APPEAL - UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA)
Appeal under
the Freedom of Information Act
to NASA
Response Dated January 12, 2012
Date:- 10 Feb, 2012
Application ID
No……………..
(For official use)
To,
Administrator
NASA
Headquarters
Mail
Stop: FOIA, Room 9R17
300
E Street, SW
Washington,
DC 20546
ATTN: FOIA Appeals
Dear Sir/Madam:
This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information
Act.
On 28
December, 2011 I requested documents under the Freedom of Information Act. My
request was assigned the following identification number: 12-HQ-F-00230. On same
day of 28 December, 2011, I received a response to my request in a letter
signed by Miriam Brown-Lam, Principal Agency FOIA Officer. It was said in the
response that my request does not meet the requirement of FOIA that remains
unclear that what specific NASA records in am requesting the information. The
request should be limited in scope to allow FOIA Staff to conduct reasonable
research for responsive records under (14 CFR 1206.601(b)); denied not to
answer those questions posed under FOIA. It was further asked for the fee
waiver justification in accordance with (14 CFR 1206.704).
I have submitted reply for the above response on 07
January, 2012 with the necessity of the requirement of the information and
complete justification for the fee waiver.
I appeal the denial of my request on 12 January, 2012
02:03. A copy of my FOIA request and the agency determination which is the
subject of this appeal is attached for your convenience.
The documents that were withheld must be disclosed
under the FOIA because these are related to environment issues and human
mistakes; those must be cured as soon as possible. It has been first analyzed that
various scientific discoveries and investigation are scattered under various
domains of Expertise, if kept together; they collectively establish exclusive
source of information to establish the actual cause of destruction and environmental
issues.
I appeal the decision to deny my request for a
waiver of fees. I believe that I am entitled to a waiver of fees. Disclosure of
the documents I requested is in the public interest because it is likely to
contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or
activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest.
The closer of the request was made on the basis of
failure of the limit the scope to allow FOIA Staff to conduct reasonable
research for responsive records under (14 CFR 1206.601(b)); as the agencies are
not required to identify documents, which is lacking specific area of location that
I like to make search for the FOIA request;
I appeal under 14 CFR §1206.605 for conductive
information is require in a single document to establish a correlation between
various factor for which some information has been sought in the FOIA request
to justify them scientifically.
DISCUSSION
To qualify through (14 CFR 1206.601(b)); to
override the cause as an exceptional case; since, FOIA is a record retrieving
statute but the information requested
is very clear and specific, mostly based on the declaration/published under
various researches already performed by NASA.
Particulars of the Information and discussion
points on which NASA has already performed various research
and publication are given below:-
1)
Provide the information which justifies
that Japan tsunami 2011 earthquake moved Japan coast 8 feet that shifted
Earth's axis and Chilean Earthquake shifted Earth's axis by 10 meters; what may
be the scientific cause is responsible for the shifting of the Axis.
The information has been published by NASA:
The information has been published by NASA:
-
A new analysis of the 8.9-magnitude earthquake in
Japan has found that the intense temblor has accelerated Earth's spin,
shortening the length of the 24-hour day by 1.8 microseconds, according to
geophysicist Richard Gross at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif.
Source: -
2) Provide the information which justifies
scientifically that Earthquakes are displacement/collapse of upper Ground
Plates towards Gravity of the Earth; that may or may not make any difference in
the dislocation of ‘Center of Mass’ of the Earth.
The information has
been published by NASA:
- NASA Scientist Finds a New Way to the Center of the
Earth - 06.11.07 PASADENA, Calif. -- Humans have yet to see Earth's center, as
did the characters in Jules Verne's science fiction classic, "Journey to
the Center of the Earth." But a new NASA study proposes a novel technique
to pinpoint more precisely the location of Earth's center of mass and how it
moves through space.
- Earthquake Effects on the Earth: - NASA
scientists using data from the Indonesian earthquake calculated it affected
Earth's rotation, decreased the length of day, slightly changed the planet's
shape, and shifted the North Pole by centimetres. The earthquake that created
the huge tsunami also changed the Earth's rotation. Gretchen Cook-Anderson/ Dolores
Beasley, Headquarters, Washington
Source: -
-
We needed scientific comments from the Experts.
3) Provide the information that, the
justified three factors - ‘Groundwater Depletion’, ‘Melting of Glaciers’ and
‘Rising Sea Level’ are the massive displacement of Huge Masses from land to
Sea. These changes occurring on the rotation surface of Earth around the Axis
at the speed of 1674.4 km/h at the extreme ends of the rotation. Give specific
comments that clarify elaborating the topic that such changes may or may not
affect the location of ‘Center of Mass’ of the Earth that may responsible to
imbalance the Earth – resulting the wobbling.
