The atmosphere that existed on Earth some 2.7 billion years ago
can be understood a little better by examining the fossil record
created when raindrops fell into volcanic ash so very long ago.
A South African meerkat sits on a
volcanic rock where raindrops left an impression 2.7 billion years
ago.
Photo courtesy of Wlady Altermann, University of
Pretoria
Using impressions left by falling raindrops, University of
Washington researchers have deduced that the atmospheric pressure
back then was not so different from today but that greenhouse gases
were probably causing the Earth to heat up considerably.
It was a time in the Earth’s geologic history when plants and
animals did not yet exist but microbes were common.
The findings, published yesterday in
“Nature,” provides new information in the search for life on
other planets.
I was awakened early this morning by the sound of gusty winds
blowing millions of raindrops against the side of my house. As I
lay in the dark, for once I was not thinking about how much I yearn
for spring weather to replace our ongoing gloom. Instead, I was
thinking about how the rains have endured, realizing that it was
raining on Earth long before the most primitive plants and animals
could benefit from the falling water.
Our mystery of the ancient raindrops begins with a long-held
understanding that during those early days on Earth, the sun was
burning about 30 percent dimmer than today, according to
information provided by Vince Stricherz of the UW’s
Office of News and Information. Other things being equal, the
Earth would have been encrusted in ice. But geologic evidence shows
that rivers were flowing across the surface.
The unusual death of L-112, a young female orca apparently
killed by “blunt force trauma,” continues to fuel discussions about
what may have killed her and what should be done about it.
Kenneth Hess, a Navy public affairs officer,
posted a comment today on the recent blog entry
“Balcomb wants to know if young orca was bombed.” In his
comment, Hess repeats that the Navy did not conduct any training
with sonar, bombs or explosives in the days preceding L-112’s
death. He called it “irresponsible and inaccurate” to blame the
Navy for “blowing up” the whale.
Another new development today is an e-mail I received from Lt.
Diane Larose of the Canadian Navy, responding to my inquiry about
any explosive devices used in the days before L-112 was found dead
on Feb. 11.
Read the e-mail (PDF 16 kb) I received:
“On February 6, 2012 HMCS Ottawa was operating in the Straits of
Juan de Fuca, specifically in Constance Bank, conducting Work Ups
Training including a period of sonar use and two small under water
charges as part of an anti-submarine warfare exercise. These small
charges were used to get the ships’ company to react to a potential
threat or damage to meet the necessary training requirement.”
In talking to experts involved in the investigation, it seems
unlikely that L-112 could have been injured or killed in the Strait
of Juan de Fuca and then wash up dead on Long Beach five days
later. So the mystery continues.
In
tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun, I’m reporting that environmental groups
on both sides of the Canadian border are calling on their
respective navies to disclose all the specific activities during
the 10 days leading up to the discovery of L-112’s carcass at Long
Beach on Feb. 11. The groups also are calling for a complete
cessation of sonar use for training and testing in the Salish
Sea.
Check out three letters submitted to the navies involved,
including one from U.S. and Canadian scientists: (more…)
We’ve talked about unusual friendships, but you haven’t seen
anything until you’ve seen the videos showing Gilberto “Chito”
Sheeden, a Costa Rican man, wrestling with and even cuddling with
Pocho, a 15-foot crocodile.
A story in the
London Daily Mail (with some great still photos) quoted Chito
in 2009, when he was 52:
“This is a very dangerous routine, but Pocho is my friend and we
have a good relationship. He will look me in the eye, and he does
not attack me. It is too dangerous for anyone else to come in the
water. It is only ever the two of us.”
The pictures of Chito and Pocho tell you more than anyone can
describe, but the question remains how such a friendship could ever
develop.
As Chito tells it, he found the crocodile close to death about
20 years ago on the shore of a river, where he had been shot in the
eye by a farmer who said the crocodile had been feasting on his
cattle.
Chito brought the crocodile home, fed him and nursed him back to
health, even sleeping at his side. Later, he began to play with
him, cautiously at first and then more vigorously over time.
Chito and Pocho became somewhat famous around the world,
although I never saw these videos until recently, when Chuck Hower
of South Kitsap sent me some still photos showing the pair. Since
then, I’ve learned from the
Tico Times that the crocodile died in October of natural
causes. His age was estimated to be about 50.
Despite reports of the friendship, a story published by
“Inside Costa Rica” says crocodiles cannot be tamed, because
their brains are too primitive to react other than instinctively —
which often means attack.
So why didn’t Pocho attack Chito? Experts at Costa Rica’s inBio
Parque, say the bullet that blinded the animal could have affected
his brain, eliminating his aggressive tendencies. If Chito had not
taken care of Pocho until his final days, the animal surely would
have died, because he was unable to fend for himself, the experts
said.
I found two other good videos about the friendship on YouTube,
one by bTV, the other by Aicirta. I believe the
three videos I picked out are among the best, but I was unable to
review all of the
dozens of videos on YouTube that feature the pair.
Ken Balcomb, the dean of killer whale research in the Northwest,
has looked at the evidence and believes he knows what killed L-112,
a 3-year-old female orca found along the Washington Coast in
February.
