Surface Currents

Field Study to the Blue Mountains

2011-06-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Some Eastern Oregon geology fun.

My petrology class recently spent a weekend in the Blue Mountains learning how to hit rocks and write notes in the rain. Okay, so it was a little more than just that. Being a geologist requires the ability to look around and think of things on an incredibly macro scale: area, depth, and (especially) time. Sometimes it's astounding to realize just how big the Earth is... I don't even need the stars to feel insignificant. The beginning of the trip entailed four hours of driving from Portland to La Grande, alongside nothing but Columbia River Basalts. Four hours! You can hardly imagine how much volcanism must have been going on to produce such large deposits.

I'll spend the next few posts describing our field trip and the geology of Eastern Oregon. Click here for a Google Earth (best freeware ever made!) map of the first nine stops.

Basalt, basalt, and more basalt... and our troupe of white government vans.

Stop 1

Observations: A large, well-formed columnar basalt layer had been deposited over a layer of rounded cobbles and clay. The basalt contains a lot of vesicles and olivine phenocrysts, while the cobbles are mostly Columbia River Basalts (CRB) and various metamorphic rocks. The border between the two strata is rough and contains palagonite, an indication of altered glass. (This is unusual! Basalt has such a low viscosity that it doesn't normally prefer to create glass.)

The outcrop is nestled in a valley with Grande Ronde Basalt (dated at 15 Ma) on either side and the modern Grande Ronde River flowing nearby. Its surrounding rocks are distinctly different, most noticeably by the absence of olivine phenocrysts.

Interpretations: After the Grande Ronde basalt was formed about 15 million years ago, a river cut through the rock and created a valley. The cobbles match metamorphic rocks associated with Oregon's mass amounts of accreted terrane, so they were probably eroded and carried down the river from a highland outcrop somewhere nearby. Around 10 Ma, a basalt lava flow (maybe from the Powder River Volcanics?) suddenly filled in the valley and was allowed to cool slowly and cohesively, giving it distinct columnar jointing and a high density. The hot lava interacted with the river water to create glass, which is why we found palagonite present at the contact zone.

Stop 2

Observations: There are coarser, crystalline rocks that form bands within a basaltic mass. The thinner bands have more vesicles but are texturally similar. The banding does not show any evidence of chilled margins, indicating that it was not a sill intrusion. Nicely-formed quartz and calcite veins solidified in the cooling cracks of the basalt.

Quartz Vein

Interpretations: This basalt flow is probably older than the CRBs since the growth of quartz and calcite as secondary minerals would have taken longer to form. Basalt can contain up to 10% calcium, so weathering processes likely caused the calcite to precipitate into cracks that formed as it was cooling. Later, hydrothermal fluids rising through the cracks would have carried dissolved SiO₂ and created the quartz veins. This outcrop is estimated to have formed at around 28 Ma.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Know a Fossil: RUGOSA

2011-05-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

Digging up and dissecting the Earth's hidden treats.

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Zoantharia
Order: Rugosa

Etymology
Rugose coral found a namesake in the Latin word for wrinkled (rug- or rugo-), due to their characteristically ridged outer surface. However, the distinct shape of their coral structure gave rise to a more commonly used name of “horn coral.” Older paleontology articles, especially from the late 1800s, often cite these organisms as tetracoralla in reference to the corals’ tendency to insert septa in groups of four.

Index Fossils
Rugosa first appeared in the mid-Ordovician (about 465 Ma) and disappeared at the end of the Permian (about 250 Ma). Because of the occurrence of the mass Permian-Triassic extinction, there are no known direct descendants of rugose corals. However, it is thought that rugose polyps had arms full of stinging cells that helped to catch prey, which is a common characteristic found in modern corals. Rugosa’s relatively short existence, combined with their distinct characteristics and worldwide geographic spread makes them excellent index fossils.

Morphology
All horn corals live inside of a “cup” called the calyx, a basin-shaped depression within a hard outer sleeve (or theca). The polyp builds these encasings by secreting calcite to add a new layer of growth each day that it is alive. A distinct characteristic of Rugosa is found inside the calyx, where radially-aligned septa extend inward from the outer wall. These features serve as skeletal support plates for the polyp.

