Mpls 35e Bridge inspires conspiracies Day One.

Eight scientists are gathered round a conference table for a regular weekly meeting. As they begin reporting their research to the group, the talk is of variations in ULF and VLF waves, compilation of PE and QP/PE data, progress on papers to be presented at professional conferences, etc.

This would not sound unusual until it's realized that the meeting is taking place on a small, private college campus, and five of the eight participants have only just completed their first or second year in college.

Each summer, as part of the funding Augsburg receives from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and others, physics professor and department chair Mark Engebretson selects promising physics and pre-engineering students for research projects in the physics labs. Engebretson says that the department tries to provide all physics majors with research opportunities—the experience helps physics and pre-engineering students with graduate school admissions and helps them compete for national fellowships.

Geoff Shelburne, who is beginning his junior year, began working last year with Augsburg physics senior Alexa Halford ’03 on a paper titled "Latitudinal and Seasonal Variations of Quasi-Periodic and Periodic ELF-VLF Emissions." The paper, a statistical study of extremely-low-frequency (ELF) and very-low-frequency (VLF) waves using data from several stations in Antarctica, including the South Pole, won Halford a top student award last year when she presented it at the spring meeting of the American Geophysical Union. This was one of two such awards to Augsburg students in the last three years, who competed against mostly graduate students, some of whom were presenting their Ph.D. work.

Shelburne's work has focused on identifying, tabulating, and plotting occurrences of various types of these waves as a function of the time of day for an entire year at four different stations in Antarctica—a time-consuming and tedious job.

Engebretson points out at the meeting, however, that Shelburne has made a valuable contribution with his meticulous work, because of surprising variations that can be observed only when studying the data in the detail he plotted.
Shelburne is working with Engebretson to complete the paper and ready it for publication next year. The final author list will include Halford, Engebretson, assistant scientist Jennifer Posch ’94, as well as researchers at the British Antarctic Survey and at Stanford University. Engebretson points out that all the department's funded research is done in collaboration with physicists at other schools and institutions, part of the educational process for the students.
Shelburne has put in his time learning the detailed, routine task of collecting data. Next summer, he hopes to gain additional research experience at another school or research laboratory—something that Engebretson encourages most of his students to pursue.

Jon-Erik Hokenson, who just completed his sophomore year, is teaching three first-year research students in the space physics lab how to run and plot the routine data—the same kind of work he did last year as a freshman. Part of their work involves comparing the data recorded daily by an orbiting satellite with data recorded at the same time at the ground stations to see if the same events are observed. It requires using a computer program to translate numerical data into spectrograms, or colored charts, that show wave activity.

Hokenson is a physics and math major, and also has a computer science minor. The computer program familiarity comes in handy when students must write their own programs in order to run the data they want. Computer science and physics students have been collaborating over the past couple of years on new programs in the physics labs.
Back in the meeting, first-year research student Erik Lundberg reports to the group on the difficulties he faced with such a computer program while trying to run the data requested by a researcher at another institution. When the printer refused to spit out any data beyond 1999, Lundberg wrote a new program to eliminate the problem. Engebretson asked him to install it on all the lab computers.

Lundberg recognizes that science is a lot of routine. "Sometimes you run the numbers several times and it doesn1t work; but one time it works ... and it's exciting."

Heather Greene ’04 reports to the meeting that her paper is completed and will be presented at a McNair Scholars conference the following week. The paper studies the activity recorded by satellites during a geomagnetic storm to help understand its effect on communications systems as well as human health.

Greene's summer research was funded by both the McNair Scholars program and the National Science Foundation. The McNair program seeks to prepare students for doctoral studies and to increase the number of graduate students from underrepresented sectors. Through the summer experience, Greene says, "I am starting to learn the process of research and what I need to network with others."
To prepare for her conference presentation, Greene was able to build confidence with presentations to her two physics professors, Engebretson and Professor Ken Erickson ’62, as well as to the McNair Scholars staff and students.
Augsburg's physics department has a long history of both involving students in ongoing, original research and of collaborating with other scientists literally around the world. Hokenson said that he had just sent three CDs of data to a researcher in England who had requested it. Some of Shelburne's data came from Stanford University and the British Antarctic Survey. Recent physics graduate Jesse Woodroffe is still comparing data from four European satellites, obtained from a researcher in Germany with data from Augsburg's own instruments.

After graduating from Augsburg, Erickson returned in 1970, to teach space physics at both the University of Minnesota and Augsburg. Following the example of his faculty mentor at the university, he began involving students in interesting projects and research. When Engebretson came to Augsburg in 1976, he began to seek grant funds to cover the student activities. Today, after more than 30 years, and with the addition of Professor Ambrose Wolf's research in solid state physics, there are few small, private colleges that provide the depth of undergraduate research in physics found at Augsburg.

