Passengers aboard the ship, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, were informed
on Christmas morning that the captain had issued a distress call to the
Maritime Service Authority based in Falmouth in the UK earlier in the
day. Three nearby icebreaker ships have been notified of the
Shokalskiy’s situation and are on their way to help.
The nearest ship, the Chinese Xue Long (Snow Dragon), will take just
over a day to reach the Shokalskiy’s position, around 1,500 nautical
miles from Hobart in Tasmania. A French ship called the Astrolabe, and
sent out from the nearest Antarctic base, Dumont D’Urville, could arrive
around the same time. The furthest ship, also on its way, is the
Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis.
“The ship is no danger,” said Chris Turney. “We’re currently in heavy
ice and we need help to get out. It’s frustrating – we’re only two
miles from open water. Everyone is well on board and morale is high.
We’ve had a fantastic Christmas and the science programme has been
continuing while we’re stuck in position. The results looking really
exciting. We’re very fortunate the Chinese are in the area, passing
relatively close by.”
The Snow Dragon is a 166-metre-long icebreaker, cruising towards the Shokalskiy at 14.5 knots.
The Russian-built Shokalskiy left the port of Bluff in New Zealand on
8 December with 48 passengers and 20 crew members to follow in the
footsteps of the great Antarctic explorer and scientist Douglas Mawson.
Led by the climate scientist Chris Turney of the University of New South
Wales, the ship has been sailing through the Southern Ocean, repeating
and extending many of Mawson’s wildlife and weather observations in
order to build a picture of how this part of the world has changed in
the past 100 years.
The expedition had already reached the fast ice off Commonwealth Bay,
carrying out measurements of the Southern Ocean along the way. A small
team of scientists and conservationists also reached Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison
on Thursday last week, 40 miles (65km) across the ice from where the
ship was anchored. The expedition was heading east on Tuesday to spend a
day at the Mertz glacier when it became trapped among thick ice floes
near Stillwell Island, off Cape de la Motte.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is
co-ordinating the rescue, said: “It’s in quite a remote part of the
world. But we have everyone safe. The vessel isn’t in any immediate
danger.”
Passengers were kept updated throughout the day about the ship’s
situation. When the ship is free from the ice, expected by the weekend,
this modern incarnation of the AAE will continue on to the Southern
Ocean and will return to Bluff via a stop on Macquarie Island to carry
out a short programme of wildlife, oceanography and climate research.
“We can’t wait to get to Macquarie Island,” said Turney. “It was a
cornerstone of the original AAE and we’re keen to finish the research
programme there.”
The heat across the West is so intense that Death Valley will approach
the world's hottest temperature record. Close to 100 years after setting
the world's all-time record high, temperatures in Death Valley are
expected to dangerously soar to 130 degrees Monday.
@DeathValleyNPS Thanks for passing a photo of the 128 degrees on June 29th onto us! CREDIT: NWS Las Vegas | Twitter
Even though the world's all-time record high should remain untouched,
Death Valley's record temperature for the first day of July could fall
victim to these scorching temperatures. The current record stands at 125
degrees, set back in 1990.
Nestled deep in the sticks of Schoharie County in upstate New York, lays Raven Crest Botanicals,
a 250-acre sanctuary of an organic farm. Over 80 herbs are grown at
Raven Crest for a variety of teas, tinctures, elixirs and skin care
products. Susanna Raeven, owner of Raven Crest Botanicals, strives to
bring “non-toxic, safe and effective, hand-made herbal products, made in
small batches with love and intent” to her clients to “help them find
balance in their lives with the generous support of the plant kingdom.”
Raven Crest teas, elixirs and tinctures are derived from Mother Earth
without harming her, made well for Susanna’s supporters to be well.
Ms.Raeven uses a variety of permaculture methods to ensure that each and
every one of her products is natural, organic, and pesticide and
fertilizer free.