The theca is built in (what humans would call) an inverse fashion, with the point of the horn at the bottom and the wide, open end at the top. Inside the base of the theca, transverse partitions form shelf-like structures called tabulae. They form one by one as the polyp pulls itself upward, until it rests on top of the skeleton with its arms pointing toward the open ocean. This growth mechanism means they can get to be a wide range of sizes, from a few millimeters long to over one full meter.

The arrangement of a rugose coral’s septa is very important for classifying its type. While solitary horns will nearly always have septa in groups of four, the colonial corals usually develop in multiples of 6 – all of which grow in varying patterns depending on what stage of life the coral is at.

Lifestyle
Rugosa were usually solitary creatures, though some could be found in colonial masses with a more hexagonal coral structure. They attached themselves to the seafloor with rudder-like talons while the polyp (sitting atop the horn) used tentacles that swept in the ocean currents to catch organisms for feeding. Although some horn corals reproduced sexually, it was more common for budding to occur, a type of asexual reproduction. The buds consist of four septa that spread apart as they grew, until new septa were added to maintain the coral’s rigid structure. The parent polyp then split off new polyps to create separate corallites.

Colonial masses would grow as individuals banded together. However, even then rugose corals were rarely reef-builders like the corals known today. Standing up on end meant that it was relatively easy for ocean currents to knock the animal over, and they would have to build a new calyx within the old one to “upright” itself. This resulted in fossils with an awkwardly twisted, cup-in-cup shape. To accommodate for this inconvenience, it’s likely that solitary corals colonized soft bottom environments by sinking their points into the soft sediment.

Rugosa fossils have been found in all four types of reef areas (fore-reef, reef, back-reef, and bioherms), usually in carbonate rocks. Studies indicate that they lived in tropical shallow seas, generally very close to the continental shelf, and preferred clear, high-energy waters that were well oxygenated.

Printable Versions:

Rugosa Handout.pdf

Rugosa Bibliography.pdf

Bibliography

Carlson, R. and Poor, J. (2005). Historical Geology: Interpretations and Applications. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Clarkson, E. N. K. (1998). Invertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. Malden: Blackwell Science Ltd.
Doyle, P. (1996). Understanding Fossils: An Introduction to Invertebrate Paleontology. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
Haeckel, E. (1998). Art Forms in Nature. New York: Prestel.
Kentucky Geological Survey. (2006). Rugose Corals. Retrieved May 3, 2011 from http://www.uky.edu/KGS/fossils/rugosecorals.htm
Levin, H. (1999). Ancient Invertebrates and their Living Relatives. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
White, T. et. al. (2010). Rugosa. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from http://www.palaeos.org/Rugos

The Beauty of Being Calm

2011-04-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

This was filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011.

Mineral Discovery

2011-04-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

A new mineral, dubbed "Wassonite" to honor UCLA's main meteorite researcher John T. Wasson, was officially announced by NASA on April 5, 2011. It was found via electron microscope in an Antarctic meteorite that's been sitting around since the Japanese Antarctic Expedition Team (JARE) first brought it home in 1969! This discovery is generally no big thing, seeing as around 50 new minerals are approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) each year... but this one is special. It's made up of two elements arranged in a crystal structure never before observed in nature - titanium (II) sulfide, or TiS, was previously known only as a synthetic compound.

The tiny, tiny specks of Wassonite were surrounded by more mystery minerals, which researchers are currently looking into.

Psh, That's Old News

2011-04-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Progressions of knowledge through time.

April 12 seems to be an active day for scientific advancement! Let's take today's Google Doodle one step further and look through a few of the date's historical moments:

April 12, 1888:
A french newspaper mistakenly reported, "Dr. Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday." But Alfred wasn't dead... his brother was! The erroneous article that insulted him for the invention of dynamite made him wonder how his name would be remembered for the rest of civilization - thus, the birth of the Nobel Prize.

April 12, 1955
Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr. announced that Jonas Salk's vaccine against polio was verified to be "safe, effective, and potent." The statement was made at a University of Michigan press conference, to highlight the 10th anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt's death from the disease. Salk, however, stole the stage by defying Dr. Francis's description of testing problems and insisted that he had created nothing less than the perfect vaccine. There's an accurate write-up of the incident in the U of M history files.