The meeting continues with an announcement that Olga Kozyreva, a visiting physicist from the Institute of the Physics of the Earth in Moscow, would arrive the following week for a month's stay. Her visit, along with regular semester-long visits by Russian physicist Slava Pilipenko, continues collaborative research and teaching with Engebretson, funded by a recently-renewed National Science Foundation grant.

In addition to the 10 students working at Augsburg during the summer, other students are at universities around the country. For the physics majors attending the meeting, getting experience that helps them gain an edge in their field and getting paid for it is ideal. And, as Hokenson puts it, "you couldn't ask for a better employer than Professor Engebretson."

August 2, 2007

Massive ULF ‘Blast’ Detected In US Bridge Collapse Catastrophe

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers

Reports from Russia’s Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics located in Irkutsk are reporting today that their Siberian Solar Radio Telescope (SSRT) detected a ‘massive’ ultra low frequency (ULF) ‘blast’ emanating from Latitude: 45° 00' North Longitude: 93° 15' West at the ‘exact’ moment, and location, of a catastrophic collapse of a nearly 2,000 foot long bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To the horrific destruction of the Interstate 35W Bridge which spanned the Mississippi River we can read as reported by the Star Tribune News Service:

"The 1,907-foot bridge fell into the Mississippi River and onto roadways below. The span was packed with rush hour traffic, and dozens of vehicles fell with the bridge leaving scores of dazed commuters scrambling for their lives.

Nine people were confirmed dead as of 4 a.m. today. Sixty were taken to hospitals and 20 people were still missing this morning. Authorities said they expected the death toll to rise."

Russian Military reports state that the total collapse of such a massive bridge, and in the absence of evidence linking its destruction to terrorist activity, could only have been accomplished by an acoustic weapon, of which the United States Military is known to possess.

These reports further state that one of the United States primary research organizations into acoustic weapons research is Augsburg College, and which is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and most importantly less than 1 mile from the Interstate 35W Bridge collapse.

To the exact reason of why, and what exactly happened in this catastrophe we can only speculate, but, with what is known about the United States past history of using sophisticated weapons on their own citizens for ‘research’ purposes it certainly lies in the realm of possibility that this horrific tragedy is rooted in the use of ULF weapons.

To the past usage of these new types of weapons we can read even back into the 1980’s of the United States research into their use as reported by the CNN News Service:

"Imagine the implications of a weapon with no visible trace -- a weapon that could knock out tanks, ships, and planes as fast as the speed of light. The same technology, with modifications, could disorient and even tranquilize military personnel, rendering them virtually helpless in the battle zone. These are the new weapons of war we will examine in this series.

For the past 40 years, the world has been riveted by the threat of nuclear war, and more recently by the prospect of space defenses using lasers and other modern technologies.

Lightning is the most dramatic form of energy to be found in nature. Scientists have succeeded in creating limited types of artificial lightning. And some think that these could be the forerunners of a new type of directed-energy weapon, part of a family of weapons that operate within the radio frequency segment of the electromagnetic spectrum, and are thus referred to as radio frequency weapons."

To the dangers of ULF weapons being used against civilians we can read the warnings of Dr. Rauni Leena Kilde, MD, the former Chief Medical Officer for Lapland (northern Finland), who warned in 1999:

"When the use of electromagnetic fields, extra-low (ELF) and ultra-low (ULF) frequencies and microwaves aimed deliberately at certain individuals, groups, and even the general population to cause diseases, disorientation, chaos and physical and emotional pain breaks into the awareness of the general population, a public outcry is inevitable."

To the exact reason of why the United States would be targeting Minneapolis with such a massive ULF ‘blast’ we can find in the exact neighborhoods that surround the Interstate 35W Bridge, and which are home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the United States, including over 30,000 Somalis who are outraged by the US sponsored invasion of their home Nation by Ethiopian forces.

For the American people as a whole, this catastrophe provides yet another example of the consequences of their allowing their Military Forces to gain total control over their economy and lives, and which history has long shown leads always towards total destruction.

© August 2, 2007 EU and US all rights reserved.

[Ed. Note: The United States government actively seeks to find, and silence, any and all opinions about the United States except those coming from authorized government and/or affiliated sources, of which we are not one. No interviews are granted and very little personal information is given about our contributors, or their sources, to protect their safety.]

