Mammoths on display: Early engraving from the St. Petersburg museum
Courtesy Mark RyanPaleontologists have uncovered the skull of a rare mammoth species in southern France that could help fill in a gap of knowledge about mammoth evolution.
The skull belongs to a steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii), a large creature that roamed the Ice Age landscape during the Middle Pleistocene some 400,000 years ago. While alive, the steppe mammoth stood about 12 feet tall at the shoulder and spent its life grazing on grasses. Few skulls of this intermediate beast have been found so this latest discovery could help link the evolutionary path between the earlier southern mammoth (Mammuthus meridionalis) and the later woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius).
"This specimen is of extreme importance because we don't know that much about the Middle Pleistocene," said Dick Mol, an amateur paleontologist from the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam, who discovered the skull with French paleontologist Frederic Lacombat. Photos of the dig can be viewed here.
Mammoth skull: American Museum of Natural History
Courtesy Mark RyanThe earlier southern mammoth lived life browsing on trees and shrubs in a savannah-type environment, much like that found today in Senegal, Africa. But the steppe mammoth, and its descendent the woolly mammoth, lived in a colder, harsher environment. Their molars show an adaptation to the tougher steppe grasses that took over the savannah as the climate got colder and the latest ice age began.
SOURCE and LINKS
BBC site story
Origin and evolution of mammaths
More mammoth facts
Mammoth museum in Russia video
Mammoth site in South Dakota
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Gustav was the seventh named storm in the 2008 Hurricane season, and we quickly have four more, including three in the Atlantic.
Hanna has hit Haiti leaving at least 10 dead and could hit the East coast as early as Friday. It is currently a tropical storm, but forecasters say it could be back to hurricane strength again before making landfall on the East coast. Check out the storm track for this storm here.
Ike is headed to the area of the Bahamas and could reach the area by Sunday. The area would then have been hit by four storms in a row, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. Check out the storm track for this storm here.
Tropical storm Josephine formed today and hurricane center said it could near hurricane force by Wednesday or Thursday. Check out the storm track for this storm here.
In the Pacific Karina is a new storm that at this point does not pose any risk to the West coast or other inhabited areas in the Pacific.
Sunspot activity reaches record low
in Earth and Space Science, The Water Cycle, Weather and Climate, and The Universe
Where, oh where, have my sunspots gone?: Sunspot activity tied a record low of zero in August, 2008.
Courtesy NASA
For the first time in almost a century, the Sun has a spotless record. There were no observed sunspots in August. None. Zero. Zip. Can't get a record any lower than that. That's the first time this has happened since 1913.
That's before commercial radio. Before talking movies. Before World War I. Why, it's almost as long as since the last time the Cubs won the World Series.
Now, that's a long time!
Plus, as we've discussed before, the Sun has been unusually quiet of late. Sunspots generally go through an 11-year cycle, and we're a couple years late for the next rise in activity.
But, you are no doubt wondering, what does this mean to me, the Average Joe? (Assuming your name is indeed "Average Joe," which would be pretty remarkable and, ironically, not average.) Well, sunspots seem to be tied to weather. Three times, since astronomers began observing suspots, has the Sun fallen silent, and each time coincides with significant drops in global temperatures. One such dip, from roughly 1600 to 1750, was so severe it is known as "The Little Ice Age."
Are we heading into another glacial period? Much too soon to tell. But if you start feeling chilly, keep your eye on the Sun. Astronomers will be doing the same.
(NOTE FOR THE METAPHORCALLY-IMPAIRED: That was meant figuratively. Do not look directly at the Sun with your naked eye. You'll burn out your retina.)
Hurricane Gustav: The dangerous storm is expected to make landfall Monday morning.
Courtesy NOAAAs Hurricane Gustav is gaining strength barreling across the Gulf of Mexico and charging toward the US coastline, authorities have ordered mandatory evacuation of citizens in the Gulf Coast region.
New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin made a fear-laden plea that all citizens of the Big Easy take the order very seriously. The mayor stated that storm surges as high as 18-24 feet are possible from Gustav and warned that there would be no services or aid available to anyone who decides to ignore the evacuation order. Some parts of New Orleans are still recovering from devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.
Gustav started as a tropical storm earlier this week (Aug. 25), was upgraded to a hurricane as it moved over Haiti. It hit Cuba on August 30 as a Category 4 hurricane. Last night Gustav’s designation was lowered back to a Category 3 hurricane but is expected to gain power as it crosses the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and makes landfall along the US coastline sometime tomorrow morning.