Austrian farmer Sepp Holzer, the “Father
of Permaculture,” describes the farming method as an environment where
all elements within a system interact with each other; plants and
animals working together in harmony. Holzer outlined major themes of
permaculture:
Multi-functionality: every element fulfills multiple functions and every function is performed by multiple elements
Use energy practically and efficiently, work with renewables
Use natural resources
Intensive systems in a small area
Utilize and shape natural processes and cycles
Support and use edge effects (creating highly productive small-scale structures)
Diversity instead of monoculture
Keeping the themes of Sepp Holzer in mind, below are five
permaculture tips for a more sustainable farm, as used by Susanna Raeven
at Raven Crest Botanicals:
Sheet mulching in progress
1. Try Sheet Mulching
“If you don’t have good soil, you got nothing,” Susanna Raeven said.
Sheet mulching establishes a great foundation for planting by using
different layers of inorganic and organic materials to help the soil
build itself. Start with slashed vegetation, and then add a layer of
cardboard, a thin layer of manure, a foot of straw, compost, and end
with mulch. Organic fertilizer can be added too.
At Raven Crest Botanicals, Ms.Raeven uses Espoma plant-tone, blood
meal/dried blood, bone meal, azomite, rock phosphate, and lime for soil
amendments. For added trace minerals, kelp or seaweed works well too.
The inorganic cardboard brings the carbon and the manure brings the
nitrogen into the system, which are both needed for high quality soil.
The key to excellent soil is a healthy ecosystem of microorganisms
working the land, and sheet mulching is a way to provide good habitat
for them.
2. Build Permaculture Guilds
Permaculture is based on utilizing and shaping natural processes,
like those seen in forests. One way to mimic nature is to build a “food
forest.” Similar to a natural forest system, food crops and other
plants that provide for human needs can be planted together to create
multiple layers of vegetation and a diverse environment.
A good start for a long-term food forest is a permaculture guild. A
guild is a grouping of plants, animals, insects and other natural
elements that work together to survive, grow symbiotically and help one
another reach their fullest potential.
At Raven Crest Botanicals, sheet mulching was laid around fruit trees
to provide the ground work for other herbs and flowers to be grouped
together around the tree, and eventually establish a permaculture guild,
when the soil is ready to be planted in.
Typically, monoculture grass and fruit tree root structures lie at a
similar depth in the soil, thus creating competition for resources like
nutrients and water. By planting herbs and flowers in a guild instead of
planting grass, the competition for resources is eliminated and the
plants can grow together symbiotically.
To build a strong permaculture guild, companion planting can be used
to facilitate the smaller symbiotic relationships that contribute to the
functionality of the system as a whole community. Planting different
crops that compliment each other can also help with pest control,
pollination and increase productivity. Tarragon and eggplant can be
planted as companions. A common example of companion planting is the Three Sisters:
corn, beans and squash. The stalk from the corn serves as a trellis for
the beans to climb, as the beans fix nitrogen to benefit the corn.
Squash vines act as “living mulch,” shading emerging weeds and
preventing moisture in the soil from evaporating.
Reference the companion planting guide put together by MOTHER EARTH NEWS here.
3. Rethink Your Gardening Space
To save money on soil and to reduce water use, consider building a
Hugelkultur raised garden bed. A permaculture concept, a Hugelkultur is
simply a raised garden bed filled with wood. At Raven Crest Botanicals,
trees, branches and stumps were used to build a raised bed. Then,
perennial herbs were planted to keep the soil in place. (See lead photo)
The rotting wood contains high levels of organic material, nutrients
and air pockets for the roots of the plants in the bed. With time, the
soil becomes rich and loaded with helpful microorganisms. As the wood
shrinks, it makes more air pockets; allowing for a little bit of self
tilling. The wood also helps keep excess nutrients in the soil, not leak
into the groundwater, acting as a self-fertilizer. The water held in
the tree stumps and branches allows for very little irrigation. Only a
foot or so of soil is needed on top of the rotting wood, so Hugelkultur
cuts down on soil costs too.
Another interesting way to completely eliminate soil expenses is to
try straw bale gardening. No need for a big plot of land or soil, straw
bales allow for gardening on roof tops, in parking lots, and high
density urban areas. The bales are moveable too! To start planting in
straw bales, simply add a lot of heavy nitrogen and organic fertilizer
for one week, to help aid the decomposition process. Then, spend another
week watering the bale. The straw bale will get very hot inside, but
once the temperature comes down to 100 degrees, it is time to start
planting seedlings. Straw bale gardening makes for an easier harvest
too, since roots don’t have to be dug out.
