Glowing life in an underwater world

Awak’d before the rushing prow,
The mimic fires of ocean glow,
Those lightnings of the wave;
Wild sparkles crest the broken tides,
And flashing round, the vessel’s sides
With elfish luster lave;
While far behind, their livid light
To the dark billows of the night
A blooming splendour gave

From Lord of the Isles (1815) by Sir Walter Scott

Some 80 to 90 percent of undersea creatures make light -- from headlights on fish to incredible spiraling light shows on jellyfish, we know so very little about how or why it happens. Bioluminescence expert Edith Widder explores this glowing, sparkling, luminous world, sharing glorious images and insight into the unseen depths (and brights) of the ocean.

Edith Widder spoke on the Mission Blue voyage in the Galapagos Islands about her passion – bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence is the light chemically produced by many organisms found in the deep ocean. Not only is she is a specialist, but she has also helped design and invent new submersible instruments and equipment to study bioluminescence and enable unobtrusive observation of deep-sea environments.
One of these instruments, the Eye in the Sea observatory, has produced footage of rare sharks, squid, and never-before-seen bioluminescent displays.

In 2005 she founded the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), which is dedicated to protecting aquatic ecosystems and the species they sustain through the development of innovative technologies and science-based conservation action.
In an effort to protect and revitalize the ocean she loves she has been focusing on developing tools for finding and tracking pollution -- a major threat to all of our water ecosystems and ultimately to human health.

Dr. Widder, who is also a winner of a MacArthur Fellowship “genius” 2006 award, received the prestigious invitation to give a TED talk due to her long track record of pioneering work in marine exploration and conservation.
“I’m thrilled. I’m ecstatic. It’s so wonderful to be included in such an energetic group. We’ve had a lot of depressing talks about the ocean and I can do that. But, I want to get you excited about all the things in the ocean that are yet to be explored.”

Links :

• Nature : the beauty of ugly interview
• Blue Planet - BBC Earth : Amazing and weird creatures exhibit bioluminescence
• Dive in the abyss
• TED : David Gallo on life in the deep oceans
  

GPS status updated, higher accuracy expected

Ground tracks of 30 NAVSTAR GPS satellites. The time span covered by each ground track is five hours (time rate is 1000x real time).

This month, the first Block IIF GPS satellite will launch from Cape Canaveral.
It will be the fist of 12 new ones, which U.S. Air Force ordered at Boeing and this campaign is a part of the GPS Modernization Program.

Boeing delivered also the 39 other SV's (Block I and Block II/IIA).
The new GPS IIF features twice the navigational accuracy of the current satellites (advanced atomic clocks greatly improving performance and giving the control segment greater visibility into the health of the units) and should deliver more robust signals for aviation and SAR (probably also for Photogrammetry and Surveyors), meaning the new L5 signal.
The new Block of SV's id designed for a 12 years life time period.
Navstar GPS Block IIF will be the end of the current generation of GPS satellites.
Actually, these new satellites each transmit three civilian GPS signals (we’ve typically been making do with just one for years) including a military-strength transmission that should enable autopilots to land with zero visibility.
A three-signal world will mean always-on GPS that’s accurate to within 3 feet (even indoors and in concrete urban canyons).

An official military announcement also laid out the 24+3 (“Expandable 24”) consisting to move three existing GPS satellites to new orbit locations will have a profound effect on GPS capabilities for all civil, commercial, and military users worldwide.

In the future, the next-generation GPS system (Block IIIA) will introduce new capabilities to meet higher demands of military and civilian users.
The system is looking ahead to its first launch in 2013.
Note : Galileo is still coming up (2014)
Block IIIA will offer the opportunity for a cross-linked command and control architecture, allowing the entire GPS constellation to be updated from a single ground station instead of waiting for each satellite to orbit into view of a ground antenna.
Block IIIA will also support a new L1C civil signal, and a spot beam antenna that provides resistance to hostile jamming while improving its accuracy and integrity.

Links :

• GPS
• GPS modernization
• Next stage of GPS
  

Jason 3 to monitor global climate changes

Sea levels are rising everywhere, but in some areas they are rising quicker than others, bringing increased dangers of flooding.

The altimetry project stretches back to 1992, and provides the global reference data for satellite-measured ocean surface topography. It is the Jason series and its predecessor, the Topex/Poseidon spacecraft, that have traced the recent 3mm per year rise in sea levels.

The surface height information has been invaluable to oceanographers, weather forecasters and climatologists.

On 2 February 2010 EUMETSAT announced that the Jason-3 ocean altimetry satellite Programme was approved by EUMETSAT Member States which will ensure a continuation for 2013-2014 of the series of measurements made by the Jason-2 satellite and its predecessors.

