Trident & Submarines

Captain Qahn's picture

Reports of an earthquake at Sweden's Gulf of Bothnia : "According to the University of Helsinki's Institute of Seismology, Saturday's relatively strong 4.1 temblor beneath the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia lasted about ten seconds. The epicentre of the quake was located about 45 kilometres off the coast of the town of Raahe. The tremors prompted people in both Finland and Sweden to report they had felt the vibrations via social media."  Oddly I don't get tremours from social media ...  http://yle.fi/uutiset/undersea_earthquake_felt_in_finland_sweden/8756606

Said to be the largest Earthquake of Sweden in 100 years ...  and a fondness of Centenary's some fondoue follows, na da ja ... tis a European thing.

Anyhoos apart from 'feeling' over 'fleeing' it maybe of interest that what Sweden fears most is submarinal, specifically Russian submarines.

Oddly, a submarine discovered almost, not quite, a Century ago caused some consternation : Jul/15

"Video footage by a group of salvage hunters purporting to show a wrecked underwater vessel in Swedish waters is likely that of a Russian so-called 'Som class' submarine (nicknamed 'Catfish') which sank in May 1916, an analysis by the Swedish Armed Forces suggested on Tuesday afternoon.

"It was found outside the coast of Uppland (a region in central Sweden just north of Stockholm) and according to the video material it is a Russian 'Som' submarine, which sank after it collided with a Swedish vessel in 1916," press spokesman Jesper Tengroth told The Local..."

"The submarine was built for the Imperial Russian Navy in Vladivostok in 1904 and integrated into the naval fleet in the Baltic Sea in 1915. It ran aground with an 18-member crew a year later."

Hatch down and crew in tact ... http://www.thelocal.se/20150728/sweden-probes-russian-submarine-wreckage

So, goggles and scubas the question on who built the first submarine ... "The first serious discussion of a "submarine" (a craft designed to be navigated underwater) appeared in 1578 from the pen of William Bourne, a British mathematician and writer on naval subjects. Bourne proposed a completely enclosed boat that could be submerged and rowed underwater. It consisted of a wooden frame covered with waterproof leather; it was to be submerged by reducing its volume by contracting the sides through the use of hand vises. Bourne did not actually construct his boat, and Cornelis Drebbel (or Cornelius van Drebbel), a Dutch inventor, is usually credited with building the first submarine."

A Dutch and British collusion ... http://www.dutchsubmarines.com/specials/special_drebbel.htm

The hunt for Russian submarines seems to be a bit of a recent fad : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32715299

However it would seem that submarines have been around for quite a while : http://www.submarine-history.com/NOVAone.htm

Alexander the Great sunk into a submersible ... 

According to 'wiki' "According to a report in Opusculum Taisnieri published in 1562: Two Greeks submerged and surfaced in the river Tagus near the City of  Toledo several times in the presence of  The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, without getting wet and with the flame they carried in their hands still alight" ... clearly one can dip without getting wet.

So, other than Russia in denial http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29680960

Mongooses and Turtles aside,  it appears that size is everything...

https://www.rt.com/viral/336319-nuclear-submarine-arctic-ice/

But to serve what purpose? 

Can tortoises swim and do they have turtles in Sweden?

Trident.

Indie over pwitty  ;-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM6txLtoaoc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBR94L1Usgs

lol "One Russian fishing boat can annihilate a US warship with only a bottle of vodka, a rag and a lighter" Yseg Beks

https://www.rt.com/viral/336319-nuclear-submarine-arctic-ice/

Tags: 

23 Comments

Capt. 'Bob''s picture

Life on Mars ... Burgers

Drebbel "Chemical Technology: Drebbel did two more chemical processes. He oxidized sulphur for sulphuric acid, through heating sulphur and potassium nitrate (saltpetre). He made it more efficiently than any other way at that time. It became the basis for John Roebuck's work for production in the lead chamber. He also found a way to make oxygen from heating saltpetre, which is now one of the standard way to produce it."

T'was thinking of Telsa's Loopy Loop trains on Mars kinda thing ...

https://www.rt.com/news/336413-chemical-smoke-hamburg-warehouse/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQvvU9ystN0&index=5&list=PLWPHOtVmSYqm98...