April 12, 1961
Russian pilot Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. He orbited the Earth in 108 minutes aboard the Vostok 1, a completely automated spacecraft. (The controls ran on automatic for the duration of the flight, though there was a sealed envelope containing a key in case of an emergency.) Instead of landing "the normal way," Gagarin made a pre-planned descent by ejecting the spacecraft and floating down to land via parachute. The vessel was spherical and not designed to safely land with a human still on board. The Soviet Union denied this action for several years in order to evade the FAI world records rules, which states that a pilot must accompany his craft to a landing.

“I could have gone on flying through space forever.” - Yuri Gagarin

April 12, 1981
American Space Shuttle Columbia was launched. This was the first successful reusable spacecraft developed by NASA. It went on to complete a total of 28 flights, spent 300.74 days in space, completed 4, 808 orbits, and flew over 200,000,000 km.

April 12, 1994
Attourney Laurence Canter created the first commercial internet spamming program to solicit business for his law firm on a message board. Need I say more? Read more about how this annoying sludge got started on Wired.

Interesting Fact: The term "spam" is from the BBC television series Monty Python's Flying Circus. There is a sketch in the show where a waitress offers an unwilling patron a menu with nothing but variations of spam on it.

Perceptions on Meltdown

2011-04-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Radiation can be scary, whether you're looking at its effects under the microscope or in a post-apocalyptic full-length feature film. But people accept radiation into their bodies in all types of forms - eating a banana, tanning in the summer sun, and of course getting an x-ray at the hospital. The hype from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant leak is causing a completely unprecedented political and social "scare" thanks to public ignorance on the subject. Here are two items that help put things into perspective:

A Gravity Model of the Earth

2011-04-04T16:39:00.000-07:00

A video has been circulating the internet that a lot of people (myself included) are misinterpreting as the true shape of Planet Earth. This isn't necessarily false, but there is a definite difference in how each of us are defining the word "shape"...

This multi-colored potato is not the normal, observable shape of the Earth, but rather a "mathematical figure" according to gravity (as described by Gauss). The spinning animation that GOCE released last Friday is exaggerated by a factor of 7,000 to highlight its irregularities - making it look more like a rotten grape than a spheroid. It shows, specifically, what Earth's geoid would look like if every single location was perpendicular to its gravitational field. In other words, if you were to place a marble anywhere on the surface, this shape would allow for it to stay put instead of rolling around. Some scientists say that this figure is a more accurate description of the "shape" of our planet - but these are also usually the same scientists blessed with a complete visual understanding of the fourth dimension.

The completion of Earth's geoid map is incredibly important for determining ocean circulation, magma distribution, and information about polar ice sheets. What's so cool about this release is that the information has never before been so accurately compiled. GOCE developed instruments that were able to detect the weakness of gravity's force within 1-2 centimeters of vertical accuracy!

Just remember: it's not an actual snapshot of what our blue planet looks like. Click here if you want to read more about the technical information from Scientific American.

Weekly Highlights

2011-04-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sedimentary, my dear watson.

I held a rock in my lab yesterday. But this wasn't just any rock, no - it was the oldest meteorite ever found. I know it looks plain, but you probably would too after entering the Earth's atmosphere at 50 kilometers per second through 1,500°C heat.

Older than dirt. No, really.

The PSU geology department just happened to have a meteorite specialist on hand with $10,000 worth of his collection, so we got to hear about the composition of each sample, how they were formed, and where they were found. The one pictured here is dated at 4.6 billion years old and contains carbon, water, and alien amino acids. This means it's from when the solar system was forming! Scientific magic in my hands!

Meanwhile, in petrology I'm learning to identify key features of rocks under a microscope. This slide was by far my favorite - the little orange watercolor streaks are actually places where oxidation is occurring in olivine. Click on the picture to zoom in and see how modernist the lines look in non-polarized (plain) light. Doesn't it seem as if they were manually drawn on?

Tin roof... rusted.

A lot of my lab time this quarter is going to be spent at the microscope, so check back soon for a quick overview on how to analyze thin sections and some associated vocabulary!

Gotcha!

