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Σάββατο 28 Δεκεμβρίου 2013

Stalled rescue for icebound ship in Antarctica

View from icebound Russian ship

Three ships had been headed toward the trapped Russian vessel. Two have now turned back, but a third is expected to reach the vessel late Sunday.

The group of 74 scientists, tourists and crew aboard a Russian ship stuck in ice off Antarctica are still stranded, although blizzard conditions that hit the ship on Thursday now appear to have eased somewhat. A Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon attempted to reach the ship on Saturday (December 28, 2013), and came within six-and-a-half nautical miles of the stranded vessel, but then encountered ice so heavy it could not break through.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating the rescue of the Russian passenger ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy. AMSA spokeswoman Andrea Hayward-Maher told AFP:

The Chinese vessel unfortunately encountered some heavy ice that it’s not capable of breaking through. The rescue… unfortunately has stalled.

The Russian ship has been icebound about 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont d’Urville since Tuesday, December 24.

Three vessels with icebreaking capability had been attempting to reach the stranded Russian ship. The Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon had been expected to get there first, late Friday, but it had to turn back. The French icebreaker, L’Astrolabe, is now said to have been released by rescue authorities from having to continue with the mission around midday on Saturday.

Now only the Australian Antarctic Division’s Aurora Australis continues to head toward the trapped Russian ship. It’s not expected to reach the area until Sunday evening.

Those aboard the trapped ship are said to have plenty of supplies and remain comfortable at this time.

Παρασκευή 27 Δεκεμβρίου 2013

THAILAND ELECTIONS HAVE 'FEW SUPPORTERS' - BBC NEWS

The Thai government will seek the army's help to hold elections in February which the opposition is planning to boycott. In a national broadcast, the Deputy Prime Minister said he will ask the army chief to provide security for the polls. On Thursday the government rejected a call by the election commission to postpone the vote, after a policeman was shot dead during political violence in the capital. The BBC's Jonathan Head is in Bangkok - where he says the election has few supporters.

Πέμπτη 26 Δεκεμβρίου 2013

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (+playlist)

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NASA and JAXA Announce Launch Date for Global Precipitation Satellite

Dec. 26, 2013

RELEASE 13-376

NASA and JAXA Announce Launch Date for Global Precipitation Satellite

Artist concept of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite.

Image Credit:

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Environmental research and weather forecasting are about to get a significant technology boost as NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) prepare to launch a new satellite in February.

NASA and JAXA selected 1:07 p.m. to 3:07 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27 (3:07 a.m. to 5:07 a.m. JST Friday, Feb. 28) as the launch date and launch window for a Japanese H-IIA rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center.

GPM is an international satellite mission that will provide advanced observations of rain and snowfall worldwide, several times a day to enhance our understanding of the water and energy cycles that drive Earth's climate. The data provided by the Core Observatory will be used to calibrate precipitation measurements made by an international network of partner satellites to quantify when, where, and how much it rains or snows around the world.

"Launching this core observatory and establishing the Global Precipitation Measurement mission is vitally important for environmental research and weather forecasting," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington. "Knowing rain and snow amounts accurately over the whole globe is critical to understanding how weather and climate impact agriculture, fresh water availability, and responses to natural disasters."

With the addition of the new Core Observatory, the satellites in the GPM constellation will include the NASA-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership mission, launched in 2012; the NASA-JAXA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), launched in 1997; and several other satellites managed by JAXA, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Defense, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, the Centre National D'Etudies Spatiales of France and the Indian Space Research Organisation.

"We will use data from the GPM mission not only for Earth science research but to improve weather forecasting and respond to meteorological disasters," said Shizuo Yamamoto, executive director of JAXA. "We would also like to aid other countries in the Asian region suffering from flood disasters by providing data for flood alert systems. Our dual-frequency precipitation radar, developed with unique Japanese technologies, plays a central role in the GPM mission."

The GPM Core Observatory builds on the sensor technology developed for the TRMM mission, with two innovative new instruments. The GPM Microwave Imager, built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo., will observe rainfall and snowfall at 13 different frequencies. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar, developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Tokyo, transmits radar frequencies that will detect ice and light rain, as well as heavier rainfall. It also will be able to measure the size and distribution of raindrops, snowflakes and ice particles.