Content about Earth science

  Feature - DILIGENT: from digital libraries to virtual research environments Fires in Greece over August 2007 killed 64 people and destroyed half a million acres of vegetation, leaving a scarred battlefield. Thanks to continual collection of earth observation data, scientists have a detailed record of this event. Image courtesy of European Space Agency In August 2007, Greece saw more wildfire activity than any other European country in the last decade. The fires, which involved scores of separate blazes, killed 64 people and destroyed half a million acres of vegetation. Thanks to data collected by organizations such as the European Space Agency, we have a detailed record of this event.A drop in the proverbial data bucketSuch earth observation data is collected all the time, all around us. For instance, to continue the wildfire example, two European Space Agency satellites—ERS-2 and Envisat—are continually monitoring the Earth’s surface, sensing hot areas: spots exceeding 308 Kelvin at night are classified as

Announcement - Maine students to benefit from new scientific grid portal The University of Maine Ice Sheet Model, developed by Jim Fastook, will soon be available to researchers from around the globe via a new grid portal in the pipeline at UMaine.Image courtesy of UMaineStudents in Maine schools soon will have an opportunity to experiment first-hand with variable climate change scenarios by accessing the University of Maine’s environmental modeling programs from their own classroom laptops.The UMaine Department of Computer Science has received two U.S. National Science Foundation grants, one for $200,000 to buy a second university supercomputer, and a second, for $300,000, to develop new supercomputer software to improve the transfer of massive data files.The new supercomputer, and an access portal being developed for it, will allow Maine middle school students to access the University of Maine’s Ice Sheet Model for environmental experiments. It also will enable the university to engage in much larger outreach and res

  Feature - Grids point to pollution solutions eMinerals’ scientists are using grid computing to delve into the chemical substitutions that lead to arsenic contamination of drinking water. This image shows an arsenic atom (purple) substituted for a sulfur atom (cream) rather than an iron atom (red) in the structure of pyrite.  Image courtesy of Kat Austen and Marc Blanchard eMinerals scientists will deliver new dirt on soil pollution at the 7th UK e-Science All Hands Meeting in Nottingham this week.The eMinerals team, funded by the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council, is using grid computing to tackle some serious environmental problems, including arsenic contamination of drinking water and dioxin pollution of soils. Over a series of thousands of calculations, researchers have simulated all possible interactions between dioxins and arsenic—extremely toxic pollutants—and the various rocks and soils in which they lurk.Fools’ arsenicArsenic often appears in minerals rich in iron and sulf

  Feature - ArchaeoGrid: a window to the past A fusion of aerial satellite data with geophysical maps in Crete, Greece. Image courtesy of ArchaeoGrid The life of an archaeologist never was very much like the life of Indiana Jones, and, as the field progresses, it becomes less so. Research has grown more quantitative. Statistical resources such as large data sets, complex models, and abundant computing power are becoming as important to the archaeologist’s toolbox as a notebook, dusting brush, and possibly even bullwhip.“Starting in the 1960’s the field of archaeology saw a change,” says Pier Giovanni Pelfer, from the University of Florence, Italy. “Using new techniques and tools, such as carbon-14 dating, researchers were able to ask new questions.”Technology, Pelfer is careful to note, is no substitute for old-fashioned fieldwork. Instead, it is a support, and one that enables new routes of inquiry. During the last 25 years, archaeologists in the Mediterranean have accumulated large amount

Acronym of the week - NEESit The NEES network extends across 15 experimental facilities spanning the entire breadth of the United States. Image courtesy of NEESitGround-shaking computer-powered collaboration is the order of the day at NEESit, otherwise known as the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Cyberinfrastructure Center. No wonder it needs an acronym! NEES is the slightly shorter version, standing for the George E. Brown Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. NEES is a shared national network comprising 15 experimental facilities, collaborative tools, a centralized data repository, and earthquake simulation software, all linked by the ultra-high-speed Internet2 connections used by the NEESgrid. This grid allows earthquake engineers across the United States to share data, collaborate with colleagues, and remotely participate in experiments.NEES research provides engineers with insight into the seismic responses of everything from buildings and bridges to coastal region

Feature - Earthshaking Images Visualization created at San Diego Supercomputer Center using data from a sensor-equipped building to give engineers tools to explore structure performance from different perspectives in full-scale earthquake shake table experiments.  Image courtesy of Amit Chourasia, SDSC Visualization ServicesSan Diego Supercomputer Center Virtual Building Helps Engineers Explore Structure PerformanceThe powerful earthquake struck suddenly, shaking the seven-story building so hard it bent, cracked and swayed in response.But this was no ordinary earthquake. In a groundbreaking series of tests, engineering researchers from the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California at San Diego jarred a full-size 275-ton building erected on a shake table, duplicating ground motions recorded during the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, California, United States.To record the impact on the building, the structure was fitted with some 600 sensors and filmed as the shake table simulated the ea

Image of the Week - Modeling Underground Waterflow with CODESA-3DCODESA-3D visualization of underground waterflow in the Korba aquifer in Tunisia. Image courtesy of Giuditta Lecca, CRS4, Italy and Domenico Vicinanza, CERN-IT and University of Salerno, Italy CODESA-3D, or COupled DEnsity-dependent variably SAturated flow and miscible transport, is an EUMedGrid application that models water movement in aquifers. This three-dimensional simulator can help hydrologists calculate how much fresh water can be pumped from costal aquifers before risking salt water contamination. EUMedGrid aims to create a grid infrastructure for research in the Mediterranean region.

iSGTW Sound of the Week: Listening to Volcanoes Detail of a waveform showing the beginning of an eruption phenomenon in Mt. Etna, Catania, Italy.Image courtesy of D. Vicinanza, Mt. Etna Volcano Sonification. Listen to Mt. Etna , a volcano near Catania, Italy. The Musical Inaudia sound laboratory at the University of Salerno, Italy, transformed data from a digital seismograph placed on the Mt. Etna volcano into sound: a process known as data sonification. You can also listen to other sounds, including more musical options. These computationally intense sonifications were carried on in collaboration with Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics grid as part of thethe Mt. Etna Volcano Sonification project.  

Image of the Week: Using WestGrid for Earth Sciences Composite seismic cross-section of an area near southern Vancouver Island. Image courtesy Andrew Calvert, Simon Fraser University Andrew Calvert, a professor of earth sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, uses the computing power of WestGrid for his seismogram modeling and seismogram simulations, and to process large volumes of imaging data. WestGrid, the Western Canada Research Grid, is a $50 million project to operate a high performance computing, collaboration and visualization infrastructure across western Canada. WestGrid encompasses 14 partner institutions across four provinces and was the first provider in Canada to adopt a grid-enabled system for its resources. This image shows a composite seismic cross-section across the Cascadia forearc near southern Vancouver Island, superimposed on a display of P wave velocities and relocated earthquakes.