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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |
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San
José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 88
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 Museo de Arte Costarricense
photo
This is a 1988 drawing of her
mother by Dinorah BolandiNew gallery for
visual arts
is in Teatro Melico Salazar By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Artists will be getting another gallery in which to display their art. The Teatro Popular Melico Salazar has made an agreement with the Museo de Arte Costarricense to establish the Galería Dinorah Bolandi on the second floor of the theater. Theater spokespersons said that the new gallery reflects the view that visual artists need more places to display their works. The gallery will be open at times when there are functions at the theater. Dinorah Bolandi Jiménez was the daughter of a photographer and musicians. She studied for a decade in the United States and also worked as a press photographer. She also taught at the public universities and received in 1990 the Premio Nacional de Cultura Magón. She died in 2004. The gallery opens officially tonight at 7 o'clock, and the first exhibition will be works of Ms. Bolandi from the collection of the Museo de Arte Costarricense. The theater is across from and north of Parque Central on Avenida Secunda. Caja critics plan session to claim bankruptcy nears By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Proponents for changes at the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social say they will present evidence today that the health agency is approaching bankruptcy. Among those making the claim is Wálter Muñoz Céspedez, a physician and president of a private organization called the Asociación Nacional de Asegurados de la Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. He also was a presidential candidate on a minor party ticket. Muñoz has been urging for at least two year that a referendum be held to restructure the Caja so that the nation's president does not appoint its head. The Caja runs the public hospitals and clinics, and also has a role in pensions. The organization said that the former head of the economic investigations department of the Caja also was on the agenda to speak. Coast guard plucks six from sinking open boat By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
National coast guard officers saved six people from potentially drowning after their open boat began sinking. The crew members of the "Santamaría" were carrying out a routine patrol when they came upon the submerged canoe Sunday afternoon. Coast guard crew members boarded a small boat to retrieve the Costa Ricans just as their boat, locally known as a panga, went completely underwater, according to Jesús Ureña Mena of Seguridad Pública. They were able to save all six passengers from the waters, including an 83-year-old operator who was identified as Orlando Pérez Molina. One of the passengers, who did not know how to swim, suffered from hypertension and a subsequent nervous breakdown resulting from the accident, said the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas. Thanks in part to the Cruz Roja in Golfito, the woman was given immediate medical care. The others rescued did not require further medical attention. The passengers left Golfito to travel to Playa Cacao. Coast guard crew members noted that none of them was wearing a life vest and that the accident was primarily caused by too many people being on the five-meter-long craft and exceeding its weight limits. Some municipalities seek hydro project moratoriums By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Municipalidad de Coto Brus has placed a moratorium on the installation of hydroelectric projects, environmental sources say. There are a handful of private projects planned for that area. There are perhaps 60 projects that are involved in one way or another with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, the nation's major power generator. The concerns do not seem to be environmental, but there is a fear that so many private hydro projects will result in the privatization of power production Other municipalities in the southern zone also are considering moratoriums, the source said and also reported that Upala in the north and Guatuso also are considering such action. The municipalities are saying they want more citizen involvement with the decisions. However, one problem is that the local governments do not have staffers who can evaluate the projects, the environmentalists said. Banco Nacional resumes its online banking services By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Banco Nacional finally got its online system working again early today after a two-day outage. The bank made no mention of the problem to the press or public. Those who sought to enter their bank accounts online received an error page. Bank workers agreed Monday afternoon that the online banking was out. They suggested making deposits at offices other than the one in the center of San José. The outage appears to have affected the computers used by teller there. The outage must have been extensive because even the dollar exchange rate on the main Web page was not functioning. Banco Nacional has been improving its servers and has promised rapid service in its Web site.
