Discovery What is a scientist after all? It is a curious man looking through a keyhole, the keyhole of nature, trying to know what's going on. – Jacques Yves Cousteau. Never before has Cousteau been so right. Until recently, it seemed humanity had discovered all it could about its habitat. However in 1996, when European ERS-1 satellite focused on the Antarctic shelf, it depicted Lake Vostok, a subglacial lake the size of Lake Ontario, completely isolated by a two mile sheet of ice for at least 14 million years.(Edwards, 2011) Theories of liquid bodies of water under Antarctica have been made as early as the late eighteen-hundreds. The existence of Lake Vostok itself has been known of since the 1970’s. (Morton, 2004) However, it is only recently …show more content…
Geologist Robin Bell dates Lake Vostok to be around thirty-million years old, basing her information on “the time it takes for other rift lakes to form,” Lake Vostok itself being a rift lake. (Bell & Priscu, 2000) Bell goes on to state that there was a drastic cooling of the Earth around fifteen million years ago, and Lake Vostok, being very close the tallest highlands in east Antarctica, would have frozen very quickly. With such a quick change in environment, an uneven mixing of chemicals and gasses occurred, so even with tremendous pressure and oxygen levels being much higher than normal, such a poor and uneven mix could provide areas in Lake Vostok where microbial life could live and reproduce for an indefinite amount of time. (Ekaykin & Lipenkov, 2010) Circumstances such as these, though very rare, are not impossible, and are present not solely on Earth …show more content…
No air, no sunlight, high oxygen concentration, and pressure 360 times that at sea level would be conditions for some very strange life indeed. (Studinger, 2008) Yet, not only is there a fascination with what life exists but what life had existed. Being sealed off from the rest of the world for 14 million years would effectively neutralize external factors such as changing climate and dominant species from influencing any existing life. Such isolation would provide a very pristine photograph of what life existed all those years ago, giving us a crucial link to what could be some of the earliest forms of life on Earth: our very first ancestors and template for our own genetic make-up. (Bell &Priscu,
In his essay, “Global Warming is Eroding Glacial Ice,” Revkin is arguing that global warming is constantly changing the ...
Once More to the Lake and The Pond. White and Thoreau, two diverse minds. When you look into their writings you seem to find something that rises to your attention, some of what you see seems to fit into the others writing. Yet taking a closer look you see that they are not particularly saying the same thing. Is it because they felt like writing or did something cause these writers to exploit there minds and make something out of their thoughts? Every sentence and every word say something much deeper. When reading these writings you have to look deep within the writing. You begin to notice you are reading something quite fascinating.
(Quimby 6). Between this time period, in 6000 B.C., the basins of the upper Great Lakes became entirely ice free
In 1914, a great leader began a great expedition, unbeknownst to him that instead of being known as great explorers, they would be known as some of the greatest survivors. This man was Sir Ernest Shackelton and he was determined to be the first to cross the Antarctic. Little did he know, his biggest challenge would end up being his ability to lead his team to survival. He also had no idea that their tale of strength, determination, and courage to survive would influence people well into the 21st century, and the book detailing their stories would be used as a model of leadership. As our group read this book, it was evident that Shackleton was a truly motivated and successful leader as we have come to understand him to be.
Opening Statement: Forget about exploring outer space, we should concentrate on something a lot closer that we only know a small fraction about - Earth’s oceans.
Space.com. "Europa: Facts About Jupiter's Icy Moon and Its Ocean." Space.com. N.p., 3 July 2012. Web. Feb. 2014.
These penguins lived after the Castastrophic event “Cretaceuous” that demolished the dinosaurs and many other species. Based on the DNA analyses and avaiable evidence of modern birds, we think the modern bird- lineages, including penguins, some how managed to survive through the Cretaceuous. Also it’s not shocking these fossils were found in New Zeland. The South Pacific and Southern oceans were free of predatory mammals, had abundant food, and had space for Penguins to breed. But the Southern Pacific is not the only area where Penguins inhabit. Many of modern penguins “Aptrenodytes” are located in the Antarctic. Recenelty it was discovered that there was a over looked feature on the surface of the fossil penguins flipper bone. These grooves were easily missed because the look was similar to tendons and muscles in the same area. It was discovered that these grooves were blood vessels that make up a counter current heat exchanger called “humeral arterial plexus” which allows penguins to limit the heat loss through the flippers. Also it helped Penguins maintain their core body temperature in cold water allowing them to survive long journeys in the cold waters. Although Penguins have luckily been able develop these traits to survive the dramatic shifts in climate, the world population can not mistake their success as resilience towards global warming.
Welcome to Lake Martin. Lake Martin is where many people come to spend time with their families and to relax. This lake is known for the Martin Dam and former/current coach's own land or a house on the lake. On the lake you can do many fun things such as spend time on the water and where to eat lunch and dinner after a long day out on the water.
Palastanga, V., Van der Schrier, G., Weber, S. L., Kleinen, T., Briffa, K. R., & Osborn, T. J. (2011). Atmosphere and ocean dynamics: contributors to the European Little Ice Age? Climate Dynamics, (36), 973-987.
Most of the numerous inland lakes in Michigan formed as glacial kettle lakes associated with pitted outwash plains. Some of the more northern lakes in the state (like Burt and Mullet Lakes) were scoured out by glacial erosion. A few lakes along the present-day shoreline formed as hooked spits and bay mouth bars isolated estuaries along the coastline position near the ice, but farther removed from the immediate ice front. The water levels of the Great Lakes had dropped steadily. According to Etterna (2010), “The sand eroded by the glaciers has also shaped Michigan’s shorelines today. Michigan receives mainly westerly winds, causing the Lake Michigan coastline to have significant
... phytoplankton to fish, the sea ice is an integral part of the Arctic marine ecosystem” (Derocher, 2014).
The foundation of the Great Lakes began around three billion years ago, which is known as the Precambrian Era. The Precambrian Era contains numerous ecological events, which consists of volcanic activity to erosion to the mountains and hills seen today being formed. Then during the Pleistocene Epoch or known as the “Ice Age, occurred between 1.6 million and 10,000 years ago. At least four times during the Pleistocene Epoch, large masses of ice advanced and retreated over the surface of what is now North America. As the glaciers advanced, giant sheets of ice flowed across the land, leveling mountains and carving out massive ...
- - -. The Rise of Life on Earth. New York: New Directions, 1991. Print.
In this essay, I will be explaining the unexpected signs of life that Leeuwenhoek found in a single droplet of rainwater which he described as ‘little animals’. He had witnessed bacteria and protozoa, laying the foundations for the sciences of bacteriology and protozoology. Leeuwenhoek also found ‘little animals’ in other bodies of water, including lakes, and on the surface of pepper and teeth. Additionally, with regards to the essay, I will also begin to identify the new and useful information established in Leeuwen...
The water beats at the bank feel gently, and resides carefully to avoid over soaking it. The air is fresh and overwhelming with cool gushes of wind blowing past, provoking the trees to yawn and some times sleep. It was a lovely Valentine day and perfect for a picnic at Lake Lavon.