Benefitz Betty's picture

York Study - Targets Seas

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/environment/save-30-per-cent-of-ocea...

"A new York University study suggests that setting aside at least 30 per cent of the ocean would benefit not just conservation but fishermen and other stakeholders..."

"A UN committee will meet for the first time on March 28-April 8 to begin negotiations on developing an international treaty to conserve and protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including through MPAs."

Oooh I find that 'setting aside 30% of the Ocean' quite incredible ... do they mean coastal areas?

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12217/full

Blah da yada ...

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/protect-the-northeast-coastline?s...

"With Five Quarters nolonger in operation there is only Cluff Natural Resources with licences who want use the North East as a testbed for undersea coal gasification (UCG), an experimental method of squeezing out the remaining drops of coal. They have received licences to test down the NE coast from Seaham to Hartlepool..."

Ooh ... refugees blamed for killing of large carnivores in Sweden : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12226/abstract

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2jjdmMMXoo

 

 

Captain Qahn's picture

La Defense ... Shortfin Barracuda

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-36136628

"DCNS has said the full details are confidential, but the vessel is know to be more than 90m long and to feature an advanced pump-jet propulsion system that is supposed to be quieter than propeller propulsion systems.

Mr Turnbull said the French bid "represented the capabilities best able to meet Australia's unique needs".

Oh.  http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense-news/2016/04/26/france-dcns-sub...

"While all 12 submarines will be built in Australia, the contract will support some 4,000 jobs for DCNS and its subcontractors, with work at Brest, Cherbourg and Lorient, on the coast of northwest France, a DCNS spokesperson said. The former and latter are in Brittany, where Le Drian is president of the regional council."

http://en.dcnsgroup.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk7E5HNqgxY

Captain Qahn's picture

EDF - Hinkley Point

Decision to be delayed until September, but EDF senior management wants decision 'postponed':

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jun/17/edf-senior-managers-hin...

"Senior managers at EDF have told MPs that they remain convinced that the French state-controlled group should postpone the Hinkley Point project until it has solved a litany of problems, including the reactor design and multibillion-euro lawsuits over delays on similar schemes...."

Wot a performance ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1Q5Ea4Mbg

Erm.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfGaX8G0f2E

Iceland.

Tools: http://electricityinfo.org/news/2016/hinkley-18-6-16/

Captain Qahn's picture

Iceland

http://www.wsj.com/articles/iceland-shares-very-little-with-argentina-14...

"Mr. Glassman states that the Icelandic Parliament has passed legislation ordering the “conversion [of offshore krona] at between 190 and 210 krona to the dollar.” Parliament has done no such thing. The Central Bank of Iceland has announced that it will auction some of its foreign-exchange reserves to repurchase offshore krona for those holders who wish to exit their investments at this stage. Participation in the auction (the 22nd in a series of such auctions, by the way) is wholly voluntary. The bidders will decide what exchange rate they wish to bid and the Central Bank will decide what bids it can afford to accept.

Mr. Glassman writes of “Iceland’s unilateral decision to default” and suggests that this is equivalent to Argentina’s default on its sovereign bonds in 2001. Iceland has not defaulted on any of its government debt and is not proposing to do so now. Mr. Glassman apparently believes that the maintenance of capital controls on local currency assets in the wake of a devastating financial collapse is tantamount to a payment default on sovereign external debt.

There is one, but only one, similarity between Argentina and Iceland. Following the economic collapse in each country, a few hedge funds acquired distressed local assets for pennies on the dollar. If disappointed in the amount of profit they can turn on those trades, articles by hedge-fund lobbyists are sure to follow.

Bjarni Benediktsson"

http://www.economywatch.com/features/Iceland-Bounces-Back0525.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-insight-iceland-economy-idUSKCN0YZ1H5

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-16/hedge-funds-asked-to-t...

"The central bank on Thursday offered part of its foreign currency reserves in an auction to exchange $2.4 billion of mostly kronur-denominated Glacier bonds held by Loomis Sayles, Eaton Vance Management and hedge funds including Autonomy Capital. They were asked accept euros at a rate of as much as 50 percent below the official rate. The auction ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time.

