Things are Happening Under Our Noses

Most of us go about our daily lives without much thought on what Mother Nature may have in store for us.  But I began thinking about some of this stuff and although nothing may come of most of it for thousands of years.  I still believe it is interesting stuff and we should be aware of what’s going on right under our noses.

Colder Not Warmer

Most people believe that Antarctica as a whole is consistently getting warmer.  But this

actually couldn’t be further from the truth.  There are areas in Antarctica, the western side, where it is melting, true.  But this is offset by the cooling and expansion of ice on the eastern side of the continent.

Many believe that this melting is causing the sea level to rise.  But actually since the water, or ice, is already in the ocean, it basically has no effect on sea level when it melts.  Now if there are ice sheets or polar ice caps on land that are melting, this is a different story.  Such activity will increase sea level, but we have to remember that the water in our oceans are going through constant evaporation as well.

This got me to thinking about something.  If in fact ice is melting, and water is evaporating, then we receive more via rain fall, does this mean anything is changing?  Considering it is all enclosed within an atmosphere, I’m thinking we’re nothing more than a huge snow globe like those you see at Christmas time.  So does anything really go anywhere, or does it all just recycle itself?  I’m hoping some experts will chime in on this one.  I’m sure it will have something to do with an eroding atmosphere or something to that effect.  If it weren’t for the ozone layer being formed 300 million years ago, there’s no way life would of been able to survive anyway.  Everything would of been fried!

Exploring the Center

What is so strange about all this, is that even though the outside of our Earth is relatively cool, the inside is quite the opposite.  In Russia lies the Kola Superdeep Borehole, it’s the deepest hole ever drilled through the Earth’s crust.  It reaches a depth of 40, 230 feet and is roughly one-third of the way through the Earth’s mantle.  Now that’s a deep hole, that’s equal to 7.62 miles deep!  To give you a comparison, the deepest point of the Earth’s oceans is the Mariana Trench.  That being 35,840 feet in depth, or 6.79 miles.  So this borehole in Russia is nearly a mile deeper than the deepest point in all our oceans.

It physically isn’t possible to drill any deeper due to the temperatures being so hot that drill bits can not withstand it.  They will not properly function at these temperatures.  For example at 49,000 feet the temperatures will reach 570°.  That’s pretty freaking hot.  But get this, the Earth’s core is somewhere around 5,700° Kelvin. That’s a temperature similar to the surface of the Sun.  Ouch!

So Many Changes

With all this activity going on above and below the ground it has caused the continents to drift.  Due to continental drift, North America and Europe move further apart each year at a rate of about one inch.  Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, but it can actually make a huge difference.  These shifts may also cause earthquakes, this is known as Plate Tectonics.  When the continents shift and the plates begin to collide, this can not only cause earthquakes, but may form mountain belts and volcanoes as well.  All this activity is taking place out of sight but can have a huge impact on our way of life.

All this is quite amazing at just how alive our planet really is.  It’s evolving at a rapid rate, may not seem like it to us, but to Mother Nature things move quickly.  Next time you look at a map or globe of the Earth, just imagine what things used to look like, and also where they may be in the future.

Would love your comments on this.