Major New Findings: Evidence of Martian Water

NASA reports new findings from its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.

Photo Credit: NASA - JPL-Caltech - Univiversity of Arizona

“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water -- albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”

Water on Mars: Video Showing Evidence of Downhill Flows

These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.

"We found the hydrated salts only when the seasonal features were widest, which suggests that either the dark streaks themselves or a process that forms them is the source of the hydration. In either case, the detection of hydrated salts on these slopes means that water plays a vital role in the formation of these streaks," said Lujendra Ojha of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, lead author of a report on these findings published Sept. 28 by Nature Geoscience.

Ojha first noticed these puzzling features as a University of Arizona undergraduate student in 2010, using images from the MRO's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). HiRISE observations now have documented RSL at dozens of sites on Mars. The new study pairs HiRISE observations with mineral mapping by MRO’s Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).

The spectrometer observations show signatures of hydrated salts at multiple RSL locations, but only when the dark features were relatively wide. When the researchers looked at the same locations and RSL weren't as extensive, they detected no hydrated salt.  

Ojha and his co-authors interpret the spectral signatures as caused by hydrated minerals called perchlorates. The hydrated salts most consistent with the chemical signatures are likely a mixture of magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate. Some perchlorates have been shown to keep liquids from freezing even when conditions are as cold as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 Celsius). On Earth, naturally produced perchlorates are concentrated in deserts, and some types of perchlorates can be used as rocket propellant.

Perchlorates have previously been seen on Mars. NASA's Phoenix lander and Curiosity rover both found them in the planet's soil, and some scientists believe that the Viking missions in the 1970s measured signatures of these salts. However, this study of RSL detected perchlorates, now in hydrated form, in different areas than those explored by the landers. This also is the first time perchlorates have been identified from orbit.

MRO has been examining Mars since 2006 with its six science instruments.

"The ability of MRO to observe for multiple Mars years with a payload able to see the fine detail of these features has enabled findings such as these: first identifying the puzzling seasonal streaks and now making a big step towards explaining what they are," said Rich Zurek, MRO project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

For Ojha, the new findings are more proof that the mysterious lines he first saw darkening Martian slopes five years ago are, indeed, present-day water.

"When most people talk about water on Mars, they're usually talking about ancient water or frozen water," he said. "Now we know there’s more to the story. This is the first spectral detection that unambiguously supports our liquid water-formation hypotheses for RSL."

The discovery is the latest of many breakthroughs by NASA’s Mars missions.

“It took multiple spacecraft over several years to solve this mystery, and now we know there is liquid water on the surface of this cold, desert planet,” said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “It seems that the more we study Mars, the more we learn how life could be supported and where there are resources to support life in the future.” 

There are eight co-authors of the Nature Geoscience paper, including Mary Beth Wilhelm at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California and Georgia Tech; CRISM Principal Investigator Scott Murchie of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland; and HiRISE Principal Investigator Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. Others are at Georgia Tech, the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique in Nantes, France.

The agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin built the orbiter and collaborates with JPL to operate it.

More information about NASA's journey to Mars is available online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars

For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mro

Paradigm Shift: Television to Digital Media

The email capped off a bruising week.  "Build Your Channel" says a leader in online video, soliciting me again in the email, hoping to boost viewership on my two "channels."

I couldn't help but think it a bit serendipitous given a hellish week for the giants of media.  It began with Disney, the world's largest entertainment company, admitting television holdings are underperforming.  CBS had already raised concern the day before with its quarterly earnings report.  Investors "panicked,"  slashing almost $60-billion in value from companies like Viacom, Time Warner, and Fox.

It has been "the golden age of television," with an unbelievable amount of programing available on what increasingly seems like an unlimited number of platforms.  It has, at least, up until now.

"Too much"

Now there's word the industry itself is overburdened with programing at a time when digital content is mushrooming.  The head of FX Networks says viewers are going to have an increasingly difficult time cutting through "the clutter:"

http://bigstory.ap.org/urn:publicid:ap.org:b8ee4c48c5bb46249c71bd09ba9ab26a

Here's more on FX Network CEO John Landgraf's comments from the Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-fx-ceo-john-landgraf-there-is-simply-too-much-television-20150807-story.html

Did you catch the number:  370 originally-scripted television series in 2014.  No wonder we were having trouble keeping track on the new shows.