Despite being over 1000 miles away, Hurricane Gustav is having an effect on us here in the Twin Cities. The Republican National Convention starts tomorrow in St. Paul, and President Bush and Vice-president Cheney have canceled appearances there due to Gustav’s potential as a national emergency.
Gustav graphic loop from the NOAA
Video of Mayor Nagin orders evacuation
NOAA’s National Hurricane Center site
CNN report
Is it hot in here, or is it just me.: Research and debate continues on global warming. Image by ! "S4N7Y" !
(With the Republican National Convention literally across the street, the Science Museum of Minnesota will be closed starting Friday, August 29. But Science Buzz marches on! To honor our convention guests, I’ll be posting entries focusing on issues where science and politics overlap. Hopefully this will spur some discussion. Or at least tick some people off.)
Let’s start with a nice, safe topic. Like global warming. Because Lord knows, we haven’t discussed that enough.
We recently passed an important milestone in the climate change debate: it was 20 years ago this summer that global warming became a political issue in America, thanks to NASA’s Jim Hansen testifying before Congress. (Some wags have noted that the global temperature in June 2008 was cooler than in June 1988--but that’s weather, not climate.)
There was a dust-up recently concerning the American Physical Society, a leading scientific organization. One of its units, the APS Forum, published a paper by Christopher Monckton arguing that carbon’s impact on climate has been greatly overstated. The Forum intends to publish additional papers in its journal, Physics and Society, as part of a public debate on global warming science.
Some in the news media inaccurately reported that the APS itself had reversed its stance on global warming. This was not the case—the society as a whole maintains that human activity is the main cause of recent climate change. The journal is put out by APS Forum, which is just one of 19 units within the larger organization. But at least they are willing to have the debate.
Meanwhile, Australian astronomer Ian Wilson is predicting global cooling. His research finds that the main driver of Earth’s climate is the Sun’s activity, and that has been decreasing of late.
5-Day Track Forecast Cone: 5-Day Track Forecast Cone: The black line and dots show the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast track of the center at the times indicated.
Courtesy NOAATropical storm Gustav is nearing hurricane strength as it is about to hit Jamica on its way to the Gulf Coast. Gustav has already been responsible for 23 deaths in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
After striking Haiti as a Category One hurricane on Tuesday Gustav weakened to a tropical storm but is gathering strength again.
Satellite image of Gustav
Courtesy NOAAAs the storm approaches the Gulf Coast is it possible it could make landfall near New Orleans. Current predictions place it just to the east, but folks in New Orleans are bracing for it all the same. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency yesterday and announced plans to begin evacuating coastal areas. Forecasters warned that the average error in landfall predictions at this point is about 300 miles, meaning Gustav could hit anywhere from southern Texas to the Florida panhandle.
Oil prices rose as a result of the possible impact the storm could have on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Some oil companies have already been evacuating crews from oil rigs.
Cow pointing north: Maybe THIS is why you always see animals on weather vanes
Courtesy Leo ReynoldsResearchers in Germany used Google Earth to examine hundreds of aerial images of cattle herds at rest and found that 2 out of 3 cows tended to align their bodies north-south. It seems that no one has really ever noticed this before, which is a little shocking. On the other hand it's nice to know that science still has some basic observations left to be made.
At first I was a bit skeptical. As a kid I'd heard that you could tell if it was going to rain depending on whether cows were laying down or not, which is a silly tale for sure...so maybe this was a similar situation? How would cows sense the Earth's magnetic field anyways? Actually, lots of animals can sense the earth's magnetic field:
- Bacteria - Small strings of magnetite in bacteria, called magnetosomes, have actually been shown to rotate to align with the Earth's magnetic field.
- Birds - One group of researchers found chemicals called cryptochromes in the eyes of some birds. These chemicals change in the presence of a magnetic field and may help the birds see the north-south axis as they fly.
- Sharks - Sharks have receptors in their brains that help them perceive the magnetic field. When sharks swim in tanks they normally swim around the edges, but move randomly when the normal magnetic field is disturbed in some fashion.
Most of this research is still under-way and new discoveries may give us different explanations about how animals sense the Earth's magnetic field. Yet, it is certain that all varieties of creatures, cows included, seem to be able to sense the Earth's weak yet significant magnetic field.
What about you? Can you feel North?
Black hole in action: Artist's rendition of a distant super-massive black hole warping space while busy eating up stellar material.
Courtesy NASA/JPL-CaltechScientists now have a better idea why stars can still form out of giant molecular clouds being ripped apart by the gravitational pull of a nearby massive black hole.
The observed existence of huge stars in eccentric orbits around the super-massive black hole believed to be located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy has puzzled scientists. How can stars form in such extreme environments? Gravitational forces would be tremendous near the black hole, tearing apart everything in the immediate region.
