Making Headlines

Geographical, 2-Nov-18

Perhaps unbelievably, it’s still less than 200 years since the continent of Antarctica, first sighted in 1820, was finally confirmed to exist. Even into the 21st century, detailed knowledge about the interior of the vast frozen landmass was hard to come by. Almost overnight, this situation has entirely changed. Extreme close-up satellite imagery and dedicated computer power has now made Antarctica visible in an extraordinary amount of detail, with around 98 per cent of the continent having been mapped. ‘It is the highest-resolution terrain map by far of any continent,’ says Ian Howat, professor of earth sciences at The Ohio State University. ‘Up until now, we’ve had a better map of Mars than we’ve had of Antarctica. Today, Antarctica is the best-mapped continent.’ ...

Ohio State News, 1-Nov-18

On a crisp October day at Mirror Lake, senior Michael Madson surmises why dissolved solids in the lake have dropped in the past few months. He discusses a few hypotheses with Audrey Sawyer, assistant professor of earth sciences. Could it be seasonal? … The installation of a new hydrogeology learning lab in and near the lake gives students like Madson the opportunity to apply classroom learning without leaving campus. ...

Business First, 31-Oct-18

Hyperloop works, but there's a bonus to months of waiting for ongoing feasibility and environmental studies before starting construction on any of the various proposed routes, including Chicago-Columbus-PIttsburgh, says a lead engineer on the project. … “We took everything we built on Devloop (test track) and said, 'OK, how can we make this better, cleaner, cheaper, faster?' ” said Kristen Hammer, manager of materials engineering at the Los Angeles startup. … Pods shooting through tubes at up projected top speeds of 670 mph might sound like fantasy, but this entirely new mode of travel simply combines existing technology in new ways, Hammer said before a panel on hyperloop last week at her alma mater, Ohio State University. ...

The Weather Channel, 31-Oct-18

The iceberg measured 87 square miles before it began to fragment. It first appeared as a rift in September and was the largest chunk of nearly 116 square miles of ice that separated from the glacier this week. ...In 2016, a study led by Seongsu Jeong and Ian Howat of Ohio State University found that Pine Island Glacier was “breaking up from the inside out.” ...“Rifts usually form at the margins of an ice shelf, where the ice is thin and subject to shearing that rips it apart,” said study leader Ian Howat, associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State. “However, this latest event in the Pine Island Glacier was due to a rift that originated from the center of the ice shelf and propagated out to the margins. This implies that something weakened the center of the ice shelf, with the most likely explanation being a crevasse melted out at the bedrock level by a warming ocean.” ...

The Columbus Dispatch, 24-Oct-18

It’s awfully green-looking. The beer, dubbed “Creature from the Alegae Bloom,” is a sour double IPA crafted by a Toledo microbrewery using matcha. It was brewed in hopes of creating awareness of the harmful algae blooms, or microcystis cyanobacteria, that plague the lake each July and last through October. ...

