Study: Glaciers And Ice Caps To Dominate Sea-Level Rise Through 21st Century

Ice loss from glaciers and ice caps is expected to cause more global sea rise during this century than the massive Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, according to a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

The researchers found that glaciers and ice caps are currently contributing about 60 percent of the world's ice to the oceans and the rate has been markedly accelerating in the past decade, said Professor Emeritus Mark Meier of CU-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, lead study author. The contribution is presently about 100 cubic miles of ice annually -- a volume nearly equal to the water in Lake Erie -- and is rising by about three cubic miles per year.

In contrast, the CU-Boulder team estimated Greenland is now contributing about 28 percent of the total global sea rise from ice loss and Antarctica is contributing about 12 percent. Greenland is not expected to catch up to glaciers and ice caps in terms of sea-level rise contributions until the end of the century, according to the study.

href="http://www.physorg.com/news104082524.html">http://www.physorg.com/news104082524.html

'Sun not responsible for climate change'

The strongest evidence to date that the sun is not responsible for recent global warming has been set out by scientists.

The new study by Prof Michael Lockwood of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near Oxfordshire, and Claus Fröhlich of the World Radiation Center in Davos, Switzerland, overturns claims by climate sceptics who say that the planet's climate has long fluctuated and that current warming is just part of that natural cycle - the result of variation in the sun's output and not greenhouse gas emissions. Their study appears in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.

The study found that global warming since 1985 has been caused neither by an increase in solar radiation nor by a decrease in the flux of galactic cosmic rays.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/07/11/scisun111.xml

Mystery coffins opened in 2,500-year-old tomb

JING'AN, Jiangxi, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists have started to excavate a 2,500-year-old tomb containing 47 coffins made of a rare wood called nanmu in east China's Jiangxi Province.

The tomb, in Lijia village in Jing'an county, is 16 meters long, about 11.5 meters wide and three meters deep. It is believed to date back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 B.C.).

It is the largest group of coffins ever discovered in a single tomb and the excavation has been dubbed "the most important archaeology project of the year" by cultural experts and media.

Nine coffins were opened by archaeologists earlier because they were rotten and partly destroyed by tomb robbers. Archaeologists opened another coffin on Sunday morning, finding a relatively complete human skeleton, bodily tissue, as well as many bronze, gold and silk items, porcelain and jade.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/01/content_6314520.htm

Mystery room discovered at China's terra cotta tomb

BEIJING, China (AP) -- Chinese researchers say they have found a strange pyramid-shaped chamber while surveying the massive underground tomb of China's first emperor and theorize it was built as a passageway for his soul.

Thousands of terra cotta warriors were discovered more than 20 years ago near the ancient capital of Xi'an.

Remote sensing equipment has revealed what appears to be a 100-foot-high room above Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb near the ancient capital of Xi'an in Shaanxi province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.

The room has not been excavated. Diagrams of the chamber are based on data gathered over five years, starting in 2002, using radar and other remote sensing technologies, the news agency said.

Archaeologist Liu Qingzhu of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was quoted as saying the room is unlike any ever found in a Chinese tomb.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/07/02/china.ancient.tomb.ap/index.html

Risky descent into the Red Planet's massive Victoria Crater

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is scheduled to begin a descent down a rock-paved slope into the Red Planet's massive Victoria Crater. This carries real risk for the long-lived robotic explorer, but NASA and the Mars Rover science team expect it to provide valuable science.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/28jun_descent.htm?list109322

Egyptologists think they have Hatshepsut's mummy

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptologists think they have identified with certainty the mummy of Hatshepsut, the most famous queen to rule ancient Egypt, found in a humble tomb in the Valley of the Kings, an archaeologist said on Monday.

Egypt's chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, will hold a news conference in Cairo on Wednesday. The Discovery Channel said he would announce what it called the most important find in the Valley of the Kings since the discovery of King Tutankhamun.

The archaeologist, who asked not to be named, said the candidate for identification as the mummy of Hatshepsut was one of two females found in 1903 in a small tomb believed to be that of Hatshepsut's wet-nurse, Sitre In.

Several Egyptologists have speculated over the years that one of the mummies was that of the queen, who ruled from between 1503 and 1482 BC -- at the height of ancient Egypt's power.

The archaeologist said Hawass would present new evidence for an identification but that not all Egyptologists are convinced he will be able to prove his case.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070625/sc_nm/egypt_mummy_dc_1;_ylt=Anfk0R9Wt0tEWD2n5f3sVyhFeQoB

Ancient gold unearthed in Sudan

A team of archaeologists has discovered a huge ancient gold processing centre and a graveyard along the River Nile in northern Sudan.

They were part of the 4,000-year-old Kush, or Nubian, kingdom.

The scholars say the finds show the empire was much bigger than previously thought and rivalled ancient Egypt.

