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 ...
Good morning. We made meat sauce. Then Vlad cooked noodles.
Kitteh wants to go home and be snuggled.
Good morning.
I hate small dogs. Harley, who normally doesn’t bother me much, is beginning to get on my nerves. I set the alarm for 0300 and was hoping that the Brian’s little dog wouldn’t be outside when I decided to sleep. Sure enough, 1800, the little wuzzer began to “yipyipyip” and woke me up. Two hours’ worth. Unngh.
Then Harley decided there was something in the back yard that needed to be driven away at 0200...
So, now maybe I’ll see to the laundry and the pills and then get ready for Walmart. I hope they have packing paper AND boxes, because I don’t want to pay for S&H from U-Haul.
With luck, I’ll get more stuff done in the kitchen and call it good for in there, except for what’s in a couple of the cupboards.
Then books...I’m getting there. It’s just so very slow.
Jake jumped on Shannon at 0400. I got up and let Jake go outside, then went back to bed. A dog was barking annoyingly at that time; not too near, but enough to make it hard to go back to sleep.
I get extra irritated at people who seem to believe nobody else can hear their dogs, because I live with people who seem to believe nobody else can hear their music, videos, drums, etc.
And good morning. Apart from the cat incident, I had a pretty good night.
Sorry about the cat fight. Annoying dogs are usually owned by annoying people.
I’m glad you were able to sleep well, anyway.
I just decided to go figure out what I need to pack up in the bakeware cupboard, since the cookware and dishes are packed, and as I was getting up from the floor after checking to see what was left (it’s part of a corner so there is space that is never used) I was hanging onto the counter in front of the sink. My grip slipped when I was about halfway up and my right knee slammed against the floor. Oh cusswords and shucky darn. It isn’t swelling, but it aches, so I’ll see how it feels by Walmart time. I should probably brace it, just in case.
Now I’m faced with another decision. I promised Favorite Daughter that she could have my blue Anchor-Hocking cookware, but now I need to decide if I’ll send her one or two pieces at a time before I move or when I get to AR. I hate to think of the extra hassle now with all that has to be done, but I’m using it less and less because of it’s weight. I love the way the baked and roasted goods turn out, but I need to do some muscle- and tendon-strengthening exercises if I intend to keep using it.
Maybe you could ask your daughter if she wants to pay to have it mailed to her. If so, she could decide which items she wants first. Anything you don’t take to AR is something you don’t have to unpack!
The packing is the part I don’t want to do. Unpacking is for her to do. I just don’t know if I want the hassle of packing it here and taking it there. She’s offered to pay for it, but unless I send it one or two pieces at a time, I’ll never be able to lift it.
The alternative is to try and schlep it to the UPS pick-up point to see if they would pack it. It’s not a UPS store, so I doubt it. UPS would pick it up, but I would have to pack it according to their requirements. Any way I look at it, I’ll have to pack it.
Now, I’m going to take my pills, eat the obligatory snack, then go out and wash off the windshield so I can see to drive to Walmart.
Today’s special animal friend is the kiwi, five species in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. As we learned yesterday, these flightless birds of New Zealand are very similar to the extinct Velociraptor, except for some of the scary stuff. They are not closely related to New Zealand’s other flightless birds, the moa, but to emu, cassowaries, and the extinct Malagasy elephant bird. The name “kiwi” is from the Maori language and is generally believed to originate in imitation of a sound the bird makes. Unlike “Kiwi,” the demonym for New Zealanders, “kiwi” is not capitalized, and the recommended plural is “kiwi.” One kiwi, two kiwi, a ravenous pack of kiwi close behind cute Kiwi Sam Neill ...
Ahem, where was I? Kiwi species are either brown or spotted. The largest species is the great spotted kiwi, Apteryx haastii. They are about 18 inches high and can weigh over 7 lbs. The little spotted kiwi, Apteryx owenii, is about 1/3 the size of the great spotted kiwi. It has been eradicated from “mainland” New Zealand by introduced predators such as cats, pigs, and weasels; healthy populations remain on predator-free smaller islands.
The most common kiwi is the North Island brown kiwi, Apteryx mantelli. Around 35,000 of these kiwi, which are nearly as large as the great spotted, are found in the northern part of the North Island, where they have adapted to a variety of habitats including farmland. Two other species of brown kiwi are found on the South Island.
