Hawaii frets over vanishing beaches

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HONOLULU -- More than 13 miles of Hawaii beaches have been lost to erosion in the past century, and lawmakers are tackling the problem by attempting to secure more money for beach restoration.

Chronic erosion is affecting 70 percent of beaches on Oahu, Kauai and Maui, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," said Sam Lemmo, administrator for Hawaii's Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands. "Most of the beaches in the state are on an erosion basis now, and that's only going to increase in the future with sea level rise. It's going to double, it's going to possibly triple, by the end of the century."

A study by the University of Hawaii released Monday indicated that coastal erosion of Hawaii's beaches could double by mid-century. Following current trends, the shoreline could recede by an average of 20 feet in 2050 or 40 feet by 2100, according to the report.

A bill in the Legislature would set aside part of the transient accommodation tax to help fund beach restoration. The bill is supported by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which has an obvious interest in ensuring that beaches aren't lost.

"It is one of the most important things that we need to focus in on, because we are known for our beautiful beaches, our sand, our environment," said Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, "and if that should go, that would be so detrimental to the economy and to the environment."

The dollar amount for beach restoration in the bill is currently blank, and Kim said she's hoping for $3 million to $5 million a year for what would be a new beach restoration and conservation special fund.

Kim's proposal in the Senate, SB 617, died, but a companion measure introduced in the House is alive. A joint Senate panel approved that bill, HB 444, on Monday.

"Our beaches are so vital to not only our visitors, but to our local families," said Rep. Ryan Yamane, who introduced HB 444. Yamane is hoping for $5 million for the beach restoration fund.

The bill would give the Department of Land and Natural Resources a foundation for a program to sustain beach management, Lemmo said.

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Hawaii frets over vanishing beaches

Doubling of coastal erosion by mid-century in Hawai'i

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New research from scientists at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources brings into clearer focus just how dramatically Hawaii beaches might change as sea level rises in the future.

Chronic erosion dominates the sandy beaches of Hawaii, causing beach loss as it damages homes, infrastructure and critical habitat. Researchers have long understood that global sea level rise will affect the rate of coastal erosion.

For the study "Doubling of coastal erosion under rising sea level by mid-century in Hawaii," published this week in Natural Hazards, the research team developed a simple model to assess future erosion hazards under higher sea levels -- taking into account historical changes of Hawaii shorelines and the projected acceleration of sea level rise reported from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The results indicate that coastal erosion of Hawaii's beaches may double by mid-century.

"Business as Usual" leads to double erosion

Like the majority of Hawaii's sandy beaches, most shorelines at the 10 study sites on Kauai, Oahu and Maui are currently retreating. If these beaches were to follow current trends, an average 20 to 40 feet of shoreline recession would be expected by 2050 and 2100, respectively.

"When we modeled future shoreline change with the increased rates of sea level rise (SLR) projected under the IPCC's "business as usual" scenario, we found that increased SLR causes an average 16-20 feet of additional shoreline retreat by 2050, and an average of nearly 60 feet of additional retreat by 2100," said Tiffany Anderson, lead author and post-doctoral researcher at the UH Mnoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.

"This means that the average amount of shoreline recession roughly doubles by 2050 with increased SLR, compared to historical extrapolation alone. By 2100, it is nearly 2.5 times the historical extrapolation. Further, our results indicate that approximately 92 percent and 96 percent of the shorelines will be retreating by 2050 and 2100, respectively, except at Kailua, Oahu which is projected to begin retreating by mid-century."

Preparing for the future

The model accounts for accretion of sand onto beaches and long-term sediment processes in making projections of future shoreline position. As part of ongoing research, the resulting erosion hazard zones are overlain on aerial photos and other geographic layers in a geographic information system to provide a tool for identifying resources, infrastructure and property exposed to future coastal erosion.

"This study demonstrates a methodology that can be used by many shoreline communities to assess their exposure to coastal erosion resulting from the climate crisis," said Chip Fletcher, associate dean at the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and co-author on the paper.

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Doubling of coastal erosion by mid-century in Hawai'i

DLNR study: Some Hawaii shorelines could be gone by 2050

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There's no doubt Hawaii beaches are eroding, but new research shows the erosion rate will be faster than before. According to a Department of Land and Natural Resources study, a big chunk of our beaches could be gone by 2050.

