New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents, Life Form Discovered

A new "black smoker"--an undersea mineral chimney emitting hot springs of iron-darkened water--has been discovered at 8,500-foot depths by an expedition funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore the Pacific Ocean floor off Costa Rica.

Scientists from Duke University, the Universities of New Hampshire and South Carolina, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts have named their discovery the Medusa Hydrothermal Vent Field.

The researchers chose that name to highlight the presence there of a unique pink form of the jellyfish order stauromedusae. The jellyfish resemble "the serpent-haired Medusa of Greek myth," says expedition leader Emily Klein, a geologist at Duke University.

The bell-shaped jellyfish sighted near the vents may be of a new species "because no one has seen this color before," says Karen Von Damm, a geologist at the University of New Hampshire.

According to Von Damm, stauromedusae are usually found away from high-temperature hydrothermal vents, where the fluids are a little bit cooler, not close to the vents as these are.
Aboard the Research Vessel (R/V) Atlantis, the researchers are studying ocean floor geology of the East Pacific Rise, one of the mid-ocean ridge systems where new crust is made as the earth spreads apart to release molten lava.

"Each new vent site has the potential to reveal new discoveries in interactions between hot rocks beneath the seafloor, the fluids that interact with those rocks and the oceans above, as well as a rich biosphere that depends on vent processes," says Adam Schultz, program director in NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the expedition through its Ridge 2000 program. "This discovery has implications for understanding the origin of Earth's crust, its evolution over time and how living organisms adapt to extreme environmental conditions."

Jason II, a remotely-controlled robotic vehicle the scientists are using to probe the vent field, logged water temperatures of 330 degrees Celsius (626 degrees Fahrenheit) at the mouth of one of the vents. Jason II subsequently found a second vent about 100 yards away.

Von Damm said that heat-tolerant tubeworms found living on Medusa's chimneys, a type known as alvinellids, are commonplace in the equatorial Pacific and thrive on high-iron fluids. Jason also has retrieved two other types of tubeworms--tevnia and riftia--from the vent area.

In addition, the camera-studded robot, which can collect biological specimens with the aid of the mechanical arms it uses to remove rock samples, has gathered samples of mussels from the vent area.


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Global Earth Day broadcast to feature South Pole

Air quality research and ozone monitoring at the US National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole station will be showcased as part of a global Earth Day telecast scheduled for April 20, 2007, on various ABC network news programs.

Stephen Padin, the South Pole station science leader, will be featured on the network's broadcast Planet Earth 2007: Seven Ways to Help Save the World. Padin is spending the southern winter at the world's most remote scientific observatory.

Padin is expected to discuss what it is like to spend eight months of darkness at the Pole and what scientists are doing there. He will also talk about long-range scientific research to track levels of carbon-dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere since men first wintered at the Pole 50 years ago. The condition of the Earth's protective ozone layer also is monitored at the Pole.
The various reports in the daylong broadcast will air on Good Morning America, World News with Charles Gibson," an hour-long 20/20 anchored by Diane Sawyer and Nightline.

The South Pole has the most pristine air on the Earth and the record of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere derived from measurements at the Pole, which has shown steady growth for 50 years, is one of the oldest and most comprehensive in existence.

Padin lives in an elevated station that replaced one built in 1975. He oversees the operation of the South Pole telescope, a 75-foot tall, 280-ton device that will allow scientists to study the evolution of the universe.

The broadcast also airs shortly after the March 2007 launch of International Polar year (IPY), a concentrated, global campaign of research in the polar regions. NSF, which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program and chairs the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, is the lead U.S. agency for IPY.

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32-Mile Cable Installed for 1st Deep-Sea Observatory

Oceanographers have completed an important step in constructing the first deep-sea observatory off the continental United States. Workers in the multi-institution effort laid 32 miles (52 kilometers) of cable along the Monterey Bay sea floor that will provide electrical power to scientific instruments, video cameras, and robots 3,000 feet (900 meters) below the ocean surface. The link will also carry data from the instruments back to shore, for use by scientists and engineers from around the world.

The Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) observatory, due to be completed later this year, will provide ocean scientists with 24-hour-a-day access to instruments and experiments in the deep sea. The project is managed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Currently, almost all oceanographic instruments in the deep sea rely on batteries for power and store their data on hard disks or memory chips until they are brought back to the surface. With a continuous and uninterrupted power supply, instruments attached to the MARS observatory could remain on the sea floor for months or years.

"MARS represents the first step in a long-planned process to transform the way the oceans are studied," says Julie Morris, director of NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. "Marine scientists will no longer be required to go out to the ocean for their studies. The ocean is about to come into their offices."

