Show Date: November 2, 2005  
Pam Eastlick for THE DEEP on line

EYE ON THE STORM
AND
WATCHING THE SPIN

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep, aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll talk about new technology that may make your life much safer and more pleasant. Then we’ll have some expedition calls. Maybe we’ll hear from Peter Melyan or Bob Silvers. We’ll also have some science news updates. Tune in tonight and join host Jim Sullivan, Pam Eastlick and our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan for the latest in scientific news! Then log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for more information on all the latest and deepest news!

DRONES IN THE WIND
It seems that our life is full of acronyms, especially if it has anything to do with the government or the military. There’s GPSS (remember DOE?), GPD, GPA, GTA, GWA and that’s only GovGuam. If you branch out to the Federal government, the alphabet soup can become overwhelming. And now, with a recent story out of Andersen Air Force Base, yet another acronym gets in line for recognition and assimilation, UAV. But this one could change our lives for the better.

UAV means Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and UAVs have gone by many names and many disguises. They have always been used mainly to spy on an enemy in wartime. The first recorded use of a manned aerial vehicle was a balloon flight over enemy lines during the French Revolution in the 1790’s, although there are some indications that the Chinese may have used kites for the same purpose much earlier.

The use of unmanned vehicles for spying purposes had to wait until the invention of photography and the first widespread use of spy balloons was during the American Civil War. They have been used in every major conflict since, but balloons are difficult to control and easy to spot. So, the race was on for a remote-controlled airplane. The first ones were used in World War I and they were essentially flying bombs meant to destroy themselves and their targets. The first radio-controlled UAVs were used in World War II. Unmanned airplanes have traditionally been called drones.

The first reconnaissance drone that saw widespread use was the Firebee developed by the US Air Force. The Firebees carried cameras and were used to spy on North Vietnam and China during the Vietnam War. The picture shows a Firebee with its DC 130 ‘mother ship’, although they certainly weren’t painted red in their reconnaissance days! As you can see, they were fairly large.

The modern UAV originated in the 1970’s when US designers started experimenting with slower, smaller and more importantly, cheaper UAVs. These drones look like large model airplanes and they’re powered by motorcycle or snowmobile engines. Their most important feature is that they use new, small video cameras that can send pictures to the operator in real time.

UAVs are getting smaller all the time and the latest ‘buzz’ is all about UAVs that are insect-sized. There’s no hiding from one of these little guys and they are all the latest rage in military spying. But UAVs can be put to better uses. The United States Air Force has partnered with Aerosonde Corporation to use unmanned aerial vehicles to fly into the heart of a typhoon.

We all remember the Typhoon Trackers that used to be stationed on Guam. These intrepid men and women flew their tiny aircraft directly into harm’s way to provide up-to-date information about the most dangerous storms on Earth. We miss them greatly and satellite information just hasn’t been the same.

These new remote-controlled airplanes are designed to give us much of the same information as the typhoon trackers with none of the risk to human life at only a fraction of the cost. This is only a trial mission lasting 300 hours and the weather hasn’t been cooperating. The first plane flew into a distant typhoon and collected important data. Unfortunately, at the very end of its mission, it ran out of fuel and crashed on a northern Guam beach. But the data it gathered will be used to see if these tiny ships can help monitor our killer storms. We’ll learn more about UAVs and typhoons tonight on The Deep. Don’t miss it.

The new ‘typhoon tracker’ on Northwest Field.

DOLPHIN DNA
New Zealand researchers are attempting to do DNA analysis on bottlenose dolphins to help with their long-term conservation. They want to find out if there is any difference between the New Zealand bottlenose and other populations in the Pacific Ocean.

Three small bottlenose populations have been found in three different coastal areas in New Zealand. Researchers fear that these populations may be isolated and have lower reproduction rates. This affects their ability to adapt, evolve and survive. Researchers hope to discover if the New Zealand bottlenose is isolated, or if it is genetically the same as the bottlenose dolphins in the rest of the Pacific.

Here on Guam, dolphins are also making the news. The Deep Outpost has wonderful dolphin-watching tours here on Guam. Of course, our local dolphins are spinners and not bottlenoses, but they are still wonderful animals and astounding to watch as they cavort in their natural habitat.

Whether we’re learning about remote-controlled weather watchers or playing with dolphins, The Deep, hosted by Jim Sullivan with Pam Eastlick and Peter Melyan is the place to be on K-57 tonight at 6:00 p.m. Don’t miss it!