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 88 | |
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| U.S. picks environmental agency chief to head inauguration
delegation |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The United States is sending a global warming big gun to represent the country at the inauguration Thursday of Luis Gullermo Solís. The White House said President Barack Obama named Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to head the delegation. Also included are Gonzalo R. Gallegos, the current chargé d’affaires, at the U.S. Embassy here, and Francisco Palmieri, deputy assistant secretary of State for Central America and the Caribbean. Republicans in the U.S. Senate gave Ms. McCarthy a tough time before the nomination was confirmed, which took place last July 18. She has been at the Environmental Protection Agency for several years. According to the Washington Post, Ms. McCarthy spent much of the four years at the EPA prior to her nomination shepherding through air regulations, which have come under attack from business groups for helping shut down power plants. Palmieri is a career foreign service employee who has served in Venezuela and Honduras, among other posts. The delegation is typical of those that have come before. The only exception was in 2006 when Laura Bush, the wife of the sitting U.S. president, headed the delegation at the inauguration of Óscar Arias Sánchez. She only stayed in the country 19 hours. In 2002 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman headed the deletion for the inauguration of Abel Pacheco. Also a member was John Danilovich, who was U.S. ambassador then. The U.S. does not have an ambassador in Costa Rica now, so Gallegos is in charge. In 2010 for the inauguration of Laura Chinchilla, the head of the delegation was Susan E. Rice, then the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations. She was accompanied by Christopher Dodd, a lame-duck U.S. senator, and Nancy Sutley, identified as president of the White House Council of Environmental Quality. Joining the delegation was Anne S. Andrew, who was the U.S. ambassador here. Members of the foreign delegation will be paying their courtesy calls Wednesday at Casa Amarilla, the foreign ministry. The ministry hosted foreign diplomats Monday when Enrique Castillo, who leaves as foreign minister May 8, summarized his tenure. Those who have tickets for the Thursday inauguration at the Estadio Nacional in La Sabana are being urged to use public transportation. |
 A.M. Costa Rica photo
The foreign ministry and a
police honor guard got a trial run Monday when the diplomatic corps
visited.The Policía de Tránsito will be instituting controls in the roadways south, north and west of Parque la Sabana starting in the first minutes of Thursday. The agency says there will be delays as officers stop traffic for the arrival of foreign delegations. Starting Wednesday night, police will be providing a security screen at the Antigua Aduana and at the Museo de Arte, becasue these figure in the inauguration. In addition there will be delays as foreign delegations travel from Juan Santamaría airport Wednesday. |
| Prosecutors say they are ready to file charges in Jairo Mora
murder |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Prosecutors in the Ministerio Público said Monday it will accuse five Costa Ricans and two Nicaraguans in the murder of environmentalist Jairo Mora last May 31. In addition to murder, the prosecutors in Limón said they will be leveling allegations of sexual abuse, aggravated robbery, rape and depriving individuals of liberty. Mora was the man who protected turtles on the Caribbean coast and who was abducted and murdered while in the company of others who were headed to the beaches to guard the turtle eggs. His death generated international headlines. The charges were expected, and the suspects have been jailed for months. The Poder Judicial said that the allegations will be filed formally with a court after they have been served on the suspects. The men who are suspects also are suspected of stealing turtle eggs for resale and being involved in stealing gasoline through an intermediate at the state refinery, the Poder Judicial said. |
In addition to the
Mora murder, prosecutors also included a
separate incident of robbery and sexual assault that took place in the
same isolated area May 17. Volunteers working with the turtles frequently move the eggs to safe, guarded areas. Mora was on his way to a beach when he and four women companions were intercepted about 11:30 p.m. One woman was a Spanish veterinarian. The other three were believed to be volunteers from the United States. The Poder Judicial is alleging that Mora was beaten and then tied to a vehicle and dragged though the sand. Death came from suffocation because of sand being jammed in his throat, the Poder Judicial said. Those facing charges have been identified by their last names of Salmon Meléndez, Delgado Loaiza, Quesada Cubillo, Centeno Rivas, Cash López, Arauz Martínez and Salmon Meléndez. A woman, identified by the last names of Delgado Loaiza faces a lesser charge of accepting a cell telephone that she knew to be stolen. Once charges are filed formally and a judge is selected, the suspects will go to a preliminary hearing. The allegations are likely to be sustained there. Then there will be an open court trial. |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 88 | |||||
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| Scientist warn of unstoppable melting of bottled-up ice in Antarctica | |
| By the Potsdam Institute for Climate
