Giant 'ocean' discovered towards Earth's core
A reservoir of water three times the volume of all the oceans has been discovered deep beneath the Earth's surface. The finding could help explain where Earth's seas came from.
The water is hidden inside a blue rock called ringwoodite that lies 700 kilometres underground in the mantle, the layer of hot rock between Earth's surface and its core.
The huge size of the reservoir throws new light on the origin of Earth's water. Some geologists think water arrived in comets as they struck the planet, but the new discovery supports an alternative idea that the oceans gradually oozed out of the interior of the early Earth.
"It's good evidence the Earth's water came from within," says Steven Jacobsen of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The hidden water could also act as a buffer for the oceans on the surface, explaining why they have stayed the same size for millions of years.
Pinging the planet
Jacobsen's team used 2000 seismometers to study the seismic waves generated by more than 500 earthquakes. These waves move throughout Earth's interior, including the core, and can be detected at the surface. "They make the Earth ring like a bell for days afterwards," says Jacobsen.
By measuring the speed of the waves at different depths, the team could figure out which types of rocks the waves were passing through. The water layer revealed itself because the waves slowed down, as it takes them longer to get through soggy rock than dry rock.
Jacobsen worked out in advance what would happen to the waves if water-containing ringwoodite was present. He grew ringwoodite in his lab, and exposed samples of it to massive pressures and temperatures matching those at 700 kilometres down.
Sure enough, they found signs of wet ringwoodite in the transition zone 700 kilometres down, which divides the upper and lower regions of the mantle. At that depth, the pressures and temperatures are just right to squeeze the water out of the ringwoodite. "It's rock with water along the boundaries between the grains, almost as if they're sweating," says Jacobsen.
Damp down there
Jacobsen's finding supports a recent study by Graham Pearson of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Pearson studied a diamond from the transition zone that had been carried to the surface in a volcano, and found that it contained water-bearing ringwoodite, the first strong evidence that there was lots of water in the transition zone (Nature, doi.org/s6h).
"Since our initial report of hydrous ringwoodite, we've found another ringwoodite crystal, also containing water, so the evidence is now very strong," says Pearson.
So far, Jacobsen only has evidence that the watery rock sits beneath the US. He now wants to find out if it wraps around the entire planet.
"We should be grateful for this deep reservoir," says Jacobsen. "If it wasn't there, it would be on the surface of the Earth, and mountain tops would be the only land poking out."
Journal reference: Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1253358 ... See MoreSee Less
1 month ago
View on FacebookPakistan is blessed with as many as 6000 kinds of plants out of which about 600 – about 12 per cent - are used as medicinal plants and it is of course a major contributing factor in treating multiple human diseases. However, a proper research is institutionalized it can not only boost these medicinal plants production but also could fetch a huge amount of foreign exchange through their international export. This was expressed during a recently held seminar in Bhurbhan. Purpose of the event was to highlight the importance of modern research of medicinal plants at local level and increase these plants production on mass level through local communities.
KPK Regions, Northern Areas and Kashmir including Murree are home to most of the plants which are used medicines and suggested establishment of research centers at local level as it would increase medicinal plants production. It was explained that medicinal plants are the major source of pharmaceutical industry especially in the outer world.
The speakers included Chairperson PCST Dr Mudassar Asrar. Renowned scientist Dr Atta ur Rehman, ICCBS Director Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhry and Federal Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
People have used medicinal plants (MPs) in health care since the time of earliest human evolution. In many countries, MPs still remain the major source of medication for a wide range of ailments. Therapeutic effects of MPs are associated with their chemical peculiarities, which are in reality components of the defense strategies of plants. Only 5 to 15% of the approximately 270,000 species of higher plants occurring in the globe have been systematically investigated, and plants remain a rich source of novel bioactive compounds. The potential value of medicinal compounds derived from plants has been proposed as a tangible benefit of biodiversity and therefore a basis for promoting its conservation
The role of MPs is particularly important in Asia, where a large proportion of the rural population depends on wild MP resources to meet their health care needs. Besides their importance in health care, MPs have high socio-cultural, symbolic and economic values, providing income and employment to millions of people living in the region. In Pakistan, MPs are highly valued in different folk healing systems and in scholarly systems of traditional medicine, such as herbal, Unani and Chinese. In addition, the natural medicinal plants and their products are also popular in other traditional medical systems (such as natural, homoeopathic) as well as in modern allopathic medicines. Plants used in traditional medicine are important sources of novel bio-molecules (Heinrich and Gibbons 2001), with application for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Besides, the incorporation of medicinal herbs into health foods, dietary supplements, herbal teas, cosmetics, massage oils, fragrances, and dying and coloring agents has dramatically increased the international demand in medicinal plants. The global market for herbal medicines has been estimated to be worth USD 40-60 billion, annually growing at the rate of 7-10%. ... See MoreSee Less
1 month ago
View on FacebookPakistani Beaches Must be Cleaner to Protect Marine Turtles
Clean environment along sea shores and at islands is prerequisite to provide safe, secure and nesting place for the turtles especially during the ensuing breeding season as this species is increasingly endangered with the rising sea water pollution and amount of litter at the shore. There is a grave need to create awareness among the sea shore visitors to avoid dropping food wrappers, shopping bags or other waste items as it badly affects the water quality as well as environment which, too, affects the whole ecosystem.
