News

BERKELEY, Calif. – A new scenario seeking to explain how Mars’ putative oceans came and went over the last four billion years implies that the oceans formed several hundred million years earlier and were not as deep as once thought.

The proposal by geophysicists at the University of California, Berkeley, links the existence of oceans early in Mars history to the rise of the solar system’s largest volcanic system, Tharsis, and highlights the key role played by global warming in allowing liquid water to exist on Mars.

“Volcanoes may be important in creating the conditions for Mars to be wet,” said Michael Manga, a UC Berkeley professor of earth and planetary science and senior author of a paper appearing in Nature this week and posted online March 19.

Those claiming that Mars never had oceans of liquid water often point to the fact that estimates of the size of the oceans don’t jibe with estimates of how much water could be hidden today as permafrost underground and how much could have escaped into space. These are the main options, given that the polar ice caps don’t contain enough water to fill an ocean.

The new model proposes that the oceans formed before or at the same time as Mars’ largest volcanic feature, Tharsis, instead of after Tharsis formed 3.7 billion years ago.

Because Tharsis was smaller at that time, it did not distort the planet as much as it did later, in particular the plains that cover most of the northern hemisphere and are the presumed ancient seabed.

The absence of crustal deformation from Tharsis means the seas would have been shallower, holding about half the water of earlier estimates.

“The assumption was that Tharsis formed quickly and early, rather than gradually, and that the oceans came later,” Manga said. “We’re saying that the oceans predate and accompany the lava outpourings that made Tharsis.”

It’s likely, he added, that Tharsis spewed gases into the atmosphere that created a global warming or greenhouse effect that allowed liquid water to exist on the planet, and also that volcanic eruptions created channels that allowed underground water to reach the surface and fill the northern plains.

Following the shorelines

The model also counters another argument against oceans: that the proposed shorelines are very irregular, varying in height by as much as a kilometer, when they should be level, like shorelines on Earth.

This irregularity could be explained if the first ocean, called Arabia, started forming about four billion years ago and existed, if intermittently, during as much as the first 20 percent of Tharsis’ growth. The growing volcano would have depressed the land and deformed the shoreline over time, which could explain the irregular heights of the Arabia shoreline.

Similarly, the irregular shoreline of a subsequent ocean, called Deuteronilus, could be explained if it formed during the last 17 percent of Tharsis’s growth, about 3.6 billion years ago.

“These shorelines could have been emplaced by a large body of liquid water that existed before and during the emplacement of Tharsis, instead of afterwards,” said first author Robert Citron, a UC Berkeley graduate student. Citron will present a paper about the new analysis on March 20 at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science conference in Texas.

Tharsis, now a 5,000-kilometer-wide eruptive complex, contains some of the biggest volcanoes in the solar system and dominates the topography of Mars. Earth, twice the diameter and 10 times more massive than Mars, has no equivalent dominating feature.

Tharsis’ bulk creates a bulge on the opposite side of the planet and a depression halfway between. This explains why estimates of the volume of water the northern plains could hold based on today’s topography are twice what the new study estimates based on the topography 4 billion years ago.

New hypothesis supplants old

Manga, who models the internal heat flow of Mars, such as the rising plumes of molten rock that erupt into volcanoes at the surface, tried to explain the irregular shorelines of the plains of Mars 11 years ago with another theory.

He and former graduate student Taylor Perron suggested that Tharsis, which was then thought to have originated at far northern latitudes, was so massive that it caused the spin axis of Mars to move several thousand miles south, throwing off the shorelines.

Since then, however, others have shown that Tharsis originated only about 20 degrees above the equator, nixing that theory. But Manga and Citron came up with another idea, that the shorelines could have been etched as Tharsis was growing, not afterward. The new theory also can account for the cutting of valley networks by flowing water at around the same time.

“This is a hypothesis,” Manga emphasized. “But scientists can do more precise dating of Tharsis and the shorelines to see if it holds up.”

NASA’s next Mars lander, the InSight mission (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), could help answer the question. Scheduled for launch in May, it will place a seismometer on the surface to probe the interior and perhaps find frozen remnants of that ancient ocean, or even liquid water.

Douglas Hemingway, a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley, is also a coauthor of the paper. The work was supported by the National Science Foundation.

Robert Sanders writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Lake County due to storms moving into the area Friday evening.

The warning, in effect from Friday afternoon through 6 a.m. Sunday morning, reports that a cold system with lower snow levels and heavy snow will drop south over the region into the weekend.