For more information about straw bale gardening, read this article in the New York Times.
4. Go Solar!
Part of the vision of permaculture is to use energy efficiently and
work with renewables. At Raven Crest Botanicals, a solar powered
irrigation system waters the herbs and flowers with the water from the
pond on the farm. Also at Raven Crest is a passive solar,
earth-sheltered greenhouse. The greenhouse was built using the plans
from The Earth-Sheltered Greenhouse by Mike Oehler, a book featured on Mother Earth News.
The Raven Crest greenhouse is insulated by the Earth and has a cold
sink to give cold air a space to settle away from the tender seedlings.
The oil-filled pistons of the temperature-sensitive automatic vents
allow the greenhouse to regulate its own temperature. The oil in the
pistons contracts in the cold (closing the vents) and expands in the
heat (opening the vents). There are also ten 55 gallon water drums to
help regulate the temperature in the greenhouse.
The hanging beds naturally keep mice away and serve as drying shelves
when all of the herbs and flowers have been moved out of the
greenhouse, hardened and planted. Although Ms.Raeven has a solar drier
to dry her herbs for teas, elixirs and tinctures, the added space from
her greenhouse gives her a better chance to dry all her herbs at their
peak when they are the most medicinal.
5. Grow the Organic Farming Community – Host a WWOOFer
Susanna Raeven describes her farm as a “single woman operation.” In
order to grow her small business and reach more clients, she needs help
planting and harvesting her herbs and tending her farm. Because of this,
Susanna has become a part of the WWOOF program as a “host farm.”
Worldwide Opportunities in Organic Farming
(WWOOF) is an “effort to link visitors with organic farmers, promote an
educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of
ecological farming practices.” The program connects people who would
like to learn more about the organic movement, permaculture and
sustainable agriculture, with farmers who want to share their knowledge.
No money is exchanged between host farms and “WWOOFers,” just room and
board for the volunteers (and amazing food if you are lucky!).
WWOOF is a great way to cultivate the movement for organic, healthy
foods and to engage the younger generation in permaculture, farming and
the environment. WWOOF creates an atmosphere of trust and respect, with
emphasis placed on the value of hard work and integrity. The program
shows that living off the land is a way to eat well, be well and wash
your spirit clean.
For more information Raven Crest Botanicals, visitwww.RavenCrestBotanicals.com. Susanna also offers flexible CSA packages at an affordable price that can be shipped throughout the United States.
One of the newest volcanic vents discovered in Southeast Alaska is an underwater volcanic cone in Behm Canal near New Eddystone rock. CREDIT: James Baichtal, U.S. Forest Service
In Alaska, scores of volcanoes and strange lava flows have escaped
scrutiny for decades, shrouded by lush forests and hidden under bobbing
coastlines.
In the past three years, 12 new volcanoes
have been discovered in Southeast Alaska, and 25 known volcanic vents
and lava flows re-evaluated, thanks to dogged work by geologists with
the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Forest Service. Sprinkled
across hundreds of islands and fjords, most of the volcanic piles are
tiny cones compared to the super-duper stratovolcanoes that parade off
to the west, in the Aleutian Range.
But the Southeast's volcanoes
are in a class by themselves, the researchers found. A chemical
signature in the lava flows links them to a massive volcanic field in
Canada. Unusual patterns in the lava also point to eruptions under, over
and alongside glaciers, which could help scientists pinpoint the size
of Alaska's mountain glaciers during past climate swings.
"It's giving us this serendipitous window on the history of climate in
Southeast Alaska for the last 1 million years," said Susan Karl, a
research geologist with the USGS in Anchorage and the project's leader. [Image Gallery: Alaska's New Volcanoes]
Volcano forensics
The project kicked off in 2009 as part of an interdisciplinary effort
to better understand volcanism in Southeast Alaska, Karl said.
