The 2017 Paragliding World Cup takes you into the skies over Brazil
Brazil drought threatens the future of its huge cities We reported a few months ago on the increasing water crisis and societal tensions in southern Brazil due to the failure of the rainy season last year causing the worst drought in at least 80 years (see http://on.fb.me/1BQUJPY). Particularly affected is the megalopolis of Sao Paolo (20 million dwellers), the continent's economic capital, whose reservoirs now stand at 5%, despite being halfway through this year's (so far) very weak rainy season. Since we last wrote the situation has worsened, and many new areas, including that of the continent's other megalopolis (Rio de Janeiro, whose 4 main reservoirs now stand at 1% capacity) are now affected. Taps are running dry and blackouts are occurring due to the lack of water to run hydroelectric power and the high demand for air conditioning as temperatures warm year by year, resulting in rolling power cuts that are affecting communities and businesses alike in many towns and cities. Electricity has been bought from neighbouring Argentina, but they tend to have power problems of their own at this time of year (Buenos Aires endured 2 weeks rolling blackout last summer at 40 Celsius, I was there, it wasn't fun). The effects are serious, much more than the large worldwide increase in coffee prices that looms next year or the low sugar cane crop (used to fuel cars and make cachassa amongst others). While Sao Paolo has managed to cut water use by a quarter, the water authority has asked the people to help prepare for the worst, whatever that turns out to be. The prospect of such a huge city actually running out of water is a scary one, and a leap into the unknown for modern humanity. Full scale rationing is about to be introduced (and already has been in 93 cities around the country, down to 3 days a week in some), and protests are already spreading before its enactment. Much of last year's unrest was also partly fuelled by the daily frustrations of power cuts and low water availability. The poor are always worst hit. Many live in favellas and lose water when the pressure is turned down every evening since these are sited on the hills. Some in Rio haven't had running water since before Christmas. The authorities are overwhelmed. Years of underinvestment in infrastructure are also coming home to roost, and urgent leak plugging measures are being taken, but too late. The needs of the growing middle class have also stressed the electrical and water systems to the limit, showing the dependence on sound stewardship of our planet of the modernisation theory of progress. As well all know, for the world's population to have a realistic aspiration to live like the western middle class, we would need several planets rather than one. The principal culprit seems to be the extensive deforestation of the Amazon basin coming to haunt its distant creators. The rains that watered the south came from evapotranspiration from the rainforest, transferring Amazon basin water to the south of the country as the moist air drifted south with the breeze. Now that the extent of the forest has shrunk, so has the evaporation. We recently shared an image from space of pretty but deadly deforestation patterns in the rainforest at http://tmblr.co/Zyv2Js1ai0tRB. It's the sort of simple feedback loop that Gaia theory is made of. A secondary cause is the heat island effect of such huge cities preventing cloud formation. Let us hope that some rain comes soon, before the situation changes from serious to crisis proportions. Loz Image credit: A view of drought-stricken Rio Jacarei in southeastern Brazil, where water levels were at the lowest level since 1974. Luis Moura http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/23/brazil-worst-drought-history http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/17/sao-paulos-water-supply-in-critical-condition-as-drought-bites
The end of the World Cup from above
This image from the Landsat 7 satellite captures the home of the World Cup Finale, Rio de Janerio. The beaches on the Atlantic show up as small strips, the mountains stand out in green relative to the urban center, and the small peninsula where Sugarloaf Mountain sits can be seen at the lower right (http://tinyurl.com/mqx3uhg). The stadium itself is labeled.
What better way to end the World Cup than with a Landsat image? I can’t think of one. (Perhaps that relates to me being neither Argentinian nor German).
-JBB
Image credit: USGS http://eros.usgs.gov/views-news/world-cup
Argentina (Finalists) - Argentinosaurus
Into the World Cup final and with arguably the biggest star in football (Lionel Messi) in their team, Argentinian football fans have a lot be happy about.
Argentina is also home to the largest dinosaur yet classified - the sauropod (long necked dinosaur) Argentinosaurus (although a recent discovery of seven large skeletons, also in Argentina, may mean that Argentinosaurus’ days as the largest dinosaur classified are numbered).
Weighing in at around 90 tonnes, it really is pushing the limits of what is mechanically possible, with some scientists thinking that it had to stay well within the range of motion of its joints to avoid breaking its own bones during movement. Scientists at the University of Manchester have used computer simulations to try and reconstruct the creatures’ movement, and have suggested a speed of 4 to 5 miles per hour.