Click here to watch Cam Tran's report.

"We're going to six inches to three feet per century. That's the accelerated sea level rise. That is estimated to result in a foot of sea level rise by mid-century. By 2050," said University of Hawaii School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology Associate Dean Chip Fletcher.

UH scientists looked at how an increase in sea level would affect 10 different beaches on Kauai, Oahu and Maui.

Scientists say with the increase in sea level rise, Hawaii's beaches could see 20-to-40-feet of erosion by 2050. To put that into perspective, if that were to happen at Ala Moana beach, it would mean sand from the water line to nearly the edge of the lifeguard stand.

"If you increase the level of the water, not only do you have the water coming up to the higher portion of the beach, but, theoretically, the whole beach system is moving upwards and lateralwards to keep up with this increasing sea level," said UH SOEST researcher Tiffany Anderson.

Anderson says the north shore of Oahu has the worst rate of erosion while one windward beach is doing the opposite.

"Kailua has been historically growing over the last several decades. That would be the ones that's the healthiest for erosion," said Anderson.

A dramatic decline in Hawaii's beaches could put a big dent into our economy like at Kaanapali on Maui where researchers say in 30 years, every hotel along Kaanapali Beach is going to be experiencing an erosion problem.

Fletcher and Anderson say they will individually map out how erosion will affect the 10 beaches they studied. Then, it's up to the stake holders to decide on how what to do about the beach erosion problem.

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DLNR study: Some Hawaii shorelines could be gone by 2050

Mangaluru: 23 beaches in coastal districts to get facelift

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Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Mar 24: Minister R V Deshpande on Tuesday March 24 informed in the state legislature council that 23 beaches of the coastal districts will be developed through the tourism department of the state.

He was replying to a question raised by MLC Ivan DSouza. Ivan had raised two questions regarding the details of development of beaches and the road junctions to be built connecting the tourist spots in the coastal districts.

Thirteen of the junction roads which connect the tourist spots have received grants from the tourism department. Out of these, work on five junction roads has begun and tender process is on for another five. Tenders will be called by the PWD and port and inland water trannsport department for the remaining three works as the grant was released on this month, the minister informed.

The beaches to be developed include Someshwar, Ullal, Suratkal, Talapady and Sultan Battery beaches in Mangaluru taluk.

The other places to be developed in the coastal twin districts include a tourist lodge at Kateel near the Durgaparameshwari temple and at Moodbidri near Jain math.

Road from Mudipu town to St Joseph Vaz church and the road from Urwa market to Sultan Battery will also be developed under the same schemes, Deshpande said.

Stay updated wherever you go with Daijiworld.com and Daijiworld 24X7 tv channel mobile apps. CLICK HERE to download it for your device. (available on Android and IOS)

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Mangaluru: 23 beaches in coastal districts to get facelift

New research predicts a doubling of coastal erosion by mid-century in Hawai'i

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IMAGE:Chronic beach erosion is a global problem. Modeling now indicates that, in Hawai'i, increased sea level rise associated with the climate crisis may cause a doubling of this problem by... view more

Credit: C. Fletcher, UH SOEST.

Chronic erosion dominates the sandy beaches of Hawai'i, causing beach loss as it damages homes, infrastructure, and critical habitat. Researchers have long understood that global sea level rise will affect the rate of coastal erosion. However, new research from scientists at the University of Hawaii - M?noa (UHM) and the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources brings into clearer focus just how dramatically Hawai'i beaches might change.

For the study, published this week in Natural Hazards, the research team developed a simple model to assess future erosion hazards under higher sea levels - taking into account historical changes of Hawai'i shorelines and the projected acceleration of sea level rise reported from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The results indicate that coastal erosion of Hawai'i's beaches may double by mid-century.

Like the majority of Hawaii's sandy beaches, most shorelines at the 10 study sites on Kauai, Oahu, and Maui are currently retreating. If these beaches were to follow current trends, an average 20 to 40 feet of shoreline recession would be expected by 2050 and 2100, respectively.

"When we modeled future shoreline change with the increased rates of sea level rise (SLR) projected under the IPCC's "business as usual" scenario, we found that increased SLR causes an average 16 - 20 feet of additional shoreline retreat by 2050, and an average of nearly 60 feet of additional retreat by 2100," said Tiffany Anderson, lead author and post-doctoral researcher at the UHM School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.