The offers will now be reviewed “over the days to come,” the central bank said in a statement Thursday. Results will be published no later than June 22."

And Iceland now belongs to?

http://www.goal.com/euro2016/en/article/the-secret-behind-the-iceland-mi...

Subtle? Oh OK, release the Kraken ...

http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/letter-uk-capable-of-handling-i...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ItHLz5WEA

Hmmm .... http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/new-technology-offers-hope-storing-carbo...

"Turning CO₂ to rock

Our paper is the culmination of a decade of scientific field and laboratory work known as CarbFix in Iceland, working with a group of international scientists, among them Wallace Broecker who coined the expression “global warming” in the 1970s. We also worked with the Icelandic geothermal energy company Reykjavik Energy.

The idea itself to convert CO₂ into carbonate minerals, the basis of limestone, is not new. In fact, Earth itself has been using this conversion technique for aeons to control atmospheric CO₂ levels.

However, scientific opinion had it up to now that converting CO₂ from a gas to a solid (known as mineralisation) would take thousands (or tens of thousands) of years, and would be too slow to be used on an industrial scale.

To settle this question, we prepared a field trial using Reykjavik Energy’s injection and monitoring wells. In 2012, after many years of preparation, we injected 248 tonnes of CO₂ in two separate phases into basalt rocks around 550m underground.

Most CO₂ sequestration projects inject and store “supercritical CO₂”, which is CO₂ gas that has been compressed under pressure to reduce considerably its density. However, supercritical CO₂ is buoyant, like a gas, and this approach has thus proved controversial due to the possibility of leaks from the storage reservoir upwards into groundwater and eventually back to the atmosphere.

In fact, some European countries such as the Netherlands have stopped their efforts to store supercritical CO₂ on land because of lack of public acceptance, driven by the fear of possible leaks in the unforeseeable future. Austria went even so far as to ban underground storage of carbon dioxide outright."

"Our Icelandic trial worked in a different way. We first dissolved CO₂ in water to create sparkling water. This carbonated water has two advantages over supercritical CO₂ gas.

First, it is acidic, and attacks basalt which is prone to dissolve under acidic conditions.

Second, the CO₂ cannot escape because it is dissolved and will not rise to the surface. As long as it remains under pressure it will not rise to the surface (you can see the same effect when you crack open a soda can; only then is the dissolved CO₂ released back into the air).

Dissolving basalt means elements such as calcium, magnesium, and iron are released into pore water. Basaltic rocks are rich in these metals that team up with the dissolved CO₂ and form solid carbonate minerals.

Through observations and tracer studies at the monitoring well, we found that over 95% of the injected CO₂ (around 235 tonnes) was converted to carbonate minerals in less than two years. While the initial amount of injected CO₂ was small, the Icelandic field trial clearly shows that mineralisation of CO₂ is feasible and more importantly, fast.

Storing CO₂ under the oceans

The good news is this technology need not be exclusive to Iceland. Mineralisation of CO₂ requires basaltic or peridotitic rocks because these types of rocks are rich in the metals required to form carbonates and bind the CO2.

As it turns out the entire vast ocean floor is made up of kilometre-thick oceanic basaltic crust, as are large areas on the continental margins. There are also vast land areas covered with basalt (so-called igneous provinces) or peridotite (so-called “ophiolitic complexes”).

The overall potential storage capacity for CO₂ is much larger than the global CO₂ emissions of many centuries. The mineralisation process removes the crucial problem of buoyancy and the need for permanent monitoring of the injected CO₂ to stop and remedy potential leakage to the surface, an issue that supercritical CO₂ injection sites will face for centuries or even millennia to come.

On the downside, CO₂ mineralisation with carbonated water requires substantial amounts of water, meaning that this mineralisation technique can only succeed where vast supplies of water are available.

However, there is no shortage of seawater on the ocean floor or continental margins. Rather, the costs involved present a major hurdle to this kind of permanent storage option, for the time being at least.

In the case of our trial, a tonne of mineralised CO₂ via carbonated water cost about US$17, roughly twice that of using supercritical CO₂ for storage.

It means that as long as there are no financial incentives such as a carbon tax or higher price on carbon emissions, there is no real driving force for carbon storage, irrespective of the technique we use."