If something goes wrong with the instruments, scientists will know immediately, and will be able to recover or reprogram them as necessary.

Slightly thicker than a garden hose, the MARS cable is buried about three feet below the sea floor along most of its route, so it will not be disturbed by boat anchors or fishing gear.
The cable itself contains a copper electrical conductor and strands of optical fiber. The copper conductor will transmit up to 10 kilowatts of power from a shore station at Moss Landing, Calif., to instruments on the sea floor. The optical fiber will carry up to 2 gigabits per second of data from these instruments back to researchers on shore, allowing scientists to monitor and control instruments 24 hours a day, and to have an unprecedented view of how environmental conditions in the deep sea change over time.

"After five years of hard work, we are thrilled to bring the age of the Internet to the deep ocean, so we can understand, appreciate and protect the two-thirds of our planet that lies under the sea," says MBARI Director Marcia McNutt. "We are grateful for the help of our talented partners and visionary sponsors. MARS has truly been a team effort."

At the seaward end of the MARS cable is a large steel frame about 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall and 15 feet (4.6 meters) on each side. This "trawl-resistant frame" will protect the electronic "guts" of the MARS observatory, which will serve as a computer network hub and electrical substation in the deep sea. The researchers hope to install these electronic components into the trawl-resistant frame in the fall of 2007.

After the electronics package is installed and tested, scientists from around the world will be able to attach their instruments to the observatory using underwater extension cords. These instruments will be carried down from the surface and plugged into the science node using MBARI's remotely operated vehicles.

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Atlantic Ecosystems Experiencing Large Climate-Related Changes

Ecosystems along the continental shelf waters of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean--from the Labrador Sea south of Greenland all the way to North Carolina--are experiencing large, rapid changes, report oceanographers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the Feb. 23, 2007, issue of the journal Science.

While some scientists have pointed to the decline of cod from overfishing as the main reason for the shifting ecosystems, the paper emphasizes that climate change is also playing a big role.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that Northwest Atlantic ecosystems are being affected by climate forcing from the bottom up and overfishing from the top down," says Charles Greene, an oceanographer at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y, and lead author of the Science paper. "Predicting the fate of these ecosystems will be one of oceanography's grand challenges for the 21st century."

Most scientists believe humans are warming the planet by burning fossil fuels and changing land surfaces. Early signs of this warming have appeared in the Arctic. Since the late 1980s, scientists have noticed that pulses of fresh water from increased precipitation and melting of ice on land and sea in the Arctic have flowed into the North Atlantic Ocean and made the water less salty.

At the same time, climate-driven shifts in Arctic wind patterns have redirected ocean currents. The combination of these processes has led to a freshening of the seawater along the North Atlantic shelf.

"Long time-series measurements, as well as research on large-scale ocean processes, are the key to improving our understanding of ecosystem shifts," says Mary Elena-Carr, program director in NSF's biological oceanography program. "This study brings together the important components: the atmosphere, freshwater flow, changes in currents and biological responses, all necessary to predicting future ecosystem responses to climate change."

Under normal conditions in summer months a warmer, less salty layer of water floats on the surface (warmer, less salty water is also less dense and lighter). This surface layer is known as a "mixed" layer, because wind-driven turbulence mixes the water and creates a uniform temperature, salinity and density to depths that can range from 25 to 200 meters.

Similar to the flow of heating and cooling wax in a lava lamp, when the air temperature cools during autumn, temperature and density differences lessen between the surface mixed layer and the cooler, saltier waters below. As the density differences get smaller, mixing between the layers typically increases and the surface mixed layer deepens.

But Greene cites recent scientific studies that reveal the influx of fresh water from Arctic climate change is keeping the mixed layer buoyant, inhibiting its rapid deepening during autumn. A gradual rather than rapid deepening of the mixed layer has impacted the seasonal cycles of phytoplankton (tiny floating plants), zooplankton (tiny animals like copepods) and fish populations that live near the surface.

Normally, when the mixed layer deepens rapidly during autumn, phytoplankton numbers decline because they spend less time near the surface where they are exposed to the light necessary for growth. But with the mixed layer remaining relatively shallow, phytoplankton populations stay abundant throughout the fall. In turn, zooplankton that feed on phytoplankton have increased in number during the fall through the early winter. Herring populations also rose during the 1990s, which some scientists suspect may be because of more abundant zooplankton to feed on.

Greene's paper also cites a link between the collapse of cod fisheries in the early 1990s and an increase in bottom-living species such as snow crabs and shrimp, which cod prey upon. Without cod, other animals that live in the water column and feed on zooplankton, including herring, may have increased.