L-112 in happier times. The
3-year-old orca died in February, and her death is the subject of
an intense investigation.
Photo by Jeanne Hyde, Whale of a Porpoise (Click on image to see Jeanne's tribute
page)
When I asked Ken to explain, he provided a lot more detail and
informed me that he was calling for a law-enforcement investigation
into the whale’s death by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Why he is seeking more than a biological analysis of the death will
become clear in a moment.
What Ken is suggesting is that L-112 was killed by a bomb,
possibly dropped from an aircraft during a training event in the
Navy’s Northwest Training Range off the West Coast. His evidence is
circumstantial, but he wants some answers.
What we know for sure is that this young female orca washed up
dead at Long Beach on Feb. 11 in relatively fresh condition,
allowing a complete necropsy, including CT scans of the head and
dissections of the internal organs and head.
Joe Gaydos, a veterinarian with The SeaDoc Society who
participated in the necropsy, said the whale showed signs of “blunt
force trauma” with injury to the right and left sides of the head
and right side of the body. Blunt force trauma might be what a
human would experience if dropped from a helicopter onto soft
ground, he explained. (more…)
The Japanese whaling fleet killed 266 Antarctic minke whales
this year, compared to a government quota of 850, plus one fin
whale, compared to a quota of 50, according to Michihiko Kano,
Japan’s minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The Mainichi Daily News, based in Japan, reports that the low
numbers were attributed to bad weather but noted that Sea Shepherd
obstructed the whaling operations 11 times during the season.
—–
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has completed another year of
battling Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic, and again this
year a camera crew was on board its ships to film a new season of
“Whale Wars.” The new season of the TV show will begin in June.
The Japanese whaling vessel Yushin
Maru 2 shoots its water cannons at a Sea Shepherd inflatable, which
had approached it.
Photo by Billy Danger, Sea Shepherd
The Japanese government reportedly provided $30 million from its
tsunami and earthquake relief fund to continue the whaling, which
the government allows as “scientific research.” The ban on whaling
includes an exemption for research, but the International Whaling
Commission has failed to preclude the commercial sale of meat from
“research” animals. The result has been an ongoing dispute about
whether commercial whaling should be considered research.
Needless to say, Sea Shepherd does not consider it research. For
the past eight years, the whale-advocacy group has followed the
whaling fleet and disrupted the hunt whenever possible.
For much of the recent whaling season, which began in December,
Sea Shepherd was able to divert the attention of two harpoon ships
and a security vessel. Sea Shepherd’s leader, Paul Watson, said the
whalers ignored their own protocols this year by going to the same
area as last year:
“This illustrates that they really have no scientific agenda at
all since their so-called survey requires them to ‘sample’ whales
from the two different areas alternatively each year. This is not
about science and it never has been. It’s not even about profit
anymore because we have negated their profits. It’s simply about
pride. Whaling in the Southern Ocean has become a heavily
subsidized welfare project for an archaic industry that has no
place in the twenty-first century.”
The following chronology was compiled from reports issued by Sea
Shepherd and by the Japanese Institute for Cetacean Research: (more…)
A dozen environmental groups say they will boycott the nine
“scoping meetings” the Navy is holding to kick off a new round of
studies regarding testing and training activities in the
Northwest.
In a letter dated March 13 (PDF 16 kb), the groups said the
format of the meetings is not designed to encourage public
discussion or even allow public comment. In addition, the Navy and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have ignored
ongoing calls for the Navy to better protect marine wildlife and
the environment along the Washington Coast and other biologically
important areas, they say.
Navy's Northwest testing and
training ranges. Click to enlarge.
Map by U.S. Navy
The Navy will seek a new permit from NOAA for the incidental
harassment of marine mammals during testing and training
activities. Most of the activities are identical to what is taking
place now, but some new activities are added — including the
testing of sonar from ships docked at piers.
Between now and 2015, Navy officials will describe and study the
effects of various activities on marine life and update existing
mitigation with new research findings. See my initial story in the
Kitsap Sun, Feb. 27, and a related post in
Water Ways, March 6. Also, you may review the official
notice in the Federal Register.
Back to the letter, which states in part:
“As you know, the scoping process is the best time to identify
issues and provide recommendations to agencies on what should be
analyzed in the EIS. However, a process developed for activities
with controversial impacts, like those at issue here, that does not
provide opportunity for the public to testify or speak to a broader
audience, or to hear answers to questions raised by others, and
that fails to engage major population centers is not designed to
help citizens and organizations effectively participate in
agencies’ environmental reviews.”
Kim Merriman, who lives on Eld Inlet near Olympia, knows spring
is on its way when otters and eagles renew their ongoing game,
which I call “Who Gets to Eat the Fish This Time?”
It’s a simple game, but it determines who gets to eat and who
must keep looking for food. The otter begins by catching a flounder
so big he must drag it up onto a float to eat it. An eagle watches
from within the branches of a nearby tree, then swoops down on the
otter. If the otter is quick, he can hold onto his fish while
diving into the water. If he loses the fish, the eagle may grab
it.
