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South Korea battery maker boss arrested over deadly fire

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South Korea battery maker boss arrested over deadly fire

The chief executive of Aricell, a South Korean lithium battery company, has been arrested over a massive factory fire in June that killed 23 people and injured nine others.

A court approved the warrant for Park Soon-kwan’s arrest on Wednesday.

Investigators have said Aricell’s management is suspected of workplace safety violations. The fire was one of South Korea’s worst factory disasters in recent years.

Aricells’ parent company, S-Connect, did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

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After the fire Mr Park issued an apology: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the bereaved families.”

“We take great responsibility and will sincerely provide support to the deceased and their families in every way possible,” he added.

His arrest comes after a police investigation found that the factory had been rushing to meet production deadlines.

Investigators said there were a number of safety issues at the plant, including a failure to address quality defects in batteries and hiring unskilled staff to handle dangerous materials.

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It was also alleged that Aricell had been cheating in quality inspections related to contracts with the military.

The blaze broke out on 24 June after several battery cells exploded.

At the time of the fire, the Aricell factory housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells on its second floor, where batteries were inspected and packaged.

As a lithium fire can react intensely with water, firefighters had to use dry sand to extinguish the blaze, which took several hours to get under control.

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The victims were mostly foreign workers, from country’s including China and Laos.

South Korea is a leading producer of lithium batteries, which are used in many items from electric cars to laptops.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple has recently announced its new flagship smartphones, including the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the largest one. In this article, we’ll compare it to the best Samsung has to offer, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max. These two devices are quite different when it comes to design, but that’s not where the similarities end, not at all, quite the contrary, actually. There is plenty to talk about here.

As we usually do, we will first list the specifications of both smartphones and will then move to compare them across a number of other categories. We will compare their designs, displays, performance, battery life, cameras, and audio output. There are quite a few differences to talk about here, as the two companies have completely different approaches. Let’s get down to it, shall we?

Specs

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max, respectively

Screen size:
6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (flat, adaptive 120Hz, HDR10+, 2,600 nits max brightness)
6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED ( flat, 120Hz, HDR, 2,000 nits)
Display resolution:
3120 x 1440
2868 x 1320
SoC:
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy (4nm)
Apple A18 Pro (3nm)
RAM:
12GB (LPDDR5X)
16GB (LPDDR5X)
Storage:
256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0)
128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 3.1)
Rear cameras:
200MP (wide, f/1.7 aperture, OIS, multi-directional PDAF, 0.6um pixel size), 12MP (ultrawide, 120-degree FoV, f/2.2 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF 1.4um pixel size), 10MP (telephoto, f/2.4 aperture, OIS, Dual Pixel PDAF, 1.12um pixel size, 3x optical zoom), 50MP (periscope telephoto, OIS, PDAF, 5x optical zoom)
48MP (wide, f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.28-inch sensor, 1.22um pixel size, sensor-shift OIS), 48MP (ultrawide, f/2.2 aperture, 0.7um pixel size, PDAF), 12MP (periscope telephoto, f/2.8 aperture, 1/3.06-inch sensor, 1.12um pixel size, 3D sensor-shift OIS, 5x optical zoom).
Front cameras:
12MP (wide, f/2.2 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF, 22mm lens)
12MP (f/1.9 aperture, PDAF, 1/3.6-inch sensor size, OIS)
Battery:
5,000mAh
Not confirmed yet
Charging:
45W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless (charger not included)
38W wired & 25W MagSafe & Qi2 wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, 5W reverse wired
Dimensions:
162.3 x 79 x 8.6mm
163 x 77.6 x 8.3 mm
Weight:
232/233 grams
227 grams
Connectivity:
5G, LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C, Bluetooth 5.3
Security:
Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner & facial scanning
Face ID (3D facial scanning)
OS:
Android 14 with One UI 6.1
iOS 18
Price:
$1,299+
$1,199+
Buy:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (Best Buy)
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Design

The moment you lay your eyes on the two phones you’ll realize how different they are. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a flat top and bottom sides, but its left and right sides are curved. All sides of the iPhone 16 Pro Max are flat, though they are slightly rounded toward the edges. Apple did that so that the phone is more comfortable to hold. Both phones do include flat displays with cutouts on them. The Galaxy S24 Ultra has a little hole at the top of the display, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a rather large pill-shaped cutout.

