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History holds many oddities that we may never fully understand, either through incomplete documentation, disinterest at the time, or simply a big question mark that hangs over all. Among these are mysterious lost tribes of people that have been encountered and confronted in all corners of the globe, often vanishing before we really understand them or only known from sparse accounts, and leaving us perplexed at just who they were or where their origins lie. Here we will look at mysterious lost tribes of ape-men, blue-eyed Indians, mystical tribes with telepathic powers, and more. 

The remote jungles of South America have long been the source of tales of strange creatures and legends, and among these are numerous sightings of a tribe of large, ape-like beings living in the wilderness. The descriptions of these creatures often vary, with sizes ranging from a diminutive 3 feet tall all the way up to hulking, 12-foot-tall hairy giants, and are often claimed by the natives of the region and witnesses to live in villages of their own, to use tools and primitive bows and arrows, and to have a language of grunts and whistles. Although regional names may vary, they are now mostly filed under the blanket name Maricoxi, and they are for the most part more or less a complete enigma. 

Perhaps one of the most well-documented and harrowing encounters with these mysterious creatures was detailed by the famed British explorer Colonel Percival H. Fawcett, more often called Percy Fawcett, who vanished into the jungle during an ill-fated expedition to find a mysterious lost city he called simply Z. Fawcett was known to write extensive journals of his travels, many of which would later be compiled into books by his son Brian Fawcett. In one of these books, called Lost Trails, Lost Cities, there is to be found within its pages a rather curious and spectacular tale of encountering the Maricoxi.

The encounter supposedly happened in 1914, as Fawcett was on an expedition to map out the uncharted southwestern region of an area called Matto Grosso. From Bolivia they penetrated the dark jungle up the Guapore River, and already they had become well acquainted by local tribes with the bizarre stories of hairy man-beasts said to dwell out there in that sea of trees, and although it seemed rather fantastical it was enough to keep them wary of their surroundings and what they would find out there on their journey. Ivan Sanderson wrote of the stories Fawcett heard in his 1967 book Things, in which he writes:

“These creatures were apparently called Maricoxis by the Maxubis. They dwelt to their northeast. Due east there were said to be another group of short, black people, covered with hair, who were truly cannibalistic and hunted humans for food, cooking the bodies over a fire on a bamboo spit and tearing off the meat. These the Maxubis regarded as merely loathsome and lowly people. On a later trip, Colonel Fawcett was told of an "ape-people" who lived in holes in the ground, were also covered with dark hair, and were nocturnal, so that they were known in surrounding areas as the Morcegos or Bat-People. These types are called Cabelludos or "Hairy People" by the Spanish-speaking, and Tatus, or armadillos, by several Amerindian groups because they live in holes like those animals. Fawcett also records forest Amerinds as telling him that the Morcegos have an incredibly well-developed sense of smell which prompts even these acute hunters to suggest that they have some "sixth sense.”"

They nevertheless bravely ventured out along the river, coming across some oddities along the way. The first interesting discovery was a previously unknown Amerindian tribe, who identified themselves as the Maxubis and displayed some curious traits, such as their religion of worshiping the Sun and demonstrating an inexplicable knowledge of the planets of the solar system, which they could draw out with rather shocking accuracy. This would have been interesting to have studied further, but Fawcett and company were not there to do anthropological work, and after staying with the tribe for a few days they headed back out into the mist-shrouded jungle once more, leaving these fascinating people behind to the mist of history and crossing over into a region that was completely unseen by outsiders and ws so remote and alien it may as well have been the surface of some alien planet.

After several days of dealing with the numerous perils of this untamed land, the expedition found themselves faced with a mysterious trail out there in the middle of nowhere, which they presumed to be one used by the Natives of the region. As they stood there deciding whether to follow the trail or not and which way to go, Fawcett writes that they saw two figures moving about 100 yards away, apparently chattering away in some unknown language and carrying bows and arrows. Although they were at first presumed to be from a local tribe, closer inspection showed them to be decidedly odder, and Fawcett described them:

“We could not see them clearly for the shadows dappling their bodies, but it seemed to me they were large, hairy men, with exceptionally long arms, and with foreheads sloping back from pronounced eye ridges, men of a very primitive kind, in fact, and stark naked. Suddenly they turned and made off into the undergrowth, and we, knowing it was useless to follow, started up the north leg of the trail.”

It seems quite obvious by this point that Fawcett did not regard what he had glimpsed as completely human beings. This was perhaps all odd enough as it was, but it got even more bizarre that evening at dusk when the forest suddenly came alive with the sound of what seemed to be braying horns from out in the distant dark. The expedition members were immediately on alert, as they instinctively knew that this was an aggressive sound issued forth with the promise of threat. Fawcett would write of these horns and what followed:

“In the subdued light of evening, beneath the high vault of branches in this forest untrodden by civilized man, the sound was as eerie as the opening notes of some fantastic opera. We knew the savages made it, and that those savages were now on our trail. Soon we could hear shouts and jabbering to the accompaniment of the rough horn calls--a barbarous, merciless din, in marked contrast to the stealth of the ordinary savage.

Darkness, still distant above the treetops, was settling rapidly down here in the depths of the wood, so we looked about us for a camping site which offered some measure of safety from attack, and finally took refuge in a tacuara thicket. Here the naked savages would not dare to follow because of the wicked, inch-long thorns. As we slung our hammocks inside the natural stockade we could hear the savages jabbering excitedly all around, but not daring to enter. Then, as the last light went, they left us, and we heard no more of them.”

It is an eerie image to be sure, this solitary camp of bedraggled explorers terrified by the sight of hairy men and now harassed by these mysterious horns in the night, punctuated by the chattering of some rough, alien language, and it was still not over for them. The next morning the team warily checked their surroundings and could find no sign of any of the “savages” having intruded into the vicinity. They continued along one of the well-delineated trails they were finding and camped once again that evening without incident. The next morning, they struck out from the camp and within just about a mile stumbled across what seemed to have been the actual village of the strange tribe, populated by creatures who were obviously not exactly human. Fawcett rather spectacularly describes what happened:

“In the morning we went on, and within a quarter of a mile came to a sort of palm-leaf sentry-box, then another. Then all of a sudden we reached open forest. The undergrowth fell away, disclosing between the tree boles a village of primitive shelters, where squatted some of the most villainous savages I have ever seen. Some were engaged in making arrows, others just idled--great apelike brutes who looked as if they had scarcely evolved beyond the level of beasts.

I whistled, and an enormous creature, hairy as a dog, leapt to his feet in the nearest shelter, fitted an arrow to his bow in a flash, and came up dancing from one leg to the other till he was only four yards away. Emitting grunts that sounded like 'Eugh! Eugh! Eugh!' he remained there dancing, and suddenly the whole forest around us was alive with these hideous ape-men, all grunting 'Eugh! Eugh! Eugh!' and dancing from leg to leg in the same way as they strung arrows to their bows. It looked like a very delicate situation for us, and I wondered if it was the end. I made friendly overtures in Maxubi, but they paid no attention. It was as though human speech were beyond their powers of comprehension.

The creature in front of me ceased his dance, stood for a moment perfectly still, and then drew his bowstring back till it was level with his ear, at the same time raising the barbed point of the six-foot arrow to the height of my chest. I looked straight into the pig-like eyes half hidden under the overhanging brows, and knew that he was not going to loose that arrow yet. As deliberately as he had raised it, he now lowered the bow, and commenced once more the slow dance, and the 'Eugh! Eugh! Eugh!’"

This brutish ape-man allegedly continued to do this several more times, aiming the bow only to continue with his odd, disjointed dance and then aim it again. However, Fawcett seemed to know that at any point that arrow could unleash, and his hand was firmly kept upon the butt of his pistol as he took in the whole outlandish scene. At some point Fawcett says he began to seriously fear for his life and decided to try scaring it off with his sidearm, shooting off a round that pinged the earth by the beast’s feet and sent a thunderous boom echoing through the jungle. He says of this sequence of events:

“I drew out a Mauser pistol I had on my hip. It was a big, clumsy thing, of a caliber unsuitable to forest use, but I had brought it because by clipping the wooden holster to the pistol-butt it became a carbine, and was lighter to carry than a true rifle. It used .38 black powder shells, which made a din out of all proportion to their size. I never raised it; I just pulled the trigger and banged it off into the ground at the ape-man's feet.

The effect was instantaneous. A look of complete amazement came into the hideous face, and the little eyes opened wide. He dropped his bow and arrow and sprang away as quickly as a cat to vanish behind a tree. Then the arrows began to fly. We shot off a few rounds into the branches, hoping the noise would scare the savages into a more receptive frame of mind, but they seemed in no way disposed to accept us, and before anyone was hurt we gave it up as hopeless and retreated down the trail till the camp was out of sight. We were not followed, but the clamor in the village continued for a long time as we struck off northwards, and we fancied we still heard the 'Eugh! Eugh! Eugh!' of the enraged braves.”

This account may seem to be completely sensational to the point that it might be easy for the more skeptical-minded to dismiss it out of hand, but there are a few reasons why it has warrant and deserves consideration, the first being that this was likely not some fictional story Fawcett was telling. It was part of his very serious and typically meticulous notes on his expedition and sitting right there amongst more mundane observations of the wildlife and region’s various peoples. He was a consummate professional and member of the Royal Geographical Society, as well as a very respected, experienced explorer and surveyor, and there is no rational reason at all for why he should want to concoct such a story to drop in the middle of his otherwise meticulous journal. Why would he do that and risk his reputation? To what ends? It also means he would not likely have made misidentifications of local tribes or wildlife, as he was as familiar with these jungles as one could possibly be in the era.

Fawcett has also been accused of having perhaps exaggerated his dealings with the Natives and in this case, made them out to be hairy brutes out of some racist agenda, but if that were the case then why are there other records of his dealings with locals that are completely accurate in their depiction of their appearances and behavior? It is somewhat true that Fawcett was known to have some strong opinions on the more primitive tribes, but he seems to have never let it compromise the matter-of-fact way in which he recorded the people themselves. Sanderson has much to say about this aspect of the journal entries, writing:

“He (Fawcett) was not an ethnologist, anthropologist, or archaeologist but it was with these disciplines that he clashed, and it was towards the protagonists of the first that he most often expressed himself as feeling most bitter. In his extensive travels through hitherto unexplored territories he discovered many groups of people for the first time, lived with them, often acquired not a little of their language, recorded what of their customs he could, and attempted some classification of their origins. Much of all of this conflicted with established beliefs among ethnologists, and Fawcett's historical theories were at complete variance with what was then, and still is, accepted. Yet, while those theories were strongly criticized, the veracity of the facts he collected were never questioned. It was his assessment of them that was considered invalid.

This puts his account of the hairy Maricoxis in an entirely different light, quite apart from the fact that his word was never doubted, that he had two reliable witnesses, and that what he saw was both before and afterwards confirmed by others, in that reports relayed to him by several people described exactly what he had seen without the relaters knowing anything of what he did see. We are therefore compelled to accept this report in toto; and this means simply that, in the year 1914, there were living to the northeast of the Parecis Range in the Matto Grosso, what were apparently tribal groups of fully-haired hominids of grossly primitive aspect, and in no possible way descended from or related to the Amerindian aborigines of the Americas.”

While Sanderson may seem perhaps too quick to buy the whole tale, it certainly is an account that stands out among Fawcett’s writings, and which ultimately leaves more questions than answers. What did Fawcett and his fellow expedition members encounter out there in that jungle? Were these indeed the legendary Maricoxi or something else? It is truly unfortunate that considering that Fawcett was not particularly interested in following up on it, and seems to have considered it mostly an obstacle and oddity, he never did make any effort to find out what they were, and the creatures of his account just sort of fade into the background to remain perplexing enigmas. Did this tribe of hairy ape-men really exist the way Fawcett described them, and if so what were they and how did they fit into the Maricoxi legend? The answer may forever remain hidden out there in that forbidden jungle lair.

Besides tribes of man-like apes, one persistent legend that has been around since 16th-century Spanish missionaries came to the Amazon region is that of tribes of tall, fair-skinned, blonde, blue-eyed, decidedly Caucasian-looking natives living out in the most remote and inaccessible areas of the jungle. One of the earlier accounts of encountering these mysterious people was made by the Spanish Dominican missionary Gaspar de Carvajal, who wrote in 1542 of coming across a group of very tall, very white, European-looking tribal women who wore their long, light hair braided and wound about their heads. The account was included in his book Account of the Recent Discovery of the Famous Grand River.

Another popular account of these white Amazonians comes from the American explorer Alexander Hamilton Rice, Jr., who journeyed into the Amazon for a 1924-1925 expedition. Upon returning from the perilous expedition, Rice told of one of the expedition members, a Lieutenant Hinton, who had spied a tribe of white Indians while making a flight over the headwaters of the Parima River. Intrigued, Rice organized a trip by canoe up the river in order to try and find out where the mysterious white natives came from. Eventually, they located a hut that was believed to belong to the white Indians, and they then heard a series of shrieking yells which scared some of the expedition members off and put the remaining group on edge, reaching for their weapons. It was then that two of the white natives came out of the forest, apparently in peace.

