Sep 3, 2009

May lead to similar discoveries in feathered dinosaurs

Vivid iridescent colors existed in feathers more than 40 million years ago. Credit and Larger Version

August 26, 2009

Known for their wide variety of vibrant plumage, birds have evolved various chemical and physical mechanisms to produce these beautiful colors over millions of years.

A team of paleontologists and ornithologists has now discovered evidence of vivid iridescent colors in fossil feathers more than 40 million years old.

The finding, published online August 26 in the journal Biology Letters, signifies the first evidence of a preserved color-producing nanostructure in a fossilized feather.

Iridescence is the quality of changing color depending on the angle of observation, such as the rainbow of colors seen in an oil slick.

The simplest iridescent feather colors are produced by light scattering off the feather’s surface and a smooth surface of melanin pigment granules within the feather protein.

Examining feather fossils from the Messel Shale in Germany with an electron microscope, scientists funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) have documented this smooth layer of melanin structures, called melanosomes.

“Although fossil feathers have been known for many years, determining their original color has not been done,” said H. Richard Lane, a paleontologist and program director in NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences.

“Discovery of a color-producing nanostructure in a fossil feather opens up the possibility that we may someday be able to determine such colors in fossil birds, as well as in feathered dinosaurs.”

For more than 25 years, paleontologists have found microscopic tubular structures on fossilized feathers and hair. These were long interpreted as bacteria that had digested the feathers at the time they were fossilized.

The team had previously discovered that these structures were in fact not bacteria but melanosomes; this information allowed the scientists to document the original color patterns.

“The feathers produced a black background with a metallic greenish, bluish or coppery color at certain angles–much like the colors we see in starlings and grackles today,” said Richard Prum, a scientist at Yale and one of the paper’s authors.

Following up on the new finding, he and colleagues are racing to discover what additional coloration features may be found in fossil feathers.

“The discovery of ultra-structural detail in feather fossils opens up remarkable possibilities for the investigation of other features in soft-bodied fossils, like fur and even internal organs,” said scientist Derek Briggs of Yale, a co-author of the paper.

“The ‘Holy Grail’ is reconstructing the colors of feathered dinosaurs,” said Yale graduate student and paper lead author Jakob Vinther. “We are working hard to determine if this will be possible.”

Other authors of the paper include Julia Clarke (University of Texas at Austin) and Gerald Mayr (Senckenberg Research Institute, Germany). Funding also was provided by the National Geographic Society and Yale University.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov
Suzanne Taylor Muzzin, Yale University (203) 432-8555 suzanne.taylormuzzin@yale.edu

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, its budget is $9.5 billion, which includes $3.0 billion provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 44,400 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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Sep 3, 2009

Research on the geophysical aspects of flooding could be key to developing new, real-time flood warning and forecasting systems

Flood inundation of the Iowa River on the University of Iowa Arts Campus. Credit and Larger Version

September 3, 2009

In the early 17th century, William Shakespeare wrote, “Great floods have flown from simple sources.” It turns out Shakespeare’s conclusion holds up: Scientists are now showing that small streams may hold the secret to great floods.

In June 2008, no one fully expected flood waters to reach the 500-year-flood level in Iowa. The deluge overwhelmed streams and breeched levees in populated areas such as Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, where the Cedar and Iowa Rivers crested at unprecedented heights.

Thousands of residents were evacuated and 83 of Iowa’s 99 counties were declared disaster areas. The University of Iowa (UI), caught in the path of rising flood waters, suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Despite the losses, Witold Krajewski and his colleagues at UI gained a rare opportunity to study the geophysical aspects of flooding in real time and to analyze the after-effects of flooding on residents.

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), UI researchers expanded their efforts beyond geophysics to include flood research in areas of social science, health and other fields. Krajewski, a civil and environmental engineering professor and research engineer at UI, is leading these efforts as director of the new Iowa Flood Center.

At the top of his agenda is the development of prototype flood warning and forecasting systems to mitigate the effects of future floods.

How do you design a flood warning system?

The researchers follow rainfall, observed by the National Weather Service’s Next Generation Weather Radar System, as it travels through the network of streams and rivers that drain the Iowa landscape.

“Our concept emphasizes studying small streams rather than large rivers and stresses the role of streams, the broader network, collecting and transporting rainfall,” says Krajewski. “Observing small streams and monitoring soil moisture allows us to better understand and predict how rainfall and runoff contribute to a flood.”

To aid in such analysis, the Iowa Flood Center is planning to deploy sensor systems into nearby streams to collect data. What the engineers and scientists learn is expected to enhance their overall understanding of floods and improve the accuracy of flood warning systems.

