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Out of Thin Air
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Team in Himalayas Retrieves
Ice Core from Highest-Ever Altitude
An NSF-funded expedition to a glacier atop the world's
14th highest peak, in the Himalayan Mountains, has
returned with ice cores containing climate records
that could reach back into the last glacial stage,
some 12,000 years ago. The international expedition
was led by Ohio State University scientist Lonnie
Thompson. The 40-member team conducted its research
atop the Dasuopu Glacier, a two-kilometer-wide ice
field on the flank of Xixabangma, an 8,014-meter (26,293
foot) peak on the Tibetan Plateau. No previous expeditions
have ever drilled cores at such a high altitude.
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Strange South American Fossil
Mammals Found in Madagascar and India
A strange group of
fossil mammals, heretofore only known in South America,
has been discovered on the island of Madagascar and
in India. The unexpected discoveries were announced
in the journal Nature by an international
team of researchers. The team was funded by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) and led by paleontologist
David Krause of the State University of New York at
Stony Brook. The discovery of the 65-70 million year
old mammals, dating from the Late Cretaceous period,
has fundamental implications for plate tectonics,
the theory that land masses move slowly over the face
of the earth and were in different places in the past
than they are today.
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Science
Board Calls for
Systematic R&D; Priority-Setting
The National Science
Board (NSB), concerned about the future state of scientific
research in the U.S., is calling for further study
on how to set priorities. In a working paper titled
Government Funding of Scientific Research,
the Board calls for "high-level coordination" of federally
financed scientific research, leading toward "systematic
ways to reach and prioritize decisions." The release
of the working paper follows a resolution in May in
which the Board affirmed its support of a balanced,
integrated and coordinated Federal budget for science
and engineering research and education.
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U. Vermont Wires
"Smartest Bridge in the World"
University of Vermont
(UVM) engineers are embedding fiber optic sensors
into a steel truss bridge spanning the Winooski River
in Waterbury, Vt., making the bridge one of "the smartest
in the world," according to engineers who pioneered
the use of the technology. The sensors on the Winooski
River bridge will allow engineers to determine the
bridge's structural health -- watching for damage,
cracks, strain or road salt corrosion -- and relay
that information to a remote computer. The research
is being funded by NSF along with the Vermont Agency
of Transportation and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.
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