Natures Mysteries

A team of scientists has discovered over 40 unidentified species in a lost world contained inside a kilometre deep crater in Papua New Guinea including what may be the world'slargest known species of rat. "A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea." View: Full Article | Source: Guardian Unlimited News storysuggestion by: Stance.

It appeared in the sky for the briefest of moments. A dazzling arc of psychedelic colour reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat"s grin in Lewis Carroll"s Alice in Wonderland. But this is no fantasy or trick of the light, it is known as a circumzenithal arc. Seen here shimmering in the sky over Cambridge in the afternoon sunshine, it is often mistaken for a rainbow hanging upside down. But unlike a rainbow, the sky has to be clear of rain and low level clouds for it to be seen. Relatively rare in Britain, the arc only appears when sunlight shines at a specific angle through a thin veil of wispy clouds at a height of around 20,000 to 25,000 feet. At this altitude the cirrus clouds are madeof ice crystals, the size of grains of salt.

Meteorologists say the clouds must be convex to the sun with the ice particles lined up together in the right direction to refract the light. This results in the sunlight bouncing off the ice crystals high in the atmosphere, sending the light rays back up and bending the sunlight like a glass prism into a spectrum of colour. Renowned astronomer and writer Dr Jacqueline Mitton was lucky enough to capture the optical phenomenon on camera near her home in Cambridge last Sunday. The 60-year-old who has a doctorate in astrophysics from Cambridge University said: "I"ve never seen anything like it before - and I"m 60. "The conditions have to be just right: you need the right sort of ice crystals and the sky has to be clear. "It"s quite surprising for this to occursomewhere like Cambridge, usually it is in places that are colder. "We"re not sure how big an area it was visible over, but it was certainly very impressive." According to Dr Mitton, the colours in the rainbow were intensified by the position of the sun, which was at the optimum spot in the sky of 22 degrees.The vision was made even more dazzling by the presence of "sun dogs" - gleaming spots on a halo around the sun. Dr Mitton added: "It was just an amazing combination of factors that happened at the right time."

View: Full Article | Source: Daily Mail

Scientists in Australia believe they have discovered exactly how ocean warming and cooling cycles drive a crippling drought."Farmers have applauded a research breakthrough by Australian scientists linkingtemperatures in the Indian Ocean and rainfall in the southeastern states of Australia.

The researchers believe they have discovered what drives a crippling drought. They have detailed for the first time how a variable and irregular cycle of warming and cooling of ocean water dictates whether moisture-bearing winds are carried across the southern half of Australia."

View: Full Article | Source: ninemsn.com.au

Submitted by Artemis: A super volcano is the most destructive natural force on earth. Super volcanoes produce the largest and most voluminous kinds of eruptions ever recorded throughout earth history. Most super volcanoes are what volcanologists call caldera volcanoes. Caldera volcanoes are formed after magma has been erupted and the volcano collapses into the voided chamber.The largest known super volcano is the Siberian Traps in Russia, which had the largest volcanic event in the last 500 million years. The Siberian Traps eruption, which lasted over a million years has been blamed for the Permian-Triassic extinction event. This extinction event occurred 252 million years ago, when 90% ofall marine life and 70% of all other life became extinct.What most do not realize is the number of these sleeping giants that exist.

When someone in the United States hears the word super volcano they think "Yellowstone", but Yellowstone isn't the only monster that exists. Some caldera volcanoes located in North America are Yellowstone (WY), Crater Lake (OR), Long Valley (CA), Sturgeon Lake (Ontario), Valle Grande (NM). Some of the biggest caldera volcanoes from around the world are Krakotoa (Indonesia), Tambora (Indonesia), Toba (Sumatra), Taupo (New Zealand) and the Siberian Traps in Russia. There are over 138 caldera volcanoes in the world, whose crater exceeds 5 miles in diameter, 40 of which are super volcanoes. Evidence shows that when super volcanoes erupt it effects our climate andthe environment for many years after. The Toba eruption 74,000 years ago, and the 3 Yellowstone eruptions 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 640,000 years ago have been blamed for causing earths past ice ages.Here's a good illustration of the eruptive capacity of a super volcano. Mount St. Helens 1980 eruption ejected 1.2 cubic kilometers of material, enough to fill a large sports stadium 1,569 times. The St. Helens eruption is very small compared to historic super eruptions.

View: Full Article | Source: Cryptic Conspiracies