The archaeologists are racing to dig up the Hosh el-Geruf area, some 225 miles from the capital, Khartoum, before the Merowe dam floods the area next year
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6767203.stm

Papers show Isaac Newton's religious side

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Three-century-old manuscripts by Isaac Newton calculating the exact date of the apocalypse, detailing the precise dimensions of the ancient temple in Jerusalem and interpreting passages of the Bible -- exhibited this week for the first time -- lay bare the little-known religious intensity of a man many consider history's greatest scientist.

Newton, who died 280 years ago, is known for laying much of the groundwork for modern physics, astronomy, math and optics. But in a new Jerusalem exhibit, he appears as a scholar of deep faith who also found time to write on Jewish law -- even penning a few phrases in careful Hebrew letters -- and combing the Old Testament's Book of Daniel for clues about the world's end.

The documents, purchased by a Jewish scholar at a Sotheby's auction in London in 1936, have been kept in safes at Israel's national library in Jerusalem since 1969. Available for decades only to a small number of scholars, they have never before been shown to the public.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/06/18/newton.papers.ap/index.html

Mars rover finds "puddles" on the planet's surface

Researchers have retracted their claim about the possibility of standing water on Mars after readers pointed out the terrain lies on the sloped wall of a crater – see our blog explaining what happened.

A new analysis of pictures taken by the exploration rover Opportunity reveals what appear to be small ponds of liquid water on the surface of Mars.

The report identifies specific spots that appear to have contained liquid water two years ago, when Opportunity was exploring a crater called Endurance. It is a highly controversial claim, as many scientists believe that liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars today because of the planet’s thin atmosphere.

If confirmed, the existence of such ponds would significantly boost the odds that living organisms could survive on or near the surface of Mars, says physicist Ron Levin, the report's lead author, who works in advanced image processing at the aerospace company Lockheed Martin in Arizona.
http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn12026-mars-rover-finds-puddles-on-the-planets-surface.html

The hills in Visoko are a natural formation and not pyramids, as Semir Osmanagic wishes to present them, says Bosnian Culture Minister. The Ministry of Culture of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to put an end to the funding of the project “Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun.” Opinions on the subject as well as on the pyramid phenomenon are so divided in Bosnia that some public persons, who have denied the existence of pyramids, said that they would set themselves on fire if those were really proven to pyramids. Numerous politicans have given support to the research in Visoko, formerly a royal town. Experts have protested and the people find all this interesting. However, Culture Minister Gavrilo Grahovac decided to shut down the source of funding, at least this one, because this was not a serious archaeological research. The credibility of the people who collaborated on the project was “unreliable” and they have published their findings that were kept away from the experts.

The scientific research team has proved that the hill Visocica is a natural geological formation and its relief is the consequence of natural tectonic movement. The present appearance of Visocica is the result of structural factors and climate changes at work. By acting on its own initiative, the foundation does not act in keeping with the existing regulations of archaeology, in spite of being registered at the B-H Justice Ministry, and its registration itself ought to be looked into.
http://www.javno.com/en/world/clanak.php?id=52124

Study Points to Human Sacrifice in Europe

Europe's prehistoric hunter-gatherers may have practiced human sacrifice , a new study claims

Investigating a collection of graves from the Upper Paleolithic (about 26,000 to 8,000 BC), archaeologists found several that contained pairs or even groups of people with rich burial offerings and decoration. Many of the remains were young or had deformities, such as dwarfism.

The diversity of the individuals buried together and the special treatment they received could be a sign of ritual killing, said Vincenzo Formicola of the University of Pisa, Italy.

"These findings point to the possibility that human sacrifices were part of the ritual activity of these populations," Formicola wrote in a recent edition of the journal Current Anthropology.

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/study-points-to-human-sacrifice-in/20070611165609990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Mystery skeleton seen sticking out of iceberg near Newfoundland

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. (CP) - Marine scientists in Canada and abroad are puzzled by bizarre photographs that appear to show the skeleton of a large mammal jutting out of an iceberg that recently drifted past Newfoundland's east coast.

The six pictures show what looks like a brown rib cage and spinal column, slightly bent, sticking out of a crust of ice.

But researchers throughout Canada, Greenland and Norway are unable to determine the origin of the skeleton, said Garry Stenson, a marine mammal scientist with the federal Fisheries Department.

"It's definitely unusual," Stenson said Monday. "It's not something that I've encountered before."
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=f41cf10e-a9bc-497a-81c0-65860314cb2c&k=78707

Satellites hovering above Egypt have zoomed in on a 1,600-year-old metropolis, archaeologists say.

Images captured from space pinpoint telltale signs of previous habitation in the swatch of land 200 miles south of Cairo, which digging recently confirmed as an ancient settlement dating from about 400 A.D.