2011-03-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am a senior in the university science program. By now, the scientific method has been hard-wired into every analytical aspect of my brain. So imagine my surprise when on the first day of Historical Geology, the professor presented a single powerpoint slide asking us if we were able to differentiate between a hypothesis and a theory. The exercise brought us back to the basics, and pointed out how easy it is to overlook the single aspect of science that allows us to separate it from a belief system: A theory is always falsifiable.

Just in time for April Fools, this reminded me of a somewhat hilarious case where scientists had to prove themselves wrong. Enter Archaeoraptor liaoningensis, 1999:

Squaaaaaw!

Not to be confused with Archaeopteryx (which was real), this fossil was found to be the missing link between dinosaurs and modern-day feathered birds. National Geographic threw a hey-we're-jumping-the-gun party and immediately ran the cutie as a feature story - only to shamefully release an admission of error less than a year later.

The fossil was acquired from Liaoning Province, China, an area known for having farmers and businessman that take "evolutionary liberties" in order to fetch a higher price for their artifacts. Although NG was fooled at first, further examination revealed it was an intense forgery - what with the tail being glued onto the body and all. The creature in the specimen was actually a mosaic of multiple animal bones (the two most prominent being a Microraptor zhaoianus and Yanornis martini) that someone had managed to make a pretty penny on.

Kudos to all people involved for admitting their mistake and reinforcing how important it is for scientists to think critically about their experiments. Unfortunately, this little gem of a prank is used by religious nerds everywhere to claim evolution as a fraudulent theory. What they don't realize is that this example is exactly what separates science from religion - those who quest for the truth bother looking for inconsistencies in the data.

Happy April, everyone!

(Speechless) Series #6

2011-03-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

A photo collection of the wondrous little details of our planet.

Photographer Olivier Grunewald followed Indonesian miners 200 meters down into the sulfur-rich lakes of the Kawah Ijen volcano. The molten sulfur is blood red in color underneath these electric blue flames. But as the liquid begins to cool, it slowly turns into the bright, neon yellow characteristic of the element. Click through to see more of his incredible shots!

Liquid Heat

2010-02-23T19:21:00.001-08:00

Video footage of the West Mata Submarine Volcano eruption - the first ever recorded in a deep-sea environment. Released in December of 2009.

Uncomfortable

2010-01-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

Refusing to Eat Shark's Fin at the Dinner Table

Although not particularly well written, I found this quick editorial on endangered sharks and environmental conscience to be subtly thought-provoking.

Demystified.

2009-12-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes explanations are pretty lame.

A suspiciously computer-generated light storm appeared above Norway yesterday as a magical blue light shot up into the air and spiraled through the sky for over 12 minutes, beating the crap out of Pink Floyd laser light shows everywhere.

Seriously not photoshopped.

Despite the immediate transmission of imaginations gone wild, it turned out to be nothing more than the NINTH failure of Russian ballistic missile Bulava, fired from a submarine in the White Sea. BBC News has more scoops on that.

Algae Knows How to Party

2009-11-24T16:40:00.000-08:00

In early 2009, researchers at Cambridge University discovered that Volvox can really cut a rug. Shaking some booty (er, flagella) allows them to flail around until flow is created in their fluid surroundings - and if they've got the moves down right, the current can bind their movements to those of other swagging Volvox. Between what scientists call the "waltz" and the "minuet," the oscillating dances are supposed to make it easier for the microbes to reproduce.

A Tribute To My Favorite Microbe

2009-11-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with biology a long time ago, and since that time I've encountered many strange and wonderful things. If I had to make a list of the top ten wonders of the biology world, it would be a fearfully difficult feat for me to tackle. But... one thing is for sure. My favorite organism has been, and always will be: Volvox.

Many of you are probably familiar with Volvox, and in fact many have probably discounted Volvox and its importance. Well, I feel it is now my duty as an algae, microbe, and cell enthusiast to give Volvox it's time to shine by sharing this article with you. If you already know and love Volvox like I do, then please take the time to browse these magnificent glowing pictures of the little beauties. If you are not familiar with Volvox, then please take the time to become acquainted with my number one favorite organism (thus far) on planet Earth. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Giant Fireball!!

2009-11-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Check out Utah's KSL News for the complete story.

