How rising seas could cause your next internet outage

Photograph: Milkweed Editions

From Grist by Greta Jochem

You probably didn’t give much thought to how exactly you loaded this webpage.
Maybe you clicked a link from Twitter or Facebook and presto, this article popped up on your screen. The internet seems magical and intangible sometimes.
But the reality is, you rely on physical, concrete objects — like giant data centers and miles of underground cables — to stay connected.

All that infrastructure is at risk of being submerged.
In just 15 years, roughly 4,000 miles of fiber-optic cables in U.S. coastal cities could go underwater, potentially causing internet outages.

That’s the big finding from a new, peer-reviewed study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Oregon.
To figure out how rising seas could affect the internet’s physical structures, researchers compared a map of internet infrastructure to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s predictions for sea-level rise near U.S. coasts.

In New York City, about 20 percent of fibers distributed throughout the city are predicted to flood within 15 years — along with 32 percent of the fibers that connect the metropolis to other cities and 43 data centers.
The research suggests that Seattle and Miami are especially vulnerable, along with many coastal areas.

A map of New York City shows a network of cables (green lines) and areas estimated to be underwater in 15 years (blue shaded areas) due to sea-level rise.

Paul Barford, UW-Madison

“All of this equipment is meant to be weather-resistant — but it’s not waterproof,” says Paul Barford, UW-Madison professor of computer science and a coauthor of the paper.
Much of the system was put into place in the ’90s without much consideration of climate change, he says.

On top of that, much of the internet’s physical infrastructure is aging.
Paul Barford says a lot of it was designed to last only a few decades and is now nearing the end of its lifespan.

Flooded Brickell Avenue near downtown Miami.

Carl Juste / Miami Herald

Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/weather/hurricane/article171025677.html#storylink=cpy

That is, if the floods don’t get to it first.
While 15 years may seem shockingly soon, we’re already seeing more high tide flooding, points out Carol Barford (married to the aforementioned Paul), a coauthor on the paper and director of UW-Madison’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment.
We’re seeing outages related to extreme weather, too: Hurricane Irma, for example, left over a million people without internet access.

It’s hard to predict exactly what would happen inland when coastal infrastructure floods — but the internet is an interconnected system, so damage in one place could affect others.
For those inland, it’s possible that coastal flooding could cause a total internet connection outage, or issues in connecting to particular web pages and services.

Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties used data from national and international agencies (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) to come up with their joint sea-level rise projection.

Planners from the four counties typically use the "two feet by 2060" benchmark, but some experts say South Florida could see more sea-level rise than that in the next 40 years.
Credit Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact

Still, there’s a lot of research to be done.
“We need to better understand the scope of the problem to create good solutions,” says Ramakrishnan Durairajan, a University of Oregon assistant professor of computer and information sciences and the paper’s lead author.
Further studies could examine the effects of increased extreme weather on the system, he says, as well as ways to better engineer web traffic in the face of floods or other climate-induced disasters.

The takeaway, Carol Barford says: “If we want to be able to function like we expect every day, we’re going to have to spend money and make allowances and plans to accommodate what’s coming.”

Links :

• NPR : Rising Seas Could Cause Problems For Internet Infrastructure
• The Guardian : Rising seas: 'Florida is about to be wiped off the map'
• Newsweek : Rising seas could cost the orld $14 Trillion a year by 2100
• WMRN : It's Human Nature Not To Think About Rising Seas. Here's Why — And What Can Be Done
• National Geographic : This Seaside Community Is Getting Swallowed by the Ocean
• Wired : Analysis: Data Shows Rising Seas Threaten Over 300000 Homes
• Scientific American : Surrendering to Rising Seas 

Divers discover the wreck of a Russian warship that Claim sunken warship has 200 tons of gold on board triggers frenzy in South Koreawas carrying '$113 BILLION in gold' when it was scuttled to evade Japanese capture in 1905

Donskii discovery

Scuttled by her crew in 1905, salvagers have found it off the coast of South Korea. Rumours have persisited it was laden with gold, but lots of people doubt it.

The Russian Imperial Navy cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi was sunk 113 years ago and the rumours are believed that the ship still contains 200 tons of gold bullion and coins worth 150 trillion 'won' ($130 billion) at 2018 prices, (the 'won' is the South Korean currency). 

From The Guardian by Associated Press

Experts sceptical about claims made by company that says it has found the Dmitrii Donskoi, which went down during 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war
A South Korean company’s claim to have found a sunken Russian warship has triggered a frenzy amid speculation the ship was carrying an enormous amount of gold when it sank 113 years ago.

