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Abstract A flaperon belonging to Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 washed ashore on Réunion Island covered with the barnacle Lepas anatifera in July 2015, more than a year after the plane's disappearance. Here, we report the first high‐precision δ18Ocalcite versus temperature relationship for L. anatifera reared under laboratory conditions to unlock clues to the flaperon's drift path and origin. Using this experimental relationship and known growth rates for L. anatifera, we also demonstrate a new method for (a) converting δ18O data for one of the MH370 barnacles into a dated time series of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) experienced during the last part of the flaperon's drift and (b) identifying best fits between the observed flaperon SST time series and 50,000 SST histories generated from a particle‐tracking simulation. Our new method identifies a flaperon drift path far south of a previous isotope‐based reconstruction. We conclude with specific recommendations for using our method to continue the search for MH370 and other applications.

The MH370 crisis which attracted global attention is considered one of the most perplexing disasters in aviation history by aviation experts. One of the highlights of the crisis was the alleged inability of Malaysian journalists to provide accurate information on the issue. Maximum news coverage, commentaries, expert views, and researches were carried out regarding the issue. However, most of them only focused on how Malaysian authorities handled the crisis. None ventured into Malaysian journalists' perspectives particularly on their concerns regarding their coverage of the crisis. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate the perspectives of journalists from the selected newspapers on their framing of the crisis, the alleged inconsistencies in their coverage, and the perceived lack of access to information. By giving journalists a voice to express their views on their performance, it is hoped that will deepen knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of press freedom, ownership, and control in the country. Through qualitative data analysis, the study found that MH370 news frames were greatly influenced by both internal and external factors, ranging from individuals to state levels. They include lack of experience in aviation news coverage on the part of the local Malaysian journalists; the internal gatekeeping process by the news editors of various newspapers which tend to undermine the work of journalists; and the seen and unseen restrictions experienced by journalists and media houses at the state level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of oceanic crustal formation is mostly limited to observations of young crust formed in the past several million years, due to the thick sediments on older crust and the remote location of many spreading centers. Here we use 40 m‐resolution bathymetric data collected over hundreds of square kilometers during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on the flank of the Southeast Indian Ridge, which provides a record of crustal accretion from 11–23 Ma. Spectra calculated from the data show a characteristic timescale of 300–400 kyr and no evidence for periodicity coinciding with glacial cycles. This characteristic timescale could be explained by fluctuations in melt supply and the amount of faulting, leading to variations in crustal thickness. We show that this timescale of variation is consistent with porosity waves observed in a two‐phase flow model, which persist over millions of years. Plain Language Summary: A 12‐million‐year‐long record of crustal formation is contained within the seafloor mapping data collected during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, at a resolution that is 15 times higher than previous maps. These data illuminate the structure of a vast area of crust formed on the Southeast Indian Ridge and show that crustal production, rather than being a constant process, has varied in cycles that last hundreds of thousands of years. This pattern can be explained by the varying amount of molten rock that rises from deep in Earth's mantle, arriving in episodic waves. This behavior could be a general feature of mid‐ocean ridges spreading at similar rates, which has not been previously recognized due to a lack of available data. Key Points: Multibeam bathymetric data from MH370 search reveal off‐axis crustal structure of Southeast Indian RidgeCrustal accretion fluctuates at a characteristic timescale of 300–400 kyr, with no evidence for periodicity at glacial cycle intervalsCrustal accretion variability could be explained by the combined effects of melt‐rich porosity waves and mantle heterogeneities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, seafloor topography inversion based on satellite altimetry gravity data provides the principal means to predict the global seafloor topography. Researchers often use sea surface geoid height or gravity anomaly to predict sea depth in the space domain. In this paper, a comprehensive discussion on seafloor topography inversion formulas in the space domain is presented using sea surface geoid height, gravity anomaly and introduces an approach that uses vertical gravity gradient. This would be the first study to estimate seafloor topography by vertical gravity gradient in the space domain. Further, a nonlinear iterative least-square inversion process is discussed. Using the search area for the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 as study site, we used the DTU17 gravity anomaly model and SIO V29.1 vertical gravity gradient to generate the seafloor topography. The results of the proposed bathymetric models were analyzed and compared with the DTU18 and SIO V20.1 bathymetric models. The experimental results show that the gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient in the study area are strongly correlated with the seafloor topography in the 20–200 km wavelength range. The optimal initial iteration values for seafloor topography variance and correlation length are 0.6365 km2 and 10.5′, respectively. Shipborne measurements from SONAR data were used as external checkpoints to evaluate the bathymetric models. The results show that the RMS for BAT_VGG_ILS (inversion model constructed by vertical gravity gradient) is smaller than for BAT_GA_ILS (inversion model constructed by gravity anomaly) and BAT_GA_VGG_ILS (inversion model constructed by gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient). The relative accuracy of the DTU18 bathymetry model was 9.27%, while the relative accuracy of the proposed seafloor models was higher than 4%. Within the 200 m difference range, the proportion of checkpoints for BAT_VGG_ILS was close to 95%, about 80% for BAT_GA_ILS and BAT_GA_VGG_ILS, and less than 50% for the DTU18. The results show that the nonlinear iterative least square method in the space domain is feasible.