Researchers Must Stay on The Moral High Ground

The disclosure of personal emails can be embarrassing. And so it proved this week when hundreds of them, accumulated over more than a decade in the files of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, UK, tumbled into the public domain as a result of an illegal hack. Climate change deniers claim that the emails expose a conspiracy at work to make human-induced global warming a fact. A columnist for the Guardian newspaper in London said that the emails could scarcely be more damaging. One blog for the Daily Telegraph, also in London, called it "Climategate: the final nail in the coffin of anthropogenic global warming", adding "this scandal could well be the greatest in modern science". The sceptical climate scientist Patrick Michaels told the New York Times: "This is not a smoking gun; this is a mushroom cloud."
But the charge that the emails are proof of a climate change swindle is ludicrous. As we report (see "Hacked archive provides fodder for climate sceptics"), there is no evidence in the hundreds of emails that data is being systematically falsified or dishonestly manipulated in refereed journals.

The overwhelming impression from this peek into the world of climate scientists is their anger about voluble outsiders who won't play the game by the accepted rules of science. They mean those naysayers who generally publish by blog or in non-peer-reviewed journals; who demand access to raw data and personal computer codes; who take preconceived positions to which almost any data will be moulded - and who then accuse the other side of playing dirty. This anger is understandable. Over the past two decades, the CRU has compiled the most authoritative record of recent temperatures on the planet. It is how we know the world is warming. Yet its researchers have been inundated over the past few years with what feel like unreasonable and malicious demands for their raw data. They fear the hacking of their emails is the culmination of a concerted attack by data terrorists.

"Climate researchers have been inundated with what feel like malicious demands for their data"

They deserve to be protected. The trouble is that there should also be a place in the scientific dialogue for critics to make their views known, for the heretics who are not part of the scientific consensus.

Researchers being paid from the public purse should not treat their detractors as enemies but make reasonable attempts to engage with them honestly, no matter how unpalatable their views. Nor should they ask each other to delete emails - in response, apparently, to a freedom of information request. Scientists in general need to address how such destructive antagonism can be prevented, before the flow of research data dwindles. If that were to happen, science itself becomes the victim.

Source : here

The MICRO IV Flexible Single Gas Detector

The MICRO IV from GfG (Germany) is the optimum solution for personal protection from toxic gases and vapours. It is very small and light and a crocodile clip secures it safely on a belt or pocket. The housing is extremely shock and scratch resistant. Of course the MICRO IV is approved for use in explosion endangered areas. The plug in sensors are pre-calibrated and can be replaced easily. The MICRO IV recognises the new sensor type, measuring gas, detection range, calibration curve as well as alarm threshold values. Only one minute after sensor replacement the MICRO IV is ready for operation.
The MICRO IV provide 3 programmable alarm thresholds for toxic gases. The warning occurs when the programmed values are exceeded. For toxic gases the MICRO IV provides additional alarms for exceeded STEL or TWA values. The audible alarm (95 dB(A)) of the MICRO IV is noticeable even in noisy environments. The three alarm levels can be distinguished by different frequencies. Two extremely bright flashing LEDs indicate gas alarm. The alarm levels are distinguished by different flashing frequencies. The data logger saves up to 200 events. Alarm thresholds A1, A2, A3 as well as STEL and TWA are stored together with time and gas concentration. Data is stored continuously, old data is overwritten.
The MICRO IV provides an infrared interface for data transfer via PC, the data interface, for quick device configuration or via dockingstation, which allows execution of the daily bump test as well as calibration / adjustment automatically is a very short time. For monitoring gases in manholes, sewer, rooms and containers before entering, a motorised pump can be attached easily. The high performance pump takes samples over long distances and is activated by a single button. The pump has its own, autonomous power supply and does not affect the run time of the MICRO IV. The MICRO IV detects a wide range of toxic gases, hydrogen and oxygen by means of electrochemical sensors.

The 4CF+ Carbon Monoxide Sensor and The 4HS+ Hydrogen Sulfide Sensor

City Technology (UK) has released the new generation of two of its most popular gas sensors, the 4CF+ carbon monoxide sensor and the 4HS+ hydrogen sulfide sensor. The existing 4CF and 4HS sensors are widely used by the leading global manufactures of single and multi-gas detection instruments for life safety applications. The latest designs build on the feed back gained from the tens of millions of devices in the field to offer significantly reduced calibration times, improved reliability, reduced sensitivity variation between devices and complete backwards mechanical compatibility with previous generations.
A number of design improvements and highly automated volume manufacturing and test techniques have contributed to the new sensors enhanced performance. All pins are gold plated, lowering contact resistance with the socket and improving reliability in use, particularly in situations where the instrument is likely to be subjected to shock or vibration. The ultrasonic welding of the internal current collector wires has been improved to give a higher quality, more uniform weld, improving reliability and reducing early failures. At various stages during the manufacturing process, 24 different parameters are tested, each stage of the assembly process is optically monitored and automated part placement reduces variations between devices, ensuring error free assembly.
A 100% leak test on the electrode sealing is an integral part of the manufacturing process, resulting in a significant increase in field reliability by eliminating one of the more common failures models found in sensors manufactures by others. More than ten million units have been shipped to date; the overall return rate from the field is an exceptionally low 0.006%, mainly because of the pre-emptive testing carried out at every stage of manufacturing. The latest generation promises even better reliability.

Climate 'diagnosis' is Strak Message for Politicians

It may sound like a thriller, but The Copenhagen Diagnosis is not an enjoyable read. It's a stark update on the state of our environment in time for next month's summit on climate change in the Danish capital.

In the report, an international team of climate scientists warns policy-makers that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are at the extreme end of predictions made only in 2007, and that natural CO2 sinks such as oceans are becoming saturated.