(Speechless) Series #5

2009-11-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

A photo collection of the wondrous little details of our planet.

6/18/07: Stratocumulus clouds forming “cloud streets” over the Sea of Okhotsk, Northern Japan.

Sigh... how I wish I was driving down the celestial super highway right now.

GeoDictionary

2009-11-16T00:17:00.000-08:00

Learning the language, one word at a time.

Frazil · (frāz′il)
noun
Ice crystals formed from turbulent, often supercooled water, as in the open ocean or river rapids. Represents the first stage of sea ice formation.

The crystals usually only grow 3-4mm in diameter, since the movement caused by water currents interrupts crystal growth and prevents them from coagulating. The river (or section of the ocean) begins to have the appearance of a melted slushie as it becomes saturated with suspended ice crystals.

Under calmer conditions, as the water temperature begins to drop, the frazil ice clusters begin to form sheets of ice by clumping and freezing together. The new "pancake ice" formations are often rounded plates with raised edges, due to both frequent collisions and periodic compressions as they pass through wave troughs.

Photo by Lars Jensen.

Deep Sea Bioluminescence, Part 1

2009-11-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

Defense and Survival

Bioluminescence is the light produced from a chemical reaction that occurs inside a living organism. The emission is a "cold light," named as such since less than 20% of it generates thermal radiation. Although multiple land animals have developed the trait (fireflies, glowworms, click beetles, fungi, etc.), it's not in particularly high demand in their evolutionary process. However, the deep sea is a vast open space devoid of sunlight. And when there's nowhere to run to, baby, and certainly nowhere to hide, you've got to make do with your own body.

Some deep sea predators need simply to look up, where the minimal amount of sunlight makes enough of a change in light value to expose silhouettes of the prey swimming above. To avoid becoming a succulent snack, creatures like the firefly squid, hatchetfish, and lightfish have developed rows of photophores (light-producing organs) that produce the same color and intensity of blue as the daylight above. The counterillumination breaks up the silhouette edges and allow them to disappear into the backdrop.

Lightfish, commonly called bristlemouths, are usually black with under-body photophores, and can grow anywhere from 2 to 30cm long.

The Sparkling Enope, or Firefly Squid, is usually found in the Pacific Ocean at depths of 600-1200ft.

Blue light is the most common color emitted in marine life, as it travels furthest in seawater and is the only shade visible to an abundance of the deep sea organisms. The dragonfish took advantage of this by evolving the ability to emit and perceive a much longer wavelength - red light. Besides being able to sneak up on unsuspecting prey with advanced night vision goggles, it also managed to retain the ability to create blue light, in order to switch from lurker-mode to high-beam headlight, and to lure prey with the fishing-bait barbel dangling from its lower jaw.

Mmmm, deelicious squid...

There's so much more to come!

Bloodybelly Comb Jelly

2009-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I gave my Speech 101 class an informational talk on the presence of bioluminesence in the deep sea. The pictures alone generated enough interest for the teacher to let me stand up there the rest of the class period - and this footage from the Monterey Bay Aquarium should explain why!

If anyone's interested (and you should be!), please leave a comment and I'll take the time to make a fully-illustrated expansion of the speech I gave.

Thanks to Zooillogix for the post, who in turn are begrudging a thanks to Deep Sea News - both favorite blogs of mine.

Simply! Mad! Scientists!

2009-10-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

(Warning!! The featured article is not for children!!!)

Okay, enough with the exclamation points. Thought I would share this vile yet (mostly) informative article about weirdos from the science world.

The Top 10 Crazies Who Actually Changed the World

"G. K. Chesterton once said that imagination does not breed insanity, but reason. He argued that artists and poets rarely go crazy, but with scientists it’s pretty much par for the course, and one good look around the halls of fame of the scientific community seems to confirm this."

Thanks to my lovely friend Sam Cooper for this entertaining little ditty.

(Speechless) Series #4

2009-10-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

A photo collection of the wondrous little details of our planet.

Teeny mica grains, separated from a sand sample and viewed through
the microscope lens. My first adventure in photomicrography!