Earlier flood research has already given UI scientists an excellent starting point. Prior to the disaster, Krajewski worked with Vijay Gupta from the University of Colorado and others on an NSF-funded project known as Hydro-Kansas. That effort focused on developing a more complex and accurate geophysical theory of floods.

Matching calculations of idealized river networks with flood data from a 21-square kilometer (8-square mile) experimental basin in Mississippi, Gupta and his research colleagues discovered a remarkable property: Stream networks and floods are mutually related. As a result, scientists can extrapolate findings from a small study area to a much larger one, so relationships between a stream network and flooding can be quantified and predicted.

Due to those properties, the researchers realized flood magnitudes grow according to well understood mathematical laws from smaller to larger watersheds. The conclusions are being tested from stream flow data in the much larger Whitewater River basin, east of Wichita, Kan., under the Hydro-Kansas project. When the 2008 Iowa flood came, the Whitewater basin research provided essential data for testing.

“The floods observed last year in the Cedar and Iowa River basins displayed nice power laws,” says Krajewski, referring to mathematical laws that help researchers find relations in data sets. “This is an unprecedented finding. It offers hope for greatly improving flood prediction from physical processes that the geophysical theory of floods is developing.”

Krajewski also uses inundation maps to develop warning and forecasting systems. When the great flood occurred, researchers supported by NSF’s National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping mapped a large corridor of the Iowa River. Pilots in light aircraft flew over the disaster area and gathered flood elevation data as the flood wave crest moved over the region. The data showed scientists and engineers detailed information that may help predict flood effects and assist in the future planning and development of the area. The Iowa Flood Center is currently working on ensuring that the Iowa region has updated inundation maps.

“The maps have numerous benefits,” says Krajewski. “They provide significant information for planners and emergency responders regarding risk assessment, and, when combined with models based on the research theory of floods, they will constitute a new-generation, real-time flood forecasting system.”

The academic community at UI hopes the Iowa Flood Center is the first step in establishing a permanent national flood research and education approach.

– Valene Marshall, National Science Foundation valenem@gwmail.gwu.edu

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

Investigators
Witold Krajewski
Ricardo Mantilla
Vijay Gupta

Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Iowa
University of Colorado at Boulder

Locations
Iowa
Colorado
Kansas

Related Programs
Hydrologic Sciences
Water Cycle Research

Related Awards
#0844101 SGER: Anatomy of the 2008 Iowa Flood: Exploring the Interplay Between Successive Storms and Basin Drainage Topology
#0450320 Collaborative Research: Testing a Dynamical-Hortonian Scaling Theory for Flood Events on Whitewater Basin, Kansas
#0450385 Collaborative Research: Testing a Dynamical-Hortonian Scaling Theory for for Flood Events on Whitewater Basin, Kansas

Total Grants
$826,550

Related Websites
LiveScience.com: Environment: Better Prediction Sought for Devastating Floods: http://www.livescience.com/environment/090821-bts-flood-prediction.html
Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD): /news/longurl.cfm?id=180
National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM): http://www.ncalm.ufl.edu/

Sep 3, 2009

Yes folks, just like every other phone from the past 5 years, the iPhone is finally getting the ability to send picture and video messages on the 25th of this month. Of course, other countries have offered MMS on the iPhone for months now, but other countries don't have to deal with AT&T. Tethering is still coming "in the future," so don't hold your breath for that to happen anytime soon. But hey, take what you can get.

Via Gizmodo

Sep 3, 2009

"I think mobile homes are a blight on the planet... Attractive, affordable housing is possible and I'm out to prove it." - Dan Phillips

A man in Texas has started a program to build low-income housing out of trash and other found and donated materials. I know you are probably thinking to ...

By: randofo

Stunning Rhanni is a friendly girl who would be happy to share her home with other dogs. She has lived with children, but likes a quieter life now and would be best suited to a home with adults only or possibly older children. Could you be the lucky people who get to take Rhanni home?

Little Tina is looking for a settled home where she will be the only dog. Since the death of her owner she has not had a permanent place to call home and it's now high time that she felt secure and loved again. She is such a little character with lots of love to give..

Dave and Jan are a devoted couple who would love to find a new home together. In true Staffie-style they adore people and can't get enough fuss and attention. They are still quite active and can be rehomed with older children.

Sep 3, 2009

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION ENDS SEPT. 14th

High-tech wizardry. Make-and-take craft tables. Fire dancing. Eco-chic fashion. Film shorts by creators such as Don Hertzfeldt, Run Wrake, and Andy Gately of Austin Underground Film Festival. With 50+ concerts on three different stages. Whatever your artistic ...

By: electricpromotions