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For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Editor: Cheryl Dybas Contents of this News Tip:
STUDY OF MICROBES MAY HONE PREDICTIONS OF MINING IMPACTSBy tracing the abundance and distribution of bacteria in an abandoned mine at Iron Mountain, California, scientists may have found a better way to predict the potential environmental consequences of mining metal ores. A team of scientists funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and affiliated with the University of Wisconsin (UW) at Madison has conducted the first molecular-level ecological study of naturally-occurring microbes that mediate some of the most severe pollution events associated with sulfide mining. The findings could provide the mining industry with a new predictive technology capable of estimating acid mine drainage from a given site. In nature, minerals exposed to oxygen and water form sulfuric acid. Around mines, an abundance of minerals is exposed to the surface in tailings and the exposed surfaces of ore bodies. These oxidize naturally. But naturally-occurring bacteria contribute to the process and like tiny factories, greatly accelerate the rate of oxidation. The bacteria are now considered to be microorganisms that control the production rate of acid mine drainage. According to UW scientist Katrina Edwards, knowing precisely where and under what conditions the microbes thrive in nature is a powerful new tool in predicting the effects of sulfide mining. [Cheryl Dybas] STUDIES FIND SUCCESSFUL NSF ENGINEERING PROGRAMSTwo complementary studies indicate successes in NSF's Engineering Research Centers (ERC) program. The ERC program has: created long-term collaborations between universities and industry; created new industry-relevant knowledge at the intersections of the traditional disciplines; and prepared a new generation of engineering leaders who are more capable of engaging successfully in team-based, cross-disciplinary engineering practice, according to the studies. The program, begun in 1985, currently supports 19 centers. Seven additional centers have completed their 11-year cycle. The ERC program is a three-way partnership. Universities receive NSF support to establish the centers, recruit companies to become partners, provide financial support, then maintain close ties. NSF's support of $52.5 million is leveraged more than two-to-one by funds from industry, academe and other agencies. NSF initiated the studies as a management tool to determine the progress of the program toward its goals. [Beth Gaston] For a single summary of the two studies see: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?/nsf9840 LICHEN GROWTH REVEALS UNKNOWN EARTHQUAKESEarthquakes along the San Andreas fault northeast of Los Angeles have occurred more regularly than previously thought. And the next "big one" may come sooner than supposed, say two geologists who are using their special knowledge to pinpoint the dates of previously unknown ancient earthquakes. Using a new method called "lichenometry," William Bull of the University of Arizona and Mark Brandon of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, looked at numerous rock avalanches and landslides caused by major historic and prehistoric earthquakes. The study tests the precision of their method for dating ancient earthquakes, and supports previous lichenometry work that identified a major unknown quake near Los Angeles that occurred in 1690. "Earthquakes larger than magnitude 7 commonly generate numerous rock avalanches over an entire region that can extend quite far from a quake's epicenter," explains Brandon. "Soon afterward, lichens begin to colonize the fresh rock surfaces. Because of their predictable growth rate, lichens make it possible for us to pinpoint within 10 to 20 years when an earthquake in the last thousand years occurred." Lichenometry, the scientists maintain, could reveal the seismic history of earthquake-prone areas, and be used in predicting the chances of future quakes. [Cheryl Dybas]
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