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. A flaperon from the flight was found on Reunion Island in July 2015. Two more confirmed pieces of debris were found in Mauritius and Tanzania, and 19 unconfirmed items were found off Mozambique, South Africa, and Madagascar. Drift buoys originating from the designated underwater search area arrived in Reunion Island, Mauritius, and Tanzania. Some of these buoys took a similarly long time as did real debris to reach these destinations, following a heading northeast and then west. For the present study, a maritime object drift prediction model was developed. “High resolution surface currents, Stokes drift, and winds” were processed, and a series of model experiments were constructed. The predicted trajectories of the modeled objects were similar to the observed trajectories of the drift buoys. Many modeled objects drifted northward then westward, ending up in Reunion Island, Mauritius, and Tanzania with probabilities of 5‰, 5‰, and 19‰, respectively. At the end of the simulation, most objects were located near 10°S in the western Indian Ocean. There were significant differences between experiments with different leeway factors, possibly because of the influence of southeast trade winds. The north part of the underwater search area is most likely to be the crash site, because the predicted trajectories of objects originating here are consistent with the many pieces of debris found along the east coast of Africa and the absence of such findings on the west coast of Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines MH370 through the lens of its varied non-human witnesses. By employing Harun Farocki's notion of operative images in conjunction with the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead it plots a radically dispersed and autonomous image-making apparatus that captured the event of the aircraft's disappearance and accelerated the expansion of the event itself. Crucially, this article proposes that these images cannot be understood in terms of vision but must be read instead as a series of tactile or synaesthetic practices between materials. Through examining contemporary image-making technologies employed in the search for the aircraft, it charts an ontological tactility within image making, one that - it is argued - has been present since the birth of the medium itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article makes a case for foregrounding ‘event’ as a key concept within journalism studies before, during, and after the digital age. The article’s first part presents an overview of the existing research on events in philosophy, sociology, historiography, and journalism studies, arguing that the concept of ‘event’ has not received sufficient attention in journalism studies. The article’s second part demonstrates the need to consider ‘event’ as an essential concept of journalism studies through an empirical case study: the news coverage of the disappeared Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 (8 March 2014) in four American news outlets, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and CNN. This article argues that journalists employed two strategies in their coverage: (1) they created and/or covered what the article calls ‘substitute events’, defined as minor events in the present that journalists perceived as new happenings and that led to further reporting and (2) turned to the past and the future for events in their reporting, extending the scope of coverage from the relatively eventless present. Overall, the case study shows that journalists are limited in their narration by the power of events, and they are eager to construct and cover events, even when events are not readily available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines' flight MH370 has been one of the most highly discussed and debated crises in recent times. The situation has put the organisation into the spotlight of global attention both as a business entity and as an extension of the Malaysian government. Drawing on mediating the media model (Pang, 2010) and information processing and knowledge management framework (Coombs, 2012), this study evaluates the air carrier's relationship with the media and online communication strategies during the crucial first two weeks of the crisis. The data were collected from Malaysia Airlines' traditional and new media public relations practices and were analysed using a qualitative case study methodology (Yin, 2009). This study argues that the unfavourable representation of Malaysia Airlines by its media stakeholders was complicated by both controlled and uncontrolled crisis elements ranging from information void to fragile relationship with the press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disappearance of Malaysian Airline Flight MH370 attracted high media attention across countries. To explore how news media outlets influence each other in transnational settings, this study focuses on the coverage of MH370 by three major newspapers in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong, and examines the inter-media agenda-setting effect as an indicator of media’s mutual influence. A content analysis of 255 news articles revealed significant correlations among the issue agendas of the 3 newspapers, suggesting the existence of reciprocal, though asymmetrical, influence among the news media in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong. The findings also suggest that news media differ in power and that news media in high-power countries play a key role in shaping the global news agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the effects and expressions of norm compliance in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 'unintended consequences' arising from such compliance. This is done through an analysis of ASEAN's responses in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts in the Typhoon Haiyan disaster and in the search for missing flight MH370. It argues that the lethargic ASEAN responses in the Haiyan disaster and the uncoordinated search efforts for missing flight MH370 are unintended outcomes arising from norm adherence specifically to the norms of 'respect for sovereignty' and 'consensual decision-making' which constrained the range of ASEAN responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the aftermath of the disappearance of the Malaysian 370 (MH370) flight in March 2014, new positioning methods were employed to establish the search area. In the absence of all other positioning technologies (Transponder, Radio communications, Radar), these innovative methods are based on the handshake signals between an INMARSAT satellite and the satellite transceiver on board the aircraft. The log of these signals was made public in order for the scientific community to engage in solving the mystery of the MH370 trajectory. The log indicates the delay between the interrogation and response signals, as well as the relative velocity indications, based on the shift of the carrier frequency due to the Doppler-Fizeau effect. This paper puts forward an original, independent and accurate positioning method and allows the calculation of the MH370 trajectory considering the wind vector field that day, the accurate satellite orbit and an accurate model of the Earth (the WGS-84 ellipsoid). The results were compared to other results published, indicating a different final position of the aircraft from the locations of the published search area. