Science
Edmonton weather: Waking up to a lot of wind, oh, and a meteor – Edmonton Journal
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A look at today’s Edmonton weather by Environment Canada.
Monday morning temperatures at the Edmonton Blatchford station measured 3.9 C with 26 km/h winds gusting to 38 km/h out of the west, northwest.
Gah! I missed it!
It’s just before 6:30 a.m. and here I am sitting in my office with the curtains drawn like a fool (a darn fool, I say) when a streaking meteor buzzes the early morning sky in Edmonton. It didn’t take long before the internet was abuzz and everyone was asking ‘did you just see that!?’ No, no I did not.
Thankfully the internet is undefeated and Twitter user @FamilyLines was able to capture the streaking comet via a Google Nest cam. A second video from user @KixxAxe was posted online shortly after also via Google Nest cam. Very cool!
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And yet, here’s another great look at the meteor uploaded to the American Meteor Society’s YouTube page.
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Today’s forecast
On the weather front, we’re looking at another gorgeously warm day today albeit one with plenty of wind.
I could hear the gusts slamming into the side of my house overnight and early this morning. Forecasters are calling for winds of 30-50 km/h basically all day today and extending into tomorrow. Looks like we’ll be above zero for the next four days so enjoy!
Does Lisa need a coat (and mittens)?
I think you’re safe. Little windy, and a little meteor-y, but otherwise you’re safe!
Today: Clearing early this morning. Wind west 30 km/h gusting to 50. High 6 C. UV index 1 or low.
Tonight: Clear early this evening then partly cloudy with 30 per cent chance of flurries. Wind west 20 km/h gusting to 40 becoming light this evening. Low -5 C. Wind chill -9 overnight.
Tomorrow: A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of flurries. Wind becoming northwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 late in the morning. High plus 3. Wind chill minus 11 in the morning. UV index 1 or low. Clear overnight. Low -6 C.
Sunrise: 7:37 a.m.
Sunset: 5:57 p.m.
Normals
Average High: -2 C
Average Low: -12 C
Yesterday
Max: 8.5 C
Min: -3.6 C
Total Precipitation: 0.0 mm
On This Day (1996-2019)
Highest temperature: 7.1 C (1998)
Lowest temperature: -23.1 C (2003)
📸 Eye On Edmonton
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Science
The best images from NASA's Perseverance rover so far – CTV News
TORONTO —
Almost as soon as NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars it was beaming back images of its surroundings.
The first pictures were black and white and a little grainy. They were soon followed by video and high definition images of the rocks, ridges and the rover itself.
Here’s a collection of some of the best images to come from Perseverance’ so far.
FIRST IMAGES
This is the first image NASA’s Perseverance rover sent back after touching down on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. The view, from one of Perseverance’s Hazard Cameras, is partially obscured by a dust cover. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Perseverance’s shadow can be seen in this image, the first one in colour sent by the rover. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
TOUCHDOWN
As a teaser to some of the ground-breaking video to come, NASA released this image of Perseverance being gently lowered onto Mars’s surface during its descent on Feb. 18. (NASA via AP)
SECRET MESSAGE
In video sent back by Perseverance, we can see the spacecraft’s parachute open, revealing a mix of white and orange markings on the inside. These were later revealed to be part of secret message left by NASA systems engineer Ian Clark. Clark used binary code to spell out “Dare Mighty Things” on the stripes of the 21-metre parachute. Also included were the GPS coordinates of the mission’s headquarters in Pasadena, Calif. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
HD PANORAMAS
While we’ve seen panorama images from previous rover missions, Perseverance’s high definition cameras are revealing details from Mars like we’ve never seen before. (NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP)
WIND-CARVED ROCK
This oddly-shaped rock carved by the elements on Mars’ surface was spotted near Perseverance’s landing zone and is an example of the high-quality images that we can expect from the rover’s cameras. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
ROVER ‘FAMILY HISTORY’
Along with loads of science instruments Perseverance is also boasting a decal showing the history of NASA’s rovers on Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)
TRIBUTE TO DESCENT STAGE
“A moment of respect for the descent stage,” NASA tweeted from the Perseverance’s twitter account after about a week after the landing. The image above shows a smoke plume from where the descent stage (the part of the spacecraft that lowered Perseverance gently to Mars’ surface) made its “intentional surface impact.” (@NASAPersevere/Twitter)
Science
Dispatches from Mars: Perseverance rover sends images – Photos – UPI.com
Science
Pesticide imidacloprid threatens future for key pollinator – EurekAlert


IMAGE: A female squash bee in a squash flower
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Credit: Dr. Nigel Raine/ University of Guelph
An insecticide used to control pest infestations on squash and pumpkins significantly hinders the reproduction of ground-nesting bees — valuable pollinators for many food crops, a new University of Guelph study has revealed.