During the past some time, efforts to protect the endangered sea turtles along the coasts of Sindh and Balochistan have received a boost that could ensure cleaner sea sides significantly.
Most recently, the IUCN Pakistan in collaboration with International Centre Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has launched a USAID-funded ‘Saving the Endangered Sea Turtles’ project at a ceremony in Karachi, which was attended by a large number of participants representing government, civil society, private sector and academic organizations. The project was jointly organized to mark the World Turtle Day and International Day for Biological Diversity 2014 at Sandspit Beach Karachi.
The event commenced with Beach Cleaning Competition at the Sandspit Beach involving children from the five schools of the coastal areas. During this activity, approximately two tons of litter was collected and disposed of to create safe nesting place for the turtles during the ensuing breeding season. Later, a turtle quiz programme was conducted to create awareness amongst the children about the turtles and the threats facing them.
Turtles are an important part of our biodiversity. The Sandspit and Hawksbay beaches are amongst the 11 most important turtle nesting grounds in the world. Around 6,000 Green Turtles used to visit these beaches during the breeding seasons, but their numbers have dwindled over the years due to various threats – including entanglement in fishing nets, habitat degradation and littering of the nesting beaches. Leftover food at the beaches results in increase of predators’ population that hunts on the hatched baby turtles while crawling towards the sea. ... See MoreSee Less
1 month ago
View on Facebook33 New Wind Power Projects in Pakistan
Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) is pursuing and facilitating 33 new wind power projects which are in different stages of development through collaboration of private sector.There are three wind power projects of 150 MW capacity under construction and will be completed in 2014 while another 13 wind projects having a cumulative capacity of 680 MW are at advance stages and ready to achieve financial closing in 2014.
Highlighting the steps being taken to effective use alternate sources for power generation, sources at AEDB on Sunday said 24 solar power projects having a cumulative capacity of 792.99 MW are also under different stages of development and can achieve Commercial Operation Date by 2015-16 subject to availability of grid and tariff. In addition, nine biomass/bagasse based power projects are also under development as several sugar mills have approached AEDB for development of power generation projects under Framework for Power Co-generation 2013 (Biomass/Bagasse).
The sources said currently two wind power projects with a cumulative capacity of 105.9 MW (56.4 MW and 49.5 MW) are operational and providing electricity to the grid while a 27 MW Biomass/Waste to Energy plant is operational at Al-Moiz Sugar Industries, D.I.Khan.
They said another 07 MW of Biogas/Waste to Energy plant is operational at Shakarganj Sugar Mills, Jhang and providing electricity to FESCO. The sources said the government was taking all possible measures for harnessing the renewable energy potential as availability of grid infrastructure is being ensured for upcoming wind and solar power projects. National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is in the process of announcing Upfront Tariffs for Alternative & Renewable Energy (ARE) based projects such as solar, biomass etc. ... See MoreSee Less
1 month ago
View on Facebook10 Tips to help stop Global Warming
1. Change a light
Replace a regular bulb with a more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb.
2. Drive less
Walk, bike, use public transportation like a bus. Talk to your parents about considering a hybrid, or alternative fuel vehicle. And keep your tires inflated properly.
3. Recycle more
Think before you throw away trash. Recycle instead. Cut down on how much you throw in the trash, which ultimately ends up in a landfill. And be sure to take e-waste, like computers, cell phones and hazardous waste to a special recycling facility.
4. Avoid products with a lot of packaging
When it comes to your shopping habits, consider buying products that are better for the environment or that are made from recycled materials, and have less or no packaging. And when it comes to food, support local farmers markets.
5. Use less hot water
In winter, it takes a lot of energy to heat water. Install a low flowing shower head and wash a full load of clothes in cold or warm water.
6. Adjust your thermostat
Moving your thermostat down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer can save a lot of energy. And think about installing alternative power like solar energy at your home which is widely available in Pakistan now.
7. Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
8. Turn off electronic devices
Simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo, and unplugging your iPod and cell phone charger when not in use, will save you thousands of KGs of CO2 a year.
9. Spread the word
Talk to your friends, family and school teachers. Teach them what you've learned and make your house and school as green as possible. Think of ways to raise awareness & educate others, create fund-raisers in your local community to make a change.
10. Green Living
Work to make these changes in your daily life so it becomes second nature. ... See MoreSee Less
2 months ago
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