The team's first result, from a volcanic pile about 40 miles (70
kilometers) south of Mount Edgecumbe, was an intriguing match in time to
the panhandle's biggest volcano. The team planned to test if the two
were related, sort of a geologic genetic test. But even though the two
volcanoes had erupted at about the same time in the past, their
chemistry was wildly different. It was like one volcano was a freshwater
fish and the other came from the salty ocean. And what really captured
the geologist's attention were signs that the little volcano squeezed
out lava that oozed next to glaciers.
"That's when we realized we had a whole new kind of volcano separate from Mount Edgecumbe," Karl told OurAmazingPlanet.
Lava chemistry
holds forensic clues that reveal what was happening in Earth's crust
and mantle when the magma formed. The unusual chemistry sent Karl and
her collaborators hunting for more rocks to test. This meant days-long
backpacking trips into remote wilderness or submersible dives to
underwater volcanoes.
Underwater volcanoes and cinder cones pockmark Behm Canal. CREDIT: James Baichtal, U.S. Forest Service
Not only did they find the same unique chemical signature at other
sites, the team stumbled upon new volcanoes overlooked by earlier
mappers.
"We're convinced now there's probably a whole bunch of green knobs out
there covered with timber that may be vents that may have never been
mapped," said James Baichtal, a geologist with the U.S. Forest Service
based in Thorne Bay, Alaska, and a project leader.
Connection to Canada
Now comes the CSI twist. All of these newly tested lavas in Alaska are kissing cousins to volcanoes in Canada, such as Mount Edziza, which last erupted about 10,000 years ago.
The connection makes perfect sense, Karl said. "I'm actually surprised
no one has hypothesized it before," she said. "It made total sense that
this volcanic province would extend across Southeast Alaska, and now I
have the data to show that's the case."
Little known outside of Canada, Mount Edziza is part of the Northern
Cordilleran Volcanic Province, a broad swath of volcanoes and hot
springs some 1,250 miles (2,000 km) long and about 375 miles (600 km)
wide.
Karl's big picture meets approval with scientists studying Canada's volcanoes.
"I knew there were volcanics to the west in Alaska, but I didn't know
they were nearly [this] extensive," said Ben Edwards, a volcanologist at
Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, who is not involved in the project
but has visited the new volcanoes with Karl and Baichtal. "They have
really found a lot more places than we realized, but there's certainly
no reason for them not to be there. It makes a lot of sense."
As in Canada's volcanic province, Southeast Alaska's volcanoes
and hot springs line up as amazingly linear features. Here's why: The
tortured history of this corner of North America, a legacy of collision
between the North America and Pacific tectonic plates, created a
meshwork of leaky faults and fractures. Magma escapes from Earth's
mantle through this patchwork when forces pull on the crust, opening
space. The matching chemistry also hints that magma in both regions
comes from a similar mantle source.
"It's always fun to discover a new vent; it's fun to find a fossil, and
then to be able to understand why it's there is always very
satisfying," Karl said. "That's what makes scientists tick."
Strange new finds
Some of the unusual finds Karl and Baichtal have uncovered include a
maar lying 295 feet (90 meters) underwater near Cape Addington, about 40
miles (65 km) west of Craig, Alaska. Maars are bomblike craters blasted
out when magma rising underground hits groundwater and explodes. The maar is about 13,800 years old, Baichtal said. Sea level was 394 feet (120 m) lower when the maar formed.
The latest find is an underwater volcano in Behm Canal, where hundreds
of thousands of tourists on cruise ships have sailed by New Eddystone
Rock, an eroded volcano. Behm Canal is dotted with cinder cones, both
onshore and below the water.
East of Ketchikan, a basalt flow lapped onto a 42,000-year-old beach,
preserving shells, pinecones, pine needles and pollen. Barnacle plates
sitting on top of the lava are about 13,000 years old, Baichtal said.
The whole package now sits about 260 feet (80 meters) above sea level,
hinting at how much Earth's crust has bobbed up since the last ice age.
"It gave us how much isostatic rebound there is today. That's one of
those really great days in geology. You couldn't have written a better
script, and there's a lot of those kind of things coming out of there,"
Baichtal said.
