ocean Archives - Capital Berg

Earth Is Pummeled by Stardust from a Dead Supernova

April 25, 2016 By Waleed Javed

When people say that we are made of star dust, they are in fact romanticizing. No, all of our composing atoms originated on Earth, even though the Earth is composed of two different planets – the original Earth and Theia. But the remnants of distant stars are far closer than you may even imagine.

While it’s true that any dying star that stops shining right now is too far away for its light to reach us within our lifetimes, that doesn’t mean that the stars we’re still seeing are still in existence. And it certainly doesn’t mean that there is nothing left of them even if they blew up.

Ancient star dust

As you might have surmised from the title, a team of researchers from the Washington University in Saint Louis managed to determine that Earth is pummeled by stardust from a dead supernova. This pummeling is done by specks of intergalactic dust propelled from the exploding star with speeds close to that of light.

The finding comes as a result of a team of researchers discovering tiny deposits of iron-60 isotopes in most of the world’s oceans. The specks of radioactive cosmic dust were very difficult to trace, primarily because of the many shifts in trajectory they suffered as they were slingshot by the gravity and magnetic fields of other celestial bodies.

Isotopes and dating

As for the iron-60 isotopes, the researchers realized that they didn’t come from Earth because iron-60 is only produced in dying stars. It is also with the help of isotopes that scientists were able to figure out that Earth as it is today, as well as the moon, resulted from the head-on collision with a forming planet that was part of our solar system.

Still, once they realized that the dust specks weren’t from Earth, as well that they were radioactive, the team used dating procedures to figure out exactly when the supernova that pushed dust with such force that it’s falling on Earth today exploded, as well as how close it was to our own floating space rock.

Seventeen years of data

By looking at seventeen years of cosmic ray data captured by spectrometers, satellites, and other very expensive imagers, the scientists managed to find fifteen atomic nuclei in the iron-60 or 60Fe particles. And it’s with their help that the team managed to pinpoint the time and place of the exploding supernova.

According to the findings, the supernova was actually pretty close to Earth, and it went up just a few million years ago. While it may seem like a lot, if we consider the distances and times in outer space, that’s quite recent. In fact, it is estimated that our Homo erectus ancestors probably witnessed the explosion in the sky, as it would have been close enough to see with the naked eye.

Image source: Wikimedia

Huge Reef Ecosystem Was Found in the Amazon

April 23, 2016 By June Harris

While it’s true that we’ve only explored about five percent of the world’s waters, we probably imagine that that’s only available for the world’s oceans. I mean, rivers and lakes aren’t all that big, except maybe for a few lochs here or there. Otherwise, why would we skip on exploring parts of our planet, seeing as we’re so keen on discovery?

Well, certain places are just too out of the way or too dangerous to access, while others are in fact so common-looking that nobody would think there’s something worth exploring there. Other times, places are just overlooked. All that being said, a huge reef ecosystem was found in the Amazon according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.

Amazonian discovery

Located between the Maranhão State in Brazil and the French Guiana-Brazil border, the reef lies in a plume of river water right at the mouth of the Amazon. According to the published study, this is what explains how it managed to remain undiscovered for so long despite speculations of its presence being around for over six decades.

Senior author Fabiano Thompson, oceanographer and marine biology professor at the SAGE-COPPE of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and lead author Rodrigo Moura are the ones that led the expedition in the form of three cruises as part of a United States – Brazil collaboration.

New ecosystem

Expectedly, seeing as this is one of the rarest types of reefs ever encountered, its characteristics are fairly different from any other known before. Aside from the many areas of very low light and oxygen that are usually common thousands of feet under the surface, another very unusual feature of the reef is that it resides in murky, sediment-rich waters. In fact, the Amazon sheds some 333,000 nutrients per second in that particular location.

But the biome is also very strange, with the experts on the case considering it an absolute novelty. Aside from the many single-celled organisms that play a vital role in the ecosystem, the fauna mostly consists of enormous sponges, wide varieties of algae and corals, spiny lobsters, hydroids, and some 73 species of fish.