The information has been published by NASA:
-
Groundwater
Depletion
- The
team analyzed six years of monthly GRACE gravity data for northern India to
produce a time series of water storage changes beneath the region’s land
surface. They found that groundwater levels have been declining by an average
of one meter every three years (one foot per year). More than 109 cubic km (26
cubic miles) of groundwater disappeared between 2002 and 2008 -- double the
capacity of India's largest surface water reservoir, the Upper Wainganga, and
triple that of Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the United States.
- "Grace
Data reveal groundwater in these basins is being pumped for irrigation at rates
that are not sustainable if current trends continue," Famiglietti said.
"This is leading to declining water tables, water shortages, decreasing
crop sizes and continued land subsidence. The findings have major implications
for the U.S. economy, as California's Central Valley is home to one sixth of
all U.S. irrigated land, and the state leads the nation in agricultural
production and exports." "By providing data on large-scale
groundwater depletion rates, Grace can help California water managers make
informed decisions about allocating water resources," said Grace Project
Scientist Michael Watkins of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif., which manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington.
- The map above depicts the amount of groundwater
stored underground in the continental United States on November 28, 2011, as
compared to the long-term average from 1948 to 2011. Deep reds reveal the most
depletion, with deep blues representing aquifers and soils that are nearly
full. The maroon shading over eastern Texas, for example, shows that the ground
has been this dry less than two percent of the time between 1948 and the
present.
Source:-
Melting of Glaciers
- "Over areas of the Himalayas, the rate of
warming is more than five times faster than warming globally," said
William Lau, head of atmospheric sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
in Greenbelt, Md. "Based on the differences it’s not difficult to conclude
that greenhouse gases are not the sole agents of change in this region. There’s
a localized phenomenon at play."
- NASA Finds Warmer Ocean Speeding Greenland Glacier
Melt; Glaciers in west Greenland are melting 100 times faster at their end
points beneath the ocean than they are at their surfaces, according to a new
NASA/university study published online Feb. 14 in Nature Geosciences. The
results suggest this undersea melting caused by warmer ocean waters is playing
an important, if not dominant, role in the current evolution of Greenland's
glaciers, a factor that had previously been overlooked.
- Climate warming is expected to result in rising sea
level. Should this occur, coastal cities, ports, and wetlands would be
threatened with more frequent flooding, increased beach erosion, and saltwater
encroachment into coastal streams and aquifers. Global sea level has fluctuated
widely in the recent geologic past.
Source:-
Rising Sea Level
-
The finding is important for many reasons. For
starters, as more ice moves from glaciers on land into the ocean, it raises sea
levels. Jakobshavn Isbrae is Greenland's largest outlet glacier, draining 6.5
percent of Greenland's ice sheet area. The ice stream's speed-up and
near-doubling of ice flow from land into the ocean has increased the rate of
sea level rise by about .06 millimeters (about .002 inches) per year, or
roughly 4 percent of the 20th century rate of sea level increase. The
researchers found the glacier's sudden speed-up also coincides with very rapid
thinning, indicating loss of ice of up to 15 meters (49 feet) in thickness per
year after 1997. Along with increased rates of ice flow and thinning, the thick
ice that extends from the mouth of the glacier into the ocean, called the ice
tongue, began retreating in 2000, breaking up almost completely by May 2003.
-
NASA Satellites Measure and Monitor Sea Level; For
the first time, NASA has the tools and expertise to understand the rate at
which sea level is changing, some of the mechanisms that drive those changes
and the effects that sea level change may have worldwide. "It's estimated
that more than 100 million lives are potentially impacted by a one-meter
increase in sea level," said Dr. Waleed Abdalati, head of the Cryospheric
Sciences Branch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
"When you consider this information, the importance of learning how and
why these changes are occurring becomes clear," he added.
- "That ice sheets will dominate future sea
level rise is not surprising -- they hold a lot more ice mass than mountain
glaciers," said lead author Eric Rignot, jointly of NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and the University of California, Irvine.
"What is surprising is this increased contribution by the ice sheets is
already happening. If present trends continue, sea level is likely to be
significantly higher than levels projected by the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. Our study helps reduce
uncertainties in near-term projections of sea level rise."
Source:-
- We needed scientific comments from the Experts.
