(Press-News.org) Sam VanLaningham can't wait to take the Sikuliaq for a spin.
When it's ready for science operations in 2014, the 261-foot research vessel will be capable of drilling Bering Strait seafloor cores in any season. VanLaningham hopes those cores will uncover mysteries about the history of climate change in Alaska.
Last week, VanLaningham and several UAF scientists met with other researchers and agency representatives at the first Sikuliaq Science Workshop at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wis. At the workshop, scientists presented and discussed some of the many scientific projects possible on the R/V Sikuliaq. The scientists also toured full-scale mock-ups of the vessel's laboratories and bridge.
VanLaningham, an assistant professor of geological oceanography and an expert in paleoceanography, is particularly interested in using the Sikuliaq to collect sediment cores for his studies of how sea level changes at the Bering Strait have affected past climate in the northern hemisphere.
"We will be able to use the ship, winter or summer, to core in the Bering Strait to extract the geologic history of change at Bering Strait, and thus address its role on global climate through time," said VanLaningham.
VanLaningham says he and other geological oceanographers are particularly excited by the large back deck of the vessel, which will allow them to collect of sediment cores up to 70 feet long.
Terry Whitledge, professor of chemical oceanography and the principal investigator for the Sikuliaq project, says the ship will be able to take scientists to areas they have never been before. He also says that the ship will be the most capable in the United States academic fleet.
"With an ice-capable ship making its home in Alaska, we are situated better than ever to address arctic questions that have global implications," added VanLaningham.
Whitledge says that the Sikuliaq Science Workshop was infused with enthusiasm about the ship's many capabilities and that UAF scientists at the workshop said that they "can't wait for the big splash"—when the ship is launched into the Great Lakes Waterway in June 2012.
In addition to many other projects, Whitledge hopes to use the ship to explore the biology and geology of four different submarine canyons in Alaska waters: one in the Arctic, two in the Bering Sea and one in the Aleutians. Whitledge says the Sikuliaq's advanced mapping capabilities could help determine where remotely operated vehicles and submersibles could be launched to explore these deep canyons.
Other UAF scientists at the workshop, including Mark Johnson, Peter Winsor, Tom Weingartner, Dean Stockwell and Seth Danielson, discussed using the ship for other projects, including surveying sea ice thickness, looking at freshwater flow into the Bering Sea from the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers and mapping currents in the Gulf of Alaska.
The R/V Sikuliaq, pronounced [see-KOO-lee-auk], will be an oceanographic research ship capable of bringing scientists from around the world to the icy waters of Alaska and the polar regions. The ship's homeport will be at UAF's Seward Marine Center.
The Sikuliaq project, with more than $200 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, is the largest funded project ever managed by UAF.
The first proposals to include ship time for the Sikuliaq will be submitted in August and October of this year. The next Sikuliaq Science Workshop will take place in February 2012 in conjunction with the American Geophysical Union's Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The vessel will be owned by NSF and operated by UAF. The ship will be ready for unrestricted science operations in 2014.
### END
University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers eye Sikuliaq science possibilities
2011-05-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Neutrons provide first sub-nanoscale snapshots of Huntington's disease protein
2011-05-19
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 18, 2011 – Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee have for the first time successfully characterized the earliest structural formation of the disease type of the protein that causes Huntington's disease. The incurable, hereditary neurological disorder is always fatal and affects one in 10,000 Americans.
Huntington's disease is caused by a renegade protein "huntingtin" that destroys neurons in areas of the brain concerned with the emotions, intellect and movement. All humans have the ...
Virtual workout partners spur better results
2011-05-19
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Can't find anyone to exercise with? Don't despair: New research from Michigan State University reveals working out with a virtual partner improves motivation during exercise.
The study led by Deborah Feltz, chairperson of MSU's Department of Kinesiology, is the first to investigate the Kohler effect on motivation in health video games; that phenomenon explains why inferior team members perform better in a group than they would by themselves.
The research, to be published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, was ...