Kim tells me that the otters don’t show up much in winter, but
over the past few weeks she has seen one or more nearly every day
on the float that she put out for wildlife. They generally return
twice each day about the same time, first in the morning then in
the afternoon.
From her e-mail: “The eagles are clearly aware of this potential
food source and stake out the area accordingly. They are also in
the midst of nest building … so are a little more distracted during
the day right now. Once that’s done, and they’re incubating an egg
or eggs, they’ll be on the hunt for nearby food. I suspect I’ll see
the eagle/otter exchange many more times. And, I can’t wait.”
In the photos on this page, the eagle did not get the fish. The
otter held onto it, but apparently lost it while diving into the
water to get away. Kim said she saw the otter frantically swimming
away.
One of Kim’s best photo series was taken last spring, when the
eagle won the match, and I featured it in
Water Ways April 5, 2011.
But the story surrounding the photos on this page is not over,
because Kim watched as the eagle flew south toward another float,
about 300 feet away. (more…)
Last Monday, Feb. 27, the Navy announced that it was beginning
an environmental review that will lead up to a new federal permit
involving Navy testing and training efforts in the Northwest,
including the use of sonar at pierside in Puget Sound. See
Kitsap Sun, Feb. 27.
Two days later, workers and passengers on the Clinton-Mukilteo
ferry heard sonar pings apparently vibrating through the hull loud
enough to be heard above the water. Scott Veirs was the first to
report this issue in his blog
Orcasphere that same day.
Jason Wood, a bioacoustician and research associate at The Whale
Museum in Friday Harbor, made some phone calls and issued this
report:
“The crew in the engine room, the captain, and passengers could
hear the sonar, at times so loudly that the ferry agent on land
could hear the sonar coming up through the ferry while it was at
the dock…. The operations center called the Everett Naval base, but
got no answers. They also called the Coast Guard. No (Navy) or
Coast Guard vessels were reported seen during the sonar incident,
other than a naval vessel at the dock in the Everett Navy
yard.”
I phoned Sheila Murray, spokeswoman for Navy Region Northwest,
who confirmed that the sonar was coming from the USS Shoup, docked
at Naval Station Everett. She issued this statement:
“In response to your query, the Navy was conducting pierside
testing of mid-frequency active sonar at Naval Station Everett
yesterday. This is routine testing that is a longstanding and
ongoing requirement, and is an essential process in preparing a
Navy ship to get underway.
“Pierside testing is not continuous, but consists of very brief
transmissions of acoustic energy interspersed with longer silent
periods.”
The Shoup gained a notorious reputation among some killer whale
researchers in 2003, when the intense sound of sonar pings was
reported to have caused J pod to flee in a confused pattern. See
Water Ways, Feb. 11, for links to videos of that incident.
Sheila also confirmed that this is the kind of “pierside
testing” contemplated for the new permit being sought from the
National Marine Fisheries Service, a permit that will allow
incidental harassment of marine mammals under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act. Such activities will be analyzed in an upcoming
environmental impact statement, as I described last week. (more…)
Forecasts for Puget Sound salmon runs call for lower returns
this year compared to last year, but officials with the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife are emphasizing “promising” chinook
fishing off Washington’s coast and Columbia River.
Each year, sport fishers line the
banks of the Skokomish River as they try to catch the prized
chinook salmon. / Kitsap Sun file photo
Preseason forecasts were released yesterday, launching the North
of Falcon Process, which involves state and tribal salmon managers
working together to set sport, commercial and tribal fisheries.
Federal biologists and regulators keep watch over the negotiations
to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act.
For a complete schedule of meetings leading up to final
decisions the first week of April, go to the WDFW’s North of Falcon
page.
With regard to fishing opportunities, Doug Milward, ocean salmon
fishery manager for the agency, had this to say in yesterday’s news
release:
“It’s still early in the process, but we will likely have an
ocean salmon fishery similar to what we have seen the last two
years, when we had an abundance of chinook in the ocean but low
numbers of hatchery coho.”
I recently stumbled on a series of cartoons created for the
Public Broadcast System that features wild animal babies exploring
the natural world. Geared to very young children, “Wild Animal Baby
Explorers” appeals to children’s basic curiosity, and I can see how
it could get kids interested in animals and ecosystems.
For adults, the cartoon may be more annoying than amusing, but
if you have youngsters you may want to give it a chance.
I have never seen this series on our local affiliate, KCTS, but
I may have just missed it. I also cannot find any local programming
information about the show, which was launched at the end of 2010.
See
news release. If you know more about the show, feel free to
comment.
The program is based on a children’s magazine published by the
National Wildlife Federation. The ongoing
website offers educational materials and, of course, a line of
products for people to buy.
One can check out the video
page for short clips taken from the 13-minute cartoon segments.
Meet the individual animal babies on
video, and learn more about their personalities through
brief
written descriptions by clicking on the rotating banner on the
home page.
If you like what you see, DVDs of the series can be purchased
from online retail stores.
"In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught."
— Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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