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Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS

P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-34-91, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

The Baikal astrophysical observatory The Norilsk Comprehensive Magneto-Ionospheric Station of the ISTP SD RAS. Incoherent scatter radar The cosmic-ray spectrograph The Sayan solar observatory (SSO) Siberian Solar Radio Telescope

The Baikal astrophysical observatory (BAO)

P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-34-91, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
E-mail: grigoryev@iszf.irk.ru
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

The Baikal astrophysical observatory is located in the outskirts of the settlement of Listvyanka on the shore of Lake Baikal 7 km from Irkutsk. Interurban bus service between Irkutsk and Listvyanka is available, 2-3 trips per day, 1.5 hour under way.
The BAO includes four solar telescopes in operation:

1. Large Solar Vacuum Telescope (LSVT). Tower 25 meters in height. Siderostat, mirror 1 meter in diameter, evacuated tube, main objective lens 760 mm in diameter. Equivalent focal length 40,000 mm. Field of view 32 arcmin. Solar image 380 mm in diameter. Spatial resolution 0.18 arcsec. Spectrograph. The telescope is equipped with a CCD-system produced by Princeton Instruments; camera with TEK CCD matrix 512x512 pixels in size. Spectro-polarimetric observations are being carried on both in the visible and in the infrared. The telescope features the world's best optical characteristics among solar vacuum telescopes.
   
2. H-alpha telescope for the full solar disk. Main objective lens 180 mm in diameter. Equivalent focal length 5,432 mm. Field of view 34 arcmin. Solar image 50 mm in diameter. Spatial resolution 0.92 arcsec. Spectral wavelength 6,563 Anstrom. Photographic film 80 mm in width is used, frame size 70x70 mm. Flare observations (patrol) and investigations of chromospheric fine structure are being carried on. In its characteristics, is highly comparable with its Lockheed analogue (USA) and is superior to its Opton analogue (Germany).
   
3. KCaII-telescope for the full solar disk. Main objective lens 180 mm in diameter. Equivalent focal length 5,154 mm. Field of view 34 arcmin. Solar image 48 mm in diameter. Spatial resolution 0.44 arcsec. Spectral wavelength 3,934 Angstrom. Photographic film 80 mm in width is used, frame size 70x70 mm. Observations of magnetic fields and filament appearance are being carried on.
   
4. H-alpha telescope for large-scale images. Main objective lens 255 mm in diameter. Equivalent focal length 15,406 mm. Field of view 9 arcmin. Solar image 142 mm in diameter. Spatial resolution 0.65 arcsec. Spectral wavelength 6,563 Angstrom. Photographic film 35 mm in width is used, frame size 24x36 mm. High-resolution investigations of fine structure of individual active regions are being carried on.

Astronomical institutions of the following countries: Germany, France, and Spain.

The telescopes are already used in joint research work between the Institute and other observatories and can be employed in similar co-operative activities. Two little habitable houses are available plus bath-house (under construction); meals are provided in an on-site room. Telephone radio-relay communication and radio station are available. Accommodation and meals expenses are in the limits of Russian travel allowances.


The Norilsk Comprehensive Magneto-Ionospheric Station of the ISTP SD RAS.

Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS
P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-34-91, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
E-mail: potapov@iszf.irk.ru
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

Mailing address: 663317, Russia, Krasnoyarsk Territory,
Norilsk 17, P.O.Box 796, Object "Sever"
The station was established in 1965 and has been in operation since that date.
Tel.: (8-391-9) 41-17-39
E-mail: Klimenko.Kmis@norkom.ru

Geographical co-ordinates of the station: latitude - 69.3 , longitude - 88.2 ;
respectively, geomagnetic: 64.2 and 160.4 .
The station incorporates equipment for monitoring the state of different ionospheric layers, the Earth's magnetic field in the frequency range from 0 Hz to 5 Hz, the natural emission of cosmic radio noise, and auroras borealis, as well as equipment for conducting narrow-directed experiments within special programs, including a complex of instruments for receiving information from satellites. Such a complex of instruments permits the station's staff to carry out:
- continuous observations of the ionospheric conditions
- continuous observations of variations of the Earth's magnetic field
- continuous recordings of geomagnetic pulsations
- observations of auroras with the all-sky camera (occasionally)
- photometric observations of auroras with scanning photometers at different wavelengths
Data of continuous observations are stored in the Institute's archives or directly in the observatory's archives and are available to the interested user.

Parameters of the station's main instruments

Automatic ionospheric station (AIS):
- range of working frequencies - 1-18 MHz
- pulse repetition frequency - 50 Hz
- pulse duration - 70 ms
- Pulse power of radio transmitter - 10 kW
- manner of recording - photo
- parameters recorded - ionogram
- data archiving - cine-film
Digital magnetic-variation station:
(after August 1998)
- number of measured components - 3 (H,D,Z)
of the Earth's magnetic field
- dynamic range - +/-2000 nT
- resolution - 0.1 nT
- interrogation frequency - 1 min
- manner of recording - PC
- data archiving - diskette
Before the indicated date, data are recorded on photo-tape.

