Search for lost sarcophagus of Egyptian Pharaoh Menkaure
June 17, 2008
It has been a source of enduring fascination for archaeologists and amateur Egyptologists everywhere: what exactly happened to the sarcophagus of Menkaure, one of Egypt’s greatest Pharaohs? Now, more than 170 years after it was found and lost, the mystery could be solved.
Built from polished blue basalt to transport the king’s earthly remains to the next world, the elaborately decorated vessel lay hidden inside the third-largest of Giza’s renowned Pyramids for more than 4,000 years. In 1837 the British colonel Richard William Howard Vyse blasted his way into Menkaure’s sepulchral chamber using gunpowder and discovered the stone casket.
In a twist worthy of an Indiana Jones film, the sarcophagus was lost again the following year before it could reach British shores. The merchant ship Beatrice, which was carrying it and other antiquities found by the archaeologist, sank while sailing from Malta to Gibraltar — reportedly off the coast of Spain, near Alicante.
From the Timesonline: Read more
‘Sexy mood’ assisted male sea dragon pregnancy
June 16, 2008
After setting the mood with lighting and finessing, the Georgia Aquarium’s attempts to coax rare sea dragons to mate have finally worked — just in time for Father’s Day.
The pregnant male weedy sea dragon is now only the third of its kind in the United States to successfully become pregnant outside of its natural habitat.
The sea dragon, found in nature only in the waters off southern Australia, became pregnant Tuesday when a female transferred her eggs onto his tail.
Dennis Christen, assistant manager of animal care and husbandry, said that male sea horses, sea dragons and pipe fish all carry the eggs instead of the female.
Christen said that recently the staff took steps to try to assist in mating.
They altered the mood by adjusting the lighting and thinning the plants, Christen said.
From CNN: Read more
Gallery: Rich life under the sea
June 14, 2008
Gorgeous photographs of Gelatinous Zooplankton, Pelagic Molluscs, Crustacea, Eukrohnia, Tompteris, Colonial radiolarians and Globigerinoides ruber (pink variety)…
Census of Marine Life (2006) scientists trawled rarely explored tropical ocean depths between the southeast U.S. coast and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, revealing a newfound variety of zooplankton and other small creatures.
OK, its a bit technical but anyway, they look cool.
From Livescience.com, an original content site that chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology.
Mediterranean Hammerhead shark population fallen by 99.99%
June 13, 2008
Conservationists have examined historical fishing records which show that sharks in the Mediterranean Sea have suffered dramatic declines in the past few decades due to overfishing.
The scalloped hammerhead shark. A team of scientists at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, examined fishery logbooks that chart the demise of several shark species. The records show hammerheads all but vanished from coastal waters in 1900, and have barely been spotted in the open sea for 20 years. They say the hammerhead population has fallen 99.99% in 200 years.
Some thresher shark species have dwindled by more than 99%, according to the fishing records examined by conservationists.
Records from long-line fisheries suggest a 99.99% fall in mackerel sharks. The typical size of sharks caught in the Mediterranean is among the lowest in the world, indicating that more young sharks are being caught.
Since the mid-1950s blue sharks have declined by 96.5%.
Conservation groups fear that without strict catch limits on sharks, many of the 47 species in the Mediterranean will soon become locally extinct.
From the Guardian.co.uk: See slideshow story
Falmouth dead dolphins: military sonar to blame?
June 11, 2008
The bodies were found at four sites on the River Percuil in south Cornwall on Monday. Rescuers guided some surviving mammals back out to sea.
The dolphins that died after beaching in Cornwall had ingested debris and mud, leading one of the [very stupid] scientists who examined them to compare their deaths to “mass suicide”.
The Royal Navy was doing live firing exercises involving a submarine in the area at the time, and the Ministry of Defence said one of its vessels had been using short-range sonar to scan the sea bed.
Naval sonar can generate noise up to 235dB - that’s one million times louder than the loudest noise any whale can make…
From The Guardianonline: watch interactive presentation
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