Are you finding that Google Earth is not filling your needs while professional geographic software packages are out of reach? Below are a few free open source GIS packages just added to the Element List database. For an exhaustive listing of free GIS software products, see also FreeGIS.org.
If you are looking for information on the floods in Fargo or other high risk areas around the U.S., check out the National Weather Service river observation and forecasts maps and the NOAAWatch Floods Monitor. NOAAWatch is more user-friendly and has updates on the Red River floods.
"CVN students take the same classes, have the same homework assignments, and take the same exams as their on-campus counterparts. The only difference is in location. CVN students can earn the same degree as on-campus students: a Master of Science (MS) or Professional Degree (PD) from Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science."
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The publisher of The Journal of Cell Biology has released an application for sharing biological image data associated with published research called the JCB DataViewer. The viewer not only permits sharing of original image files, but also allows viewers to perform simple analyses of the images. The video above shows how users can analyze the images online. The application was created through a collaboration between The Journal of Cell Biology, Xpresstrack, and Glencoe Software using open source technology developed by the Open Microscopy Environment.
The possibility that someone could make a living on scientific research grants outside of an academic or government lab seems almost unthinkable. But Robert Gaskell, a retired planet-mapping expert formerly of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, has managed to make it happen. As explained in today's New York Times, Dr. Gaskell works from home making digital topographic maps of Mercury, Saturn's moons, the asteroid Eros, and more. Gaskell might even be in need of an assistant.
Every year the Buckminster Fuller Institute gives away $100,000 to "support the development and implementation of a solution that has significant potential to solve humanity's most pressing problems in the shortest possible time while enhancing the Earth's ecological integrity." The 2009 Challenge begins this week on September 18th. The judges are looking for designs that follow the trimtab principle. That is, something that uses the smallest amount of energy and resources to produce the greatest result. Click here to find out more.
On September 10, 2008 the Large Hadron Collider will fire its first beam at the CERN particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. Live satellite broadcasts and webcasts from the CERN Control Centre will be available on the CERN website as CERN scientists attempt to circulate a beam of particles around the collider. In the U.S., scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory near Chicago will be hosting a pajama party for visitors and the media as they participate in the experiment via videoconference. Short movies will be shown explaining the four planned experiments, LHCb, CMS, ALICE and ATLAS, which will each be managed and webcast from four separate control rooms. The LHC is expected to produce 15 million gigabytes of data every year and will be analyzed with the LHC global computing grid, which will be officially launched October 3 at the LHC Grid Fest.
Pictured above is a comparison of Google search volumes for four alternative energy terms: solar energy, nuclear energy, geothermal energy, and wind energy. Solar beats them all.
Google is not trying to hide the roads in Georgia - At least that's what Googlers say on Google's Lat Long Blog. Google Product Manager Dave Barth writes that Google simply isn't satisfied with the quality of the street map data from Georgia to justify posting any of it to Google Maps. (Typing simply "Georgia" in Google Maps takes you to the Georgia in the southeastern U.S.. You have to type "Georgia Europe" to find the former Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia.) Satellite and terrain data are available, however, and we even found recent AlJazeera video of the Georgia-Russian conflict posted in the satellite map.
Gearthitecture - Semi-anonymous blogger Restless at Curbed.com posted an interesting collection of Google Earth photos of Manhattan skyscrapers. The photos were taken at various angles from the vertical, creating the appearance that the buildings lean into one another.
Climate studies of the "Great Shutdown" for the Beijing Olympic Games - While some people appear to be taking advantage of the distraction provided by the Beijing Olympics to fight a war, scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in LaJolla, CA and Seoul National University in South Korea are taking advantage of the government-imposed crackdown on pollution from industry and automobiles in Beijing to study the resulting changes in the regional atmosphere. V. Ramanathan, Director of the Center for Clouds, Chemistry, and Climate at Scripps, is co-leading the study which will use autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to study air pollution and cloud interaction. The study, called CAPMEX, will combine UAV data with satellite and ground-based measurements to obtain a comprehensive picture of how carbon-rich dust from East Asia traps heat and affects various biological and geochemical cycles in the region. More information can be found on the CAPMEX website.
PBS has announced that they will soon be supplying PBS programs on Hulu, the YouTube killer created by NBC and FOX. The catch is that a single 30-second commercial will play before each episode and most programs will only be available weeks or months after they appear on TV or iTunes, where you can download them for a fee. You can already find PBS video programming online at the PBS website. However, Hulu's video technology is superior and will provide a better viewing experience with high-resolution, full-length video formats (that is, not chopped up into roughly 10-minute chapters as found on PBS.org). PBS science programs will include "Nova," "Wired Science," and "Scientific American Frontiers."
PLoS launched a new online, open-access journal last week: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. If you dedicate a journal to neglected diseases, are the diseases still neglected? [A Blog Around the Clock]
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), so some less literary and more geeky bloggers have taken it upon themselves to declare November International Dissertation Writing Month and International acaDemic Writing Month, which both share the acronym InaDWriMo. Looks like we picked the perfect time to relaunch Element List. [What the Hell is Wrong with You?]
The uber web geeks at Nature.com are hosting science lectures in Second Life at their very own island, Second Nature Island. I attempted to view the island, but just trying getting into my Second Life account that I haven't accessed in nearly two years was too much of a hassle (I was forced to download a new version of Second Life, then they informed me that they had disabled my password, then I couldn't remember which email account I used with SL, which I needed to retrieve my new... grrr, I don't have time for this!!!). I applaud Nature.com's efforts, but maybe the difficulty of simply logging in has something to do with why people give up on Second Life. [Nascent]
Chris Anderson, The Long Tail author, blogger, and Editor-in-Chief of Wired magazine has found himself in an interesting situation. When he's not busy running a magazine or blogging, Chris builds Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for a hobby. He also runs a UAV social network on Ning called DIYDrones.com. Last week Amir Aalipour, a 17-year-old Iranian UAV enthusiast, proudly posted pictures of his UAV in a RCGroup chat room draped in the Iranian flag. In his latest blog post, Chris writes, "Part of me says 'Bravo Amir! Excellent work on the airframe, and thanks for posting.' And part of me says 'Yikes. We're helping Iranians make UAVs draped in nationalistic colors. This isn't going to help us in our efforts to destigmitize drones.'" Quite a discussion has ensued in The Long Tail blog comments regarding whether the UAV open source movement, or Chris's site in particular, is giving comfort to the terr'ists. Amir himself joined the discussion to give his side of the story.
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