These white-skinned natives were described as having pigment painted across their faces that obscured their features, but they were said to be “undeniably white.” The two were said to look undersized and undernourished, wore no clothing, and carried with them bows with poison-tipped arrows. They spoke in a unique language not known to be spoken by any other tribe, which made communication difficult. When the expedition members offered beads and handkerchiefs as gifts, the two tribesmen reportedly called out into the jungle, which brought more of the fair-skinned natives out of hiding.

These odd, white tribespeople were offered food, but it was declined, and it seemed that they preferred to eat plantains which had curiously been garnished with cocaine, although it was unclear where they had acquired the drug. Throughout the encounter, the strange tribe showed no particular interest in or awe of the Westerners’ clothes, equipment, guns, or hydroplane. The expedition made further efforts to try and communicate with the tribe, but the language barrier made it difficult, and after a while the white Indians melted away back into the forest, moving “between the trees like jaguars without making a sound or causing a rustle of the leaves.”

The 1920s were indeed a period of many sightings of these white-skinned natives, and feature heavily in accounts from the explorer Percy Fawcett, who was convinced that these people were denizens of a mystical lost city deep in the jungle, which he called simply “Z.” So convinced was he that this mystical city and its people existed that they would inevitably lead him to obsession and lure him to his final, ill-fated expedition in search of the city of Z in 1925. Fawcett would journey out into uncharted jungle in search of his fabled city and seemingly step off the face of the earth. No trace of him or his expedition was ever found.

Accounts and sightings of the white natives continued sporadically into the 1940s, and in 1945 the British Journalist Harold T. Wilkins took it upon himself to compile a variety of reports stretching back to the 16th century in his book Mysteries of Ancient South America. Even in modern times, there have been accounts of coming across these enigmatic people. In 1977 one joint British/ Brazilian expedition reported being surrounded by a tribe of uncommonly tall, blonde natives with blue eyes and strikingly white pigmentation, some of who had thick beards and all of who were naked. The strange white tribesmen allegedly spoke a dialect that no expert had ever heard before. These people were called the Acurinis and were again encountered by another expedition to the same region in 1979. In this case, the mysterious tribesmen were seen only briefly before vanishing into the underbrush.

Theories abound over what could be behind these accounts. One is that they are the descendants of shipwrecked sailors, Vikings, lost explorers, or even missionaries or other Westerners who willingly left civilization behind to live amongst the natives, where they invariably intermingled. Indeed there are theories that Percy Fawcett himself did this and that the descendants of both him and his expedition members may be behind some of these encounters with fair-skinned natives. In recent years there has been one tribe called the Aché, who are known for having light skin, hair, eye color, and thick beards, and although it has been shown that they show no genetic evidence of having ever mixed with Europeans, their unique appearance could make it possible that they might be the source of at least some of the accounts. It is unlikely we will ever know for sure the precise origins of these stories.

One very odd account that comes from the Amazon wilds is that of an intrepid explorer who came here looking for mysteries and would soon get more than he bargained for, embarking on a quest that would include lost, uncontacted tribes and strange powers of the mind. Loren McIntyre was a seasoned explorer, photojournalist, and writer for such esteemed publications as National Geographic, Time, Life, Smithsonian, GEO, Audubon, and South American Explorer, and was in many ways a sort of real-life Indiana Jones figure, spending much of his life doggedly exploring the forbidding, uncharted, and most impenetrable reaches of the Amazon rainforest of South America. Indeed, it was he who would be the first one to discover the source of the mighty Amazon River, when he made an expedition in search of it in 1971. He would make history when he found that the largest, longest, and most powerful river in the world began with a runoff of snow at a mountain in the Andes called Mismi, some 6,400 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, which trickled down to pond now called Laguna McIntyre, which in turn emptied into a brook named Carhuasanta, in Peru, after which it began its inexorable growth and meandering journey through some of the most remote wilds on earth. Yet, although this is McIntyre’s most famous discovery it certainly wasn’t his only one, and he would have a very mysterious encounter out in those jungles that he would keep to himself for years.

In 1969, McIntyre embarked on an excursion into the unexplored depths of the Amazon jungle of Brazil. His target was the little-known Mayoruna tribe, also called the Matsés, who were so elusive that they had never been successfully contacted by outsiders and were known as “The Cat People,” due to the arrays of imposing spikes that they wore implanted into their faces. Next to nothing was known about this enigmatic tribe, and they were only ever fleetingly glimpsed. They were like ghosts, and McIntyre had little to go on when he was dumped off on the shores of the Amazon River in a place called the Javari valley, on the border between Brazil and Peru, and left to continue on his own, penetrating dense jungle that no outsider had ever set eyes on in an attempt to find these mysterious people. Little did he know that it would be they who found him.

As the brave, seasoned explorer made his way through a mosquito-infested jungle he got perhaps too focused on finding the lost tribe, and soon realized that he was hopelessly lost. His journey then turned into aimlessly wandering through the perilous wilderness, and it became obvious that he was not going to be in time for his scheduled pick-up at the point where he had been dropped off. He began to resign himself to the fact that he just might end up another mysterious lost explorer, like his childhood idol Percy Fawcett before him, a fellow explorer who had mysteriously vanished while looking for his mythical city “Z.” Making this trek more ominous was when at some point McIntyre would stumble across a clearing littered with the bodies of what appeared to be four lumberjacks, half devoured by ants and with arrows sticking out from their silent corpses.

This grim discovery had the explorer watching the trees carefully as he aimlessly wandered around half expecting death to come for him at any moment through the shadows, and more sure than ever that he would not see civilization again. It was as he was in this fog of panic and fear that some figures crept out of the forest before him, spikes embedded into their faces, necklaces made of bones, possibly human, around their necks, and looking upon him with a mixture of apprehension and surprise, but not aggressiveness. These were the Mayoruna, and this was the closest any outsider had ever gotten to them. At least any who were still alive.

The frightened explorer immediately and very slowly pulled out some gifts that he had brought in the event that he actually made contact. From his bag, he produced some cloth and mirrors, which he dropped before the tribesmen as they looked on with inscrutable expressions on their pierced faces. They stepped closer to accept the gifts and then seemed to beckon for him to follow them as they began to melt back into the forest. The weary McIntyre stumbled after them, barely able to keep up with their nimble navigation of the jungle, and so would begin the next chapter of his strange adventure.

They arrived at what seemed to be a makeshift camp full of other members of the tribe, and they seemed to show a strange mixture of curiosity and aggression toward him. Upon examining his tennis shoes they went about burning them to ashes, and his watch they found fascinating, but they destroyed that too. Indeed, most of his possessions would be either stolen from him or destroyed, and even his camera, which they oddly showed no interest in, was broken when a monkey descended from the trees to take it from him. Although there was no outright aggression against him, there were some grim reminders that he was very much in danger. He would claim that they possessed trinkets made of human bone and that they drank out of hollowed-out skulls. They were also very well armed and never far from their bows, and one tribesman with red face paint, who he called “Red Cheeks,” took to menacing him and scowling at him.

McIntyre would end up staying with this lost tribe for two months, and during this time made many observations. He noticed that they were constantly on the move, perpetually moving to a new camp, sometimes suddenly and without warning, and they clearly had a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They also seemed to have no concept of individual possessions, freely sharing everything with each other and taking or using whatever they liked without repercussions. Even odder still, he noticed that these people often moved quite bizarrely in sync, knowing what the others would do or acting in precise tandem without speaking to each other. For some time, he pondered this anomaly, but he would soon learn that the explanation was far odder than anything that he had ever guessed at.

One day he was approached by the one he took to be the chief of the tribe, an ancient-looking, sinewy and grizzled tree trunk of a man, covered in warty growths that would earn him McIntyre’s nickname “Barnacle.” When the chief approached he spoke to McIntyre, and the explorer found that bizarrely, after weeks of being unable to understand anything any of them had said, he clearly comprehended what Barnacle had to say. This utterly perplexed him, but he soon realized that this chief was not moving his mouth when he spoke, and that he was talking directly into his mind, using a sort of telepathy that McIntyre would later call “beaming,” and which Barnacle called “the other language.”

Barnacle explained that the tribe existed as a sort of hive mind consciousness and that their thoughts were all linked to each other, although only the tribal elders were proficient at focusing this telepathic power and truly using it to its full potential. Here he learned that there was no real “self” as Westerners would think of it and that to them the concept of an individual “self” made little sense. The chief also telepathically explained that they were under constant threat from loggers and other outsiders and that the reason the tribe moved so often was that they were on a spiritual journey to what he called “The Beginning,” or the literal beginning of time, where they hoped to be beyond the reach of the intruding outside world. Indeed, the tribe seemed to have a very strange grasp of how time worked that was rather alien to anything the explorer was familiar with. A 1991 article in The Los Angeles Times about McIntyre’s bizarre experience explains the tribe’s philosophy on time as follows:

“The main feature of time, by western definition, is its passage. But for the Mayoruna, time is at once mobile and static. It moved with man, stopped with him, advanced and retreated with him. It is not the implacable judge, condemning man to a tragically brief life. Time is a shelter, an escape into safety and regeneration, a repository whose chief function is not piling up the past, intact yet dead, but rather keeping it alive and available. And, in the face of violent encroachment on their land by white settlers, that past assisted them with an alternative to a menacing present.”

The chief invited McIntyre to come along with them on their journey to “The Beginning,” and for the next few weeks he followed them on their mystical quest and engaged in their rituals, often taking psychoactive jungle concoctions that warped his perceptions. He found that if he concentrated he could pick up on a sort of static fuzz that contained the interlinked thoughts of all of the tribe members, through processes he could never hope to fathom. However, he knew at some point he would have to part ways with them and try to leave this land of jungle, telepathy, and time travel behind him to get back to the civilization that was no doubt convinced he had vanished. The only problem was that he had no idea where he was, and on top of this, although he had been invited and was not physically threatened by the Mayoruna in any way, he had no illusions that he was anything other than their prisoner and wondered what they would do if he tried to flee. However, in the end, the decision was made for him, a flood swept through during a torrential rain, and McIntyre was whisked away as he clung to a balsa raft, emptied into the river and incredibly found the next day by a pilot flying over.

Upon getting back to civilization, McIntyre would keep what had happened to him a secret for years, and it is quite likely that the whole fantastical tale would have died with him in 2003 if it hadn’t been for a Romanian-American writer, director and movie producer, by the name of Petru Popescu. In 1987 Popescu met McIntyre by chance while on a riverboat trip up the Amazon River. The two men hit it off, and for some reason McIntyre confided to him about what had happened all of those years ago with the mysterious Mayoruna tribe. It was all rather amazing, and when Popescu asked why he had never told anyone about it, McIntyre said that he didn’t think anyone would ever believe him, and he had been worried about maintaining his reputation as a respected explorer, writer, and photographer. He would say of this:

“I’m pretty reluctant to voice very much about the beaming experience because I didn’t want my friends to think I’d gone around the bend. ‘What is this? The guy’s hallucinating?’”

Popescu would finally manage to convince McIntyre to let him write a book on his adventures, and in 1991 released The Encounter: Amazon Beaming. The explorer would claim that in his dealings with dozens of other tribes in the same region he had never before or since experienced anything like he did during his time with the Mayoruna, and he did not know what became of them. We are left to wonder just how much of this account is true, and if it is just what was going on with these elusive people of the jungle. The tribe itself has sort of disappeared, they have never been formally studied, and since McIntyre passed away in 2003, we are left only with Popescu’s book as a window into this strange tribe and their world and ways. One wonders if they are still out there, or if they managed to make that journey to “The Beginning,” finally at peace and forevermore out of our reach.

The Amazon is not the only place for such stories, and one tale of a mysterious lost race comes to us from the Appalachian Mountains of the United States, it tells of a strange race of albino, sun-fearing pygmies who supposedly roamed this land long before even the Natives arrived. In the untamed wildernesses along the Southern Appalachian Mountains of the United States, the Native Cherokee people have long told of a strange race of beings they call “The Moon-Eyed People.” This mysterious tribe was supposedly smaller than average humans, almost dwarfish in nature, very pale skinned, like pure white alabaster, with shocking white hair, generous beards and body hair, and inhumanly large blue eyes, sensitive to light to the point that they were said to be unable to see in the daytime, hence their name. These Moon-Eyed people were purportedly completely nocturnal, hiding in dank caves and underground caverns during the day only to come out at night when the sun had retreated, and indeed sunlight was said to be enough to kill them if they ever got caught out in the open during daylight hours.

