It's the Environment, Stupid

It was the year of the Copenhagen conference and the "climategate" affair, but there was more to 2009 than these political brouhahas: here are 10 to remember.

1. How to survive the coming century Alligators basking off the English coast; a vast Brazilian desert; the mythical lost cities of Saigon, New Orleans, Venice and Mumbai; and 90 per cent of humanity vanished. Welcome to a world warmed by 4 °C.

2. 1709 : The year that Europe froze One winter in the early 18th century, it was so cold animals died in their barns, travellers froze to death, and even the Mediterranean iced over. It was Europe's coldest spell for the past 500 years.

3. One last chance to save mankind James Lovelock, originator of the Gaia theory, thinks climate change will wipe out most of us this century – but there may be one way to save ourselves.

4. Meet the amphibian only its mother could love A bug-eyed salamander that looks like ET and a see-through frog were among the weirder species discovered by biologists in a far-flung corner of Ecuador.

5. Supervolcano may be brewing beneath Mount St Helens A sneak peek beneath Washington state's simmering volcano suggests it may be connected to an extraordinarily large zone of semi-molten rock, which could feed a giant eruption.

6. Sea level rise: It's worse than we thought In its 2007 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change forecast a sea-level rise of between 19 and 59 centimetres by 2100. Even before it was released, the report was outdated, and the bad news is that there is a growing consensus that its estimates were wildly optimistic. So just how high will the ocean go?

7. Post-human Earth: How the planet will recover from us If our civilisation collapses, what will happen to the Earth itself? The best way to work that out is to look back at its past.

8. Giant crack in Africa formed in just days A split in the Earth's crust ripped open in a matter of days in 2005, a new study suggested. It could be the forerunner to a new ocean.

9. Ice on fire: The next fossil fuel Methane trapped in ice under the ocean and permafrost on land could fuel the world for hundreds of years – but there's an explosive snag.

10. Earth's coastlines after sea-level rise, 4000 AD Even if we could keep the atmosphere as it is today, sea levels would still rise by 25 metres. The good news is that there's a limit on how fast that rise can take place.

by Michael Marshall

Source : here

New Mixer the Vortex WX by Velp Scientifica

New Mixer improves comfort and convenience in the laboratory. Velp Scientifica (Italy) introduces the Vortex WX with orbital movement that doesn't need any pressure to maintain vibration. Thanks to the revolutionary "Sensor" mode, an infrared system (IR) detects the presence of the test-tube and the instrument automatically starts vibrating!

The vortex WX has adjustable vibration frequency and can reach up to 3000 rpm, according to need. The VORTEX WX features a low profile and ergonomic design for increased lab bench stability.

XRF Analyzer with Large Area Drift Detector

Thermo Fisher Scientific (USA) introduce Thermo Scientific Niton XL3t Series with geometrically optimized large area drift detector (GOLDD) technology. The Niton analyzer's ground breaking GOLDD technology delivers improvements in light element detection, overall sensitivity and measurement times - as much as 10 times faster than conventional Si-PIN detectors, and up to three times more precise than conventional smaller, silicon drift detectors.

Thermo Fisher Scientific was able to surpass the performance of conventional Si-PIN and SDD detectors by combining the award-winning Niton XL3t 50 kV, 2-watt X-ray tube, closely optimized geometry and patented signal processing hardware and software. When combined with the company's proprietary large area drift detector, it creates GOLDD technology, delivering superior performance in the form of faster analysis and lower detection limits. Furthermore, this innovation allows light element detection of magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus and sulphur without helium or vacuum purging, a significant productivity and user benefit.

" The Niton XL3t with GOLDD technology brings true lab-quality performance to a hand held XRF analyzer," said Bob Wopperer, director of business development for portable analyzer products within Thermo Fisher Scientific. " The product is easy to use, delivers fast analysis, is extremely accurate, and can measure light elements without helium or vacuum assistance. These features make it the ideal, multi-purpose tool for analyzing metal alloys, carrying out mining exploration and mapping, detection soil contaminants, or screening toys, electronics and other consumer goods for prohibited substances."

For example, the Niton XL3t GOLDD is the definitive tool for scrap metal recycling, making it easier to sort aluminum, titanium and bronze alloys, as well as achieving superior performance for tramp and trace element analysis. And in mining exploration, the instruments low detection limits are designed to allow geologist to identify anomalies at or below the averages naturally found in the earth's crust, something previously not possible with hand held XRF

Next Generation Capillary Electrophoresis System Featuring 10x Superior Sensitivity

Agilent Technologies (Asia) introduced its next generation Agilent 7100 Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) System, providing at least 10 times more sensitivity than any other commercial CE instrument.

