Alkuvuodesta jo raportointiin, kuinka Ernest Shackletonin retkikunnan vuonna 1908 Etelämantereelle jättämät viskipullot on löydetty, jäätyneinä tietysti. Jäästä huolimatta sisältöjen uskotaan olevan kunnossa.
The smell of whisky on the surrounding ice has led the heritage team who made the discovery to believe that some of the bottles have not survived undamaged. However, the sound of liquid moving around inside the crates indicates that there is a good chance that other bottles have remained intact.
The wooden crate containing the whisky, marked British Antarctic Expedition 1907, was frozen solid in the minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) temperatures but the whisky in the bottles was still liquid.
Two more crates of whisky, along with two of brandy, were also discovered but they were left under the floorboards of the hut.
The whisky is believed to have been bottled in Scotland in 1896 or 1897, making it among the oldest in the world.
Joissakin tapauksissa on tarpeen sijoittaa uudelleen miespuolisen potilaan nännit. Tähän tarkoitukseen löytyy nyt matemaattinen kaava, joka perustuu muihin miehen mittoihin. Tarkemmin julkaisussa Improbable Research.
It’s challenging, not just because radioactive material is highly toxic, but because really engaging with the problem forces us to confront unimaginable timescales.
But in Finland they believe they have found a solution, with the world’s first permanent nuclear-waste repository — “Onkalo” — a huge system of underground tunnels that is being hewn out of solid rock and must last at least 100,000 years.
Posiva on laatinut ydinjätteen loppusijoituspaikasta turvallisuusselvityksen, jossa todetaan että tarkasteltava aikajakso on itse asiassa vieläkin pidempi:
The reference period for the safety analyses spans some 250,000 years, thus including at least one ice age cycle. After this period, the activity of the disposed fuel is on the same level as that of a large uranium deposit.
Matt Ford viittaa jutussaan tanskalaisen Michael Madsenin dokumenttielokuvaan Into Eternity, jossa tämä kysyy että entäpä mitä tapahtuu, jos tuona aikana ihmiskunta unohtaa koko loppusijoituspaikan olemassaolon?
The human species as we know it today is believed to have existed for approx. 100 000 years. The oldest cave paintings, known today, are approx. 30 000 years old, the pyramids approx. 4 500 years old, the Birth of Christ, 2010 years ago, the detection of radiation approx. 115 years ago. [...]
Most ancient language have been forgotten over time, and have had to be rediscovered to be understood by us in present time. Some languages we have yet to decode. It is an open question if and how we can communicate with an unknown and very distant future about complicated issues like nuclear waste and radiation. Scientific studies have been conducted in relation to nuclear waste storages, but the studies were ended as the US Academy of Science deemed it impossible to secure communication with any scientific certainty over a period of 100 000 years.
Tätä samaa kommunikoinnin ongelmavyyhtiä pohdittiin aikanaan USAssakin: miten viestiä kaukana tulevaisuudessa syntyville sukupolville näistä ydinjätteen peruskalliossa olevista varastoista ja niiden vaaroista. Viitekehyksiä ja menetelmiä tutkittiin ahkerasti, ks.
As a species, we are good at forgetting. So maybe the best, ultimate, defense against people messing with Onkalo would be simply to forget that it is there. The best way to keep a secret is not to let on that there is a secret at all.
But what about the ethical duty to warn those future generations with some kind of marker that would survive the scouring of Finland by glaciers and evolution of language? If, in fact, the canisters are rediscovered a few hundred years or a few thousand years from now, we can imagine our descendants’ reaction at having been left such a nasty surprise.
Posiva’s final disposal plans are based on the KBS-3 concept developed by SKB, the company responsible for nuclear waste management in Sweden. In this final disposal solution, spent fuel will be packed into strong water-tight canisters. The canisters will be placed into the bedrock at a depth of 400 to 700 metres, where they are isolated from the population and where they will require no maintenance to remain leak-tight for as long as their content could in any way harm living nature.
Jason deCaires Taylor on paitsi kuvanveistäjä, myös ammattimainen sukeltaja. Niinpä ei ole ihmeellistä että hän luo veistoksia meren pohjaan. Veistokset on valmistettu sementistä ja aikaa myöten niistä tulee osa koralliriutan ja merenpohjan ekosysteemiä.
Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculptures create a unique, absorbing and expansive visual seascape. Highlighting natural ecological processes Taylor’s interventions explore the intricate relationships that exist between art and environment. His works become artificial reefs, attracting marine life, while offering the viewer privileged temporal encounters, as the shifting sand of the ocean floor, and the works change from moment to moment.
Silent Evolution on yksi hänen töistään Cancunissa, Meksikossa, jossa hän toimii myös taiteellisena johtajana perustamassaan Merenalaisen Taiteen Museossa (Museo Subacuático del Arte, MUSA):
Jamie O’Shea on taiteilija ja utelias – hän tutkii kaikkea, etenkin häntä kiinnostaa teknologia, aika ja muisti. Hänen projektejaan löytyy täältä.
Tässä yksi.
