The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| New study reveals mass extinction happened fast Posted: 10 Feb 2014 09:30 PM PST Something wiped out nearly all life on Earth more than 250 million years ago, and whatever unleashed this mass die-off acted much faster than previously thought, scientists said yesterday. Based on an analysis of rocks in China, the end-Permian extinction occurred over the course of 60,000 years, give or take 48,000, researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That is about 10 times faster than scientists believed up until now and a blink of an eye in geological terms. "It is clear that whatever triggered extinction must have acted very quickly," said lead author Seth Burgess, a graduate student in earth science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The extinction killed off 96 percent of life on Earth. Multiple theories about its origin exist, top among them that a string of massive volcanic eruptions spewed huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, acidifying the oceans and causing intense global warming. The latest study is based on an analysis of zircon crystals in a geological formation in Meishan, China. Fossils discovered in this region have led researchers to believe the rocks hold the secret to the end of the Permian and the beginning of the Triassic period, which is when dinosaurs and mammals began to appear. Using the latest scientific techniques, researchers have been able to refine their estimates made in 2011, when they reported that the mass extinction happened in less than 200,000 years. A closer examination of the uranium and lead in samples from volcanic ash beds suggests the deaths of nearly every living plant and creature on Earth could have happened in as little as 12,000 years. "We've got the extinction nailed in absolute time and duration," said co-author Sam Bowring, professor of earth and planetary sciences at MIT. Together with colleagues from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, the team found that 10,000 years before the die-off, the oceans experienced a pulse of light carbon, reflecting the mass outpouring of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The oceans would have undergone dramatic acidification and seen sea temperatures rise by 10 degrees Celsius or more, a heat that would have killed most marine life. Burgess said whatever happened, it moved "fast enough to destabilize the biosphere before the majority of plant and animal life had time to adapt in an effort to survive." Researchers are now analyzing rock samples from China to those from the Siberian Traps in Russia to see how the eruptions' timelines compare. "We've refined our approach, and now we have higher accuracy and precision," said Bowring. "You can think of it as slowly spiralling in toward the truth." – AFP, February 11, 2014. |
| Adolphe Sax, saxophone inventor, finally gets his due in Belgium Posted: 10 Feb 2014 07:54 PM PST A bicentenary exhibition has just opened in the Museum of Musical Instruments in Brussels, a stunning art deco building just across the road from the permanent display of works by Magritte, another famous Belgian son. Born in the picturesque town of Dinant on the banks of the Meuse south of Brussels, the young Adolphe was accident prone, nearly drowning and also surviving a tumble down some stairs, as well as drinking varnish used by his father, a well-known maker of musical instruments. The music world was lucky too - without the saxophone, would there have been a John Coltrane, Sidney Bechet, Charlie "Bird" Parker or a Stan Getz to work their magic? Bill Clinton also might have had to find another instrument and modern music would surely not have been the same. "Adolphe Sax would certainly never have imagined in his wildest dreams the place his highly original instrument would come to enjoy," said Gery Dumoulin, who curated the exhibition. After moving to Brussels, Sax followed in his father's footsteps, building up a reputation for quality and taking a particular interest in the clarinet for which he patented several improvements. In 1842, he moved to Paris to set up a workshop and in 1845 entered a competition for modern instruments run by the army on the Champs de Mars, now overlooked by the Eiffel Tower. In front of a crowd put at 20,000, his instruments easily outplayed those of his main rival Michele Carafa. Winning the "Battle of the Saxons and the Carrafons" sealed Sax's reputation and he came to dominate the market for the new brass wind instruments favoured by military bands for marches and fanfares. Clinton's gift sax on display Admired by Berlioz, Sax registered a patent in 1846 for what was described as "a system of wind instruments, the saxophone". Slowly, the new instruments made their way into music making, finding a place in opera orchestras by the 1880s. However, the saxophone was hampered by its association with popular, as opposed to serious music, and musicians were reluctant to learn the new instrument. At the same time, black American jazz players were beginning to show what it could do, heralding the roaring 1920s. The "Sax200" exhibition traces Sax's long life - he died in 1894 aged 79 - and the evolution of the elongated, S-shaped instrument so well known today in its many forms. In all, there are some 200 on display, including the oldest known model, a bass saxophone from 1846, and a tenor sax in the colours of the American flag given to then President Clinton when he visited Brussels in 1994. The exhibition runs to January 2015. In Sax's home town Dinant, about an hour's drive from Brussels, there are also exhibitions and events to mark the bicentennial, with the main bridge across the Meuse decked out with giant-size saxophones in vibrant colours. – AFP, February 11, 2014. |
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