"We consider electrophoresis to be one of our core technologies and are seeing strong interest in CE in a number of areas, such as new biological drug QA/QC, environmental analysis, food safety and life sciences," said Nitin Sood, General Manager of Agilent's Electrophoresis business. " Used in stand alone mode, as the separations component of a CE/MS or as a complementary, orthogonal technology to LC, Agilent's new 7100 CE system brings unprecedented HPLC-like sensitivity to a wide range of analytical challenges."

CE is also attracting attention because the technique uses very small amounts of solvent. The new 7100 system also requires 25 percent less bench space, weighs 30 percent less than its predecessor and uses less power. The superior sensitivity is a result of a new detector used in combination with proprietary extended light path capillaries or a high-sensitivity cell. The Agilent 7100 is 10-20 times more sensitive than other CE instruments.

EPA Method Standards

Simplify Labor with Customised EPA Method Standards. VHG Labs (USA) has over 25 years experience in making accurate, stable and certified traceable standards for EPA Methods, including the versions of 200.7 , 200.8 , 6010 , 6020 used ICP, ICP-MS and GFAA techniques. Our 2008-2009 catalog features over 20 pages devoted to standards for environmental sample analysis. A range of stock products comply with method requirements. Custom mixes and element mixtures of varied concentrations can be manufactured to your specs. Let us know what element ranges are in used in your lab-our experts can recommend the best custom blend combinations to simplify your sample prep.

With the right stock mixture you may be able to save an entire dilution step or reduce the number of separate standards in the run-enabling substantial labor savings. VHG also offers consumbles and supplies for ICP,AA, ICP-MS, GFAA and XRF.

Versatile Multi X2500 for AOX/EOX/POX Analyser Launched

Analytik Jena (Germany) has announced the launch of the versatile multi X2500 for AOX/EOX/POX analysis and more. Applications also include determination of TOC, important in water analysis, and chlorine content (TX/TOX) from difficult matrices. The Multi X2500 offers a unique combination of sophisticated sample handling, precise measurements, extensive automation possibilities and low operational costs. An Innovative tilting furnace configuration combines the advantages of both vertical and horizontal furnaces in a single analysis system. This versatile arrangement offers analysis capabilities ranging from the fastest AOX routine analysis in vertical operation to the reliable determination of the smallest EOX trace concentrations in horizontal mode. Flame sensor technology ensures that the combustion process is optimised and automatically adjusted for the particular sample matrix, to give quantitative, trouble-free combustion even of derived fuels. Automated sample preparation system not only allow the column method to be used to prepare samples for AOX determination, but uniquely also offer sample preparation using the SPE procedure. The system manages the adsorption on the SPE columns, the elution and the adsorption on the charcoal with no manual intervention. In addition, the world only dual-channel sample preparation system doubles both sample preparation speed and AOX sample throughput.

The Multi x2500 can be equipped with autosamples for all applications. The autoX series offers the right sampler for any task, from small AOX sample series in vertical mode to multi-matrix variants for vertical and horizontal sample feed in larger AOX sample series, using the column or batch method. Vertical and horizontal EPX samples can also be handled. The patented measuring cell of the multi X2500 guarantees high sensitivity and precise analysis. A wide dynamic range ensures reliable analysis of samples even with unexpectedly high AOX concentrations. The intelligent multiWin software guarantees fast switching between column and batch methods. It monitors and control all relevant system parameters and checks the system performance and the analysis quality before delivering the results in individual analysis reports.

James Hansen: Copenhagen Climate Talks Must Collapse

Shanta Barley, reporter

Outspoken US climate scientist James Hansen has announced that climate talks next week in Copenhagen must collapse if the world is to tackle global warming effectively, reports the UK's Guardian newspaper.

A leading climatologist and director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Hansen's testimony to US Congress in 1988 played a critical role in raising public awareness of global warming.

Now Hansen's back in the spotlight. He has raised eyebrows by saying that any agreement that emerges from Copenhagen will be counter-productive if it plumps for a "cap and trade" system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"I would rather it not happen if people accept that as being the right track, because it's a disaster track," Hansen told the Guardian's US environment correspondent, Suzanne Goldenberg.