While the herring story is still unclear, the authors contend that the crash of cod populations does not explain why phytoplankton and zooplankton populations at the base of the food chain have risen during autumn.

"We suggest that, with or without the collapse of cod, a bottom-up, climate-driven regime shift would have taken place in the Northwest Atlantic during the 1990s," Greene says.

With Global Warming increasingly active in peoples mind's outdoor Earth Day Programs are growing festivals complete with Earth Day activities for kids. Teaching kids about Earth Day is a great way to advocate appreciation for earth.

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NSF, DHS Team to Address Nuclear Threats

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) have issued a joint solicitation to encourage long-term, transformational advances in nuclear detection technology.

The agencies envision the research leading to next-generation detection systems for identifying nuclear weapons, nuclear material, radiation dispersal devices and related threats, they say.

"Five NSF directorates and two offices will be participating in the initiative," says NSF program director Bruce Hamilton. "Expertise will span multiple academic disciplines, necessary for forming a comprehensive platform to guide fundamental research on domestic nuclear detection."

DNDO intends to provide $58 million over 5 years to fund the effort with proposals going to NSF for review through the agency's merit-based process. Peer-review panels will consist of experts recruited jointly by NSF and DNDO.

The funding will grant opportunities for colleges and universities that will focus on detection systems, individual sensors or other research relevant to the detection of nuclear weapons, special nuclear material, radiation dispersal devices and related threats, DHS says. The program is called the Academic Research Initiative and will foster frontier research and build the nation’s intellectual capital in nuclear sciences.

“This Academic Research Initiative is a critical element in building the nation’s intellectual capital in nuclear detection capability,” says DNDO Director Vayl Oxford. “Continued advances in science and technology are a key element in the long-term effort to protect the Nation against nuclear attacks.”


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Program Shows Improvement in Student Proficiency in Math, Science

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has released its first national impact report assessing the NSF Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program, which was established in 2002 to integrate the work of higher education with K-12 to strengthen and reform mathematics and science education.

The most dramatic increases were documented by elementary grade students in mathematics, where 7.2 percent more students achieved or exceeded proficiency from 2002-2003 to 2003-2004, followed by an increase of 6.5 percent from 2003-2004 to 2004-2005, NSF says.

The document reports progress on improving teacher quality, quantity and diversity; developing challenging courses and curricula; emphasizing evidence-based design and outcomes; and promoting institutional change. It highlights examples of partnerships at all levels of education in communities across the country, and outlines impacts on student proficiency and benefits of professional development for teachers.

"The work of the MSP program is critical in order for students to gain the necessary skills to both prosper in a science and technology-driven society and to meet the increasing challenges of a global economy," says Arden Bement, Jr., NSF director. "The MSP program is a successful model of partnering among universities and K-12 schools and corporations. As a comprehensive approach to build the learning capacity of both students and teachers, MSP develops the next generation of skilled science and technology workers."

Projects in the current MSP portfolio are expected to impact more than 141,500 science and mathematics teachers and 4.2 million students in more than 550 local school districts. Since its inception, MSP has funded 89 projects.


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Bush Should Include Federal Research As Priority

President Bush should not neglect U.S. federal spending on research and development in either his televised State of the Union speech tonight nor his upcoming proposed federal budget for the 2008 fiscal year, according to a group that promotes research.

"The president in his State of the Union speech and 2008 budget proposal has a chance to show real leadership by calling for renewed emphasis on science and research as the future of our economy," says former U.S. Rep. John Edward Porter (R-Ill.), chair of Research!America.

"America's economic destiny is, without question, tied to our investment in scientific research. Research offers the promise of better health and of better-paying jobs for a better future. I hope the president will outline a vision to speed the pace of science and better prepare our children for careers in a knowledge-based economy.

"In an August 2006 Research!America poll, a majority of Americans said more funding for medical and health research now is essential to our future health and economic prosperity," Porter adds. "This is a time of unprecedented opportunity for science when the U.S., with our talent pool and research capabilities, could be leading the world in medical and scientific advances. We must boost spending for all science and research, not just certain areas. At stake is our standing in the world and our children's standard of living."

In particular, President Bush must focus both on federal support for research and development in the physical sciences and health sciences, says Research!America President Mary Woolley.
"We applaud the president's anticipated call for more physical science funding in 2008, such as the research funded by the National Science Foundation," Woolley says. "However, advances in physical and life sciences go hand in hand: how would we have outpatient laser treatment for glaucoma without research that developed safe lasers and research that helped us understand the workings of the eye?

