Historical Antarctic photos used for climate change study

UK scientists are using aerial photos from the 1940s and 1950s to study Antarctic’s climate history. These historical images are from the pioneering days of polar exploration and are held by the British Antarctic Survey and the US Geological Survey.  

Scientists are comparing old and new data to analyse the changes that occurred in the continent of Antarctic over the past decades. They are extracting the 3D data from these pictures by creating a new elevation model of the area, using the latest optical satellite data and current aerial photos.

This study is being conduct by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Newcastle University and University of Gloucestershire and is yet to be completed. However, they have already found very interesting facts; such as how some glaciers seem to have thickened at the rear as their fronts have dramatically retreated.                                                                 

Stadium glacier 1957-2003: Blue line shows the old ice front and blue dots show thickening at higher elevations (photo and text from BBC website)

 

 

 

 

The Antarctic Peninsula - the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica - has experienced significant warming in recent decades. That is why this study is so important, by understanding the climate changes that has occurred in that area in the past, scientists will be able to create new models to estimate the contribution of ice loss to processes such as sea level rise.

"We need to understand what's happened in the past, going back over multiple decades, to give us the foundation to anchor these models and, in so doing, reduce the uncertainties associated with them”, says Dr Pauline Miller from Newcastle University.

I personally think this is an incredible study and of such vital importance for the environment. If these scientists are able to map the patterns of climate change in Antarctic and understand why and how the glaciers are retreating so rapidly, they may be able to come up with some ideas to slow down this process. They may also be able to present to government and business leaders around the world a more accurate forecast on global warming and how fast and severely this will impact the environment and humanity. Perhaps then, these leaders may come up with a real plan to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions around the world. One can only hope…

 

 

Antarctic photo science archive unlocked (2014, December 20)
Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30471542#

The things I think are most important for writing in science

 

This week we had to submit our first assignment, the Position Paper. It was hard work, but in my opinion the toughest challenge still lies ahead of us: The team report.

 

Writing the position paper was daunting at times. Trying to be clear and concise and in the same time being consistent to the information from my researches, as well as being fair to both sides of the argument; proved to be difficult. However, it was a massive learning curve for me and opened my eyes to a whole different world in writing.

I am very passionate about my point of view when taking a side in an argument and trying to prove it right, and therefore sometimes is hard to give the opposition the credit it deserves. So, I tried to use the 7 steps from the “Thinking and Arguing objectively” video that was posted on week 1, which by the way, was very informative and really good advice. The tips helped me to take a different approach when defending an idea in an argument.

Verifying the credibility of researched information was another new thing for me, so was using different search engines, such as Google Scholar. Another essential learning from the lessons was to learn how to read a scientific paper and how to make the most of its contents.

So far, I identified that efficient researching, selective reading, using verifiable data and detaching yourself from the subject are imperative to prepare yourself for writing about a scientific subject. That is the base. Then, you must organise your ideas and present them in a clear order, making it easy for the reader to understand it. You also need to demonstrate your understanding of the subject fairly but succinctly, and last but not least: check, double check, and triple check your work before publishing it!

All learnings that I will take with me throughout my journey completing my BSc and beyond that. For me, I believe that organisation, clarity, brevity, and proof reading are the most important elements in writing in science. I hope I will be able to use these elements efficiently to help my team write an outstanding report for assignment 2.

 

Happy writing everyone!

 

Summarising the debate

I am writing my position paper on the topic: “Fruit and vegetables should be government subsidized”. One piece of information that I am using a lot to back up my arguments is the “Food Prices Strategies” paper that was published in 2012. The authors in this paper studied how food pricing strategies can encourage healthy eating habits. They have statistical data that clearly shows how food prices impact on consumption and therefore they recommended that a mix of taxes and subsidies should be used to help lower the cost of healthy food items. I believe that the authors have taken this position because they are experienced professionals in the Health Sector looking to improve the general health of the New Zealand population. Also, the findings of their research show how important it is to make healthy food more affordable in New Zealand. They understand that this can not only help to improve the health of the population, but also to alleviate the costs with obesity related diseases.

The opposing argument is, of course, from the government. I have not found any published research paper stating their opinions and the reasons why they have not created a fruit and vegetable subsidy to this date, or any food pricing strategies that could reduce the cost of healthy foodstuff for that matter. However, I am using the debates section from the New Zealand Parliament website, with a debate from 2010 between parliament members on a proposition for the removal of GST on healthy foods, such as fruit and vegetables. The idea was rejected in the basis that New Zealand GST system has been relatively unchanged since it was created. Therefore, no exemptions should be made and such exemptions would just increase costs to the government. In my opinion, I think they have taken this approach because they haven’t fully analyzed costs of new policies against current costs of obesity in New Zealand.

 

 

Eyles, Helen; Ni Mhurchu, Cliona; Nghiem, Nhung; Blakely, Tony (2012). Food Pricing Strategies, Population Diets, and Non-Communicable Disease: A Systematic Review of Simulation Studies. PLoS Medicine. Dec2012, Vol. 9 Issue 12. Retrieved from PLOS Medicine: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001353

 

 

Goods and Services Tax (Exemption of Healthy Food) Amendment Bill - First Reading [Volume:666;Page:13803] (2010, September 8)

Retrieved from Hansard (debates): http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/49HansD_20100908_00001000/goods-and-services-tax-exemption-of-healthy-food-amendment