A possible mechanism for the capture of microparticles by the earth and other planets of the solar system

By application of Lyttleton's theory for the formation of comets, it is shown that a possible mechanism for the origin and formation of a concentration of cosmic particles around the earth and the other planets of the solar system exists. In the vicinity of the neutral point, where the velocity of colliding particles is not greater than 6 km/s, it is found that if the solid particles after collision must remain in a solid state, there can be no possibility of accretion for Mercury, Mars, and the Moon, where the maximum value of the distance of the center of the planet to the asymptotic trajectory is less than the radius of the planet. On the other hand, the capture radii of microparticles in solid form varies from a minimum of 2.95 planetary radii for Venus and 3.47 for the Earth, to about 986 for Jupiter

Non-breaking wave effects on buoyant particle distributions

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in DiBenedetto, M. H. Non-breaking wave effects on buoyant particle distributions. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, (2020): 148, doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00148.The dispersal of buoyant particles in the ocean mixed layer is influenced by a variety of physical factors including wind, waves, and turbulence. Microplastics observations are often made at the free surface, which is strongly forced by surface gravity waves. Many studies have used numerical simulations to examine how turbulence and wave effects (e.g., breaking waves, Langmuir circulation) control buoyant particle dispersal at the ocean surface. However these simulations are not wave phase-resolving. Therefore, the effects of an unsteady free surface due to surface gravity waves remain unknown in this context. To address this, we develop an analytical model for the distribution of buoyant particles as a function of wave-phase under wind-wave conditions in deep-water. Using this analytical model and complementary numerical simulations, we quantify the effects of a nonbreaking, monochromatic, progressive wave train on the equilibrium vertical and horizontal distributions of buoyant particles. We find that waves result in non-uniform horizontal distributions of particles with more particles under the wave crests than the troughs. We also find that the waves can stretch or compress the equilibrium vertical distribution. Finally, we consider the effects of waves on the sampling of microplastics with a towed net, and we show that waves have the ability to lower the measured concentrations relative to nets sampling without the influence of waves.This work was supported by the Postdoctoral Scholar Program at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and by the US National Science Foundation under grant no. CBET-1706586

Carbon Recycling Through CO2-Conversion for Stepping Toward a Cyclic-C Economy. A Perspective

The conversion of CO2 into added value chemicals, materials and fuels is a case of transition from the linear to the cyclic-C economy, a necessary change for stopping the putative negative effect of CO2 on climate and the environment. Several strategies can be implemented for CO2 conversion and their potential and timeframe is discussed in this perspective paper. The overall amount of avoided CO2 is evaluated in the short-, medium-, and long-term. The distinct contribution of Catalysis, Solar Chemistry and integrated Chemocatalysis-Biosystems is discussed

Reducing Recidivism or Misclassifying Offenders?: How Implementing Risk and Needs Assessment in the Federal Prison System Will Perpetuate Racial Bias

Your Honor, I understand the appeal of using this sentencing software, EVALUATE. I do. It appears to be efficient, precise, immune to emotion and lapses in logic. It seems fair and unbiased, so shouldn’t we attempt to be fair and unbiased in evaluating whether it actually works? 32, 19, 34 . . . 32% is the federal recidivism rate. 19%? 19% is the recidivism rate of defendants tried and sentenced in your court, Judge Barish. It’s one of the lowest in the Southern District. 34%? That’s the recidivism rate of EVALUATE, higher than the national average, 15 points behind you

Analyzing Tophets: Did the Phoenicians Practice Child Sacrifice?