4) Provide the information which justify
that if the “Center of Mass” of Earth is dislocated by the means of
Earthquakes; due to what Earth Axis had shifted according point 1) and Earth
may be wobbling around the axis. If it really wobbles then what may be the
future impact in respect of point 3) when the ‘Groundwater Depletion’, ‘Melting
of Glaciers’ and ‘Rise in Sea water Level’ will someday reach at the alarming
state up to the Threshold of barrier to shift the Axis of Rotation. Provide the
scientific comments on this.
The information has been published by NASA:
-
- The March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan may
have shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis. "Earth's
rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the
much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents,"
he said. "Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and
decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change
caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also
changes all the time, by about 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of a year, or
about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan
quake."
- “Changes in the atmosphere, specifically
atmospheric pressure around the world, and the motions of the winds that may be
related to such climate signals as El Niño are strong enough that their effect
is observed in the Earth’s rotation signal,” said David A. Salstein, an
atmospheric scientist from Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., of
Lexington, Mass., who led a recent study.
- This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth
to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of
Earth's axis in space—only external forces such as the gravitational attraction
of the sun, moon and planets can do that.
Source:-
5) Provide a Hypothetical image of the
Planet Earth with Geological Structure of hard surface with actual depth of Sea
in the absence of Sea Water and estimate the new location of Center of Mass of
the Earth to compare with Center of Mass of Earth after rising of the Sea water
level over the 70% of the Sea part.
The information has been published by NASA:
-
- NASA Scientist Finds a New Way to the Center of the
Earth: - Scientists currently define Earth's center in two ways: as the mass
center of solid Earth or as the mass center of Earth's entire system, which
combines solid Earth, ice sheets, oceans and atmosphere. Argus says there is
room for improvement in these estimates.
Sources
6) As we studied that earthquakes occur
anywhere in the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to
drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. We can say this elastic strain
energy activated more effectively due to “Dislocation of Center of Mass” by the
means of point 3); hence probability of Earthquakes increases. These sudden
Earthquakes further bring more changes in the “Dislocation of Center of Mass”
of Rotating Earth. Provide the information to understand this very minute
extract of the concept – in favour of it or against of it.
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
7) Elaborating the point 6) we can say
that 'Earthquakes' occurs due to ‘Dislocation of Center of Mass’; and the
‘Dislocated Center of Mass’ may cause bigger Earthquakes - both are relative
situation to each other needs scientific elaboration to understand, which is an
adjustment to maintain a uniformity in the Center of Gravity and Centre of
Mass; just to balance/prevent the wobbling rotation of the Earth around the
‘Axis of Rotation’; provide the information which justifies that it may be
correct or not so.
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
8) Provide the information which clarifies
that the Magnetic Poles and the Axis of the Earth are independent factors or
not. If they are independent of each other then what may shift either Magnetic
Poles or Axis of Rotation?
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
9)
Provide the list of the Islands those
are already submerged in the sea due to the rise in sea level. Rising Sea
Levels
The information has
been published by NASA:
- The weather isn’t the only thing global warming
will impact: rising sea levels will erode coasts and cause more frequent
coastal flooding. Some island nations will disappear. The problem is serious
because up to 10 percent of the world’s population lives in vulnerable areas
less than 10 meters (about 30 feet) above sea level. For nearly 30 years, India
and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of
Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island's
gone.
- New Moore Island in the Sunderbans has been
completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur
University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite
imagery and sea patrols, he said.
- Scientists’ estimate that the rate of sea level
rise will likely double or triple in the next hundred years due to climate
change. Paradoxically, gradual sea level rise can generate new barrier islands.
Rising seas create shallow bays that develop barrier islands in the mouths of
the bays along certain types of coastline.
Sources:
10) How much the level of Sea has already risen above the normal level? What is the rate of Rising of Sea water level per year? Is there any drastic increase in the rate of Rising the Sea level, when?
The information has
been published by NASA:
- Sea level rise is caused by the expansion of sea
water as it warms up in response to climate change and the widespread melting
of land ice. The chart on the left shows historical sea level data derived from
coastal tide gauge records (trend calculated using the linear regression
method). The chart on the right shows the average sea level since 1993 derived
from global satellite measurements.
- Yes, there is strong evidence that global sea level
gradually rose in the 20th century and is currently rising at an increased
rate, after a period of little change between AD 0 and AD 1900. Sea level is
projected to rise at an even greater rate in this century. The two major causes
of global sea level rise are thermal expansion of the oceans (water expands as
it warms) and the loss of land-based ice due to increased melting.
Sources
11)
Provide the list of
zones/states/countries around the world those are severely affected by
Groundwater Depletion and declared under Dark Zones.
