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Ancient Cataclysm Rearranged Pacific Map, Study Says Julian Ryall for National Geographic NewsOctober 24, 2007 A cataclysm 50 million years ago changed the face of the planet from the Hawaiian Islands to Antarctica, according to new research. The collapse of an underwater mountain range in the Pacific Ocean turned Australia into a warm and sunny continent instead of a snowbound wasteland and created some of the islands that dot the South Pacific today. "We have found that the destruction of an entire mid-ocean ridge, known as the Izanagi Ridge, initiated a chain reaction of geological events," said Joanne Whittaker, a...

A Monash geoscientist and a team of international researchers have discovered the existence of an ocean floor was destroyed 50 to 20 million years ago, proving that New Caledonia and New Zealand are geographically connected. Using new computer modelling programs Wouter Schellart and the team reconstructed the prehistoric cataclysm that took place when a tectonic plate between Australia and New Zealand was subducted 1100 kilometres into the Earth's interior and at the same time formed a long chain of volcanic islands at the surface. Mr Schellart conducted the research, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, in collaboration...

A dinosaur bone discovered in Australia has defied prevailing wisdom about how the world's continents separated from a super-continent millions of years ago, a new study said. The 19-centimetre bone was found in southeastern Australia but it comes from a very close cousin to Megaraptor, a flesh-ripping monster that lorded over swathes of South American some 90 million years ago. The extraordinary similarity between the two giant theropods adds weight to a dissident view about the break-up of a super-continent, known as Gondwana, that formed the continents of the southern hemisphere, the authors said on Tuesday. Gondwana broke up during...

THE world's sea levels fell in 2011 and it's all Australia's doing. New US research shows Australia's dry soil and mountainous coastline soaked up heavy rainfall in 2010 and 2011 and stopped it from flowing back into the ocean. That effectively halted a longterm trend of rising sea levels which have been caused by higher temperatures and melting ice sheets. "No other continent has this combination of atmospheric set-up and topography," scientist John Fasullo, who worked on the study, said in a statement. "Only in Australia could the atmosphere carry such heavy tropical rains to such a large area, only...

Diamonds tell story of Earth's beginning By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 12:01am BST 22/08/2007 Diamonds really are forever, according to a study that has found tiny examples of the gems that date from near the birth of the Earth. Tiny diamonds discovered inside crystals of zircon Over four billion years old, the diamonds are the oldest identified fragments of the Earth’s crust and were discovered in the Jack Hills region of Western Australia, suggesting they were created only 300 million years after the planet itself was born from the dust and debris encircling our Sun some 4.5 billion...

Australia's new submarines will need the range and endurance to patrol far out into the Pacific or Indian Oceans or up into the South China Sea. For that, a nuclear boat would be ideal. Nuclear subs - nukes - can travel fast and stay submerged almost indefinitely, without the need to come to periscope depth every few days to run a diesel engine to charge batteries. Submariners refer to this periodic need to come to the surface as the 'indiscretion rate'. It's when a submarine is most vulnerable to detection. Successive Australian governments have ruled out the nuclear option for...

A Muslim leader in South Australia has warned a lack of tolerance could spark violence, after a man who allegedly grabbed a woman's headscarf was released on bail. The imam of the Islamic Association of South Australia, who goes by the name Shaikh M Tawhidi, today released a statement saying he feared a day "where the Muslim community might take matters into their own hands to protect their women and mothers". "And it might get dirty, very dirty," he said.

The company building Australia's next-generation fighter planes says it would be naive to pretend there aren't problems with the fleet. But air force chiefs are confident the controversial F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighters are the best the Department of Defence can get. Australia is spending $17.1 billion to acquire 72 of the Lockheed Martin planes by 2023. But they've been dismissed as an expensive flop with the jets facing difficulties including pilot visibility issues, stealth coatings peeling off, an inability to fly during lightning storms due to the risk of exploding, and software problems. A report by the Pentagon's top...

My name is more prominent than understanding for before all things ((( (( ( "I AM" ) )) ))) and I became The Foundation for all I created and it is in my wisdom the very heavenlies rest, as my knowledge reveals their place of rest as my understanding is the tongue and spirit as a thread and needle led by my love to hold all these things together and so it is that I have created a gown of protection and warmth for my church and Bride drawn and sewn from my light for this pleases The Father of...

A senior Australian government minister on Thursday called Donald Trump's campaign for the U.S. presidency "terrifying" and warned it risked casting the Republican Party into the wilderness if he wins nomination. Australian government ministers rarely make critical comments about elections in other countries, especially stalwart allies like the United States, which Australia relies on heavily for military backing in the Asia-Pacific. Australian Industry Minister Christopher Pyne, a cabinet member of the ruling conservative Liberal-National coalition, criticized the violence at recent Trump rallies and said that his rise was casting a pall over American democracy. "Now, democracy should be robust but...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A meteor's roaring crash into Antarctica -- larger and earlier than the impact that killed the dinosaurs -- caused the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history and likely spawned the Australian continent, scientists said. Ohio State University scientists said the 483-kilometer-wide (300-mile-wide) crater is now hidden more than 1.6 kilometers (one mile) beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. "Gravity measurements that reveal its existence suggest that it could date back about 250 million years -- the time of the Permian-Triassic extinction, when almost all animal life on Earth died out," the university said in a statement Thursday....