"This means that the average amount of shoreline recession roughly doubles by 2050 with increased SLR, compared to historical extrapolation alone. By 2100, it is nearly 2.5 times the historical extrapolation. Further, our results indicate that approximately 92% and 96% of the shorelines will be retreating by 2050 and 2100, respectively, except at Kailua, Oahu which is projected to begin retreating by mid-century."

The model accounts for accretion of sand onto beaches and long-term sediment processes in making projections of future shoreline position. As part of ongoing research, the resulting erosion hazard zones are overlain on aerial photos and other geographic layers in a geographic information system to provide a tool for identifying resources, infrastructure, and property exposed to future coastal erosion.

"This study demonstrates a methodology that can be used by many shoreline communities to assess their exposure to coastal erosion resulting from the climate crisis," said Chip Fletcher, Associate Dean at the UHM School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and co-author on the paper.

Mapping historical shoreline change provides useful data for assessing exposure to future erosion hazards, even if the rate of sea level rise changes in the future. The predicted increase in erosion will threaten thousands of homes, many miles of roadway and other assets in Hawai'i. Globally the asset exposure to erosion is enormous.

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New research predicts a doubling of coastal erosion by mid-century in Hawai'i

‘Your Universe’ Festival of Astronomy and Particle Physics trailer – Video

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#39;Your Universe #39; Festival of Astronomy and Particle Physics trailer
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/youruniverse Twitter: /uclyouruniverse Facebook: /YourUniverseFestival CAST Anthony Hozier Kayla Iversen Andrya Andreou Shanie Budhram-Mahadeo Luke Burton Ana Diego...

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'Your Universe' Festival of Astronomy and Particle Physics trailer - Video

Astronomy – Ch. 8: Origin of the Solar System (2 of 19) The Most Abundant Elements – Video

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Astronomy - Ch. 8: Origin of the Solar System (2 of 19) The Most Abundant Elements
Visit http://ilectureonline.com for more math and science lectures! In this video I will introduce the 10 and next 6 most abundant elements in our universe (galaxy). Next video in this series...

By: Michel van Biezen

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Astronomy - Ch. 8: Origin of the Solar System (2 of 19) The Most Abundant Elements - Video

Automation Offers Big Solution to Big Data in Astronomy

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Its almost a rite of passage in physics and astronomy. Scientists spend years scrounging up money to build a fantastic new instrument. Then, when the long-awaited device finally approaches completion, the panic begins: How will they handle the torrent of data?Thats the situation now, at least, with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a radio telescope planned for Africa and Australia that will have an unprecedented ability to deliver data -- lots of data points, with lots of details -- on the location and properties of stars, galaxies and giant clouds of hydrogen gas.In a study published in The Astronomical Journal, a team of scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a new, faster approach to analyzing all that data.Hydrogen clouds may seem less flashy than other radio telescope targets, like exploding galaxies. But hydrogen is fundamental to understanding the cosmos, as it is the most common substance in existence and also the stuff of stars and galaxies.As astronomers get ready for SKA, which is expected to be fully operational in the mid-2020s, there are all these discussions about what we are going to do with the data, says Robert Lindner, who performed the research as a postdoctoral fellow in astronomy and now works as a data scientist in the private sector. We dont have enough servers to store the data. We dont even have enough electricity to power the servers. And nobody has a clear idea how to process this tidal wave of data so we can make sense out of it.Lindner worked in the lab of Associate Professor Snezana Stanimirovic, who studies how hydrogen clouds form and morph into stars, in turn shaping the evolution of galaxies like our own Milky Way.In many respects, the hydrogen data from SKA will resemble the vastly slower stream coming from existing radio telescopes. The smallest unit, or pixel, will store every bit of information about all hydrogen directly behind a tiny square in the sky. At first, it is not clear if that pixel registers one cloud of hydrogen or many -- but answering that question is the basis for knowing the actual location of all that hydrogen.People are visually oriented and talented in making this interpretation, but interpreting each pixel requires 20 to 30 minutes of concentration using the best existing models and software. So, Lindner asks, how will astronomers interpret hydrogen data from the millions of pixels that SKA will spew? SKA is so much more sensitive than todays radio telescopes, and so we are making it impossible to do what we have done in the past.In the new study, Lindner and colleagues present a computational approach that solves the hydrogen location problem with just a second of computer time.For the study, UW-Madison postdoctoral fellow Carlos Vera-Ciro helped write software that could be trained to interpret the how many clouds behind the pixel? problem. The software ran on a high-capacity computer network at UW-Madison called HTCondor. And graduate student Claire Murray was our human, Lindner says. She provided the hand-analysis for comparison.Those comparisons showed that as the new system swallows SKAs data deluge, it will be accurate enough to replace manual processing.Ultimately, the goal is to explore the formation of stars and galaxies, Lindner says. Were trying to understand the initial conditions of star formation -- how, where, when do they start? How do you know a star is going to form here and not there?To calculate the overall evolution of the universe, cosmologists rely on crude estimates of initial conditions, Lindner says. By correlating data on hydrogen clouds in the Milky Way with ongoing star formation, data from the new radio telescopes will support real numbers that can be entered into the cosmological models.We are looking at the Milky Way, because thats what we can study in the greatest detail, Lindner says, but when astronomers study extremely distant parts of the universe, they need to assume certain things about gas and star formation, and the Milky Way is the only place we can get good numbers on that.With automated data processing, suddenly we are not time-limited, Lindner says. Lets take the whole survey from SKA. Even if each pixel is not quite as precise, maybe, as a human calculation, we can do a thousand or a million times more pixels, and so that averages out in our favor.