Impact Research news staff The melting of a rather small ice volume on East Antarctica’s shore could trigger a persistent ice discharge into the ocean, resulting in unstoppable sea-level rise for thousands of years to come. This is shown in a study now published in Nature Climate Change by scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The findings are based on computer simulations of the Antarctic ice flow using improved data of the ground profile underneath the ice sheet. “East Antarctica’s Wilkes Basin is like a bottle on a slant,” says lead-author Matthias Mengel. “Once uncorked, it empties out.” The basin is the largest region of marine ice on rocky ground in East Antarctica. Currently a rim of ice at the coast holds the ice behind in place: like a cork holding back the content of a bottle. While the air over Antarctica remains cold, warming oceans can cause ice loss on the coast. Ice melting could make this relatively small cork disappear. Once lost, this would trigger a long-term sea-level rise of 300 to 400 centimeters. “The full sea-level rise would ultimately be up to 80 times bigger than the initial melting of the ice cork,” says co-author Anders Levermann. The estimate of 300 to 400 centimeters converts to 10 to 13 feet. “Until recently, only West Antarctica was considered unstable, but now we know that its ten times bigger counterpart in the East might also be at risk,” says Levermann, who is head ofthe institute's research area Global Adaptation Strategies and a lead-author of the sea-level change chapter of the most recent scientific assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This report, published in late September, projects Antarctica’s total sea level contribution to be up to 16 centimeters within this century. “If half of that ice loss occurred in the ice-cork region, then the discharge would begin. We have probably overestimated the stability of East Antarctica so far,” says Levermann. Melting would make the grounding line retreat. This is where the ice on the continent meets the sea and starts to float. The rocky ground |
 Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
Research graphic
East
Antarctica’s shore
beneath the ice forms a huge inland sloping valley below sea-level. When the grounding line retreats from its current position on a ridge into the valley, the rim of the ice facing the ocean becomes higher than before. More ice is then pushed into the sea, eventually breaking off and melting. And the warmer it gets, the faster this happens. Complete ice discharge from the affected region in East Antarctica takes 5,000 to 10,000 years in the simulations. However, once started, the discharge would slowly but relentlessly continue until the whole basin is empty, even if climate warming stopped. “This is the underlying issue here,” says Matthias Mengel. “By emitting more and more greenhouse gases we might trigger responses now that we may not be able to stop in the future.” Such extensive sea level rise would change the face of planet Earth – coastal cities such as Mumbai, Tokyo or New York are likely to be at risk. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 88 | |||||
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| Polio now health emergency with cases in 10 countries By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The World Health Organization says the spread of polio is now an international public health emergency that could grow in the coming months. The agency Monday said currently there are polio outbreaks in 10 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This is the first time that the World Health Organization has issued an international alert on polio. Polio usually strikes children under the age of 5 and is most often spread through infected water. There is no specific cure for polio, but several vaccines exist to prevent people from polio infections. When World Health began its global polio eradication campaign in 1988, there were 350,000 cases of the crippling disease. Last year, there were 417 cases. Experts are particularly concerned that polio is re-emerging in countries previously free of the disease, including Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Syria. The bulk of new polio cases are in Pakistan. World Health says 59 of the 74 new cases this year are from that country. EU open to corruption, fraud Transparency says in report By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The global accountability group Transparency International says the European Union and its institutions are so complex and fragmented that it leaves them open to corruption and fraud. The shortcomings were outlined in a complex report released in late April by the better governance group in a recent report. “Across the board in the system, we identified a number of things, including opaque EU decision making, a lack of transparency in EU lobbying,” said Mark Perera, the study’s lead researcher. “We also see there needs to be improvement in how conflicts of interest are managed for senior EU decision makers,” he said. “We also see there is weak protection for internal EU whistleblowers within the institutions, what we consider to be a key safeguard in identifying suspected corruption. And we also see that there are weak sanctions for corrupt companies.” The European Union describes itself as a political and economic partnership between its 28 member nations. Forged in its current form in 1993, the EU is based in Brussels, but various parts such as the European Parliament and the EU Court of Justice are in other locations, designed to spread activities among its member states. Transparency International said in many nations it has studied that one frequent avenue for corruption is lobbying, outside interests influencing executive and legislative decision-makers. And, it said, the EU’s current regulations controlling how lobbyists interact with its leaders and lawmakers are far too weak. The EU has a lobby register which operates on a voluntary basis, the Wall Street Journal reported. One analyst who agreed with the study’s call for strong EU lobbying controls is Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. It’s "absolutely imperative for an institution like the