Gold Rush in the Age of climate change: local emergence of global offshore

En los últimos diez años un nuevo actor ha surgido en el escenario del mar del Norte. Dictámenes científi cos han corroborado que la Zona Económica Exclusiva alemana es un sitio ideal para la generación de energía eólica. La frecuencia y fuerza del viento unidas a un espacio aparentemente deshabitado hace de esta una región particularmente bien adaptada para tal fi n. Sin embargo, una imagen de satélite de la región en la noche demuestra lo contrario. Cientos de luces muestran que existe una considerable actividad en las islas de Frisia Oriental y en el mar. Mientras que los defensores de la energía eólica marina consideran que hay mucho espacio para la construcción de parques eólicos, algunos de los isleños ven las cosas de una manera muy diferente. En este contexto, la energía eólica marina es una tecnología que ha abierto el debate y ha puesto en marcha un buen negocio. La política y la industria lo consideran como un proyecto económico de futuro. Para los isleños y habitantes de la costa, es una cuestión de cómo se organizan las nuevas condiciones. Sobre la base de ejemplos etnográfi cos de la isla de Borkum y la región costera, se analiza la energía eólica marina emergente y el proceso de recomposición del paisaje del viento y del Mar del Norte. In the last ten years a new actor has been making claims to use of the North Sea. Scientifi c opinions have corroborated that the German Exclusive Economic Zone is an ideal site for the generation of wind power. The wind frequency and strength and the ostensibly uninhabited space makes this region particularly well suited for that purpose. Yet a satellite picture of the region at night proves the opposite. Hundreds of lights show that there is considerable activity on the East Friesian Islands and the sea. While offshore advocates assume there is plenty of room for the construction of wind parks, some of the islanders see things quite differently. In this context, offshore wind energy is a technology that has heated up debate and set a good deal in motion. Politics and industry look upon it as a project for the economic future. For islanders and coastal inhabitants, it is a question of how to arrange themselves with the new conditions. Based on ethnographic examples from Borkum island and the coastal region, this paper analyses emerging offshore wind power and the process of recomposing wind- and seascape on the North Sea

A Comparison of Malfunction-Related Accidents for General Aviation Aircraft Manufactured in 1970–1984 and 2000–2014

The United States general aviation fleet is aging with aircraft manufactured 35–39 years ago representing the most prevalent group. Since older aircraft are more prone to airframe corrosion, fatigue, and brittle electrical wiring, the present study was undertaken to determine whether malfunction-related accidents for general aviation aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1984 were elevated relative to airplanes produced more recently (2000–2014). The NTSB aviation accident database was used to identify piston-powered airplane accidents occurring over the 2005–2014 period. Aircraft manufacture year and fleet activity data were from the FAA. Statistical analyses employed contingency tables and Poisson distributions. The proportion of malfunction-related accidents was unchanged (p = 0.219) for aircraft manufactured over the two periods (12.2%, 2005–2014; 14.3%, 1970–1984). Similarly, malfunction-related accident rates for aircraft of older and more recent vintage were comparable: 2.73 and 2.63 per 100,000 flight hours (p = 0.866). The proportion of accidents related to airframe/flight control or electrical system failures between both aircraft cohorts was statistically insignificant (p = 0.139). Malfunction-related accidents for airplanes of recent production were more likely (p \u3c 0.001) due to manufacture deficiencies, whereas mishaps with airplanes of earlier vintage were more probably a consequence of maintenance deficiencies. Despite the fact that \u3e 90% of aircraft in both production eras were substantially damaged/destroyed, the overwhelming majority (70–71%) of accidents involved no occupant injuries. This study suggests that aircraft of 35–39 years of age do not carry excess risk for malfunction-related accidents in comparison with aircraft of more recent manufacture. Presumably, these findings largely reflect the success of current inspection/maintenance practices

Las Oolitas terruginosas del Jurásico de la sierra de Espuña (prov. de Murcia)

