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Written by: Nick Oakes

Published: 20 November 2022

Volcanic activity lasting hundreds to thousands of centuries and erupting massive amounts of material may have helped transform Venus from a temperate and wet world to the acidic hothouse it is today, a NASA paper suggests.

The paper also discusses these “large igneous provinces” in Earth’s history which caused several mass extinctions on our own planet millions of years ago.

“By understanding the record of large igneous provinces on Earth and Venus, we can determine if these events may have caused Venus’ present condition,” said Dr. Michael J. Way, of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York. Way is lead author on the paper, published April 22 in the Planetary Science Journal.

Large igneous provinces are the products of periods of large-scale volcanism lasting tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years. They can deposit more than 100,000 cubic miles of volcanic rock onto the surface. At the upper end, this could be enough molten rock to bury the entire state of Texas half a mile deep.

Venus today boasts surface temperatures of around 864 F on average, and an atmosphere 90 times the surface pressure of Earth’s.

According to the study, these massive volcanic outpourings may have initiated these conditions sometime in Venus’ ancient history. In particular, the occurrence of several such eruptions in a short span of geologic time (within a million years) could have led to a runaway greenhouse effect which kicked off the planet’s transition from wet and temperate to hot and dry.

Large fields of solidified volcanic rock cover 80% of Venus’ surface in total, Way said. “While we’re not yet sure how often the events which created these fields occurred, we should be able to narrow it down by studying Earth’s own history.”

Life on Earth has endured at least five major mass extinction events since the origin of multicellular life about 540 million years ago, each of which wiped out more than 50% of animal life across the planet. According to this study and others before it, the majority of these extinction events were caused or exacerbated by the kinds of eruptions that produce large igneous provinces.

In Earth’s case, the climate disruptions from these events were not sufficient to cause a runaway greenhouse effect as they were on Venus, for reasons that Way and other scientists are still working to determine.

NASA’s next missions to Venus, scheduled for launch in the late 2020s — the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gasses, Chemistry, and Imaging, or DAVINCI, mission and the Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy, or VERITAS, mission — aim to study the origin, history, and present state of Venus in unprecedented detail.

“A primary goal of DAVINCI is to narrow down the history of water on Venus and when it may have disappeared, providing more insight into how Venus’ climate has changed over time,” Way said.

The DAVINCI mission will precede VERITAS, an orbiter designed to investigate the surface and interior of Venus from high above, to better understand its volcanic and volatile history and thus Venus’ path to its current state.

The data from both missions could help scientists to narrow down the exact record of how Venus may have transitioned from wet and temperate to dry and sweltering. It may also help us to better understand how volcanism here on Earth has affected life in the past, and how it may continue to do so in the future.

This study was supported by Goddard Space Flight Center’s Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration, or SEEC, and was part of NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, or NExSS, RCN.

Nick Oakes works for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

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Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS

Published: 19 November 2022

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Get into the holiday spirit and come down to the sixth annual Dickens' Festival on Saturday, Nov. 26, in downtown Lakeport.

The Lakeport Main Street Association will host the family friendly event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Visit local stores and great vendors that line Main Street throughout the day.

The Pet Parade will begin at noon.

The day also will feature the enchanting singing of My Divas.

Visitors are encouraged to dress in Dickensian costume and get pictures taken with Santa.

There will be fun and games for all to play, music, activities for children, and a sledding hill.

Be sure to spread some cheer and warm up with some delicious hot chocolate, too.

The event will wrap up with the tree lighting of the giant Christmas tree at 5:30 pm.

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Written by: GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

Published: 19 November 2022

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday appointed Lee Herrick to serve as California’s 10th Poet Laureate.

Herrick, 52, of Fresno, is a writer and professor who teaches at Fresno City College and the MFA program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe.

A former Fresno Poet Laureate, Herrick’s work is a vivid celebration of the California experience.

“As a teacher, poet, and father, Lee writes movingly about his identity as a Californian and encourages others to reflect on what the state means to them,” said Gov. Newsom. “Lee’s dedication to highlighting the diverse experiences of Californians, and making them so accessible through his poetry, makes him a perfect candidate for Poet Laureate. I look forward to his work to inspire communities and individuals across the state through the power of the written word.”

Herrick’s poetry canon explores the diversity and vitality of the California experience and the exhilarating success of the American experiment. Born in Daejeon, South Korea and adopted as an infant, he grew up in Modesto immersed in literature, art and various cultural influences.

Herrick writes eloquently on the immigrant experience – bringing to life the smell of chapchae and the sound of mariachi trumpets, the farmers market at midnight, and the small talk of Armenian neighbors. Herrick’s work is a Whitmanesque celebration of the best spirit of our state, the vibrancy of the Central Valley, and ourselves.

“I am deeply honored, humbled, and excited to be named California Poet Laureate,” said Herrick, who will use his platform called Our California to bring together poetry with a social justice or civic engagement organization in each city that he visits during his term as Poet Laureate. “I am grateful to Gov. Newsom, his staff, First Partner Siebel Newsom, the Fresno Arts Council, the City of Fresno for making me a poet, poets and writers and readers throughout this great state, friends, teachers, colleagues, students, and mostly, my family, parents and sister, and my wife and daughter for their love and light.”

Herrick served as Poet Laureate of the City of Fresno from 2015 to 2017, where he led local efforts to bridge communities and engage young people in expressing themselves through writing.

“I’m thrilled that Lee Herrick will serve as California’s next Poet Laureate. Lee’s poetry invites us to reflect on our love of California and reminds us of the values we hold so dear -- our inclusivity, empathy, and creativity,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “Lee’s deep understanding of culture and community alongside his irrefutable talent will no doubt guide him throughout his tenure as our state’s poetry advocate. I look forward to working with him as he spreads a love and appreciation of poetry and literature across California, especially amongst our youth.”

Herrick’s work has been published in the Bloomsbury Review, Columbia Poetry Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, the Normal School, The Poetry Foundation, ZYZZYVA, and other publications.

He is a contributor to many anthologies, particularly those examining the literary flourishing of California’s Central Valley.

Herrick is the author of three books of poetry: “Scar and Flower,” “Gardening Secrets of the Dead” and “This Many Miles from Desire.”

The California Poet Laureate is charged with advocating for poetry in classrooms and boardrooms across the state, inspiring an emerging generation of literary artists, and educating all Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced our state through creative literary expression.

Over the course of a two-year term, the Poet Laureate provides public readings in urban and rural locations across California, educates civic and state leaders about the value of poetry and creative expression and undertakes a significant cultural project, with one of its goals being to bring poetry to students who might otherwise have little opportunity to access it.

This position requires Senate confirmation and the California Arts Council provides an annual stipend. Herrick is a Democrat.