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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:
TECHNOLOGY DRIVES VENTURE CAPITAL IN U.S.; INDUSTRIAL & CONSUMER PRODUCTS IN EUROPEComputer technology, medical and health care and telecommunications industries were the leading recipients of venture capital investments in the United States from 1987-1996, according to a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Issue Brief prepared by the Division of Science Resources Studies (SRS). In Europe, venture capital was focused more on firms that made industrial machinery and equipment, high-fashion clothing and other consumer products. Venture capital markets became increasingly active in both the U.S. and Europe over the 10-year period. In 1996, venture capital investments in the U.S. reached $9.4 billion (versus a low of $2.6 billion in 1991), and about $8.6 billion in Europe (nearly twice the amount invested in 1993). Venture capital is an important source of funds used for new and expanding small high-tech companies; these investments tend to be long-term and high-risk - with a potential for large payoffs to the investor. [Joel Blumenthal] For the full Issue Brief see: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/issuebrf/ib99303.htm FIRST SEISMIC CENTER ON THE DEEP SEAFLOOR IN OPERATIONSeismologists from the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), a consortium of research institutions funded by the NSF, are examining earthquake data from the world's first permanent seafloor seismic center, the Hawaii-2 Observatory (H20). Built by scientists from the University of Hawaii, the H20 seismic system is linked to a junction box built by researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and attached to the retired Hawaii-2 telephone cable five kilometers (3.1 miles) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean midway between Hawaii and California. Recently, H2O's seismographs have recorded their first earthquake, a tremor from Papua New Guinea measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale. Seismic data from H20 will enable researchers to gain a complete picture of seismic events on the Pacific Rim. "Until now, the ocean floors -- which comprise most of the surface of the Earth's crust -- represented a large gap in our available data," said Rhett Butler, global seismic network manager at IRIS. "Information from H20 will do a lot to fill in that gap." According to Butler, H2O will provide scientists with a previously unavailable way of witnessing seismic events in places such as Hawaii, Alaska and California. This new reference point could help scientists visualize how tectonic plates move during particular earthquakes and understand where aftershocks could occur. H2O will not only be able to measure seismic activity around the Pacific; it will also provide a more complete picture of the Earth as a whole. "Right now," said Butler, "H2O is the only data point we have on the seafloor in any ocean." [Greg Lester] SHOULD SCIENCE TAP THE SECRETS OF AN ANTARCTIC LAKE?More than 3,000 meters under the Antarctic ice is a lake, the waters of which may not have been exposed to the atmosphere for millennia. Researchers believe the lake could host microbes that have evolved along separate paths from their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The sediments on the lakebed also could provide clues to Antarctica's past, they say. Scientists from Russia's nearby Vostok station have drilled down to roughly 100 meters above the spot where ice and water likely meet. But the drilling was stopped to prevent contamination of the water. At an NSF-funded workshop, "Lake Vostok," hosted by scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, participants weighed the scientific merits of a future program at the lake, noting that Lake Vostok presents science with a list of fascinating dilemmas, including the question of whether life could exist in such cold water where light never penetrates. A scientific investigation of Lake Vostok also could provide useful scientific and technological parallels for the exploration of the surface of Europa, a satellite of Jupiter that is thought to contain an ice-covered ocean, others noted. A possible scenario was offered by NASA attendees for developing technologies that could not only bore down into the ice with minimal contamination, but also explore the waters and sediments below. Julie Palais, a glaciologist with NSF's Office of Polar programs, said that discussions would increase dialogue among U.S. researchers and would gauge U.S. scientific interest in a future international program at Lake Vostok. [Peter West]
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