Hoyle Shield
The Hoyle Shield is a system to track clouds of microbes (viruses, bacteria and algae) above, on and below the Earth's surface. Named for Sir Fred Hoyle, the system was conceived in 2013 and pilot projects commenced in 2016.
Description[edit]
The system, in its early stages, is expected to be deployed in public places, including schools, hospitals and airports. As a tool to address the issues around water and soil pollution, the early system will monitor fresh water reservoirs and aquifers that provide drinking water to humans. It is envisioned that the system will extend into space, encompassing orbiting space stations, interplanetary mission vehicles, and even other planets and their moons.
In an analogous way to the collection of meteorological data for weather forecasting, the Hoyle Shield uses a global system consisting of: sensors in the air, on the oceans and on the ground, which detect viruses, bacteria and algae; communication systems to pipe the data in real-time to a central control system; data reporting and modelling tools to display the current "maps" and to predict and display the future maps.
The output of the Hoyle Shield System includes visual maps (3D) of "microbe clouds" color coded for "type and density", showing flow, predicted arrival location, and estimated time of arrival at ground level
The system was conceived in 2013[1] and named to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Sir Fred Hoyle. Facilitated by project leader William E. Smith, development began in 2015. In 2016 pilot projects addressed water quality monitoring in the Salish Sea on the coast of Western Canada, and the possibility of viruses entering Earth's atmosphere from outer space.
Core technology[edit]
The Hoyle Shield is independent of sensor technologies and it is planned that the system will interface to any and all sensor products developed in the future. However, it was the announcement by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory of the availability of award-winning technology to detect any bacteria or virus on a tested sample within 24 hours that inspired the first set of pilot projects in 2016.
The technology is known as the Lawrence Livermore Microbial Detection Array (LLMDA). The microbial detection array contains approximately 1.3 million probe sequences targeted towards more than 12,000 microbial organisms. The array design enables species/strain-level resolution from individual samples using a Composite Likelihood Maximization (CLiMax) algorithm developed at LLNL. The array fits in the middle of a one-by-three-inch glass slide. LLMDA has been evaluated for use by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and is the subject of interest from companies worldwide. A prominent role in developing this award-winning technology has been taken by Dr Crystal Jaing, a molecular biologist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ William E. Smith, 2013. 'Life is a Cosmic Phenomenon : The "Search for Water" evolves into the "Search for Life"'. In Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology XVI, edited by Richard B. Hoover, Gilbert V. Levin, Alexei Y. Rozanov, Nalin C. Wickramasinghe, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 8865 (SPIE, Bellingham, WA, 2013) 88650Q (26 September 2013); doi:10.1117/12.2046862
- ↑ "LLNL microbial biologist inducted into Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame". Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 17 March 2011.
External links[edit]
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