Latest news with #YaoYu
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Researchers Just Found Thousands Of New Seamounts
Global map showing gravitational variations caused by topographic changes. In purple higher features ... More like seamounts and in green lower features like rift zones. There are better maps of the Moon's surface than of the bottom of Earth's ocean. Researchers have been working for decades to change that. As part of the ongoing effort, a NASA-supported team in collaboration with researchers from the French space agency CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) recently published one of the most detailed maps yet of the ocean floor, using data from the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission. Launched in December 2022, the SWOT satellite measures the height of water in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Researchers can use these differences in height to create a kind of topographic map of the surface of fresh- and seawater. This data can then be used for tasks such as assessing changes in sea ice or tracking how floods progress down a river. SWOT covers about 90 percent of the globe every 21 days, so the researchers used the additional data to map the world's oceans. Elevations like underwater mountains, having a larger mass and a stronger gravitational pull, slightly deform the sea surface above them. Previous ocean-observing satellites have detected massive versions of these bottom features, such as seamounts over roughly 3,300 feet (1 kilometer) tall. The SWOT satellite can pick up seamounts less than half that height, potentially increasing the number of known seamounts from 44,000 to 100,000. 'Abyssal hills are the most abundant landform on Earth, covering about 70 percent of the ocean floor,' explains Yao Yu, an oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author on the paper. 'These hills are only a few kilometers wide, which makes them hard to observe from space. We were surprised that SWOT could see them so well.' The improved view from SWOT also gives researchers more insight into underwater plate boundaries, a key element in Earth's plate tectonics. The seafloor widens along rift zones, pushing the tectonic plates apart, and gets recycled into Earth's mantle along subduction zones. The orientation and extent of geological features mapped by SWOT can reveal how tectonic plates have moved over time. Rift zone in the Indian Ocean showing a parallel set of fracture zones and faults. Detailed seafloor maps have also practical applications. Accurate maps of the ocean floor are crucial for a range of seafaring activities, including navigation and laying underwater communications cables. The researchers have extracted nearly all the information on seafloor features they expected to find in the SWOT measurements. Now they're focusing on refining their picture of the ocean floor by calculating the depth of the features they see. The work complements an effort by the international scientific community to map the entire seafloor using ship-based sonar (hopefully) by 2030. The study, "Abyssal marine tectonics from the SWOT mission," was published in the journal Science. Additional material and interviews provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA Earth Observatory
Reuters
27-01-2025
- Business
- Reuters
China Vanke bonds jump after plan to redeem early $138 mln onshore notes
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Jan 27 (Reuters) - China Vanke's ( opens new tab bonds gained on Monday after the state-backed developer said it would redeem its 2027 notes worth 1 billion yuan ($137.68 million) early in March. Vanke's announcement boosted investor confidence on its ability to repay its near-term financial debt, including a 3 billion yuan onshore bond due on Monday. Unlike the redemption of the 2027 notes, the company is not required to make a disclosure on Monday's repayment. Worries over Vanke's liquidity have intensified this month as it faces several looming debt maturity deadlines. It has a total $3.4 billion due this year. A state media report earlier this month alleged the developer's CEO had been detained and that it could be subject to a takeover or reorganisation. The report was deleted within hours of its publication. In a filing on Friday, Vanke said it would exercise its rights to redeem the 2027 callable bond in March. Analysts said investors were taking the early redemption as a sign it would have no problem meeting its more immediate obligations. "Announcing the redemption of the last bond for the first quarter is equivalent to declaring that all bonds for the quarter are free from default concerns," said Yao Yu, founder of credit analysis firm Ratingdog. Vanke's May 2028 onshore bond was quoted 15% higher on Monday morning at 73 yuan versus a 100 yuan par value. Bids for its May 2025 dollar bond also rose to 80.608 cents on the dollar from around 75.7 cents on Friday. Some analysts say a debt default is inevitable this year without fresh liquidity support as Vanke's monthly sales fall to below break-even levels and it faces difficulties in borrowing from banks and disposing assets. It fell to fifth by sales value last year from second in 2023. The government in the southern city of Shenzhen, where Vanke has its headquarters, is stepping up meetings and coordination with local state enterprises on plans to contain the company's debt risk and on asset disposals, Reuters reported last week. The developer has been trying to sell a number of assets, including its stakes in logistics platform GLP and property management unit Onewo ( opens new tab, to ease liquidity pressure, sources have said. It is in advanced talks to sell a controlling stake in VX Logistics to Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, and a deal could be finalised as soon as next month, a source told Reuters last week. All three global rating agencies have downgraded the developer deeper into junk this month, citing its eroding financial flexibility and 2025's uncertain sales outlook. ($1 = 7.2634 Chinese yuan renminbi)