Induction nanoteslameter (for recording geomagnetic pulsations in the range 5 - 0.005 Hz).
- number of components recorded - 3 (H,D,Z)
- number of filters for each component - 4
- parameters of filters - P4 10-5 Hz
- P3 5-0.25 Hz
- P2 0.25-0.01 Hz
- P1 0.01-0.005 Hz
- range of measured amplitudes - 0.001-100 nT
- manner of recording - - analogue at MF magnetograph and recorders
- data archiving - magnetic tape and paper medium

In 1999, it is planned to bring into use a digital recording of geomagnetic pulsations on PC.

The all-sky camera S-180 (for observation of auroras) is installed at the remote point Istok 70 km to the north of Norilsk:
- angle of view - 120 degrees
- method of recording - system of mirrors
- manner ofrecording - photo
- frequency of photography - 1 frame per min
- data archiving - cine-film
The camera is operated occasionally.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute,
Oulu University, Physics Department (Finland)
Geophysical observatory Sodankula (Finland)
Swedish Geophysical Institute (Sweden)
Kiruna Observatory (Swden)
York University (Great Britain)

In Norilsk, there are hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc.
City buses run between Norilsk and the station. The Norilsk CMIS has its own motor transport.

Incoherent scatter radar

P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-06-20, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
E-mail: rp@iszf.irk.ru
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

Incoherent scatter radar, located 120 km north-eastward of Irkutsk (53 degr.N, 103 degr.E).

The Irkutsk IS radar is a monostatic pulsed radar with frequency-controlled scanning. Its main characteristics are:
Working frequencies....................154-162 MHz
Pulse power..................................2.5-3.2 MW
Pulse duration..............................140-820 ms
Repetition frequency....................24.4 Hz
Antenna array..............................sectoral horn
Antenna gain...............................38 dB
Angular dimensions.....................0.5 degr. (N-S) 10 degr. (E-W)
Scan sector...................................60 degr. (N-S)
Polarisation...................................linear
System's noise temperature...........400-500 K

Siberian The Irkutsk radar forms part of the world-wide network of IS radars, consisting of nine facilities, each of which is a unique research instrument. In its main parameters it is similar to the facilities abroad. For example, the IS radar of the European EISCAT Association has the following parameters: frequency - 224 MHz, power - 1.5 MW, antenna gain - 43 dB, and system's noise temperature - 250-350 K.
Siberian In addition to technical data, the uniqueness of IS radars is also determined by their geographical location because of particular importance are data of co-ordinated observations of a global distribution of ionospheric parameters. The Irkutsk IS radar closes a substantial gap in the longitudinal chain of US, European and Japanese radars. It is the only radar in Russia.

EISCAT Scientific Association, Norway
Since 1993, the IS radar has been carrying on regular observations within the international program of World Days (20-30) days in the height range 200-500 km. Power height profiles and power spectra are recorded in digital form. In the immediate future it is planned to introduce the operating mode of emitting coded signals and a correlation treatment. Observational data are used to investigate the characteristics of variations in electron and ion temperature, velocity and ionospheric plasma density under different heliogeophysical conditions.
The Institute is ready to receive, on an exchange basis, 1-2 researchers for a period from two weeks to one month. Accommodation and boarding are available, communication by telephone only. Expected expenses:
Electric power for 24 hours of operation - 1680 rubbles
Hotel accommodation for 24 hours - 160 rubbles
Meals - 60-80 rubbles.


The cosmic-ray spectrograph

Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS
P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-24-59, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
E-mail: sdobnov@iszf.irk.ru
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

The cosmic-ray spectrograph of the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS consists of three cosmic-ray stations. The statistical accuracy of observations for one-hour period of data accumulation is not worse than 0.1%.
The stations of the spectrographic complex are located:
- 435 m above sea level in Irkutsk (52.47 N, 104.03 E)
- 2000 m above sea level 300 km from Irkutsk (Mondy, Buryatia, 52.28 N, 104.022 E)
- 3000 m above sea level 300 km from Irkutsk (Mondy, Buryatia, 52.28 N, 104.022 E)

Research area - investigations of processes in interplanetary space, in the solar wind, and in the Earth's magnetosphere.
Diagnostics of the inhomogeneous large-scale structure of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field.
The uniqueness and principal advantage of the spectrographic complex are that the three cosmic-ray stations are located at points with the same geomagnetic cut-off rigidity (4 GV) at different levels in the Earth's atmosphere, which permits primary cosmic rays to be methodologically separated in energy.