Also, sea level rise is almost 80 per cent higher than some predictions, says co-author Tim Lenton at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK.

The team stresses that even a little warming could cause irreversible melting of ice sheets and turn dense Amazon forests into dry savannah grassland. "We may be heading towards these climate 'tipping points' earlier than we thought," Lenton says. The report calls for drastic action, including cutting CO2 emissions to almost zero by 2100 to prevent catastrophic climate change.

By : Jessica Hamzelou

A Revolution in On-line Liquid Analysis

BioTector Analytical System Ltd. (Ireland) manufactures an innovative range of on-line liquid analysers, which apply a totally new approach to eliminating the many problems associated with on-line TOC, TN and TP meausrement. The BioTector is designed to analyze everything-from clean water to the most corrosive and polluted samples, with no filtering requirements. It's patented oxidation method is what makes the BioTector unique. This oxidation process, known as Two Stage Advanced Oxidation (TSAO) is extremely aggressive and is therefore totally self cleaning (Hydroxyl Radicals at an oxidation potential of 2.8 is only below fluorine.
The reaction is unaffected by Chlorides (salts) up to 30% and the system can handle oils, fats, and calcium up to 12.5%. Hence the BioTector is deemed to be the most reliable on-line liquid analyzer on the market, with 6 month service intervals and <99.7% uptime with an accuracy of +/- 3%. It is designed so that there is no drift and therefore calibration is not required for the correct operation of the system. The BioTector makes direct measurements without dilution in 6.5 minutes (TOC) and on a wide variety of ranges from 0-5 mg c/l all the way up to 100,000mg c/l. Up to 86,000 samples per year can be successfully measured by the BioTector and the analyzers can be calibrated to read TOC, TN, NO3, TKN, TP, COD, BOD, TC, TIC and VOC, there are now over 500 BioTector unit installed world wide, many of which are operating in applications that would have been impossible with conventional technologies.

Climate Change Gives Ancient Trees Growth Spurt

Rising temperatures are causing some of the oldest trees on Earth to grow faster, new research suggests. But the change might not benefit the climate – it may simply cause the trees to die more quickly.

Previous research (pdf) suggested that Great Basin bristlecone pines located in the mountains of western US are growing more rapidly. But the reason for the growth spurt – and whether or not it is unusual – was unclear.A new analysis of tree rings suggests that the growth spurt is indeed unprecedented: bristlecone pines have grown faster in the past 50 years than they have in 3.7 millennia.

"This well-designed study suggests that climate change is the factor causing the growth spurt," says Greg Wiles, who reconstructs past climates using tree rings at Wooster College in Ohio.

Growth in old age
Matthew Salzer of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona in Tucson and colleagues took cores from ancient trees at three sites in the White Mountains of eastern California and the Ruby mountains of Nevada. They then measured the width of 420,000 rings from pines within 150 metres of their uppermost range, and noted their age. Lastly, the team compared trends in tree ring width with modelled and reconstructed trends in local temperature.

Tree rings in the last half a century have been 0.58 millimetres wide on average, compared to 0.38 mm wide in the 4750 years preceding the period, the study found. What's more, the growth spurt appears to be accelerating: between 2001 and 2005, tree ring widths were almost twice as great as they were before 1951, says Salzer, with an average width of 0.68 millimetres. The changes in tree-ring width are closely correlated with temperature, the study concludes: recent warming in western US is the best explanation for last century's unprecedented growth spurt.

Human impact
"This is a cautionary tale," says Michael Mann, who uses tree rings to gain insights into past climates at Pennsylvania State University's Earth System Science Center, most famously to create the "hockey stick" graph showing an increase in temperature. "Only the human impact of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations can explain that warming."

Christof Bigler of the department of environmental sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich agrees that the growth spurt may be a warning sign. He says that if the ancient trees grow more rapidly they may simply die younger.

But not everyone thinks that the growth spurt is a bad thing. "In the sense of reducing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, it is actually a good thing that these old trees are kicking into life again," says Jinbao Li of the Tree Ring Lab at Columbia University in Palisades, New York.

It's also possible that the growth spurt is partly due to a rise in CO2 levels, which may "fertilise" forests, says Iain Robertson of the School of the Environment and Society at Swansea University, UK. "Temperature only explains about a quarter of the variance in ring widths, so CO2 fertilisation could still play a minor role."

By : Shanta Barley
Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0903029106

The SePem 01 Monitor for Water Leak Detection

The new noise logger as an innovative extension to the SePem range of products. The new generation of SEWERIN (Germany) noise loggers is small and compact. The combination of SePem 01 and communication appliance SePem 01 - master is one backed up with convincing arguments. The SePem 01 noise logger is designed for fixed deployment for water leak detection purposes. the heart of each and every logger is a newly developed, highly sensitive microphone for recording leak noises. It's specification are such as to permit large distances- even in the case of non-metallic piping - between the measurement points. Thanks to it's novel housing geometry, the logger can be installed either horizontally or vertically. Whether underground fire hydrant or gate valves at varying installation depths - SePem 01 fits in everywhere! A digital high-performance wireless link with automatic error correction exchanges data between logger SePem 01 and communicator SePem 01 - Master. The control vehicle crosses the measurement point and receives all data without any being lost.
State-of-the-art technology is inside the lightweight and handy casing of the SePem 01 - Master communicator. The user soon learns to appreciate the perfected menu control. Even though no separate software is needed, numerous functions are on hand for programming the loggers and presenting the readings. Thanks to the easy, intuitive operation of the SePem 01 - Master, users with only a smattering of PC knowledge very quickly obtain precision findings. Summaristing : the logger and communicator combination features precise measurements thanks to the highly-sensitive microphone together with powerful radio data transmission and evaluation of readings directly on the spot.