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2016/new-technology-offers-hope-storing-carbo...

Benefitz Betty's picture

EU: Romans & Vikings

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36569410

"Rome is set to elect its first female mayor in a run-off vote in municipal elections.

Virginia Raggi, from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, is seen as the favourite against Roberto Giachetti of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD).

Her victory would be a blow to Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

His PD party may also lose in Italy's financial capital, Milan, and faces tough battles in Turin and Bologna.

Ms Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer, won 35% of the vote in the first round two weeks ago, against 24% for Mr Giachetti.

Correspondents say a victory in Rome would give anti-globalist Five Star a platform for parliamentary elections due in 2018."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/iceland-s-pirate-party-le...

"A protest party in Iceland promoting direct democracy, 35-hour working weeks and total drug decriminalisation are the largest political party in the country with just four months to go until the general election, according to a new poll.

The Pirate Party founded by a group of activists, poets and hackers in 2012 is now polling at 29.9 per cent, according to the new survey conducted by the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Iceland.

The result marks a 1.6 per cent rise for the party since the country's last poll, according to Iceland Monitor.

The centre-right Independence Party is the second largest party, according to the poll, with 22.7 per cent, a fall of 5.5 per cent since May.

On Monday, the Pirate Party announced it would be holding primary elections for parliamentary candidates in every constituency in Iceland ahead of the elections."

Captain Qahn's picture

The Baron

via they work for you ... 13/07/16

"My Lords, I draw your Lordships’ attention to the interests that I have declared in the Register of Lords’ Interests. I act in the UK as an adviser to Lockheed Martin.

I agreed with every word and sentiment in what the Minister said. His speech could have been made by any Defence Minister any time during the past 50 years—in fact, it almost certainly has been—but he was absolutely right in the arguments that he put forward.

Nuclear weapons are terrifying and terrible weapons, but they have served a moral purpose, which is to deter nuclear aggression—these unique threats to the UK and our allies that cannot be controlled by any other means. The nuclear deterrent has been a moral weapons system.

One issue that the other place will face next week is simply this: is there an alternative? Is there a better way of guaranteeing UK security during the next 50 or 60 years? There are some who argue for unilateralism. I do not subscribe to that view, and I suspect that very few people in this House do. It would be an irresponsible act which compromised UK national security and that of our friends and allies around the world. It would deprive the UK of leverage and locus in any bilateral and multilateral process. It would be a complete abdication of our international responsibilities.

The question then is: are there some other alternatives to Trident that might fulfil a similar role and do it as well and as credibly? I pay tribute to the last coalition Government and to the work of the Liberal Democrat Ministers in persuading the Government to conduct the alternatives to Trident review. If anyone really wants to find an answer to some of these complicated issues of whether there is a better or cheaper way to maintain the vital national security interest of the United Kingdom, they must read that review. Unpalatable reading though it might be to some, there is absolutely no doubt about the fundamental conclusions: that a four-boat successor programme is the cheapest, most credible way to maintain our national security and that all the other options—whether they are free-fall bombs to be fired or launched from fast jets or include the use of cruise missiles, be they subsonic or supersonic—carry considerable downsides. First, they will be a less credible deterrent; secondly, and strangely, they will be significantly more expensive, because the real cost driver is the development of a new warhead to tip any new delivery system. Certainly, if it is a cruise missile system that advocates are putting forward, we know that we would certainly need more submarines and there would be a significant cost. There is no better way of securing Britain’s long-term national defence interests than by renewing the Vanguard submarine. So I say unequivocally that that is the right thing to do and I hope that Members in the other place reach a similar conclusion.

I want to finish with three points. First, my noble friend Lord West and others referred to the extraordinary service that the crews of the ballistic submarines have rendered in the past 50 years. My noble friend said that we should express our praise for them; I think that we should do more than that. This weapons system is uniquely complicated. I remember when I was on board one of the submarines being told by the skipper, when I asked him how on earth he kept this level of professionalism going, “Sir, when we leave port, we are at war. That is the only way we can do it”. I think that makes this aspect of service in the Armed Forces quite unique and special. I hope there is a way, despite all the bureaucracy and the rules, that those men who have served and operated these submarines for 50 years get special treatment. I would like to see a special medal awarded for service in these ballistic submarines. It is long overdue and it would be a service that we could render to those great men.