"The whole approach is so fundamentally wrong that it is better to reassess the situation. If it is going to be the Kyoto-type thing then [people] will spend years trying to determine exactly what that means."

Hansen's trademark pessimism comes at a time of hesitant optimism: yesterday India joined the club of major emitters that will offer to cut greenhouse gas emissions at Copenhagen next week, alongside China, the US and the EU.

So why is the man who has probably done more than any other person on Earth to tackle climate change so keen that Copenhagen goes belly-up? Mainly because he disagrees violently with key governments over how best to control climate change.

Many politicians believe that the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is for governments to set limits on emissions while polluters buy and sell carbon credits - or "permits to pollute," as Goldenberg calls them - but Hansen disagrees.

"This is analagous to the indulgences that the Catholic church sold in the Middle Ages. The bishops collected lots of money and the sinners got redemption. Both parties liked that arrangement despite its absurdity. That is exactly what's happening," he says.

In Hansen's view, the only way to cut emissions is through an ever-increasing tax on carbon emissions. He believes that the "carbon tax" should start at around $1 per gallon of petrol, with revenue returning directly to the public purse, according to the UK's Times Online.

There's no room for compromise, Hansen says.

"This is analogous to the issue of slavery faced by Abraham Lincoln or the issue of Nazism faced by Winston Churchill. On those kind of issues you cannot compromise. You can't say let's reduce slavery, let's find a compromise and reduce it 50% or reduce it 40%."

Whether or not Hansen's call for the Copenhagen talks to fail is as effective as environmentalist George Monbiot's recent call for another leading climate change researcher to step down, the timing of his outburst is not inconvenient: his first book, Storms of my Grandchildren, comes out next week.

Source : here

Dinosaur-Killing Impact set Earth to Broil, not Burn

The asteroid impact that ended the age of dinosaurs 65 million years ago didn't incinerate life on our planet's surface – it just broiled it, a new study suggests. The work resolves nagging questions about a theory that the impact triggered deadly wildfires around the world, but it also raises new questions about just what led to the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period.

The impact of a 10 Km asteroid is blamed for the extinction of the dinosaurs and most other species on the planet. Early computer models showed that more than half of the debris blasted into space by the impact would fall into the atmosphere within eight hours.

The models predicted the rain of shock-heated debris would radiate heat as intensely as an oven set to "broil" (260 °C) for at least 20 minutes, and perhaps a couple of hours. Intense heating for that long would heat wood to its ignition temperature, causing global wildfires.

Yet some species survived, and the global layer of impact debris doesn't contain as much soot as would be expected from burning the world's forests, raising questions about the extent of post-impact wildfires.

To explain the discrepancy, Tamara Goldin of the University of Vienna and Jay Melosh of Purdue University in Indiana studied how ejecta falling through the atmosphere might affect heat transfer from the top of the atmosphere to the ground. Earlier models considered only how atmospheric greenhouse gases would absorb heat.

The study reveals that the first debris to re-enter the atmosphere just a few minutes after the impact helped protect the surface from the debris that followed. "The actual ejecta themselves were getting in the way of the thermal radiation [in the atmosphere] and shielding the Earth," Goldin told New Scientist.

Burning sky
As a result, the surface felt the full heat from the sky for only a few minutes. As more particles drifted down, they blocked more and more of the heat from above, preventing the world's forests from igniting. "With the short pulse [of intense heat], it's really hard to get ignition" far from the impact site, Goldin says.

Surface life would have been broiled, but not burnt to a crisp. Animals that were able to take refuge underground or in the water were likely able to survive the short period of intense heat, explaining why not all life was killed.

"Now we have models and data that match," says Claire Belcher of University College, Dublin, who was not involved with the study.

Climate change
Wendy Wolbach of DePaul University in Chicago, who in 1985 proposed that soot found at the end of the Cretaceous came from global wildfires, agrees. The heat shielding effect "makes sense", she told New Scientist.

Without global wildfires, other mechanisms are needed to explain the mass extinction, Belcher says. These include the idea that dust in the atmosphere cut off sunlight in an "impact winter" that lasted for years before emissions released after the impact caused long-term global warming.

Acid rain following the impact may also have played a role in the extinction, as could the additional stress on global climate from the massive volcanic eruptions that occurred 65 million years ago in India's Deccan Traps.