The computer simulations, done by researchers from St Andrews University in the UK, show how a molecular cloud – a normal stellar nursery – is torn apart by the black hole’s immense gravitation pull. Although the powerful gravity-well eats a huge portion of the gas cloud, the remaining gases are still able to accrete more material and coalesce into stars.
This is possible because as a molecular cloud enters the black hole’s gravitational field it begins to form into a spiraling elliptical disk. The disk’s matter nearest the black hole is sucked into the gravitational vortex, while energy is transferred to the remaining outer material. This transferred energy allows the remnants to retain the eccentric orbital path as they form into huge stars many times the mass of the Sun.
"These simulations show that young stars can form in the neighborhood of super-massive black holes as long as there is a reasonable supply of massive clouds of gas from further out in the galaxy," said co-author Ian Bonnell. The study’s results appear in the current issue of Science.
The stars live fairly short lives - perhaps only about 10 million years. But their existence could help explain some of the mysteries surrounding black holes in galaxies.
LINKS
Story on BBC website
Science magazine abstract
More on super-massive black holes
Scotland at war!
in Earth and Space Science, Life Science, Interdependence of Life, and Biological Populations Change Over Time
A gull bomber: See? They're gross. Gross and bad.
Courtesy SancheznThat’s right, Buzzketeers, you heard it here first: Scotland has declared war.
Muskets are being cleaned, shakos brushed, wigs powdered, kilts pleated…
And who or what is this war on? England? No, Braveheart settled that one with an academy award. Personal hygiene? I’m afraid that war was lost centuries ago. Drugs? Maybe, but Trainspotting was so much fun.
So what’s left?
Birds, y’all, birds. Scotland has finally declared war on the birds. Actual birds. I don’t mean, like, a cockney version of national misogyny. Seagulls, in fact, are the targets here.
Why? Why ask why, I say. Have you ever seen or heard a seagull and not wanted to destroy it and all of its ilk? That, by the way, is a rhetorical question.
Scotland has drafted a more formal—though only just—list of complaints against the bird nation: they thrive on litter, and their aggressive behavior towards humans and other animals is increasing. They are, in short, “a menace.”
The Environmental Minister even whipped out the story of a paper delivery boy (called a Scottish Flat-hat Lad, I believe), who has had to abandon his duties for fear of bird attack. Wars have been started over less.
The initial campaign will kick off in the southwestern town of Dumfries, Scotland, during the gulls breeding season. The Scots are clearly taking seriously the old saying “Hit ‘em where it hurts” (the genitals). Anti-gull task forces are being formed to destroy nests and drive the birds off. It’s going to be like a Scottish Starship Troopers.
There may be another solution here—this article points out that the gull population of Britain began rising sharply and steadily after the introduction of the Clean Air Act in 1956. It isn’t that gulls thrive in clean air (they probably hate it, rats that they are), but that the act prohibited the burning of garbage by local landfill owners, giving the horrible birds all the delicious trash they could ever hope to eat.
So Scotland needs to start firing up those landfills! Sure, it’s dirty, but we need to consider the perils of off-balancing animal populations. Just look at zebra mussels and, like… zebras. Get out your bagpipes and claymores! Fill the sky with the greasy black smoke of victory!
The day we all die: September 10, 2008
in Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, Structure of Matter, Math, Scientific Enterprise, and Forces of Nature
Ask not...: It tolls for thee, bro, it tolls for thee.
Courtesy carl.jonesJust messin’, y’all!
Only some of us will die on September 10th! And that’s only because we were going to die anyway. There will be sudden heart attacks, tragic car accidents, hilarious full-body prolapses, and possibly some mysterious cases of spontaneous combustion, and none of that will have anything to do with the Large Hadron Collider turning on on the tenth of September.
That’s right, everyone, you can stop holding your breath, and start crossing your fingers, because the LHC now has a date for its first proton collision.
Some people have raised concerns that turning on the LHC could lead to the destruction of the earth in one of several very sciencey ways. Other people have shouted down these jokers, however, because they are very, very, very probably wrong.
And if the world doesn’t end, well, we’ll probably learn all sorts of rad things about the nature of the universe. We might even get some visitors from the future. But I might put a larger bet on the destruction of the solar system (but, you know, fingers crossed).
So, Buzzketeers, on September 10, do your best to protect yourself from the everyday dangers of existence. Wrap your head in packing foam, fill your tummy with starch-based peanuts, and keep yourself wet and/or naked to prevent sparks catching in your clothing and hair, because you probably won’t want to miss what’s coming out of the LHC.
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