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As people increasingly integrate social network sites (SNSs) into their daily lives, they also turn to these sites for timely information following crises. To date, few studies have examined the effects of different types of motivation on participatory behaviours within SNSs following crises. In this study, self-determination theory (SDT) is applied to examine how individuals are motivated to participate in SNSs following a crisis and how individuals' participatory behaviours can better assist them understand a crisis. The Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) incident is selected as the context for this study, and data is collected following the incident. The results show that different types of motivation result in different participatory behaviours. Controlled motivation is positively related to browsing content, commenting and sharing content. Conversely, autonomous motivation is positively associated with browsing and sharing content. Besides, browsing content and commenting are positively related to people's situational self-awareness. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 has led to a remarkable Muslim spiritual response demonstrating a profound mass religious coping phenomenon, and understandably, an intense sense of spirituality; This includes significant, no less relevant issues, such as religious, preaching responses and theological interpretations, the pilots suicidal scenario, the bomohs, and interfaith rapprochement. This study not only highlights the social implications of the spiritual and religious capital inherent in Malaysian society, i.e., indicating of adaptable religious capital in Malaysian society at large, but also unveils to a large degree the extent to which the Malaysian Muslim religious and spiritual capital can play a potentially positive, and effective role in coping with disasters and calamities, and further identifies a collective religious pattern used for adapting to and managing national and international catastrophes and crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At 17:22 UTC on 7th March 2014 Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers and crew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing lost contact with Air Traffic Control and was subsequently reported missing. Over the following days an extensive air and sea search was made around the last reported location of the aircraft in the Gulf of Thailand without success. Subsequent analysis of signals transmitted by the aircraft's satellite communications terminal to Inmarsat's 3F1 Indian Ocean Region satellite indicated that the aircraft continued to fly for several hours after loss of contact, resulting in the search moving to the southern Indian Ocean. This paper presents an analysis of the satellite signals that resulted in the change of search area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014, Malaysia Airlines experienced two tragedies in quick succession, damaging the company's reputation and finances, with negative implications for Malaysian tourism. This research assesses the impact of this. We find that the share price response was immediate and substantive. The carrier implemented sweeping adjustments, while passenger traffic rapidly declined particularly in Asian markets. Malaysian Airlines augmented fare reduction after each accident to stem the ongoing leakage of passengers. Traffic from China witnessed sharp declines, signalling the severity of the incumbents' prognosis. We further examine the investor response and the ultimate government decision to nationalise and restructure. • We investigate the financial effects of the Malaysia Airlines disasters. • Share price response to both tragedies was substantial compared to previous incidents. • The reverberating shocks changed long-standing correlations and information flows. • International passengers sought other options despite lower fares offerings. • The most prudent choice was Malaysian state intervention to protect tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, seafloor topography inversion based on satellite altimetry gravity data provides the principal means to predict the global seafloor topography. Researchers often use sea surface geoid height or gravity anomaly to predict sea depth in the space domain. In this paper, a comprehensive discussion on seafloor topography inversion formulas in the space domain is presented using sea surface geoid height, gravity anomaly and introduces an approach that uses vertical gravity gradient. This would be the first study to estimate seafloor topography by vertical gravity gradient in the space domain. Further, a nonlinear iterative least-square inversion process is discussed. Using the search area for the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 as study site, we used the DTU17 gravity anomaly model and SIO V29.1 vertical gravity gradient to generate the seafloor topography. The results of the proposed bathymetric models were analyzed and compared with the DTU18 and SIO V20.1 bathymetric models. The experimental results show that the gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient in the study area are strongly correlated with the seafloor topography in the 20–200 km wavelength range. The optimal initial iteration values for seafloor topography variance and correlation length are 0.6365 km 2 and 10.5′, respectively. Shipborne measurements from SONAR data were used as external checkpoints to evaluate the bathymetric models. The results show that the RMS for BAT_VGG_ILS (inversion model constructed by vertical gravity gradient) is smaller than for BAT_GA_ILS (inversion model constructed by gravity anomaly) and BAT_GA_VGG_ILS (inversion model constructed by gravity anomaly and vertical gravity gradient). The relative accuracy of the DTU18 bathymetry model was 9.27%, while the relative accuracy of the proposed seafloor models was higher than 4%. Within the 200 m difference range, the proportion of checkpoints for BAT_VGG_ILS was close to 95%, about 80% for BAT_GA_ILS and BAT_GA_VGG_ILS, and less than 50% for the DTU18. The results show that the nonlinear iterative least square method in the space domain is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]