The heaviest snow will be Friday night with a second round Saturday night, with the forecast calling for 4 to 8 inches at lower elevations, and 12 to 18 inches over the mountains. Peaks could see snow accumulations of up to 3 feet.

Areas in Lake County forecast to see some snow include Cobb, parts of the Mendocino National Forest north of Upper Lake and Mt. Konocti.

Lake County is primarily expected to see rain, which the National Weather Service forecasts to range from as little as a tenth of an inch in some areas of the southeast county to up to half an inch in the south county and about an inch in the northern part of the county.

Rain is expected through Sunday, when the forecast calls for conditions to clear.

Forecasters also are predicting wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour in lower elevations and more than 30 miles per hour in the Cobb area on Friday night and into Saturday, with single digit wind speeds expected on Sunday.

Nighttime temperatures are expected to dip into the high 29s on Saturday before gradually rising into the low 40s early next week.

Daytime temperatures next week are forecast to rise into the low 70s, the National Weather Service said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – During its Thursday night meeting, the Clearlake City Council selected a fifth member to fill a seat left vacant earlier this year due to a resignation.

The council voted unanimously to appoint Russell Cremer, a local businessman known for his work with Rotary, fire recovery and his service on the Clearlake Planning Commission, to fill the seat, the term of which expires in November.

Cremer will succeed Russ Perdock, who on Feb. 1 announced that he was resigning before the end of his first term in order to pursue the city’s police chief job, as Lake County News has reported.

The appointment came at the end of a lengthy discussion in which Cremer just edged out Dirk Slooten, the city’s planning commission chair.

Last month, the council had decided to advertise to fill the vacancy, and City Clerk Melissa Swanson had reported receiving six applications by the March 15 deadline. In addition to Cremer and Slooten, applicants included Sheryl Almon, Jennifer Fitts, Cheryl Marinaro and James Reed.

An ad hoc committee that included Mayor Bruno Sabatier, Vice Mayor Phil Harris and Swanson had met Monday to review the applications. Normally, the planning commission chair would have been included but because Slooten had applied the makeup of the group was changed to add Swanson.

That committee had recommended that the council interview Marinaro, a Realtor, and Slooten and consider one of them for appointment, as Lake County News has reported.

With the exception of Marinaro, all of the applicants would appear before the council Thursday night.

Slooten, a retired business owner, was born in the Netherlands and earned his bachelor’s degree in Amsterdam before immigrating to the United States in 1972, settling in the Bay Area. In 1994 he started Slooten Consulting Inc., a land surveying business. He and his wife, Karen, moved to Lake County full-time in 2013.

He also was a member of the Measure V committee and the steering committee for the city’s zoning update, and before moving to Lake County chaired the Yolo County Airport Commission for four years.

Slooten is president of the Rotary Club of Clear Lake. He chairs the Fire Relief Committee of the Lake Area Rotary Clubs Association and the Rotary District 5130 Fire Fund, which covers Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties, and is a member of the Measure V Oversight Committee.

Cremer came prepared to make his case for appointment, bringing with him support letters from Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta and Konocti Unified Superintendent Donna Becnel among others, with Becnel also appearing to speak in his favor. Sapeta also had come to the meeting but ended up having to leave before he spoke.

Cremer has a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and worked for more than 26 years as an appraiser, farm manager and consultant, and for more than 20 years has been an independent consultant.

He also has extensive community service to recommend him. In addition to his work on the planning commission, he served on the Lake County Fire Protection District Board for five years, was on the committee that was behind the successful campaign for the Measure V sales tax as well as the fire district’s successful Measure D committee.

Cremer currently serves on the city’s cannabis ad hoc committee and the Konocti Unified Measure Y Oversight Committee, and the boards for the Clearlake Rotary, Lake Area Rotary Club Association and the Lower Lake Community Action Group.

Like Slooten, Cremer has been part of the Lake Area Rotary Club Association’s Fire Relief Fund, which raises and distributes money for fire relief and community safety projects.

In February, Cremer and Slooten presented a $14,350 check to Sapeta for a fire communications project, as Lake County News has reported.

While the council would eventually come to a unanimous decision for Cremer, for much of the discussion the council’s members appeared divided between the two men because of the vast qualifications of both.

While some members appeared to favor Cremer’s longtime presence in the county, Harris lauded Slooten’s emphasis on economic development, with Sabatier noting Slooten’s desire to reach out to the community’s most vulnerable members.

Sabatier said he believed Slooten was more of a consensus builder who could put emotions aside.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton gave her support to Cremer, noting she had discussed the men’s resumes with some other individuals who also concluded that Cremer and Slooten were the top applicants.