The bezels around their displays are very thin, and uniform. All the physical buttons sit on the right-hand side of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a power/lock key there and a Camera Control button. On the left, you’ll find the volume up and down buttons, and the Action Button. The two devices have considerably different camera setups on the back. Each of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s four cameras protrudes directly from the back side. There is no dedicated camera island. The exact opposite is true for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Its camera island sits in the top-left corner with three cameras.

Both of these phones are made out of titanium and glass. They have a titanium frame. They are both also IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. Corning’s Gorilla Armor sits on the back of Samsung’s handset. Apple’s device has a “Corning-made glass” on the back. The two phones are almost the same in terms of height, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra is slightly wider. They are almost identical in terms of thickness. Both phones are quite slippery, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra is 5 grams heavier.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Display

The Galaxy S24 Ultra feautres a 6.8-inch QHD+ 3120 x 1440 Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display. That panel has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. It also offers support for HDR10+ content, and its peak brightness is at 2,600 nits. The screen-to-body ratio is around 88%, while the display aspect ratio is 19.5:9. The Gorilla Armor from Corning sits on top of the display in order to protect it.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review AM AH 09

The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the flip side, has a 6.9-inch LTPO Super Retina XDR OLED display. That display has an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. HDR10 is supported, as is Dolby Vision. The peak brightness here is 2,000 nits. The screen-to-body ratio on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is around 91%. The display aspect ratio is 19.5:9. This display is protected by the Ceramic Shield glass.

Both of these panels are great. They are vivid, bright, and have great viewing angles. The blacks are deep, and the touch response is good. Neither phone has high-frequency PWM dimming, though. The Galaxy S24 Ultra does technically get brighter, but the difference is not that big, not even in direct sunlight. What the Galaxy S24 Ultra does have an advantage with is… glare. The Gorilla Armor on top of the display is unbelievable in that regard.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy fuels the Galaxy S24 Ultra. That is a 4nm chip and Qualcomm’s best one at the time of writing this. The phone is also equipped with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 flash storage. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is fueled by the Apple A18 Pro processor. That is a 3nm chip, by the way. The phone is also equipped with 8GB of RAM and NVMe flash storage. Neither phone offers expandable storage, by the way.

With that being said, both phones do offer great performance. Our iPhone 16 Pro (Max) review is not ready yet, but plenty of impressions are already there. In any case, both devices are very fluid in terms of day-to-day use. They can jump between apps without a problem, and getting them to slow down is a chore. They do great regardless of what you’re doing, even when it comes to a bit more advanced things such as video processing.

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What about gaming, though? Well, they’re great in that regard too. Non-demanding games are, of course, not a problem, but the same goes for truly demanding titles too. Each of these two smartphones can run basically anything you can think of, and do it really well. Titles like Genshin Impact are not a problem at all. They will get warm, but not too much, and that won’t affect the gaming performance at all.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Battery

There is a 5,000mAh battery included inside the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Apple still didn’t confirm what battery it used in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, though. It is tipped to be a 4,676mAh unit, but we’re still not 100% sure. Apple’s handsets usually have smaller batteries compared to their Android counterparts, due to the way iOS operates, but that doesn’t mean they have inferior battery life. In fact, both of these smartphones are outstanding in that regard.

We were in awe of the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s battery life when we first reviewed it. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is showing a similar promise, actually. Getting to over 7-8 hours of screen-on-time is a possibility on both phones, though your mileage may vary, of course. That will depend on a number of factors. The point is, we were unable to drain the battery life of either phone in a day. We could have done that with constant gaming, of course, but with general heavy use, no… that didn’t happen.

What about charging? Well, the Galaxy S24 Ultra supports 45W wired, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, supports 45W wired, 25W MagSafe wireless, 15W Qi2 wireless, 7.5W Qi wireless, and 5W reverse wired charging. Do note that neither smartphone comes with a charger in the retail box, however. All you’ll get is a cable.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with four cameras on the back, while Apple’s handset has three rear cameras. The Galaxy S24 Ultra includes a 200-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide unit (120-degree FoV), a 10-megapixel telephoto unit (3x optical zoom), and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (5x optical zoom). The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has a 48-megapixel main camera, a 48-megapixel ultrawide unit, and a 12-megapixel periscope telephoto camera (5x optical zoom).

