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Image showing artist's concept of Tumbleweed, courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech |
Rare "Tumbleweed" Survives Antarctic Conditions: Rover Designed to Seek Water in Ice Caps on Other Worlds
A balloon-shaped robot explorer that one day could search for water on other planets has survived some of the most trying conditions on planet Earth during a 70-kilometer (40-mile), wind-driven trek across Antarctica. The Tumbleweed Rover, which is being developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., left the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Jan. 24, completing its roll across Antarctica's polar plateau roughly eight days later.
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March 12, 2004)
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NSF-funded researcher William Hammer, of Augustana
College, works on a find near the Beardmore Glacier.
Credit: William Hammer / NSF |
Evidence of a "Lost World": Antarctica Yields Two Unknown Dinosaur Species
Against incredible odds, researchers working in separate sites, thousands of miles apart in Antarctica have found what they believe are the fossilized remains of two species of dinosaurs previously unknown to science. One of the two finds, which were made less than a week apart, is an early carnivore that would have lived many millions of years after the other, a plant-eating beast, roamed the Earth. One was found at the sea bottom, the other on a mountaintop.
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March 12, 2004)
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The graphic shows preliminary findings. By comparing the differences between the images from each radar, researchers can detect an area that may harbor water droplets (the reddish area at the bottom right of the "Z difference" image).
Credit: Jothiram Vivekanandan, NCAR
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New Radar System May Help Airplanes Avoid In-Flight Icing
The buildup of ice on airplanes in flight is a major winter hazard for small and commuter planes. But scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., are testing a new system this month that may pinpoint water droplets in clouds that cause icing, potentially enabling pilots to avoid dangerous areas. The system, known as S-Polka, combines two existing radars that use different wavelengths. By studying the differences between the images that are reflected back to each radar, scientists hope to find tiny water droplets that are difficult to distinguish using either radar alone.
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March 12, 2004)
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Rapid Response Disaster Research
Credit: Sara Raimo, NSF; Photos: FEMA
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Understanding Ground Zero—Beyond September 11th Researcher Presentations Now Available on the Web
Rapid-response researchers, driven by years of experience studying earthquake and flood disasters, rushed to collect critical data from Ground Zero within days of the September 11th attacks. Unseen by the public and below the radar screens of many in the media, the U.S. academic community was scrambling. On Monday, Feb. 23, the National Science Foundation hosted six of the nation's top rapid-response researchers to report on their experiences at Ground Zero, highlighted the concerns facing disaster researchers and shared their results as collected in the recent compilation, Beyond September 11th: An Account of Post-Disaster Research.
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March 12, 2004)
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