Beached whale sighting off Japan day before massive earthquake
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
19 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Scientists trace the spike of north China flooding to solar cycle activities
A study led by scientists in China has found a link between the sun's 11-year cycle and summer rain in the country, identifying why drought conditions in the south and flooding in the north intensify during high solar years. The team studied precipitation patterns during the East Asian summer monsoon – particularly the intense mei yu or 'plum rain' period – and found that the solar cycle influenced summer precipitation by modulating climate patterns and shifting the rain belt north. 'The summer precipitation pattern on a decadal timescale … can be attributed to the solar precipitation regime,' the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Climate on July 15. The researchers said their study identified the influence of changes in the solar magnetic cycle over decades on China's summer pattern of 'south drought and north flooding'. The findings of the researchers – from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Meteorological Administration, University of Science and Technology of China, and the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany – could be used to improve climate prediction and forecasting, particularly on longer-term scales. 'It is well known that the positioning of the monsoon rain belt significantly influences the distribution of summer droughts and floods in China, making precipitation patterns a crucial focus for climate predictions during flood seasons,' the researchers said.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Astronauts launch for space station after being sidelined by Boeing's troubled Starliner
Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing's Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX. The US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre. They will replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for Nasa's two stuck astronauts. Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months. Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who should have launched last year, was yanked along with another Nasa crewmate to make room for Starliner's star-crossed test pilots. 'I have no emotion but joy right now. That was absolutely transcendent. Ride of a lifetime,' Cardman, the flight commander, said after reaching orbit. The botched Starliner demo forced Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to switch to SpaceX to get back from the space station more than nine months after departing on what should have been a week-long trip.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese scientists double artillery gun lifespan with 2,000-year-old chromium tech upgrade
Scientists in northwest China have doubled the service life of high-temperature, high-pressure artillery barrels by refining a chromium plating technique first used by the Chinese military before 200BC. Bronze swords buried with the Terracotta Army of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang , remained sharp and untarnished after more than 2,000 years underground. Microscopic analysis revealed a thin layer of chromium salts – just 10 to 15 micrometres thick – on their surfaces, protected by an underlying oxide film that had all but halted corrosion, seen as evidence of a sophisticated surface treatment technique mastered by ancient Chinese metallurgists. According to a study published in the July issue of Acta Armamentarii, China's top defence tech journal, researchers have now upgraded this ancient method into a cutting-edge solution for one of modern artillery's most persistent challenges – barrel erosion. High-velocity cannons and advanced howitzers face extreme conditions with every firing. Inside the barrel, temperatures soar past 3,000 degrees Celsius (5,432 degrees Fahrenheit) and pressures exceed tens of thousands of atmospheres. The combined effect of chemical erosion from propellant gases, mechanical abrasion from projectiles and thermal shock from repeated firings leads to rapid wear, microcracking and eventual degradation of the bore.