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review AM AH 04

The main camera sensors on the two phones are similar in terms of size. Both devices do a really good job with photos, though the results are different. Samsung’s images still look more processed, although Apple has been heading more and more in that direction. Both phones like brightening up the shadows during the day, even though the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s images do end up looking a bit more contrasty. The iPhone 16 Pro Max was more reliable for us in terms of balanced photos, for what it’s worth, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra was not far off.

Both ultrawide cameras do a good job, and keep a similar color profile to the main shooters. The results are notably different, though, as are with the main cameras. Something similar can be said for the telephoto cameras. This was a tossup between the two setups, as it all depended on what distance we were capturing. At times we preferred shots from the iPhone, but it was mostly from Samsung. Both devices also do a good job in low light and love to brighten up scenes, though Samsung more than Apple. That goes for all three cameras, by the way. The iPhone 16 Pro Max easily wins the video comparison.

Audio

Both of these smartphones include stereo speakers, and they’re really good on both ends. They’re loud enough, and the sound output is detailed enough. We did not notice noticeable distortion or anything like that.

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There is no audio jack on either phone, but you can use their Type-C ports to connect your wired headphones. Alternatively, Bluetooth 5.3 is on offer for wireless audio connections… on both smartphones.

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Swarms of miniscule drones mimicking insects being tried for dangerous human tasks

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Swarms of miniscule drones mimicking insects being tried for dangerous human tasks


Dutch scientists have unveiled the country’s first laboratory to research how autonomous miniature drones can mimic insects to accomplish tasks ranging from finding gas leaks in factories to search-and-rescue missions. 

Called the Swarming Lab, researchers at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) say they aim to put a “self-flying” swarm of 100 tiny drones in the air, able to perform around the clock tasks.

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This includes the drones landing by themselves on recharging pods and taking off again to continue flying — without humans ever having to get involved. 

“We are working not only to get these robots to be aware of one another, but also work together to complete complex tasks,” said Guido de Croon, a director at TU Delft’s Swarming Lab. 

Tasks include the tiny drones — with the same weight as a golf ball or an egg — “sniffing out” a gas leak in a factory.

A swarm of autonomous drones, fitted with sensors to detect the gas, will be able to fly autonomously around the factory until one drone detects traces of the gas.

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It will then follow the “scent” of the gas while “calling” the other drones to help in the search using on-board sensors.

“In the same way, drone swarms can also be used to detect forest fires or continuously help in search and rescue operations over large areas,” De Croon said.

The scientists use studies on bee and ant swarms or how flocks of birds behave to try to program their drone swarms to do the same.

“Drone swarm technology is the idea that when we look at nature and you see many of these animals, like ants, that individually are perhaps not so smart but together they do … things that they could definitely not do by themselves,” De Croon said. “We want to instill the same capabilities also in robots,” De Croon said.

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Doing this, the scientists look at how birds or insects swarm “using very simple behaviors.”

For instance, birds “look at their closest neighbors in the flock and they do things like ‘oh, I don’t want to be too close’ because they don’t want to collide,” De Croon said. But “I also don’t want to be the only one to be away from the flock.” 

They align with each other. And by following such simple rules you get these beautiful patterns that are very useful for the birds, also against predators,” he told AFP.

“So at that level, we draw inspiration and we try to make such simple rules also for robots but then for the applications we want to tackle.” 

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But the scientists admit there are some challenges. 

“Swarms are complex systems,” De Croon said at a demonstration of the technology at the Swarming Lab, situated inside TU Delft’s Science Centre.”A single robot can do simple things within a swarm.” “It is actually quite difficult to predict, however, with these simple rules how a whole swarm will behave,” De Croon said.

The small size of the robots also hampers the amount of technology like sensors and on-board computing capacity the tiny drones can carry. 

Currently, the drones at the Swarming Lab still rely on an externally mounted camera to relay information to the buzzing beasts on their positions within the swarm. 

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But the researchers have already developed the technology for robots to sense each other without external help. And they would n’t be the first: Scientists from Zhejiang University in China in 2022 successfully flew 10 autonomous drones through a thick bamboo forest.

Currently, the Swarming Lab, working with a start-up company of former TU Delft students called Emergent, has some 40 small drones involved in its research.

