Ancient Ash Volcanos Entombed Chinese Dinosaurs

Ashy explosive volcanic outbursts , killed and buried the fosslized dinosaurs of northern china, Pompeii style eruptions preserved beasts in mass death disasters , photos show entombing poses typical of victims and pyroclastic flows ; A. Psittacosaurous B.& C.Confuciusornis , the dinosaurs , birds and early mammals found in the fossil beds of Northern China , and are famous , both for their exceptional preservation and their incredible diversity, but no one knew how they died or why hundreds of creatures from different habitats , were buried together on an ancient lake floor. new researchers say they were likely killed by a series of volcanic eruptions , more than 120 million years ago the ash entombed and preserved their remains much like the people buried in Pompeii

Chile's Fossil Whale Graveyard Explained

It is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years , a graveyard of whales was found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile

And now scientists think they can explain how so many of the animals came to be preserved in one location more than five million years ago

It was the result of not one but four separate mass strandings , the evidence strongly suggests the whales ingested toxic alge

The dead and dying mammals were then washed into an estuary , and on the flat sands where they became buried over time

Massive Dinosaur Skull Found In Canada

The nearly complete skull of a horned dinosaur well over six feet in length was discovered in the Alberta Badlands , scientists announced on thursday

The gargantuan pachyrhinosaur skull was found last year , by Darla Zelenitsky  , assistant Professor at the university of Calgory , and a research assistant , and unveiled today during an event at  the University of Calgory

" It is very rare to find such a complete skull specimen of this size ,  in the region" Zelenitsky said

"based on our preliminary estimates , the  dinosaur's head would have been well   over two meters ( six feet )  long and was likely of a mature or older dinosaur , the skull   of this animal has an enormous bony structure over the snout that would have made for a very strange looking dinosaur"

 Pachyrhinosaurs were   four leggedd herbivoures , which lived about seventy million years ago , in what is now Alberta and Alaska

 

Australian Astronomers Idententify Oldest Known Star In Our Universe

A team of Australian Astronomers have identified what they believe to be the oldest known star in our universe 

Professor Mike Bessel and Dr. Stefan Keller have named their star ; SMSS JO31300.36-670839.3 , estimated at 13.6 billion years old , and is much older than previous stars found in 2007 and 2013, which were beleived to be 13.2 billion years in age

The astronomers analyzed the light from the star to determine it's chemical makeup, and extrapolated it's age from those

"The telltale sign that the star is ancient , is the complete absence of any detectable levels of iron in the spectrum of light emerging from the star " explained Keller

The star was first spotted on January 2nd , in the milky way , 6,000 light years away from earth , using the ANO Skymapper telescope 

The newly discovered star was formed in the wake of a primordial star , and had a mass sixty times that of our Sun

12 Million Year Old Whale Fossil Found

A twelve million year old whale fossil was recently discovered at Palos Verde School , a number of rocks containing fossils have been found on the grounds of Chadwick School , for years , but a science teacher realized one of the fossils appeared to be extremely rare, in fact Paleontolagist believe it to be a new species of sperm whale , and that's what they'll spend next year trying to confirm at Los Angeles County Natural History Museum , where it has been moved to

Neanderthal Era Virus Found Surviving In Permafrost

Viruses are responsible for some of mankinds deadliest diseases , from smallpox and AIDS to influenza and dengue fever

Unfortunately getting rid of them can be tricky, this week scientists announced the discovery of a new virus , the worlds largest which has survived for over thirty thousand years , trapped in the Siberian permafrost , though this particular virus poses no threat to humans , scientists say less benign specimens could be lying in wait

It is speculated that viruses might remain active , viable in a frozen state for up to a few million years , before the Earth's natural radioactivity damages their DNA

To test this hypothesis , scientists will attempt to revive viruses from even further down in the permafrost , they are also searching for the genetic signature of viruses harmful to humans , though those wouldn't be revived if the Pithovirus is capable of resisting 30,000 years of freezing , there is no reason to think that viruses which effect humans wouldn't do the same thing

Seattle Construction Workers Find Mammoth Discovery

While digging at a work site , the workers unearthed a massive tusk , believed to be that of an ancient elephant relitive , dating back 10,000 years to the time of the ice age , it is thought the tusk came from the large wooly Mammoth which is said to have been up to twelve feet tall

As the Discovery was found on private property, it is the land owner who gets to decide what is done with this acient find

Earliest Human Footprints In Britain Found

Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of human footprints outside of Africa , on the Norfolk coast in England

The footprints , which are direct evidence of the earliest known humans found in Northern Europe , and are more than 800,000 years old , they were found on the shores of Happisburgh

The footprints have been described as " one of the most important discoveries if not the most important discovery that has been made on Britain's shores" Dr. Nick Ashton of the British Museum

" It will rewrite our understanding of the early human occupation of Britain and indeed of Europe"