These strange, diminutive nocturnal denizens of the land were said to have been here long before the first Native peoples had settled the area, and according to most legends, they were eventually expelled by local Natives, although what form this expulsion takes varies from tradition to tradition. In some tales, it was the Creek people from the south who cast them out, whereas in others it was the Cherokees themselves who waged a relentless campaign and full-out war against these pale-skinned creatures to drive them to other lands. The American botanist, naturalist, and physician, Benjamin Smith Barton, wrote of these people and their downfall back in 1797, in his book New Views of the Origin of the Tribes and Nations of America, thus:

“The Cheerake tell us, that when they first arrived in the country which they inhabit, they found it possessed by certain 'moon-eyed-people,' who could not see in the day-time. These wretches they expelled.”

Whatever happened to this enigmatic race, their legacy has supposedly remained behind in the ancient rock structures and mysterious pre-Columbian mounds and ruins that dot the landscape along the Appalachians from North Carolina all the way down through Georgia and Alabama, all said to have been erected by the Moon-Eyed People. Perhaps the most famous of these is an 850-foot-long stone wall dated to 400 - 500 C.E., which meanders through Fort Mountain State Park, just over the North Carolina border in Georgia, and is said to be a vestige of the bloody war between the mysterious Moon-Eyed People and the native Cherokee. There are countless other crude rock structures, walls, mounds and forts scattered throughout the Appalachians, as well as anomalous carvings, figurines, and a soapstone carving of conjoined figures now on display at the Cherokee County Historical Museum, said to be of these strange people, and no one really knows who made any of them except for the Cherokee themselves, who say it was the work of the Moon-Eyed People.

Whoever built such structures has long remained a mystery, and when Europeans first came to the region the Natives, who were not known for making such fort-like structures themselves, claimed that they had always been there, saying that they were constructions of the Moon-Eyed People. Interestingly, while Cherokee folklore has many tales of supernatural beings and various spirits, the Moon-Eyed People are never spoken of in such a manner, rather being described matter-of-factly as physically another race inhabiting the same lands.

Of course, with such an oddity as a cryptic tribe of bizarre dwarf subterranean albino people, almost like vampires in their intolerance for sunlight, and who predated the native peoples and constructed their mysterious mounds and forts, there is bound to be theorizing as to who or what they may have been. One of the most popular ideas is that they are evidence of Native contact with European explorers who had made it to the New World long before history says they did, possibly connected to the legend of the “Welsh Speaking Indians.”

The story of white-skinned, Welsh-speaking Indians in the New World originates with a 16th-century manuscript published by Welsh antiquarian Humphrey Llwyd, in which he writes of Welsh settlers coming to these shores in the 12th century, in particular a Prince Madoc, who along with his followers was said to have emigrated to America from Wales in about 1170, landing somewhere in the vicinity of Mobile Bay, Alabama. Madoc would supposedly end up shipping over hundreds of his followers to the New World, where they would disappear into the wilderness, never to return. In the following centuries, there were many stories of fair-skinned, blue-eyed natives who spoke a form of Welsh from the area, and these have been speculated to have been the descendants of these settlers.

Another idea put forth by Benjamin Smith Barton is that they were out-of-place descendants of members of the Guna people of Panama, who have such an uncommonly high rate of albinism that they were once referred to as the “White Indians,” and who were also reportedly able to see better at night. Another theory is that, rather than go to war, the Natives of the land actually integrated with the Moon-Eyed People and absorbed them. Still other more far-out theories are that these were some other species of human, a new race, or even ancient astronauts from another world.

It is still unclear who or what the Moon-Eyed people may have been, and they remain a distinctly enigmatic lost civilization if they ever even existed at all. Who were these albino, sun-fearing people? Were they some lost race, descendants of pre-Columbian explorers, or even a new species or alien interlopers? Or were these just a figment of folklore and myth? The answers to such questions remain obscure, but the tales of the Moon-Eyed People have persisted for over a millennium, and the idea that such a race of lost humanoids has been lost to history captures the imagination.

Another such “blue-eyed tribe” appeared to explorers as something quite European in nature, although their ways and beginnings have always been cloaked in shadows. Known mostly from historical accounts, their origins remain murky, their lineage uncertain, and they are a historical curiosity we may never fully understand. During the era of early European contact, the native peoples of North America held many curiosities for explorers and settlers coming to this new, wild land. These tribes were numerous and displayed rich variety between different cultures, as well as myriad languages, customs, and traditions that inspired awe, wonder, curiosity, bafflement, and even fear in the European adventurers who bravely delved into this uncharted new world and tried to tame it. Yet as fascinating as these new peoples were, perhaps the most interesting was an alleged tribe of natives who were said to look decidedly Caucasian in nature.

The first reports of what would come to be known as the Mandan tribe began to trickle out from French explorers in the region of the Missouri River in present-day North and South Dakota in the early 1700s. These natives were said to have rather fair skin and to have red or blonde hair and blue or grey eyes, and indeed especially the women were purportedly so Nordic in appearance that if it were not for their clothing they were said to be nearly indistinguishable from whites. In 1738, the French Canadian trader Sieur de la Verendrye made the first official outside contact with the Mandan and described them as living in 9 villages at a tributary of the Missouri River called the Heart River, and noted that they also exhibited customs that were decidedly more European than the neighboring tribes.

By 1784 the word had gotten out on this mysterious tribe of blue-eyed Indians, and they were featured in the media, with the August 24, 1784 edition of the Pennsylvania Packet and Daily Advertiser proclaiming that a new tribe of white people had been discovered and that they were “acquainted with the principles of the Christian religion" and "extremely courteous and civilized.” Perhaps one of the more famous of the explorers to come across the Mandan was none other than Lewis and Clark, who visited the tribe in 1804 and described them as “half-white,” as well as peaceful, civilized, courteous, and polite. They also noted that the tribe’s numbers had dwindled significantly due to the frequent smallpox epidemics that terrorized them, as well as attacks against them by neighboring tribes, namely the Assiniboine, Lakota, Arikara and the Sioux.

Of course, this all led to intense speculation as to what the origins were of this bizarre tribe, and one of the earliest ideas put forward was that they were the descendants of pre-Columbian explorers to the New World. For instance, there were many legends from various regions of the present-day United States of Welsh-speaking natives, perhaps descended from Welsh settlers coming to these shores in the 12th century, in particular a Prince Madoc, who along with his followers was said to have emigrated to America from Wales in about 1170. One Welsh explorer by the name of John Evans became so convinced that this was the case with the Mandan that he launched an expedition up the Missouri River in 1796 to search for them and prove that their language was derived from Welsh and contained Welsh vocabulary. Evans would trek up the river in the winter of 1796 and he could find no evidence whatsoever of the Welsh influence he had been so sure he would find, forcing him to concede that this was not where the Mandan origins lay. Indeed, he became extremely skeptical that there were any of these legendary “Welsh Indians” at all, saying in a letter to Dr. Samuel Jones:

“Thus having explored and charted the Missurie for 1,800 miles and by my Communications with the Indians this side of the Pacific Ocean from 35 to 49 degrees of Latitude, I am able to inform you that there is no such People as the Welsh Indians.”

Another explorer who believed that the Mandan had European roots, perhaps even Welsh, was the frontiersman and pictorial historian George Catlin, who spent several months with the tribe in North Dakota, living amongst and drawing and painting them in 1832. One of the things that first struck him about these mysterious people was just how European they looked, describing that many of them were nearly white and had light hair and blue eyes, and he also noticed that they had more advanced techniques for manufacturing goods and dwellings, customs, traditions, town layouts, and language vastly different from neighboring tribes. Caitlin would say of the Mandan:

“They are a very interesting and pleasing people in their personal appearance and manners, differing in many respects, both in looks and customs, from all the other tribes I have seen. So forcibly have I been struck with the peculiar ease and elegance of these people, together with their diversity of complexions, the various colours of their hair and eyes; the singularity of their language, and their peculiar and unaccountable customs, that I am fully convinced that they have sprung from some other origin than that of the other North American Tribes, or that they are an amalgam of natives with some civilized race.”

Even some of the legends of the Mandan people themselves expressly mentioned that they had been descended from a strange white man who had appeared to them aboard a canoe in ancient times after an enormous flood had wiped out everything in sight. They claimed that this stranger had taught them about medicine and had influenced their religion, which oddly featured many of the same beats as Christianity, such as a great flood, a virgin birth, and a child born who could work magical miracles, among others. This was noticed by other later expeditions as well, such as an 1833-34 expedition led by German naturalist A.P. Maximilian, who felt that the similarities between Christianity and the Mandan religion were too close to be mere coincidence. Caitlin would write of this:

“It would seem that these people must have had some proximity to some part of the civilized world; or that missionaries or others have been formerly among them, inculcating the Christian religion and the Mosaic account of the Flood.”

Another idea on the Mandan origins is that they came from pre-Columbian visitations by Viking explorers. The first official European to ever officially make contact with the Mandan tribe, Sieur de la Verendrye, claimed that at the time he had found a strange runestone with Nordic inscriptions on a riverside near the village. The stone was allegedly sent to France to be studied but it is unclear what happened to the “Verendrye Runestone” after that, and indeed it is uncertain if it ever really existed at all. Unless the stone ever turns up again it remains just as mysterious as the Mandan.

The idea of Vikings in the New World before the days of Columbus has been talked about for some time, with one prevalent and somewhat controversial theory having to do with Eric Thorwaldsson, also more famously known as "The Red," who established two colonies on the coast of Greenland in 986. The story goes that Eric The Red then abandoned these outposts when the wild, rugged land proved to be too cold and forbidding, and made his way to North America along with the colonists. The theory then claims that the King of Norway is then said to have sent an expedition to the New World to find out what had happened to them, and that this expedition made their way up the rivers to end up in the Dakotas and other areas, after which they became stranded and then assimilated into the native tribes, giving them their Nordic genes.

However, there is very little evidence to prove that Vikings ever actually reached North America. The Verendrye Runestone vanished without a trace and then there is the hotly debated Kensington Runestone, which was a giant slab covered in runes allegedly found by Swedish immigrant Olof Ohman in Minnesota in 1898. In this case, the inscriptions claimed that the runes had been created by 14th-century Scandinavian explorers, and although the authenticity of the runestone is still debated it has mostly been classified as a hoax by the scientific community.

Regardless of where the Mandan really came from, the fact is that we will probably never know for sure. In 1838 the tribe was hit by a devastating smallpox epidemic, and although this was a specter they had been haunted by for centuries, this time it was absolutely catastrophic, wiping them out at such a rate that after only a few months there were only an estimated 30 to 140 of them left. With the Mandan teetering on the edge of extinction, enemy tribes swept in and took them as slaves, after which they were assimilated and absorbed. Consequent intermarriage and interbreeding meant that any unique genetic heritage they may have had was quickly erased, and the last known full-blooded Mandan was Mattie Grinnell, who died in 1971. Since there are no more full-blooded Mandan left and only an estimated 8 speakers of its language left today, it is difficult to get a grip on their heritage, even with our advanced DNA testing techniques, and their origins and history will likely forever remain shrouded in mystery, leaving us to merely speculate and debate on it.

It is somewhat sad that this tribe disappeared before we were ever able to really comprehend who they were. In all of the cases we have looked at here, all we are left with is the tales and accounts from explorers, but other than that their legacies have evaporated into the tides of history. They are seemingly vanished peoples who sowed bafflement and wonder, but ultimately left numerous questions swirling about them, doomed to a limbo of superstition, speculation, and rumor. Who were these people? Why did they look and act so differently, and what was the meaning behind their strange ways? To the alien explorers just starting to penetrate this wilderness at the time they may have seemed to be baffling anomalies, and interestingly they still are.

VIDEOS

Uncontacted Tribes - 5 Most Mysterious and Recently Discovered

5 Strange Remote Tribes You've Never Heard Of

15 Scariest Tribes You Don’t Want to Meet

{ https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ }

12-12-2024 om 18:24 geschreven door peter  

6 watershed moments in science from 2024 that will shape the future

From oceans found on distant planets to a detailed map of a fly’s brain, these findings deepened our understanding of the world.

By Robin George Andrews

It’s easy to reflect on 2024 as a tumultuous year, but there is some comfort in knowing that  humanity can now claim to know more about the universe than ever before. As a species, we have never been more enlightened, because scientists are always learning more, and because science is always unfinished.

But which scientific discoveries of 2024 proved to be the most thrilling and revelatory? 

Making this determination is a somewhat difficult task. Sometimes, there is an obvious eureka moment, one whose paradigm-shifting implications for humanity, the wider world, or the cosmos itself, are immediately evident. But often, what may seem like a small step forward in our scientific understanding of something in the present is just another domino falling on the way to something unimaginably epic and game-changing. 

Whether it’s expanding our knowledge of the microscopic world, or transforming the way we perceive our galactic neighborhood, every advance is noteworthy. 

But, for our money, these are the most astonishing scientific discoveries of 2024.

1. Astronomers discover hidden oceans in the outer solar system

Earth’s oceans were long thought to be unique. As far as scientists could tell, Mars was a radioactive desert, Venus was an arid volcanic hellscape, and the myriad icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were frozen balls of ice. But in the 1980s, strange electrical signals coming from Jupiter’s moon Europa strongly suggested that an ancient, warm, salty liquid-water ocean was hiding beneath its ice shell. 

