Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, January 20, 2018

Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 20, 2018 11THE WORLD AROUND US 
STEEP SLOPES ON MARS REVEAL STRUCTURE OF BURIED ICE 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 20, 2018 11THE WORLD AROUND US 
STEEP SLOPES ON MARS REVEAL STRUCTURE OF BURIED ICE 
Researchers using NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance 
Orbiter (MRO) have found eight sites where thickdeposits of ice beneath Mars’ surface are exposed infaces of eroding slopes.

These eight scarps, with slopes as steep as55 degrees, reveal new information about theinternal layered structure of previously detectedunderground ice sheets in Mars’ middle latitudes.

The ice was likely deposited as snow long ago. Thedeposits are exposed in cross section as relativelypure water ice, capped by a layer one to two yardsthick of ice-cemented rock and dust. They holdclues about Mars’ climate history. They also maymake frozen water more accessible than previouslythought to future robotic or human explorationmissions. 

“There is shallow ground ice under roughly athird of the Martian surface, which records the 
recent history of Mars,” said the study’s lead author,
Colin Dundas of the U.S. Geological Survey’sAstrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona.
“What we’ve seen here are cross-sections throughthe ice that give us a 3-D view with more detail thanever before.” 

The scarps directly expose bright glimpses into 
vast underground ice previously detected with 
spectrometers on NASA’s Mars Odyssey (MRO)
orbiter, with ground-penetrating radar instrumentson MRO and on the European Space Agency’s MarsExpress orbiter, and with observations of freshimpact craters that uncover subsurface ice. NASAsent the Phoenix lander to Mars in response to theOdyssey findings; in 2008, the Phoenix missionconfirmed and analyzed the buried water ice at 68degrees north latitude, about one-third of the wayto the pole from the northernmost of the eight scarpsites. 

The discovery reported today gives us surprisingwindows where we can see right into these thickunderground sheets of ice,” said Shane Byrne of 
the University of Arizona Lunar and PlanetaryLaboratory, Tucson, a co-author on today’s report.
“It’s like having one of those ant farms where youcan see through the glass on the side to learn aboutwhat’s usually hidden beneath the ground.” 

Scientists have not determined how these 
particular scarps initially form. However, once the 


CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 

HOMELESSNESS 

[Nyerges is the author Number one: If you are taking drugs, or 

of “How to Survive drinking alcohol, stop! If you know you cannot 

Anywhere,” “Self-stop without help, do whatever it takes to get that 
Sufficient Home,” and other books. He help. 
teaches self-reliance skills through the School Number two: Do whatever it takes to change 
of Self-Reliance. He can be reached at www. your attitude. Quit viewing yourself as a victim of 
ChristopherNyerges.com.] circumstances. Quit blaming anyone else. Quit 

Homelessness is a large and growing problem feeling negative towards anyone. 
in L.A. County. If you happen to be homeless, Next, wherever you are, improve it. Make 
it’s not a “problem,” it’s a personal crisis. Among it better. If you are with others, teach by your 
other things, the insane cost of housing is a factor example. If they ask what you are doing, explain 
in the increase in homelessness, though not the to them that you are practicing the uplifting 
only cause. Principle of “making every place better for my 

Perhaps I feel real empathy for the homeless being there.” This is known as true Appreciation. 
because I know what it’s like to be adrift in the Also, do not steal or take that which is not 
urban sea with no house or home. I was homeless yours, regardless of your “very good justification.” 
for about 6 months in 1984, an experience that I Begin to give to the charity, non-profit, or 
wrote about extensively at that time. I know that church of your choice.”Giving” can also be of 
with determination, and with the help of loving your time. Give without the expectation of 
friends, it is possible to overcome this very real “getting” anything back. Don’t give foolishly, but 
threat to survival. give intelligently to help further the work of a 