Secondly, it will be very important that Ministers do more to address the concerns that have been raised about the vulnerability or detectability of the Successor boats. Many of your Lordships speaking in this debate have already addressed this point. I really believe there is more that Ministers should be doing to address the concerns raised. I share the view that those who advocate this may be concealing other motives; I do not really want to get into that. But anyone who looks at the scientific and technical literature will know immediately that there are no parallels to be drawn between unmanned aerial vehicles and the development of those sorts of drones and unmanned underwater vehicles. The two operate in completely different technical and scientific backgrounds. For example, electromagnetic waves cannot operate underwater—they can penetrate only a few inches at best—there are massive problems about powering those systems so that they can deploy sonar buoys and other devices; and there is a huge problem about communications. There is no immediate risk, I think, to our Vanguard submarines now or in the future, but a lot of people think there is, and that should be addressed.

Finally, I want to ask the Minister one question. We would all like to live in a world free of nuclear weapons; let us be quite clear. The process for achieving that looks difficult. There is one thing that the Government could do. Because this is still a live issue, I would like to know what concrete and practical steps the Minister is intending to take to the new Government now to make sure that the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty becomes a legal instrument and takes legal effect. At the moment, there is a de facto moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons, but can anyone imagine the shock waves that would be created—literally—if one of the superpowers were to actually detonate a test weapon? This would be the end of most of the legal framework that we are familiar with and which gives us some encouragement that we might be heading in the right direction over the longer term. So what are the Government going to do to address the fact that, despite all these years since the treaty came into operation, it has still not taken any legal effect?"

 

Benefitz Betty's picture

Trident

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36804675

"As MPs consider the future of Britain's nuclear deterrent, James Jinks, an expert on the history of the submarine service, examines the prospects for a replacement to Trident.

Early in any new premiership, a new prime minister is asked to write "the last resort letters".

This is a set of instructions for the commanding officers of the Royal Navy's four Vanguard class ballistic missile carrying submarines, which are only to be opened in the event that the prime minister is wiped out in a nuclear attack.

"It's a very big moment," admitted Theresa May's predecessor, David Cameron, in an interview with me and my colleague Peter Hennessey.

"It's the oddest in a way. You've seen prime ministers drive up to Buckingham Palace. You've seen them walking through the door of No 10.

"You can't really believe you're doing it yourself, but that bit in your office, writing out the letters... it is such an extraordinary thing to have to do, you can't really imagine it until you do it."

On Monday, Mrs May will ask the House of Commons to approve a motion on the United Kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent and to support a "decision to take the necessary steps required to maintain the current posture by replacing the current Vanguard-class submarines with four successor submarines"...

"When faced with the nuclear question, Mrs May is the latest in a long line of British prime ministers, who as primary guardians of national security, seem, knowingly or unknowingly, to have been disciples of Cicero, who wrote in De Legibus: Salus populi suprema est lex - The safety of the people is the chief law."

Romans.

Mind,  "when you walk with the lame you learn to limp" ? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzg4mCyAv3U

 

Benefitz Betty's picture

Trident - A Technicality?

Ah, so ....   tis just more political spinning, erm with Trident?

"The vote will decide whether to press ahead with the manufacture of the next generation of nuclear submarines.

Mrs May will emphasise her strong commitment to the plan, saying: "We cannot abandon our ultimate safeguard out of misplaced idealism. That would be a reckless gamble."

"The nuclear threat has not gone away. If anything, it has increased," she will add.

During the race to become the next Conservative leader, she pledged to make a "strong defence an important priority".

"In the face of such strong evidence, it would be sheer madness to contemplate even for a moment giving up Britain's independent nuclear deterrent," she said.

She added that it would show Britain was "committed" to working with Nato allies after voting for Brexit.

BBC political correspondent Chris Mason said the government was "expected to comfortably win the vote". He said it was not technically necessary to authorise the replacement but the government believed "giving parliament a say is important".

Oh, is it? 