This revelation precipitated the launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, a spacecraft that left Earth this October with the hope of remotely studying that ocean and determining if it’s amenable to life.

Nowadays, scientists cannot stop finding compelling evidence for oceans in the outer solar system.

Saturn’s Enceladus is certain to contain another watery ocean, but several others are extremely promising candidates—and this year, we got several more. In February, astronomers announced that they had found evidence of an ocean hidden on Saturn’s moon Mimas. Then, in October, convincing data pointed to yet another ocean buried within Miranda, a Uranian moon.

Finding evidence that oceans are common in the solar system matters.

Life as we know it loves water and, although we do not know if these aquatic moons contain life (whether that’s microbial of something fishier), we now have so many more places to search for it in our own cosmic backyard than scientists could have ever dreamt of. 

2. Fruit fly brain mapped out

You probably haven’t given much thought to the humble, sometimes irritatingly persistent, fruit fly. But to many scientists, this little critter—Drosophila melanogaster—is one of the most important species on the planet. It may have a tiny brain, but it performs many of the same basic neurological processes as a human’s, whether that’s when the fly is searching for food or when it’s “socializing” with another member of its species. That means its minuscule brain can tell us about every type of brain, including our own.

In October, the brain of an adult fruit fly was comprehensively mapped out, with 50 million connections between around 140,000 individual neurons placed upon a special sort of map.

Cerebral cartography of any organism is as difficult as it is promising.

What does a healthy or an unhealthy connection between brain cells looks like? How is 3D navigation wired into the brain? Where does behavior come from? What exactly is a thought, or a memory? 

A fruit fly’s brain is considerably less complex than a human’s, but this map will provide clues that can help neuroscientists understand what makes you, well, you.

3. The 1.5°C global warming limit will (almost certainly) be breached

In some ways, this isn’t surprising at all: the world’s most prolific greenhouse gas emitters have comprehensively failed to stem their output, and the planet has continued to warm at a breakneck pace, bringing with it all sorts of climatic chaos. But this year, for the first time, global average temperatures were extremely likely to jump to more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 

The oft-cited 1.5°C boundary is somewhat arbitrary; nothing dramatic (other than the extreme weather and climatic convulsions we are already witnessing today) is suddenly going to happen the moment we cross this Rubicon. But that boundary still matters.

Under the Paris Agreement, nearly 200 countries agreed to prevent Earth’s temperature from rising above 2°C above pre-industrial levels, but ideally, they wanted to keep it below 1.5°C. The warmer the planet gets, the more deleterious effects of climate change we will experience; every 0.1°C increase in the average global temperature raises the risk of more potent storms, lengthier heatwaves, catastrophic flooding, and so on. 

1.5°C was an aspirational target. Crossing it marks this as a grim discovery, but an important one. Alarm bells are ringing louder than ever before: if this temperature rise isn’t reversed, or at the very least stopped, all our futures will be increasingly troubled by the wrath of climate change. 

4. Humans age in bursts 

It’s not uncommon to wake up one day, try to tie a shoelace, painfully pull something in our lower backs, and suddenly feel much older than you were yesterday. 

Weirdly, although we do indeed age on a daily basis, scientists discovered in August that the human body appears to go through two rapid aging bursts: once around the age of 44, and again when we reach 60.

Using 108 volunteers, who handed researchers all sorts of biological samples, scientists tracked the changing inventory of various biochemicals and microbes across different ages. For reasons unclear to scientists, both men and women seem to undergo a major shift in their mid-40s: the way our bodies handle cardiovascular disease, and how we break down things like alcohol, fats, and caffeine, changes. Then, when we enter our 60s, our bodies undergo shifts in (among other things) immune regulation and carbohydrate metabolism. 

Although it’s not yet clear how many of these shifts are influenced by lifestyle changes (people tend to drink a lot more during their oft-stressful 40s, for example), as opposed to being purely biological, the fact that we age in spurts is still fascinating and downright unexpected.

In 2020, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer spacecraft managed to briefly touchdown on the asteroid Bennu, steal some of its pristine material, then drop it off back on Earth in September 2023. This isn’t the first time a spacecraft has stolen matter from an asteroid (Japan has accomplished this twice), but OSIRIS-REx’s 121.6 grams of asteroidal grains is by far the largest sample of pristine matter ever retrieved.

Asteroids are the debris left over from the violent formation of the solar system. These building blocks not only contain the minerals that went into making the planets_—including Earth—but also the chemistry that created our seas and oceans, and perhaps even the compounds that seeded the very first lifeforms.

This year, scientists got their very first look at OSIRIS-REx’s sample, and they are in awe at what it’s telling them: the Sun was forged via the deaths of multiple stars, from low-mass ones to those big enough to detonate as powerful supernovae; strange molecules in the sample suggest it came from a destroyed geologically active world; and an array of prebiotic compounds, including all sorts of amino acids, were found within that primeval asteroid. 

In short, this sample is already rewriting what we know about the solar system’s origins—and scientists have only studied one percent of it. Who knows what else it has in store? 

6. Artificial Intelligence unravels the secrets of proteins

As AI becomes more visibly part of our lives, it’s regarded with more suspicion, but this year, it became clear that it was going to help reveal how life itself works.

Proteins are crucial to almost every fundamental biological process necessary for life. They do everything from create and maintain the shape of cells to serving as both signal and receiver for cellular communications. Proteins are composed on long chains of amino acids and they perform their varied tasks by folding themselves into precise 3D structures that determine how they function and interact with other molecules.

In October, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to several researchers involved in studying proteins, the squiggle-like machines that underpin much of biochemistry. 

Understanding how proteins work means (among other things) knowing how diseases—from Malaria to Parkinson’s—proliferate, then identifying ways to stop them. 

Notably, two of the three recipients of the prize—Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, both at Google DeepMind—owe their revelations  to their AI model, named AlphaFold2. 

With ruthless efficiency, this AI was able predict the structure of pretty much all the 200 million proteins that scientists have found to exist—meaning that scientists now have a tool that can quickly and accurately work out what sorts of proteins will be involved in, or result from, all sorts of chemical reactions or sets of starting conditions. 

The ability of scientists to decode so many puzzling aspects of biochemistry, from antibiotic resistance to neurological illnesses, has never been more acute.

{ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science }

04-12-2024 om 15:08 geschreven door peter  

Scientists Still Can’t Believe It: Giant Worms Are Hiding in Cavities Beneath the Ocean!

30-11-2024 om 23:54 geschreven door peter  

Giant Animal Life in the Oceanic Crust: An Unexpected Discovery

 Samir Sebti

Among the most striking discoveries are giant worms reaching lengths of up to three meters. These colossal creatures, along with various gastropods, cephalopods, and previously undocumented mollusks, have adapted to survive in this extreme environment. The presence of larvae in these cavities suggests that juvenile specimens may colonize this habitat through hydrothermal vent fluids, indicating a potential interconnection with seafloor ecosystems.

This revelation is particularly significant as it marks the first time such large animals have been observed in these geological structures. While microorganisms were known to inhabit hydrothermal vents, the presence of complex, macroscopic life forms in the ocean crust was entirely unexpected.

The geological marvels supporting life in the deep

The key to this thriving ecosystem lies in the unique geological formations known as hydrothermal chimneys. These structures create favorable conditions for life to flourish in what was once thought to be an inhospitable environment. The interaction between cold seawater and hot hydrothermal fluids creates a dynamic system that supports a variety of life forms.

A cross-section of the lobate lava formations reveals :

• Lava plates with interspersed cavities
• Lava drips on cavity ceilings
• Fissures throughout the lava plates
• A recharge zone where cold seawater mixes with hot hydrothermal fluid

This complex geological structure provides niches for various species, including :

Implications for deep-sea research and conservation

This groundbreaking discovery has far-reaching implications for our understanding of marine ecosystems. It suggests that vast portions of the oceanic crust may harbor complex life forms, dramatically expanding the potential habitats for deep-sea creatures. This finding could revolutionize our approach to studying ocean biodiversity and may lead to the discovery of new species adapted to extreme conditions.

The interconnectedness of these subterranean ecosystems with those on the ocean floor raises new questions about the dynamics of deep-sea life. It also highlights the potential vulnerability of these unique habitats to human activities, particularly the growing interest in deep-sea mining. Recent advancements in deep-sea sound analysis have already revealed the presence of elusive ocean predators, further emphasizing the complexity of these underwater ecosystems.

As scientists continue to explore the ocean depths, more surprises may be in store. The recent discovery of a massive blue hole in the ocean depths serves as a reminder of how much remains unknown about our planet’s underwater realms. These findings underscore the importance of continued research and conservation efforts to protect these fragile and unique ecosystems.

Future explorations and unanswered questions

While this discovery is groundbreaking, many questions remain unanswered. The full extent of this subterranean habitat is yet to be determined, with some scientists speculating that life could extend much deeper into the Earth’s crust. However, as depth increases, conditions become increasingly extreme, posing challenges for both life forms and scientific exploration.

Future research will likely focus on :

1. Mapping the extent of these subterranean ecosystems
2. Studying the adaptations of creatures living in these extreme environments
3. Investigating the potential for undiscovered species
4. Assessing the impact of deep-sea mining on these fragile habitats

As we delve deeper into the mysteries of the ocean, it’s clear that our understanding of marine life is constantly evolving. The discovery of giant creatures in the Earth’s crust beneath the ocean floor serves as a powerful reminder of the wonders that still await us in the unexplored corners of our planet.

{ https://dailygalaxy.com/category/science/ }

30-11-2024 om 23:14 geschreven door peter  

Unexplained heatwave hotspots are popping up like 'angry skin blotches' around the globe - including one over the UK, concerning map reveals

• READ MORE: The 10 deadliest extreme weather events in 20 years revealed

By JONATHAN CHADWICK FOR MAILONLINE 

Heatwaves around the world in recent years have been so intense that they cannot be explained by global warming alone, a new study claims. 

Scientists in New York say unexplained heatwave 'hotspots' are popping up on every continent except Antarctica like 'giant, angry skin blotches'. 

Marked out on a new map, these 10 distinct heatwave regions are so extreme, they fall far beyond what any model of global warming can predict or explain. 

They are located in central China, Japan and Korea, the Arabian peninsula, eastern Australia and north Africa. 

Others include Canada's Northwest Territories and its High Arctic islands, northern Greenland, the southern end of South America and scattered patches of Siberia.

There's even a heatwave 'hotspot' over the UK and northwest Europe, leading to lethal summer temperatures in 2022 and 2023. 

'These regions become temporary hothouses,' said lead study author Kai Kornhuber, a research scientist at Columbia Climate School. 

'Due to their unprecedented nature, these heat waves are usually linked to very severe health impacts, and can be disastrous for agriculture, vegetation and infrastructure. We're not built for them, and we might not be able to adapt fast enough.'

Unexplained heatwave 'hotspots' are popping up across the globe, so extreme, they cannot be explained by global warming models

The UK and northwest Europe had a heatwave hotspot in June-July 2022. Europe also suffered a heatwave the following year

These 'hotspots' see repeated heatwaves cropping up in multiple summers – so even though temperatures cool down after the summer ends, they reappear in the same region again. Pictured, raging wildfires north of Bly, Oregon on July 17, 2021

The researchers do not argue against global warming as a concept, as evidence shows that it's the cause of soaring temperatures. 

Rather, their study identifies a new phenomenon – unexplained heatwave hotspots – that global warming can't explain, meaning other factors are surely at play too. 

'This is about extreme trends that are the outcome of physical interactions we might not completely understand,' added Kornhuber. 

The study identifies areas of extreme heat over the past 65 years, where temperatures are accelerating considerably faster than anywhere else, leading to increasingly wild weather events, infrastructure damage and death. 

These hotspots see repeated heatwaves cropping up in multiple summers. 

So, even though temperatures cool down after the summer ends, they reappear in the same region again. 

One hotspot is the US Pacific Northwest and southwestern Canada, which saw a nine-day heatwave starting in June 2021. 

During this astonishing heat event, temperatures broke daily records in some locales by 54°F (30°C), while Canada's highest ever temperature (121.3°F/49.6°C) was recorded in Lytton, British Columbia. 

A nine-day heatwave hammered the US Pacific Northwest and southwestern Canada in June 2021 - described by researchers as a heat anomaly 

The extreme 2021 heatwave struck the North American Pacific Northwest. Pictured, hot conditions in Portland, Oregon, June 26, 2021

The town burned to the ground the next day in a wildfire driven in large part by the drying of vegetation in the extraordinary heat. 

Meanwhile, in Oregon and Washington state, hundreds of people died from heat stroke and other health conditions. 

Another unexplained heatwave hotspot is an area in northwestern Europe covering several countries including Germany, France, the Netherlands and the UK. 

In this hotspot, abnormally high temperatures caused 60,000 deaths in 2022 and 47,000 deaths in 2023. 

In northern Europe, few people in this region have air conditioning because it is generally not needed, and this probably upped the death toll, the team say. 