This first-ever study of pesticide impacts on a ground-nesting bee in a real-world context found female hoary squash bees exposed to imidacloprid dug 85 per cent fewer nests, collected less pollen from crop flowers and produced 89 per cent fewer offspring than unexposed bees.
“Because they’re not making nests and not collecting pollen, they cannot raise offspring,” said Dr. Susan Willis Chan, a post-doc in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES), who conducted the study with Dr. Nigel Raine, holder of the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation in SES. “That means imidacloprid-exposed populations are going to decline.”
Neonicotinoids (or neonics) are neurotoxic insecticides that kill insects by attacking their nervous systems, affecting learning, foraging and navigation in many kinds of bees. Farmers use the neonic imidacloprid to control cucumber beetles, the most damaging crop pest for squash and pumpkins.
Many species of ground-nesting bees, including the hoary squash bee, are responsible for pollination of numerous fruits, vegetables and oilseed crops in North America, said Chan.
“Solitary ground-nesting bees make up about 70 per cent of bee species. It’s a really important ecological group and is also really important in crop pollination,” she said.
However, these ground-dwellers are often overlooked when it comes to evaluating the impacts of pesticides on pollinators, she added.
Published recently in Scientific Reports , the study involved three years of monitoring the foraging and nesting behaviour of squash bees.
To mimic field conditions, Chan held the bees in mesh-covered enclosures that still allowed exposure to sun and rain and other environmental factors. She applied pesticides in ways that mirror actual use in farmers’ fields.
Chan tested three insecticide treatments: the neonic imidacloprid applied to soil at planting time; the neonic thiamethoxam applied as a seed treatment; and an anthranilic diamide (an emerging non-neonic insecticide) sprayed onto growing plants. A fourth group without insecticides served as a control.
Studying the bees for three years allowed the team to show longer-term impacts of imidacloprid exposure on reduced nest-building, foraging and offspring reduction.
Bees visiting squash plants treated with anthranilic diamide collected significantly less pollen than those in the control group but had no fewer nests or offspring. Chan saw no measurable effects from the thiamethoxam seed treatment on pollen harvesting, nest construction or offspring production.
“Farmers and regulators need to look at alternatives to applying imidacloprid to soil for controlling pests on squash and pumpkins,” she said.
“My recommendation to pumpkin and squash farmers is to stay away from imidacloprid applied to soil to keep their squash bees healthy.”
Raine said it’s likely other solitary, ground-nesting species are also being affected.
Noting that other ground-nesters live in farm fields, he said, “The sort of impacts from soil-applied pesticide exposure we’ve seen in this study could affect many other species of wild bees.”
He said current regulatory assessments for insect pollinators fail to consider risks associated with soil pesticide residues. “Our results highlight why this should be changed to better characterize risk for the many bee species that spend a large proportion of their life in soil.”
Given the importance of pollinating insects to crop production, Chan said, “Farmers need to protect their crops from pests, but they also absolutely need to protect pollinators from the unintended effects of pesticides.”
Referring to imidacloprid, she said, “The data on this particular product are so clear that there’s really no question about what has to happen. We have to find something else.”
###
This research was funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks; the Ontario Fresh Vegetable Growers’ Association; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; and the Weston Family Foundation.
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
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