passed peak water." This means that the millions of people in the region who depend on the water for electricity, agriculture and drinking water could soon face serious problems because of reduced water supplies.

Related Links:

McGill University
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Detecting E-Coli Contamination in Public Beaches

Detecting E-Coli Contamination in Public Beaches

Contamination of public beaches by fecal matter caused be sewage overflow is dangerous to the public and also impacts the local economy.

32% of monitored beaches in 2006 were closed at least once due to elevated levels of fecal contamination indicator organisms (USEPA, 2007). In 2005–2006, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported 78 separate waterborne disease outbreaks that caused 4,412 illnesses and resulted in 5 deaths.

Escherichia coli is one of the most frequent causes of many common bacterial infections, including cholecystitis, bacteremia, cholangitis, urinary tract infection (UTI), and traveler's diarrhea, and other clinical infections such as neonatal meningitis and pneumonia. Current methods to detect E-coli requires around 24 to 48 hours to produce a result (see the 2nd video: Do you like swimming at a beach?).

A new, accurate, and economical sensor-based device capable of measuring E. coli levels in water samples in less than 1 to 8 hours could serve as a valuable early warning tool and make it easier to detect such contamination. It is described in an article in Environmental Engineering Science, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

The article also provides a detailed description of the Autonomous, Wireless, In-Situ (AWISS), battery-powered device, which contains a prototype optical sensor that can measure changes in fluorescence intensity in a water sample. Simply put, Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance.

Video: Pathogenic Microorganisms in Recreational Waters

In the presence of E. coli bacteria an enzymatic reaction will cause an increase in fluorescence. The AWISS can detect high concentrations of bacteria in less than 1 hour and lower concentrations in less than 8 hours.

Jeffrey Talley of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD) and colleagues at the Environmental Technology Solutions, Gilbert, AZ, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS, present the results of a demonstration project using the AWISS device spanning 7 days. The detection system developed was able to collect and analyze a water sample every 6 hours and send the data collected to remote monitoring stations thru wireless transmissions. They compare the effectiveness of the AWISS to other E. coli detection methods currently approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"Pathogens in the aquatic environment pose significant human and ecological health risks. The work of Professor Talley and his colleagues in developing a remote sensing instrument to detect and transmit pathogen water quality information is a major advance in helping safeguard human health," says Domenico Grasso, PhD, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, University of Vermont (Burlington).

Video: Detecting E-coli and other pathogens in the waters

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