Councilman Nick Bennett, citing the letters of recommendation and support from Smith, said there was wide support for Cremer.

Noting that the election is coming up in November, “I can tell you who I’m probably going to support in November” with a sign in his yard, Bennett said.

Vice Mayor Phil Harris said his only other concern about Cremer was his involvement in so many different activities. He said the council would need Cremer’s undivided attention and asked that he make it his priority.

Overton moved to appoint Cremer, with Bennett seconding. They were joined by Sabatier and Harris to make it unanimous, with Cremer receiving a round of applause after the vote.

Originally, it had been anticipated that the appointee would take the oath on April 12, at the council’s next regular meeting.

However, on Thursday evening City Manager Greg Folsom reported that a special council meeting is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday to talk about a number of items, including several contracts.

Folsom said Cremer will be sworn in at the start of that special meeting.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The American Red Cross of the California Northwest will be honoring 18 inspirational community members – one of them a Lake County woman – for their lasting impact on the community at its 15th Annual Real Heroes Breakfast on Friday, April 27, at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa.

After careful consideration, a committee of local community leaders selected the 2018 California Northwest Red Cross Hero Award recipients based on the degree to which their acts of heroism uphold the values of the American Red Cross and leave a lasting and positive impact on the residents of the Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.

Among those named is Ginny Craven, who has been named “Service to the Armed Forces Hero.” She is founder of Operation Tango Mike, which since 2003 has delivered care packages to members of the military overseas.

Other honorees are:

– Animal Hero: Peter Lang.
– Blood Services Hero: Jerry Seltzer.
– Disaster Services Heroes: Eli Ponce and Dan Wynn.
– Education Heroes: Matt Markovich and Stephanie Jarrett.
– Environment Heroes: Chris Ostrom, Aaron Ostrom and Tim Haywood.
– First Responder Hero: Mark Aldridge.
– Healthcare Heroes: Peggy Goebel, Joe Clendenin and Robert Pellegrini.
– Humanitarian Heroes - Adult: Matthew and Amanda Nalywaiko.
– Humanitarian Heroes - Youth: Patrick Foley and Jackson Phillips.
– International Services Hero: Pearl Fisher.

Registration will open at 7 a.m., and the program will run from 7:30 until 9 a.m.

Table sponsorships and individual tickets are still available for the event.

The Real Heroes Breakfast is a signature event in support of the lifesaving programs and emergency services the local chapter provides to the nearly one million residents in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.

To purchase tickets and for more information about the event, please visit www.redcross.org/CalNWHeroes2018 .

Detailed descriptions of each honoree are featured below.



Service to the Armed Forces Hero: Ginny Craven (Lake County)
Ginny Craven runs Operation Tango Mike (code for Thanks Much) to send support packages to military personnel. She hosts monthly packaging parties at the Umpqua Bank in Lakeport, with a typical crowd of 40 volunteers ready to work. More than 20,000 packages have been sent, not randomly, but addressed to specific individuals.

Animal Hero: Peter Lang (Sonoma County)
When wildfire raced into Sonoma County from the east, Safari West owner Peter Lang spent the entire night at the 400-acre wildlife preserve, saving over 1,000 animals. After sending his wife, guests, and employees off to safety, Lang remained at the preserve to shepherd over 1,000 animals to safety while the fire raged around them. Lang worked past dawn and saved every animal on the preserve.

Blood Services Hero: Jerry Seltzer (Sonoma County)
Jerry Seltzer, former commissioner of Roller Derby League, teamed with American Red Cross to hold blood drives, inviting the local Resurrection Roller Girls team to participate enhancing the activity. Coined “Make’em Bleed,” the Roller Derby-themed blood drives have spread throughout California and the country, bringing in a five-year total of over 1,100 units of blood.

Disaster Services Heroes: Eli Ponce (Napa County) and Dan Wynn (Napa County)
For six days, Eli Ponce and Dan Wynn, of Eli Ponce and Sons General Engineering, saved homes and entire neighborhoods by voluntarily working around the clock to create firebreaks behind Browns Valley during the Nuns fire. The pair put themselves in harm’s way, using their business’ bulldozers to dig breaks and divert the raging fire until Cal Fire could take over. They refueled six times, donating the cost of fuel as well.

