Important Innovations Collection

Stardust Discovered Source:  Stock Image Antarctic Interstellar News Australian scientists have discovered large amounts of stardust in Antarctica snow, likely from the explosion of a supernova that had been close to the Sun.  The explosion rained down particles of a unique iron isotope discovered in melted snow from the South Pole.  The discovery of the rare isotope, iron-60, which is not native to Earth, was made by a scientific research team from Australian National University. South Pole Supernova The researchers have ruled out any chance that the isotope was created by human activity.  They say the only explanation is that it was created by an interstellar rock hitting the Earth.  The team melted more than 1000 pounds of snow and analyzed the contents of the melt - large amounts of isotope iron-60.  Their next focus is to determine the age of the isotope and to dig deeper for more samples in the icepack.  Their remarkable findings were ...

Dumping Trillions of Tons of Artificial Snow on the South Pole Ice Shelf Source:  West Antarctic Ice Shelf New Scientific Study & Novel Recommendations International scientists have just released a study with an approach they believe could prevent a disastrous meltdown of the West Antarctic Ice Shelf at the South Pole.  The approach is novel. They want to dump 8 trillion tons of artificial snow on the ice shelf over the course of ten year. 12,000 Wind Turbines The scientists would use 12,000 wind turbines to pump seawater up to the surface where it would be frozen into snow.  Their theory is that the artificial snow would weigh down the ice shelf enough to stop it from collapsing.  According to the co-author of the report Anders Levermann of Germany's Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, "we are at the point of no return if we don't do anything."  The study was just published in the journal Science Advances. Coastal Cities in Danger ...