EU, which is responsible for a lot of regulations for the entire continent of Europe,” Kirkegaard said. “And not having an idea about the power of lobbying, and the access of lobbyists to policy makers in that situation, I think should be unacceptable in any democratic nation.” When it comes to ensuring senior figures comply with ethics rules, the European Union’s Institutions are largely self-regulated. Perera said that is a bad idea. “Ethics committees are normally filled with former or current members of those institutions,” he said. “So we feel they lack independence, and very often, they lack teeth as well." “And, in the past month, we’ve seen that a number of MEPs - Members of the European Parliament - were found to have broken the rules in terms of failing to declare sponsored trips to Azerbaijan and China,” he said. “However they faced no disciplinary sanctions. So, we feel there needs to be improvements in certain areas to address this complacency.” Many countries’ leaders and lawmakers are required by law to fully disclose their financial holdings, interests, and assets to help assure the citizenry that decisions are not made in conflict with the public’s interests. Perara said this as yet another problem area for the EU. “We find that the European Parliament, and the European Commission,” he said, “have an obligation to declare their financial interests. However, we found that there was no evidence that suggests that the financial information in these declarations is being systematically and comprehensively verified.” Kirkegaard said it appears that the EU’s built-in inertia would rather maintain the status quo. ”It is true that if you really want to get to the bottom of this, you would have to revise and reform the so-called EU Treaty, which is an enormously cumbersome political process,” he said. Recent polls show that some 70 percent of the EU’s residents believe its institutions are vulnerable to corruption. “If the new EU leadership is serious about arresting the decline in trust and confidence, corruption risks need to be dealt with before they become corruption scandals., said Carl Dolan, director of Transparency’s EU office. But a spokesman for the European Commission said the institution maintains honesty and transparency. "The risk of wrongdoing or of corruption and fraud can never be entirely eliminated," spokesman Antonio Gravili said. "But the report clearly recognizes that the Commission has taken a comprehensive set of measures intended to reduce this risk to a minimum, and that a strong framework is in place." Scientists wrestle with bugs that might survive space trip By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Forget little green Martians invading Earth. Scientists are now concerned bacteria from Earth may be hitching rides to Mars on the many probes that have landed on the Red Planet. According to NASA, the invading organisms "have the potential to contaminate other celestial bodies, making it difficult for scientists to determine whether a life form existed on another planet or was introduced there by explorers." In order to reduce the potential of contamination, scientists say they need to better understand which kinds of organisms could survive the flight. Recent studies show that certain microbes are tougher than expected, with the ability to survive an interplanetary journey. “If you are able to reduce the numbers to acceptable levels, a proxy for cleanliness, the assumption is that the life forms will not survive under harsh space conditions,” explains Kasthuri J. Venkateswaran, a researcher with the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a co-author of three papers on the topic in a statement. NASA said spore-forming bacteria could present the greatest risk as they can "withstand certain sterilization procedures and may best be able to survive the harsh environments of outer space or planetary surfaces." Spores from Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 are proving to have the ability to resist the techniques to clean spacecraft, like ultraviolet radiation and peroxide treatment. These spores, NASA said, were able to survive 30 minutes in a simulated Martian environment, whereas normal spores only survive 30 seconds. Another test was done in space when the spores were exposed to outer space for 18 months aboard the European Technology Exposure Facility, a test facility mounted outside the International Space Station. “After testing exposure to the simulated Mars environment, we wanted to see what would happen in real space, and EuTEF gave us the chance,” says Venkateswaran. “To our surprise, some of the spores survived for 18 months.” NASA said the surviving spores showed increased levels of proteins associated with UV radiation resistance, as well as higher resistance when revived and re-exposed on Earth. Another experiment showed that the spores of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 and another spore-forming bacteria, Bacillus subtilis 168 were also very tough. They were dried on pieces of spacecraft and subjected for 1.5 years to the vacuum of space as well as various types of extraterrestrial radiation and temperature changes on the EuTEF. The spores were also exposed to a simulated Martian atmosphere on EuTEF. NASA said most of the organisms didn't survive, but that when UV rays were filtered out and the samples kept in the dark, 50 percent or more of the spores survived. That, NASA says, "makes it likely that spores could survive a trip on a spacecraft to Mars if they are sheltered against solar radiation, perhaps in a tiny pocket of the spacecraft surface or underneath a layer of other spores." A final study put rock-colonizing cellular organisms in the EuTEF for 1.5 years, to test if living organisms might move from one planet to another on rocks, a process known as lithopanspermia. In another finding, organisms from Earth that live in extreme conditions proved they might be able to survive the arduous journey through space. However, they weren't able to replicate exact conditions as such a journey would possibly last up to millions of years. The research, scientists hope, will lead to methods of minimizing the risk of microbial hitch hikers. Furthermore, they would help identify the kind of microbes that could originate on Earth. Movie props bring 'em in to museums in United States By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