The Russian Imperial Navy cruiser Dmitrii Donskoi was discovered at a depth of more than 1,400 feet about one mile off the South Korean island of Ulleungdo. 
37°27.53547' N / 130°54.18674' E

Ulleung island in the GeoGarage platform (NGA nautical chart)

The Seoul-based Shinil Group said its divers discovered a wreck it identified as the 6,200-ton Dmitrii Donskoi, which went down during the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war off an eastern Korean island.
The company speculated that 200 tons of gold bars and coins ) would probably still be aboard the ship, and claimed that this would be worth 150tn won ($132bn).
However, this appears to be a huge overvaluation: the Bank of Korea’s 104 tons of gold reserves are valued at around $4.8 billion.

Shinil released photos and videos taken by search submarines, which showed markings on the stern the company said was the ship’s name in Russian.
It said it hoped to hoist the ship from its depth of around 400 metres within months.

Other companies have made similar claims, but none has taken steps toward raising the wreck.
One of them, Dong-Ah Construction, was accused of spreading false rumours to bump up its stock prices and later went bankrupt.

Shinil Group, the company behind the discovery, says it is aiming to raise the ship later this year

Photograph: handout/Reuters

Shinil is unlisted but its president recently agreed to acquire shares in a local company, Jeil Steel.

After Shinil’s announcement on the Russian ship, Jeil’s stock prices rose by 30% on South Korea’s Kosdaq market.
They continued their steep rise on Wednesday morning before Jeil in a regulatory filing clarified that Shinil’s president would be its second-largest shareholder, not the largest, if the deal goes through. Jeil also said it has “no relation to the treasure ship business”.
Jeil’s stock prices dropped more than 20% after Thursday’s trading.

South Korea’s financial supervisory service said it is closely monitoring trade activity involving the shares of Jeil Steel.
An agency official said it was watching for possible deceptive practices involving the trade of Jeil shares, including inducing investors through false information.

“Investors should beware because it’s uncertain whether the ship is salvageable and whether Shinil would be able to gain ownership of the assets even if it gets permission to raise it,” said the official, who did not want to be identified, citing office rules. “Dong-Ah Construction made similar claims over the same ship but failed to deliver on its promises and went bankrupt, causing huge losses for investors.”

Russian scholars have said in the past that Russia was unlikely to put so much gold on a single ship and it must have been much safer to move it by train.
They also have said some gold coins could have been aboard the ship to pay the salaries of Russian navy officers.

It is unclear whether Shinil would receive South Korean government approval of its salvage plans.

Local laws aimed at preserving national territory and property require the company to deposit 10% of the estimated value of the shipwreck before starting its salvage works.

Shinil disagreed on the amount of its possible deposit, saying what it has officially located was the shipwreck, not treasures on it.
It estimated the shipwreck’s value at 1.2bn won ($1 million) and planned to put down 120m won ($105,540) as a deposit.
Company spokesman Park Seong-jin said his company will file a request for the ship’s salvage right.

Some experts also said it is unlikely the Donskoi, a thickly armoured warship with more than 12 artillery pieces, 500 sailors and presumably 1,600 tons of coal, would have had room for 200 tons of gold, which would be double the current gold reserves at South Korea’s central bank.

Even if the ship is hoisted and treasures are found, their ownership could be disputed.

A South Korean financial ministry official responsible for the issue said Russia may be able to claim ownership. Park disputed that, saying 80% of the potential treasures would belong to the company while the rest would go to a South Korean government coffer.
He cited related South Korean law and an international court ruling on a similar case.
This article was amended on 20 July 2018 to clarify that the $132bn valuation of the 200 tons of gold alleged to be on the sunken ship was made by Shinil Group, and to add information about the valuation of South Korea’s gold reserves that was omitted from an earlier version.

Links :

• DailyMail :  Divers discover the wreck of a Russian warship that was carrying '$113 BILLION in gold' when it was scuttled to evade Japanese capture in 1905 / Divers discover the wreck of a Russian warship that was carrying '$113 BILLION in gold' when it was scuttled to evade Japanese capture in 1905 / Is claim that divers found £100 BILLION of gold in Russian shipwreck a SCAM? South Korea probes whether investors are being misled as it emerges the same wreck has been 'discovered' three times
• RT : Treasure fever as hunters release photos of sunken Russian cruiser ‘with 200 tons of gold’
• Bloomberg : Sunken Treasure Ship Discovery Reports Roil Some Korean Stocks 

How music led Daniel DeLeon to study the ocean with machine learning

Daniel DeLeon never imagined he would use machine learning to study endangered whales.