Reference:Autonomous Gaussian Decomposition, Robert R. Lindner et al., Astronomical Journal, April 2015, Vol. 149, No. 4 [http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/149/4,http://arxiv.org/abs/1409.2840%5D.

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Automation Offers Big Solution to Big Data in Astronomy

NASA's Kepler Spots Thousands Of Extreme 'White Light' Stellar Flares

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New data from NASAs Kepler space telescope is allowing astronomers a glimpse at potentially catastrophic flaring in a solar-type star roughly 300 light years away.

The observations detail some of the largest flaring events ever detected from a fully-mature G spectral-type star, known for now by its Kepler Input Catalog number KIC 11551430. Flaring from the star is several thousands times stronger than the Carrington Event a September 1859 solar super-flare, hundreds of times stronger than most of our Suns X-class flares (the most powerful solar flares yet classified).

We are counting thousands of white light flares from KIC 11551430 in a range from 10 to 10,000 times bigger than the biggest flares produced by our own Sun, Rachel Osten, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute and the team leader on the Kepler survey of this star, told Forbes.

When you count and plot these really energetic stellar flares, said Osten, you expect to have more and more energetic flares happening less and less frequently. The fact that we see a limit on the flare energies for these stars, Osten says, sort of confirms that these flares get their energy from star spots, or magnetic fields poking through the stellar surface.

A major solar eruption is shown in progress October 28, 2003. (Photo by Solar & Heliospheric Observatory/NASA via Getty Images)

In the mid-19th century, x-ray measurements of the Carrington Event werent yet available. But because the superflare was associated with spectacular Earth auroras, Osten says the event was likely coupled with a coronal mass ejection (or CME) a magnetized plasma streaming high-energy accelerated particles at thousands of kilometers per second.

Osten says our own Sun might still be capable of producing something slightly larger than the Carrington Event which, at the time, sent the new technology of the telegraph into a tailspin.

But in its 4.5 billion year history, has the Sun ever produced a flare 10,000 times larger than the Carrington Event?

Almost certainly, yes, said Osten. During its first hundred million years, the Sun was very active.

Osten says a close binary stellar companion in which two stars are gravitationally interacting might explain why KIC 11551430, located in the bright constellation of Cygnus, is so active. She says that when two stars are that close, tidal forces cause their rotation and orbital period to be coupled with each other. As a result, a star with a close binary companion will rotate much faster than if it were simply a single star.

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NASA's Kepler Spots Thousands Of Extreme 'White Light' Stellar Flares

YTPMVMAD Artificial Intelligence Slam Tasmanian x Mega Tasmanian – Video

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YTPMVMAD Artificial Intelligence Slam Tasmanian x Mega Tasmanian
BGM: Artificial Intelligence Bomb Tiempo Tardado: 8 horas 26 minutos Aqui va el reto de Sergio Llovera , pero valio la pena hacerlo cuando me estaba cansando a la septima hora de progreso...