For years, audiences have flocked to museums to see exhibits of film props and iconic pop culture artifacts. For example, Dorothy’s ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" are a major draw at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History. Some museums are going a step further, capitalizing on audience interest by creating exhibits around new movie releases to tell real-life stories. That's the case with the 2012 political thriller "Argo," which won four Oscar awards last year. The film tells the story of a covert operation led by CIA agent Tony Mendez, who created a phony Canadian film crew in a scheme to rescue six U.S. diplomats who were in hiding at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran after the Iranian revolution. "Argo" is the subject of a recent exhibit at the International Spy Museum, where visitors can see authentic photos and documents about the operation. “Tony and Jenna Mendez, both founding members of the International Spy museum, they brought their expertise and history with the CIA to tell the story of Argo, the real story that occurred in 1979, 1980,” said museum spokesperson Jason Werden. Other film-related exhibits at the Spy Museum include “Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond’s villains.” The exhibits highlight all of the 23 Bond films over the last 50 years and again bridging the gap between what is really occurring in real life and what you see on screen, said Werden. “The Americans” is another exhibit built around a hit TV spy drama. “We have an exhibit at our lobby detailing not just the exciting characters in the show, but really the history of the Cold War that we are now seeing everyday in the headlines,” Werden said. The Newseum, a Washington D.C. museum focusing on journalism, has also embraced a bit of Hollywood. “Anchorman: The Exhibit,” is its first effort to incorporate a movie into its offerings. The 2004 comedy takes place in a San Diego TV station in the 1970s, where actor Will Ferrell’s character Ron Burgundy clashes with his new female counterpart. The exhibit opened last December just before the release of the sequel "Anchorman 2." Newseum spokesman Jonathan Thompson is amazed at how popular it has been. “When visitors come into the Newseum, all of them are asking, 'Where is the Anchorman Exhibit? I heard you have an exhibit about Ron Burgundy, show me where that is,’” he said. Jim Mulvaney, who works at a radio station in Chicago, visited the exhibit. “It is surprising that they went to so much detail and kept so many props," Mulvaney said. "I am enjoying it. It brings back a lot of funny moments from the film for me.” Thompson says the exhibit allows visitors see the lighter side of the news, while highlighting a serious issue: opportunities for women in news. “The film focuses on this fictional anchorman who is kind of a clown of the newsroom, and is always kind of saying some not so nice things about the women in the newsroom," he said. "It is a story that resonated with us because there is some truth to the 'Anchorman' films; women in the newsroom were discriminated against." Playing off popular films in museums benefits both the museums and Hollywood. “It gives Hollywood another opportunity to take the material that they create, often wonderful material, into new venues to be experienced by new audiences that would not necessarily experience it," said Maggie Stogner, a film and arts professor at American University in Washington, D.C. "If you have a screening experience in a movie theater, it is you and the screen. When you take it to the museum environment, you can really play with this material. You can use it in group settings. You can use it to to take people into the story behind the movie.” The partnership between Hollywood and museums, Stogner says, is an example of how boundaries can be pushed, presenting new, exciting ways to engage audiences. High proof grain alcohol ban signed into law in Maryland By
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health media Gov. Martin O’Malley signed legislation Monday banning the retail sale of alcohol 190-proof and stronger effective July 1. Maryland joins the ranks of more than a dozen other states that ban the sale of such products, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. Extreme-strength alcohol (also known as grain alcohol) is 95 percent pure and has no color, taste or smell when mixed with juice or punch. Its inexpensive price, as low as 38 cents per drink, makes it especially attractive to underage drinkers. According to a recent national survey, underage binge drinkers are far more likely to use extreme-strength alcohol than their non-binging peers. “Grain alcohol is seen as a cheap and reliable way to get drunk quickly, sometimes without the person knowing it. Not surprisingly, its potency and low price make grain alcohol a popular option for college students,” said Jonathan Gibralter, president of Frostburg State University and a key proponent of the legislation. Banning extreme-strength alcohol was a top priority of The Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems, a group formed in 2013 to address problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption on 10 college campuses across the state. “This ban on the retail sale of grain alcohol demonstrates the impact of a strong collaboration among Maryland’s universities and colleges,” said Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels. “Through