Algae that Can Produce Their Own Biofuel

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

 A team of researchers led by University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Professor Joe Chappell is making a connection between prehistoric times and the present — ancient algae that can produce their own biofuel — that could result in genetically creating a replacement for oil and coal shale deposits. Their discovery could have fundamental implications for the future of Earth’s energy supplies.

Botryococcus braunii, Race B, is an ancient, colony-forming green alga that has attracted interest because it accumulates large amounts of high-value, petrochemical replacement oils. The oil oozing from the algal colony is evident in this picture. (Credit: Photograph courtesy of Taylor Weiss, Andreas Holzenburg, Stanislav Vitha and Timothy P. Devarenne at Texas A&M University

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Posted in Alternative Energy, BIODIVERSITY | Leave a comment

Satellite of India’s GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) in Position

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

The satellite to operate the GPS-Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system that will offer seamless navigation to air traffic over the Indian Ocean and the Indian airspace, has been positioned.

India will become the fourth in the world to adopt this system which would enhance the accuracy and integrity of GPS signals to meet precision approach requirements in the civil aviation, official sources said.Others using similar technologies are the US, the European Union and Japan.

Once operational, GAGAN would provide augmented information for satellite navigation to aircraft flying over Indian airspace and routes over high seas with high level of accuracy, integrity and continuity during the entire flight operations – from take-off to landing, they said.

The GAGAN transmitter is to be integrated with the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to provide an SBAS over Indian airspace.

The project is currently in the final operational phase and is scheduled to be completed by June 2013.

The system would use eight reference stations located in Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore, Jammu and Port Blair, and a master control centre at Bangalore to provide navigation and air traffic management over the entire Indian airspace and Indian Ocean area — from Southeast Asia to the African shores.

Source(s):

DNA

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Posted in Remote Sensing 101, Satellites, Space | Leave a comment

India Adapts New Remote Sensing Data Policy

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

The government of India released its much-awaited Remote Sensing Data Policy (RSDP – 2011) on July 4, 2011, bringing relief to the industry. The new policy does away with restrictions on all remote sensing data up to one meter resolution, that is, all satellite remote sensing data of resolutions up to 1 m will now be distributed on a nondiscriminatory basis and ‘on request’. The 2001 policy required data up to 5.8 meter resolution to be protected. Meanwhile, for data better than 1 m resolution, private agencies need clearance from an interagency High Resolution Image Clearance Committee (HRC). However, government bodies can obtain such data without any further clearance.

Some of the highlights of the policy include:
– Department of Space (DOS) of the Government of India will be the nodal agency for all actions under this policy.
– The Government, through DOS, will be the sole and exclusive owner of all data collected/ received from IRS. All users will be provided with only a license to use the said data, and add value to the satellite data.
– Any organisation interested in operating a remote sensing satellite from India, will need license and/ or permission of the government, through the nodal agency, for the same.
– While the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO/ DOS is vested with the authority to acquire and disseminate all satellite remote sensing data in India, both from Indian and foreign satellites, Antrix Corporation Ltd. (of DOS) will be responsible for grant of license for acquisition/ distribution of IRS data outside India.
– NRSC will maintain a systematic National Remote Sensing Data Archive, and a log of all acquisitions/ sales of data for all satellites.

RSDP-2011 comes into effect immediately.

Links and Sources:

Geospatial World

ISRO

Posted in India, News, Remote Sensing 101 | Leave a comment

Nature Uses Screws and Nuts

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Rashid Faridi

 A musculoskeletal system so far unknown in the animal world was recently discovered in weevils. The hip ofTrigonopterus oblongus does not consist of the usual hinges, but of joints based on a screw-and-nut system. This first biological screw thread is about half a millimeter in size and was studied in detail using synchrotron radiation. The discovery is reported by the current issue of the Science magazine.

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Posted in BIODIVERSITY, Evolution | Leave a comment