So my last two blogs have been a bit technical, but perhaps some of you have learnt something from outside your normal areas of interest. So I thought for a little break, and to let your brains recover we could have a beauty contest. My collegues have referred to this as gratuitous volcano-porn, but what the hell its friday afternoon! So which of these four beauties gets your vote as the most beautiful volcano?
First up: Mount Fuji, Japan. One of the most famous volcanoes in the world, and looking at this picture it's clear to see why.
Secondly: Mount Stromboli, Italy. Stromboli is famous for its "fire-fountains" and shown in tihs picture is a perfect example.
Thirdly: Kilauea, Hawaii. This low viscosity basaltic magma pouring from the volcano produces these spectacular lava flows...
...and last but not least: Parinacota, Chile. Its difficult to pick the "most beautiful" volcano from the Andes as there are so many equally fine candidates. However, for me Parinacota has just a little something extra.
So, the contestants are lined up and waiting for you to decide which of them is most worthy of the title "most beautiful volcano". Cast your votes!
Fossils turn up in the most unusual places. Simone Casati, an amateur paleontologist, was exploring the famed vineyards of Italian winemaker, Castello Banfi, when he came across a small piece of bone poking out of the soil. He started digging and realized that he had unearthed more then he had e anticipated: a 10m (33ft) long skeleton of an ancient whale.
The rich soil of the vineyards was laid down five millions years ago in the Pliocene, a time when Tuscany was covered by a warm, shallow sea rich in fauna.
The skeleton, which resembles a modern rorqual whale, is almost complete and well preserved. It belongs to the group of large baleen whales that includes the blue, humpback, and fin whales.
The excavation team, led by palaeontologist Menotti Mazzini of the University of Florence, are working on a month long excavation, after which the skeleton will be removed to be cleaned and restored. The winery has requested permission from Italy's Department of Cultural Heritage to host the fossil and display it to the public in Banfi's museum.
Cristina, M. March 23, 2007. Ancient Whale Fossil Uncovered in Tuscan Vineyard. National Geographic News.