FOREST fires rage out of control despite water-bombing by helicopters. A sweltering heatwave grips the outback. Is this Australia? No, it’s Scotland enjoying its driest spring on record. The war might have come and gone, and we might be having an election next week, but all Scotland can talk about is the odd weather. Welcome to global warming.Or is it? I remain doggedly unconvinced. Certainly, the past decade has seen shorter winters in Scotland. But that only proves the climate is highly variable. Certainly, we are seeing a global bounce in temperature since the mini cold spasm that gripped the...

Per Hesselberg leans forward in his chair, a portrait of his queen ­behind him, and explains why Denmark should design our new fleet of warships. “We are the country of Lego,’” the Danish navy captain says with a smile. “And our frigates are like Lego frigates … they are built from blocks and are flexible, multi-role ships, so that you can pluck and play with and create exactly the warship you want.” Outside Hesselberg’s office, winter rain sweeps across the ­Korsor Naval Base in a remote pocket of ­Denmark, almost obliterating the giant grey frigate moored in the distance. If...

Explanation: Sporting a surprisingly bright, lovely green coma Comet 252P/Linear poses next to the Large Magellanic Cloud in this southern skyscape. The stack of telephoto exposures was captured on March 16 from Penwortham, South Australia. Recognized as a Jupiter family periodic comet, 252P/Linear will come close to our fair planet on March 21, passing a mere 5.3 million kilometers away. That's about 14 times the Earth-Moon distance. In fact, it is one of two comets that will make remarkably close approaches in the next few days as a much fainter Comet Pan-STARRS (P/2016 BA14) comes within 3.5 million kilometers (9...

Geologists from the University of Sydney and the California Institute of Technology have solved the mystery of how Australia's highest mountain -- Mount Kosciuszko -- and surrounding Alps came to exist. Most of the world's mountain belts are the result of two continents colliding (e.g. the Himalayas) or volcanism. The mountains of Australia's Eastern highlands -- stretching from north-eastern Queensland to western Victoria -- are an exception. Until now no one knew how they formed. A research team spearheaded by Professor Dietmar Müller from the University's School of Geosciences used high performance computing code to investigate the cause of the...

Six Bangladeshi migrants caught entering Australian waters have been sent back to Indonesia on a fishing boat, according to an Indonesian official. The decision has been criticised by the Indonesian foreign ministry, which is opposed to Australia's controversial policy of returning migrants. It warns that such acts could be dangerous at sea. The six men, along with two Indonesian crew, left from the eastern Indonesian city of Kupang last week bound for Australia. After three days at sea they reached Australian waters, but had engine trouble and the boat began to sink. They were picked up by the border patrol....

Borders are being broken down now between my children for not just the ( ((Wave)) ) from The Oil of Unity is moving to remove the barriers but The Spirit of Understanding has illuminated its way as Unity "UNITES" and Binds this Three Stranded Chord all in agreement with Me for I AM First 1)Love and it is My 2)Grace that is the Capstone of 3)Truth Ephesians 4 [ Unity of the Spirit ] So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is,...

One is a landlocked country in Europe, the other is a huge land mass in the middle of the Indian Ocean... but that didn't stop CNN confusing Australia with Austria. The embarrassing blunder was made during a segment on the Austrian government's plans to erect a fence at its Slovenian border to stop refugees sneaking into the country. But CNN's graphic editors got confused and aired a graphic stating that 'Australia' - a country almost 8,000 miles outside of Europe - was 'building fence at Slovenian border.'

THE Australian Labor Party has launched an internal investigation after claims paid election staff sent to work on the presidential campaign may have breached US law. Four ALP election staff were sent to America last month and paid $60 per day to observe and work on the campaign for Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders. Under US law foreign volunteers cannot be paid or receive any benefits, however three volunteers have been caught on camera admitting they received a daily allowance, flights and accommodation form the Labor Party. ALP National Secretary George Wright denied the party had broken any laws but a...

[So here is an idea that we could build on in America, to counter the lefties who are working to make the future a dark time indeed! Not sure how free market these Aussies are but their hearts are in the right place.]Happy Future Day! By Edward Hudgins March 1, 2016 – Stand up for optimism about the future today! Transhumanism Australia, a non-profit that promotes education in science and technology, has marked March 1 as “Future Day.” It wants this day celebrated worldwide as a time “to consider the future of humanity.” If all of us made a habit...