While the cause of heatwave hotspots is yet to be identified, one potential explanation involves the jet stream – the fast, narrow current of air flowing from west to east that encircles the globe. 

As the Arctic is warming on average far more quickly than most other parts of the Earth, this appears to be destabilizing the jet stream.

This is causing the jet stream to develop so-called Rossby waves, which suck hot air from the south and park it in temperate regions that normally do not see extreme heat for days or weeks at a time.

The heatwave hotspots are located in central China, Japan, Korea, the Arabian peninsula, eastern Australia and north Africa. Others include Canada's Northwest Territories and its High Arctic islands, northern Greenland, the southern end of South America and Siberia

European nations including France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the UK faced one of the most dangerous periods of heat in the summer of 2022. Pictured, Hackney, east London on July 18, 2022

Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow currents of air that carry warm and cold air across the planet, much like the currents of a river

However, this is only one hypothesis, and it does not seem to explain all the extreme heatwave events of recent years. 

The researchers conclude that extreme heat is increasing significantly and faster in magnitude than what state-of-the-art climate models have predicted.

Unprecedented climate impacts can cause huge damage infrastructure and ecosystems while threatening human life. 

According to another recent study, there were at least 2,325 heat-related deaths in the US – more than double since 1999. 

There's now calls for heatwaves to be given names in the same way as hurricanes, to heighten public awareness and motivate governments to prepare. 

'Our findings highlight the need to better understand and model extreme heat and to rapidly mitigate greenhouse gas emissions to avoid further harm,' the team say in their paper, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Researchers have already named 2023 as Earth's hottest recorded year ever, at 2.12°F (1.18°C) above the 20th-century average. 

Last year's global average temperature was 58.96°F (14.98°C), around 0.3°F (0.17°C) higher than the result in 2016, the previous hottest year. 

2023 is confirmed as the warmest calendar year in global temperature data records going back to 1850. The global average air temperature was 58.96°F (14.98°C), around 0.3°F (0.17°C) higher than the result in 2016

The 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the past 15 years, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). 

At the top of the list is 2023, followed by 2016 and then 2020, 2019, 2017, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2015 and 2010. 

2024 has already recorded the hottest summer and hottest single day (July 21), but the records are not expected to stop there. 

Experts have warned that 2024 is almost certainly going to be Earth's warmest year on record, beating the record set by 2023. 

'After 10 months of 2024 it is now virtually certain that 2024 will be the warmest year on record and the first year of more than 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels,' said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of C3S. 

How does climate change make weather worse? 

As scientists already know, climate change results in more intense rainfall because warmer air can hold more moisture. 

And because rainfall is increasing on average across the world, the chances of flooding are getting higher. 

Climate warming also increases evaporation on land, which can worsen drought and create conditions more prone to wildfire and a longer wildfire season. 

Earth's warmer and moister atmosphere and warmer oceans are linked with stronger and more intense hurricanes.

In addition, rising sea levels - partly caused by melting ice in the poles - increases the amount of seawater that is pushed on to shore during coastal storms, which, along with more rainfall produced by the storms, can result in more destructive storm surges and flooding. 

Source: Met Office/ Royal Society  

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

28-11-2024 om 22:25 geschreven door peter  

Freek Vonk ontdekt nieuw soort reuzenslang in de Amazone: verschillen zijn genetisch gezien enorm

Jeannette Kras

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

27-11-2024 om 22:39 geschreven door peter  

(Daniel10ortegaven / Wikimdeia Commons CC 3.0)

According to accounts shared by the Waorani people of the Ecuadorian Amazon, stories of a variety of large anacondas said to exist in the region were compelling enough to warrant a ten-day expedition to the Baihuaeri Waorani Territory’s Bameno region.

Anacondas are large aquatic snakes that thrive throughout rivers and wetlands in parts of South America east of the Andes. Currently, four species are recognized in the Eunectes genus, the largest of which, the Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus), lives mostly in tropical regions like the Amazonian basin and the parts of the Orinoco River.

Stories of particularly large anacondas have existed for more than a century. In 1906, explorer Percy Fawcett made his first in a series of expeditions to South America on behalf of the Royal Geographic Service to map a region of jungle in Brazil near the Bolivian border. During his travels, Fawcett claimed to have observed several animal species undocumented by science, the most impressive—and questionable—of them being an alleged encounter with a massive, 62-foot-long anaconda he and his companions claimed to have shot and killed.

Fawcett’s claim was met with derision from the scientific community at the time. However, during his travels, he was told of even larger snakes in the Araquaya and Tocantin basins that locals called Dormidera, meaning “sleeper,” due to the sounds of the massive reptiles were said to make while sleeping.

Such stories are still met with skepticism, although the invitation from the Waorani to come to see the snakes they said were rumored to be among the world’s largest seemed almost too good for the University of Queensland team to pass up.

Joining hunters in boats as they paddled through the Bameno region’s rivers, University of Queensland biologist Bryan Fry said the team went for several days before encountering “several anacondas lurking in the shallows, lying in wait for prey.”

Fry said that one of the largest anacondas they encountered, a female, measured a remarkable 20.7 feet in length. However, during their travels Fry and the team were told of even larger snakes that reportedly measured as much as 24.6 feet that had been seen in the same area.

Based on their research, a new paper detailing the team’s findings identifies “two distinct clades within Eunectes murinus, revealing two species as cryptic yet genetically deeply divergent.”

“This has led to the recognition of the Northern Green Anaconda as a separate species (Eunectes akayima sp. nov), distinct from its southern counterpart (E. murinus), the Southern Green Anaconda,” the team writes.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

24-11-2024 om 23:43 geschreven door peter  

Onderzoekers ontdekken nieuwe bron van opwarming. En die leidt tot hetere zomers in Europa

Jeannette Kras

 

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

23-11-2024 om 23:56 geschreven door peter  

World’s Largest Worm Lizard Lived 47 Million Years Ago

 by Enrico de Lazaro

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of trogonophid amphisbaenian (worm lizard) from fossilized specimens found in Tunisia.

Life reconstruction of Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi ready to prey on a large snail of the family Bulimulidae.

Image credit: Jaime Chirinos.

Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi lived in what is now Africa during the Eocene epoch, some 47 million years ago.

The new species belongs to Trogonophidae, a small family of limbless, carnivorous, lizard-like reptiles within the clade Amphisbaenia.

“Amphisbaenians are a charismatic group of fossorial squamates, with bizarre morphological features and extreme anatomical modifications,” said lead author Dr. Georgios Georgalis from the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals at the Polish Academy of Sciences and his colleagues.

“In particular, their unique skeletal anatomy has attracted and puzzled researchers since the 19th century.”

“Before the advent and broad acceptance of phylogenetic systematics, amphisbaenians were considered to be the third major group of Squamata, together with Serpentes and the paraphyletic ‘Lacertilia’.”

“Recent phylogenetic analyses, however, have placed them as the sister group of lacertid lizards, a topology that has been supported by both molecular and combined morphological and molecular evidence: a name, Lacertibaenia, was even proposed for the clade Amphisbaenia + Lacertidae.”

“Amphisbaenians have a relatively rich fossil record across the Cenozoic of Europe and North America, coupled with a few Neogene and Quaternary occurrences from South America, a few Palaeogene, Neogene, and Quaternary occurrences from Africa, a very few Neogene occurrences from the Arabian Peninsula, and a very few occurrences from the Neogene of southwestern Asia.”

“Trogonophidae are a rather distinctive group of amphisbaenians that are today distributed in northern and north-central Africa (including Socotra Island, Yemen) and the Middle East,” they added.

“Four living genera are currently recognized, i.e. Agamodon, Diplometopon, Pachycalamus, and the type genus, Trogonophis.”

The most distinctive feature of trogonophids is their acrodont dentition, a feature that, within squamates, is otherwise present solely in the iguanian group Acrodonta.”

“Trogonophids also possess other unique features among amphisbaenians, including locomotion and burrowing patterns, shoulder girdle or hemipenial morphology, chromosomes, vertebral arrangement, the absence of caudal autotomy, and a triangular body in cross-section.”

Several specimens of Terastiodontosaurus marcelosanchezi were found at a fossil-bearing locality in the Natural Park of Djebel Chambi in Tunisia.

“The Djebel Chambi National Park is situated in the Kasserine area, in the Central Western part of Tunisia,” the paleontologists said.

“The material of this study comes from a fossil-bearing site (Chambi locus 1), which consists of fluvio-lacustrine deposits situated at the base of the continental sequence of Chambi.”

“These localities have yielded a diverse assemblage of aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, including fishes, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, squamates, birds, and mammals, such as bats, primates, eulipotyphlans, hyaenodonts, hyracoids, an elephant shrew, a marsupial, a rodent, and a sirenian.”

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

23-11-2024 om 23:28 geschreven door peter  

By SHIVALI BEST FOR MAILONLINE 

At first glance at this creature, you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for a sparkly pair of fake eyelashes.

But the creature is very much real and was discovered at the junction of three tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean.

Researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute spotted the animal while using an underwater robot to scour the seabed.

The animal is a polychaete - a class of marine worms, more widely known as bristle worms.

'To describe this polychaete, one simply must use jazz hands — it is the only way to capture this deep-sea worm's dazzle!' the experts said in an Instagram post about the polychaete.

Footage of the creature has garnered huge interest on Instagram, with thousands of viewers flocking to the comments to discuss it.

One viewer described it as a 'forbidden toilet scrubber', while another called it a 'deep sea Xmas tree'.

And one joked: 'It looks like two eyelashes put together.'

At first glance at this creature, you'd be forgiven for mistaking it as a sparkly pair of fake eyelashes. But the creature is very much real and was discovered at the junction of three tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean

One viewer described it as a 'forbidden toilet scrubber', while another called it a 'deep sea Xmas tree'

The polychaete was spotted while ROV (remotely operated vehicle) pilots were exploring the Chile Margin.

'The international science team is exploring along the margin, a nearshore deep-sea feature where a submerged continental shelf extends from the country's west coast and drops steeply and suddenly into the Pacific Ocean,' the Schmidt Ocean Institute explained on Instagram.

'It runs the entire length of South America due to the subduction of the Pacific plate under the South American plate.

'The confluence of tectonic forces and terrestrial influences makes this margin a natural laboratory for investigating chemosynthetic and deep-sea environments that host animals like this [queue jazz hands] shimmering deep-sea worm.'

In a video posted to Schmidt Ocean Institute's Instagram account, the animal can be seen inching along the sea bed, with its iridescent bristles glimmering in the light.

Polychaete means 'many bristles', the experts explained.

'Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia covered in bristles called chaetae,' they wrote.

'Some worms are bioluminescent, but this sassy sparkler has protein structures in the bristles that make them iridescent.

In a video posted to Schmidt Ocean Institute's Instagram account, the animal can be seen inching along the sea bed, with its iridescent bristles glimmering in the light

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

18-11-2024 om 21:28 geschreven door peter  

By ZAC CAMPBELL

This is the hilarious moment that an octopus smacked a fish in the face while both animals were hunting together underwater. 

Video footage shows the tentacled creature appearing to be solely focused on finding food at the seabed with a nearby fish doing the same. 

With the pair appearing to forage in relative tranquility, the octopus comes out with a hugely unexpected move, swiping the fish away in anger as it got too close. 

The octopus then continues to moodily look for sustenance while the shocked fish is seen hurriedly swimming away to avoid further punishment from the irate mollusc. 

Stating its claim as an animal not to be crossed at the depths of the ocean, the octopus can then be seen prowling around for more food - but without challenging any further fish to a fight. 

Video footage shows the tentacled creature appearing to be solely focused on finding food at the seabed with a nearby fish doing the same

With the pair appearing to forage in peace next to one another, the octopus comes out with a hugely unexpected move, swiping the fish away in anger as it got too close

New research shows that there may be an explanation for the octopuses' behaviour, as it suggests that octopuses - previously thought to be solitary creatures - might sometimes socialise with fish in order to share the responsibility of hunting.

The findings broaden our understanding of the shared social life of octopuses and fish, scientists say.

In the past, the animals have been seen to hunt together for shared prey such as molluscs and crustaceans.

The new study sheds more light on this, revealing that when hunting prey together, some octopus and fish species appear to share leadership.

However, it is not always a harmonious group hunt, with the scientists observing aggression among group members, including fish displacing others by darting towards them, and octopuses punching some fish to the outer areas of the group.

After analysing data from 120 hours of dives, scientists found that leadership is shared for different types of decisions.

For example, goatfish specialised in deciding where the hunting pack moves - while the octopus decided whether and when the move would be made.

The authors note that although other types of mixed-species hunting is known - such as badger-coyote, mixed birds, and moray eel-grouper groups - they appear to be less flexible in using social information to change strategy compared to octopus-fish hunting groups.

Octopuses and fish hunt together, taking it in turns to lead according to a new study

Writing in the Nature Ecology and Evolution journal, the authors say: 'These findings expand our current understanding of what leadership is and what sociality is.'

