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The Earth Story

@earthstory / earthstory.tumblr.com

This is the blog homepage of the Facebook group "The Earth Story" (Click here to visit our Facebook group). “The Earth Story” are group of volunteers with backgrounds throughout the Earth Sciences. We cover all Earth sciences - oceanography, climatology, geology, geophysics and much, much more. Our articles combine the latest research, stunning photography, and basic knowledge of geosciences, and are written for everyone!
We hope you find us to be a unique home for learning about the Earth sciences, and we hope you enjoy!
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Most of us aren't going to be able to fly anywhere any time soon, but here's a view of what flights used to look like out the front window of a plane. This nighttime voyage on an Air France flight starts off in Chicago and flies over the Great Lakes and eventually Montreal Canada before heading out on the rest of its trip.

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  • romtorontoNOW OPEN!! Discover a story bigger than all of us with "Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story". The exhibition tells the tragic story of 2014 when nine blue whales became trapped and died in the ice off the coast of Newfoundland, and the unprecedented opportunity for research and conservation that resulted. Come face to face with the enormous 80 foot skeleton of Blue, and discover the mind-blowing biology of blue whales; the humongous size of their heart, their unusual feeding behaviour, how they communicate, and their evolution from land to sea. Find out how the ROM is studying their DNA to unlock some of the mysteries surrounding these large but elusive creatures, and gain insight into the global decline of the blue whale population and what is being done to protect the world's largest animal...ever
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Flash flooding in Toronto.

This photo was taken in 2013 in Toronto after record shattering rainfall. Trains were stranded and passengers had to be rescued by police and firemen as the subway system was shut down and 300,000 people lost electric power. Cars were abandoned in streets-turned rivers as people climbed trees to escape the waters. The previous one day rain record from hurricane Hazel of 3.6Cm was shattered, with 12.6 Cm falling over parts of the city during the evening rush hour. 

Loz

Winston Neutel/AP http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/07/08/heavy-rains-lead-to-flash-flooding-and-power-outages-in-toronto/ http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/soggy-wake-up-call-toronto-recovering-from-sudden-severe-flood-1.1359223 http://www.guardian.co.uk/weather/2013/jul/09/toronto-storms-300000-without-power http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/07/09/toronto-rain-flooding-power-ttc.html

Source: facebook.com
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Niagara Falls

We all know it; we are all impressed with its beauty. But do we all know how it was actually formed?

Towards the end of the last Ice Age, something like 12,000 years ago, retreating glaciers gouged out what would become the Great Lakes and caused the formation of the Niagara River, which runs between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The course of the river has changed a number of times since its formation, settling into the present one about 5,000 years ago. This flows over the Niagara Escarpment and, because the river is split into channels by Goat Island, the water forms three waterfalls, the Horseshoe, or Canadian, Falls, the American Falls and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls. Immediately below the falls themselves, the river turns at an abrupt right angle, forming the Whirlpool, and continues through the Whirlpool rapids. Both the falls and the rapids are the largest such features in North America and, although the falls themselves are not particularly high, at about 170ft (52m), they are very wide. The largest, the Horseshoe Falls, are about 2,600ft (790m) wide and get their name from their shape, where the rock of the escarpment has eroded to form a semicircular drop.

The name is an adaptation of the original Native American name of Onguiaahra, which means ‘Thunder of Water’ and refers, of course, to the huge noise of such a large volume of water crashing over the falls. The water itself is famously blue-green in colour, a feature remarked upon by Charles Dickens when he visited in 1842, and is caused by its high mineral content, gained from the eroding properties of its turbulence. This erosion was causing the falls to retreat by about 4ft (1.2m) a year until, at the start of the 20th century, water began to be diverted away from the falls to power hydroelectric generating plants. The amount of water diverted has increased over the years, particularly at night, and this, together with preventative engineering measures, has reduced the erosion considerably.

The edges of the falls have been strengthened and weirs built to redirect the most destructive currents. In 1969 the Niagara River was directed away from the American Falls for several months, by an earth dam constructed across the mouth of the channel leading to it, while faults in the rock were stabilised. The faults had previously led to a huge rock fall from the face of the falls, forming a large pile of scree (a mass of small loose stones that form or cover a slope on a mountain) that can be seen at the base of the falls today. Luna Island, the small piece of ground separating the American Falls from the Bridal Veil Falls, has been off-limits to the public for years because it is thought to be unstable as a result of cracking in the rock and it could collapse at any time.

~ JM

Image Credit: Labelled for reuse: http://bit.ly/1Hsqg9A Accessed on 26/06/16

More info: Niagara Parks. Facts & Figures: http://bit.ly/R0g1WJ Tesmer, I. H., & Bastedo, J. C. (1981). Colossal Cataract: The Geologic History of Niagara Falls. SUNY Press. Grabau, A. W. (1901). Guide to the geology and paleontology of Niagara Falls and vicinity (Vol. 7, No. 1). University of the State of New York. Philbrick, S. S. (1970). Horizontal configuration and the rate of erosion of Niagara Falls. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 81(12), 3723-3732.

Source: facebook.com
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The Yawunick Kootenayi.

The Yawunick Kootenayi was a Lobster-like predator which is an ancestor of the modern day butterfly, spider and lobster. This marine organism had 4 eyes and long grasping appendages. These were equipped with long claws with opposing teeth which may have been used for catching prey. It was able to move these appendages forward and backwards allowing them to be spread when attacking prey and to be retracted when swimming.

The animal is noticeably like an arthropod (Invertebrate with an exoskeleton e.g. Spider) with an external skeleton, segmented body and jointed appendages. Unlike modern day arthropods however it seems the Yawunick Kootenayi lacks more advanced traits.

The fossil was discovered recently by palaeontologists from the University of Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum and Pomona College at The Marble Canyon fossil site. This site is 40km south of the famous Burgess Shale site (see below) and was discovered in 2012. It is both the first new and most abundant species to be described from this fossil site making it of key importance in the past ecosystem. The Marble Canyon site dates to around 508 million years ago, meaning the Yawunick Kootenayi lived up to 250 million years before the first dinosaur.

The Yawunick Kootenayi was named in tribute to the people inhabiting the area around Marble Canyon (the Kootenay area) who are known as the Ktunaxa People. This community has a legend of a fierce marine beast called Yawunick which was said to kill so many other animals that the ancestors of the Ktunaxa People had to kill it.

~SA

Picture:http://bit.ly/1EZDyZ6 by Robert Gains Animation of swimming: http://bit.ly/1EyIfyk Burgess Shale: http://bit.ly/1bNRu1p Paper: http://bit.ly/1xU5911

Source: facebook.com
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