All the species of kiwi share many features. Like other flightless birds, they have relatively heavy bones with bone marrow instead of hollow spaces. Their wings are tiny and nearly invisible under their bristly, hairlike feathers. They have no tail. Spotted kiwi females can lay multiple eggs, but brown kiwi lay a single egg that can weigh up to 1/4 the female’s body weight. While growing this immense egg, the female needs up to three times her usual food supply, but in the last few days, the egg takes up so much interior space that her stomach is squashed flat, and she can’t eat at all. This brings back memories of some of my pregnancies.
Kiwi are monogamous, and a pair can remain together for over 20 years. They are territorial and aggressive, fighting with long, sharp claws and strong kicks that can result in fatal wounds. Seriously:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmi3EifYzR0
Kiwi have a long, flexible bill with nostrils at the tip. They have an outstanding sense of smell. Their eyes, however, are the smallest (relative to body mass) of any bird type. Blind individuals are not unknown, and they survive in the wild using their other senses. Kiwi are omnivorous: they eat seeds and fruit as well as grubs, insect, crayfish, eels, and amphibians. Kiwi have a large brain, relative to their size, and are considered intelligent by some researchers.
Predation is a huge threat to kiwi populations. Weasels are the most common predator of chicks, while dogs are the greatest threat to adults. Fewer than 10% of eggs hatch and reach adulthood in unprotected habitats, while in predator-free habitats, the survival rate is well over 50%. “Kiwis for Kiwi” https://www.kiwisforkiwi.org/ is one of many conservation groups working to protect and expand kiwi populations. The Maori, who used to hunt and eat kiwi, now consider themselves the protectors of New Zealand’s best-known animal friend.
w00t!
Good morning, everyone. Happy Tuesday.
It’s Trash Day here. Vlad’s going to the dentist.
Ah, yes, thanks! “Brokenwood” comes to mind, but the resident Maori in the series is a hottie, very much too you for this ol’ broad. Still, the word “kiwi” brings nice things to mind. ;o]
Back from Walmart, where I stood in the cold wind an extra ten minutes because folks forgot it was Tuesday again, and didn’t let us in when they were supposed to.
I’ve been having the wobblies since before I left, so I don’t know what will get done today besides pill sorting and laundry folding, neither of which attracted too much attention from me before I left.
Now, of course, my right knee is burning, so I’m not sure what to do about it. About the only thing I’ve decided is that I will most likely send the bakeware to my FD a few pieces at a time, if I can find the proper-sized containers. Just to get them out of my way.
*tagline*
Thanks, and happy Twosday to you too.
There is a card in the mail today that wasn’t there yesterday! Happy dance! I’ll try to stay awake long enough to go get it. Otherwise, I’ll get it early tomorrow morning.
I need to try and get the pills sorted if I can get the Wobblies to stay away long enough.
Another installment of Harry Potter in playing (The Half-Blood Prince,) and I’ll go to the library later for more Nova DVDs. Odd but the books didn’t seem as dark in the reading as the movies are in the watching.
Sam Neill as “Reilly, Ace of Spies” ... *sigh*
Back from getting Vlad’s tooth filled. Next up is a trip to Walmart, followed by naptime. We plan to get Chinese takeout for supper because of the boys’ Envirothon success.
Shouldn’t you get food from a country that is more environmentally friendly than China?
Although, honestly, I wouldn’t worry about that.
Ah, yes...Sam Neill...Ace of Sex Appeal. He’s got it all!!
When I get to AR, the teeth will be worked on until they don’t hurt me any more.
The pills have been sorted, and I thought my leg was going to beat me up when I got up from here. So I’ll try to stretch it out while I sit. Unngh.
Chinese take-out sounds excellent. There is a Chinese buffet just around the corner from here, but I’ve never heard of anyone who has gone there, so I have no clue if the food is good or not. I want to try it!
We will properly dispose of the waste, as explained in the Current Environmental Issues articles.
My Vegas Golden Knights coffee much is shipping today, meaning I should have it within a week! *happy dance*
Cool!
Drama Queen phoned to see if Vlad wanted to help her wash her car in exchange for a food reward, so I guess she’s over whatever ailed her. She can pick up her Zion National Park sweatshirt, too.
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