Se describe un corte situado en el Morrón de Alhama que abarca desde el Pliensbachense hasta el Jurásico medio, así como la fauna de Ammonites hallada en el mismo. Encima del Pliensbachense superior sigue el Toarcense inferior, condensado y recubierto por oolitas ferruginosas de hasta 5 m de potencia, que fueron ya dadas a conocer por P. FALLOT y otros autores. Encima siguen calizas bioclásticas potentes. Las oolitas ferruginosas contienen en su base un horizonte de condensación con una rica fauna de Ammonites dd Toarcense superior. Si fuera una fauna no condensada entonces permitiría la correlación con las sucesiones de zonas tanto la europea norteoccidental como la grecoitaliana. Aunque N. y Y. PEYRE (1960) describieron un horizonte de condensación rico en fósiles que representa correctamente el Pliensbachense superior (= Domerense) que fue hallado salo a 2,5 km de distancia, se admite que ambas oolitas ferruginosos corresponden más o menos al mismo nivel guía, concretamente equivalente a las "oolitas inferiores del límite" (Toarcense superior-Adenense), tanto de la Cordillera Ibérica, como de la "Costra limonítica inferior" (Toarcense superior-Bajocense inferior) de la zona subbética

Las Oolitas terruginosas del Jurásico de la sierra de Espuña (prov. de Murcia)

Se describe un corte situado en el Morrón de Alhama que abarca desde el Pliensbachense hasta el Jurásico medio, así como la fauna de Ammonites hallada en el mismo. Encima del Pliensbachense superior sigue el Toarcense inferior, condensado y recubierto por oolitas ferruginosas de hasta 5 m de potencia, que fueron ya dadas a conocer por P. FALLOT y otros autores. Encima siguen calizas bioclásticas potentes. Las oolitas ferruginosas contienen en su base un horizonte de condensación con una rica fauna de Ammonites dd Toarcense superior. Si fuera una fauna no condensada entonces permitiría la correlación con las sucesiones de zonas tanto la europea norteoccidental como la grecoitaliana. Aunque N. y Y. PEYRE (1960) describieron un horizonte de condensación rico en fósiles que representa correctamente el Pliensbachense superior (= Domerense) que fue hallado salo a 2,5 km de distancia, se admite que ambas oolitas ferruginosos corresponden más o menos al mismo nivel guía, concretamente equivalente a las "oolitas inferiores del límite" (Toarcense superior-Adenense), tanto de la Cordillera Ibérica, como de la "Costra limonítica inferior" (Toarcense superior-Bajocense inferior) de la zona subbética

Control Software for Reconfigurable Coprocessors

On-line data processing at the ATLAS general purpose particle detector, which is currently under construction at Geneva, generates demands on computing power that are difficult to satisfy with commodity CPU-based computers. One of the most demanding applications is the recognition of particle tracks that originate from B-quark decays. However, this and many others applications can benefit from parallel execution on field programmable gate arrays (FPGA). After the demonstration of accelerated track recognition with big FPGA-based custom computers, the development of FPGA based coprocessors started in the late 1990's. Applications of FPGA coprocessors are usually partitioned between the host and the tightly coupled coprocessor. The objective of the research that I present in this thesis was the development of software that mediates to applications the access to FPGA coprocessors. I used a software process based on iterative prototyping to cope with the expected changing requirements. Also, I used a strict bottom-up design to create classes that model devices on the coprocessors. Using these low-level classes, I developed tools which were used for bootstrapping, debugging, and firmware update of the coprocessors during their development and maintenance. Measurements show that the software overhead introduced by object-oriented programming and software layering is small. The software-support for six different coprocessors was partitioned into corresponding independent packages, which reuse a set of packages that provide common and basic functions. The steady evolution and use of the software during more than four years shows that the software is maintainable, adaptable, and usable

Sixty Years of Manned Spaceflight—Incidents and Accidents Involving Astronauts between Launch and Landing

