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Dinosaur Die Out Might Have Been Second of Two Closely Timed Extinctions

By Guest PostSeptember 6, 2012Scienceaerosols, ammonite, antarctic peninsula, antarctic sediment, Argentina, asteroid, asteroid impact, carbon dioxide, deccan plateau, dinosaurs, earth, eduardo olivero, environmental effect, eric steig, fossil, free swimming, greenhouse gas, hell creek formation, history, India, isaac hilburn, james ross island, joseph kirschvink, magnetic field, magnetostratigraphy, mass extinction, matthew diamond, Mexico, montana, ocean floor, particles, peter ward, planet, ross mitchell, second event, sediment deposit, seymour island, species, thomas tobin, timothy raub, university, volcanic eruption, Washington, yale university, yucatan peninsula

The most-studied mass extinction in Earth history happened 65 million years ago and is widely thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs. New University of Washington research indicates that a separate extinction came shortly before that, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor.

The well-known second event is believed to have been triggered by an asteroid at least 6 miles in diameter slamming into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. But new evidence shows that by the time of the asteroid impact, life on the seafloor – mostly species of clams and snails – was already perishing because of the effects of huge volcanic eruptions on the Deccan Plateau in what is now India. (more…)

UW Deploying Seismic Sensors in Hope of Getting to Bottom of Spokane Quakes

By Guest PostJune 29, 2012Environmentautomated earthquake, bill steele, cascades, detector, douglas gibbons, echoes, fault, geological structure, internet access, mild earthquake, motion sensor, netquakes, ocean shores, oregon, project, puget sound region, seismic network, seismometer, spokane, spokane area, university of washington, Washington, yakima

It’s been a decade since a swarm of relatively mild earthquakes shook up parts of Spokane. Now, armed with the right tools, scientists want to find out what was at fault.

“It was always something not as well understood as we thought it should be,” said Douglas Gibbons, a University of Washington researcher in Earth and space sciences, who is guiding installation of strong-motion sensors as part of a project called NetQuakes.

NetQuakes will install a half-dozen seismometers in the Spokane area by the end of June, mostly in volunteers’ homes, to help improve understanding of what lies beneath the city. (more…)

Resident Evil: Retribution

By Guest PostJune 14, 2012Entertainmentalice, brink of oblivion, clandestine operations, countdown, earth, flesh eating, human race, legions, milla jovovich, moscow, movies, new york, outbreak, resident evil, resident evil 5, retribution, safe haven, shawn Roberts, sienna guillory, t virus, tokyo, umbrella corporation, undead, Washington, Yahoo

Synopsis

The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice, awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun. (more…)

NASA Tests GPS Monitoring System for Big U.S. Quakes

By Guest PostApril 25, 2012Environment2004 sumatra quake, california, craig dobson, earthquake, frank webb, geoffrey blewitt, gps, gps data, hazard monitoring, la jolla, location, magnitude, NASA, natural hazard, oregon, pacific, readi, reno, ring of fire, seismological instrument, space based technology, timothy melbourne, tsunami warning, university of nevada, usgs, Washington, western united states, yehuda bock

PASADENA, Calif. – The space-based technology that lets GPS-equipped motorists constantly update their precise location will undergo a major test of its ability to rapidly pinpoint the location and magnitude of strong earthquakes across the western United States. Results from the new Real-time Earthquake Analysis for Disaster (READI) Mitigation Network soon could be used to assist prompt disaster response and more accurate tsunami warnings.

The new research network builds on decades of technology development supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The network uses real-time GPS measurements from nearly 500 stations throughout California, Oregon and Washington. When a large earthquake is detected, GPS data are used to automatically calculate its vital characteristics, including location, magnitude and details about the fault rupture. (more…)

Web Tool, Phone App Pinpoint Tsunami Dangers, Quick Getaway Routes

By Guest PostMarch 23, 2012Environment, Technologyalaska, android, cascadia subduction zone, flood, iTunes, jan newton, Japan, jonathan allan, magnitude, megathrust earthquake, mynanoos, oregon, oregon coasts, pacific northwest, phone application, quake, smartphone app, tohoku, tool, tribal oral histories, tsunami, tsunami inundation, tsunami warning center, tsunami warnings, tsunamievac n, Washington, west coast, zones

A new online portal and smartphone app lets Washington and Oregon residents enter the addresses of their homes, schools, workplaces or kids’ day care centers to check if they’re in harm’s way should a tsunami hit.

Materials available via the tool or phone application can be used to map out evacuation routes for you, your family, employees or students so everyone is ready when danger arises. There’s a way to create a free account so users can map and save multiple locations and evacuation routes in one place. (more…)

IBM Introduces New Predictive Analytics Services and Software to Reduce Fraud, Manage Financial Performance and Deliver Next Best Action

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2012Technologyanalytics, Beijing, berlin, big data, bridget van kralingen, c suite, dallas, decision maker, evidence based reasoning, fbi, global analytics, health care fraud, ibm, ibm analytics, ibm research, london, natural language, natural resource, new york, tax fraud, tokyo, Washington, zurich

NEW YORK and LONDON – 20 Mar 2012: IBM today announced new consulting services and software that take the power of predictive analytics to new levels of impact for the highest-priority issues of C-suite decision makers. The new analytic offerings address the emerging opportunities of big data to manage financial operations, decrease fraud and nurture next-generation customer relationships.

Based on experiences drawn from more than 20,000 analytics engagements, the new solutions combine innovations developed by IBM Research with new predictive technologies from dozens of companies IBM has acquired. (more…)

One Year Later: Japan Quake, Tsunami a Cautionary Tale for Pacific Northwest

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2012Environment, Generalalki, british columbia, cascadia subduction zone, earthquakes, hokkaido university, Japan, jody bourgeois, john vidale, long beach peninsula, magnitude 9, northern california, ocean shores, one year anniversary, oregon, pacific northwest, prediction, puget sound, sapporo, seattle fault, seismometer readings, sunday, tohoku earthquake, tsunami, tsunami evacuation, united states, university of washington, Washington

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, killing more than 16,000 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.

University of Washington scientists say the event has some important lessons for the Pacific Northwest – most notably, not that a similar event can happen here but that it WILL happen here, and that this region is still much less prepared than Japan was a year ago. (more…)

UMD Poll: Israelis Wary of Striking Iran Nuclear Facilities

By Guest PostMarch 2, 2012Politicsairstrike, american punishment, Barack Obama, benjamin netanyahu, dahaf institute, hezbollah, iran, Israel, israeli jews, israeli prime minister, israeli public, mitt romney, newt gingrich, nuclear program, nuclear weapons, presidential race, public opinion, ron paul, santorum, shibley telhami, university of maryland, us president, Washington

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland – The Israeli public is wary of launching airstrikes aimed at disrupting Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, reports a new public opinion poll by researchers at the University of Maryland.

Only 19 of percent of all Israelis favored a go-it-alone strike by Israel, while 42 percent supported a strike only with U.S. backing, and 34 percent opposed any strike. Survey findings for Israeli Jews closely paralleled the results for the entire population of the nation. (more…)

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