Eduardo Sampaio, from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour in Germany, and colleagues tracked octopus–fish hunting packs during scuba diving expeditions in the Red Sea.

They saw 13 hunting groups consisting of one day octopus and different species of fish, including gold-saddle goatfish and blacktip groupers.

The researchers suggest that this joint effort leads to better success compared to the octopus or fish acting alone.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

18-11-2024 om 21:00 geschreven door peter  

When the wind is forced to move up and over an obstacle, it creates a lower-pressure zone on the leeward side. As the wind moves, it creates standing waves. If conditions are right, these waves become visible when the moisture condenses.

The Taieri Pet forms over New Zealand’s Rock and Pillar Range in the Strath-Taieri region of Otago on New Zealand’s South Island.

The Otago region on New Zealand’s South Island is home to the Taieri Pet.

Image Credit: Peetel, (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International.)

The cloud is a common feature near the town of Middlemarch. It’s mentioned in newspapers as far back as the 1890s. Locals sometimes took Taieri Pet’s appearance as a signal that a storm was coming.

The Operational Land Image (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this stunning image of the Taieri Pet in September. Landsat 8 follows a polar orbit that allows it to observe the entire surface of the Earth every 16 days.

The Landsat satellites have been monitoring Earth for over 50 years from their orbit 705 km above us. The images and data are widely used by scientists, but they’re also beautiful portraits of our extraordinary, once-in-a-solar-system planet.

Anybody can enjoy the Landsat galleries, found here.

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

14-11-2024 om 14:35 geschreven door peter  

The egg or the chicken? An ancient unicellular says egg!

The first life forms to appear on Earth were unicellular, i.e. composed of a single cell, such as yeast or bacteria. Later, animals - multicellular organisms - evolved, developing from a single cell, the egg cell, to form complex beings. This embryonic development follows precise stages that are remarkably similar between animal species and could date back to a period well before the appearance of animals. However, the transition from unicellular species to multicellular organisms is still very poorly understood.

These cells divide without growing any further, forming multicellular colonies resembling the early stages of animal embryonic development.

Recently appointed as an assistant professor at the Department of Biochemistry in the UNIGE Faculty of Science, and formerly an SNSF Ambizione researcher at EPFL, Omaya Dudin and his team have focused on Chromosphaera perkinsii, or C. perkinsii, an ancestral species of protist. This unicellular organism separated from the animal evolutionary line more than a billion years ago, offering valuable insight into the mechanisms that may have led to the transition to multicellularity.

By observing C. perkinsii, the scientists discovered that these cells, once they have reached their maximum size, divide without growing any further, forming multicellular colonies resembling the early stages of animal embryonic development. Unprecedentedly, these colonies persist for around a third of their life cycle and comprise at least two distinct cell types, a surprising phenomenon for this type of organism.

Images of the multicellular development of the ichthyosporean Chromosphaera perkinsii, a close cousin of animals. In red we can see the membranes and in blue the nuclei with their DNA. The image was obtained using expansion microscopy.

© O. Dudin, UNIGE

‘‘Although C. perkinsii is a unicellular species, this behaviour shows that multicellular coordination and differentiation processes are already present in the species, well before the first animals appeared on Earth’’, explains Omaya Dudin, who led this research.

Even more surprisingly, the way these cells divide and the three-dimensional structure they adopt are strikingly reminiscent of the early stages of embryonic development in animals. In collaboration with Dr John Burns (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), analysis of the genetic activity within these colonies revealed intriguing similarities with that observed in animal embryos, suggesting that the genetic programmes governing complex multicellular development were already present over a billion years ago.

Marine Olivetta, laboratory technician at the Department of Biochemistry in the UNIGE Faculty of Science and first author of the study, explains: “It’s fascinating, a species discovered very recently allows us to go back in time more than a billion years”. In fact, the study shows that either the principle of embryonic development existed before animals, or multicellular development mechanisms evolved separately in C. perkinsii.

This discovery could also shed new light on a long-standing scientific debate concerning 600 million-year-old fossils that resemble embryos, and could challenge certain traditional conceptions of multicellularity.

VIDEOS

{ https://www.unige.ch/ }

08-11-2024 om 22:20 geschreven door peter  

Wat kwam er eerst, de kip of het ei? Onderzoekers zeggen nu: het ei!

In een prehistorisch eencellig organisme is een celdeling ontdekt die lijkt op die van een dierlijk embryo. En dat is interessant, want dit geeft aan dat embryonale ontwikkeling mogelijk al bestond voordat dieren zich ontwikkelden.

Al eeuwenlang vragen wetenschappers zich af wat er eerst was: de kip of het ei? Vorig jaar stelden onderzoekers nog dat het de kip was. Maar een nieuwe studie komt nu tot een andere conclusie. Volgens deze onderzoekers zijn er nu namelijk overtuigende aanwijzingen dat het ei toch echt het eerste was.

Eerste levensvormen
De eerste levensvormen op aarde waren eencellig, zoals gist of bacteriën. Later evolueerden dieren, meercellige organismen, die zich vanaf één cel, de eicel, ontwikkelden tot complexe wezens. Deze embryonale ontwikkeling verloopt in verschillende stadia die opvallende overeenkomsten vertonen tussen dierlijke soorten en mogelijk al stammen uit een tijd vóór de eerste dieren. De overgang van eencellige naar meercellige organismen wordt echter nog steeds niet volledig begrepen.

Chromosphaera perkinsii
In een nieuwe studie hebben onderzoekers de eencellige soort Chromosphaera perkinsii bestudeerd. C. perkinsii werd in 2017 gevonden in zeesedimenten rondom Hawaï en is een voorouderlijke soort van protisten. De eerste aanwijzingen voor het bestaan van deze soort op aarde gaan meer dan een miljard jaar terug, lang vóór de opkomst van de eerste dieren. Omdat dit eencellige organisme zich meer dan een miljard jaar geleden afsplitste van de dierlijke evolutielijn, verschaft het belangrijke inzichten in de processen die mogelijk geleid hebben tot de overgang naar meercelligheid. “Het is fascinerend dat een soort die pas recent is ontdekt, ons in staat stelt om meer dan een miljard jaar terug in de tijd te kijken”, zegt onderzoeksleider Marine Olivetta.

Multicellulaire structuren
Het onderzoek naar C. perkinsii leidt tot een opmerkelijke ontdekking. Zo ontdekten de wetenschappers dat de cellen, zodra ze hun maximale grootte hebben bereikt, zich delen zonder verder te groeien. Vervolgens vormen ze multicellulaire structuren. Opmerkelijk is dat deze structuren ongeveer een derde van hun levenscyclus intact blijven en minstens twee verschillende celtypen bevatten, wat een verrassend fenomeen is voor dit soort organisme. “Hoewel C. perkinsii een eencellige soort is, laat dit gedrag zien dat processen van multicellulaire coördinatie en differentiatie al aanwezig waren in deze soort, lang voordat de eerste dieren op aarde verschenen”, aldus onderzoeker Omaya Dudin.

Dierlijke embryo’s
Nog verrassender is de manier waarop deze cellen zich delen en de driedimensionale structuur die ze aannemen. Dit lijkt namelijk sterk op de vroege stadia van de embryonale ontwikkeling bij dieren. De analyse van de genetische activiteit in deze structuren vertonen dus opvallende overeenkomsten met die in dierlijke embryo’s.

Het ei
Deze waarnemingen wijzen op twee mogelijke verklaringen: ofwel de genetische programma’s voor embryonale ontwikkeling bestonden al vóór de opkomst van dieren, of C. perkinsii ontwikkelde zich onafhankelijk om vergelijkbare processen te vertonen. Dit zou betekenen dat de natuur al de genetische middelen had om ‘eieren te maken’ lang voordat het ‘kippen uitvond’.

Inzicht
Vergeet dus de kip, want mogelijk was toch het ei er het eerste. Deze ontdekking zou overigens ook nieuwe inzichten kunnen bieden in een ander langlopend wetenschappelijk debat over fossielen van 600 miljoen jaar oud die op embryo’s lijken. Bovendien zou het sommige traditionele ideeën over meercelligheid kunnen uitdagen.

Al met al werpt de studie, gepubliceerd in Nature, nieuwe perspectieven op de overgang van eencellige naar meercellige organismen en kan de manier waarop we de evolutie van multicellulaire levensvormen begrijpen, fundamenteel veranderen. De studie daagt ook traditionele opvattingen uit over de oorsprong van embryonale ontwikkeling en biedt stof tot nadenken over de evolutie van multicellulaire organismen als geheel.

Bronmateriaal

• "The egg or the chicken? An ancient unicellular says egg!" - Université de Genève
• Afbeelding bovenaan dit artikel:

{ https://scientias.nl/ }

08-11-2024 om 22:06 geschreven door peter  

The Gulf Stream is on the verge of COLLAPSING, leading climate change scientists warn - plunging the UK into a new ice age

• READ MORE: What will happen to the UK if the Gulf Stream collapses in 2025? 

By WILIAM HUNTER

The network of ocean currents which keep the Earth's climate stable could be about to collapse, scientists have warned.

In an open letter, 44 of the world's leading climate scientists say that key Atlantic Ocean currents - including the Gulf Stream - are on the brink of failure.

The scientists caution that the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could lead to 'devastating and irreversible impacts' which will affect 'the entire world for centuries to come'.

The 2004 movie 'The Day After Tomorrow' (pictured) predicted that the world would enter a new ice age after climate change triggers the collapse of the Gulf Stream. This may have been science fiction 20 years ago, but leading scientists have now warned that the film's terrifying plot could be coming true 

As warm water travels northwards from the tropics, it hits the sea ice around Greenland and the Nordic countries, cooling and becoming much saltier.

As the water cools it becomes denser, sinking rapidly towards the bottom of the ocean where it flows back southwards before once again warming and rising to the surface.

This process of 'deep water formation' is the engine for a vast global conveyor belt which pumps heat and water all around the Atlantic Ocean. 

However, studies suggest that AMOC's deep water engine has started to slow and is now showing worrying signs of breaking down altogether.

As global temperatures rise, melting ice pours fresh water back into oceans, diluting the denser salty water and preventing it from sinking.

If this process were to break down entirely, it would have catastrophic knock-on effects including the weakening of the Gulf Stream and the disruption of global weather patterns.

Encouragingly, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states: 'There is medium confidence that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation will not collapse abruptly before 2100.'

However, the authors of the open letter argue that this risk has been massively underestimated.

44 leading climate scientists have written an open letter to Nordic policymakers calling for action on the risk of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) ocean currents collapsing. These currents (pictured) are a vital engine for moving warm water around the planet 

In their letter, the scientists write: 'The passing of this tipping point is a serious possibility already in the next few decades.'

Research from the University of Copenhagen published earlier this year found that a collapse could occur any time from 2025 onwards.

By looking at ocean temperature data over the last 150 years, the researchers argued that such a scenario is '95 per cent certain' by the end of this century if current greenhouse gas emissions persist.

The open letter also argues that the severity of the risk warrants more concern even if there were only 'medium confidence' in a potential collapse.

'The purpose of this letter is to draw attention to the fact that only “medium confidence” in the AMOC not collapsing is not reassuring, and clearly leaves open the possibility of an AMOC collapse during this century,' say the authors.

'Even with a medium likelihood of occurrence, given that the outcome would be catastrophic and impacting the entire world for centuries to come, we believe more needs to be done to minimize this risk.'

Should the AMOC collapse, the effects would be widespread, devastating, and extremely long-lasting.

Scientists believe that the last time AMOC completely collapsed was during the end of the last Ice Age around 12,000 years ago, when temperatures in western Europe plummeted by up to 10°C (18°F).

If AMOC were to collapse, the scientists predict that the Northwestern Atlantic region,  including the UK, could be frozen inside a growing 'cold bubble' which may drop temperatures by as much as 2.4°C (4.32°F)

The collapse would lead to major cooling and 'unprecedented extreme weather', especially in Nordic countries.

This would enlarge and deepen the 'cold blob' of anomalously cold waters which has already developed over the eastern North Atlantic due to the slowdown of heat-carrying currents.

This would be particularly bad news for the UK which is kept warm by currents of warm water carried by AMOC northwards from the Gulf of Mexico.

Previous studies have suggested that this could lead to winter temperatures in Britain becoming 10°C to 15°C (18°F to 27°F) lower on average.

While the expert say more research is needed, they note that this could 'potentially threaten the viability of agriculture in northwestern Europe'.

Around the world, the collapse of the AMOC currents would also have devastating consequences.

The tropical rainfall belt and monsoon regions could shift southwards, precipitating enormous disruptions to agriculture and water supplies in the region.

Such a shift could cause widespread drought and famine, and could lead to massive increases in the number of climate refugees and escalating geopolitical tensions.

Without the AMOC ocean currents (pictured) the Nordic regions would experience rapid cooling and extreme weather while the Atlantic coast of the US would be hit by 'major' sea-level rises

In the US, the scientists say that a collapse of AMOC would create a 'major additional sea-level rise', potentially threatening vulnerable low-lying areas on the Atlantic coast such as New York and Miami.