I was once asked during a radio interview what charity. The principle at work is “AS ye give, so 
advice I’d give to someone who was homeless. shall ye receive.” 
My response: I would first take the time with the As you practice these simply principles – which 
homeless person in order to determine precisely some people will ridicule as “simplistic” – you can 
how they become homeless. We would look at expect Miracles to occur. 
each point by uncomfortable point in order to see This, of course, is just the very bare-bones 
how their thinking, their actions, their inactions, beginning. Part of the solution also involves 
led to homelessness so we could chart a path to caring people, and the assistance of the City of 
changing those habits. Determining the cause is Los Angeles, and local non-profits. 
of paramount importance, since each and every The solution also includes realistic employment 
homeless case is unique. training, and financial education, such as how 

It has been well-demonstrated there is no actual to budget your money, and how to determine 
physical shortage of places for people to live, even (Thoreau-style) how to differentiate “want” from 
in the big cities. In fact,especially in the big cities. “need.” I have met SO many folks who have lost 

The problem is complex, but we can state their homes, even though they continued to use 
that homelessness is the result of one or more a credit card to buy stuff they didn’t need, and 
of the following: rapidly rising cost of living, continued to use credit even as they could barely 
unemployment, psychological problems, drug make the minimum payments. 
and alcohol use, and maybe “other.” If you are an I intend to address each of these related topics 
alcoholic or a drug user, you need to do whatever in future columns, and I welcome your comments 
is possible to stop those habits. Period. The and questions. 
alcohol and the drug use is a threat to your basic 
physical survival. 

The solution to homelessness involves the 
cooperation of local community organizations, 
and the homeless individuals themselves. Though 
there is no shortage of people willing to assist, 
never forget that “assistance” is a two-way street.
Mark Holsinger, Executive Director of the Los 
Angeles Mission, wrote a “Letter to the Editor” 
in the March 14, 1992 Los Angeles Times. He 
said, “As frustrating as it is that not all homeless 
people accept help, we should not forget that 
many gratefully accept the opportunity to change 
their lives. The problem for most of the homeless 
isn’t a lack of services or affordable housing or 
jobs. Theirproblem is their lack of desire to 
change [emphasis mine] -- to get off drugs, to 
function in a way that is acceptable to society, to 
respect others and themselves.” He adds that it’s 
not easy to get off the streets, but certainly possible 
to become a productive citizen because he works 
daily with those who’ve made that change.” 

Let’s assume you have lost your home, you have 
no job, and you aspire to get back to work and 
find a home. What do you do? Where do you 
start? 

they’re not seeing just thin frost covering theice begins within just one or two yards of the surfaceground.in some areas. 

Researchers previously used MRO’s Shallow The new study not only suggests that undergroundRadar (SHARAD) to map extensive undergroundwater ice lies under a thin covering over wide areas,
water-ice sheets in middle latitudes of Mars and it also identifies eight sites where ice is directlyestimate that the top of the ice is less than aboutaccessible, at latitudes with less hostile conditions 
10 yards beneath the ground surface. How muchthan at Mars’ polar ice caps. “Astronauts couldless? The radar method did not have sufficient essentially just go there with a bucket and a shovelresolution to say. The new ice-scarp studies and get all the water they need,” Byrne said.
confirm indications from fresh-crater and neutron-You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@ 
spectrometer observations that a layer rich in water MtnViewsNews.com. 


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder 

THE ONLY EXERCISE I GET IS 
SHIVERING IN THE COLD 

I am not one to complain, at least when anybody Of course, if I put my coat on I am not going to 
is listening. The greatest blessing I have in life is shiver. At least that’s what I think. 
that nobody really listens to me. Therefore, I can I don’t mind one day when it’s cold, but 
say whatever I want to say and nobody will hear when there are several days in a row, I am quite 
me. unprepared for that. After all, I live in Florida and 
Well, I used to believe that. Certain things have I expect the weather to be warm if not hot. All 
happened that has caused me to upgrade this of this cold weather has brought me to the idea 
aspect of my life. Believe me when I say that that I want to gather together a class action suit 
upgrading any aspect of your life has a price tag against the governor of Florida because the motto 
to it. Oftentimes that price tag is rather extreme.of Florida is “The Sunshine State.” If he cannot 