Coral failings

Even though it was just discovered, the reef is already struggling with survival. Even though it is in far better shape than the Great Barrier Reef, as the murky Amazon waters kept it safe from most of the effects of global warming, there are other factors that are contributing to this reef’s demise.

First of all, 125 portions of the river substrate were purchased by a petroleum company in 2013, and they will soon be sending enough oil the reef’s way to make it dangerous. But as it happens, this Amazonian reef is also one of its own biggest enemies, as it sacrificed resistance for quick reproduction.

Image source: Discovery

The Misconceptions Regarding the Sizes of Gigantic Sea Creatures

January 14, 2015 By Carol Harper

The huge sea animals can easily turn into unbelievable sizes. Researchers of Canada collaborated with U.S experts to determine the actual size of the largest sea creatures.

The scientists examined the data of the body sizes of some of the biggest animals present in oceans. The chief aim of the study is to correct some misleading notion regarding the size of 25 sea creatures such as Great White Shark, the walrus and the Giant Squid.

Craig McClain, the main author of the paper states that he observed that people usually thinks that enormous squids reached 60 feet in length. It is surely an astonishingly long length. However, when he began the study he realized that the assumptions were pretty impractical. Hence, he formed an extensive chart to describe everything clearly.

For instance, people normally believe that the supreme length of squids is 60 feet. However, the study reveals that maximum length of squids is merely 40 feet (12 meters).

McClain also works as the assistant director of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. He enlightens that the muscle fibers in squids contract and stretch during decomposition. The process could be responsible for the measurement taken in 1800s.

Later on, McClain requested graduate and undergraduate students to work on his project. They asked them to choose marine species which captivated them.

The study is explained in detail with charts in the 13^th January edition of Journal Peer J.

Does Saturn’s Moon Mimas have an Ocean under its Icy Surface?

October 17, 2014 By Marlene R. Litten

A recent analysis of the photographs, captured by NASA’s Cassini Orbiter has shown the evidence suggesting the idea that Like Enceladus,the moon may also have a global, under-ice sea.The Casssini Orbiter is currently touring Saturn and its moons. The analysis will be published this Friday in the journal Science.

The team doing the analysis, found that the measurements they made could indicate to a frozen solid moon having a rocky core shape just as the rugby ball. But if we consider the under-ice sea explanation, Mimas could depict the potential habitat for simple form,s of organic life.

However, Mimas is getting more and more intriguing than expected . Radwan Tajeddine is a research associate and an astronomer at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.She is the lead author of the study. She explained that

“This moon is more complex than we imagined”.

Mimas, among the Saturn’s moons, is more likely to act as a low key cousin than its more closer relatives like Enceladus and Titan.

Enceladus is Saturn’s sixth largest moon,completely covered with ice. Evidences suggests that it has ocean beneath its ice crust.Moreover it is geologically active and venting out plumes of water near its south pole by the series of cracks.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn. Its atmosphere is thick and is rich in organic compounds. It has also been said that before life emerged on Earth, it was more like Titan. Titan’s surface also has lakes of hydrocarbons. Evidences also indicates the presence of a sea. It’s salinity can be comparable with Dead Sea beneath its surface.

Astro-biologist are very much interested in both the moons. They foresee them as potential habitat for simple forms of organic life for which liquid water is thought to be essential .

Mimas has been interesting because of its unusual out-of-round shape and its function in clearing a pronounced gap between Saturn’s two widest rings – a 4,800-mile-wide clearing known as the Cassini Gap. Moreover its most important feature is Herschel Crater, which is a ring up to six miles deep in moon present at 246 miles only. If these proportion are held constant and applied to Earth,the crater would span about 2,500 miles. It will engulf almost whole United States and large parts of Mexico and Canada as well. That’s the reason why, the crater give the moon the appearance of the Death Star.

Earlier the heavily cratered surface of Mima was not the point of interest for the researchers. They thought surface is quite old and boring as it has not undergone recent geological repaving which was seen on Enceladus. But still the frozen moon could have fossil structures beneath the surface. which became interesting.