Additionally, the authors argue that the resulting changes to weather patterns would cause an 'upheaval of marine ecosystems and fisheries'.

In the face of these threats, the authors of the open letter are calling on the leaders of Nordic countries to seriously consider the risk of an AMOC collapse and put pressure on their global partners to stick to the aims of the Paris Agreement.

However, not every scientist is in agreement that AMOC will collapse within this century.

Since AMOC was first measured in 2004, scientists have expressed concerns that the current system could be weakening.

Yet a number of leading experts argue that these conclusions are far from being definitively established.

The main issue is that researchers have had to make some basic assumptions about how AMOC works in order to predict how it might change over time. 

This climate system is massively complex and some have expressed concern that we don't have all the evidence needed to make precise predictions.

A collapse of the AMOC would cause a shift in the tropical rainfall belt - an area of rainfall that is positioned around the tropics. This could lead to widespread drought and famine as agriculture and water distribution are disrupted 

Read More

• The Gulf Stream could COLLAPSE as early as 2025 - plunging Europe into a deep freeze, scientists warn 

When the original AMOC 'tipping point' paper was published in 2023, these concerns led a number of leading scientists to express scepticism that a total collapse was really coming.

Dr Ben Booth, senior climate scientist at the Met Office Hadley Centre, said at the time: 'Whilst there is definitely a role for papers like this, the conclusions are far from settled science.'

Dr Booth added: 'A lot of caution needs to be taken in interpreting the findings as a definitive inference of the future overturning change.'

The Gulf Stream Explained

Likewise, Dr John Robson, of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the University of Reading, said: 'There are large uncertainties involved in predicting if and when an abrupt weakening of AMOC could occur.'

However, Dr Robson still maintained that the 'warning lights are flashing on' for the AMOC system and that further research and monitoring are crucial.  

What will happen if the AMOC global ocean current collapses?

UK 

Studies suggest that the collapse of AMOC would lead to plummeting temperatures in the UK.

Britain is currently kept toasty by the Gulf Stream which carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the seas around the UK.

If this were to fail, Britain could be plunged into extreme cold with winter temperatures falling by up to 15°C (27°F).

Average summer temperatures would be 3°C to 5°C (5.4°F to 9°F) lower than they are now, while winters could be 10°C to 15°C (18°F to 27°F) colder.

The brunt of this change would be felt by northern areas such as Scotland which will become much colder than the South.

Europe

The effects of an AMOC collapse would be particularly strong in Northwestern Europe and the Nordic regions.

Scientists warn that the 'cold blob', an anomalous region of cold, could expand and deepen over the region.

The area would be gripped by freezing temperatures so cold that sea ice could creep South from the Arctic.

Extreme weather will become more common, with violent storms and intense rainfall becoming more frequent.

The effects could be so strong that scientists warn it could threaten the viability of agriculture in Northern Europe.

US 

The US will avoid most of the freezing consequences of AMOC collapse but will not escape unscathed.

Scientists predict that the failure of the ocean currents would lead to major additional sea-level rises on the Atlantic coastline.

Research has suggested major cities such as New York, New Orleans, and Miami could be threatened by flooding.

Estimates already suggest that up to 448,000 people could be displaced.

Additionally, changing weather patterns could lead to 'upheaval' for coastal ecosystems and fisheries.

Worldwide

If AMOC collapses the tropical rainfall belt, an area of high rainfall positioned around the tropics will shift southwards.

This shift could lead to widespread enormous disruptions to agriculture and water supplies in the region.

That change could trigger widespread famine and drought in some regions with devastating floods in others.

In turn, experts suggest that this will lead to a massive increase in the number of climate refugees fleeing their home countries and escalating geopolitical tensions in the region.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

04-11-2024 om 22:51 geschreven door peter  

According to current estimates, humans dump well over 10 million metric tons (11 million U.S. tons) of plastic waste into our oceans annually. Since plastic production continues to increase worldwide, these numbers are projected to increase dramatically. What ends up on our beaches can severely impact wildlife and marine habitats, just like the impact it has in open waters. If these plastics are not removed, they will inevitably fragment into micro and nano plastics, another major environmental hazard. Said Dr. Guffogg in a recent RMIT University press release:

“Plastics can be mistaken for food; larger animals become entangled, and smaller ones, like hermit crabs, become trapped inside items such as plastic containers. Remote island beaches have some of the highest recorded densities of plastics in the world, and we’re also seeing increasing volumes of plastics and derelict fishing gear on the remote shorelines of northern Australia.

“While the impacts of these ocean plastics on the environment, fishing and, tourism are well documented, methods for measuring the exact scale of the issue or targeting clean-up operations, sometimes most needed in remote locations, have been held back by technological limitations.”

Satellite technology is already used to track plastic garbage floating around the world’s oceans. This includes relatively small drifts containing thousands of plastic bottles, bags, and fishing nets, but also gigantic floating trash islands like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. As of 2018, this garbage patch measured about 1.6 million km² (620,000 mi²) and consisted of 45,000–129,000 metric tons (50,000–142,000 U.S. tons). However, the technology used to locate plastic waste in the ocean is largely ineffective at spotting plastic on beaches.

Much of the problem is that plastic can be mistaken for patches of sand when viewed from space. The Beached Plastic Debris Index (BPDI) developed by Dr. Guffogg and her colleagues circumvents this by employing a spectral index – a mathematical formula that analyzes patterns of reflected light. The BPDI is specially designed to map plastic debris in coastal areas using high-definition data from the WorldView-3 satellite, a commercial Earth observation satellite (owned by Maxar Technologies) that has been in operation since 2014.

Thanks to their efforts, scientists now have an effective way to monitor plastic on beaches, which could assist in clean-up operations. As part of the remote sensing team at RMIT, Dr. Guffogg and her colleagues have developed similar tools for monitoring forests and mapping bushfires from space. To validate the BPDI, the team field-tested it by placing 14 plastic targets on a beach in southern Gippsland, about 200 km (125 mi) southeast of Melbourne. Each target was made of a different type of plastic and measured two square meters (21.5 square feet) – smaller than the satellite’s pixel size of about three square meters.

The resulting images were compared to three other indices, two designed for detecting plastics on land and one for detecting plastics in aquatic settings. The BPDI outperformed all three as the others struggled to differentiate between plastics and sand or misclassified shadows and water as plastic. As study author Dr. Mariela Soto-Berelov explained, this makes the BPDI far more useful for environments where water and plastic-contaminated pixels are likely to coexist.  

“This is incredibly exciting, as up to now we have not had a tool for detecting plastics in coastal environments from space. The beauty of satellite imagery is that it can capture large and remote areas at regular intervals. Detection is a key step needed for understanding where plastic debris is accumulating and planning clean-up operations, which aligns with several Sustainable Development Goals, such as Protecting Seas and Oceans.”  

The next step is to test the BPDI tool in real-life scenarios, which will consist of the team partnering with various organizations dedicated to monitoring and addressing the plastic waste problem.

VIDEOS

Further Reading: 

• RMIT, 
• Marine Pollution Bulletin

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

04-11-2024 om 16:42 geschreven door peter  

Climate catastrophe plunged Scandinavia into years of darkness and killed HALF of Norway and Sweden 1,500 years ago, study finds

• READ MORE: Vikings may have practiced form of plastic surgery 1,000 years ago

By Michael Havis For Mailonline

A real-life Ragnarok plunged Scandinavia into years of darkness and killed up to half of the people in Norway and Sweden, new research reveals.

In Viking belief, Ragnarok is the end of the world, when the Norse gods die battling demons and giants in an apocalyptic final clash.

And the agony of Ragnarok begins with the Fimbulvetr – a winter lasting three years that ends almost all human life.

Now new research has shown that the Nordic world really faced such a long winter, and its impact on human life was devastating.

By analysing tree rings, scientists at the National Museum of Denmark proved a real-life climate catastrophe took place 1,500 years ago.

Morten Fischer Mortensen, a senior researcher at the museum, said it was the result of volcanic eruptions enveloping the world in a veil of ash and sulphur.

He said: 'I imagine it would have been terrifying – the volcanic eruptions happen so far away from Europe that no one would have known the cause.

'Then you realise - perhaps overnight - that the sun is hidden behind a veil, and it is not warm and yellow, but cold and bluish.

A real-life Ragnarok plunged Scandinavia into years of darkness and killed up to half of the people in Norway and Sweden, new research reveals

(artist's impression)

By analysing tree rings, scientists at the National Museum of Denmark proved a real-life climate catastrophe took place 1,500 years ago

'Even in the middle of the day, no shadows were cast and for more than a year no stars could be seen in the sky.'

To complete their research, scientists analysed 650 pieces of oak from between 300 and 800 AD.

They found growth rings became dramatically smaller starting in 536 AD, and even more so between 539 and 541 AD.

Mortensen described the impact on civilisation.

He continued: 'Based on our studies of the tree rings, we can see that for several years there were really poor growing conditions, which must also have been true for the farmers' crops.

'We are in a period where everyone lives off, and on, the land, and is 100% self-sufficient.

'So when the harvest fails for several years in a row, it's really critical.'

For many, it was unsurvivable.

Morten Fischer Mortensen, a senior researcher at the museum, said the event was the result of volcanic eruptions enveloping the world in a veil of ash and sulphur

Photo shows a depiction of the final battle of the gods during Ragnarok by Johannes Gehrts 

Mortensen said: 'Landscape reconstructions based on pollen analyses shows that some areas were abandoned and forest spread over the abandoned fields.

'Power structures shifted and, in Denmark, we have many large deposits of gold that have been interpreted as offerings to the gods to bring back the sun.

'Many settlements ceased to exist, and it is easy to imagine that hunger, famine, and disease took the lives of a large part of the population.'

He added: 'In Norway and Sweden, researchers believe that up to half the population died, and it is not inconceivable that the same happened in Denmark.

'It almost gives me chills to see these small, narrow annual rings because I know how much sorrow, death and misfortune they represent.'

Furthermore, the similarity with the Fimbulvetr of Ragnarok legend may be no coincidence.

Mortensen said: 'It is remarkable that for three summers in a row the oak trees have virtually no summer growth.

'The myth of Ragnarok starts with a three-year-long winter with no summer in between.

'Of course, we can't prove a direct link between the climate event and the myth, but there is a strong correlation.

'It is therefore conceivable that elements of what people have experienced have found their way into the myths and are thus an echo of previous experiences.'

Which volcanoes caused the long winter has not been determined.

But candidates have been proposed in Papua New Guinea, El Salvador, Indonesia, Iceland, and North America.

In any case, the disaster was not limited to the Nordic world – climate modelling shows a global temperature drop of several degrees.

Written sources from as far apart as the Roman empire and China attest to the change in climate.

It's even been suggested that the drop in temperature boosted crop fertility in the Arabian Peninsula, boosting the food supply and contributing to the Islamic conquests.

For the Danes, however, the winter left another – less dramatic – legacy.

Mortensen explained: 'Danes have a great love for rye bread.

'Rye is a cereal that arrives very late to the country and only becomes common in the centuries after the climate crisis.

'At the same time, rye can survive with the fewest hours of sunshine and can grow on relatively poor soil.

'Therefore, it's likely that rye is a crop we adopt as a hedge against bad times – a crop that has the best chance of yielding a return in the bad years.'

Mortensen and his colleagues published their study in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

DID THE VIKINGS DISCOVER NORTH AMERICA?

Some experts believe the Vikings may have discovered North America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus made his famous journey to the New World. 

L'Anse aux Meadows was the first Viking settlement believed to have been found in North America in the 1960s.

In 2016, scientists claimed to have uncovered another Viking settlement in Newfoundland that was built between 800 AD and 1300 AD.

Some experts believe the Vikings may have discovered North America nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus made his famous journey to the New World

The site, discovered in an area called Point Rosee in southern Newfoundland, is 400 miles (643km) south west of a Viking settlement found in L'Anse aux Meadows during the 1960s.

Now, one expert claims to have found a mysterious location known as 'Hop'.

Based on Viking descriptions, three key things identify this mystical settlement - an abundance of grapes, salmon and canoes made from animal hide. 

An archaeologist claims the only place that matches this description is the Miramichi-Chaleur bay area in northeastern New Brunswick in Canada.

This would be the third Viking settlement claimed to have been found in North America, although it could be hard to ever prove it for once and for all.

It is thought the Vikings first discovered America by accident in the autumn of 986 AD, according to one historical source, the Saga of the Greenlanders.

It tells how Bjarni Herjolfsson stumbled across North America after being blown off course as he attempted to sail from Norway to Greenland, but he did not go ashore.

Inspired by his tales, however, another Viking Leif Ericsson then mounted his own expedition and found North America in 1002.

Finding it a fertile land, rich in grapes and berries, he named it Vinland.