By: Mega TasmanianR-3TZ_49

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YTPMVMAD Artificial Intelligence Slam Tasmanian x Mega Tasmanian - Video

Apple co-founder on artificial intelligence: The future is scary and very bad for people

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The Super Rich Technologists Making Dire Predictions About Artificial Intelligence club gained another fear-mongering member this week: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Wozniak joined original club members Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk by making his own casually apocalyptic warning about machines superseding the human race.

"Like people including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have predicted, I agree that the future is scary and very bad for people," Wozniak said. "If we build these devices to take care of everything for us, eventually they'll think faster than us and they'll get rid of the slow humans to run companies more efficiently."

[Bill Gates on dangers of artificial intelligence: I dont understand why some people are not concerned]

Doling out paralyzing chunks of fear like gumdrops to sweet-toothed children on Halloween, Woz continued: "Will we be the gods? Will we be the family pets? Or will we be ants that get stepped on? I don't know about that But when I got that thinking in my head about if I'm going to be treated in the future as a pet to these smart machines well I'm going to treat my own pet dog really nice."

Seriously? Should we even get up tomorrow morning, or just order pizza, log onto Netflix and wait until we find ourselves looking through the bars of a dog crate? Help me out here, man!

Wozniak's warning seemed to follow the exact same story arc as Season 1 Episode 2 of Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty Show."Not accusing him of apocalyptic plagiarism or anything; just noting.

For what it's worth, Wozniak did outline a scenario by which super-machines will be stopped in their human-enslaving tracks. Citing Moore's Law -- "the pattern whereby computer processing speeds double every two years" -- Wozniak pointed out that at some point, the size of silicon transistors, which allow processing speeds to increase as they reduce size, will eventually reach the size of an atom, according to the Financial Review.

"Any smaller than that, and scientists will need to figure out how to manipulate subatomic particles a field commonly referred to asquantum computing which has not yet been cracked," Quartz notes.

Wozniak's predictions represent a bit of a turnaround, the Financial Review pointed out. While he previously rejected the predictions of futurists such asthe pill-popping Ray Kurzweil, who argued that super machines will outpace human intelligence within several decades, Wozniak told the Financial Review that he came around after he realized the prognostication was coming true.

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Apple co-founder on artificial intelligence: The future is scary and very bad for people

Artificial intelligence systems more apt to fail than to destroy

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17 hours ago by David Stauth

The most realistic risks about the dangers of artificial intelligence are basic mistakes, breakdowns and cyber attacks, an expert in the field says more so than machines that become super powerful, run amok and try to destroy the human race.

Thomas Dietterich, president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and a distinguished professor of computer science at Oregon State University, said that the recent contribution of $10 million by Elon Musk to the Future of Life Institute will help support some important and needed efforts to ensure AI safety.

But the real risks may not be as dramatic as some people visualize, he said.

"For a long time the risks of artificial intelligence have mostly been discussed in a few small, academic circles, and now they are getting some long-overdue attention," Dietterich said. "That attention, and funding to support it, is a very important step."

Dietterich's perspective of problems with AI, however, is a little more pedestrian than most not so much that it will overwhelm humanity, but that like most complex engineered systems, it may not always work.

"We're now talking about doing some pretty difficult and exciting things with AI, such as automobiles that drive themselves, or robots that can effect rescues or operate weapons," Dietterich said. "These are high-stakes tasks that will depend on enormously complex algorithms.

"The biggest risk is that those algorithms may not always work," he added. "We need to be conscious of this risk and create systems that can still function safely even when the AI components commit errors."

Dietterich said he considers machines becoming self-aware and trying to exterminate humans to be more science fiction than scientific fact. But to the extent that computer systems are given increasingly dangerous tasks, and asked to learn from and interpret their experiences, he says they may simply make mistakes.

"Computer systems can already beat humans at chess, but that doesn't mean they can't make a wrong move," he said. "They can reason, but that doesn't mean they always get the right answer. And they may be powerful, but that's not the same thing as saying they will develop superpowers."

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Artificial intelligence systems more apt to fail than to destroy