Mariana Trench

Visualising the 1800s or designing wedding invitations: 6 ways you can use AI beyond generating text

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Many people are now using AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to get advice, find information or summarise longer passages of text.

Key Points:

Many people are now using AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to get advice, find information or summarise longer passages of text.
But our recent research demonstrates how generative AI can be used for much more than this, returning results in different formats.
On the one hand, AI tools are neutral – they can be used for good or ill depending on one’s intent.

1. Imagining what lies beyond the frame

Adobe’s recently developed “generative expand” tool allows users to expand the canvas of their photos and have Photoshop “imagine” what is happening beyond the frame.
You might do this when trying to edit a square Instagram photo to fit a 4x6 inch photo frame.

2. Visualising the past or the future

Photography was only invented within the past 200 years, and camera-equipped smartphones within the last 25.
That leaves us with plenty of things that existed before cameras were common, yet we might want to visualise them.
NASA currently works with artists to illustrate concepts we can’t see, but artists could also draw on AI to help create these renderings.

3. Brainstorming how to visualise difficult concepts

As one of the deepest places on Earth, few people have ever seen it firsthand.
Or creating a layered illustration that shows the flora and fauna that live at each of the ocean’s five zones above the trench.

4. Visualising data

For example, you might upload a spreadsheet to ChatGPT 4 and ask it to visualise the results.
Or, if the data is already publicly available (such as Earth’s population over time), you might ask a chatbot to visualise it without even having to supply a spreadsheet.

5. Creating simple moving images

You can create a simple yet effective animation by uploading a photo to an AI tool like Runway and giving it an animation command, such as zooming in, zooming out or tracking from left to right. That’s what I’ve done with this historical photo preserved by the State Library of Western Australia.

I used this description to create the following video:
Tracking shot from left to right of the snowy mountains of Nagano, Japan.
Tracking shot from left to right of the snowy mountains of Nagano, Japan.

6. Generating a colour palette or simple graphics

In these cases, having a consistent colour palette can help unify your design.
You can ask generative AI services like Midjourney or Gemini to create a colour palette for you based on the event or its vibe.
This is true for both browser-based generators like Adobe Firefly, as well as desktop apps with built-in AI, like Adobe Illustrator.

T.J. Thomson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is an affiliate with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making & Society.

Esri’s Dr. Dawn Wright Selected for 2024 US Science Envoys

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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Dawn Wright, among four distinguished scientists to serve as a new US Science Envoy in 2024.

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Dawn Wright, among four distinguished scientists to serve as a new US Science Envoy in 2024.
The scientists selected to participate this year make up the first all-female cohort in the history of the US Science Envoy Program.
Science Envoys help inform the Department of State, other US government agencies, and the scientific community about opportunities for science and technology cooperation.
Dawn Wright and Esri work to advance science using technology, visit esriurl.com/scicomm .

Meg 2: the truth about the extinct mega shark – and why even this ridiculous film could inspire future palaeontologists

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Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Otodus megalodon, the biggest shark of all time, has long captured the imaginations of palaeontologists and the public alike.

Key Points:

Otodus megalodon, the biggest shark of all time, has long captured the imaginations of palaeontologists and the public alike.
As big as human hands and serrated like kitchen knives, they were used for cutting down whales unlucky enough to encounter these sharks.
This gigantic predator has been further propelled into the limelight through popular culture.
I am now, 20 years later, a practising palaeobiologist specialising in fossil sharks and my most well-known work revolves around none other than megalodon.

Megalodon biology and cinematic representation

Nitrogen isotope values from megalodon are exceptionally high, indicating it was higher up the food chain than any living marine predator.
In short, the megalodon was the most apex of ocean predators.
Mesothermy enhances swimming speeds, allowing a megalodon to travel faster and further, increasing its chances of finding prey.
This active lifestyle would have forced megalodon to eat more food – around 98,000 kcal every day – to justify its size.
And it should make for a very cool moment of cinematic absurdity.

A better story for sharks

It caused the spread of great white sharks, for example, and allowed whales to get even bigger because there were no more giant sharks to fear.
Unfortunately, media depictions like this can drive bizarre conspiracy theories that megalodons are somehow still alive.
Sharks continue to be portrayed negatively in the wider media, despite up to a third of today’s sharks being threatened with extinction.
We kill as many as 100 million sharks every year and the largest ones are at particular risk.