Voisihan tätä projektia luonnehtia luontoystävälliseksikin, ellei tietäisi mitä oli tehtävä jotta projekti saatiin päätökseen:
For one, I used an estimated 20 kg of charcoal to produce perhaps 20 g of metal. Much of this was wasted in the learning curve, but it was used just the same. This is a fuel to metal ratio of 1000:1. The worst modern metal process I am aware of, the Pidgeon process operating in China to produce magnesium with coal, has a ratio of 25:1, 4000% more efficient than my process. Sourcing charcoal from forest fire trees uses carbon that would probably end up in the air anyway, but this resource would run out so quickly if used on any scale. Moreover, I had zero emissions control. While roasting my copper ores, I directly vented all the gases being produced. The noxious sulphur dioxide, chief precursor to acid rain, gagged me when I got too close. Moreover, I got sick twice after this phase of the process. At first I assumed this was from the sulphur, but after further reading, my symptoms more closely resembled mild arsenic poisoning. Arsenic is a heavy metal usually found in ores of copper that sublimates away during the roasting process.
Benoit Mandelbrot siirtyi ajasta iäisyyteen muutama päivä sitten, lokakuun 14. 2010. Benoit Mandelbrot oli ranskalais-amerikkalainen matemaatikko, jota kutsutaan fraktaalien isäksi. Fraktaalit ovat melkoisen korkeaa matematiikkaa enkä yritäkään ymmärtää niitä, mutta yksinkertaistaen ne ovat kuvioita, jotka toistavat itseään suurennoksesta riippumatta.
Fractals appear in many areas of nature, most notably in snowflakes, but also in some coastlines. Other natural examples include the way rivers break down into tributaries, which matches the way lightning bolts fork. In effect, many seemingly random natural shapes in fact follow a mathematical pattern.
With London-based design and innovation company Seymourpowell, [Nick Talbot and the Aircruise] set out to challenge the traditional mode of air travel on the premise “slow is the new fast”.
“It kind of intuitively felt like a bit of a shame that the act of travelling seemed to be becoming devalued. It was all about just getting there,” Mr Talbot said. ”We looked back at the very romantic days of travel with big ocean liners [that] were unbelievably elegant and delightful ways to get around.
“And the journey itself was in fact the destination.”
Toisaalla suunnitellaan ilmalaivoja talojen ja muiden raskaitten kuormien siirtoon. Näin Glenda Kwek:
Potential uses for a successful commercial model of the SkyLifter include moving aid or even portable hospitals to remote areas – such as rural regions or disaster zones – that have limited or no available infrastructure such as roads, Mokhtari said.
The company hopes it will one day also become part of the tourism market, where travellers can fly slowly above landscapes from one destination to another, as they currently do on cruise ships.
Paul Tatnell puolestaan raportoi ilmalaivojen kehittyneestä tekniikasta, jolla säästetään luonnonvaroja:
Airships have undergone surprisingly little evolution throughout their more than 150-year history,” [Michael Lawson] said.
“Our airships are radically different designs that move beyond the performance limitations of traditional blimps or zeppelins by combining advanced technology with simple construction and the ability to fuel with algae, protecting our environment.”
Itämeren pohjaan laskettavan kaasuputken yhteydessä on keskusteltu sinne sotien aikana upotetuista ammuksista. Tästä aiheesta mm. Nord-Streamin selvitykset. Mutta maailman merissä on valitettavasti muuallakin suuret määrät vanhoja ammuksia jotka voivat vieläkin tappaa. OSPAR-komission mukaan:
The presence of munitions in the sea is a risk to fishermen and coastal users. As recently as 2005, three fishermen were killed in the southern North Sea when a Second World War bomb exploded on their fishing vessel after having been caught in their nets. There are also concerns over the many chemicals used in the munitions, which may be released as the munitions degrade with the possibility of risks for the marine food chain.
OSPARin kartta Atlantin koilliselta laidalta löytyneistä esiintymistä (klikkaa kuvaa suuremmaksi).
Kartalla on esitetty upotetut ja muuten löydetyt räjähdysaineet ja a-tarvikkeet vuosilta 1999-2008. Tähän verrattuna Suomenlahden ongelmat eivät taida kuitenkaan olla niitä pahimpia.
Haapa lisääntyy kloonaamalla itseään juuriversoista. Itse rungot eivät elä enimmillään kuin 200 vuotta, mutta juurakot voivat olla “kuolemattomia”. Ainakin USA:ssa Utahista löytyy 80.000 vuotta vanha haavikko. Iän mukana kuitenkin lisääntymiskyky pikkuhiljaa hiipuu, joten eivät ne kuitenkaan kuolemattomia ole.
As the clones got older, pollen counts and viability dropped. The oldest clone, estimated to be 10,000 years old, produced one-fourth the pollen of younger clones. Extrapolating the trend to its mathematical conclusion, it shouldn’t take more than 20,000 years for pollen production to cease altogether.
At that point, the clone will still be able to copy itself through its roots, but it won’t be able to make seeds. There won’t even be a chance for pollen grains caught by a stray breeze to fertilize another, another, unrelated aspen, allowing the clone’s lineage to persist in mixed form. The capacity for sexual reproduction will be gone.
Without seeds that can be picked up and deposited at a distance, the clone will be immortal but stuck in place. It will be vulnerable to disease, drought, fire, climate change or some other inevitability.
Sinapinsiemen -blogi toimii lähinnä oman muistini jatkeena. Täydennän juttuja satunnaisesti vain ja ainoastaan oman mielenkiintoni mukaan. Jos haluat kommentoida jotakin juttua tai jatkaa siinä mahdollisesti esitettyä ajatusta, niin anna palaa.