Journal reference: Geology (vol 37, p 1135)

Source : here

Want fresh air? Give your house a nose job…

Central heating may keep your house warm, but it can also make the air stuffy. A new ventilation system that works like the nose of a small desert rat might let your house "breathe", freshening the air while maintaining cosiness.

So claims Steven Vogel of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Like some other desert creatures, the bipedal kangaroo rat, he says, helps maintain its body temperature using a clever nasal architecture.

On exhaling, the rat's nasal passageways are heated by the outgoing air. When it inhales, those warmed passageways heat the incoming air. This heat exchange ensures little body heat is lost.

Home comforts
Vogel wondered if a house or apartment could be made to breathe this way – gaining fresh air with low heat loss – and he built a model of a one-room dwelling to try it. He calls it the Nose House.

Using two fan-driven heat exchangers, he was able to mimic the rodent's trick. As one exchanger pushes air into the room, the other lets air out – then their roles reverse.

Each exchanger comprises a 40-centimetre-long plywood chamber, 5-centimetres-square in cross-section. Inside each chamber there are 17 half-millimetre thick aluminium plates that store heat as warm air leaves it, and which warm the air that is sucked in on the next "breath".

"This was as crude an analogy as I can imagine but it worked," Vogel says. "This non-optimised version saved over half the heat that would have been lost using steady-flow fans alone. "Well-sealed houses are very unpleasant and this may get around it."

Big problems
Vogel is not sure if his idea will scale up, though: to warm the average house, the chambers would need to be 6 metres long. But he plans to test whether the system might work. Patent searches have shown no similar heat exchange system working in anti-phase to mimic breathing, he notes.

Peter Gammack, concept design director for Dyson in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, UK, is impressed. "This is a very interesting biomimetics-inspired idea. Small animals have evolved to work in very efficient ways and the clever use of two alternating heat exchangers is elegant," he says. "It could be a good way of improving air quality in buildings in an energy-efficient manner."

Gammack adds that Vogel is right to be concerned about moving to full-scale machines, as Dyson discovered when developing its bladeless fan recently. "We had to extensively test even the minutest size change – it's surprising how dramatically scale affects effectiveness."

Journal reference: Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, DOI:10.1088/1748-3182/4/4/046004

Source : here

Pressurised Solvent Extraction Taken to a New Dimension

The main focus of modern analytical laboratories is minimising the time that elapses between sample analysis and result generation. Even today, despite modern extraction techniques, the extraction process can be very time consuming. Thanks to unique design of Buchi's (Switzerland) new Speed Extractor, pressured solvent extraction is taken to a new dimension. With its parallel format, up to six samples can be extracted simultaneously in approximately 20 to 40 minutes. As a result, incoming batches can be processed immediately and the analysis results is available on the same day if subsequent extensive purification steps are required. This allows for a previously unheard level of efficiency and throughput: up to 96 samples in one work day.

The Speed Extractor also distinguishes itself by its user-friendliness: The desired method is loaded, the extraction cells are then sealed automatically, and at the push of a button, six samples are extracted - no error-prone sealing, no time-consuming programming.
The Speed Extractor flexibility is unique as well : Temperature range of 50 - 200'C, pressure range of 50 - 150 bar, extraction cell size of 10 - 120 ml, 60 ml, 220 ml, and 240 ml collection vessels, and an integrated rinsing step into a separate waste container. A large selection of process parameters allows for a new standard in the number of supported applications.

New SmartView Provides Reliable Semi-Quantitative ICP-AES Analysis

New SmartView provides reliable semi-quantitative ICP-AES analysis. Why not make a fast semi-quantitative analysis to check the sample matrix or the concentration level of each element? The new smartview software makes this quick analysis provide reliable results and saves time during method development. SmartView uses multi-line analysis by ICP-AES. This software module developed by HORIBA Jobin Yvon(France) uses all the information available in the emission spectrum and pre-defined calibration curves for the elements. In routine analysis, the nature of the sample varies. With wastewater analysis, for example this often leads to background structure changes or spectral interferences. To reduce these variations, an Advanced Background Correction mode (ABC) is used. The rejection of outliers, by a simple calculation which does not need multiple acquisitions, is also applied. SmartView with several lines per element, intelligent background correction and rejection of outliers, allows reliable and fast semi-quantitative analysis.