Physikalisches Institut, Universitat Bern, Switzerland
Terza Universita di Roma, Dip. Di Fisica "E. Amaldi", Italy
Institut fur Kernphysik, Universitat Kiel, Germany

Irkutsk, hotel, restaurant, e-mail, telephone, living expenses ~$70.

The Sayan solar observatory (SSO)

Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS
P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-34-91, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
E-mail: grigoryev@iszf.irk.ru
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

The Sayan solar observatory (SSO) is located in the mountains at about 2000 meters above sea level, in the territory of the Republic of Buryatia (on the Mongolian frontier) 320 km to the south-west of Irkutsk. The time taken to reach the SSO from Irkutsk by the Institute's motor transport is 6-7 hours.

The SSO includes three (3) operating solar instruments.

1. Automated solar telescope (AST). A horizontal solar telescope with coelostat mirrors 80 cm in diameter. It is equipped with several measuring systems, including the vector-magnetograph. It is intended for the investigation of magnetic fields and line-of-sight velocities on the Sun with high spatial resolution.
2. Solar telescope for operative predictions (STOP). A horizontal special-purpose solar telescope with the coelostat mirrors 30 cm in diameter; the objective lens is 18 cm in diameter, and its focal length is 5 meters. It is equipped with the magnetograph for observation of large-scale solar magnetic fields and with the CCD-photometer for recording the Stokes parameters in several spectral lines simultaneously. It is most analogous to the J.Wilcox solar observatory telescope at Stanford University (USA).
3. Coronograph. The objective lens is 40 cm in diameter, and the focal length is 12 meters. It is equipped with photographic recording systems and with a state-of- the-art CCD system. It is designed for observations of the solar corona, dynamic processes in spicules, and of the chromosphere.

Astronomical institutions of the following countries:
Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland.

All instruments are operable and can be used in co-operative research. Habitable premises are available, which are cosy and reasonably comfortable for expedition conditions. High-caloric diet is provided just as at home. Telephone and teletype communication channels are available. Living expenses are to be agreed upon, but they would be quite moderate.

Siberian Solar Radio Telescope

Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics SB RAS
P.O.Box 4026, Irkutsk, 664033, Russia
Phone: 7(395-2) 46-37-91, Fax: 7(395-2) 46-25-57
E-mail: uzel@iszf.irk.ru
Internet: http://www.iszf.irk.ru

Siberian Solar Radio Telescope (SSRT) of the Radioastrophysical Observatory at the ISTP SB RAS, Badary 250 km from Irkutsk.
The SSRT is a unique modern solar radio telescope providing an all-weather monitoring of the state and development of solar activity in the lower corona. Therefore, the SSRT can be used to record one- and two-dimensional distributions of the intensity and circular polarisation of microwave emission with angular resolution as high as 15 arcsec, respectively, at 5.2 cm wavelength. At this wavelength, all phases of active regions and flares manifest themselves most effectively. A time resolution of up to 14 ms make sit possible to record a fine temporal picture of development of active processes. The spectrum of spatial frequencies and the dynamic range permit low-contrast features to be recorded: filaments, and coronal holes. The SSRT is a 256-antenna radio interferometer, consisting of two equidistant antenna arrays oriented in the East-West and North-South directions. The instrument is automated, and data are recorded in digital form during the daytime. E-mail is available, and access to Internet is possible, but communication is limited by local telephone lines. It is intended to improve substantially the sensitivity and to convert the SSRT to multi-wavelength observations of the quasi-three-dimensional picture of manifestations of solar activity in the corona. A further development of existing co-operation is possible both in doing joint research and in the advancement and modernisation of the SSRT. The SSRT is incorporated in the program of ground-based support of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory of EAS+NASA, it works closely with the Nobeyama observatory (Japan) which has a similar radio telescope, and the Beijing observatory (China).

Institute of Applied Physics of Bern University, Switzerland Astrophysical Institute of Potsdam, Germany Hildebrandt, University of Yoannina, Greece Astronomical Observatory of Trieste, Italy Messerotti Nancy Radioastronomical Observatory

The instrument is operable and can be used in co-operative research. The SSRT provides good (if the money is available) meals. Weekly trips of a minibus are used to carry out special operations on a watch basis. Living expenses at the SSRT are in the limits of travel allowance. Expenses incurred by using solar activity monitoring data available for the time interval 1985-1998 or by using the SSRT on a target-oriented basis - to be agreed upon with due regard for the contribution of the interested scientist or his/her observatory.