our shared efforts around this important issue, we can hopefully make a positive difference for the health and safety of the young adults on our campuses.” The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates that, nationwide, drinking on college campuses is annually responsible for 1,825 deaths, 599,000 unintentional injuries such as car crashes and falls, 696,000 physical assaults, and 97,000 sexual assaults. Recent polling data from OpinionWorks shows that 69 percent of Marylanders consider excessive alcohol use on college campuses to be a serious or very serious problem. In Maryland, 19 percent of underage and 22 percent of 21- to 24-year-old college students meet criteria for either alcohol abuse or dependence, and almost one-third of underage Maryland college students have driven under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Emissions on new vehicles drop to lowest level in U.S. By
the University of Michigan news service
Fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. backed off its record high last month, but average monthly emissions are now at an all-time low, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Average fuel economy (window-sticker values) of cars, light trucks, vans and SUVs purchased in April was 25.2 mpg, down 0.2 mpg from March, but still up 5.1 mpg from October 2007, the first full month of monitoring by researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle. "This change likely reflects the increased proportion of light trucks among newly purchased vehicles," Sivak said. On the other hand, vehicle emissions from new vehicles are at a record mark, according to Sivak's and Schoettle's monthly update of their national Eco-Driving Index, which estimates the average monthly emissions generated by an individual U.S. driver. The EDI takes into account both the fuel used per distance driven and the amount of driving — the latter relying on data that are published with a two-month lag. The EDI fell to 0.77 (the lower the value, the better) during February from a revised mark of 0.81 in January. The index currently shows that emissions of greenhouse gases per driver of newly purchased vehicles are now down 23 percent, overall, since October 2007. ______________________ |
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New discovery may
help predict volcano behavior By
the University of Liverpool. news staff
A new discovery in the study of how volcanoes erupt may help develop methods to predict how a volcanic event will behave, say scientists at the University of Liverpool. Volcanologists at the university have discovered that a process called frictional melting plays a role in determining how a volcano will erupt by dictating how fast magma can ascend to the surface and how much resistance it faces en-route. The process occurs in lava dome volcanoes when magma and rocks melt as they rub against each other due to intense heat. This creates a stop-start movement in the magma as it makes its way towards the earth’s surface. The magma sticks to the rock and stops moving until enough pressure builds up, prompting it to shift forward again, a process called stick-slip. Volcanologist Jackie Kendrick, who led the research said: “Seismologists have long known that frictional melting takes place when large tectonic earthquakes occur. It is also thought that the stick-slip process that frictional melting generates is concurrent to seismic drumbeats which are the regular, rhythmic small earthquakes which have been recently found to accompany large volcanic eruptions. “Using friction experiments we have shown that the extent of frictional melting depends on the composition of the rock and magma, which determines how fast or slow the magma travels to the surface during the eruption.” Analysis of lava collected from Mount St. Helens and the Soufrière Hills volcano in Montserrat by volcanology researchers from the University’s School of Environmental Sciences revealed remnants of pseudotachylyte, a cooled frictional melt. Evidence showed that the process took place in the conduit, the channel which lava passes through on its way to erupt. Kendrick added: “The closer we get to understanding the way magma behaves, the closer we will get to the ultimate goal: predicting volcanic activity when unrest begins. Whilst we can reasonably predict when a volcanic eruption is about to happen, this new knowledge will help us to predict how the eruption will behave. “With a rapidly growing population inhabiting the flanks of active volcanoes, understanding the behavior of lava domes becomes an increasing challenge for volcanologists.” The research was published in Nature Geoscience. |
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| From Page 7; President signs off on Colombian trade pact By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
President Laura Chinchilla ratified the Costa Rica-Colombia traded treaty Monday in a ceremony at Casa Presidencial. That was the last step in approving the controversial treaty. Ms. Chinchilla called the agreement very valuable and said it would strengthen relations between the two countries. The president also put in a plug for the Alianza del Pacífico and said she hoped that Costa Rica would become a full member of that trade bloc. The Chinchilla administration has been aggressive in making trade treaties with other countries. Luis Guillermo Solís, who takes office Thursday, has said he wants to go slow with such agreements. He opposed the trade treaty with the United States and the other Central American nations. Even if Solís supports another treaty, the chances are slim that it will be approved by the new legislature. The Colombian agreement was controversial because some Costa Rican business leaders through that the South American nation would undercut prices here. They worked against approve. But the legislature finally voted in favor of the agreement. |
