Dry landscape in a field in the town of Walgett, Australia. Photo: AFP/VNA Ms. Mami Mizutori, the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for disaster risk reduction, said that drought risks becoming the next great disaster and there is no cure. A United Nations report released on June 17 found that drought caused at least $124 billion in economic losses and affected more than 1.5 billion people between 1998 and 2017. United Nations, now that global warming has increased droughts in Southern Europe and West Africa and the number of victims will “increase significantly” unless the world acts, Ms. Mizutori said. Some 130 countries could face a major drought risk this century under the UN high-emissions scenario, another 23 would face water shortages because of population growth, and 38 countries are affected by both factors. Ms. Mizutori likens drought to a virus – which tends to be long-lasting, has a wide geographic range and causes severe damage. Countries are not affected by drought but are still affected indirectly through food insecurity and rising food prices.” The United Nations forecasts that droughts will be more frequent and severe in most of Africa, Central and South America, Central Asia, South Australia, Southern Europe, Mexico and the United States. More than 40% of European Union (EU) agricultural imports could be “vulnerable” to drought by mid-century due to climate change, according to a study published in Nature Communications in the journal Nature Communications. this week.

Our understanding of Earth’s ocean floor is less than that of Mars. Here, scientists believe that the unusual physical and chemical conditions associated with hydrothermal systems on the seafloor may have created the right environment for the origin of life on Earth. Mysterious Megaplume Scientists discovered large areas of thermal fluid in the ocean above volcanic ridges. These large and powerful hot waters, rich in chemicals, rising from the ocean floor are called megaplume. Their size is really huge, with a volume that can exceed 100 km3, equivalent to 40 million Olympic swimming pools. Although they appear to be related to subterranean mountain eruptions, their origin remains a mystery. In their study, the scientists used a mathematical model to explain the dispersion of volcanic ash across the ocean. Thanks to detailed mapping of a volcanic ash deposit in the Northeast Pacific, scientists know that this ash can spread up to several kilometers from an eruption. This cannot be easily explained by tides or other ocean currents. Instead, the results suggest that these water columns are very energetic. The energy required to drive the flow and carry the ash is surprisingly large, about 1 terawatt (nearly half of the energy needs of the entire United States at a time). The scientists calculated that this would create water columns of similar size as said. They have since produced strong evidence that megaplumes are associated with active seafloor eruptions and that they form very quickly, possibly within hours. So what is the source of heat and chemicals to make this megaplume? The most obvious candidate is of course newly erupting molten lava. At first glance, the scientists’ results seem to support this hypothesis. Accordingly, the formation of megaplume occurs simultaneously with the eruption of lava and volcanic ash. However, when the scientists calculated the amount of lava needed for the megaplume, it was unrealistically high, about 10 times larger than most underground lava flows. The scientists’ best guess is that although the occurrence of megaplumes is linked to undersea eruptions, they are mainly derived from depleted hydrothermal reservoirs present in the ocean. . As the lava directed upward to create undersea eruptions, it may have pushed this liquid hotter than 300 degrees Celsius along. Volcano erupts under the sea. Life in harsh environments In contrast to terrestrial volcanoes, detecting an eruption occurring on the seabed is extremely difficult. Therefore, there is still much for scientists to learn about submarine volcanism and its role in the marine environment. A new study by scientists Sam Pegler and David Ferguson at the University of Leeds (UK) published in the journal Nature Communications has yielded important insights. It’s amazing to find extreme ecophiles (polar biologists) around hydrothermal vents. This discovery expands what we know about life and where it exists. The fluid flow involved in megaplume formation may be the main mechanism in dispersing these microorganisms from their subterranean origin. If this is the case, deep-sea volcanism is an important factor influencing the geography of polar communities. Some scientists believe that the unusual physical and chemical conditions associated with undersea hydrothermal systems may have provided a suitable environment for the origin of life on Earth. Thus, the megaplume may have been involved in this dispersal of life across the ocean. In the absence of other sources of nutrients and light, these types of organisms would have been the first to exist on our planet. They are present because of the heat and chemicals that lava spews up the volcanoes under the sea. Because volcanic ash deposits carried by megaplume appear to be fairly common in the deep sea, the scientists’ study found that the proliferation of life through megaplume dispersal could be widespread. Although it is not yet possible to observe a deep-sea eruption firsthand, efforts are being made to collect data on submarine volcanic events. Most notable is the observatory at Axial Volcano in the Pacific Ocean. This seabed measuring device can transmit data in real time, recording ongoing events. Through such efforts, along with continued mapping and sampling of the ocean floor, the character of volcanism under the oceans is gradually being revealed.

