scholarly journals Introducing the Voyage 2050 White Papers, contributions from the science community to ESA’s long-term plan for the Scientific Programme

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Favata ◽  
Günther Hasinger ◽  
Linda J. Tacconi ◽  
Christopher S. Arridge ◽  
Karen S. O’Flaherty
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Programme ◽  
Science Community

scholarly journals Attuning to a changing ocean

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (34) ◽  
pp. 20363-20371
Author(s):  
Nils Chr. Stenseth ◽  
Mark R. Payne ◽  
Erik Bonsdorff ◽  
Dorothy J. Dankel ◽  
Joël M. Durant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Scientific Organizations ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Collective Experience ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Arbitrary Decision

The ocean is a lifeline for human existence, but current practices risk severely undermining ocean sustainability. Present and future social−ecological challenges necessitate the maintenance and development of knowledge and action by stimulating collaboration among scientists and between science, policy, and practice. Here we explore not only how such collaborations have developed in the Nordic countries and adjacent seas but also how knowledge from these regions contributes to an understanding of how to obtain a sustainable ocean. Our collective experience may be summarized in three points: 1) In the absence of long-term observations, decision-making is subject to high risk arising from natural variability; 2) in the absence of established scientific organizations, advice to stakeholders often relies on a few advisors, making them prone to biased perceptions; and 3) in the absence of trust between policy makers and the science community, attuning to a changing ocean will be subject to arbitrary decision-making with unforeseen and negative ramifications. Underpinning these observations, we show that collaboration across scientific disciplines and stakeholders and between nations is a necessary condition for appropriate actions.

scholarly journals The myriad challenges of the Paris Agreement

2018 ◽  
Vol 376 (2119) ◽  
pp. 20180066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dann Mitchell ◽  
Myles R. Allen ◽  
Jim W. Hall ◽  
Benito Muller ◽  
Lavanya Rajamani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
25Th Anniversary ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Warming World ◽  
The University

The much awaited and intensely negotiated Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The agreement set out a more ambitious long-term temperature goal than many had anticipated, implying more stringent emissions reductions that have been under-explored by the research community. By its very nature a multidisciplinary challenge, filling the knowledge gap requires not only climate scientists, but the whole Earth system science community, as well as economists, engineers, lawyers, philosophers, politicians, emergency planners and others to step up. To kick start cross-disciplinary discussions, the University of Oxford's Environmental Change Institute focused its 25th anniversary conference upon meeting the challenges of the Paris Agreement for science and society. This theme issue consists of review papers, opinion pieces and original research from some of the presentations within that meeting, covering a wide range of issues underpinning the Paris Agreement. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.

Sacred lotus, the long-living fruits of China Antique

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Shen-Miller
Keyword(s):  
Far East ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Liaoning Province ◽  
Protein Repair ◽  
Heat Stable ◽  
Sacred Lotus ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Higher Doses

In the West, lotus (Nelumbo nuciferaGaertn.) is relatively little known. However, for more than 3000 years, lotus plants have been cultivated as a crop in Far-East Asia, where they are used for food, medicine and play a significant role in religious and cultural activities. Holder of the world’s record for long-term seed viability (1300 years) is a lotus fruit (China Antique) from Xipaozi, Liaoning Province, China. Five offspring of this variety, from 200–500-year-old fruits (14C dates) collected at Xipaozi, have recently been germinated, and are the first such seedlings to be raised from directly dated fruits. The fruits at Xipaozi, preserved in a dry ancient lakebed, have been exposed to low-dose γ-radiation for hundreds of years (having an accumulated soil irradiation of 0.1–1.0 Gy). Offspring from these old fruits show abnormalities that resemble those in various modern seedlings irradiated at much higher doses. Although these lotus offspring are phenotypically abnormal, the viability of old seeds was evidently not affected by accumulated doses of up to 3 Gy. Growth characteristics of first- and second-year lotus offspring of these fruits, products of the longest-term radiobiological experiment on record, are summarized here (rapid early growth, phenotypic abnormalities, lack of vigour, poor rhizome development and low photosynthetic activity during second-year growth). Aspects of their chromosomal organization, phenotype and physiology (rapid recovery from stress, heat-stable proteins, protein-repair enzyme) are discussed. Important unsolved problems are suggested to elicit interest among members of the seed science community to the study of old fruits recently collected at Xipaozi, with particular emphasis on aspects of ageing and repair.