Alphasense 'A Series' NDIR Sensor - Second to None

Alphasense's contemporary designed miniature CO2 infrared sensors are self contained, plig in sensors with integrated optics contained within standard sized miniature (20.0 mm) gas sensor housing. There are no moving parts within the sensors. An internal temperature sensor is included to enable the temperature to be monitored at the detectors, there by providing the best means of compensating for temperature effects, including ideal gas law corrections. In order to derive a signal from the Alphasense infrared sensors. the lamp should be pulsed at a constant frequency and duty cycle and power should be applied to the on-chip FET transistors. The signal can then be extracted from the on-chip FET transistor sources and the internal sensor temperature can also be monitored continuously.
Arthur W. Burnley - Sales and Marketing Director stated : " Alphasense has a broad and rapidly growing range of customers. They are demanding different techniques and sensing capabilities of the highest quality to further their own growth and developments. The introduction of these NDIR sensors is part of a much wider release schedule from alphansense that also included a unique PID sensor, developments utilising the latest Nano-technology and exotic toxics in a variety of formats especially our unique PID sensor, developments utilising the latest Nano-technology and exotic toxics in a variety of formats, especially our unique and highly succesful D-Series of truly miniature sensors. " Alphasense maintains its commitment to customers by continuing to supply the highest quality sensors with on-time delivery every time allied to exemplary support.

NDIR Technology Sensor for CO2 or HC Detection

IRNET is the base of the new family of infrared sensors developed by N.E.T. (Italy). Using a patented optical cavity combined with latest NDIR Technology the result is a high performing, robust sensor for hydrocarbon and Carbon dioxide monitoring with an estimated lifetime of over 5 years. The wide operating temperature (-40'C to 50'C) and low power consumption makes it suitable for fixed gas detection instrument. It is designed to fit most instrument makers in the standard 20 mm and 32 mm diameter sizes.
IRNET is a available in two version : the "dummy" 7 pins version, IRNET-7, that provides a "raw" signal (active-reference) and an internal temperature signal or the "intelligent" version, IRNET-P, with incorporated signal linearization and temperature compensation, suited for manufactures without any specialist knowledge in IR technology. The IRNET-P sensor contains all the necessary optics and Both IRNET-7 and IRNET-P are available for hydrocarbon detection, including methane, in % LEL and % volume and for CO2 with detection level in ppm, low % volume and high % vol.

MX4 iQuad Portable Gas Detector from One to Four Gases

Industrial Scientific (USA) introduces the MX4 iQuad. Able to detect from one to four gases, the MX4 is the latest addition to the company's line of iNet-ready gas detectors. iNet offers an alternative to buying and maintaining gas detectors. It is a software-based service that increases safety by providing visibility into gas detectors. Instead, they subscribe to iNet and receive Gas Detection as a service.
Using the MX4 with iNet is a better way to do gas detection. Subscribers avoid the common problems of owning gas detectors. At the same time, users are protected by the MX4's reliable and user friendly features. The MX4 is small, rugged and simple to use. A rubber overmold covers its polycarbonate housing to protect the MX4 from high-impact bumps and drops. The housing has also been third-party and certified IP66 and IP67. This ingress protection rating indicates that the MX4 is dust-tight and resistant to both water jets and submersion. The MX4 uses a combination of three alarms. Ultra bright LED's, a 95 dB audible alarm and a powerful vibrating alarm all warn users of hazardous gas levels.

Low-Cost OEM Gas Sensors Features Improved Communications

Edinburgh Instruments (UK) has a well-deserved reputation in the arena of infra-red gas sensing technology, with a track record spanning over 20 years. The company is continuing to build on this reputation with the introduction of it's next-generation OEM sensor, named the Gascard NG.
Utilising established and proven technology from the existing Gascard range of instruments, the Gascard NG not only addresses existing customer requirements, being backward-compatible with the current Gascard model, but it also provides for future extendibility and functionality through improved communication and configuration options. The main highlights of the Gascard NG are : Backward-compatibility with the current generation of Gascard detectors ; Automatic temperature and pressure correction via on-board sensors ; On-board RS232 commnication ; TCP/IP communications protocol option ; Field-replaceable IR source ; Windows - compatible data logging software ; Enhanced configuration options for future extendibility to incorporate additional gas detection technologies. Initially released in CO2 ppm & low per cent volume configurations, the range has now been extended to include all the different measurement range for CO2 as well as the other target gases covered by the current Gascard model, such as CO and CH4.