Education Heroes: Matthew Markovich (Sonoma County) and Stephanie Jarrett (Sonoma County)
Athletic Director Matt Markovich and Stephanie Jarrett, district manager of training and compliance, introduced the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event to SRJC. 350 Students participated in a mile-long walk, in high heels, then broke into discussion groups to have the often-difficult conversations about how to identify warning signs of sexual assaults and how to be more active in preventing them.

Environment Heroes: Chris Ostrum (Mendocino County), Tim Haywood (Humboldt County) and Aaron Ostrum (Humboldt County)
Passionate about keeping outdoor spaces free of litter and debris, Chris Ostrum, Tim Haywood and Aaron Ostrum founded the Pacific Outfitters (PacOut) Green Team in Arcata and then in Ukiah. PacOut Green Team is dedicated to improving the environment at the Lake Mendocino and other recreation areas by leading weekend “60-minute cleanups.” Ostrum also creates awareness by speaking at Ukiah High School, partnering with other organizations, and engaging local government to provide funds for staffing recreation areas.

First Responder Hero: Sgt. Mark Aldridge (Sonoma County)
Deputy Mark Aldridge, of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, protected the lives of 35 people, young and old, the night of the Tubbs fire. Deputy Aldridge prevented cars from descending into the inferno that was already burning across Mark West Springs Road. He directed people to drive back up the road and meet in the parking lot of the Mark West Lodge to shelter in place, park the cars in a circle and cover them with wet blankets. He kept the crowd safe and calm until they could safely drive out after the fire passed.

Healthcare Heroes: Peggy Goebel (Sonoma County), Joe Clendenin (Sonoma County), and Robert Pellegrini (Sonoma County)
Peggy Goebel, Joe Clendenin and Robert Pellegrini volunteered their healthcare skills and knowledge above and beyond the call of duty at the Veterans Memorial Shelter in Santa Rosa during the Tubbs fire. Goebel, a nurse, took the lead to care for the hundreds of people evacuated from their homes and local hospitals, many wearing just their pajamas. Dr. Joe Clendenin led some 600 doctors and nurses to administer to the medical needs and Pellegrini, a local pharmacist, personally filled, delivered and paid for critical medications for the evacuees.

Humanitarian Heroes - Adult: Matthew and Amanda Nalywaiko (Sonoma County)
Matthew and Amanda Nalysaiko founded a small, local nonprofit called Serve A Little, which marshaled an army of professional tradesmen, mechanics and skilled handymen, to help low-income single mothers and military wives with home and auto repairs. The organization also collected donated cars and refurbished them for deserving mothers. This has now become a four-bay auto shop and all proceeds go to helping single moms in need.

Humanitarian Heroes - Youth: Patrick Foley (Sonoma County) and Jackson Phillips (Sonoma County)
Jackson Phillips and Patrick Foley, both 17 years old, volunteer with the Red Cross as Pillowcase Project Educators, and Phillips joined the Disaster Action Team. When the wildfires hit in October, Phillips and Foley immediately reported the Red Cross. Both of their homes, and most of their friends' homes were lost in the fire that night, along with their school. However, instead of focusing on what they lost, Phillips and Foley worked long hours every day, for two weeks after the fires, to help in shelters; to help in warehouses; to help wherever they were needed.

International Services Hero: Pearl Fisher (Sonoma County)
Seven-year-old Pearl Fisher learned at The Healdsburg School that, instead of going to school, young girls in parts of Africa have to retrieve water for their families from a dirty stream a long way from their village. She wanted to do something to help, so she started designing and selling greeting cards and asked her friends to donate to the cause. She has now donated more than $10,000 to Water4 to help drill wells.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After a strong January, Lake County’s real estate prices have slacked off a bit, but overall sales numbers show 2018 outpacing 2017, according to a new report.

The Lake County Association of Realtors reported that the February median sales price for single family residences in Lake County decreased by 13.8 percent when compared to the January median.

“January’s median of $271,450 was the highest median sales price reported in over 10 years so some pull back is not unexpected,” commented 2018 LCAOR President Melissa Chapman. “Early indicators in March have shown an uptick in buyer activity and we hope that translates into closed sales.”

The February median was $234,000 with 51 sales being reported. The 51 sales were one less than the 52 sales reported in January.

On a year-over-year basis, 2018 February sales exceeded 2017 February sales by 8.5 percent. The number of sales in February 2017 were 47.

The 2018 February median sales price of $234,000 was 4 percent higher than the 2017 February median sales price of $225,000.

Conventional loan financing was used in 47.1 percent of the transactions with FHA loans being used in 11.8 percent of the overall deals. In February of 2017 conventional loans were used in 36.2 percent of the reported sales.