“The aim is eventually to put a swarm of around 100 drones in the air in the next five years,” said Lennart Bult, co-founder at Emergent. 

Ultimately “it would be really great if we actually get a bit closer to the astonishing intelligence of tiny creatures like honeybees,” said De Croon.

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Best Free VPNs | Protect Your Privacy Online for FREE

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Best Free VPNs | Protect Your Privacy Online for FREE

Subscribe to the Innovation Insider Newsletter Catch up on the latest tech innovations that are changing the world, including IoT, 5G, the latest about phones, security, smart cities, AI, robotics, and more. Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays Email Address By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. …

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Ancient mummy with shrieking expression may have “died screaming from agony,” Egyptian researchers say

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Ancient mummy with shrieking expression may have "died screaming from agony," Egyptian researchers say


The mummy of an ancient Egyptian woman with her mouth wide open in what looks like an anguished shriek may have died “screaming from agony,” researchers say.

The unnamed woman mummy, discovered in a 1935 archeological expedition in Deir el-Bahari near Luxor, was kept in The Cairo Egyptian Museum and referred to as “Screaming Woman Mummy of the store of Kasr al Ainy.”

The face of the “Screaming Woman” mummy, discovered in 1935 near Luxor, is seen at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, January 18, 2023 in this handout photograph released on August 2, 2024.

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Sahar Saleem


In an article in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, scientists said they used CT scans and other testing to examine whether the mummy had any pathological abnormalities and assess potential causes of death.

They found that the woman, who was around 48 years old at the time she died, had lost some teeth and lived with mild arthritis of the spine. Her body was embalmed about 3,500 years ago with high quality ingredients.

Ancient Egyptians mummified bodies because they believed preserving them after death secured a worthy existence in the afterlife. Usually, internal organs would be removed during the mummification process, but that did not take place with the “Screaming Woman.”

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“In ancient Egypt, the embalmers took care of the dead body so it would look beautiful for the afterlife. That’s why they were keen to close the mouth of the dead by tying the jaw to the head to prevent the normal postmortem jaw drop,” lead researcher in the study, Cairo University radiology professor Sahar Saleem, told the Reuters news agency.

But this had not happened in the case of the “Screaming Woman.”

“This opened the way to other explanations of the widely opened mouth — that the woman died screaming from agony or pain and that the muscles of the face contracted to preserve this appearance at the time of death due to cadaveric spasm,” Saleem told Reuters, adding that, due to all of the unknowns around her history, the cause of her expression can’t be established with certainty.

Saleem told Reuters that cadaveric spasm is a poorly understood condition, where contracted muscles become rigid immediately after death.

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Confluent platform update targets developer choice, security

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Confluent platform update targets developer choice, security

Data streaming specialist Confluent on Tuesday unveiled its latest platform update, including new security capabilities and support for the Table API that makes the Apache Flink platform accessible to Java and Python developers.

The release, which includes generally available features as well as some in preview, closely follows Confluent’s acquisition of WarpStream, another streaming data vendor that Confluent bought Sept. 9.

Based in Mountain View, Calif., Confluent develops a streaming data platform built on Apache Kafka, an open source technology developed by Confluent co-founders Jay Kreps, Neha Narkhede and Jun Rao when they were working at LinkedIn. Kafka, which was first released in 2011, enables users to ingest and process data as it is produced in real time.

Using Kafka as a foundation, Confluent offers Confluent Cloud as a managed service and Confluent Platform for on-premises users.

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Apache Flink, meanwhile, was launched in 2014 and is a processing framework for data streaming similar to Confluent’s proprietary platforms. Flink provides a compute layer that enables users to filter, combine and enrich data as it’s produced and processed to foster real-time analysis.

Confluent unveiled support for Flink in March to provide users the option of using it as a managed service rather than Confluent Cloud.

New capabilities

Just as adding support for Flink provided Confluent users with more choice as they build their streaming data infrastructure, adding support for the Table API — which is now in open preview — similarly adds more choice to the Confluent platform while also opening it to a new set of potential users.

When Confluent first provided customers with Flink as an option, it did so with a SQL API that enabled developers to build data streams using SQL code. However, not all developers know SQL. And even among those who do know SQL, the programming language may not be their preferred coding format.

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The Table API, like the SQL API, is a tool that enables Flink users to develop pipelines by writing code. But rather than SQL, the Table API enables developers to use Java and Python.