Cool Green Science, 15-Oct-15

One of my first projects for the Conservancy back in 1992 was the place that would eventually come to be known as the Disney Wilderness Preserve in Central Florida. When I first knew it, though, it was a land of cow pastures, ditches, dirt roads and remnant patches of scrub, longleaf pine, and withering wetlands on the edge of Lake Russell near Orlando. I remember visiting the property with TNC scientists and listening to them talk about the science and feasibility of restoration, and thinking, is restoration of such a place even possible? ALSO:Business Wire, Is It Possible? A Future Where People and Nature ThriveThe Nature Conservancy, The Science of Sustainability     YOU CAN SEE ALMOST EVERYTHING': NEW MAP OF ANTARCTICA IS HIGHEST RESOLUTION OF ANY CONTINENT ON EARTH Newsweek September 12, 2018 Featured expert: Ian Howat, professor of earth sciences ALSO:New York Post: Scientists create most detailed map of Antarctica ever   New Antarctica Map Is Like ‘Putting on Glasses for the First Time and Seeing 20/20’ New York Times Sept. 7, 2018 Featured expert: Ian Howat, professor of earth sciences   Energy-harnessing equipment makes lasting impact on recreation centers The Lantern Sept. 6, 2018 The introduction of energy-efficient SportsArt equipment to Jesse Owens South and the RPAC has brought a new meaning to burning off fuel at the gym. The new state of the art equipment cost roughly $25,000 and features treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes which allow users to generate energy back into the gym, according to Undergraduate Student Government Chief of Staff Zayn Dweik. These machines have cut down on energy use and the costs that come with it since their introduction in July.     OSU study: Fish’s vision, ability to hunt clouded by toxic algae blooms Daily Reporter August 30, 2018 A new Ohio State University study has found that toxic algal blooms pose a threat to Lake Erie’s top predator — the walleye. Published in Conservation Physiology, the study found that walleye and the fish they eat struggle to see in water clouded by algae. Research revealed a decrease of more than 40 percent in the fish’s ability to see certain patterns — an effect that could jeopardize the species’ future if blooms remain persistent. Featured expert: Suzanne Gray, assistant professor of aquatic physiological ecology Scientists look for sweet spot in algae research with 'The Scum Project' Toledo Blade August 29, 2018 Scientists have a seemingly endless supply of papers chock full of arcane words that many of us mortals dismiss as gobbledygook because they are so technical and hard to understand. Not so with a new initiative in western Lake Erie algal blooms, which speaks the language ordinary people can understand with this title: The Scum Project. Featured expert: Suzanne Gray, assistant professor and physiological ecologist Recycling Options Thin For Ohio State Students Living Off-Campus   WOSU August 29, 2018 It’s been six years since Columbus started offering free curb-side recycling. The program proved popular, but it’s only available to people who live in buildings with four or fewer units. That’s a big problem for student housing near The Ohio State University, a school that prides itself on zero waste. Legislative panel hears from scientists on Lake Erie Toledo Blade August 29, 2018 An Ohio State University researcher examining the phosphorous runoff that feeds chronic toxic algal blooms in Lake Erie told lawmakers Tuesday that it might be more economically efficient to pay farmers rather than force them to try harder to keep fertilizers on their land. “The cheapest approach would appear to be to implement a direct payment to farmers who demonstrate phosphorous reduction, a phosphorous tax or market-based trading program,” said Cathann Kress, vice president of agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Featured experts: Cathann Kress, vice president of agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, and Chris Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State’s Stone Lab Climate change taboo topic for many farmers, but not weather patterns The Columbus Dispatch August 28, 2018 ... Since the late 1990s, farmers in Ohio have had to adapt to climate change. It’s now warmer and there’s more precipitation compared with years past, researchers confirm, affecting everything from how they control pests to the amount of time farmers have to plant. “There have always been weather issues. If you look at every generation, you can look at a couple key moments ... it’s romanticized pretty easily,” said Aaron Wilson, senior research associate for the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at Ohio State University. “Milestones in our life are marked by those events.” Featured expert: Aaron Wilson, senior research associate, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center First Last   ...

WOSU, 9-Oct-18

New funding from the state will help researchers better examine environmental problems in Lake Erie. Ohio State’s Stone Laboratory plans to build a $1.9 million laboratory on Gibraltar Island, near Put-In-Bay, and use additional funds for cutting-edge new equipment. … Stone Lab director Christopher Winslow says the technology will be used to monitor the lake and study issues like harmful algal blooms. ...

​Feedstuffs, 8-Oct-18

While it sounds more like a dare than research, student employees at The Ohio State University are willingly donning plastic suits and masks to dig into trash and pull out tossed food in its various forms: partly eaten, uneaten, wet and reeking. By weighing their findings, they hope to measure and eventually cut food waste on campus. ...

Cleveland.com, 8-Oct-18

The Stark Area Regional Transit Authority and the manufacturers of its 13 fuel cell-powered buses have launched a national promotion to persuade other transit authorities to switch to hydrogen fuel cells and show the public just how quiet and clean the buses are. …Working in concert with the Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research, SARTA then applied for federal grants to buy its first fuel cell bus, which arrived in the fall of 2016. ...

Port Clinton News Herald, 3-Oct-18

One of the epicenters for harmful algal bloom research in Lake Erie will be getting a significant expansion following a major investment from state lawmakers. As part of the Clean Lake 2020 Plan, an investment of $2.65 million was made in the Ohio Sea Grant Program and Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory for the construction of new lab space and the purchase of additional research equipment. ALSO: Cleveland.com, Ohio State's Stone Lab receives $2.7M for new lab, technology ...