But a life-long passion for music and fascination with the science of sound led him to an internship at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, where he used TensorFlow, Google’s open-source machine learning tool, to make breakthroughs identifying endangered whale calls.

Learn more about Daniel’s remarkable journey at http://g.co/soundwaves
and at Google stories

New Zealand Linz layer update in the GeoGarage platform

12 nautical raster charts updated

see GeoGarage news

How the beach benefits your brain, according to science

From Inc by Anne Gherini

There is something soothing about the sound of ocean waves, the smell of salt water, and the feeling of warm sand beneath your toes.
Having grown up near the beach, I always classified my happiness on the beach as no more than nostalgia.
Yet, recent studies prove that a beach-type environment can have a profound impact on our brains and mental health.

Although few people deny the importance of brain health, most of us don't focus as much effort on taking care of our brains as we do our bodies.
The misnomer that physical fitness trumps mental health is at our detriment.
The reality is that we need balance, both mentally and physically.

Numerous studies help us appreciate why the beach may be the premier destination for us to unwind and recharge our minds.

Listen to Crashing Waves

Several months ago I partook in a deprivation float (the practice that many superstars such as, Steph Curry swear by).
As my mind reached a meditative state, I could not help but hear a sound similar to that of waves crashing gently on the beach.
This repetitive sound that was created as a result of my rhythmic breaths and my ears being submerged in salt water instantly put me at ease.

"These slow, whooshing noises are the sounds of non-threats, which is why they work to calm people," says Orfeu Buxton, an associate professor of biobehavioral health at Pennsylvania State University.
"It's like they're saying: "Don't worry, don't worry, don't worry."
The sound of waves can help you achieve a meditative state, which is proven to heal and strengthen your brain.

Remove the Blues

Studies have shown that different colors often produce different psychological, emotional, and physical effects.
The color blue, for instance, is often used in marketing material to convey a sense of calmness.
The Global Healing Center advises individuals to actually surround themselves in blue as a way to reduce stress.

According to Richard Shuster, PsyD, clinical psychologist, he agrees that blue has a profound calming effect on people.
"Staring at the ocean actually changes our brain waves' frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state," says Shuster.

Smell the Ocean Mist

When you first step out on the sand and allow your lungs to be filled with salty misty air, your brain may be receiving instant benefits.
The negative ions (oxygen ions with an extra electron attached, produced via water molecules) in the ocean air can actually help calm your brain.

Negative ions have been shown to have a pronounced anti-depressant effect as well.
As early as 1932, American research engineer Dr. Clarence Hansell noticed that the mood of one of his colleagues fluctuated in response to the type of ions - cheerful when subjected to positive ions and gloomy when subjected to negative ones.

Subsequent studies have found that the act of negatively ionized air -- the kind you receive when you get outside for a gulp of fresh air -- can alleviate symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

 It's a proven fact, living by the sea has many health benefits, here are a few of them.

After watching this you too will want to relocate closer to the ocean.

All video taken in the Maldives.

Feel the Sand Between Your Toes

Grounding, otherwise known as walking barefoot, has been proven to have a number of stimulating benefits to our bodies and minds.
The reason is that our feet contain a rich network of nerves and acupuncture points.
Our feet are able to absorb free ions on the earth surface in much the same way that our lungs are able to absorb ions in the air.

A report in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine shed some more light on these benefits.
The earth is negatively charged, so when you walk barefoot, you're connecting your body to a negatively charged supply of energy.
The result is one that many of us feel as soon as we kick off our shoes.
Walking barefoot on the beach can trigger tingling warm sensations produced as a result of us "grounding" to earth.

"There are all these cognitive and emotional benefits that we derive every time we spend time by water" said Wallace J.
Nichols, a marine biologist and best-selling author of the Blue Mind.
"Once you get into it, you realize that it's chemistry, it's biology, it's physiology.
It's deeply personal but it's also strong science."

In 2012, a University of Exeter study found that simply living within close proximity to a beach improves one's health and wellbeing.
While it may be unreasonable for some of us to uproot and move to a beach town, prioritizing getting outdoors and connecting with the earth will still help you stay mentally fit.