Posted on 10/20/2020 9:33:20 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A team of geologists at the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics believes they have found the lost plate in northern Canada by using existing mantle tomography images—similar to a CT scan of the earth's interior. The findings, published in Geological Society of America Bulletin, could help geologists better predict volcanic hazards as well as mineral and hydrocarbon deposits.
"Volcanoes form at plate boundaries, and the more plates you have, the more volcanoes you have," said Jonny Wu, assistant professor of geology in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. "Volcanoes also affect climate change. So, when you are trying to model the earth and understand how climate has changed since time, you really want to know how many volcanoes there have been on earth."
Wu and Spencer Fuston, a third-year geology doctoral student, applied a technique developed by the UH Center for Tectonics and Tomography called slab unfolding to reconstruct what tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean looked like during the early Cenozoic Era. The rigid outermost shell of Earth, or lithosphere, is broken into tectonic plates and geologists have always known there were two plates in the Pacific Ocean at that time called Kula and Farallon. But there has been discussion about a potential third plate, Resurrection, having formed a special type of volcanic belt along Alaska and Washington State.
Using 3-D mapping technology, Fuston applied the slab unfolding technique to the mantle tomography images to pull out the subducted plates before unfolding and stretching them to their original shapes.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
Boooooo.
The antihistamines I’ve taken so far have been less than expected. About the only thing that has worked is the little vial of eyedrops that have helped the ugliness. I no longer have red smiley faces under my eyes. The rest? Well, the jury is out, and unless I use a prescription AND a Benadryl, I get no relief from the runny nose, the coughing or anything else.
Well, it was better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Although I still am at a loss as to why that would have been the alternative.
I’m at the end of another scattered day. I know I got things done but it took all day to do them, and I feel like I did nothing but spin my wheels.
So, since I have a busy day tomorrow, I’m off for now. Perhaps the pollen numbers will be down tomorrow to a livable level and I can actually think clearly. They’ve been over 10 for the last several days.
Adam wasn’t working today, and Chuck wasn’t in, so I still don’t have my third key.
Anyway, have a good night, both of you, and I’ll see ya tomorrow.
I hope you have a great night. Things were pretty sneezy at the stable this afternoon!
No such thing. Interruptions. After enough of them, the desire for sleep disappeared. Then I began to think of what had to be done tomorrow. Arrgh!
Well, unnngh.
We went out with Bill. He’s doing fine.
Happy late Birthday, to the Elusive Bill.
(I’m so tired of being cold!)
*tagline*
Good morning. It’s a little chilly in here this morning. I didn’t get my robe out, but I should have!
Good morning.
It’s currently 46° and we’re headed for a high of 77° but not before we drop at least one more degree. Rollercoaster weather.
Floofy kitteh looks all snuggly.
Well. The application is finished and will be taken over to the library to be faxed this morning. I feel like the rag wheels of heck.
I woke up at 0140 and decided it wasn’t worth staying in bed. The shower has been had.
Yesterday morning I called the pain clinic and it was nearing 1630 when they returned the call. They can’t see me until the 12th, so I just have to suffer with this inadequate med. What a strange body I have.
Two of my stranger nieces were all over me yesterday for something I posted and rather than try to argue or explain the post, I just made a new one:
“If you don’t like what I post,
“1. “Hide” it
“2. Scroll past it.”
No names, but they’ll read it. Both are liberals. SO insecure! LOL!
Good morning. Happy Wednesday.
We’re starting to get blue skies when I take the dog out. It will be full sunlight soon.
Yesterday afternoon, it was 82 out at the stable. I don’t know what is expected today, but it is presently 68 in the house.
The high school boys are supposed to do something with Envirothon this afternoon, but I’m not sure what or where. I hope someone will let me know!
Today’s special animal friend is the Angora rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus. All domesticated rabbits share this taxonomy; they are further classified into breeds and sub-breeds, like dogs or cats. The origin of this breed is obscure, but it was introduced to France in 1725. It became a pet of royalty and nobility. Domestication of rabbits as a fur and food source was known in antiquity. Pliny the Elder, in the first century B.C., described rabbit farms in Rome.
Angora rabbits, of which there are several varieties, are often kept as pets. They are really cute and have marvelously soft fur (also called “wool”). A dwarf English Angora will weigh about three pounds, while a Giant Angora weighs over ten pounds. Angora rabbits can compete in rabbit shows – like cat shows, but less red in tooth and claw – and at county or state fairs.
Angora rabbits are raised commercially for their “wool,” which is similar in fineness and texture to cashmere (goat) fiber, with a diameter of 12 to 16 microns. This is just a little finer than the very finest Merino wool, for those who remember our tour of Australian animals. Like Merino sheep, Angora rabbits have been selectively bred for wool production, and they must be combed, trimmed, or sheared several times a year to prevent overheating, infection, hairballs, and other health problems.
Angora wool is very popular with hand-knitters and weavers. As yarn, it shows a “halo effect” of tiny fibers. It is inelastic and is often blended with sheep’s wool. The sheep fibers add strength and elasticity, while the angora wool contributes warmth and softness. Pure Angora yarn is used mainly as an accent in garments; even 10% of Angora yarn makes a shawl or scarf much warmer. Natural colors of Angora range from pure white to black, with many pretty intermediate shades of vanilla, brown, reddish, gray and blue-gray. The wool can also be colored with natural or synthetic dyes.
About 90% of the world’s Angora wool is produced in China, where more than 50 million rabbits produce up to 3,000 tonnes (which are heavier than tons) per year. The best quality wool is gathered by “plucking” or combing shed hairs from the rabbit, while “shearing” with clippers or scissors produces larger quantities of coarser hair that is more likely to contain bits of vegetable matter. In the last decade, customers have become aware of issues with cruelty in both Chinese and European Angora farms, and this has affected the demand, in the West, for Angora garments.
In the United States, most Angora wool is produced at the artisanal/family farm level and sold in small batches for the handicraft market. Angora rabbits are a popular 4-H project for families that don’t have the facilities to keep sheep, cows, or pigs. As with other breeds of rabbits, those who raise them claim they have personalities and are affectionate. (Certainly this is more likely than that snakes and lizards have personalities.)
Today’s animal friend was hopping about and nibbling clover in a wire enclosure yesterday afternoon, when I was sitting in the shade near the stable during Daughter D’s riding lesson. It was a dwarf variant in a beautiful shade of gray with a very clever face. Some varieties of Angora rabbits have flattened faces like a Persian cat’s and are not, in my opinion, very cute.
Thanks!
We had two rabbits, once. They got out, and our dog, Skipper, chased them down, one at a time, and held them on the ground until one of us could retrieve them and put them back in the cage.
I like working with animal fibers. The textures are amazing.
I made some shawls with wool and added a little angora rabbit yarn. It really does add a lot of warmth with almost no weight.
I had a nap for an hour and now I can’t seem to get the motor in my head to turn over. I-’-v-e g-o-t t-h-e S-l-o-w-s...
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