Update: November 21, 2007

SHOPPING ADVICE

By Pam Eastlick for THE DEEP on line

Welcome to The Deep science and technology column where we cover topics from the deep sea to deep space and beyond.

BAD NEWS FROM ANTARCTICA We’ll start with some ecology news this week; some good, some bad.  The bad news is that Antarctica is still calving gigantic icebergs.  A large iceberg has just broken off from Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica.  Several different processes can cause an iceberg to form, or ‘calve’, such as action from winds and waves, the ice shelf grows too large to support part of itself or a collision with an older iceberg.  Since the Pine Island Glacier was already floating on the water before it calved the iceberg, it will not cause any rise in the world sea level. Iceberg calving like this occurs in Antarctica each year and is part of the natural lifecycle of the ice sheet.  A 34-year long study of the glacier has shown that a large iceberg breaks off roughly every 5-10 years. The last calving event on the Pine Island Glacier was in 2001.

The iceberg is in the dark area (ocean) in the lower left and is 20 miles long and 12 miles wide or about the size of southern Guam.  As the UN report states “Global warming is here!”

GOOD NEWS FROM APO REEF
The good ecology news concerns the Philippines.  Reef fish and other marine species can breathe easier with the introduction of a fishing ban around Apo Reef, the largest coral reef in the Philippines and the second largest contiguous reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef.  Under the ban, all extractive activities, such as fishing, and coral collection and harvesting, will be completely forbidden.
The 100 square mile Apo Reef off the coast of Mindoro Island is surrounded by a mangrove forest, which serves as a source of food, nursery and spawning ground of several coastal fish and marine species, including sharks, manta rays, sperm whales and several sea turtles.  The reef was declared a national park, in 1996, but enforcement proved lax and illegal fishing methods persisted.

Adding to the reef’s troubles, the 1998 El Niño raised ocean temperatures, prompting a massive bleaching episode and the death of countless corals, and an explosion of coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish.  (Something we’re familiar with here on Guam).

The marine park will be opened for tourists to help generate funds for its protection, as well as provide an alternative livelihood for hundreds of fishermen in the area.  Here’s hoping there’s enough enforcement to make Apo Reef one of the world’s crown jewels of conservationism!

And in a very quick story from Canada where researchers in the frigid waters off the Canadian coast have found a surprising diversity of life.  Researchers from the Memorial University of Newfoundland did a survey of unexplored depths of the Atlantic Ocean during a three-week mission in July 2007. Researchers onboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Hudson surveyed deep-water animal life off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland using an underwater robot known as ROPOS (Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Science).  With ROPOS, they collected samples and images at depths of roughly a mile; and transmitted live underwater video footage to researchers at various land locations.	DIVING FOR DUMBO
	This Dumbo Octopus received its name because of the large fins located on either side of its head. (Credit: Image courtesy of Fisheries And Oceans Canada)

Researchers captured over 3,000 high quality photographs, including an octopus with large fins near its eyes, known as "Dumbo," a new species of scallop, and a single-celled organism previously unknown in this region.

And now for a little space news.

SEARCHING FOR ALIENS
The University of California, Berkeley and the SETI Institute have announced that the first 42 radio dishes of the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) have been activated.  This is the first phase of a planned 350 radio dishes that will advance the capabilities of radio astronomy research. 

Every object in space emits radio waves that can be collected and studied.  From observation of these signals, radio astronomers can create a picture of astronomical bodies and events at great distances, revealing detail that can’t be detected by telescopes operating at other wavelengths.  The ATA will acquire data in a new way, imaging a large piece of the sky at once.  What sets the ATA apart from earlier radio telescopes is its ability to collect and, analyze more information about celestial objects, and do this simultaneously for several projects.  In addition, observational surveys can be made with greater speed than any previous or existing radio device.

ATA is located in an arid valley near the town of Hat Creek, just north of Lassen Volcanic National Park in northern California.  It uses mass-produced, 20-foot diameter radio dishes and commercial telecommunications technologies combined with an innovative receiver design, and state-of-the-art digital signal processing technology.  Working together, these small dishes create a telescope with a wide field of view ideally suited to rapidly surveying the sky.  The layout of the 42 dishes was created by a computer model and is optimized to provide high quality radio imagery of the sky.  The ATA can also filter out noise from man-made interference that in many radio telescopes, the new array is already collecting important data.