Choice is important as developers create environments for data management and analytics. It not only enables enterprises to avoid vendor lock-in but also lets them use the tools that best fit their needs for a given task or that users know best and prefer. Therefore, Confluent’s addition of support for the Table API is a logical step for the vendor following its initial support for Flink, according to David Menninger, an analyst at ISG’s Ventana Research.

It will be significant to developers that would prefer to write code rather than SQL statements. In some cases, developers may not be very well versed in SQL. In some cases, it may just be a preference.
David MenningerAnalyst, ISG’s Ventana Research

“It will be significant to developers that would prefer to write code rather than SQL statements,” he said. “In some cases, developers may not be very well versed in SQL. In some cases, it may just be a preference.”

Beyond support for the Table API, Confluent’s addition of new security features is important, according to Menninger.

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Specifically, Confluent’s platform now offers private networking support for Flink so users of private networks rather than public clouds can take advantage of Flink’s capabilities. In addition, the platform now includes client-side field level encryption, which enables customers to encrypt fields within data streams to ensure security and regulatory compliance.

Data volume is growing at an exponential rate. So is the complexity of data. To ensure security so sensitive information remains private, many organizations have hybrid data storage environments, with their less-regulated data stored in public clouds such as AWS and Azure and their more regulated data, such as that with personally identifiable information, kept on premises or in private clouds.

By enabling customers to use Flink in private networks, Confluent is supporting potential customers that may not have been able to use its platform in the past due to security concerns to now use its streaming data capabilities.

Specific features of Confluent’s private networking support for Flink, which is generally available on AWS for Confluent Enterprise users, include:

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  • Safeguards for in-transit data, including a private network to provide secure connections between private clouds and Flink.
  • Simple configuration that enables users without extensive networking expertise to set up private connections between their private data storage environments and Flink.
  • Flexible data stream processing of Kafka clusters within the secure environment so that private cloud users can benefit from the same speed and efficiency as other Confluent users.

“It may not be very sexy, but new security features including private networking and client-side field-level encryption will be welcomed additions,” Menninger said. “Enterprises have a heightened focus on governance, compliance and security. The lack of these capabilities may, in fact, have prevented certain organizations from using Flink previously.”

Confluent’s impetus for including support for the Table API and the new security features — along with an extension for the Visual Studio Code development platform — came from a combination of customer interactions and observation of market trends, according to Jean-Sébastien Brunner, Confluent’s director of product management.

Confluent maintains a feedback loop with its users and takes information gathered from that feedback into account when deciding what to add in any given platform update, he said.

In addition, the vendor pays close attention to industry trends to make sure its tools are consistent with those being offered by competing platforms such as Cloudera, Aiven and streaming data tools from tech giants such as AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft.

Finally, with its roots in the open source community, a focal point for Confluent is making sure that technologies such as Kafka and Flink are accessible and easy to use.

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“We look at several signals,” he said.

While Confluent’s platform update aims to meet customer needs and respond to industry trends, the vendor’s acquisition of WarpStream was designed to expand Confluent’s reach within an enterprise’s data stack by adding new applications for its platform, according to Kreps, Confluent’s CEO.

Confluent, which was founded in 2014, provides certain capabilities and is a good fit for certain companies. WarpStream provides different capabilities such as a bring-your-own-cloud (BYOC) architecture that enables users to deploy the streaming data platform in their own clouds rather than a vendor’s.

In a sense, BYOC is similar to Confluent’s private networking support for Flink. However, as a native architecture, it is a foundation rather than an add-on.

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“Our goal is to make data streaming the central nervous system of every company,” Kreps said. “To do that we need to make it something that is a great fit for a vast array of use cases and companies. The big thing they did that got our attention was their next-generation approach to BYOC architectures.”

Once integrated, WarpStream’s BYOC capabilities should help Confluent accomplish its aim of providing customers with more deployment options, according to Menninger.

He noted that some vendors offer a managed cloud service or a self-managed option that can be run in the cloud. Other vendors that are more mature offer both. Both options have benefits and drawbacks. For example, managed cloud versions reduce management burdens but can be expensive. Self-managed versions can be less expensive but require more labor.

WarpStream provides a third choice.

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“WarpStream offers an option in between,” Menninger said. “Enterprises can offload some of the management and administrative responsibilities, but not all of them.”

