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STUART GARY: This is space time series 26 episode 86 for
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broadcast on the 19th of July 2023. Coming up on space time,
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it now seems human interference has changed Earth's spin axes. A
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new study shows that Martian sand dunes have been eroded by a
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shift in prevailing winds following the planet's last ice
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age and a water recovery milestone aboard the
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International Space Station. All that and more coming up on space
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time.
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GENERIC: Welcome to space time with Stuart Garry.
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STUART GARY: A new study has shown that humans have changed
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Earth's rotation by pumping out vast amounts of groundwater and
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moving it elsewhere. The findings reported in the journal
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Geophysical research letters has shown that the planet has tilted
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by nearly 80 centimeters towards the east based on climate
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models.
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Scientists previously estimated that humans had already pumped
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out some 2150 gigatons of groundwater equivalent to more
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than six millimeters of sea level rise between 1993 and
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2010. But validating that estimate has been difficult. One
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approach lies with the Earth's rotational pole, that's the
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point around which our entire planet spins.
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Now it does move during a process called polar motion,
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which is when the position of the Earth's rotational axis
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varies relative to the crust. Now, the distribution of water
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on the planet affects how mass is distributed and that impacts
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where the Earth's axis is.
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The study's lead author, Kay We Anser from Seoul National
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University says it's like placing a tiny bit of weight on
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a spinning tarp and causing it to rotate slightly differently
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because of the change in weight distribution. In the same way,
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the Earth spins a little bit differently on its axis as water
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is moved around the Earth's rotational pole actually changes
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a lot.
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And the redistribution of groundwater actually has the
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largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole. What its
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ability to change Earth's rotation was discovered in 2016.
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But until now, the specific contribution of groundwater to
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these rotational changes was unexplored.
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In this new study, researchers model the observational changes
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in the drift of the Earth's rotational axis and the movement
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of water first with only ice sheets and bleaches considered.
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And then by adding in different scenarios of groundwater
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redistribution, the model only matched the observed polar drift
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once the researchers included 2150 gigatons of groundwater
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redistribution. Without it, the model is off by 78.5
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centimeters. That's 4.3 centimeters of drift per year.
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The location of the groundwater matters for how much it could
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change polar drift.
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For example, redistributing groundwater from mid latitudes
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has a larger impact on the rotational pole. And during the
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study period, most of the groundwater was redistributed in
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Western North America and North western India. Both of which are
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mid latitude locations.
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Attempts to slow groundwater depletion rates, especially in
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these sensitive regions could theoretically alter the change
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in drift. But only if such conservation approaches are
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sustained for decades. Now, it's worth noting that the rotational
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pole of the planet normally changes by several meters every
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year. So changes due to groundwater pumping don't run
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the risk of shifting seasons.
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But on geological timescales pole and drift can have an
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impact on climate. The next step for this research will be
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looking into the past observing changes in Earth's rotational
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pole is useful for understanding continent scale water storage
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variations.
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Polar motion data is available from as early as the late 19th
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century. So scientists can potentially use this data to
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understand continental water storage variations for at least
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the last 100 years. Were there any major hydrological regime
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changes resulting from a warmer climate? Polar motion could well
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hold the answer.
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This is space time still to come. A new study says the Red
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Planet MARS underwent major climatic changes as its
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rotational axis shifted about 400 years ago. And a new
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water recovery milestone has been achieved aboard the
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International Space Station. All that and more still to come on
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space time.
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A new study claims the Red Planet MARS underwent a sudden
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change in prevailing weather patterns as the Martian
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rotational axis shifted about 400 years ago. A detailed
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analysis of data obtained by China's Jurong rover of dunes
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located in the Southern Utopia Polynesia region of MARS
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suggests the entire planet underwent a major shifting
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climate that accompanied changes in prevailing winds.
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A report in the journal Nature claims this shift coincided with
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the end of the last glacial period. On MARS. The authors
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assessed the surface structure and chemical composition of
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Martian dunes that determined the age of sand structures and
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prevailing wind directions at different locations near the
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Jeong Rovers landing site.
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They found the prevailing wind direction of the southern
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utopian Polynesia shifted by nearly 70 degrees from north
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east and north west eroding crescent shaped dunes formed
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during the last glacial period into dark longitudinal ridges.
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After the last Martian ice age.
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The study's lead author Lai Chen Lai from the Chinese Academy Of
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Sciences says the climate evolution of MARS has been a
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principal focus for researchers on the Red Planet for years. He
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says MARS is the most similar planet to the Earth in our solar
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system and understanding Martian climatic processes promises to
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uncover details of the evolution and history of Earth and other
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planets in our solar system.
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Previous research suggested that the Martian climate had changed
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slowly over time drifting from a warm wet world capable of
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supporting life into the freeze dried desert we see today, but
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the inability to directly measure and sample geological
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formations on MARS has always limited scientists' ability to
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validate and better characterize the planet's climatic processes.