This paper examines the controversies surrounding Phoenician religious practices and in particular, the Phoenician Tophet, a cemetery containing the cremated remains of infants and young children in clay jars. According to ancient Hebrew and Greek sources, in the ceremony known as mulk, the oldest son was placed on the arms of a bronze statue and dropped into a brazier below. Though these ancient authors were unanimous in criticizing Phoenician religious practices as cruel and savage, the use of these biased sources to conclude that child sacrifice did occur remains controversial. Both the Hebrew and Greek sources were xenophobic and furthermore, there are no Phoenician texts preserved that describe this religious practice. Hence, it is difficult to judge these rituals from a Phoenician viewpoint. Partly because of this, the interpretation of mulk and the Phoenician Tophets remains highly controversial within the academic world. The purpose of my research is to weigh the evidence in light of recent discoveries in North Africa (Carthage), Phoenicia (Tyre), the Greek island of Astypalaia (Kylindra Cemetery), Israel (Ashkelon), and Cyprus (Amathus) in an attempt to reach a balanced conclusion based on the evidence. In this paper, the Tophet at Carthage is first discussed, in particular the skeletal remains, the grave goods, and the stelae. In addition, other burial practices on mainland Phoenicia, Greece, Israel, and Cyprus are examined and then compared to the Tophet at Carthage in order to determine if the latter had distinct practices associated with it. The examination of the skeletal remains, the associated grave goods, and the stelae in the Tophet at Carthage and the comparisons of the burial practices suggest that the Phoenicians did indeed practice child sacrifice

Coordinating NHPA and NEPA to Protect Wildlife

In addition to its ecological and intrinsic significance, wildlife is recognized as invaluable historic and cultural resources. Current laws protecting wildlife, like the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), fail to recognize this dimension, and are limited in providing meaningful protection for culturally significant wildlife. The cultural and historic value of wildlife was recognized in Dugong v. Rumsfeld, in which the court held that a species of dugong could be considered “historic property” under the National Historic Preservation Act (“NHPA”). NHPA requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of all federally funded or permitted projects on “historic properties.” It is a close statutory analog to the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), which requires federal agencies to evaluate the impacts of any federally funded or permitted projects that are determined to have a significant impact on the human environment. The government has recognized the close interconnection between these two acts and has provided guidance for coordination of review under the two statutes. The holding in Dugong and the eligibility of wildlife as “historical property” encourages enhanced coordination of consultation and review between NHPA and NEPA, in which a major federal action threatens culturally and ecologically significant wildlife, potentially evading categorical exclusions under NEPA. Part I of this Article addresses some of the gaps in United States federal wildlife protection law through the limitations of federal statutes like the ESA, highlighting harm to culturally significant species, both listed and unlisted. Part II explains how the court in Dugong concluded that wildlife could be considered “historic property” under the NHPA. Part III examines the structural and procedural similarities between the NHPA and NEPA, along with federal guidance encouraging coordination of review under the two statutes and potentially avoiding categorical exclusions under NEPA. Part IV concludes that the recognition of wildlife as capable of being considered “historic properties” under the NHPA, prompting coordination of review under these statutes in which federal actions threaten culturally significant wildlife, enables more robust wildlife protection where the ESA falls short

Integration of Solar Chemistry and Biotechnology for Building-up an Effective Man-Made C-Cycle that May Complement the Natural C-Cycle.

The need to cut the CO2 immission into the atmosphere is pushing scientists and technologists to discover and implement new strategies that may be effective for controlling the CO2 atmospheric level (and its putative effects on Climate Change-CC). One option is the capture of CO2 (from power plants flue gases or other industrial processes) for avoiding that it can enter the atmosphere. The captured CO2 can be either disposed in natural fields (geological cavities, spent gas or oil wells, coal beads, aquifers; even oceans have been proposed) or used as source of carbon in synthetic processes. In this paper we present the options for CO2 utilization driven by solar energy and make an analysis of a variety of solutions for the conversion of large volumes of CO2 by either combining it with H2, that must be generated from water, or by directly converting it into fuels by electrolysis in water, or else by integrating catalysis and biotechnology for an effective conversion of CO2. A CO2-H2 based economy may address the issue of reducing the environmental burden of energy production, also saving fossil carbon for next generations. The enhanced growth of aquatic biomass is not discussed in this paper