Cash financing was used in 27.5 percent of the sales, up from 15.4 percent in January 2018 and up from 21.3 percent in February of 2017.

The California Association of Realtors, or CAR, reported existing, single-family home sales in California totaled 422,910 in February on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up 3.3 percent from January and up 5.4 percent from February 2017.

February’s statewide median home price was $522,400, down 1 percent from January and up 8.8 percent from February 2017.

With single family home pricing raising rapidly throughout the state buyers have increasingly turned to condominiums driving their median price to a new record high.

Mortgage rates have been on the rise since breaking the 4 percent barrier in January.

The 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 4.33 percent in February, up from 4.03 percent in January and from 4.17 percent in February 2017, according to Freddie Mac. The five-year, adjustable mortgage interest rate also edged higher in February to an average of 3.60 percent from 3.47 percent in January and from 3.24 percent in February 2017.

LAKE COUNTY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

February 2018
Median price: $234,000
Units sold: 51
Median days to sell: 37

January 2018
Median price: $271,450
Units sold: 52
Median days to sell: 58

February 2017
Median price: $225,000
Units sold: 47
Median days to sell: 55

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College is hosting a speaker series on climate change on the first three Wednesdays of April from 5 to 7 p.m. each evening in Room 209.

Everyone is invited to attend these informative and timely presentations that include the opportunity for questions and discussion about the impact of climate change in all aspects of our lives.

The series is free and open to everyone. Healthy snacks will be provided to all attendees.

The presentations will be moderated by Shelly Ryan, a long-time museum and public educator on the topics of natural history, environmental issues and climate change.

In 2006 she wrote her master's thesis on educating the public on climate change, and in 2012 she took training from former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore on his climate change presentation.

Since then she has given climate change and sustainability talks in many parts of northern California as well as Costa Rica, where she lived for two and a half years.

Then, on Thursday, April 19, the Lake County Campus will present its annual Earth Day Festival with information booths, activities for children, and more.

The festival will be in the campus plaza between the administration and culinary buildings from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information on all these activities, call the Lake County Campus at 707-995-7900 or visit the campus Web site at http://lcc.yccd.edu .

The Lake County Campus is located at 15880 Dam Road Extension in Clearlake.

The schedule and list of speakers is published below.



Wednesday, April 4, 5 to 7 p.m.

Greg Bertelli: “Behavior and implications for Lake County of the Rocky, Valley and Tubbs fire”

Chief Greg Bertelli is Division Chief with Cal Fire for the Lake County region and the fire chief for the South Lake County Fire Protection District serving Loch Lomond, Cobb, Middletown and Hidden Valley. He was the initial attack incident commander for the Rocky, Valley and Tubbs fires.

Jim Steele: “Why does the lake look green?”

Jim Steele is the current Lake County supervisor for District 3 and board chair. Steele retired from state service after 30 years as an ecologist and adjunct professor at Sacramento State University where he taught environmental policy and administration and freshwater ecology as adjunct professor. The next 15 years were spent as a consultant in environmental permitting for water rights and endangered species.

Wednesday, April 11, 5 to 7 p.m.

Randal Stuart MacDonald: “What can we do about climate change? Let's put a price on carbon pollution!”

Randal MacDonald is a volunteer with the Citizens' Climate Lobby, or CCL, and a steering committee member of CCL's Santa Rosa Chapter. He is a former elected official who spent a decade working in government and politics in Oregon before going into private business. MacDonald is the chief technology officer for Wild Iris Medical Education Inc.

Carol Cole-Lewis: “Have impact and make income through solar”

Carol Cole-Lewis is a community activist, perhaps best known in Lake County for having started the Time Bank of Thrive Lake County with Steve Elias in 2011. She is now a solar social entrepreneur with Upstart Energy helping to deliver on the promise of solar electricity generation throughout Lake County.

Wednesday, April 18, 5 to 7 p.m.

Dr. Will Tuttle: “Conscious eating: Being healthy and saving the planet”

Dr. Will Tuttle, visionary educator and musician, is author of the international best-seller, “The World Peace Diet.” A former Zen monk and recipient of the Courage of Conscience Award, he has created eight CD albums of uplifting original piano music and is a vegan since 1980.

Dr. Dave Veazey: “Climate change throughout Earth history”

Dr. Dave Veazey is director of the TrueNorth Health Foundation in Santa Rosa. Dr. Veazey lived in Fairbanks, Alaska where he conducted climate change research in atmospheric chemistry and the chemical composition of cloud condensation nuclei.