How things will wash out is anyone's guess, but I'm excited.  I've been honing my digital skills, expecting just what's happening.  Now we're on the cusp of the transition.   We've been in the Charlie Chaplin era of online video and now moving into something more sustainable.  Now's the time to jump on board.

Sony Hack's Presidential Response

The White House is clearly not impressed with independent analysis that the hacking of Sony's computer network is linked to a former employee.

The Administration, in issuing new sanctions, flat out blames North Korea for the attack that disabled Sony's network of computers:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/02/statement-press-secretary-executive-order-entitled-imposing-additional-s

Last month's cyber attack shook the technology sector by shutting down Sony's computer network, forcing the movie studio to cancel the premiere of "The Interview," and leading to the release of confidential company correspondence.

Internet security experts then questioned the hermit kingdom's ability to carry out such a sophisticated attack.  Some claimed a former Sony employee may be ultimately responsible for the data breach.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-31/who-really-hacked-sony-.html

In announcing the new sanctions, President Obama's letter to congressional leaders cites "activities that threaten the United States and others."

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew's statement on Friday focused on holding North Korea "accountable for its destructive and destabilizing conduct."  The executive order adds to existing sanctions by directing the Treasury Department to cut off access to the U.S. financial sector for 10 individuals and three North Korean government entities.

The crippling attack on Sony's U.S. computer network came as it prepared to release "The Interview," a parody of North Korea's young leader and a comedic plot to assassinate him.

The company that appears to have taken the lead it questioning the U.S. response to the hack attack is laying low.  

Kurt Stammberger, with the cybersecurity firm Norse, issued a "no comment" this weekend when asked to respond to the President's executive order.

The Daily Beast reports that unnamed officials have told them that "investigators have also been privately sharing some of their findings with private cyber security companies that also have invested several years in monitoring North Korean hacker groups in an effort to help vet their case and bolster their claims."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/02/u-s-spies-say-they-tracked-sony-hackers-for-years.html

The President's executive order is the first official U.S. response to the attack and follows a still unexplained shutdown of North Korea's limited Internet service.

The attack has helped put cybersecurity at the forefront of U.S. and corporate interests at the start of the New Year.

https://www.dhs.gov/topic/cybersecurity

Sony Hack a Possible Inside Job

A company specializing in cybersecurity finds North Korea may not be responsible for the hacking of Sony after all.  Investigative work by Norse raises the possibility that one of the worst cases of corporate espionage involving the Internet was an inside job.

If true, the investigation would prove the FBI wrong, leave President Obama with egg on his face, and be a major embarrassment for Sony.  A company spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

A Norse spokesman confirms their research shows a former employee may have been instrumental in the release of mounds of Sony data, including sensitive emails and other company documents.  Whoever is responsible for the release of the information could then have worked to make it appear as if North Korea was responsible.

According to Kurt Stammberger, one of the company's senior vice president's, the investigation found links to a former Sony employee.  Identified only as "Lena," the worker is said to have left the company back in May after having worked for Sony for ten years or more.

CBS News was the first to carry the story nationally:

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/doubt-cast-on-north-korea-as-source-of-sony-hack

In addition, CBS News aired an interview this week by a former Anonymous hacker turned FBI informant who says it's a long shot to think North Korea could have pulled off the job.  

Hector Monsegur says the hack involved to much data to have gone unnoticed by Sony and those responsible for threats agains the company could have easily made it appear North Korea was at fault.  

There is reported to have been a demand for money from Sony before the alleged hackers went public with confidential company correspondence.  

The FBI is said to be continuing its investigation into what is turning into a crime possibly worth tens of millions of dollars.  

You'll remember that theater owners say they were forced to cancel the Christmas premiere of "The Interview" over worries of a terrorist attack.  Then Sony all together pulled the plug on the release, only now reversing itself.  

Besides throwing Hollywood into a frenzy over inside information with regard to movie studios business, the revelations have drawn international condemnation of North Korea and its dictator who have maintained their innocence.

Europe Vs. Google:   

Don't think for a moment that it can't happen.  The Europeans appear ready to to try and break up Google.  They've been flighting with Internet behemoth for years, and it's now getting serious.

The issue formally comes to the table as early as Thursday.  That's when the European Parliament considers a resolution on digital rights.  Just how the Europeans could force an American company to break up is anybody's guess.  That doesn't mean they aren't going to try.