Volcanoes and climate change
While the volcanoes in Canada and Alaska have erupted for more than 10
million years, emerging data suggests that the last 3 million years of glaciers
growing and retreating in Alaska and British Columbia also prompted
many small volcanoes to erupt, because the changing ice mass flexed the
Earth. This activated the fractures and made room for more magma to
rise.
In Tolay Regional Park, north of Mount Edziza, Edwards is assembling
evidence of periodic eruption pulses in the last 2.5 million years.
This spectacular columnar joint pattern in lava exposed in Alaska's Suemez Island formed when the lava flowed next to a glacier about 700,000 years ago. CREDIT: Susan Karl, U.S. Geological Survey
"We don't have a lot of the information yet, but it's consistent with
some sort of link between glaciations and volcanism. If you put 2 to 3
km [1.2 to 1.8 miles] of ice on that part of the cordillera and then
remove it pretty quickly, it may facilitate extension," he said.
The molten rock also has preserved impressions of bygone glaciers. Many of the lava flows touched ice, leaving a distinctive cooling pattern
in the chilled rock. By dating the glacially cooled lava flows,
researchers such as Karl, Baichtal and Edwards hope to better understand
how much land mountain glaciers covered during past glaciations. About
one-third of global sea level rise
could come from melting mountain glaciers, but estimating their past
size is difficult because growing glaciers plow through evidence of
their predecessors.
Risk of eruptions
Despite its great size, the overall risk from eruptions in the Alaska portion of the volcanic province is low, Karl said.
In Canada, the volume of erupted lava is less than 240 cubic miles (100
cubic km) every million years in the last 2 million years. By
comparison, Hawaii's Kilauea volcano spewed 4,650 cubic miles (19,400
cubic km) in the past 300,000 to 600,000 years. [Big Blasts: History's 10 Most Destructive Volcanoes]
The Blue River lava flow, about 120 years old, is the youngest lava flow in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. CREDIT: Susan Karl, U.S. Geological Survey
The most recent eruption in both countries was at the Blue River lava
flow in Lava Fork, which crossed the Alaska-Canada border 120 years ago,
according to new dating work by Karl and her colleagues.
"Even though, theoretically, a volcano that erupted 120 years ago is an
active volcano, but because it's so remote there isn't any real concern
about it," Karl said.
However, an eruption in 1775 killed a village of First Nations people
in Canada, though scientists aren't sure why. Lava didn't reach the
town, and some researchers suspect gas from the volcano may have
suffocated residents.
Karl notes that an earthquake on the Fairweather Fault, a major
offshore strike-slip fault, presents a greater risk than a volcanic
eruption. "If something is rumbling and bubbling we have so much more
technology to become aware of it before it's a hazard, We can't predict
exactly when the Fairweather Fault is going to go, and that's a much larger hazard," she said.
With 15,000 miles of shoreline and hundreds and hundreds of islands to
explore, Karl and Baichtal think there are more volcanoes to discover in
Southeast Alaska.
"It's a tough place to get around, but Sue and I just laugh at it. We will never finish," Baichtal said.
When we consider that the ionosphere surrounding our planet is
electrically positive charged whilst the earth’s surface carries a
negative charge, we must conclude that this amounts to a prevailing
electrical tension within the earth/ionosphere cavity. This tension is
discharged when thunderstorms develop in this cavity. In physics two
concentric electrically charged balls, one placed inside the other, are
called ball condensers, or capacitors.
The inside of the ionosphere layer is used in wireless information
transfer to bounce off radio waves emitted by transmitters on the
earth’s surface. In this way the information can be transferred over
large distances.
The physicist and inventor Nikola Tesla was the first to carry out
wireless energy experiments at Colorado Springs, USA, which produced
such powerful electrical tensions that they resulted in the creation of
artificial lightning. These lightning flashes also produced radio waves.
Due to their extremely low frequency these waves could penetrate the
earth without resistance and thereby Tesla discovered the resonance
frequency of the earth. Unfortunately Tesla was before his time and his
discoveries were not taken seriously.
