ISS, Orbit of the Earth
Video Credit: ESA/NASA
March 8, 2016
March 7, 2016
Cave of the Crystals
Cave of the Crystals or Giant Crystal Cave is a cave connected to the Naica Mine 300 metres (980 ft) below the surface in Naica, Chihuahua, Mexico.
The main chamber contains giant selenite crystals (gypsum, CaSO4·2 H2O), some of the largest natural crystals ever found. The cave's largest crystal found to date is 12 m (39 ft) in length, 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight. The cave is extremely hot, with air temperatures reaching up to 58 °C (136 °F) with 90 to 99 percent humidity. The cave is relatively unexplored due to these factors. Without proper protection, people can only endure approximately ten minutes of exposure at a time.
A group of scientists known as the Naica Project have been heavily involved in researching these caverns.
Naica lies on an ancient fault above an underground magma chamber below the cave. The magma heated the ground water which was saturated with sulfide ions (S2−). Cool oxygenated surface water contacted the mineral saturated heated water, but the two did not mix due to the difference in their densities. The oxygen slowly diffused into the heated water and oxidized the sulfides (S2−) into sulfates (SO42−). The hydrated sulfate gypsum crystallized at an extremely slow rate of over the course of at least 500,000 years forming the enormous crystals found today. The key to this process is the slow diffusion of oxygen from the cool, low density surface water into the hot, high density ground water.
Explanation from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Crystals
F5 tornado in Elie, Canada
The Elie, Manitoba Tornado was an F5 tornado that struck the town of Elie, Manitoba, Canada, (40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Winnipeg) on June 22, 2007. While several houses were leveled, no one was injured or killed by the tornado. A well-built home in the town was swept clean off of its foundation, justifying the F5 classification. This makes it one of the strongest twisters on record since 1999 and one of only nine to reach F5/EF5 intensity between 1999 and 2011 in North America. Four other tornadoes were also confirmed in the small outbreak. Because Environment Canada adopted the Enhanced Fujita Scale in 2013, there will be no more tornadoes with an F5 rating, making this tornado the first and only confirmed F5 tornado that Canada has ever seen.
Image Credit & Copyright: Justin Hobson
Explanation from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Elie,_Manitoba_tornado