Introduction: Since Gagarin became the first human to travel into space and complete one orbit around the Earth, on 12 April 1961, the number of manned spaceflights has increased significantly. Spaceflight is still complex and has potential risk for incidents and accidents. The aim of this study was to analyze how safe it is for humans to travel in space. Objectives: This paper, therefore, summarizes incidents and accidents covering the six decades of manned spaceflight (1961–2020). Material and methods: Extensive PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar searches were made with search strings of “incidents”, “accident”, “spaceflight”, and “orbit”, and including all vehicles so far. Search terms were combined by AND or OR in search strings. Of the results obtained, studies which evaluated manned spaceflight were included in the study. Data from the National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA), the Russian Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Chinese Space Agency (CNSA), as well as from the Virgin Galactic and the SpaceX databases, were searched to complete data and to identify all the accomplished manned spaceflights, as well as all incidents and accidents that have occurred in the specific period. Search results were compared to findings on Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Astronautica, and other public webpages. Reference lists of included articles/homepages were also included for further potential data. Results: From 1961–2020, our data revealed an increasing number of manned space flights, n = 327. The number of times an astronaut has been sent to space, n = 1294, resulted in an accumulated n = 19,414 days spent in space. The number of days spent in orbit has constantly increased from 1961 until today. The number of incidents (altogether n = 36) and accidents (altogether n = 5) has constantly decreased. The number of astronauts who have died during spaceflight is represented by n = 19. The current statistical fatality rate is 5.8% (deaths per spaceflight) with the highest fatality rate in the 1960s (0.013 deaths/day spent in space), and the lowest rates in the 1990s and the period from 2010 until the present (no deaths). The most dangerous phases of spaceflight are launch, landing and staying in orbit. Altogether, n = 12 incidents (incident rate per spaceflight: 0.04) and one accident (accident rate: 0.003) during launch have been reported, n = 9 incidents (incident rate: 0.03) and two accidents (accident rate: 0.006) have been reported during landing and n = 10 incidents (incident rate: 0.03) have been reported in orbit. Discussion: Manned spaceflight over the last six decades has become significantly safer. Since 2003, no astronaut fatality has been reported. With greater international cooperation and maintaining of the International Space Station (ISS), the number of manned spaceflights and days spent in space has constantly increased, with constantly lower rates of incidents and accidents

Landscape and the energy transition: Comparing the emergence of wind energy

Debido al reconocimiento generalizado de la realidad del calentamiento global, cada vez hay más países inmersos en el proceso de introducir energías alternativas, como la energía eólica. En este artículo nos centramos en la transformación del espacio que se ha producido como consecuencia de estas nuevas políticas energéticas. Los paisajes constituyen la plasmación (o no) de las visiones y las decisiones políticas. Analizamos el desarrollo de la energía eólica en tres países europeos, Francia, Alemania y Portugal, desde la perspectiva de un estudio etnográfico del paisaje. Proponemos que la implementación efectiva de un futuro bajo en carbono depende en gran medida de las respectivas culturas administrativas nacionales, de las prácticas e iniciativas locales, y de la percepción del espacio a nivel local. En los tres países estudiados, identificaremos las posibles fuentes de tensión y exploraremos cómo se superan (o no) a nivel local, para así dar paso a la aparición de (nuevos) paisajes de energía eólica. Comparamos el papel de las culturas paisajísticas, las instituciones y las prácticas en el desarrollo y la resolución de conflictos sobre el despliegue de la energía eólica. Due to the global acceptance of the reality of global warming, ever more countries are in the process of implementing alternative energies such as wind power. In this article, we focus on the transformation of space as a consequence of these newly established alternative energy policies. Landscapes are the level at which political visions and policy decisions endorse (or not) their very materiality. We analyze the deployment of wind power in three European countries, France, Germany and Portugal through the lens of ethnographic landscape studies. We argue that the successful implementation of low carbon futures is highly dependent on the respective national cultures of administration as well as on local practices, initiatives and perceptions of space at the local level. In each of the countries under scrutiny, we analyze the way in which wind power and landscape issues are framed, we point at potential tensions and explore how these are overcome (or not) at the local level so as to give way for the emergence of (new) wind power landscapes. We compare the role played by landscape cultures, institutions or practices in the development and resolution of tensions over the deployment of wind energy

El Paisaje y la transición energética: Comparando el surgimiento de paisajes de energía eólica en Francia, Alemania y Portugal