scholarly journals Spectral Recalibration of NOAA HIRS Longwave CO2 Channels toward a 40+ Year Time Series for Climate Studies

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1317
Author(s):  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Changyong Cao ◽  
Tung-Chang Liu ◽  
Xi Shao
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Spectral Response ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Weather Forecast ◽  
Atmospheric Temperature ◽  
Spectral Shift ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The University

The High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) on NOAA and MetOp A/B satellites has been observing the Earth continuously for over four decades, providing essential data for operational numerical weather prediction, retrieval of atmospheric vertical profile, and total column information on atmospheric temperature, moisture, water vapor, ozone, cloud climatology, and other geophysical parameters globally. Although the HIRS data meets the needs of the short-term weather forecast, there are inconsistencies when the long-term decadal time series is used for time series analysis. The discrepancies are caused by several factors, including spectral response differences between the HIRS models on the satellites and spectral response uncertainties and other calibration issues. Previous studies have demonstrated that significant improvements can be achieved by recalibrating some of the HIRS longwave CO2 channels (Channels 4, 5, 6, and 7), which has helped make the time series more consistent. The current study aims to extend the previous study to the remaining longwave infrared sounding channels, including Channels 1, 2, 3, and 8, using a similar approach. Similar to previous findings, the spectral shift of the HIRS bands has helped improve the consistency in the time series from NOAA-06 to MetOp-A and B for these channels. We also found that HIRS channels on MetOp-B also have bias relative to Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on the same satellite, especially Channel 4, and a spectral shift significantly reduced the bias. To bridge the observation gap in time series in the mid-1980s between NOAA-07 and NOAA-09, the global mean method has been used since no transfer radiometers between them was available for this period, and the spectral response function corrections, therefore, can be applied to the earliest satellites (NOAA-06) for these channels. The recalibration parameters have been provided to other scientists at the University of Wisconsin for improving the time series in their long-term studies using historical HIRS data and are now made available to the science community.

scholarly journals Reinforcement Learning and Physics

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8589
Author(s):  
José D. Martín-Guerrero ◽  
Lucas Lamata
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Physical Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Science Community ◽  
Learning Protocols

Machine learning techniques provide a remarkable tool for advancing scientific research, and this area has significantly grown in the past few years. In particular, reinforcement learning, an approach that maximizes a (long-term) reward by means of the actions taken by an agent in a given environment, can allow one for optimizing scientific discovery in a variety of fields such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Morover, physical systems, in particular quantum systems, may allow one for more efficient reinforcement learning protocols. In this review, we describe recent results in the field of reinforcement learning and physics. We include standard reinforcement learning techniques in the computer science community for enhancing physics research, as well as the more recent and emerging area of quantum reinforcement learning, inside quantum machine learning, for improving reinforcement learning computations.

scholarly journals A Small Interferometer in Space for Global Astrometry: The Gaia Concept

1995 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 337-344
Author(s):  
L. Lindegren ◽  
M.A.C. Perryman
Keyword(s):  
Photon Counting ◽  
Superconducting Tunnel Junctions ◽  
Scientific Programme ◽  
Photon Counting Detector ◽  
Accuracy Level ◽  
Scanning Interferometer ◽  
New Type ◽  
Ccd Detectors ◽  
Very High

We present a concept for a scanning interferometer for global (wide-angle) astrometry from space. The GAIA concept has been proposed for the European Space Agency's long-term scientific programme. It consists of three Fizeau-type interferometers with 2.5 m baselines, set at large and fixed angles to each other. Complete utilization of the instrument's resolution and sensitivity requires a new type of photon-counting detector, combining very high spatial and temporal resolution. An array of superconducting tunnel junctions (STJ) may ultimately provide this capability. Pending this development we describe a focal-plane configuration for GAIA using existing technology in the form of a modulating grid and CCD detectors. We estimate that 50 million stars brighter than V = 15.5 could be observed on the 10 to 20 microarcsec accuracy level. In addition, high-precision multi-colour, multi-epoch photometry is obtained for all objects.