"Research!America would be extremely concerned if the president's 2008 budget for research for health fails even to match inflation, as was thecase last year for the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality -- or worse, falls below prior years' budgets, as occurred last year with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's critical core programs," she adds. The investments of the past are now bearing fruit, for instance, in the decrease in cancer mortality, and theAmerican people expect that success to continue -- not slow down. When federally funded health research stalls, we lose family members prematurely, our economy loses productivity when workers become sick, and America begins to lose its position as a global leader in science."


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Physicists Test the Physics of Star Formation

The formation of stars and planets remains one of the big questions in astrophysical science. Currently, scientists do not understand the required conditions and the accretion, or matter collection process, involved in star and planet formation. There are contentious debates about whether hydrodynamic turbulence is responsible. The Magnetorotational Instability (MRI) experiment at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in collaboration with the Astrophysical Sciences Department of Princeton University is shedding light on this mystery.

Results published in Nature show that it is virtually impossible for hydrodynamic turbulence to generate sufficiently effective accretion to form stars and planets. The U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, and National Science Foundation are funding the work jointly.

"The Earth must have sufficient angular momentum so that it does not fall into the Sun under the influence of gravity. We also know that galaxies and solar systems have a preferred direction of rotation. Consequently, matter forming these systems must also have had net angular momentum, which must have been overcome by gravity for the matter to coalesce," says Hantao Ji, the lead author of the Nature paper. "The angular momentum prevents matter from falling into the star directly, so an accretion disk is formed, which consists of matter losing its angular momentum and swirling into the core of the star. For example, when our Sun was formed, the accretion process must have been very efficient in casting off angular momentum because most of the material comprising our solar system ended up in the Sun."

Since angular momentum cannot be created or destroyed, it must flow outward through the disk as the accreting mass flows inward. But how does this happen? Star formation occurs in deep space and therefore, while accretion disks are seen, the details of the accretion process cannot be discerned except in theoretical models and computer simulations. The Princeton project's primary mission is to test the plausibility of a 1991 theory that indicates the magnetorotational instability, a disruptive plasma process, plays a major role in accretion.

The elimination of hydrodynamic turbulence as a mechanism for accretion, makes it much more likely that magnetorotational instability is responsible. Matter in an accretion disk is composed of plasma, dust, and other materials. However, the MRI experiment does not use these materials. Ji and Jeremy Goodman, the primary collaborator from the Princeton University Astrophysics Department and also a co-author of the Nature paper, came up with a way to physically simulate an accretion disk with material "standing in" for the plasma, dust, and other materials. The system consists of two concentric cylinders, each 28 centimeters in length, free to rotate independently about a common axis.

The inner cylinder has a radius of 7.1 centimeters and is made of steel, and the outer cylinder has a radius of 20.3 centimeters and is made of plastic to allow visual inspection. The inner and outer cylinders rotate independently in the same direction, but at significantly different speeds, 1200 rpm and 160 rpm, respectively, as reported in the paper. What made this project a significant engineering challenge is the requirement to have two rotating disks at each end of the cylinders. The disks must be driven at different speeds by separate motors through six concentric pipes in order to achieve the required rotation patterns of the fluid.

For the experiments reported in Nature, the space between the cylinders was filled with water. Water cannot carry a significant electrical current or interact with a magnetic field and therefore cannot display magnetorotational instability, but according to nonmagnetic theories of accretion disks, should have become turbulent anyway with fast enough spinning. Future experiments are planned in which the space between the cylinders will be filled with a liquid metal chosen because it is easy to maintain and interacts with the magnetic field in ways similar to plasma. The researchers have chosen a mixture of 67 percent gallium, 20.5 percent indium and 12.5 percent tin. Future experiments will be conducted with and without a magnetic field parallel to the axis of the cylinders.

Computer simulations of the experiment predict that when a strong magnetic field is applied to the rotating liquid metal, magnetorotational instability will cause angular momentum to be transferred from the inner cylinder toward the outer cylinder, resulting in an increase in measured torque between the cylinders. This result would further support the hypothesis that magnetorotational instability is responsible for the transport of angular momentum in accretion disks, and hence for star formation. Accretion disks also form around massive black holes in the center of many galaxies and in binary star systems.

Results from the PPPL experiments will help astrophysicists better understand these phenomena. Understanding transport phenomena in plasmas is important for basic plasma physics in general, and for fusion plasmas in particular.

<---An interest in science can be cultivated as early as elementary science class projects. A rise in popularity of Forensic Science, which is considered a new science; due to it having a short history , forensic science interest can open more minds to a science career pathways. --->

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