Eriksson also named two further 'lands' on the North American coast - one with flat stones, which he called Helluland, and one that was flat and wooded, named Markland.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

31-10-2024 om 21:57 geschreven door peter  

New Research Casts More Light on Mechanisms of End-Triassic Mass Extinction

The end-Triassic extinction along with the end-Permian and end-Cretaceous events are the most severe mass extinctions in the past 270 million years. The exact mechanisms of the end-Triassic extinction have long been debated, but most prominent: carbon dioxide surfaced by volcanic eruptions built up over many millennia, raising temperatures to unsustainable levels for many creatures, and acidifying ocean waters. But a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says the opposite: cold, not warmth was the main culprit.

Outcrop area of CAMP rocks in Pangea showing paleolatitudes at CAMP time (201 million years ago) of key localities with the terrestrial end-Triassic extinction including the Newark Basin (NB) in northeastern North America, the Fundy Basin (FB) of Atlantic Canada, and the Central High Atlas (CHA) Basin of Morocco.

Image credit: Kent et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415486121.

The end-Triassic mass extinction occurred 201.564 million years ago and resulted in the demise of some 76% of all marine and land species.

This mass extinction coincided with massive volcanic eruptions that split apart the supercontinent Pangea.

Millions of km³ of lava erupted over some 600,000 years, separating what are now the Americas, Europe and North Africa.

The event marked the end of the Triassic period and the beginning of the Jurassic, the period when dinosaurs arose to take the place of Triassic creatures and dominate the planet.

The new study presents evidence that instead of stretching over hundreds of thousands of years, the first pulses of lava that ended the Triassic were stupendous events lasting less than a century each.

In this condensed time frame, sunlight-reflecting sulfate particles were spewed into the atmosphere, cooling the planet and freezing many of its inhabitants.

Gradually rising temperatures in an environment that was hot to begin with — atmospheric carbon dioxide in the Late Triassic was already three times today’s level — may have finished the job later on, but it was volcanic winters that did the most damage.

“Carbon dioxide and sulfates act not just in opposite ways, but opposite time frames,” said Dr. Dennis Kent, a researcher at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

“It takes a long time for carbon dioxide to build up and heat things, but the effect of sulfates is pretty much instant. It brings us into the realm of what humans can grasp. These events happened in the span of a lifetime.”

The Triassic-Jurassic extinction has long been thought tied to the eruption of the so-called Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP).

In their study, Dr. Kent and colleagues correlated data from CAMP deposits in the mountains of Morocco, along Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy, and New Jersey’s Newark Basin.

Their key evidence: the alignments of magnetic particles in the rocks that recorded the past drifting of Earth’s magnetic pole at the time of the eruptions.

Due to a complex set of processes, this pole is offset from the planet’s unchanging axis of rotation — true north — and to boot, changes position by a few tenths of a degree each year.

Because of this phenomenon, magnetic particles in lavas that were emplaced within a few decades of each other will all point in the same direction, while ones emplaced, say, thousands of years later will point 20 or 30 degrees in a different direction.

What the researchers found was five successive initial CAMP lava pulses spread over about 40,000 years — each with the magnetic particles aligned in a single direction, indicating the lava pulse had emerged in less than 100 years, before drift of the magnetic pole could manifest itself.

These huge eruptions released so many sulfates so quickly that the sun was largely blocked out, causing temperatures to plunge.

Unlike carbon dioxide, which hangs around for centuries, volcanic sulfate aerosols tend to rain out of the atmosphere within years, so resulting cold spells don’t last very long.

But due to the rapidity and size of the eruptions, these volcanic winters were devastating.

The scientists compared the CAMP series to sulfates from the 1783 eruption of Iceland’s Laki volcano, which caused widespread crop failures; just the initial CAMP pulses were hundreds of times greater.

In sediments just below the CAMP layers lie Triassic fossils: large terrestrial and semiaquatic relatives of crocodiles, strange tree lizards, giant, flat-headed amphibians, and many tropical plants. Then they disappear with the CAMP eruptions.

Small feathered dinosaurs had been around for tens of millions of years before this, and survived, eventually to thrive and get much larger, along with turtles, true lizards, and mammals, possibly because they were small and could survive in burrows.

“The magnitude of the environmental effects are related to how concentrated the events are,” said Dr. Paul Olsen, also from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

“Small events spread out over tens of thousands of years produce much less of an effect than the same total volume of volcanism concentrated in less than a century.”

“The overarching implication being that the CAMP lavas represent extraordinarily concentrated events.”

• Dennis V. Kent et al. 2024. Correlation of sub-centennial-scale pulses of initial Central Atlantic Magmatic Province lavas and the end-Triassic extinctions. PNAS 121 (46): e2415486121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415486121

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

30-10-2024 om 23:25 geschreven door peter  

De blobvis is de lelijkste vis ter wereld, maar zijn echte aspect in het water is iets anders

door Janine

The Ugly Animal Preservation Society/Facebook

Er bestaat geen twijfel over wat de lelijkste vis ter wereld is: het is de blobvis die al jaren dit vreemde record heeft.

Als we aan “lelijke” dieren denken, denken we meteen aan de blobvis: hoe zouden we anders een zacht uitziende vis met een bijzonder trieste uitdrukking noemen?

De werkelijkheid is echter anders: de blobvis is niet alleen niet de lelijkste vis ter wereld, maar wat we gewend zijn te zien is niet eens zijn echte verschijning in het water.

Hoe is dit mogelijk? Laten we daar samen achter komen!

Is de blobvis echt de lelijkste vis ter wereld?

rfedortsov/X

Als je kijkt naar foto's van de blobvis die we tot onze beschikking hebben, lijkt er geen twijfel mogelijk: het is echt de lelijkste vis ter wereld.

Hij is ongeveer 30 centimeter lang, heeft een trieste uitdrukking, een gelatineachtig uiterlijk en een grote “neus” die zijn gelaatstrekken heel menselijk maken, misschien wel te menselijk.

We moeten namelijk niet vergeten dat wij mensen heel goed zijn in het herkennen van vormen die ons bekend voorkomen, zelfs als ze er niet zijn. En de blobvis, met zijn trieste gezicht, is daar het perfecte voorbeeld van.

Tegelijkertijd zijn de beelden die van de blobvis "de lelijkste vis ter wereld" hebben gemaakt niet echt correct, omdat ze zijn ware verschijning in het water niet weergeven.

De gelatineachtige textuur en droevige uitdrukking die we op de foto's zien, zijn slechts het resultaat van de plotselinge decompressie die de blobvis ondergaat wanneer hij uit de diepten van de oceaan wordt gevist.

Zoals National Geographic aangeeft, leeft de Psychrolutes marcidus op dieptes tussen 600 en 1200 meter tussen Nieuw-Zeeland en Australië en om de enorme druk te weerstaan, heeft hij een lichaam ontwikkeld dat bijna geen spieren heeft.

Dit betekent dat het idee dat we hebben van de Psychrolutes marcidus, blobvis zoals wij hem noemen, niet helemaal juist is.

Hoe ziet de blobvis er onder water uit?

NOAA/MBARI - Public Domain

De blobvis in het water is heel anders dan wij ons voorstellen: hij leeft vredig in de diepten van de oceaan, waar hij moeiteloos drijft.

Op een diepte van 1200 meter heeft deze soort een succesvolle aanpassing gevonden door zijn spieren op te geven en zich mee te laten voeren door de stromingen. Het enige wat hier telt is het weerstaan van de grote druk en alle schaal- en weekdieren eten die voorbij komen.

Bovendien heeft deze soort geen zwemblaas, dus hij kan niet naar ondieper water. Maar dit is geen probleem.

Integendeel, in de diepten van de oceaan brengt de blobvis zijn hele leven door in verschillende stadia. Vrouwtjes kunnen tot tienduizenden eitjes per keer leggen, die vervolgens op de zeebodem worden afgezet.

Eenmaal uitgekomen komen er kleine blobvissen tevoorschijn die qua uiterlijk op volwassen exemplaren lijken: ze hebben een gelatineachtige structuur, weinig spieren en geen zwemblaas.

Onder water zijn deze verschillen echter niet merkbaar, in tegenstelling tot de oppervlakte.

Het behoud van de lelijkste vis ter wereld

clubguffy/Instagram

Hoewel de blobvis een perfect voorbeeld is van aanpassing aan een zeer specifieke ecologische niche, komen de problemen niet van de oceaan. Integendeel, ze komen van de mens.

Trawlvisserij in de diepten tussen Nieuw-Zeeland en Australië dreigt de populatie van deze soort, waarover we nog te weinig weten, te reduceren.

Daarom werd de blobvis in 2013 uitgeroepen tot het lelijkste dier ter wereld, maar het is een record met nobele bedoelingen.

Het was namelijk de Ugly Animal Preservation Society, een organisatie die mensen bewust wil maken van het belang van het beschermen van diersoorten die misschien minder aantrekkelijk zijn, maar net zo belangrijk voor het ecosysteem, waaronder de blobvis, die deze definitie gaf.

Onze lieve blob mag dan wel de lelijkste vis ter wereld zijn, maar wel voor een goed doel

{ https://www.curioctopus.nl/ }

30-10-2024 om 23:02 geschreven door peter  

Antarctica is turning GREEN: Vegetation cover has increased more than tenfold over the last 40 years - with climate change to blame

• READ MORE: Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is on the verge of collapsing

By Shivali Best For Mailonline 

If you were asked to visualise Antarctica, it's likely a vast white landscape would spring to mind. 

But a concerning new study might have you rethinking that image in your head. 

Experts from the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire have warned that Antarctica is turning green - with climate change to blame. 

Their analysis shows that vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades. 

'Our findings raise serious concerns about the environmental future of the Antarctic Peninsula, and of the continent as a whole,' said Dr Thomas Roland, who led the study. 

If you were asked to visualise Antarctica, it's likely a vast white landscape would spring to mind. But a concerning new study might have you rethinking that image in your head. Pictured: a WorldView-2 Satellite Image of Robert Island (top) and the same image after the analysis, showing areas of vegetated land in bright green (bottom) 

Previous studies have shown that, like many polar regions, the Antarctic Peninsula is warming faster than the global average. Pictured: Green Island

Read More

• Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' is on verge of COLLAPSING and could cause sea levels to rise by 2ft 

Previous studies have shown that, like many polar regions, the Antarctic Peninsula is warming faster than the global average. 

In their new study, the researchers set out to understand how much of the area has 'greened' in response to this warming. 

The team analysed satellite images taken across the Peninsula over the last 40 years. 

Back in 1986, the images show that just one square kilometre of the Peninsula was covered with vegetation. 

However, by 2021, this area had increased to almost 12 square kilometres. 

Speaking to MailOnline, Dr Roland explained that while simple before-and-after photos would be 'impactful', they were not possible. 

'Sadly we only have "very high resolution" images from 2013 and 2016,' he said. 

'Whilst the increases in vegetation we observe over this short window are in line with our overall greening trend (1986-2021) the visual difference is not that remarkable! 

'In turn, a single image from the coarser resolution satellite we use for the main study (where we have hundreds of images over the full 35 year period), I suspect, would not be perceived as good enough "quality" as to be impactful.'

The team analysed satellite images taken across the Peninsula over the last 40 years, and found that vegetation cover has increased significantly

Back in 1986, just one square kilometre of the Peninsula was covered with vegetaion. However, by 2021, this area had increased to almost 12 square kilometres. Pictured: Norsel Point

Greening accelerated by over 30 per cent in recent years (2016-2021) relative to the full study period (1986-2021) – expanding by over 400,000 square metres per year in this period. Pictured: Barrientos Island

Read More

• See the birth of a new iceberg! Incredible images reveal the moment a berg the size of the Isle of Wight broke away from Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf 

The study also found that the greening is happening quicker and quicker. 

Greening accelerated by over 30 per cent in recent years (2016-2021) relative to the full study period (1986-2021) – expanding by over 400,000 square metres per year in this period.

'The plants we find on the Antarctic Peninsula – mostly mosses – grow in perhaps the harshest conditions on Earth,' said Dr Roland.

'The landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life.

'But that tiny fraction has grown dramatically – showing that even this vast and isolated 'wilderness' is being affected by anthropogenic climate change.'

Worryingly, the researchers say that as these ecosystems become more established and temperatures continue to rise, the extent of the greening will increase. 

Experts from the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire have warned that Antarctica is turning green - with climate change to blame. Pictured: Ardley Island

Dr Olly Bartlett, co-author of the study, said: 'Soil in Antarctica is mostly poor or non-existent, but this increase in plant life will add organic matter, and facilitate soil formation – potentially paving the way for other plants to grow.

'This raises the risk of non-native and invasive species arriving, possibly carried by eco-tourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.'

Based on the findings, the team is calling for 'urgent' research into the specific mechanisms behind the greening trend.  

'The sensitivity of the Antarctic Peninsula's vegetation to climate change is now clear and, under future anthropogenic warming, we could see fundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region,' Dr Roland added.

'In order to protect Antarctica, we must understand these changes and identify precisely what is causing them.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

04-10-2024 om 21:52 geschreven door peter