scholarly journals PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Kubínová
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
International Society ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Round Table Discussion ◽  
Scientific Programme ◽  
3D Image ◽  
3D Image Analysis ◽  
Phd Thesis

Dear colleagues, Let me wish you and our Image Analysis & Stereology Journal all the best in 2016. It is great honour for me to be in charge of the International Society for Stereology (ISS). I would like to thank Eric Pirard for all his tremendous work and effort he has put into ISS activities in past years, together with all members of the ISS Board. I am glad Eric is willing to help me with ISS as „Immediate Past President“. I also rely on close collaboration with Ida Eržen and Marko Kreft, the Editors-in-Chief of Image Analysis & Stereology (IAS), IAS Editorial Board and future ISS Board. I appreciate long-term cooperation between the Image Analysis & Stereology Journal and the International Society for Stereology and I am looking forward to broaden our relationships in the future. As a President of ISS I plan to evoke new activities which would help to make ISS vivid and useful to scientific community. We are planning new courses on stereology, image analysis and related topics run in cooperation with ISS with reduced fee for ISS members, competion for the best PhD thesis using stereology and/or image analysis, ISS history mapping, etc. I welcome your further suggestions and comments. I would like to cordially invite you to become members of the International Society for Stereology (http://stereologysociety.org/membership.html) and to take part in new activities organized by ISS, such as:Special Session „3D Image Analysis and Stereology in Fluorescence Microscopy“ at ISBI 2016 (in Prague, see http://biomedicalimaging.org/2016/?page_id=768).Round table discussion on „Stereology and 3D image analysis in microscopy“ to be held at the 16th European Microscopy Congress in Lyon (EMC 2016, see http://www.emc2016.fr/en/scientific-programme/special/stereology).It is my intention to involve young people and fresh ideas in the activities of ISS and in further improvement of IAS. Please contact me at [email protected] Looking forward to our collaboration, Lucie KubínováPresident of IASDepartment of BiomathematicsInstitute of PhysiologyCzech Academy of SciencesPrague, Czech Republic

The Australian Integrated Marine Observing System: Delivering Data Streams to Address National and International Research Priorities

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katy Hill ◽  
Tim Moltmann ◽  
Roger Proctor ◽  
Simon Allen
Keyword(s):  
Data Streams ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Marine Management ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Science Community ◽  
The University ◽  
Ocean Observing

AbstractThe Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) has been established with Australian federal government funding, bringing together universities and marine agencies from across the nation to deliver a sustained observing system for Australia. It is led by the University of Tasmania on behalf of the marine and climate science community, with 10 different organizations operating components of the system based on their institutional strengths and capabilities. The system’s primary goal is to provide information in support of marine and climate science; however, as all IMOS data are discoverable and freely available through the Internet-based Ocean Portal, the system has the potential to support decision making in many other areas of marine management. IMOS has become the cornerstone of Australia’s contribution to the Global Ocean Observing System and plays a leading role in the development of observing systems in the Southern Hemisphere. This article will outline how IMOS works, with an emphasis on the key principles of (i) national, science-driven planning and (ii) delivery of data streams as research infrastructure. It will also highlight recent achievements and challenges for the future. Although it is still in its “early days,” indications are that IMOS is revolutionizing ocean observing in Australia and is laying a platform for the delivery of sustained observations over the very long term.

Therapy and prevention for mental health: What if mental diseases are mostly not brain disorders?

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. A. Ioannidis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disease ◽  
Brain Disorders ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Labor Education ◽  
Mental Diseases ◽  
Long Term Follow Up ◽  
Political Decisions

AbstractNeurobiology-based interventions for mental diseases and searches for useful biomarkers of treatment response have largely failed. Clinical trials should assess interventions related to environmental and social stressors, with long-term follow-up; social rather than biological endpoints; personalized outcomes; and suitable cluster, adaptive, and n-of-1 designs. Labor, education, financial, and other social/political decisions should be evaluated for their impacts on mental disease.

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