The Allen Telescope Array. (Credit: Image courtesy of SETI Institute)

But the really important thing about the ATA is that it’s the first major telescope in the world built specifically for undertaking a search for extraterrestrial intelligence.  The ATA will listen 24/7 for those unmistakable signals that will tell us that we’re not alone.  Are they out there?  Who knows, but our first answer may just come from the Allen Telescope Array.

COSMIC INTERLOPER
You may be afraid of the aliens and contacting them; but you ought to worry a whole lot more about some objects that are a lot closer to home.  Astronomers have learned that a recently observed asteroid - one that could potentially hit the Earth - was actually first observed nearly a half-century ago.  Researchers at the Minor Planet Center of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, MA have confirmed work by SETI Institute astronomer Peter Jenniskens that the recently discovered asteroid 2007 RR9 is in fact the long-lost object 6344 P-L.

6344 P-L was last seen in 1960, and ever since has had the peculiar distinction of being the only Potentially Hazardous Asteroid without a formal designation.  A designation as Potentially Hazardous means that 2007 RR9 is one of 886 known asteroids bigger than (500 ft) in diameter that come to within 0.05 astronomical units of Earth's orbit (roughly 5 million miles).  The size for 2007 RR9 is estimated on the basis of the object's observed brightness and an assumed reflectance of 13 percent.

Jenniskens believes that this object may not, in fact, be an asteroid but a now-dormant comet nucleus.  2007 RR9 moves in a 4.70-year orbit, which puts it almost to the orbit of Jupiter at its farthest distance from the Sun. 

So far, 2007 RR9 hasn’t shown any signs of comet-like activity, but it is still moving toward the Sun, and passed Earth early this month at 0.07 AU.  So we dodged the bullet this time.  Who knows what will happen the next time through, or the next or the next?

BAH HUMBUG
Has Christmas already got you down?  Are your kids beginning to bug you so much you’re searching for families who will take them as Christmas presents?  Well, have I got a couple of stories for you that are guaranteed to bug your kids back!

Are your kids demanding expensive tennis shoes for Christmas?  A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has some wonderful news for you.  They’ve discovered that expensive athletic shoes simply aren’t worth the money.  Cheap and moderately priced running shoes are just as good, if not better, in terms of cushioning impact and overall comfort, the study concludes.

The research findings are based on a comparison of nine pairs of trainers, bought from three different manufacturers, in three different price ranges. The cheapest pairs were priced at £40 to £45, ($80 to $90) with the moderate range costing £60 to £65 ($125 to $135). The three most expensive pairs cost £70 to £75 ($145 to $155).  The 43 participants were not told how much any of the shoes cost.

Plantar pressure, the force produced by the impact of the sole hitting the ground was recorded in eight different areas of the sole, using a special device attached to the shoes.  Different models performed differently for different areas of the foot.  But, overall, there were no major differences among the shoes, no matter what brands they were or how much they cost.

In fact, plantar pressure was lower in the cheap to moderately priced shoes, although this difference was not statistically significant.  Runners were also asked to rate the comfort of the shoes from "least" to "most comfortable imaginable," using a graded scale.  Comfort ratings varied considerably, but there were no obvious differences among the shoes.  And price was absolutely no indicator of how comfortable the shoes were rated.

So when the kids come whining for expensive new shoes, you can safely say “No, the cheap ones are better for your feet”.  You can probably also name several manufacturers of athletic shoes who did NOT pay for this particular study!

THEY DON’T CALL IT THE IDIOT BOX FOR NOTHING
September and October mark the start of television’s new fall season as the premieres of new shows and old favorites hit the airwaves.  But, University of Minnesota researchers found that watching television while eating family meals may have a negative impact on children’s diets.

Researchers found that children in families who watched TV while eating meals together had a lower-quality diet than the children of families who ate together, but turned the TV off.  Boys watching TV while eating family meals consumed fewer vegetables and grains, and more soft drinks, than those who did not watch TV; girls watching TV ate significantly fewer dark vegetables and more fried food.

Dianne Neumark Sztainer, Ph.D., principal investigator of the study, suggests why this occurred.  “The television may be influencing the types of foods that adolescents choose to eat because of the advertisements they see  Our message to parents is: whenever possible, eat family meals and try to keep television viewing to a minimum.  Use the time to catch up with your children on whatever is going on in their lives,” Neumark Sztainer suggested.

Sound advice.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to turn the TV off while you’re eating your meal!