New technique sheds light on the mysterious process of cell division
2011-05-19
Using a new technique in which models of primitive cells are constructed from the bottom up, scientists have demonstrated that the structure of a cell's membrane and cytoplasm may be as important to cell division as the specialized machinery -- such as enzymes, DNA or RNA -- which are found within living cells. Christine Keating, an associate professor of chemistry at Penn State University, and Meghan Andes-Koback, a graduate student in the Penn State Department of Chemistry, generated simple, non-living model "cells" with which they established that asymmetric division ...
The Luminosity Rapid eLearning Authoring Platform From CM Group Now Available to Smaller Producers; New Cloud-Based Luminosity Server Enables Low-Cost eLearning Creation for All
2011-05-19
The new annual rental model is just $1,395 per author pa with full access to a secure cloud based server to facilitate full author collaboration and stakeholders' review.
Luminosity's architecture means that there is a small piece of software that is installed on the author's PC. The author can work offline and not rely on a constant internet connection. When authors next go onto the internet they can sync up with the server at that time. This is ideal for authors who do not have constant high bandwidth internet access. It also fully supports those authors working individually ...
Researchers discover that lymphocyte count indicates prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma
2011-05-19
CHICAGO, IL (May 18, 2011)––Each year, kidney cancer is diagnosed in nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. Many of these patients undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney, but this procedure can be risky for the elderly and those who have other health problems. Unfortunately, the prognosis of kidney cancer patients often cannot be determined until tumor samples are surgically removed and evaluated. Now, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have discovered that the lymphocyte count––which is routinely measured in laboratory tests––is a simple and effective prognostic ...
Recurring cancers in women with a history of breast cancer differ from the original tumors
2011-05-19
CHICAGO, IL (May 18, 2011)––When women with a history of breast cancer learn they have breast cancer again, one of the first questions they and their doctors ask is: Has my cancer come back, or is this a new case? Now, new data from Fox Chase Cancer Center suggest that both new and recurring cancers will differ significantly from the original tumors, regardless of how many months or years women spent cancer-free, and doctors should tailor treatment to the specific qualities of the second tumor, regardless of whether it's old or new.
Anita Patt, MD, surgical oncology ...
Develop iPhone and iPad Applications in Minutes, Easily Creating Complex Forms, with Validation, Save and Manage Data, Using IOSKit from Knovial
2011-05-19
In light of the iPhone and the iPad's growing popularity and usage among today's consumers, the demand for various applications that can be downloaded and used via iPhones and iPads has skyrocketed. There is an application for virtually every aspect of daily living: games, fitness management, business organization, social networking, health care systems, and the list go on. Thus, programmers have recognized the potential success in developing applications for the iPhone and the iPad. However, it's a fact that a lot of programmers spend hundreds of hours trying to build ...
Enzyme may drive breast cancer growth
2011-05-19
A recently discovered enzyme drives the production of a potent form of estrogen in human breast cancer tissue, researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found.
The extra-strength estrogen, called estradiol, then drives the production of even more enzyme, in what may be a lethal feed-forward mechanism. Estradiol has been implicated in exacerbating tumor growth in breast cancer.
The research is published in the May issue of the journal Molecular Endocrinology.
Scientists had observed the increased production of an unknown protein ...
Carbon black nanoparticles can cause cell death
2011-05-19
Researchers from the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine have found that inhaled carbon black nanoparticles create a double source of inflammation in the lungs.
Their findings were published online in the April 27 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Martha Monick, Ph.D., UI professor of internal medicine, was lead author of the paper, "Induction of Inflammasome Dependent Pyroptosis by Carbon Black Nanoparticles," which outlined the results.
Monick said researchers expected to find one level of inflammation when cells were ...
24-7PressRelease Announces Launch of Partnership with Prompt Proofing to Meet All PR Needs for Customers
2011-05-19
Well-known press release distribution service, 24-7PressRelease.com, recently announced its partnership with press release writing, editing and copy writing service, Prompt Proofing.
24-7PressRelease.com has a faithful following with more than 60,000 customers and is in its seventh year of business. Offering distribution packages for all price points, the press release service has a service for every business, no matter how big or small. Customers submit releases through the easy-to-use self-serve system on 24-7PressRelease.com's website, and the company's editors will ...