So who is the little guy in front of Argentinosaurus? That is Giganotosaurus, a dinosaur approximately the size of Tyrannosaurus Rex, also from Argentina. Hopefully that helps to get the true, awesome size of Argentinosaurus into proportion.
Sedg
Image credit (non commercial): Steve Harwood (http://bit.ly/1omwxcD)
Learn more: Argentinosaurus movement computer modellinghttp://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v310/n1/full/scientificamerican0114-17b.html Giganotosaurus is largest Theropod ever found -http://www.proyectodino.com.ar/pdfs/042-0039.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganotosaurus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentinosaurus
Germany (Finalists) - Königssee (“King’s Lake”)
The Germany team received much praise for the way in which they demolished hosts Brazil 7-1 in the semi finals, with many Brazilian fans now supporting the Germans as they ‘play like Brazil’.
Admirers of natural beauty who cannot make it to Brazil to see the German team in action may instead travel to the south of Germany, to the state of Bavaria. The Königssee is Germany’s third deepest lake, formed by glaciers during the last ice age around 20,000 years ago. Its setting is within the Alps, with steep sided mountains surrounding the clear water, making for some stunning vistas.
Sedg
Image credit (non commercial) and information about the lake: Sergiu Bacioiu (http://bit.ly/1lWYoi0)
Italy (Group D) - Mount Etna Italy’s early exit was a surprise to many, but by some was put down to the predictability of their play, and the lack of fireworks from their star frontman, Mario Balotelli. Not so for the largest active volcano in Europe, Etna, which displays a wide variety of eruption styles, with some spectacular photographs being showcased by TES: https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/posts/648854631842251 https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/posts/636470853080629 https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/posts/623530011041380 Etna shows traits of volcanoes such as Kilauea (Hawaii) but also of more explosive volcanoes, such as Vesuvius (Italy, responsible for the destruction of Pompeii as documented by Pliny, see TES post:http://on.fb.me/1iY0tPV). This unpredictability means that the volcano is still an area of active study. Sedg Image credit: Alessandro Rossi (non commercial):http://bit.ly/1mKiYlG Further reading and references: http://www.volcanolive.com/etna.html http://www.lifeinitaly.com/tourism/sicily/mt_etna_volcano.asp
Uruguay (Group D) - Uruguay agate with dendrites (backlit) Runners up in Group D, before going out with a toothless display against Colombia in the round of 16, Uruguay have failed to repeat their run to the semi-finals of four years ago. The Uruguayan style this time around was focussed on a hostile defence, and creative front play, a contrast exhibited by this Uruguay agate specimen. Most agates are formed in volcanic rocks, with the banding caused by silica being deposited in layers periodically as silica-rich fluids invade the cavities in the rock. In Uruguay-type agates, this banding is gravitationally driven, leading to thicker layers, with more diffuse boundaries than some other agates (see the other pictures below). The second stage in the formation of this beautiful image is the dendrites. These dendrites are formed of iron and maganese oxide minerals. The tree-like structure forms because of how the grains grow; once the first bit of a mineral begins to form, it is easier for the mineral to grow outwards as a tree, branching in whatever direction it can, than it is for a separate crystal to form. This specimen has been cut thin, and a light shone behind to show the contrast with the banded silicate agate and the dark, metallic dendrites. Sedg Image credit (non commercial): Jessa Dow-Anderson (http://bit.ly/1o21R0a) Other exciting and beautiful agate pictures: Shimmering agate: https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/posts/608787112515670 Dendritic agate (magnified): https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/posts/552777364783312 Marine sedimentary agate (magnified):https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/posts/538715419522840 Lenticular agate (my favourite!):https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698977936829920&set=a.352867368107647.80532.352857924775258&type=1&relevant_count=1 Further reading on Uruguay-type agate:http://www.geology.cz/bulletin/fulltext/bullgeosci200404195.pdf And general agate information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agate
Costa Rica (Group D) - Poás Volcano The Poás Volcano is one of the more active in Costa Rica, and, just as the Costa Rica football team, has been recently active. This World Cup’s surprise packages, not only topping Group D but then beating Greece in a penalty shootout to progress to the quarter finals, Costa Rica were not expected by many to get a point in Group D. The volcano is continuously monitored, with the most recent activity reported from the 18th to the 24th of June, with minor damage to solar panels and release of sulfur gases. In the picture what looks like a cloud is in fact a sulfur rich gas released by the volcano - if ever in doubt you can usually tell by the smell! Sedg Image credit (non commercial): Amy Goodman (http://bit.ly/1o2aasX) Global Volcanism Program link: http://www.volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=345040 Information about the National Park: http://www.infocostarica.com/places/poas.html