Orionids Meteor Shower

2009-10-19T10:04:00.000-07:00

Composite photo of the 2008 Orionids Meteor Shower

Ooh! For all you lucky stars outside the rain-filled skies of Portland, the Orionids Meteor Shower will be at its peak this Wednesday (October 21st), about 2 hours before dawn. The new moon coincides perfectly, allowing a dark sky and unusually good viewing conditions this year.

The Orionids occur annually as the Earth's orbit syncs up with the debris left behind by Halley's Comet. Because there's quite a bit of space dust to pass through, the meteor shower should be in your eastward sky view all week long - but the peak on Wednesday is expected to have as many as 20 shooting stars an hour! So grab your blankets, drive outside the city, and open that sunroof for a sweet date with your main squeeze.

Hobbyists say: Binoculars shouldn't be necessary as long as the sky is dark with relatively few clouds. If you're able to see all the stars in the Little Dipper constellation, you've found ideal viewing conditions.

(Speechless) Series #3

2009-10-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

A photo collection of the wondrous little details of our planet.

The magical powers of Lower Oneonta Falls, Oregon.
Visited, gaped at, and amateurishly shot by Yours Truly.

Future InterFace

2009-10-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

If you're a graphic designer AND a germophobe, you're going to have quite the dilemma in the upcoming years. Hideki Koike and colleagues (University of Electro-Communications) have been working with Kentaro Fukuchi (Japan Science and Technology Agency) to develop a brilliantly squishy computer interface that will make animation and design programs even easier to use.

Dubbed "photoelastic touch," a camera positioned directly above an LED tabletop can read the polarized light variations in transparent rubber shapes when they're held above the screen. The 3-D interactions would allow features such as interchangeable computer buttons (eliminating the need to memorize all those Photoshop shortcuts!), a physical paintbrush tool, and later on, science applications - like giving aspiring surgeons a 3-D model of the brain to practice operating on.

There's a nice, long demonstration video on Hideki Koike's website, but otherwise, New Scientist seems to be the first and only group with a press release.

Shooting the Moon

2009-10-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

7 hour, 30 min and counting…..

That is exactly when NASA’s LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) will “bomb” the moon. Yes, this is intentional. After recent discovery of water signatures on the moon, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) decided to shoot the moon with the intention of collecting dust residue from the projected 6-mile-high impact cloud it will create. To see this wonder live in Portland, Oregon, visit OMSI at 3:30 am, or Click here for other public viewings throughout the US.

(Speechless) Series #2

2009-10-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

A photo collection of the wondrous little details of our planet.

Yellow Gingko in the Fall. Photo by In Cherl Kim.

(This fantastic photographer works for the Everland Zoo in Korea, and often has the most adorable subject matters. And it gets better! He allows all of his photos to be publicly available on Flickr under the Creative Commons law. Click through the picture to see more!)

Psh, That's Old News

2009-10-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Progressions of knowledge through time.

Artist's concept of Bellerophon orbiting near 51 Pegasi.

Today marks the anniversary of an important 1995 announcement: Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz became the first Earthlings to discover a Sun-like star with its very own orbiting planet! Curious as to why this solar system looked so dang familiar, scientists the world over swung their telescopes toward the Pegasus constellation and took a closer look.

51 Pegasi is a yellow dwarf star found about 50 light years from Earth. Its apparent magnitude of 5.49 makes it visible even with our little naked eyes - providing we've got a pleasantly dark sky and the ability to distinguish which dot is which (I don't). Comparatively, 51 Pegasi is estimated to be 3 billion years older than our Sun, 4-6% more massive, and contain more metals and less hydrogen.

Always eager to force a system to conform to known ideals, the planeteers of 1995 proclaimed 51 Pegasi's exoplanet a terrestrial one (gasp! Another Earth!? Aliens?), and gave it the incredibly creative name of "51 Pegasi b." (Wah-wah... This is actually an organized naming system for extrasolar planets. The first planet found is given its star's name followed by the letter b, the second is followed by c, and so on. It is based purely on discovery, and therefore not indicative of station or orbit order around the star. Our planet's informal title, Bellerophon, is much cooler and thus will be known as such from here on out.) Scientists of the day found out rather quickly that Bellerophon orbits uncomfortably close to the star, and current theories of planet formation could not account for this. Giant planets are most certainly unable to form at this distance! As you can guess, discussions of planetary migration ensued and scientists began extensive observation of the exoplanet's characteristics.