Consequently, Dr. Tajeddine and colleagues from universities in France and Belgium attempted for the first time to determine the interior nature of that moon. Her findings gave rise to the mystery that If Mimas is mostly water ice with a little bit of rocks, why does it appears to be frozen solid at a bracing -334 degrees Fahrenheit while Enceladus, also an ice world, hosts an interior sea?

This sea is made possible by elliptical orbit of Enceladus and an enormous gravitational tug around Saturn. These give rise to tidal forces within the moon and produces frictional heat. This heat prevents the internal ocean of Enceladus from freezing.

Moreover Mimas’ orbit present a more eccentric ellipse than Enceladus’ orbit. So There is more tidal heat. This heat leads to melt the ice somewhere inside the moon but due to the absence of geyser like activity and the presence of heavily cratered surface it appears to be frozen since ages. a long time.

Researchers used 40 high-resolution images from Cassini’s narrow-angle camera from which they designed a 3-D map with 260 reference point on pockmarked surface of moon.They applied mathematical techniques to determine any changes in positions of these marks like Mimas orbits. They found changes in the form of movements(sideways) across the field.

Tajeddine says,

“If the moon was solid, with a core matching the shape of the outer shell, the size of the wobble should have been about 1.9 miles from one side to the other. Instead, it was twice of that. Only two of the models represented plausible explanations. But each explanation still had problems. For instance, if you have a rugby-ball shaped core, the final shape of the moon should resemble that. Mimas does not.”

The team suggested additional ways to answer many questions related to Mimas interior. The first suggestion was he requirement of close flyby top have additional information about their changing features. The other suggestion is to have detailed temperatures measurements of the surface to detect any unexpected warmth.

Scientists Added New Volcanoes To The Map Of Ocean Floor

October 6, 2014 By Marlene R. Litten

Scientists have recently published an updated version of the map of ocean floor. The map was shown in relation with a study published this Thursday. According to the research, the investigators revealed a new map which is twice as bona fide as the old map- the latter one was brought together approximately two decades back. The resolution the previous map provided was of structures that were a mile and high and bigger. This time the scientists got succeeded in assembling a high resolution map revealing number of volcanoes hidden under sea unknowingly.

The lead investigator David Sandwell, a geophysics professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego described his findings saying that in the past only 5000 archaic volcanoes were seen but now they are able to witness 10,000. He further stressed that may be his conclusion seemed to be useless but having so little information about the ocean floor, this disclosure is a significant thing to be kept in record. Moreover, he told that unexpectedly they have maps of Mars that have 100 to 10,000 times more resolution than maps of the deep ocean.

His opinion depicts that the deep ocean is a whole planet that we have just began to enquire into.

To design the new map, the researchers make use of database assembled by two satellite observatories: the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2, and the Jason-1, operated by NASA and the French space agency CNES.

Both shuttles have apparatuses that can measure the topography of the ocean surface within a fraction of an inch. Measuring the surface of oceanic waters gives a good idea about the structures at its bottom resulting in discovery of the hidden mountains and volcanoes in the water floor; as the structures affect the height of the water at surface.

In response to a question raised on discovery of ocean bottom Sandwell replied that in our life times may be we are unable to see the ocean floor. However it’s not possible that we will be deprived of the underwater sight but the process is not cost and time effective So for the current time, scientists are making use of this map to reveal the veiled features under sea . The resolution is not so good but it is surely better than the previous one.

Scientists Applauded For Making New Ocean Maps

October 5, 2014 By Denise Ehrlich

Just imagine what the sailors of old would have done had they been able to see what lay below the waves of the seas. Even ocean faring vessels and explorers are curious as to what secrets are on the ocean floor.

Well, now the mystery is enlightened somewhat as scientists using two existing satellites and other data were able to make the most advanced map of the ocean floors yet and many surprises met them. What was discovered was thousands and thousands of mountains. Volcanoes still alive and spewing lava and gasses, some volcanoes that are dormant and are of incalculable age. Tectonic ridges that helped to move the continental plates, basins and other masses of gigantic size.

These new maps aren’t super high resolution but are twice as good as the last set of maps made 20 years ago. By tweaking the maps can be even better. Many say it’s high time that the maps of the ocean floors have been made as we know more about the detailed surface of the Moon and several planets like Mars, Mercury, and Venus, than we do of our own ocean floors. The reason being is the water being so thick and dense and the lack of initiative by government to fund such research.