The find is part of a larger project aiming to map as much of ancient Egypt's archaeological sites, or "tells," as possible before they are destroyed or covered by modern development.
http://www.livescience.com/history/070605_satellite_egypt2.html

Where ancient gods and royalty walked

MEROE, SUDAN–More royal pyramids stand in the deserts of northern Sudan than in all of Egypt.

For 3,000 years, a succession of African civilizations rose and fell along the Nile River in ancient Nubia, at one point expanding north to the Mediterranean Sea.

Relatively little is known about these peoples. While Egypt hosts up to 200 foreign archeological teams a year, Sudan until recently has averaged 10 to 12.

Among the pioneers is Krzysztof Grzymski, head of world cultures at the Royal Ontario Museum, and known to local villagers as simply "Chris."
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/219734

Fungi could eat dangerous radiation to survive, an unexpected finding that could one day help feed astronauts in space.

Or at least astronauts willing to eat a crawling fungus.

The research began with the discovery of black fungus growing on the walls of Chernobyl's damaged, highly radioactive nuclear reactor and collected by robots. The fungus was rich with melanin, the same pigment that gives human skin its color, protecting the skin from solar and ultraviolet radiation. Melanin is found in many, if not most, fungal species.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070529_fungus_radiation.html

War of the pyramid theorists

Every significant historical site goes through periods of the day when the surrounding environment make a visit truly worthwhile. At the pyramids of Giza, the view at sunset can push away the claustrophobic memory of the flocks of tourists and local souvenir-sellers who dominate the site earlier in the day. In the hush of sunset, visitors can appreciate the beautiful symmetry of these ancient tombs as the half-light of dusk eradicates the imperfections of age that are evident during the day. The mathematical perfection of these monuments has puzzled archeologists for centuries. How could the civilization that existed when the pyramids were built 4,700 years ago have created this colossal necropolis?The answer has long been mired in confusion. So much mystery surrounds the pyramids that some have suggested that supernatural, divine or even extraterrestrial forces must have been responsible for their construction. The Bible, of course, asserts that ancient Israelite slaves performed much of the backbreaking labor in ancient Egypt, but in the modern Arab republic, this claim is widely disputed. In the year 2007, many prominent Egyptologists in Cairo refute the idea that the pyramids were built by slaves at all.

The list of scholars who align themselves with this train of thought is headed by Egypt's Chairman of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass. In 2002, a team led by Hawass explored unopened chambers inside the pyramids using new technology, and at the end of the process a triumphant Hawass told the world press that his findings, particularly the skeleton of a fourth-century Egyptian, showed that the pyramids were "not built by slaves," but rather by the "great Egyptians."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879224279&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Scientists in the US say that initial data from a new way of scanning Mars has shown up to half of the Red Planet's surface may contain ice.

The new method of scanning for water offers vastly more accurate readings than before, they say.

The data could prove vital for the Phoenix Mars Mission which launches this August and which will put a lander on the surface to dig for ice.

The new data shows wide variation as to how deep below the surface ice exists.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6617851.stm

Vast Regions of Antarctica Melted Recently

A team of NASA and university scientists has found clear evidence that extensive areas of snow melted in west Antarctica in January 2005 in response to warm temperatures.

This was the first widespread Antarctic melting ever detected with NASA's QuikScat satellite and the most significant melt observed using satellites during the past three decades. Combined, the affected regions encompassed an area as big as California.

Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Konrad Steffen, director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, led the team. Using data from QuikScat, they measured snowfall accumulation and melt in Antarctica and Greenland from July 1999 through July 2005.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/936648/vast_regions_of_antarctica_melted_recently/index.html

Medieval Buddhist Paintings Found in Snowbound Nepalese Cave

KATMANDU, Nepal — Paintings of Buddha dating back at least to the 12th century have been discovered in a cave in Nepal's remote north-central region by a team of international researchers who were tipped by a local sheep herder.

A mural with 55 panels depicting the story of Buddha's life was uncovered in March, with the team using ice axes to break through a snow path to reach the cave in Nepal's Mustang area, about 160 miles northwest of the capital, Katmandu.

"What we found is fantastically rich in culture and heritage and goes to the 12th century or earlier," Broughton Coburn, a writer and conservationist from Jackson Hole,
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270787,00.html?sPage=fnc.science/archaeology

Windows onto the abyss: cave skylights on Mars

Today's set of image releases from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE team included this one, of a fairly bland-looking lava plain to the northeast of Arsia Mons. Bland, that is, except for a black spot in the center. What's that black spot? It's a window onto an underground world.

This black spot is one of seven possible entrances to subterranean caves identified on Mars by Glen Cushing, Tim Titus, J. Judson Wynne and Phil Christensen in a paper they presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in March (PDF format, 322k). Here's the figure from their paper that shows the seven caves, which they refer to by the names Dena, Chloe, Wendy, Annie, Abbey, Nikki, and Jeanne
http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00000984/