As of 2009, Bellerophon is believed to be a gas giant comparable to Jupiter, which circles its star every four Earth days. The guess is that it has to have a wide radius and thick atmosphere to withstand the gusts of the star's solar wind - not to mention its heat intake, harboring "air" at a mere 1200°C.

Psh, this is old news, yes! But its discovery broke the conventional view of planets with short orbits, and forced astronomers to redefine the accepted characteristics of gas planets. Since then, space exploration has included more radial velocity planet searches, and consequently many more systems similar to the Milky Way have been found. To be precise, exactly 263 stars with 307 planets circling them have been discovered as of 2008 (...aaand none of which are Earthlike).

As for our subject matter, about three years ago some American scientists threw 51 Pegasi back into the limelight by mentioning Bellerophon as one of the planets "most likely to support extraterrestrial life." Personally, I think they're crazy. But that's another story for another time...

2 Women Share Nobel Prize in Medicine

2009-10-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Click on the title to find out who's who!

The Toxicity of a 21st Century...Rose

2009-10-01T01:54:00.000-07:00

A rose in its most natural form, quite beautiful and fragrant, is not the rose inspiring this posting. The 21st century rose, grown in chemically intensified environments to meet the demands of the western world in celebration of holidays, times when the local sources are out of supply, contain unsuspecting toxins that I wanted to learn more about. As additional controversies surrounding international floriculture surfaced through my search, I became immediately inspired to initiate a discussion about organic vs. conventional farming, hidden costs of chemical pesticides and the virtual water trade.

Although California supplies about a quarter of all cut flowers sold in the United States. Most US imported flowers are roses to meet the needs for peak seasonal demand. This provides a market for the floriculture industry concentrated along the equator, throughout the third world: Columbia, Holland, Costa Rica, Ecuador, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Despite being a lucrative business for the residing countries and farm owners (Ecuador alone had 350 million in revenue from rose exports in 2007), the floriculture industry has many deleterious contributions they do not financially compensate for. Most worrisome of their contributions is the wide array of chemical pesticides they supplement their roses with. Because flowers are an agricultural commodity, they undergo scrutinous inspections for bioburden when imported by USDA's Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS). However, because ornamental horticulture crops are not harvested as food or used for any subsequent food processing, they are not held subject to as strict inspections as edible horticulture crops for chemical residue. Read more about this on USDA’s Floriculture Crops briefing archive.

You may be asking yourself, why does this matter? You may even agree that if you do not consume the flower, you will not be harmed. I’ll try to let you be the judge.

Chemicals involved in the lifespan of a foreign-grown rose include fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, nematocides and plant growth regulators. Information on the specific chemicals that are used I have found difficult to obtain because documentation is not required by governmental agencies, like the USDA, because roses are a non-edible good. However, many countries use chemicals banned in most of the countries the flowers are being imported to. Three of the most hazardous chemicals used are Methyl bromide (CH3Br), one of the fiercest ozone depleters, dieldrin, and chloropicrin as they are halogenated, organically soluble and bioacumulative, persistent in their lifespan, and volatile. This means any residual CH3Br, dieldrin, or chloropicrin can be whiffed up into your, or more likely your sweetheart’s nose, and can reside in your adipose tissue throughout your lifespan. Unless, of course, you plan on having children. I’ll leave the discussion of chemical bioaccumulation for a future article opportunity.

Click on the respective links to view toxicity information on Methyl Bromide, Dieldrin and chloropicrin to form your own opinion on weather or not you want to financially support their usage in the flower industry.

Why are these chemicals necessary? As an urban organic gardener myself, my immediate response is that they are not. However, I understand the realism of the effects of capitalism: if it is legal and lucrative, someone will take advantage of the opportunity without regard to morality or ethics. (This is where I remind myself I am writing for a science blog, and this is not a time for political diatribes). Many ornamental foliage plants do not tolerate freezing temperatures and often require very specific conditions for growth: controlled temperature, humidity, and nutrient soils. These conditions are also permitting to insects and bacterial growth, and thus disease. Roses in large-scale production are mostly grown inside greenhouses or enclosed spaces where environments can be managed. Chemicals are added to aid in the preservation of the visually pristine rose by providing an environment free from biological contaminants. Although many American greenhouses contain automated ventilation to prevent worker exposure to the pesticides and chemical additives, it is often deemed too expensive and too often there are no lawful obligations for workers rights in foreign countries.