Classic literature still offers rich lessons about life in the deep blue sea

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

In the novel, a supposedly indestructible vessel strikes an iceberg.

Key Points:

In the novel, a supposedly indestructible vessel strikes an iceberg.
A man of untold wealth dreams of voyaging to the bottom of the sea, sharing with a select few passengers a glimpse of the mysteries of the deep.
He descends to the ocean floor in order to gawk at the wreckage of a great ship that sank years before.

Exploring the ‘seven seas’

A “league” (French “lieue”) was a measure that has been different lengths at different times in history.
In Melville’s novel, the great white whale rams the good ship Pequod and drags Captain Ahab to a watery death.
For Hardy, the claim that the Titanic was “unsinkable” is a prime example of human arrogance.

Unexplored depths

Indeed, it is often said that we know more about Mars than we do about the bottom of the sea.
The National Ocean Service reminds us that the seas cover more than two-thirds of the planet.
This fear is depicted in such haunting paintings as Théodore Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa” and J.M.W.
In our world of marine biodiversity loss, bleached coral and ocean acidification, we need positive as well as paranoid imaginings of the deep.

Among the first

It was only with the invention of the submarine that humans could reach more than a few feet below the surface of the waves.
In the 1620s the Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel descended into the River Thames in a bell-shaped submersible powered by oars, his oxygen supplied by setting fire to saltpeter.
His more immediate inspiration was the Plongeur, designed for the French navy in the early 1860s.
It reached a depth of 30 feet – or 9 meters – and could stay underwater for two hours.
Verne saw a model of it at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where he also learned about a recent discovery: the mechanical power of electricity.

The Titan disaster could suggest deep sea diving is risky -- history shows that's far from the truth

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

But their history shows that this is far from the case.

Key Points:

But their history shows that this is far from the case.
Bathyspheres were unpowered submersibles lowered into the sea on a cable and used for pioneering dives in the early 1930s.
Since then, submersibles have taken many more people into the deep ocean than the number of humans who have been into space.
Fumes from an electrical fire overcame the occupants of a Japanese tethered diving bell at around 10 metres deep in 1974.

Pushing the limits

The first to do so was a bathyscaphe – a submersible suspended below a float, rather than from a cable like the bathysphere.
It was called FNRS-3 and it set an overall depth record for the time, reaching 4,050 metres in 1954.
Over a 14-year period starting in 1991, the two Russian Mir submersibles visited the Titanic wreck than any other vehicle.

Today’s submersible fleet

But there are currently seven submersibles in service that can reach the depth of the Titanic and beyond.
There is one very deep-diving submersible in private ownership: the Limiting Factor was built by Triton Submarines for Texan billionaire Victor Vescovo to pilot to the deepest point in all five oceans in 2019.
The Aluminaut submersible of the 1960s, which was capable of diving to 4,500 metres, had an aluminium hull with a tubular shape that could carry seven people.
In 2013, I dived aboard Japan’s Shinkai 6500 submersible to study undersea hot springs at 5,000 metres deep on the ocean floor.

Canadian Geographic Dives Deep into Ocean Literacy

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Monday, June 5, 2023

The floor map is a major initiative of the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (COLC) supported by Canadian Geographic, to raise Canadians' awareness of the ocean coastline and issues of conservation and sustainable development.

Key Points:

The floor map is a major initiative of the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition (COLC) supported by Canadian Geographic, to raise Canadians' awareness of the ocean coastline and issues of conservation and sustainable development.
The exhibition was made possible through the generous support and collaboration of many partners including Avatar Alliance Foundation, Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, Ocean Week Canada, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Rolex and META.
Ocean Week Canada: Monday June 5 – Friday June 9, 2023
Special Ocean Conservation Exhibit at 50 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1M 2K1,
Royal Canadian Geographical Society & Canadian Geographic Headquarters, including CanGeo Talk on June 7, 2023 at 7:00 p.m.
PRESSURE & Ocean Conservation Exhibit Duration: Monday, June 5 – Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
Proceeds will support Canadian Geographic Education to supply free, bilingual, curriculum educational resources to Canadian teachers.

CLEANR Teams with GKD on Development of a Disruptive Filtration System that Removes Microplastics from Washing-Machine Wastewater to Protect the Environment

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023

CLEVELAND, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GKD Group, a world-leading mesh filtration manufacturer and CLEANR, a developer of advanced microplastics filtering technologies, have teamed to help washing machine manufacturers meet new and emerging regulations aimed at eliminating plastic microfiber pollution in global waterways, ecosystems and food chains.