Ecuador (Group E) - Volcán Cotopaxi Many thanks to Paulina Ocaña for this suggestion, as the Ecuadorian cousin to Mount Fuji (see TES post:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=710172912377089&set=a.352867368107647.80532.352857924775258&type=1&theater). Indeed both are stratovolcanoes (meaning that eruptions tend to be explosive, with a high eruption column reaching up towards the stratosphere) and look imposing on the landscape. Cotopaxi is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, and is the second highest summit in Ecuador. Did Paulina know when she suggested this volcano that Ecuador would mirror Japan in one final aspect? Both teams went out in the group stage, although Ecuador’s one win, one draw and one loss would have got them out of Japan’s Group C. Sedg References and further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotopaxi http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/139756/Cotopaxi
England (Group D) - Gryphaea A now extinct relative of the modern oyster, this bizarre looking bivalve is commonly found in Jurassic aged sediments in England (this one is from the lower Jurassic Blue Lias of Dorset, although they are also found in many countries, for example the USA, and as late as the Cretaceous). Unlike many modern oysters Gryphaea lived reclining in the sediment, and not attached to rocks, larger shells or other hard substrates. Also unusual by modern standards their shells were, generally speaking, very thick, implying that whereas some modern bivalves attempt to avoid predators, Gryphaea may have adapted to survive attacks. Known as ‘Devils Toenails’ on account of their appearance, they went extinct just after the end of the Cretaceous period, with both their unusual lifestyle and an increase in clawed crushing predators being linked to their demise. The continuing lack of success of the English football team, once quarter final specialists and now going out in the group stage, could similarly be put down to two factors: poor grassroots training and lack of talent coming through or an increase in the abilities of the competition. Either way, the more pessimistic England fan may draw one main similarity between Gryphaea and their football team: we’re about as likely to see the return of Devils Toenails as we are an England World Cup victory in Russia 2018. Sedg Image credit: James St. John (http://bit.ly/VFhILH) Further reading: LaBarbera 1981, The ecology of Mesozoic Gryphaea, Exogyra and Ilymatogyra (Bivalvia: Mollusca) in a modern ocean Harper 1991, The role of predation in the evolution of cementation in bivalves More general papers: Vermeij 1982, Unsuccessful predation and evolution Vermeij 1983, Shell-breaking predation through time
Greece (Group C) - Thermopylae Thermopylae, the hot gates, is a location in Greece where legend tells that 300 Spartan warriors fought millions of Persians, during Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. Although they were eventually defeated, having been betrayed, the Spartan defence delayed the Persian advance long enough for an eventual Greek victory in the war. The location of the mountain pass where the Greeks held off the Persian advance is behind this mountain, although it has now been silted up. The imposing peaks and steep faces, the result of active normal faulting still occurring in Greece, made the landscape impassable to Xerxes’ army of millions, allowing a small number of Spartans to defend the small mountain pass. Normal faults generally occur at angles of 30 to 60 degrees, and as these faults are relatively young, it is the orientation of the faults that dominates the landscape and the shapes of the mountains, as they have not been overprinted by glaciations or other forms of weathering. The Greek football team similarly is built around a well organised, gutsy defence. A strong rearguard action and clinical finishing, as well as a stroke of luck, helping them in their last-minute qualification from Group C. Carrying an underdog tag into the last 16, will they be able to overcome Costa Rica? Sedg Image credit (non commercial): http://www.timeforhistory.net/HistoricalInformationPageImages/AncientGreece/AnGrThe300/ThermopylaeAndThe300.html
