Deep sea exploration is viewed by marine scientists as one of the greatest scientific challenges of the future. This gigantic research area is a little known world. A mere one percent of this habitat has been explored to date. In collaboration with the MARUM Research Center in Bremen,Tomorrow Today's five-part series presents a fascinating glimpse into the work of marine researchers. The MARUM scientist Wolfgang Bach researches one of the most remarkable structures in the deep sea. The professor at Bremen University studies the hydrothermal vents called black smokers. Some of these chimney-like hot water springs on the sea bed are formed in the mid-Atlantic,in an area known as the Logatchev Field where tectonic plates are moving apart and a new ocean floor is emerging from below. How the black smokers come into being,and what enables molluscs,shrimp and crabs to exist in their chemically aggressive environment are just two of the questions that Wolfgang Bach wants to answer.
The Aloha RobertTravel Show twitter.com Chichen Itza has a wealth of features that will take you all day to experience properly. Listed here are a few of the highlights; consult a guide book for further details. As you enter the site, your first glance will be towards the Piramide de Kukulkan, or Castillo (Castle). This pyramid has 365 steps, 52 panels and 18 terraces. If you visit during the spring or autumn equinox (March 21st and September 21st) you'll be in for a special treat: The sun's light touches the steps on the northern side, creating the shadow of a "moving serpent" which glides up the pyramid as the sun moves through the sky. Juego de Pelota Principal (Principal Ball Court) is the main one of eight ball courts, and the largest games court in all of Mexico's archaeological sites. Here, you will see the famous stone hoops. It is believed that contestants of pelota (ball) needed to get a stone ball through them during the game. To the southeast, you'll find the Templo de los Jaguares (Temple of the Jaguars) on which you'll see carved rattlesnakes and jaguars. The murals inside depict an ancient battle. Tzompantli—Toltec meaning "Temple of Skulls"— is in between the Temple of Jaguars and the Castle. It was here where heads of those sacrificed were displayed for the gods. El Caracol ("The Snail" - named because of its circular structure and staircase) is actually an ancient observatory. This structure is an example of how the Maya were obsessed with time and ...
Marine geologist Claudia Wienberg studies animals whose existence was unknown until a few years ago -- cold water corals that live in the cooler regions of the Atlantic or the Mediterranean. Like their tropical relatives, cold water corals can form gigantic reefs which serve as habitats for many different ocean animals and plants. For some researchers they are fascinating for other reasons as well: because the growth of the reefs is influenced by environmental conditions, their structure can provide information about the climate in the past. Extreme changes in the environment can be deadly; in more than 20 percent of the reefs, the corals have died out. In the course of her expeditions Claudia Wienberg made a remarkable discovery. In the Gulf of Cadiz off the Spanish coast she found giant fields of coral remains. Now she is devoting part of her research to finding out the causes of the coral death. Her initial hypothesis is that over the past centuries the water temperature and nutrient levels have changed drastically. The results of Wienberg's study may help predict the fate of the living cold water corals found off the Norwegian or Irish coasts.