It wasn’t until more than half a century later in 1952, when the
German physicist Professor W.O.Schumann of the Technical University of
Munich predicted that there are electromagnetic standing waves in the
atmosphere, within the cavity formed by the surface of the earth and the
ionosphere. This came about by Schumann teaching his students about the
physics of electricity. During a lesson about ball condensers he asked
them to calculate the frequency between the inner and outer ball,
meaning the earth and ionosphere layer. They came up with a calculation
of 10Hz.
James Russell’s excellent film production trailer (above), in full (below)
This was confirmed in 1954 when measurements by Schumann and König
detected resonances at a main frequency of 7.83 Hz. In the years
following this discovery, several investigators worldwide have
researched “Schumann resonance” and a number of properties and
characteristics have now been established.
Schumann Resonance Properties
The spherical earth-ionosphere cavity is created by the conductive
surface of the earth and the outer boundary of the ionosphere, separated
by non-conducting air. Electromagnetic impulses are generated by
electrical discharges such as lightning, the main excitation source, and
spread laterally into the cavity. Lightning discharges have a
“high-frequency component”, involving frequencies between 1 kHz and 30
kHz, followed by a “low-frequency component” consisting of waves and
frequencies below 2 kHz and gradually increasing amplitude. This
produces electromagnetic waves in the very low frequency (VLF) and
extremely low frequency (ELF) ranges.
ELF waves at 3 Hz to 300 Hz are propagated as more or less strongly
attenuated waves in the space between the earth and the ionosphere,
which provides a waveguide for the signals. Certain wavelengths
circumnavigate the earth with little attenuation due to the fact that
standing waves are formed within the cavity, the circumference of which
is “approximately equal to the wavelength which an electromagnetic wave
with a frequency of about 7.8 Hz would have in free space” (König, 1979,
p34). It is the waves of this frequency and its harmonics at 14, 20,
26, 33, 39 and 45 Hz that form Schumann Resonances.
On a global scale the total resonant spectrum is the effect of the
global lightning worldwide which is estimated at an average of 100
strokes per second. Since there is a concentration of lightning activity
during the afternoon in Southeast Asia, Africa and America there are
Schumann Resonance amplitude peaks at 10, 16 and 22 UT (universal time),
with activity over America around 22 UT being dominant.
There are also +/-0.5 Hz variations in the center frequency, caused
by a diurnal increase in ionization of the ionosphere as a result of
radiation from the sun, having the effect of reducing the height of the
ionosphere at 12 local time. Another factor which influences center
frequency is sunspot activity.
A Tuning Fork for Life
Although the existence of the Schumann Resonance is an established
scientific fact, there are very few scientists who are aware of the
importance of this frequency as a tuning fork for Life. I propose that
it is not merely a phenomenon caused by lightning in the atmosphere, but
a very important electromagnetic standing wave, acting as background
frequency and influencing biological oscillators within the mammalian
brain.
Natural electromagnetic processes in the environment (I-IV), human EEG
readings in comparison. Schumann oscillations (I) and the EEG a-rhythm,
as well as locally conditioned fluctuations of the electric field (II)
and the EEG d-rhythm, show a noticable similarity in their temporal
variation. From König, 1979.
At the time when Schumann published his
research results in the journal `Technische Physik’, Dr Ankermueller, a
physician, immediately made the connection between the Schumann
resonance and the alpha rhythm of brainwaves. He found the thought of
the earth having the same natural resonance as the brain very exciting
and contacted Professor Schumann, who in turn asked a doctorate
candidate to look into this phenomenon. This candidate was Herbert König
who became Schumann’s successor at Munich University. König
demonstrated a correlation between Schumann Resonances and brain
rhythms. He compared human EEG recordings with natural electromagnetic
fields of the environment (1979) and found that the main frequency
produced by Schumann oscillations is very close to the frequency of
alpha rhythms.
Dr König carried out further measurements
of Schumann resonance and eventually arrived at a frequency of exactly
7.83 Hz, which is even more interesting, as this frequency is one which
applies to mammals. For instance, septal driving of the hippocampal
rhythm in rats has been found to have a minimum threshold at 7.7 Hz
(Gray, 1982).
This relationship has been explored by a number of investigators. For further information see Natural electromagnetic fields research on the h.e.s.e. project website.