Ivory Coast (Group C) - Grand Bassam The early exit of the Ivory Coast team at the group stage of the World Cup will be seen as a disappointing last competition for their golden generation, including Didier Drogba, Kolo and Yaya Touré, and Gervinho. It also highlighted a significant gap in my geological knowledge. Some brief research showed that the Ivory Coast is predominantly underlain by very old Precambrian rocks, belonging to the West African Craton. The south coast is the only exception to this, with Cenozoic sediments containing oil and gas reserves. The south coast is also home to sandy beaches, such as Plage de Grand Bassam, where perhaps the football team can spend more of their time than originally planned this summer. I am sure there are more beautiful sites and interesting geology in the country, however, so please comment with suggestions below! Sedg Image credit (non commercial): Thibault Houspic Reference: Geological Atlas of Africa, Schlüter and Trauth (http://bit.ly/1mhiyDn)
Japan (Group C) - Mount Fuji You cannot help but be calmed by this beautiful shot of Mount Fuji, looking over Lake Kawaguchi. Indeed such is the beauty of this volcano that TES has posted pictures and stories of it in almost every situation: sunset: http://on.fb.me/1lgGLJM moonlight: http://on.fb.me/1qecbs5 under a comet: http://on.fb.me/1yR3juK from space: http://on.fb.me/1qydsaT under a cloud: http://on.fb.me/1mhqAfn and even the chance to climb it using Google Street View: http://on.fb.me/1qKNsLX The Japanese football team’s dreams of rising majestically above the competition will have to wait until four years time, as they finished bottom of a tough Group C. They were tipped to perform well, but football is often unpredictable, just as volcanic activity can be. Many factors are taken into account in trying to predict volcanism, which can be read about in relation to Mount Fuji’s individual situation here:http://on.fb.me/1nKVKNH and more generally here:http://on.fb.me/Tm3lKa . Sedg Image credit (non commercial): Masaru Minoya (http://bit.ly/1lgDKsU)
Australia (Group B) - Australian Age of Dinosaurs Captained by Crystal Palace superstar Mile Jedinak, and with all-time Socceroos leading scorer Tim Cahill in the squad, Australia are outsiders to get out of their competitive group. Disappointed to lose out to Qatar as hosts of the 2022 World Cup, Australians can take solace in the ever-growing Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum of natural history in Winton, Queensland (pictured). Home to Elliot, Banjo (Australovenator wintonensis, and at the front of the museum in the picture) and Matilda (Diamantinosaurus matildae) and with active preparation happening all the time, the number of new Australian dinosaurs is set to continue to increase. Alongside this discoveries of plant fossils have led to insights into the environment that these dinosaurs were living in. Image credit: © Australian Age of Dinosaurs Ltd 2005 (find them on www.australiaageofdinosaurs.com andhttps://www.facebook.com/aaodl ) Elliot factsheet: http://australianageofdinosaurs.com/dino-aaod-elliot.php Discovery of three new species of Dinosaur:http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi/10.1371/journal.pone.0006190 Banjo paper: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi/10.1371/journal.pone.0039364 Plants: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03115511003669944#.U5WrvpRdVVM, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667108001092
Continuing the world cup theme...this year's world cup ball actually saw testing in the facilities at NASA Ames research center.
Colombia (Group C) - Caño Cristales The Caño Cristales, as discussed in TES postshttp://on.fb.me/SCnaMR and http://on.fb.me/1l4qygj, is renowned as one of the most beautiful rivers in the world. The colours are a combination of aqueous plant and algal life, produced by a combination of water and sunlight only found during the few days between the dry and wet seasons. Despite Colombian star Falcao missing the tournament with injury, Colombia will be hoping they still have the perfect combination of style and substance to progress from Group C, seen as four relatively well-matched teams by many commentators. This would potentially set them up for a high profile opponent in the first knockout round (almost certainly facing a previous World Cup Winner in Uruguay, England or Italy) unless Costa Rica can cause an upset in Group D. Sedg Image credit: Eric Pheterson (http://bit.ly/1hM31A4)
Soccerball Earth When you look around our planet, especially the shapes of the continents, you notice a lot of similar angles. This is especially noticeable at the easternmost point of South America (the Cape São Roque). The design of these shapes, and their commonly-found 120-degree angles, is no accident, according to a theory proposed by James W. Sears. The geometric shape that is most similar to a sphere is a truncated icosahedron. Never heard of it? Well, you might know it’s more common name: a soccer ball. Well, it turns out that when you look at the tectonic features of many continents, including lines of magma like dike swarms, and faulting patterns, they line up quite nicely with a soccer ball shape. Apparently, the rifting process uses the shape to efficiently break the continents. The image shows Laurentia, the bulk of North America, and the pentagonal shape it conforms to because of the soccer ball pattern. -Mr. A Read more: http://www.mantleplumes.org/EarthTess.html