8.9 Magnitude Earthquake Offshore Japan

An 8.9 magnitude earthquake occurred offshore of Honshu, Japan, on Friday, March 11, 2011, at 14:26 local time. This is the largest earthquake the country has ever experienced, and the seventh largest ever recorded. It occurred 382 km northeast of Tokyo.

The towns along a 2,100-km range of eastern coastline of Honshu were affected by the earthquake and its 19 aftershocks, most of which were greater than 6.0 magnitude. A 7-metre tsunami was launched which carried cars, boats, and even planes inland. At least 60 people have been killed.

Tsunami warnings have been issued for the west coast of South America, the west coast of the U.S., Hawaii, New Zealand, and other areas in the Pacific: Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

More News:
Earthquake: Japan Hit by 8.9 Earthquake/Japan Tsunami Warning (Sydney Morning Herald)

Mediterranean Sharks Resulted from Wrong Turn

A new study involving Mediterranean great white sharks suggests that they are more closely related to sharks from Australia and New Zealand, and less similar to those of the Atlantic Ocean as previously thought.  It is believed that the group of Mediterranean sharks arrived about 450,000 years ago after making a "wrong turn" on their return to the location of their birth.  This period of time was an interglacial period, in which extreme current variations were occurring.  The change in warm and cold currents may have been significant enough to alter the course of the migrating sharks.  If only a few shark pups were born in the Mediterranean waters, the study indicates that this would be all that was needed to begin a new cycle of migration to the same location for future generations.  This is an interesting study which may have implications for other species migrations during interglacial periods.

Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus was a Late Cretaceous pterosaur known from North America, and a member of the family Azhdarchidae - known as advanced, toothless pterosaurs characterised by long, stiffened necks.  Its name comes from Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent deity of the peoples of central Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

Please visit Shiraishi Mineo's Jurassic Gallery, the talented artist who created this image, with a beautiful gallery of images of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and other prehistoric animals.  This was my favourite image of all the Quetzalcoatlus images I have seen so far.

The feeding style adopted by Quetzalcoatlus is controversial.  Originally it was theorised that Quetzalcoatlus fed on fish, scooping them from the sea as it flew overhead.  It has also been suggested that the pterosaur was a scavenger, because some remains had been found in an area devoid of lakes or rivers, and was far inland.  But the shape of its jaw suggested to others that it could have fed by skimming over the sea and collecting fish in its mouth.  This skimming technique was later disproved because the energy costs for the shape of the pterosaur would be too high, as well as the fact that the remains were found in an inland area rather than a coastal environment.  Another theory suggests that Quetzalcoatlus hunted by terrestrial stalking, hunting small vertebrates on land or in streams.  The modern analogue for this behaviour is in storks.  Quetzalcoatlus would have walked on its hind legs and folded wings.

One important point to remember is that pterosaurs were not dinosaurs!  Dinosaurs are terrestrial animals only!  This includes plesiosaurs and similar marine creatures contemporaneous with dinosaurs, which were actually marine reptiles.

Fossil Discovery of Utah Ceratopsians

Fossils of new species of horned dinos found in Utah (BBC)

Scientists digging in south-central Utah found two new species of ceratopsians in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, in the Kaiparowits Formation.  They found a specimen with a particularly large horn over the nose and a massive head which they dubbed Utahceratops gettyi.  They also found a very ornately-ornamented specimen with a total of 15 horns on its head which they called Kosmoceratops richardsoni.

Top: Utahceratops gettyi
Bottom: Kosmoceratops richardsoni


Both dinosaurs lived on the ancient landmass of Laramidia, which was formed when a late Cretaceous inland seaway split the North American continent in half into the western landmass of Laramidia and the eastern landmass of Appalachia.  Many fossils have been found in the northern part of the ancient Laramidia landmass, but until recently fossils from the southern portion have been lacking.  The National Monument in southern Utah has produced an abundance of fossil specimens and may begin to make up the disparity between northern and southern fossils.

Utahceratops

Further analysis could provide answers to many questions, such as why there was not a lot of exchange between dinosaurs in the northern and southern parts of Laramidia (a physical barrier?) or why there was such a high diversity of large animals living in a relatively small area (there were about two dozen different species of large dinosaurs living on a landmass a quarter of the size of the African continent).

For the scientific paper: New Horned Dinosaurs from Utah Provide Evidence for Intracontinental Dinosaur Endemism

California Water Crisis

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1643127/california_farmers_to_lose_primary_water_supply/

Methane Seeping from Arctic Sea-beds

From the BBC: Methane seeps from Arctic sea-bed

Scientists have found that methane, usually trapped within the Arctic sea-bed as a "methane hydrate," an ice-like substance compose of water and methane, which is stable under high pressure and low temperature conditions, is being released from the seafloor sediment. This hydrate breaks down as temperatures rise, and "bubbles" of methane rising from the seabed indicate unstable conditions for this hydrate.

Thirty years ago, the methane hydrate was stable at depths as shallow as 360m, but recent data suggests it is now stable in depths over 400m. Temperature records indicate that the temperature in the sea off of Norway, where more than 250 plumes of methane bubbles are being released from the seafloor, has increased by 1 C during the past 30 years.

Scientists have noticed that the area of interest has been experiencing climate change at a rate faster than many other places in the world. It has been thought for a long time that if the oceans warm, hydrates within the sea floor may be released and contribute a positive greenhouse effect. The current research is attempting to determine whether this is something that's occuring in the region off of Norway in a relatively short timescale. Methane is released from the ocean floor elsewhere at higher temperatures and lower pressures, so it's possible that this has been occuring near Norway since the end of the last ice age.

The significant implications of this research are that the warming climate is causing methane to be released from more and deeper areas of the Arctic Ocean. The team wants to research further to observe the methane plumes and to determine their effect on the ocean and ultimately the atmosphere.

Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) and personal care products (PPCPs), come from a variety of sources, such as human, agricultural, or veterinary usage of medications, fragrances, cosmetics, vitamins, and many other products. Many PhACs or PPCPs are also endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are natural compounds and synthetic chemicals that mimic natural hormones.

Pharmaceuticals have become a source of increasing concern because they are released into the environment with little regulation, and they persist at low ppb to ppt concentrations, which may have an adverse effect on the ecosystem as well as groundwater and surface water systems. Studies have linked EDCs to adverse biological effects in animals, which suggests the potential for similar effects in humans. EDCs enter the groundwater table from point source discharges from industry, as well as from runoff in urban and agricultural areas.

Some adverse effects from the increased presence of pharmaceuticals and EDCs in the aquatic ecosystem include cancer, fertility problems, and organ-specific health effects. Concentrations of these compounds well below their accepted regulatory levels are associated with negative effects on human and wildlife health. More research needs to be completed to assess the results of low level exposure to these compounds, but it is already known that adverse affects exist, and measures must be taken in order to reduce the influx of these compounds into the environment.