The heroes of this story, Professor David Sandwell of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and his team of scientists who used the European Space Agency’s satellite, CryoSat-2 and NASA and France’s space agency’s satellite, Jason-1. These two satellites had been in orbit doing other jobs, but were used for this research with resounding results.

With this groundbreaking data available the world will be scouring through the images looking for anything of interest. Industry and science will be looking for tell tale signs of new deposits of oil or minerals. Maybe even precious gems and metals can be had. New and safer shipping routes and for undersea vessels like military craft and commercial submarines.

Lost ships and their treasure laden cargo may be in areas we hadn’t known existed until now and archaeologists and geologists might have a field day just looking at the new spots that they can get their shovels into.

When science makes headway like this, everyone wins. Now the challenge is to do as high res and detailed a mapping as we’ve done in other worlds. That data will be of immense historical value, but will take time and money and perhaps a global effort is what’s called for here.

Scientists Via Satellite Revealed Thousands of Unseen Hidden Mountains on Ocean Floor

October 5, 2014 By Marlene R. Litten

Utilizing a combination of two already working satellites and other tools, scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego produced new maps twice as clear as the last maps made over 20 years ago.

Geophysics professor David Sandwell led the team in this groundbreaking work by teaming up the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 and NASA and French space agency’s Jason-1 satellites. The findings of the study were published in Science Magazine.

The images revealed thousands of mountains, active and dormant volcanoes, and an amazing 500 mile long ridge in the southern Atlantic Ocean and a huge ridge in the Gulf of Mexico. These kinds of discoveries means the the science books are going to have to be rewritten and we now have a newer look at how our planet formed and what to expect in the future regarding the geophysical events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The fine tuned satellites got down to as little as 10 centimeters on the ocean’s surface. The math involved was explained by Professor Sandwell by stating that a 1.2 mile high volcano produces a tiny amplitude bump on the surface of the ocean of around 10 centimeters over 12.5 miles. They used these figures to measure what was on the bottom. In retrospect this imaging isn’t the same as using a high resolution camera to get all the little details but that is something that has to be done. Reason being is that critics, professional and the public bite at the fact that we know more about the surface of the Moon or Mars than what’s in our oceans and it is true. For example Sandwell points out that we have 100 to 10,000 times better resolution of Mars than we have of our own oceans.

It’s about interest and funding regarding mapping in high detail what’s at the bottom of our oceans. One would think such a project would be of high priority by governments as there’s no telling how much in oil or precious metals and gems are there. Since the oceans are close to 2/3 the surface of the planet, what we’ve found on land should theoretically should be 1/3 of the treasures waiting for discovery in the oceans.

Scientists Discovered Thousands Of High-Range Mountains Under Ocean

October 3, 2014 By Carol Harper

In a remarkable example of using satellite technology, scientists have discovered thousands of mountains beneath the waves of the world’s oceans.

The survey of the mountains was actually unintentional but the yield of data is nothing short of astounding. The underwater volcanoes were discovered by the scientists and researchers at California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography aka SIO as well as associative organizations who helped in the findings. The findings were published in the journal Science.

The oceans are the least explored areas of the Earth and many have complained over the years that we know more about outer space than we do our own oceans. Now, with this new data and other ocean floor mapping, we have a greater look at what lies beneath the briny deep. David Sandwell the SIO geophysicist and lead paper author pointed out that his teams used new approaches to achieve the remarkable discoveries.

It was the European Space Agency’s CryoSat-2 and NASA’s own Jason 1 satellites that did the work. The two satellites captured enough data of higher quality that makes their maps twice as accurate than the previous 20 year old maps. The National Science Foundation aka NSF put up the money for the research and it appears that was good money tossed at a great project.

The project gleaned more than just the mountains and volcanoes, it also mapped earthquakes. Most of the mountains were old or dormant volcanoes, some may have been created by plate pressure where tectonic plates meet and compress upwards.