The heavy pesticide usage is not the only controversy with the globalization of flower production. Water quality, availability, land use, and workers rights are all notably burdened by the international floriculture industry. In addition to the chemical exposure, many workers are not granted job security, heath care, nor do they earn livable wages. Due to limited water availability, many workers involved in chemical handling spread exposure to chemicals because they cannot shower before coming in contact with their communities. Pesticide residues in Columbia and Costa Rica are directly discharged into waterways and runoff ends up in groundwater and aquifer recharge areas for local drinking water. Flowers are 3/4ths water, and because this resource is indirectly exported along with the flower, local water sources are diminished over time. Because flowers are a water-intensive crop, the diminishment of local water sources is also do to the amount of wastewater created throughout their production. The wildlife within Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, including over 350 recorded species of birds, have suffered from extreme drought due to the virtual water trade. Utilizing finite resources for rose farming takes away from local food production opportunities by increasing competition over available water and cropland.

I have only begun to touch on the destructive effects of this industry on the health of our planet. But, like always, it just takes a minority to ruin a good thing. Be part of the solution by choosing earth-sustainable choices. Growing your own? Learn about methods to reduce and replace pesticide use by incorporating Integrated Pest Management skills from UC Davis’s Department of Environmental Horticulture . Another sustainable option is to buy local and organic. The Here and Now garden was the 1st commercial organic and biodynamic flower farm in the US, located in Gayle creek Oregon. Paul Sansone, the founder of Here and Now garden explains that "compost is the key element…You're growing soil, not plants." Bent Oak Farms is now operating and expanding the nursery. Paul Sansone offers his secrets for growing biodynamic flowers on www.organicbouquet.com.

If you must send your sweetie imported roses, show them your commitment to social justice and environmental sustainability by ordering FLP certified flowers . 42 of the 56 worldwide flower farms FLP certified reside in Ecuador. Watch this video about how one environmentally conscious Ecuadorian rose farm, Navado Roses , recycles their water, compost non-exported plant materials with natural fertilizers, deploys spiders and ladybugs to manage pests, and utilizes chamomile, chili and garlic spray as natural pesticides.

Learn more about…

Why You Need This... Wait, Why I Need This

2009-09-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

Science matters. Really.

In a recent culmination of coincidences, involving (A) finally getting a "girls in science" blog together, (B) NPR's recent Science Friday, and (C) a Geomorphology lecture on the importance of good science writing, I suppose you can consider this post somewhat of a Mission Statement.

My hopes for a successful science blog were seeded a little over a year ago, when I realized just how inaccessible "good" science was to the public - and I'm not talking about what's available on the Intrawebs. I was finally starting to zealously answer that incessant "Mom" question (you know, "Hi honey, how was school?") with all the fantastic little geology nothings that I was learning, and consequently realizing just how little my parents knew about relatively simple Earth processes. And it certainly wasn't because they weren't able to understand, it was simply due to a lack of exposure.

Yes, there IS the 'net. People have found a way to translate all of the technical jargon of an experiment's abstract into deliciously juicy writing. It's true! Science blogging communities have found a wonderful niche here, oft read by a majority of, oh yeah... other science bloggers. Not to mention there is only so much material you can believe as truth from a blogger, myself included. The goods are kept out of reach from the average humanoid, with the most credible and groundbreaking magazines - like Nature and Science - dipping their slimy little fingers into your back pockets (a one-year subscription costs $199 and $109, respectively).

In short, I'm hoping to bring your blog experience to some variantly equivalent plane. We will be sticklers about including good references, try our dangdest to argue only fact-based opinions, and above all, spend all day hoping that some small part of this sparks your science plugs.

On the NPR show, Sheril Kirshenbaum mentioned that, "there was only one Carl Sagan." And GOSH YES is she right.

(Speechless) Series #1

2009-09-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

A photo collection of the wondrous little details of our planet.

Frost covered spider webs.