Armless wonders ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J32YSdeCluE

Oh, OK another referendum?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw

Benefitz Betty's picture

Trident Result

Ayes 472 to 117

quicks ...  59 reds with JC .... nope they were not split, 229 ...75% issht.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-36830923

SNP's argued costs of  180bln, 200bln & 220bln ...  not sure wot currency.

Baron 'Wotsits' wins the day...

Meanwhile... the Adventures of Boris ...

Blonde,  Boris Blonde

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/17/boris-johnson-plane-emer...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/18/boris-johnson-forced-to-...

 

Benefitz Betty's picture

The Baron "Article 50"

Written Questions:

"Lord Hutton of Furness: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish an impact assessment before invoking Article 50 of the
Treaty on European Union."
 

Benefitz Betty's picture

Three Little Grrrrs ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36861737

"The French energy giant EDF is expected to make its long-awaited final investment decision on a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset next week.

The company says it has called a board meeting for 28 July and the investment decision is on the agenda..."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-36858743

"Connecting Teesside with Yorkshire, the 68 miles (109km) of signposted trail will give walkers access to the coast from Filey Brigg to Middlesbrough, through Scarborough and Whitby..."

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/environment/appeal-warning-on-spurn-...

"Residents, who have been campaigning against the scheme, insist the £900,000 centre is in the wrong location, following the tidal surge in 2013 and the loss of the road to the point. Dave Tucker, who spoke on behalf of objectors, questioned why the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust wanted to build on a flood plain that was submerged by 6ft of water two-and-a-half years ago..."

Odd Bods ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F8vWWcTPnE

Not too hot ...not too cold .... 25

Fifth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPf2ANjUbrY

T'inking...

Mildew x

Captain Qahn's picture

Hinkley Point - Free Fall

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36903904

"French firm EDF, which is financing most of the £18bn Hinkley Point project in Somerset, approved the funding at a board meeting.

Contracts were to be signed on Friday.

But Business Secretary Greg Clark has said the government will "consider carefully" before backing it.

EDF chief executive Vincent de Rivaz has cancelled a trip to Hinkley Point on Friday following Mr Clark's comments...."

'Backing it' ?    Too late ...

Interfearing more like ... 

Has the 'Clark'  just opened the UK Govt into an ISDS?

Hmmm .... humming hum.

Bumbles.

 

 

 

 

Captain Qahn's picture

Algae Blooms & Eutrophication

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/22/toxic-algae-bloom-utah-l...

http://qz.com/735935/a-pink-algae-bloom-in-greenland-is-speeding-up-the-...

"We still don’t know a lot about these algae, especially those in Greenland. A new $4-million project called Black and Bloom should change that. Scientists have begun a six-week observation period, spreading across Greenland to understand how these algae are changing and their impact on the melting glaciers."

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/07/everglades-foundation-launches-10...

Oh: http://www.cees.iupui.edu/research/algal-toxicology/bloomfactors

"Nutrients promote and support the growth of algae and Cyanobacteria. The eutrophication (nutrient enrichment) of waterways is considered as a major factor. The main nutrients contributing to eutrophication are phosphorus and nitrogen.

In the landscape, runoff and soil erosion from fertilized agricultural areas and lawns, erosion from river banks, river beds, land clearing (deforestation), and sewage effluent are the major sources of phosphorus and nitrogen entering water ways. All of these are considered as external sources.

Internal origin of nutrients comes from the lake/reservoir sediments. Phosphate attaches to sediments. When dissolved oxygen concentration is low in the water (anoxic), sediments release phosphate into the water column. This phenomenon encourages the growth of algae."

Hmmmm ... http://pilotonline.com/news/local/health/officials-warn-public-not-to-sw...

Ah, so ... "Joy Global Inc., up $4.65 to $28.20

The mining equipment company agreed to be bought by Japanese machinery maker Komatsu for $3.7 billion, or $28.30 per share."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/komatsu-to-buy-joy-global-for-2-9-billion-as...

Plankton.

http://darksnow.org/black-and-bloom-microbial-processes-darken-and-accel...

Euek ... wot if they become airborne ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-36863578

Captain Qahn's picture

EDF Fund for Hinkley Point

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36890524

"Shareholders at French energy giant EDF have approved plans to issue new shares to raise 4bn euros (£3.4bn) to help pay for the nuclear plant at Hinkley Point.