One of the foremost researchers in this field is Dr Wolfgang Ludwig,
who has been investigating Schumann Resonance and its place in nature
for many years.
The Research of Dr Wolfgang Ludwig
It was Dr Wolfgang Ludwig who carried out further measurements whilst
writing his thesis on the Schumann Resonance. His aim was to measure
what kind of natural signals actually exist in a healthy environment. He
became aware of the fact that due to manmade electromagnetic signals
within the atmosphere, the accurate measurement of Schumann waves was
almost impossible in the city. For this reason he decided to take
measurements out at sea where, due to good electrical conductivity, the
Schumann waves are stronger. He than had the idea to take underground
measurements in mines. Here he recognized that the magnetic field of the
earth fluctuated too. This was also investigated by Dr Robert Becker in
his book `Electricity and Vitality: The spark of Life’.
Dr Ludwig came up with an excellent idea to take accurate
measurements. When taking measurements at the earth’s surface, the
reading is the result of two signals, one coming from above and one from
below. But subsequently taking measurements below ground makes it
possible to come up with exact readings by separating the two.
YIN and YANG
During his research Dr Ludwig came across the ancient Chinese
teachings which state that Man needs two environmental signals: the YANG
(masculine) signal from above and the YIN (feminine) signal from below.
This description fits the relatively strong signal of the Schumann wave
surrounding our planet being YANG and the weaker geomagnetic waves
coming from below, from within the planet, being the YIN signal
The Chinese teachings state that to achieve perfect health, both
signals must be in balance. Dr Ludwig found that this is indeed the
case. He writes in his book `Informative Medizin’ that research carried
out by E.Jacobi at the University of Duesseldorf showed that the one
sided use of Schumann (YANG) wave simulation without the geomagnetic
(YIN) signal caused serious health problems. On the other hand, the
absence of Schumann waves creates a similar situation. Professor R.Wever
from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology in
Erling-Andechs, built an underground bunker which completely screened
out magnetic fields. Student volunteers lived there for four weeks in
this hermetically sealed environment. Professor Wever noted that the
student’s circadian rhythms diverged and that they suffered emotional
distress and migraine headaches. As they were young and healthy, no
serious health conditions arose, which would not have been the case with
older people or people with a compromised immune system. After only a
brief exposure to 7.8 Hz (the very frequency which had been screened
out), the volunteers health stabilized again.
The same complaints were reported by the first astronauts and
cosmonauts, who, out in space, also were no longer exposed to the
Schumann waves. Now modern spacecrafts are said to contain a device
which simulates the Schumann waves.
All the aforesaid points to the fact that the ancient teachings are
correct. Mankind depends on two subtle environmental signals, the Yin
from below and the Yang from above.
The urgent need for further research into the Schumann Resonance Effect
Although Schumann Resonance could easily be confirmed by measurements
at the time of its discovery, it is no longer so obvious due to our
atmosphere being filled with manmade radiation noise at different
frequencies. This is almost drowning out the natural signals – signals
that have been there through aeons of evolution. It is possible that
these signals act like a natural tuning fork, not just for the
biological oscillators of the brain, but for all processes of life.
With the advent of new wireless technology, in particular microwaves
pulsed at frequencies close to Schumann Resonance as in mobile
telephony, another threat is emerging. We may be creating an environment
that is literally `out of tune’ with Nature itself. And it is at this
point that there is an urgent need for us to understand how everything
alive responds to the most subtle changes in magnetic and
electromagnetic fields surrounding us. For instance, we need to examine
the possible interaction between magnetite crystals within cells and
manmade magnetic fields in the environment.
There is a great need for independent research into the
bio-compatibility between natural and manmade signals. By linking
together the potential importance of Schumann Resonance and the dangers
posed by manmade pulsed frequencies, it will become apparent that unless
we find a way to use bio-compatible signals to power new technology, we
may expose all life to dangers previously not encountered. We may have
to pay a high price for this shortsightedness. Serious attention must
now be paid to the possible biological role of standing waves in the
atmosphere, so that we do not overlook the importance of oscillations in
nature that may be central to consciousness and life itself.