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La's team used high resolution orbital cameras and the Jurong
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Rovers terrain in the multi spectral cameras surface
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composition analyzers and meteorological measuring
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instruments to obtain in situ data directly from the Martian
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surface.
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The authors estimated that a change in the angle of the
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rotational axis of MARS could have caused the planet to exit
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its most recent ice age. The effects of these changes were
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subsequently captured by the morphology orientation, physical
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properties and Strat gray or layering of the dunes on the
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southern utopian Polynesia where the Gero rover landed.
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The study was designed to integrate rover scale data from
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June formations and weather conditions to not only confirm a
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change in prevailing wind direction with the close of the
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last Martian ice age, but also improve general circulation
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models used to predict finer scale changes in seasonal wind
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direction.
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Importantly, prevailing wind data and June's toray at the
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rover's landing site were consistent with the presence of
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ice and dust layers found at middle and higher latitudes on
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the planet lies says that a great deal of effort is being
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invested in characterizing the ancient climate of MARS over the
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course of the Amazon in epoch that began about 3.55 to 1.8
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billion years ago and continues to this day.
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He says, understanding the Amazonian climate of MARS is
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essential to explaining the current Martian landscape,
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volatile matter reservoirs and atmospheric state.
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And to relate these current observations and active
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processes to models of the ancient climate of MARS.
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Observations of the current climate of MARS can help refine
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physical models of the Martian climate and landscape evolution
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and even form new paradigms. This is space time still to come
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a water recovery milestone aboard the International Space
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Station.
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And later in the science report, researchers all agree Planet
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Earth has entered a new geological time epoch the
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Anthropocene. All that and more still to come on space time for
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manned missions that venture beyond low Earth orbit. Among
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the many challenges crew face will be how to provide basic
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needs without resupply missions from the ground.
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As part of this problem, NASA are developing life support
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systems that can regenerate or recycle consumable such as food,
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air and water and they're testing them aboard the
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International Space Station. Now, ideally life support
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systems would need to recover close to 98 per cent of the
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water which crews bring along with them at the start of a
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journey.
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And the space station's environmental control and life
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support system, Elis has now demonstrated that it can achieve
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this significant goal. Elis is a combination of hardware that
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includes a water recovery system which collects waste water and
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sends it to a water processing assembly which then converts it
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into drinkable water.
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One specialized component uses advanced dehumidifiers that
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captures moisture released into the cabin air from people's
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breath and sweat. Another subsystem recovers water from
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urine using vacuum distillation, achieving around 94 per cent
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recovery.
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Now, a brine processor assembly has been added to the urine
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distillation unit. Increasing reclaimable water levels to the
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targeted 98 per cent needed for long duration space missions to
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the moon. And MARS the brine processor assembly takes the
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brine produced in the urine distillation unit and runs it
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through a special membrane technology that blows warm dry
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air over the brine to evaporate the water.
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That process creates humid air which just like the crew breath
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and perspiration is collected by the station's water collection
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systems. All the collected water is treated by the water
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processor assembly which uses a series of specialized filters
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and a catalytic reactor that breaks down any trace
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contaminants that remain sensors then check water purity and
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unacceptable water is reprocessed.
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The system also adds iodine to the acceptable water in order to
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prevent microbial growth, it then stores it ready for the
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crew to reuse. Turns out each crew member needs about four
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liters of water per day for consumption, food preparation
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and hygiene such as brushing teeth.
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While the idea of drinking recycled sweat and urine might
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make most people squeamish. NASA says the end result from the
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onboard Elis processor is actually cleaner than what
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municipal water systems produce on the ground. This report from
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NASA TV.
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NASA TV: Humans need water to survive. Each astronaut requires
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about a gallon of water per day. But sending supplies of water to
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space is difficult and expensive, resupply will become
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impossible. As humans travel deeper into space.
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The ability to recycle water on long term exploration missions
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is critical to NASA's ability to complete those missions.
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Thanks to the brine processor, part of the International Space
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Station's water recovery system. NASA has the ability to recycle
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98% of the water collected from the US SEGMENT on the orbital
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outpost meeting the threshold necessary for water recovery on
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long duration space exploration missions like something out of
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science fiction.
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Water from astronauts breath and sweat is collected by special
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air conditioners that dehumidify the space station's cabin air.
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The system also collects the crew's urine and runs it through
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a urine processor which produces brine in 2021.
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A special brine processor assembly was added to the
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system, extracting more water and helping to demonstrate that
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goal of reclaiming 98% of the space station us segments water
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by working toward closing the water loop. NASA engineers are
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saving millions of dollars and taking us one step closer to
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long duration expeditions to the moon MARS and through space.
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STUART GARY: This space time and time had to take another brief
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look at some of the other stories making news in science
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this week with the science report.
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Well, there's no more debate about it. Planet Earth has
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entered and is well entrenched in the new geological time era.