The applications of this research are multi-fold and staggering. An accurate map of th e ocean floors has been dreamed of for years. Many people had assumed that the US and its allies had already done high resolution mapping of the oceans and knew where every nook and cranny is. This may be true but if so it’s classified and the public wouldn’t know it. However this new data is clear enough and out in the public. It can help with so many of the physical sciences, navigation, weather, ocean patterns, geological history and who knows what else.

Since this research used already existing satellites that were designed for other purposes it points to the value of reusing tools already available to achieve great results. This saves money across the board in a mega way. No need to launch more expensive payloads, train staff, just point the satellites to another area and you’re good to go.

Report: Foundations for upcoming Google ocean map has been laid by most recent Map of Ocean Seafloor

October 3, 2014 By Cliff Jenkins Scott

The research findings included in Journal Science have turned into a hallmark discovery in earth sciences. It uncovers various minute details about the trenches and mountains which sink and rise beneath the waves. It also has a map of world seafloor which provides an efficient approach to the continents formation.

A scientific model having the ability to measure the gravity at ocean seafloor was used to make the new map. It used the data from ESA’s CryoSat-2 satellite which is responsible for examining polar ice and also works on the oceans 24/7. Moreover researchers took the data from NASA’s satellite, Jason-1, which was redirected to map the gravity field during the last year of its 12-year mission.

It showed various unprecedented features like new indication for spreading seafloor ridges at the Gulf of Mexico that were active before almost 150 million years but are now shrouded by mile-thick coating of sediments along with the newly visible connections between Africa and South America which gives the vibrant proof of how these continents are formed and are still changing today.

The author in the report writes:

“One of the most important uses of the new marine gravity field will be to improve the estimates of seafloor depth in the 80 percent of the oceans that remains uncharted or is buried beneath thick sediment”

Richard Francis, co-author of the new paper, in a news release stated that:
“Although CryoSat-2’s primary mission is the cryosphere, we knew as soon as we selected its orbit that it would be invaluable for marine geodesy, and this work proves the point.”

The findings will also be used for future research. In a nut shell, these findings provided the basic foundation for the upcoming new version of Google’s ocean maps in order to fill large gaps between shipboard depth profiles.

Tiny Brine Shrimp Super Charge The Intensity of Waves In The Ocean

October 1, 2014 By Andreas Petersen

Baby Boomers remember those sparkling ads in comic books and magazines showcasing the amazing Sea Monkeys. The ads depicted funny anthropomorphic pink skinned creatures swimming about happily. All a kid needed was to add water and watch the miracle of the Sea Monkeys emerge from their eggs and start swimming about.

Well, the fun lasted until the creatures emerged and it was discovered that the Sea Monkeys were nothing more than common brine shrimp.

Well Sea Monkeys have made the news again this time as a possible solution to oceanic sustenance for the creatures of the sea. No, they’re not going to be used as food but the way the creature move, wiggling about and such, they’re being considered to be able to mix the oceans’ upper layers like waves and wind do. This could deliver salt, heat, and nutrients to the upper layers of the waters.

The churning of the oceans via waves and winds, tides and such are imperative for mixing the waters of the surface. Not only for oceans but for other bodies of water. This stirring about is what living creatures in the waters depend on. The way Sea Monkeys behave is like many other marine creatures. They swim to the top of the waters and back down again and again eating and doing whatever they need to do and as such stir the waters for the benefit of all. Scientists expect that billions of these Sea Monkeys cause enough of a swirl to be a valuable fluid dynamic. Researchers at Caltech decided to test this and coming to the fore are Monica Wilhelmus and John Dabiri.

Using an unique technique of blue and green lasers to get thousands of the Sea Monkeys to migrate from the bottom of a 1.2 meter deep tank, much like house cats who are attracted to those red pen laser lights. Focusing the lasers to the center of the tank and using silver coated microspheres that they used a red laser to illuminate the researchers set out to see the way the swirls and eddies were formed by the moving shrimp. The experiment was a success.

This along with previous studies show that the creatures like brine shrimp, phytoplankton and others that absorb massive amounts of energy from the sun and other sources use only a small percentage of that energy to keep the waters stirred up. The results of the study can be seen in Physics of Fluids.