Recently, we have been experiencing some provide the sunshine and the warmth, then why 
rather cold weather in our area. Every morning in the world is he Governor? 
the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage reminds However, shivering is becoming a daily 
me of how cold it is outside. As if I did not know practice with me. At first, I really did not like it 
it was cold outside. because my shivering was out of my control. As 

As I’m preparing to leave the house, she will soon as I step outside my body begins to shiver 
always say, “Make sure you wear a coat and keep uncontrollably. For a person my age and size that 
warm.” is a little humiliating. I do not want any part of my 
I often chuckle, to myself of course, when she body working without my permission.
makes remarks something like this. Often she will Once I got over the humiliation of my body 
say when I’m ready to leave, “Make sure you drive shivering beyond my control, I began to see the 
carefully.” To which I always respond, “Rats, I was positive side of it. If you look hard enough, you 
planning to drive recklessly today and now I have can see the positive side in everything. It took 
to drive carefully.” me a while, but I finally got to where I began to 

For some reason she never laughs at me, but appreciate the positive side of shivering in the 
just stares one of those stares every husband has cold. 
come to recognize. Why she thinks she needs to My wife is always suggesting that I try to lose a 
tell me to drive carefully is beyond my pay level, little bit of weight and maybe exercising a little bit 
I am sure. Maybe, and this is just a guess on my will help. But I am not as young as I used to be. I 
part, she has ridden with me while I was driving.think I have earned the time to goof off and do 

If that is the case I solved that a number of years nothing. In fact, I have become quite the expert 
ago. Whenever we go anywhere, I always allow at doing nothing. If anybody can do nothing, it is 
her to drive and we use her vehicle. Now, do not me and I do it quite well.
let this get back to her, but I would rather use her At my age, exercise is a little more than I can 
vehicle and her gas than my vehicle and my gas.handle. I have put myself on a 12-step program 

When we go anywhere, she is the one who when it comes to exercise. Six steps from my chair 
drives and I just sit back and enjoy the ride. So to the refrigerator, and six steps back to my chair. 
where she gets this idea that I drive carelessly, I’m That is the kind of exercise that I can really deal 
not quite sure.with. 

However, getting back to the cold weather she Then the shivering idea came into my 
sometimes tells me to put on a coat before I go lackadaisical head. I do not often get a chance 
outside because it is “shivering cold out there.” to pull one over on my wife, and I thought I had 

a wonderful plan at this point. I practiced for 

several days so that I could get it right.
Then an opportunity presented itself.
“Maybe,” my wife said as seriously as she has 

ever been, “you should do a little bit of exercise.” 
I get plenty of exercise,” I said rather smugly.
“Oh yeah,” she said with both hands firmly 

placed on her hips. “Where are you getting any 
exercise?” 
“I get all the exercise I need,” I said, “by 
shivering out in the cold.” 
She looked at me for a moment and finally said, 
“You know that you’re a mess!”

Paul said it best when he said, “For bodily 
exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable 
unto all things, having promise of the life that 
now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 
4:8).

The best exercise, of course is spiritual. 
Exercising my faith in God is the most important 
thing in my life.

Dr. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of GodFellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. Helives with his wife in Silver Springs Shores. Call himat 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. 
The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com. 

buried ice becomes exposed to Mars’ atmosphere,
a scarp likely grows wider and taller as it “retreats,” 
due to sublimation of the ice directly from solidform into water vapor. At some of them, the exposeddeposit of water ice is more than 100 yards thick.
Examination of some of the scarps with MRO’sCompact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer forMars (CRISM) confirmed that the bright materialis frozen water. A check of the surface temperatureusing Odyssey’s Thermal Emission Imaging System(THEMIS) camera helped researchers determine 


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