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The Anthropocene, the fourth International conference on
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stratigraphy has confirmed what scientists have been seeing
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around them that Earth has changed radically due to human
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intervention.
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And so the international Anthropocene working group is
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now trying to determine the best way of defining the Anthropocene
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age on the basis of scientific findings and officially
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declaring it as soon as possible. The researchers are
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gathering evidence on how specific markers, exclusive
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characteristics of the Anthropocene can be used to
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determine in rostrata exactly when human influence on the
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Earth's geology became irreversible.
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This will show future scientists the point with human traces
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began appearing in the rock strata. Now, various starting
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dates for the start of the Anthropocene have been proposed.
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These include the beginning of the agricultural revolution
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between 12 and 15 years ago.
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Although when you think about it, that was actually confined
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to just one location. The more favorite date, one that's
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detectable in the planet's geology globally is the
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detection of radio nucleotide fallout associated with nuclear
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bomb testing which began at trinity in 1945 and peaked
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during the 19 fifties.
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Well, it appears the great weight loss debate might
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conclude in a stalemate. As us, researchers suggest both
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intermittent fasting and calorie counting end up producing
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similar results. Scientists split 90 adults with obesity
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into three groups, eight hour time, restricted eating a
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reduced calorie diet and no change whatsoever.
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A report in the journal Annals of internal medicine found the
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first two groups lost around the same amount of weight over the
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study period. However, the fasting group had improved
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insulin sensitivity compared to the calorie restricted group.
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Paleontologists in Chile have identified a new species of
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hadrosaur, an herbivorous duck bill dinosaur often referred to
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as the cow of the dinosaur era. The discovery reported in the
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journal science advances challenges long held beliefs
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about the range of hadrosaur in the southern hemisphere.
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Goo and Nano measured some 4 m in length, weighed over a ton
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living during the cretaceous period 72 million years ago. In
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the extreme south of what is now Patagonia, they could easily
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adopt either a bipedal or quadrupedal posture in order to
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reach vegetation. The name Gouin comes from the language of the
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first inhabitants of the region and it means being similar to a
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wild duck or swan.
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There's more big news on the artificial intelligence front
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today with the release of the latest iteration of Google's
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bad. AI and Elon Musk confirming development of his own version
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of artificial intelligence to be known as X dot A I. With the
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details. We're joined by technology editor Alex Zahara
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Reutt from Tech Advice dot live, both.
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ALEX ZAHAROV-REUTT: Google and Elon Musk have been very busy
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with AI this week, Google has just announced A I's biggest
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expansion to date. So you can now listen to responses in over
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40 languages if you want to hear the pronunciation of a word or
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listen to a poem or a script. It's very handy for that. You
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can enter a prompt and just tap on the sound icon to hear the
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answers.
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You can easily adjust the responses. This is something
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that Microsoft did with being AI you could have casual, you could
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have a conversation or you could have detail, but Bard has five
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different options. You can have simple, long, short professional
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or casual and they're starting with English only.
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You can pin and re end conversations. You can use
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images in your prompts, you can share bud responses and you can
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even export Python code to repli. So yeah, they've really
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expanded Bard clearly. They want to fight back against Chat GPT.
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They want to fight back against being AI and they want to fight
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back against what Elon Musk is playing with a.
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STUART GARY: Musk is one of those people who are warning the
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government about the dangers being posed by AI for both
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social cohesion and also simply because could AI one day take
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over the world? Are we looking at a Skynet scenario here?
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And because there were so many companies involved in
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researching AI for their own benefit, Musk wanted to counter
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that with a different AI one that explores the universe for
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humanity's benefit. And this sort of follows on from that
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thesis. Yeah, it's.
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ALEX ZAHAROV-REUTT: X dot AI. It's obviously his rival to KGB
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says the goal of is to understand the true nature of
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the universe. And he has said in the past that he wants his A I
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to understand that humans are a really important part of the
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universe. We shouldn't be destroyed or gotten rid of like
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the Terminator and Skynet wanted to do.
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And he's got a whole stack of former people from Chat GPT from
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Google Research, Microsoft Research Tesla and the
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University Of Toronto. So he's pulled together as many people
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as he can to really turbocharge his AI efforts.
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Now, even though the modern AI that we have today is really a
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very advanced auto complete machine. It doesn't actually
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have any sentience. It might seem like it does, it might seem
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like you're speaking with a human being, but definitely
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we're very far from actually having a truly sentient robot.
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STUART GARY: That can sing.
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ALEX ZAHAROV-REUTT: Yeah, we're very far away from that and I'll
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have more information about the formation of X dot AI and the
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link to the Twitter Spaces chat on my site, Tech Advice dot
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life. You can go there to check it all out.
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STUART GARY: That's Alex Sahara Rout from Advice dot live.
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And that's the show for now. SpaceTime is available every
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GENERIC: You've been listening to Space Time with Stuart Garry.
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This has been another quality podcast production from bites
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