Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Energy: Technology Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Method identified to double computer processing speeds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists introduce what they call 'simultaneous and heterogeneous multithreading' or SHMT. This system doubles computer processing speeds with existing hardware by simultaneously using graphics processing units (GPUs), hardware accelerators for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), or digital signal processing units to process information.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Early-stage subduction invasion      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our planet's lithosphere is broken into several tectonic plates. Their configuration is ever-shifting, as supercontinents are assembled and broken up, and oceans form, grow, and then start to close in what is known as the Wilson cycle.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

New 'time travel' study reveals future impact of climate change on coastal marshes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study offers a glimpse into the possible impact of climate change on coastal wetlands 50 years or longer into the future. Scientists are usually forced to rely on computer models to project the long-term effects of rising seas, but an unexpected set of circumstances enabled a real-world experiment along the Gulf Coast.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

Researchers studying ocean transform faults, describe a previously unknown part of the geological carbon cycle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

This study reports widespread mineral carbonation of mantle rocks in an oceanic transform fueled by magmatic degassing of CO2. The findings describe a previously unknown part of the geological carbon cycle in transform faults that represent one of the three principal plate boundaries on Earth. The confluence of tectonically exhumed mantle rocks and CO2-rich alkaline basalt formed through limited extents of melting characteristic of the St. Paul's transform faults may be a pervasive feature at oceanic transform faults in general. Because transform faults have not been accounted for in previous estimates of global geological CO2 fluxes, the mass transfer of magmatic CO2 to the altered oceanic mantle and seawater may be larger than previously thought.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR) Mathematics: Modeling
Published

Innovations in depth from focus/defocus pave the way to more capable computer vision systems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In an image, estimating the distance between objects and the camera by using the blur in the images as clue, also known as depth from focus/defocus, is essential in computer vision. However, model-based methods fail when texture-less surfaces are present, and learning-based methods require the same camera settings during training and testing. Now, researchers have come up with an innovative strategy for depth estimation that combines the best of both the worlds to solve these limitations, extending the applicability of depth from focus/defocus.

Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate
Published

Ice cores provide first documentation of rapid Antarctic ice loss in the past      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have uncovered the first direct evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet shrunk suddenly and dramatically at the end of the Last Ice Age, around eight thousand years ago. The evidence, contained within an ice core, shows that in one location the ice sheet thinned by 450 meters -- that's more than the height of the Empire State Building -- in just under 200 years.

Environmental: Water Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Ancient rocks improve understanding of tectonic activity between earthquakes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rocks once buried deep in ancient subduction zones -- where tectonic plates collide -- could help scientists make better predictions of how these zones behave during the years between major earthquakes, according to a research team.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
Published

What turned Earth into a giant snowball 700 million years ago? Scientists now have an answer      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Inspired during field work in South Australia's Flinders Ranges, geoscientists have proposed that all-time low volcanic carbon dioxide emissions triggered a 57-million-year-long global 'Sturtian' ice age.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Earthquakes Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

A new origin story for deadly Seattle fault      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Seattle fault zone is a network of shallow faults slicing through the lowlands of Puget Sound, threatening to create damaging earthquakes for the more than four million people who live there. A new origin story, proposed in a new study, could explain the fault system's earliest history and help scientists improve hazard modeling for the densely populated region.

Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology Geoscience: Oceanography
Published

Study challenges the classical view of the origin of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and warns of its vulnerability      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The Circumpolar Current works as a regulator of the planet's climate. Its origins were thought to have caused the formation of the permanent ice in Antarctica about 34 million years ago. Now, a study has cast doubt on this theory, and has changed the understanding of how the ice sheet in Antarctic developed in the past, and what this could mean in the future as the planet's climate changes.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Biometric Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

A sleeker facial recognition technology tested on Michelangelo's David      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Many people are familiar with facial recognition systems that unlock smartphones and game systems or allow access to our bank accounts online. But the current technology can require boxy projectors and lenses. Now, researchers report on a sleeker 3D surface imaging system with flatter, simplified optics. In proof-of-concept demonstrations, the new system recognized the face of Michelangelo's David just as well as an existing smartphone system.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geography Geoscience: Geology
Published

Source rocks of the first real continents      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Geoscientists have uncovered a missing link in the enigmatic story of how the continents developed- - a revised origin story that doesn't require the start of plate tectonics or any external factor to explain their formation. Instead, the findings rely solely on internal geological forces that occurred within oceanic plateaus that formed during the first few hundred million years of Earth's history.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Robot trained to read braille at twice the speed of humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a robotic sensor that incorporates artificial intelligence techniques to read braille at speeds roughly double that of most human readers.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Engineering: Robotics Research Physics: General
Published

Utilizing active microparticles for artificial intelligence      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence using neural networks performs calculations digitally with the help of microelectronic chips. Physicists have now created a type of neural network that works not with electricity but with so-called active colloidal particles.The researchers describe how these microparticles can be used as a physical system for artificial intelligence and the prediction of time series.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Scientists design a two-legged robot powered by muscle tissue      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Compared to robots, human bodies are flexible, capable of fine movements, and can convert energy efficiently into movement. Drawing inspiration from human gait, researchers from Japan crafted a two-legged biohybrid robot by combining muscle tissues and artificial materials. This method allows the robot to walk and pivot.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
Published

Chats with AI shift attitudes on climate change, Black Lives Matter      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

People who were more skeptical of human-caused climate change or the Black Lives Matter movement who took part in conversation with a popular AI chatbot were disappointed with the experience but left the conversation more supportive of the scientific consensus on climate change or BLM. This is according to researchers studying how these chatbots handle interactions from people with different cultural backgrounds.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research
Published

Autonomous synthesis robot uses AI to speed up chemical discovery      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Chemists have developed an autonomous chemical synthesis robot with an integrated AI-driven machine learning unit. Dubbed 'RoboChem', the benchtop device can outperform a human chemist in terms of speed and accuracy while also displaying a high level of ingenuity. As the first of its kind, it could significantly accelerate chemical discovery of molecules for pharmaceutical and many other applications.