Welcome to program 162 of Shortwave Radiogram. I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA. Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as note: 1:42 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:45 Melting Arctic permafrost melt poses climate threat 6:22 MFSK64: Vertical farming in the UAE desert* 13:02 This week's images* 28:40 MFSK32: Closing announcements * with image(s) Please send renF noniogram@verizon.net And visit http://swradiogram.net Twitter: @SWRadiogram  tnbu i  From the Voice of America: New Study Suggests Melting Arctic Permafrost Poses Big Climate Threat VOA News 21 July 2020 A new study indicates that the accelerated melting of Arctic permafrost could release as much as 40 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere not previously accounted for in global emissions estimates. Permafrost is the thick layer of soil in the world's Arctic and Antarctic regions that, for centuries in some cases, has remained frozen throughout the year. It is vital to the world's climate because it stores twice as much carbon as there is in the atmosphere. The study, published Monday in the science journal Nature Geoscience, examines how under usual circumstances, the top layer of this frozen soil thaws during summer w8hgde tã microorganisms spring to life. The microbes eat plant roots and respirate like all living organisms and inevitably emit greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxidEa This process is knrnrhizosphere priming. The researchers sa tmore and more of the prior frozen soil thawing, more plant roots are exposed to microorganisms, which in turn emit more carbon dioxide. The researchers determined the phenomenon could add as much as 40 billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere by the year 2100. Prior to this study, scientists estimated that global emissions mu r1xlat 7.6% every year over the next 10 years to meet the 1.5°C temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. But the authors of the study note that their new estimates of emissions from permafrost melting are currently "unaccounted for in global emission scenarios and implies that the remaining anthropogenic carbon budget to keep warming below 1.5 or 2?°C ... may need to be even more constrained." While Earth is heating up, warming is significantly worse in the Arctic. Analysis from NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that the past decade was the hottest on record overall. In the Arctic, air temperatures are rising twice as fast as the global average. This new study shows that permafrost melt can, in turn, prompt further melt. More carbon in the atmosphere means worsened atmospheric warming and more melting. https://www.voanews.com/science-health/new-study-suggests-melting-arctic-permafrost-poses-big- climate-threat Shortwave Radiogram changes to MFSK64 ...  xiDioeS [a©RnDtfTa neieiR Before RSID: <<2020-07-26T13:31Z MFSK-32 @ 5850000+1500>> m e¬tVdimAt 5 hdEDlclANino÷w ølaEc Âlm¥awe¹O* [š(eueq  This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64 Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net From Deutsche Welle: Farming in the desert: Are vertical farms the solution to saving water? 22 July 2020 Isabelluelsen With high temperaturo drd water scarcity, the Emirates might seem an unlikely place for a farm. Yet as coronavirus and climate change heighten the desire for food security, could vertical farms be the solution? "When I told people I was going to grow tomatoes in the desert, they qMì¾as craza," Scarvest Smart Farms, told DW. With just an average 12 days of rain a year, less than 1% arable land, a desert location and an 80% import rate for food, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seems an unfa w3nS Ee one of several entrepreneurs using high-tech farming techniques to bheleaehl built the first climate-controlled greenhouse in Abu Dhabi in 2017. Prompted by arid conditions and a desire for greater food security, the country is investing millions in technologies — such as vertical farming — that could make it an unlikely agricultural pioneer. Vertical farms can grow a rich variety of different crops by stacking them in layers under LED lighting in climate-controlled greenhouses and watering them with mist or drip systems. The process is tailored to each crop's specific needs, resulting in high-yield, year-round harvests. "It takes 30 to 40 days to grow leafy greens out in the field. We can grow that exact same crop in 10 to 12 days," says Marc Oshima, co-founder of Aerofarms. The company received funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office to build the capital's largest indoor vertical farm, with 800 different crops, by 2021. Water scarcity and fossil-fuel reliance The technology uses minimal land and up to 95% less water than conventional agriculture. The hydroponics system places the plants' roots directly into a water-based and nutrient-rich solution instead of soil. This "closed loop" system captures and recirculates all the water, rather than allowing it to drain away — useful for a country like the UAE suffering from extremely high water stress. Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals, and UAE is extracting groundwater faster than it can be replenished, according to the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA). "Water is very expensive over in the UAE, but energy is cheap as it is subsidized," says Jan Westra, a strategic business developer at Pr, a company providing technology to vertical farms. The artificially controlled environment is energy intensive because the air conditioning and LED lights need a constant source of electricity. This is bringing forth life in the desert could come at a high environmental cost. Most of that energy comes from carbon-emitting fossil fuels, even as the Middle Eastern country feel the effects of climate change. By 2050 Abu Dhabi's average temperature is predicted to increase by around 2.5°C in a business-as-usual scenario. Over the next 70 years patterns of rainfall are also expected to change. Integrating renewable energy Althoughv·,d \ zest is building a solar-powered farm in neighboring Saudi Arabia, its UAE operations get electricity from the carbon-intensive national grid. Investing more in renewables "is a goal of ours," Kurtz told DW. He said the company has not set a clean energy target but is working on various green power projects, including a plan to integrate solar power generated in UAE into its operations. However, Willem van der Schans, a researcher specializing in short supply chains at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, says sustainability and clean energy should be "inherent in the technology and included in plans when starting a vertical farm." He argues that many vertical farming companies are not sustainable in terms of energy as they still view clean power as an optional "add-on." smahane Elouafi, director general of the government funded ICBA in Abu Dhabi, acknowledges that vertical farming has some way to go before acitsving "real sustainability," but she believes the innovations are "promising." Improved battery storage, increasingly efficient LED lights and cheaper solar panels will help, she adds. Local solutions By 2050, the UAE government wants to generate almost half its energy from renewable sources. Fred Ruijgt, a vertical farming specialist at Priva, argues that it's important to factor transport and refrigeration into the energy equation. Vertical farming uses more energy to grow crops than tradpnH e Ni ,locally, they do not havok ï ïhPr ed by air, sea or truck over long distances. "The energy saving is difficult to calculate exactly, but the advantages of locally grown crops are huge," he says, adding that those grown in vertical farms not only use less water and pesticides, but that they also have a longer shelf life due to minimal transportation time. Food security and coronavirus In 2018, the UAE set out its vision to become a hub for h etEttQ local food production. Companies and investors have flocked to the region, attracted by the 0% corporate tax rate, low labor costs and cheap energy. With their help, UAE aims to reduce its reliance on imports and make its foÉlf iobhocks like climate change and pandemics. Oshima from Aerofarms says the coronavirus pandemic has brought "greater appreciation of how fragile the supply chain is and raised questions about food safety and security." When the UAE went into lockdown in April, imported supplies of perishable goods like vegetables fell and business boomed for local suppliers. ICBA's Elouafi said they have helped keep the UAE well-stocked during the pandemic. "With the help of local food production and adequate imports, there has been absolutely no shortage of food in the UAE," Elouafi told DW. Climate change, however, poses an altogether more complex threat to the country in the long-term. Given climate change's likely impact on food production, she says vertical farming has shown it is "an economically viable proposition even with harsh climatic conditions." https://www.dw.com/en/united-arab-emirates-farmingnta-54252631 tteeitcc´ ...HtetR vc y  Sending Pic:140x205C;NWR÷rn  This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64 Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net This week's ima5ƻru wu o)bt tn  The Italian Navy tall ship Amerigo Vespucci off the coast of Agrigento. FrommtDa ,vtteJmo g tn  Sending Pic:206x132C;  ttnôuÛh& 3t¾rtn  Screen capture of video of lightning behind the Statue of Liberty. From https://bit.ly/3hoxcgA ...  t¼ ״¢  Sending Pic:201x145C;  yeiÃd tq7seb Lightning at Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia, 22 July. From https://wapo.st/2BpgXAF ...  ­Ð yn  Sending Pic:204x156C;  ir*Qnwqrtn  Lightning over Springfield, Virginia, 20 July. From https://bit.ly/2ZQCNXk ...  tRo:  Sending Pic:204x141C;  Tr}t% Scene from a diner in Glendale, Arizona. From https://bit.ly/3eOk9U8 ...  t0kt  Sending Pic:199x132C;t seh q ss ™6ttcr  A clear night in the New South Wales ski region allows visitors to view the Milky Way on 10 July in Charlotte Pass, Australia. From https://bit.ly/3huqHsG ...  1¼eb9  Sending Pic:177x158C;   From The Atlantic's "Paws in the Water: Dogs at Play" pictorial, this dog swims with a ball at the 2018 Dog and Cat trade fair in Leipzig. From https://bit.ly/32MUZmA ...  ykfthF Ysfpriot  Sending Pic:200x160C;  Âlrtn  Portrait of a macaque at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. From httpsžkavnly/3fUBcW0 ...  tru¿rtn  Sendingee2N° tneitieP Peidl TeQal t neyialhaTealheaTeay¾al t t n9l lTeoçt ¨)¤¤(TerqF(¤Rtt¾a txnt at ü@ltite€t g T_awrE= t tâçu<( uhaÁ7un ±q Üz Tun ±qqtsaruhrunn‡tFqh KkwZ´wuneag c9bqetowa a > nKpxN akBEue DŸ IeU dtVnetR tn  This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ... Shortwave Radiogram is transmitted by: WRMI, Radio Miami International, wrmi.net and WINB Shortwave, winb.com Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net And visit http://swradiogram.net Twitter: @SWRadiogram or twitter.com/swradiogram I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave Radiogram.