The move comes after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said last week in a statement that it was necessary to “suppress the behavior of Bitcoin mining and trading” to prevent “the transmission of personal risk to social spheres”. Those comments are seen as Beijing’s intention to further block Bitcoin trading and other crypto-related activities. Inner Mongolia’s latest draft proposals are aimed at telecommunications and internet companies involved in cryptocurrency mining. The Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission said such companies could have their business licenses revoked if they are found to be involved in Bitcoin mining. In addition, cloud computing or data centers may have their government incentives revoked. In addition, there are severe penalties for individuals involved in money laundering through cryptocurrencies. Inner Mongolia’s tough stance on crypto mining began in March after it announced plans to ban new crypto mining projects and shut down existing operations to cut consumption. energy. China’s Northern Region failed to meet Beijing’s energy use targets in 2019 and subsequently set out a plan to reduce power consumption. In the case of Bitcoin, miners purposefully use computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles that allow a Bitcoin transaction to take place efficiently. These miners are rewarded with Bitcoins. But because the computer has a large capacity, it consumes a lot of energy. According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin mining consumes around 112.57 terrawatt-hours (TWh) per year, more than the consumption of countries like the Philippines and Chile. China accounts for about 65% of the world’s Bitcoin mining. Of that, Inner Mongolia accounts for about 8% globally due to cheap energy prices, a larger share of Bitcoin mining in the United States. China’s tough stance towards cryptocurrencies is not new. China previously shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017 and that same year also banned initial coin offerings (ICOs). But Bitcoin trading continues to operate in China even though exchanges have moved overseas. Inner Mongolia’s scrutiny of Bitcoin mining activity in particular comes as China tries to continue the move. Chinese President Xi Jinping said last year that China has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2060. But according to a study published in Nature Communications in April 2021, Bitcoin mining could “undermine emissions reduction efforts” going on in the country. The energy consumption of Bitcoin mining operations came back into focus in early May after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the electric carmaker would stop accepting the digital currency for the reason due to environmental concerns. On Monday (May 24), Musk said in a tweet that he has met Bitcoin miners in North America and that they are “committed to announcing current and planned uses of renewables.”

Illustration of lightning hitting Earth 4 billion years ago.

However, according to geologists, lightning strikes are just as important as meteorites to create perfect conditions for life on Earth.

Scientists believe that the minimum amount of minerals present on early Earth was caused by billions of lightning strikes.

Detect important minerals

A study published in Nature Communications led by scientist Benjamin Hess of the School of Earth and Environment, at the University of Leeds (UK) looked at the possibility that lightning could contribute to life.

The scientists found that life could develop on Earth-like planets through the same mechanism at any time if the atmospheric conditions were right.

Hess et al. Studied an exceptionally large and primitive fulgurite sample. This is a rock created when lightning strikes the ground. This model was formed when lightning struck a house in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (USA) in 2016 and donated to the Geology department at the nearby Wheaton College.

The Leeds researchers were initially interested in how fulgurite was formed, but were later intrigued when they discovered that there was an unusual amount of a phosphorus mineral called schreibersite in the sample at Glen Ellyn.

Phosphorus is essential for life and plays an important role in all life processes from movement to growth and reproduction. Phosphorus has been present on Earth since infancy and is in minerals that cannot be dissolved in water, however, schreibersite can.

Mr. Hess is a graduate student at Yale University, Connecticut (USA), said, “Many people believe that life on Earth originates from shallow surface waters according to the famous” small warm pond “concept of the house. Darwin Science ”.

“Most models of how life might form on the Earth’s surface show that meteors carry small amounts of schreibersite.

Our research found a relatively large amount of shreibersite in fulgurite “- he said -” Lightning hits the Earth regularly, which proves that phosphorus is necessary for the origin of life on the Earth’s surface not only. rely on asteroid collisions.

Perhaps more importantly, this also means that the formation of life on another Earth could still take place long after meteoric collisions became rare.

The phosphorus minerals produced by the lightning bolts exceeded those from meteorites when Earth was about 3.5 billion years old (the age of the earliest known microscopic fossils), the team estimated. That underscores the importance of lightning to life on Earth.

Furthermore, lightning bolts are much less destructive than meteorite collisions, meaning they are less likely to interfere with fragile evolutionary paths in which life can
develope.

The fulgurite was excavated in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (USA).

The role of lightning quantity

Lightning is also a topic of interest to scientists when thinking about life on Earth in the early days because it leads to the production of gases like nitrous oxide that played a role in the origin of life. .

Hess and his other researchers used this existing research to investigate and review the rate of lightning strikes on early Earth. Today, we have 560 million lightning strikes a year.

Meanwhile, early Earth, this number was from 1 to 5 billion per year, of which 100 million to 1 billion lightning strikes the ground. Over a billion years, lightning strikes can reach 1 trillion and generate a lot of phosphorus.

In the early days, lightning struck more on Earth because there was more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide contributes to global temperatures and the higher the temperature, the more intense and frequent the storms are, Hess said.

“Carbon dioxide levels soared on Earth early after a Mars-sized object crashed into Earth and created the Moon 4.5 billion years ago. This also releases a lot of gas from inside the Earth, like carbon dioxide, which then gets trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere and leads to more lightning, ”explained Hess.

The fulgurite fragment is found in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (USA).

Expert review

Dr., Associate Professor of Geochemistry Jason Harvey and Professor of Geology and Structural Construction Sandra Piazolo at Leeds University’s School of Earth and Environment advised Mr. Hess on the above research project.

“The initial meteor bombardment was a one-time event in the Solar System,” said Dr. Harvey. When the planets reach their mass, the additional distribution of phosphorus from the meteorites becomes negligible.

On the other hand, lightning is not a one-off event, the elements necessary for the formation of life can thus be transferred to the surface of a planet. This means that life can appear on Earth-like planets at any given time.

Meanwhile, Professor Piazolo said: “The above interesting research opens the door to some future paths when searching for and analyzing in depth new fulgurite in the early Earth-like environment, analyzing The effect of heating on other minerals is to realize similar characteristics.

There is also a further analysis of this particularly well preserved fulgurite to determine the extent of the physical and chemical processes within it ”.

“All these studies will help to improve our understanding of the importance of fulgurite in changing the chemical environment of the Earth over time” – Professor Piazolo added.