Jason-2 provides a vital contribution to the monitoring of climate change, ocean circulation and weather and already supplies the data continuity that is essential for measuring the sea level trend, one of the key indicators of climate change.

Jason-3 will continue the mission, ensuring thus the measurement of rising sea levels carried out by Jason-2, Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon over the last 18 years.

Links :

• CNES : Jason-2 delivers its first global maps
• NASA : Ocean Surface Topography Mission
• Ocean Surface Topography from Space
  

Big wave surfing

Big wave surfing is the extreme frontier of a fairly extreme sport.
Big waves, or waves over 20 feet in height, add a whole new element to surfing that requires special boards, skills and methods of dropping into the wave.
The rewards of surfing big waves are as big as the waves themselves, but with those big waves and thrills comes serious risks.

Follow these steps to surf big waves : (from ehow.com)

• Work up to big waves : when you're on the water, even a 10-foot wave seems like a giant. So getting to the point where you can (almost) fearlessly stare down a 20- or 30-foot wave takes lots of time on the water. Work your way up by surfing bigger and bigger breaks until you feel like you're ready to take the monsters of surfing.

• Get the right board : surfing big waves requires special skills and, just as importantly, a special board. Big wave boards, known as guns or rhino chasers, are longer, faster and more stable than most other boards. You need to find a board that is made for your height and weight and can also handle the size and speed of the waves you plan to surf.

• Tow in : towing in is a special technique for surfing big waves that involves high powered jet skis towing the surfers, on their boards, into the waves just before they start to break. Towing in is not a fun option but a physical necessity to surf big waves, so find someone who knows how to tow to train you how to get towed into a big wave.

• Learn to wipe out : there are many ways to fall off a big wave. When you're surfing down the face of a wave at 50 MPH you need to know the correct and incorrect way to fall. Knowing how to hit the water, hold your breath and get tossed by the wave are not just important but essential skills in surfing big waves since, as any big wave surfer will tell you, the one thing you can't avoid in big wave surfing is the occasional wipeout...

Links :

• Laird Hamilton takes on Teahupoo I / II
• Mike Parson surfing Jaws, from the documentary "Billabong Odyssey"
• Big wave award 2010 / 2008
  
• Step into Liquid (2003 documentary)
• Belharra (French Basque Country) biggest waves in France and my personal favorite spots in Guétary
  

Bionic coating could help ships to economize on fuel

From : The Green Optimistic

Water ferns have tiny hairs that are super hydrophobic. Their properties, if applied in real life conditions to a sail boat, for example, could lead to a reduction of up to 10 percent of the boat’s fuel consumption by reducing friction.
Until now, the researchers didn’t quite understand how aquatic ferns work, but some scientists from the University of Bonn, Rostock and Karlsruhe showed the exact process in the journal Advanced Materials.
The scientists used the water fern salvinia molesta, which is extremely hydrophobic. Using such properties in swimsuits, for example, could make them quick-drying and ships would be very efficient. The salvinia molesta surrounds itself by a skirt of air, preventing the plant from coming into contact with the liquid. And the effect lasts a few weeks.

Hydrophobic materials had been discovered, but their properties don’t last that long – not to mention as long as to be put on ships who cruise for weeks/months. The best such material only has a few hours of stability, after which it vanishes. The challenge is to make hydrophobic materials that last at least as water ferns do.
The water fern has been found out to use its tiny hydrophobic whisk-like hairs on the surface of its leaves to repel water and keep it at distance. And that’s not all: “We were able to show that the outermost tips of these whisks are hydrophilic, i.e. they love water,” Professor Wilhelm Barthlott from the University of Bonn explains. “They plunge into the surrounding liquid and basically staple the water to the plant at regular intervals. The air layer situated beneath it can therefore not escape so easily.”
The professor also estimates that, by being huge fuel-guzzlers, ships could make a difference in the worldwide fuel savings if they’re “tuned” to be more efficient – “probably one percent of the fuel consumption worldwide could be saved this way,” he says.

Today, some antifouling coating method (but not bio) increases the ship's efficiency by reducing drag while also protecting the ocean from biocides that may leak.
Instead of biocides, used by much of the industry to keep barnacles off of the hull, a special silicone-based paint is used. The silicone paint covering the part of the hull below the waterline is credited for lowering the water drag enough to save 1200 tons of fuel per year for the 'Emma Mærsk' ship.

Links :

• ScienceDaily I / II
  
• University of Bonn
  
• Hydrophobic coating inspired by water ferns could make ships consume 10 percent less