Key Points:

CLEANR's unique patent-pending technology can be applied as an external filter or readily integrated into modern washing machine designs as a pre-installed solution.
CLEANR also offers a consumer-friendly dry disposal mechanism that prevents hands-on contact with microfiber waste and prevents it from being washed down the drain.
Over a half-million tons of plastic microfibers spill into the oceans every year in the form of washing machine wastewater.
This accounts for 35% of all microplastics in the environment, making clothing and textiles the world's number-one source of microplastic pollution.

Snailfish: the 'impossible' fish that broke two deep sea records shows the importance of ocean exploration

Retrieved on:

Friday, April 21, 2023

In fact scientists believed it was physiologically impossible for fish to survive conditions below 8,200 metres.

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In fact scientists believed it was physiologically impossible for fish to survive conditions below 8,200 metres.
Until recently, when Australian and Japanese researchers found one at a record-shattering 8,336 metres in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan.
The deep ocean has yet again shown us there is still much to be discovered if we only have the willingness to look.
But when we do explore the deep ocean, we are often rewarded with new discoveries.

Why deep ocean discoveries matter

So any new information about these unique ecosystems and their inhabitants has implications for humanity as well as extraterrestrial life.
In 2012, scientists discovered new species of crabs in the Southern Ocean, the hairy-chested Hoff crabs.
Apart from the excitement and wonder that comes with it, these discoveries provide new information that benefits society.
The potential of bioprospecting – studying wildlife and plantlife for valuable new resources – has barely been explored in the case of deep ocean.

Where do we go next?

Very little of the deep ocean has been systematically explored so far due to financial and logistical constraints.
Remotely-operated vehicles cost from US$15,000 (£12,100) to millions of dollars, while a submarine built for deep ocean exploration can cost almost US$50 million.
In addition, offshore exploration requires large research vessels to be deployed for weeks at sea which involves months of planning and logistics.

CLEANR Debuts Rapid Prototyping of its Microplastic-Filtering Technology for Washing Machine Manufacturers Using Formlabs' Advanced 3D Printing Platform

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Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Drinking water, Organization, 3D, Policy, Clothing, Microplastics, Development, Mariana Trench, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation, Formlabs, Filtration, Textile, 3D printing, Agriculture, Arctic

NEW YORK, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CLEANR, a market-disruptive microplastic-filtration technology company, has accelerated the development of its solutions for washing machine manufacturers through its early access to the Formlabs Automation Ecosystem. The new platform enables new levels of 3D printing productivity through a highly scalable and automated workflow that can produce back-to-back 3D prints 24/7 with minimal human intervention.

Key Points:

The new platform enables new levels of 3D printing productivity through a highly scalable and automated workflow that can produce back-to-back 3D prints 24/7 with minimal human intervention.
The 3D printing platform will enable CLEANR to accelerate the introduction of its new microplastic-filtering solutions, and collaborate quickly and efficiently with appliance manufacturers to integrate the technology into their washing machine designs.
Washing machine wastewater is the world's largest source of microplastic pollution, and has come under growing regulation in Europe and North America.
In addition to using Formlabs technology to customize CLEANR filtering solutions for manufacturers, CLEANR is also using the technology to develop new features and additional products surrounding its platform filtration technology.

YOUTH LEADERS PARTNER WITH PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, JR'S EARTHECHO INTERNATIONAL TO ADVANCE THE EXPANSION OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

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Thursday, December 8, 2022

EarthEcho International, Fellows, Mariana Trench, Fellow, Friends, Movement, Health, Foundation (nonprofit), Hope, Surfrider Foundation, Renewable energy

EarthEcho International, a nonprofit dedicated to building a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet, today announced the 2022 OceanEcho 30x30 Fellowship class .

Key Points:

EarthEcho International, a nonprofit dedicated to building a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet, today announced the 2022 OceanEcho 30x30 Fellowship class .
This initiative equips six youth leaders ages 18-23 with funds and training to design and execute campaigns in their respective communities.
The 2022 Fellows' work will help amplify youth voices to complement and bolster these community-driven efforts.
"I am certain the vision, actions and unwavering commitment of our 2022 OceanEcho 30x30 Fellows will provide inspiration and hope to emerging youth leaders worldwide."