The markings were first identified in May 2013 , during a low tide , rough seas had eroded the sandy beach to reveal a series of elongated hollows

Such discoveries are very rare the Happisburgh footprints are the only ones of this age in Europe and there are only three other sets that are older , all of which have been found on the Africain continent

Ice Age Pine Forest Uncovered By Mega Storm On Isle Of Man

Ancient 10,000 year old trees have been revealed by the recent U.K. storms , the remains of sevreal ancient trees have been uncovered on a beach in the North of the Isle Of Man , after the recent storms battered the Manx coastline

Experts said a "chaotic"collection of trunks , branches , and pinecones have been discovered in the cliffs at Cranstal , just North of Brides Village

The pine woodland had been covered by about sixteen feet of sand and clay , the epic weather has meant the sea washed away a considerable part of the cliff , and knocked it back about fifteen feet , this has exposed an extensive area of Pine woodland , including pine cones , which is part of a landscape that existed about 10,000 years ago

Because the peat has preserved it so well scientists shall be able to recover samples, experts believe the ancient pine forest would have been around at the same time people began to inhabit the Isle of Man , just after the ice age

At this time it is believed people were starting to move around the Isle , it wouldn't have been a very warm climate at the time, only a few thousand years before  it is beleived the climate on the Isle more resembled that of Siberia

Nine Unopened Dead Sea Scrolls Found

Nine newly found penny sized pieces of parchment belonging to the Dead Sea Scrolls laid unopened , for nearly six decades before they were rediscovered

The tiny scrolls were found inside three Phylacteries , small leather boxes with biblical verses written on them , thet were worn by jews during morning prayer

Their discoverer , Yonata Adler , had the boxes scanned by an MRI at a hospital in Israel in hopes there would be parchment inside, and he was correct

The scrolls are expected to shed new light on the religious practices of the jewish people during the second temple period , between the years of 530  BC  (Before Christ) and 70  AD (Ano Domini)

 

 

Pre Historic Village Found Under Downtown Miami

Evidence of Ancient Civilization discovered beneath downtown Miami , could date back 2,000 years , archaeologists have found s pre historic village  which could date back 2,000 years

South American Mummy Ritually Sacrificed

The mummified woman is over 500 years old and would have been in her early 20's when she was sacrificed

She is thought to have arrived in Germany , after a Bavarian Princess brought her back from an expedition to south America in the year 1898

Where exactly she would have lived remains unclear but based on a stable isotope , analysis of her bones and her hair says her diet was rich in fish , researchers therefore suggest that she lived near the Peruvian or North Chilean coast line

 The rope which tied her plaits (braids) was made out of material that originated in South America and her skullformation was also typical of the Incan people

New Species Of Jellyfish Washes Ashore in Australia

Scientists in Australia are working to classify this new species of giant jellyfish , after this one and a half meter (5ft.) specimen was found washed up on the Tasmanian beach

The Lim family found the giant jellyfish on a beach South of Hobart last month

Dr. Lisa ann Gershwin of Australia's CSIRO goverment agency , said that scientists had known about the species for a while , but had not yet classified it

She described the specimen as " a truly magnificent animal" Experts at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrail Reasearch Organisation (CSIRO) were alearted to the discovery by Josie Lim and her family , who had come across it

This species was part of the Lion's Mane group, these jellyfish are said to look like dinner plates with a mop hanging beneath, and have a really raggedy look to them , the Tasmainian discovery was found stranded belly up

The worlds largest jellyfish shares the same genus - Cyanea - as the Lion's Mane , found in the North Atlantic and Artic , the Cyanea Arctica can grow up to three meters (12ft.) across

Lava Lake

New Photo from USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory ;

A view of the summit lava lake at dusk , the lake is contained within a crater , formally called the "Overlook" crater (due to it's position immediately below the former Halema' uma' u visitor overlook) and this crater is set within the larger Halema' uma' u Crater

The lava lake is about 50 meters (160)ft. below the rim of the outlook crater, the level has dropped slightly over the past few days , leaving a black veneer of lava on the crater walls just above the current margin

U.C.L.A. Says Desalinasation Could Become Common Place

As California's record drought continues , the tecnological ability to obtain clear drinking water from salt water may become common practice n the near future, one U.C.L.A. Professor says

The process of getting usable fresh water from salt water , also known as desalinasation , stems from a technology that is already accepted worldwide

According to U.C.L.A. Professor of Chemistry and Bio Molecular Engineering, Youram Cohen " it's a technology that is now in widespred use all over the planet , and I think that in time this is what we will see" Cohen said

U.C.L.A. has reportedly developed a number of small desalinasation plants , including one at Port Huenema near Ventura, that one is said to be capable of producing clean drinking water for up to 24,000 people eachday at a fraction of the cost of ground water that is imported by municipal water districts in California