Specifically, a German lawmaker has drafted language to break up the Internet behemoth and a vote on it is scheduled for as early as Thursday in Brussels.

Having lived in Europe for years, I can attest to the disdain felt there for American companies who executives think they can operate the same way on the continent that they do in the U.S.

Berlin is leading the fight.  The city was once home to the notorious Stasi secret police, run by a communist dictatorship that made East Germans the most spied on peoples in the history of the world.  Both the German Chancellor and the country's President grew up under the communist regime and they are both extremely hostile to anything that smacks of undo surveillance.

I was particularly stuck while I was living in Berlin by the vehement opposition to Google's "Street View."  At the time, Germany successfully forced the company to block the view of the homes of those who protested having their residences show up on an Internet search.

Another big battle was one earlier this year.  It involved forcing the leader in Internet search to keep part of people's personal history from showing up when someone googled their name.  Score another one for the Europeans.  The "Right to be Forgotten" rule is now being used by thousands of people each day in Europe.

The Europeans have been working for years on antitrust legislation aimed at Google.  The thought is that the Internet search portion of the company should be separated out from the advertising and commercial arm.  After all, Google can tinker with search results to favor its clients.  

Google, by far, is the dominant search engine in Europe.  Why should it be given free reign to modify search results to strengthen its bottom line?  

Simply put, Europeans want guarantees that search results are based on what's best for the user, not what's best for Google.

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About the Author:  A journalist for more than 30 years, Henry Mulak has worked both domestically and internationally.  He made his first visit to East and West Berlin in 1981 as a student, then obtained his Journalism Degree from Humboldt State University where he also minored in German.  In 1999, he became a RIAS Fellowship and studied European Union politics in Berlin, Brussels and Cologne.  Most recently Henry freelanced as a reporter in Berlin between 2010 and 2013.  He's certified to test for intercultural competence in English and holds a CTESOL, allowing him to teach worldwide and now resides in Los Angeles. 

New Duties:  Coordinator for the Associated Press Television Radio Association:

Imagine being caught in the vortex that is today's media and being charged with helping improve content by strengthening membership in one of the world's largest news gathering organizations.

That's me!

I'm the new APTRA Coordinator. My particular chapter of the Associated Press Television Radio Association represents AP's broadcast news members in 17 states, most notably California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska.

Naturally, as a seasoned, career journalist I couldn't be more excited.

The AP is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, as a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members, it can maintain its single-minded focus on newsgathering and its commitment to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism.

AP’s commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings.

Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content. It is in the process of overhauling its video and photography content: transitioning to high-definition, expanding its coverage and building a new, flexible, powerful infrastructure. AP has the industry’s most sophisticated digital photo network; a 24-hour continuously updated online, multimedia news service; a state-of-the-art television news service; and one of the largest radio networks in the U.S. Its commercial digital photo archive is one of the world's largest collections of historical and contemporary imagery. AP Mobile, the AP’s award-winning news app, has been downloaded over 9 million times since its launch in 2008, and AP has a strong social media presence, building new connections between AP and its members, customers and consumers.

Since the Pulitzer Prize was established, in 1917, AP has received 51 Pulitzers, including 31 photo Pulitzers.

AP, which is headquartered in New York, operates in more than 280 locations worldwide, including every statehouse in the U.S. Two-thirds of its staffers are journalists.

I'll be working out of Los Angeles where the AP maintains a robust presence but will be focused on all APTRA's member states in the Western United States.

Remaking Our World:  A View Through The Berlin Wall   

It's a blessing the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall came on a Sunday, giving time to reflect on the momentous occasion.

After all, the collapse of The Wall made it possible to actually visualize the end of the Cold War.

In Berlin itself, the authorities put together what can only be described as an astounding observance.

To drive home how Berlin was divided, some eight-thousand lighted balloons were used to line nearly 10 miles of the city, tracing part of The Wall's path. You can see them here at the East Side Gallery, one of the few places in Berlin where there are sections still standing:

"It's really good to be reminded of where the wall was and what it once meant," said Berlin resident Alex Schaller, commenting to the Los Angeles Times which has made the story front-page news. Los Angeles, after all, is Berlin's Sister City.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reopened the Berlin Wall memorial at Bernauer Strasse, a key landmark, after a nearly yearlong renovation, visiting it ahead of the festivities at the iconic Brandenburg Gate:

This is the portion of the Bernauer Straße memorial to The Wall where Merkel and Berlin's Mayor joined other dignitaries in putting flowers in its cracks.  Note the guard tower, one where East German soldiers could shoot at anyone trying to escape.  Officially, more than one hundred died, but the number is probably much higher.