National audienceDue to the global acceptance of the reality of global warming and the imperative of changing energy patterns, ever more countries are in the process of implementing alternative energies such as wind power. In this article, we focus on the transformation of space as a consequence of these newly established alternative energy policies. We analyse the deployment of wind power in three European countries, France, Germany and Portugal through the lens of ethnographic landscape studies. Landscapes are the level at which political visions and policy decisions endorse (or not) their very materiality. With this comparative approach to local realities, we highlight the differences, commonalities and potentials for the production of wind energy in different national contexts. We argue that the global demand for low carbon futures and its successful implementation is highly dependent on the respective national cultures of administration as well as on local practices, initiatives and perceptions of space at the local level. The ethnographic focus on landscape gives an insight into the practice of the implementation of new energy policies. It directs the attention to people's relations with their environment in concrete places as being crucial for the potential to transform rural spaces into alternative energy landscapes. We analyze the way in which wind power and landscape issues are framed in each of the three countries under scrutiny, we point at potential tensions and explore how there are overcome (or not) at the local level so as to give way for the emergence of (new) wind power landscapes. We then bring the case studies and local landscape processes into the perspective of the energy transition, by comparing the role played by landscape cultures, institutions or practices in the development and resolution of tensions over the deployment of wind energy.Debido al reconocimiento generalizado de la realidad del calentamiento global, cada vez hay más países inmersos en el proceso de introducir energías alternativas, como la energía eólica. En este artículo nos centramos en la transformación del espacio que se ha producido como consecuencia de estas nuevas políticas energéticas. Los paisajes constituyen la plasmación (o no) de las visiones y las decisiones políticas. Analizamos el desarrollo de la energía eólica en tres países europeos, Francia, Alemania y Portugal, desde la perspectiva de un estudio etnográfico del paisaje. Proponemos que la implementación efectiva de un futuro bajo en carbono depende en gran medida de las respectivas culturas administrativas nacionales, de las prácticas y iniciativas locales, y de la percepción del espacio a nivel local. En los tres países estudiados, identificaremos las posibles fuentes de tensión y exploraremos cómo se superan (o no) a nivel local, para así dar paso a la aparición de (nuevos) paisajes de energía eólica. Comparamos el papel de las culturas paisajísticas, las instituciones y las prácticas en el desarrollo y la resolución de conflictos sobre el despliegue de la energía eólica

Sixty Years of Manned Spaceflight—Incidents and Accidents Involving Astronauts between Launch and Landing

Introduction: Since Gagarin became the first human to travel into space and complete one orbit around the Earth, on 12 April 1961, the number of manned spaceflights has increased significantly. Spaceflight is still complex and has potential risk for incidents and accidents. The aim of this study was to analyze how safe it is for humans to travel in space. Objectives: This paper, therefore, summarizes incidents and accidents covering the six decades of manned spaceflight (1961–2020). Material and methods: Extensive PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar searches were made with search strings of “incidents”, “accident”, “spaceflight”, and “orbit”, and including all vehicles so far. Search terms were combined by AND or OR in search strings. Of the results obtained, studies which evaluated manned spaceflight were included in the study. Data from the National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA), the Russian Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Chinese Space Agency (CNSA), as well as from the Virgin Galactic and the SpaceX databases, were searched to complete data and to identify all the accomplished manned spaceflights, as well as all incidents and accidents that have occurred in the specific period. Search results were compared to findings on Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Astronautica, and other public webpages. Reference lists of included articles/homepages were also included for further potential data. Results: From 1961–2020, our data revealed an increasing number of manned space flights, n = 327. The number of times an astronaut has been sent to space, n = 1294, resulted in an accumulated n = 19,414 days spent in space. The number of days spent in orbit has constantly increased from 1961 until today. The number of incidents (altogether n = 36) and accidents (altogether n = 5) has constantly decreased. The number of astronauts who have died during spaceflight is represented by n = 19. The current statistical fatality rate is 5.8% (deaths per spaceflight) with the highest fatality rate in the 1960s (0.013 deaths/day spent in space), and the lowest rates in the 1990s and the period from 2010 until the present (no deaths). The most dangerous phases of spaceflight are launch, landing and staying in orbit. Altogether, n = 12 incidents (incident rate per spaceflight: 0.04) and one accident (accident rate: 0.003) during launch have been reported, n = 9 incidents (incident rate: 0.03) and two accidents (accident rate: 0.006) have been reported during landing and n = 10 incidents (incident rate: 0.03) have been reported in orbit. Discussion: Manned spaceflight over the last six decades has become significantly safer. Since 2003, no astronaut fatality has been reported. With greater international cooperation and maintaining of the International Space Station (ISS), the number of manned spaceflights and days spent in space has constantly increased, with constantly lower rates of incidents and accident