The move comes ahead of Thursday's board meeting where the firm is expected to finally approve the project in Somerset - Britain's first new nuclear power plant in decades.

The French state, which owns 85% of EDF, will buy 3bn euros-worth of new shares in the fundraising.

The project is expected to cost £18bn.

"We need to boost our equity as market conditions are tough and we need to maintain the quality of our debt and our credit rating," EDF chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy said...

While one third of the £18bn capital costs of the project are being met by Chinese investors, Hinkley Point would remain an enormous undertaking for the stressed French company and has been criticised by French unions.

But last week, confirming Thursday's board meeting, EDF said Hinkley Point C was a "major element" of its low-carbon growth strategy.

Earlier this month, the new Chancellor Philip Hammond said the government remained committed to building Hinkley Point, despite the rising potential cost to the consumer of the electricity it will produce.

The UK government has guaranteed a price of £92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity - more than twice the current cost - for the electricity Hinkley produces for 35 years.

Wholesale energy prices have fallen since the price was agreed, leaving the government to make up the difference.

The UK's National Audit Office estimated future top-up payments would rise from £6.1bn to £29.7bn over the length of the contract."

Other options: The possible locations are: Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk and Wylfa on the Isle of Anglesey.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11564152

Captain Qahn's picture

Hinkley Bumbles On

".... the go-ahead for Hinkley would be one of the first big strategic decisions of Mrs May’s premiership, committing the UK to a scheme in which construction costs would be fully financed by EDF and its Chinese partners in return for a fixed price of electricity.

Approval should shore up relations with Paris and Beijing at an uncertain time for British foreign policy after the vote to leave the EU.  However, any new conditions on Chinese involvement could yet cause tensions and reinforce the perception that Mrs May has a more wary attitude to Beijing than her predecessor, David Cameron.

CGN announced in October 2015 that it would take a 33 per cent stake in Hinkley, easing the financial burden on EDF. The deal was seen as giving China an entry to nuclear power in the UK from which it could subsequently use the Bradwell project as a showcase for its technology."

Hi ho ...

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/11/hinkley-point-c-case-aga...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/27/new-nuclear-has-to-be-par...

"... China’s participation is much more than £6bn of inward investment. It brings the benefits of a 30-year partnership between EDF and CGN in nuclear construction in China, a country with the largest civil nuclear programme in the world.

EDF and CGN are close to successfully completing two EPR reactors in Taishan. The benefits for Hinkley Point C and the UK of our shared knowledge and experience are significant.

We know and trust our Chinese partners. Beyond that, the UK independent nuclear regulator has only granted Hinkley Point a nuclear site licence after being satisfied that security has been properly addressed. All staff on nuclear projects are rigorously vetted, wherever they come from. As is standard practice, the control systems at Hinkley Point C will be isolated from IT systems and the internet...."

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/200000-tonnes-welsh-...

 

Captain Black's picture

The Launderette

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/08/31/mod-names-boss-41bn-progr...

"..The first steel for the new submarines was cut in October last year at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyards, and the defence giant is leading work on the programmes with partners including Rolls-Royce which will produce nuclear powerplants for the vessels.

Mr Booth will be replaced at the ACA by vice admiral Sir Simon Lister, who is taking a sabbatical from his Navy career to take on the job of overseeing construction of the second of the new aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIVCb459bkQ

 

Benefitz Betty's picture

Little Fluffy Clouds

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/09/go-ahead-mini-reactors-en...

"Ministers are ready to approve the swift development of a fleet of “mini” reactors to help guard against electricity shortages, as older nuclear power stations are decommissioned.

The new technology is expected to offer energy a third cheaper than giant conventional reactors such as the ongoing Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Industry players including Rolls-Royce, NuScale, Hitachi and Westinghouse have held meetings in past weeks with civil servants about Britain’s nuclear strategy and development of “small modular reactors” (SMRs).

A report to be published by Rolls-Royce in Westminster this week claims its consortium can generate electricity at a “strike price” – the guaranteed price producers can charge – of £60 per megawatt hour, two thirds that of recent large-scale nuclear plants.