The late Dr Neil Cherry, a fierce opponent of the frequencies used in
mobile telephony, has also focused on the importance of Schumann
Resonance in his publications ‘Schumann Resonances, a plausible
biophysical mechanism for the human health effects of Solar/Geomagnetic
Activity’ (2002), and ‘Human intelligence: The brain, an electromagnetic
system synchronised by the Schumann Resonance signal’ (2003).
If organisms do in fact respond to, and perhaps depend on,
electromagnetic fields as weak as that produced by Schumann resonance at
0.22-1.12 mV/m (from Cherry, 2002), this is of major significance for
the development of present and future wireless technologies. Funding for
research projects investigating the Schumann Resonance Effect is now
being sought and scientists who support this call for research are
invited to contact by e-mail.
Gray, J.A., 1982, The Neuropsychology of Anxiety: An
Enquiry into the Functions of the Septo-Hippocampal System. Clarendon
Press.
Cherry, N.J., 2002, Schumann Resonances, a plausible biophysical
mechanism for the human health effects of Solar/Geomagnetic Activity,
Natural Hazards 26(3), p 279-331
Cherry, N.J. 2003, Human intelligence: The brain, an
electromagnetic system synchronised by the Schumann Resonance signal,
Medical Hypotheses 60(60):843-4
Cherry,N. Cell phone radiation poses a serious biological and health risk
http://www.drscheiner-muenchen.de/Cherryeng.htm
König, H.L Bioinformation – Electrophysical Aspects. In:
Electromagnetic Bioinformation, Popp, F.A., Becker,G.,
König, H.L.Peschka,W.,(eds.) Urban und Schwarzenberg
p 25, 1979
Schumann, W.O.Ueber die strahlungslosen
Eigenschwingungen einer leitenden Kugel, die von einer Luftschicht und
einer Ionosphaerenhuelle umgeben ist, Z.Naturforsch. 7a, 149, 1952
Schumann W.O.
König, H. Ueber die Beobachtung von Atmospherics bei geringsten Frequenzen, Naturwissenschaften, 41, 183, 1954
The Saturnian moon Enceladus may be one of the most enigmatic bodies in
the solar system. For nearly a decade, NASA scientists have faced a
series of puzzles that continue to challenge conventional theory. The
electrical nature of these puzzling phenomena has grown increasingly
evident.
Some of the most famous ancient megalithic sites in the world align to the summer solstice – in numerous different cultures: Egyptian, Pagan, Mayan, Essene, Buddhist, Native American, and Easter Islander. Below are some examples. There are others, but there may be many more that have not yet been discovered.
Sites such as the Great Pyramids
and Easter Island, are speculated to be some of the most ancient in the
known world, and to have links to the civilizations of Atlantis and
possibly Lemuria. Others trace their lineage back to the original spiritual knowledge of the Mayans and ancient peoples of Britain.
These sites indicate the existence of an ancient cosmic spirituality,
sometimes referred to as ancient solar religions – some highly advanced
in their technology and understanding of the cosmos.
The Great Pyramids ~ Egypt
At the Great Pyramids of Egypt, when standing at the Sphinx,
the sun on the summer solstice sets precisely between the two largest
of the Great Pyramids. The sun’s descent between the two pyramids seems
to enact the moment of creation where the sun emerged from between two
mounds, but in reverse, perhaps signifying the return of the sun to the
source of creation.
The Osirieon ~ Egypt
There is an incredibly mysterious temple at the ancient site of
Abydos in Egypt. For thousands of years Abydos was believed to be the
final resting place of the Egyptian god Osiris. Then in 1902 AD the
Osireion temple was unearthed, which many believe, could have been the
tomb of Osiris.
The Osireion shares incredible similarities with the Valley Temple
that lies next to the Sphinx. Both the Valley Temple and Osireion are
made out of huge unadorned granite blocks, which also look very similar
to Stonehenge, and share the same construction methods and a number of
mathematical characteristics (for example, both feature the number 17).
The Valley Temple was built at the same time as the Sphinx, and its
similarities with the Osireion seem to indicate that the Osireion may
too have been built by the builders of the Sphinx.