The information has
been published by NASA:
- Groundwater is a vital source of fresh water. In some parts of the world
it is being withdrawn for agricultural, industrial, and domestic uses faster
than it is naturally recharged, causing groundwater depletion. We have used the
GRACE satellites to identify regions where aquifer levels are declining and to
quantify that depletion. Two such locations are north-western India and central
California.
-
December 18, 2009 - Alarming new
space observations revealing increased rates of groundwater depletion in California
highlight the urgent need to retire drainage impaired, selenium-filled farmland
on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. The findings, based on data from
the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
(Grace), demonstrate that the aquifers for California's Central Valley and the
Sierra Nevada have lost nearly enough water combined to fill the Colorado
River's Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir, since October 2003. The
observations "reflect California's extended drought and increased rates of
groundwater being pumped for human uses, such as irrigation," according to
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
Sources
12) In my previous reporting to the
Government of INDIA and Government of Rajasthan, it was mentioned that the Dark
Zones in Northern India cannot be replenished instead of splendid rainfall
during the monsoon session of 2010, due to ‘multi-aquifer’ tube well/bore well;
have the potential to allow large quantities of flow of water between the
aquifers. (After Ref:- American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009,
abstract #H11A-0784). Provide the scientific view with appropriate
information that justifies the concept.
The information has
been published by NASA:
- Once intra borehole flow through the confining layer was added to the model,
much stronger agreement was found between the model and the observed CFC-11
concentrations, indicating that preferential vertical transport along boreholes
was a major contributor to concentrations of this particular groundwater age
tracer in the deeper confined part of the groundwater system. The objective of
the study was to assess the possibility that intra bore hole flow in long wells
can alter the distribution of groundwater age in a groundwater system. It was
hypothesized that wells spanning a significant fraction of an aquifer’s
thickness will, depending on the head gradient along the well, transport
groundwater of one age to a different part of the aquifer containing water with
a substantially different age.
- Solute can move within a long well or borehole during pumping or in the
absence of pumping. Results with solute-transport simulations using this new
capability have agreed with earlier work suggesting that intraborehole flow can
provide a preferential pathway for vertical solute migration
- The results of the midgradient simulation were similar in many respects
to the upgradient case. Heads were higher at the top of the well than at the
bottom, and therefore intraborehole flow drove younger water from the top
elevations of the well downward into the bottom portion of the well
- When drilling a well, the new borehole may
connect two aquifers (fracture zones, lithologic horizons) with different heads
(pressures, piezometric levels). This causes the water to flow from the
area of higher pressure to lower pressure through the open borehole, or if not
grouted properly, along the outside of the casing. The water may move up
or down the borehole. If the water comes up and exits the hole, then it is
artesian. When drilling creates a pathway for two aquifers to interact it
should be removed because of potential contamination of the two
aquifers. This is done with proper casing and grouting of the well
hole.
Sources
13) The conclusive study according to the above
point 12) the Groundwater Depletion begun in a zone just after the drilling of
the Multi-Aquifers bore holes and the Depletion of Water initializes just after
making of ‘Deeper Multi-Aquifer Tube wells’ where we have dry lower aquifers;
in compression of the immense pumping of groundwater for various proposes. In
other words deeper drilling of the ground created ‘Multi-Aquifer’ bore
wells/tube wells; by which the confining bed/aquitard/impermeable rock layers
got damaged/punctured, consequently the unlimited ground water goes on
continuously flows from higher aquifer to the lower aquifers and lower aquifer
to upper aquifers thorough the millions of holes of deeper
"Multi-Aquifer" Tube Wells. Kindly provide us comments, which could
explain scientifically what the actual situation is?
Sources
14) NASA has declared in 2009 that More
than 109 cubic km (26 cubic miles) of groundwater disappeared between 2002 and
2008 -- double the capacity of India's largest surface water reservoir, the
Upper Wainganga, and triple that of Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir
in the United States. What is the present scenario of Groundwater Depletion in
INDIA? How much estimated Cubic Kilometres of Groundwater has been disappeared
till now in INDIA? Mention the new region of affected areas.
The information has
been published by NASA:
- here is northern India’s underground water supply going? According to
Rodell and colleagues, it is being pumped and consumed by human activities --
principally to irrigate cropland -- faster than the aquifers can be replenished
by natural processes. They based their conclusions -- published in the August 20
issue of Nature -- on observations from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate
Experiment (GRACE).
Source
15) Provide the information about list of
those zones/states/countries having the same situation like India have as given
in point 14).
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
16) Provide the information about list of
those zones/states/countries where massive estimated volume in Cubic Kilometres
of Glaciers has already been disappeared. Mention the list of affected
regions/areas.