SMRs are a fraction of the size and cost of conventional plants and were earmarked for funding from the £250m pledged by the Government in 2015 to develop “innovative nuclear technologies”.  It is hoped a fleet of these small reactors could be cheaply produced to guarantee Britain’s energy supply, with further ambitions for the technology to be exported worldwide.

Whitehall sources confirmed that ­officials from the Department for Business were whittling down proposals from consortia keen to work with government to develop SMRs, with an ­announcement on the final contenders for funding expected soon.

The report to be published by Rolls-Royce, entitled “UK SMR: A National Endeavour”, which has been seen by The Telegraph, claims SMRs will be able to generate electricity significantly cheaper than conventional nuclear plants.

The mini reactors are each expected to be able to generate between 200 megawatts and 450 megawatts of power, compared with the 3.2 gigawatts due from Hinkley, meaning more of them will be required to meet the UK’s energy needs. "

https://www.rolls-royce.com/products-and-services/nuclear/small-modular-...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sPUpKGI1Z4

http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/news/

Oh...

"Excellent news

RECENT geological research based on seismic imaging reveals that fracking in the UK is likely to be far less profitable than “over-hyped” earlier predictions.

John Underhill, Professor of Exploration Geoscience at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, says it is too late for fracking to be successful in the way it has in the US.

Unlike the geology of Pennsylvania, where the Marcellus Shale contains more gas than under most of Europe, the UK’s shale deposits were fractured by tectonic activity along the Atlantic plate 55m years ago, causing much of the gas to escape.

This view is independently confirmed by Quentin Fisher, Professor of Petroleum Geoengineering at the University of Leeds, who says this highlights “the great uncertainties that exist regarding the likely productivity of shale in the UK”. Also in agreement is Stuart Haszeldine, Professor of Sedimentary Geology at Edinburgh University, who says the combination of these factors with the higher costs of operating in Britain, would make it “extremely difficult” for a UK shale gas industry “to match the low price of shipping imports of shale oil and gas from the US."

This new research is excellent news for the people of Ryedale, but not so good for Hull & the Conservative Party, who may be asked to return tens of thousands in “donations” from fossil fuel corporations..."

http://www.gazetteherald.co.uk/news/15520942.LETTERS__Please_protect_exi...

http://navaltoday.com/2016/09/20/new-zealand-navy-tanker-to-feature-roll...

"We see significant value in the Environship concept in the naval sector. Winning this milestone contract is of considerable importance to our naval ship design offering, which is new to Rolls-Royce."

Oh.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/09/06/britain-orders-fleet-budg...

"..the MoD said a £250m-per-ship price cap had been set for the vessels, which were revealed in the last defence review when the Government said it would purchase only eight of the more capable Type 26 frigates, with the Type 31 making up numbers."

 

Captain Black's picture

Sub Aqua - Surge

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/17/edf-build-second-nuclear...

Who needs submarines when there is RBS.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/17/parliament-to-debate-rb...

“To summarise, the recipe is to use as much wind as you can, sprinkle some sun, some batteries, some gas around it, and put on a base of nuclear and put it in the oven,” he said."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/16/natural-gas-has-role...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_LPJllaogU

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43486731

Captain Black's picture

The Pirate Party & Agrofert

https://www.pirateparty.org.uk/

fascinating ....

"I made up Agrofert, I founded it and it would not exist without me," Babis told a lower house session before it took a confidence vote in his minority government, rejecting to support it.

Michalek said Agrofert was ac state-run firm in which Babis was a manager in 1994, but later Babis turned from a state manager of a state-run firm to its owner.."

https://euobserver.com/beyond-brussels/138156

Kinda puts McKlucky in the shade ...

lol ;-/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1jPUB7gRyg

Awwe bless :-)

“I have seen people die, I have seen people blow up, I have seen people shot. Even the Taliban doesn’t quite prepare you for Ukip though,” he said.

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/henry-bolton-i-fought-taliban-nothing-...

Oh Dear ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maUPpTiU-mo&index=5&list=RD-1jPUB7gRyg

Bless his wee cotton socks.

Ps Ya should try the LP m8. ... Oh just a minute... that is the local Taliban..

RALMHO.

Censorship is not a ship.