How data streaming works

Plans

As Confluent plots future platform updates, continuing to add security and networking capabilities to ensure regulatory compliance is a continued focus, according to Brunner. So is enabling customers to connect to external sources to better foster real-time analysis and insights.

“We remain focused on helping our customers get insights faster by making data accessible once it’s generated,” Brunner said.

Menninger, meanwhile, suggested that Confluent could further meet the needs of customers by enabling them to more easily combine streaming data with data at rest.

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While streaming data is an imperative for real-time decision-making, streaming data can have broader applications when used together with data at rest. For example, as enterprises increasingly develop generative AI tools, streaming data could be used to keep models current.

However, despite potential real-world applications for streaming data and data at rest being used together, the two are too often kept separate, according to Menninger. Therefore, anything vendors such as Confluent can do to bring streaming data together with data at rest would be beneficial.

“The worlds of streaming data and data at rest are coming closer together, but they are still largely separate worlds that can be integrated or co-exist,” Menninger said. “I’d like to see Confluent and others create a more unified platform across both streaming data and data at rest.”

Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for TechTarget Editorial and a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He covers analytics and data management.

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Fossil discovery in Greenland ice sheet reveals increased risk of sea level rise

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Fossil discovery in Greenland ice sheet reveals increased risk of sea level rise


Greenland has melted before, and as the climate warms, it will melt again — this time leading to what scientists warn could be 20 to 25 feet of sea-level rise.

During one of the warm periods within the last 1.1 million years, the center, not just the edges, of Greenland’s massive ice sheet melted away, new research has found, giving way to a dry and barren “tundra landscape” that was home to various insects and plant life. The findings were shared in a new paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

When the ice sheet initially melted, there were lower levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere than there are today. Now with more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, scientists say Greenland’s ice sheet is more susceptible to melting than previously thought. 

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“Greenland has been around for 2.7 million years with its ice,” said Paul Bierman, a scientist at the University of Vermont who co-led the new study. “Now there’s some evidence that this ice sheet is fragile.”

The researchers have been studying materials from beneath the hood of the Greenland ice sheet, the largest in the Northern hemisphere, since 2014. They examined sediment from the bottom of an ice core — dubbed GISP2 — extracted from two miles below the surface at the center of the ice sheet nearly 30 years ago. 

The 1-ounce sample of sediment was filled with clues of Greenland’s past. Tiny little black specks, when put under the microscope, revealed an insect eye, an Arctic poppy seed, parts of an Arctic willow, and tiny bits of soil fungus and spike moss — what Bierman referred to as a “frozen ecosystem underneath the ice.”

20x-noedf-dark-2.jpg
Willow bud scale, arctic poppy seed, fungal bodies, and rock spike moss megaspores found in the GISP2 soil sample viewed under a microscope.

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Halley Mastro


According to researchers, the fossils provide “direct confirmation” that 90% of the ice sheet was once gone.

“Finding these fossils in the center of the ice sheet is unambiguous evidence that Greenland’s ice has disappeared [in the past],” said Bierman. “And once you lose the center of the ice sheet, you’ve lost it all.”

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The findings supports what’s called the “fragile Greenland” hypothesis: that nature, outside of human influence, has caused the ice sheet to melt at least once since it formed, Bierman said. 

At 656,000 square miles, the Greenland ice sheet currently covers around 80% of the island territory. To put that into perspective, it’s about three times the size of Texas.

massey-gisp2dome-greenland90.jpg
Drill dome and camp for GISP2, in Summit Greenland.

Christine Massey

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NASA, which has mapped Greenland’s ice loss, says the sheet has “rapidly declined in the last several years,” prompting the global sea level to rise around 0.03 inches per year. Greenland’s melting ice mass is now the No. 1 driver of sea level rise,  according to Bierman.

“In the early years of the climate warming, it was mountain glaciers that were doing most of the melting and adding water to the ocean,” he said. “Now it’s Greenland.”

While it could be a few thousand years before the entire Greenland mass melts, Bierman said, the consequences would be dire: hundreds of millions of people could lose their homes and businesses. Places we hold near and dear to our hearts would be lost.

“As I like to say when people ask me, why does it matter? I say think about your favorite beach. And then imagine your favorite beach with 25 feet of water on it,” Bierman said.

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