25 years on, remnants of the Berlin Wall are largely hard to come by. There are fitting memorials like those you see here, but Germany has made sure not to let its memory get in the way of progress. 

Checkpoint Charlie, where I first crossed into East Berlin in 1981, has been completely remade and the area around it is now fully developed.

This is what now remains of the checkpoint, set up by the United States in what was the American Sector, one of four specific areas administered by each of the Allies who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II.

Those wanting to trace the path of The Wall can still do so.  It's marked in the street by cobblestone with embedded metal plagues letting you know this is where it actually stood:

 

I've tried with only limited success to put together a montage of before and after pictures from my time in Berlin, showing what was once East and West Berlin and what is now.  My efforts have been eclipsed by The Guardian.  Click on the pictures here and they dissolve to what once was:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/nov/03/the-berlin-wall-in-the-cold-war-and-now-interactive

So, the Wall in the physical sense may be gone, but I've learned that it still lives on in the minds of those, not only from Berlin and in large part to those in Germany, but also with those who were there.  

I would argue that the current dispute between Russia, the United States and the European Union over Ukraine stems in large part from how the Fall of the Wall is viewed in each person's respective country.

As the Los Angeles Times put it, "Russia's natural-resource wealth has enriched and emboldened the former superpower, encouraging the Kremlin to grasp for the strategic clout it once wielded as capital of the communist empire. President Vladimir Putin's incursions into Ukraine have raised the uncomfortable memory of Stalin-era land grabs, instilling fear in many former Warsaw Pact allies. Those jitters have been exacerbated by Moscow's chokehold on energy supplies for much of Europe."

It might be good to mention here that Putin was stationed in East Berlin when he was a KGB agent, a member of the Soviet Union's secret police.

Now to the hard part, the part it may be hard for Americans to fathom.  

The Fall of The Berlin Wall is viewed quite differently depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on.  

The Russian President, for example, has called the Fall of The Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union disastrous for Russia.  The thought is now that Putin is trying to reassemble parts of the old Soviet Union.  Putin largely views western promises as worthless. Russia, he has made clear, is only respected when feared. 

Putin is now using other tools at his disposal to take on The West, including energy resources, cyber hacking and a United Nations Security Council veto.  His popularity has surged domestically as he promises to take on The West militarily, moving into Ukraine and even confronting NATO forces with an increase in bomber flights around Europe and around the Aleutian Islands and Alaska.

As for Europe, the prevailing explanation for communism's collapse is not to American resolve and ideals, but instead to their leaders own continental style. America's threat of force had not destroyed communism. Instead, its absence made Eastern Europe's velvet revolutions possible. By avoiding war for more than two generations, European strategists gave communists time to come to their senses.

And in Germany itself, the old communists are doing their best to make a comeback.  The Left party, or Die Linke as it's called in Germany, has even gained enough votes to put it in the governing coalition of the state of Thuringia.  True, The Left party hardly has the votes nationally to pose a real threat to what has become the status quo in Germany.  But it does show that The Berlin Wall still does live on in the minds of people throughout the region.

No, The Berlin Wall may be gone in the physical sense, but it's still there in the minds of many.  My view is that it may be generations more before it truly falls into the dustbin of history.

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About the Author:  Henry Mulak is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has covered politics, economics and law for more than 30 years.  His made his first visit to East and West Berlin in 1981 as a student.  He obtained his Journalism Degree from Humboldt State University where he also minored in German.  In 1999, he obtained a RIAS Fellowship in which he studied European Union politics in Berlin, Brussels and Cologne.  Most recently Henry reported for the CBS News, Radio Network while living in Berlin starting in June of 2010 and returning to the U.S. in 2013.  Henry is also certified to test for intercultural competence in English and holds a CTESOL, allowing him to teach at colleges worldwide.  He now lives in Los Angeles.  Thank you to Berlin resident, Dr. Dietrich Rein for providing some of the pictures seen here in this posting.