- Under appeal.
17)
My studies on the subject discovered
that Solar Maxima is responsible for the heavy raining in the year 2010 and
Solar Minima is responsible for the Droughts on the earth. Provide the records,
tabulated year wise in the column of Solar Minima/Maxima, heavy rainfall and
droughts in last 30 years understand real cause of the quantitative rainfall.
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
18) Provide the information of the record
about the event in the history of the Earth when it wobbled; mention the
appropriate cause in the brief and current situation.
- Under appeal, provide the information that the
earth is not wobbled/wobbling.
19) The ‘Axis of Earth’ is ‘not
compromised’ as it happens with every rotating object on the Earth except
spinning ball thrown in the air. On the basis of above concept is it possible
if the Axis of Earth may shift suddenly when such changes occurs at the extreme
ends, as mentioned in point 3), at the speed of rotation on equator about
1674.4 km/h around the Axis until the Barrier of Threshold may reach due to
Groundwater Depletion and Melting of Glaciers. Provide justified information on
the said concept of destruction and what the actual situation is?
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
20) If the movement of masses according to
point 3) and 19) do not compel to shift the axis of earth; that how it happens
by Earthquakes in point 1). Provide the comments of Scientists on this issue.
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
21) My studies on various relevant subjects
reached on the conclusion that there is a correlation between Groundwater
Depletion and Melting of the Glaciers. According to my conclusive study - if we
could control the Groundwater Depletion, which is due to said cause; we can
cure the Groundwater Level and could replenish the dark zones, which will bring
the sufficient evaporation of the water from the Ground Surfaces that from Sea;
that will minimise the impact of solar radiation to reach the Ground in the
presence of humidity in the atmosphere; due to what the impact of global
warming could be cured to prevent the melting of the Glaciers; Hence balance
the Earth Rotation/Wobbling. Provide the scientific comments on the said
‘Cause/Action of the remedy’.
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
22) If we establish the Real cause of
Groundwater Depletion; then could we implement the perfect solution for that,
this could prevent the shifting of the masses into the Sea in the form of
Rising Groundwater and preventing the melting of Glaciers both. Hence, we could
control the Global Warming also; and the carbon emission factors should be
considered as secondary one because the presence of humidity will control the
presence of carbon in the atmosphere – that was mainly considered as
responsible for the Global Warming or Melting of Glaciers. Provide information
with justified scientific comments on this point for the Next Step to be taken.
- We needed the comments from the Experts only.
It is the
requester's belief that the vast majority, if not all, of the materials in
question, are subject to FOIA's mandatory release provisions. The documents are
primarily historical in nature. This is underscored by the Agency's letter
denying the FOIA request which described the requested documents as relating to
the field of work of NASA.
In the
letter of denial, the Agency stated that because the "withheld document
includes finding of Earth Science and environmental damages issues" the
entire report, and its summary, were properly exempt from disclosure. This is a
misstatement of law.
I request a
waiver of all fees for this request. Disclosure of the requested information to
me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly
to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and
is not primarily in my commercial interest. Justification
for Expedite Processing and Fee Waiver in accordance with (14 CFR
1206.704) is described in the given attachments already sent to NASA
Headquarter.
Finally,
because disclosure would be in the public interest, the Chief should release
any materials which happen to be covered by exemption 5 by utilizing his
discretionary release powers. 7 C.F.R. § 1.17(b). Release of material is to be
"considered in the public interest if the benefit to the public in
releasing the document outweighs any harm likely to result from
disclosure." Id. As noted above, the requested documents represent a
unique and important resource outlining the historical path of Agency
interaction with a species at the center of an important public policy debate.
It is hard to imagine materials falling more squarely within the goal of FOIA;
the full illumination of governmental activities in areas directly affecting
the public good. Compared to that important goal, and considering the immediacy
of this particular issue, any balancing must tip in favor of complete
disclosure.
Hence, the
case of FOIA application has been closed needed to be open again.
Sincerely,
Yashwant Singh Deora,
President,
Jan Jagriti Vikas evm Seva Samiti, Jodhpur
Attachments:-
1-
Freedom of Information Application dated 28 Dec.,
2011.
2-
Acknowledgement of NASA dated 30 Dec., 2011
3-
Reply of Acknowledgement for 12-HQ-F-00230 dated 7
Jan. 2012
4-
Denial Response of the reply date 07.12.2012 by
FOIA Officer on 12.01.2012
Copy Right @ 2011-2012 by Yashwant
Deora
tell some thing about punjab
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