Do You Doubt Mt. Redoubt?

In previous articles about Mt. Redoubt, the volcano in Alaska that is approximately 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, the scientists that were observing the volcano thought there was a 50/50 chance that an eruption would occur. They have been watching the activity for about a month. The last time it erupted was in 1989-1990. There was a steam plume on Sunday and the scientists did not believe that the ash came from magma. They did not consider it to be an eruption. However, in the article "Volcanic ash snarls air traffic in Alaska" the scientists say that eruptions started Sunday night around 10:30 p.m. and they lasted until Monday night at 7:40p.m, erupting 6 times. "Mt. Redoubt erupts, spewing ash up to 60,000 feet, canceling flights, stranding hikers and putting residents in the affected areas in a holding pattern." Many locals feel that the eruption was not as bad as they thought it would be. The most effect it had on the area was from the ash that fell and cancellation of flights.

I can't imagine having ash all over everything! I know what it is like to be outside with a fire and have the smoke and ash coming at you and getting into your eyes and nose. And that is in very small quantities! This must be much worse. My mom told me that she was in school in Cincinnati, Ohio when Mt. St. Helens in Washington erupted and they got ash all the way in Ohio. She said that it covered everything and was a mess. It took a hard rain to wash most of it away. I would imagine that it would effect all of us and our breathing. What kind of impact does it have on animals, plants and our atmosphere? If it is not good for us to breath, it can't be good for the animals either. If the ash is carried to an area where crops are grown, it could impact the production of these crops, thus hurting the economy in that area. If the crops are normally tranported to us, it would impact the quantities and varities that we receive thus impacting the cost to us. The article said that some hikers were impacted during the eruption. That would mean that there is a tourist industry around the volcano. I would think that it would affect the tourist industry due to the fact that people can't be climbing the volcano during an eruption.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-alaska-volcano24-2009mar24,0,5657933.story

Are We Alone?

On Friday night, March 6th, NASA sent a plant hunting telescope named Kepler into space. In the article "Telescope blasts into space to find other Earths" by Marcia Dunn, she states "It's the first mission capable of answering the age-old question: Are other worlds like ours out there?" Kepler was sent out to a faraway Milky Way galaxy to track down other earths. The project could take 3 1/2 years and cost around $600 million dollars. It is a very exciting time for NASA to have a successful launch after a satellite failed and crashed in the Antarctic. While scientists know that other "planets" exist, they are mostly gassy planets. Kepler will be looking for "rocky" planets, more like our earth. While it is a very strong rocket, it will not be looking for people on these planets, that will be another mission. It was a very successful launch, only time will tell if it will be a successful mission.

Could there be another "Earth"? Would the plant have the same make up as our earth, with a core and a mantle? The planet would have to have liquid water on the surface to be habitable, and that is what NASA will be looking for. It is exciting because "if we don't find any, it really means Earth is very rare, we might be the only extant life and, in fact, that will be the end of 'Star Trek.'" It would be fun to be a part of the team that gets to scientifically research the earth, water and air samples from these planets. If there are other "earths" and they are in better condition than ours, we could learn better ways to save our planet. We could possibly stop global warming and find other ways to create energy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090307/ap_on_sc/planet_hunter

Sinkhole Holds 12,000-Year-Old Clues to Early Americans

What Was Little Salt Spring Years Ago?

A Miami professor, John Gifford, has recently been studying Little Salt Spring in Florida. During early prehistoric times the sinkhole was an oasis in the peninsula that attracted hunters. The entire site covers approximately 111 acres in southern Sarasota County, Fla. The spring itself is about 240 feet in diameter. It all started in 1977 when divers took remains of an extinct tortoise and a sharpen stake to archaeologist. The archaeologists say the stake may have been used by a hunter to kill the animal 12,000 years ago. Again in 1986, Gifford found a skull from an acient burial. Archaeologist say that the spring is filled with a unique anoxic water that preserves many organic materials. Since then, nothing much has been done with the spring until this past July. In July, other archaeologist found another tortoise and remains of a giant sloth. Gifford believes these findings may indicate that Little Salt Spring was an ancient butcher shop before the land was covered by the ocean. Gifford, archaeologists, and drivers will keep looking for other signs and remains in the spring in hope to find clues about Early Americans. If these early dates are confirmed by the labs, it would make Little Salt Spring one of the oldest confirmed pre-Clovis sites in the Americas.” The picture to the left is a sign located near the spring. The sign explains that there are remains of an Indian village dating from 4800 to 3200 BC. For more on these interesting discoveries check out: http://mafweb.rsmas.miami.edu/lss/index.html or http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090218-florida-early-americans-missions.html.

If the archaeologists keep searching in Little Salt Spring, the community around it will gain money because they will have the archaeologists working, living and buying supplies in the area. Sarasota, Florida will also receive more tourists, therefore a better economy because people will travel to Florida to see the ancient remains and take tours of Little Salt Spring. As the archaelogists continue to discover artifacts, they will be able to more closely date the actual timeframe of the community. From this they may be able to determine how we will be effected in the future by the movement of the ocean and land, i.e. Florida's land erosion. We may be able to determine ways of preventing or slowing the Florida land erosion. Also, the movement of the people long ago may be able to be traced, or did they stay in one place their entire life? It is amazing that the archaeologists were able to find artifacts that were so well preserved. As they continue to study the artifacts they may find answers as to how to preserve human remains better or how to improve our lives. We already know that there are products with sea salt for humans to use on their skin. Could this lead to more intense research into sea salt and the effects it has on aging? Could I end up using products that evolved from this discovery?