The Fountain of Youth and Life

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

 

The Fountain of Youth and Life

           When Ponce de León was looking for the fountain of youth in 1513, he found something just as exciting and beneficial to humankind.   He discovered “a current such that, although it had great wind, they could not proceed forward…the current was more powerful than the wind.”  It was the Gulf Stream.

            Later explorers Peter d’Anghiera and Sir Humphrey Gilbert took note of it also.  Hernando Cortez and Anton de Alaminos convinced other Spaniards to use the strong current to propel them north before they turned eastward to Europe. 

            Benjamin Franklin published the first map of the Gulf Stream in 1770.  Seeing the current as a way to speed-up commerce between the colonies, he pushed the British to use the speed of the Gulf Stream.  When they finally did take his advice, they shaved two weeks off the cross Atlantic trip.  During the colonial period, the Gulf Stream was extremely beneficial and influenced where the largest cities and ports grew.

            The Gulf Stream originates in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and then begins at the tip of Florida and winds along the coastline of the eastern United States to Newfoundland. There it divides, and forms the North Atlantic Current as it travels to Europe.  Scientists believe that the current keeps coastal countries of Europe and North America warmer than they would be ordinarily.

            Driven by wind stress, the Gulf Stream could almost be described as a powerful river within the ocean.  It is forty to sixty miles wide and averaged 3,900 feet deep.   Moving an average of five miles per hour, it hugs the coastline of the United States.  Off Florida, the temperature is seventy-five degrees, but as it goes north to Newfoundland it cools to sixty-four degrees.

From coastal North Carolina, the fishing fleets head-out into the warm waters of the Gulf Stream which produce some of the best deep sea fishing in the world.   Species that would not be there if the water were not so warm become the prizes of the anglers.  When the boats reach the Gulf Stream, the color of the water changes to a deep, crystal clear blue through which the sea life can be clearly seen. 

Hurricane watchers know that the warm waters of the Gulf Stream help to form and strengthen storms that approach the coast.  Many of them that have weakened sometimes gain power in the stream and reform into even more powerful storms.

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad recently reached her goal of swimming from Cuba to Florida on her fifth attempt at age sixty-four.  She covered 110 miles in fifty-three hours.  “The Gulf Stream was my friend, and usually it’s not,” she said.  “Usually you’re out there going in circles…this time the Gulf Stream went north, right where I was going.” 

And so, Nyad became one of the many adventurers helped by a force of nature, the Gulf Stream.

Source (staff.orecity.k12.or.us)

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Port Discover: A look at sinkholes from geology to mythology

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

 

Port Discover: A look at sinkholes from geology to mythology

 

Recently, Summer Bay Resort in Clermont, Fla. visitors thought they were hearing an impending thunderstorm, but within a few hours, one-half of the resort had collapsed into a 100-foot hole in the earth. One hundred, five guests quickly evacuated, and miraculously no one was injured.

During last March, sixty miles southwest of the resort a man sleeping in his bed was swallowed-up by a sinkhole, and he was never seen again. Geological testing done fifteen years previously in the area of the resort had shown that the ground was stable. Twenty percent of the U.S. is prone to having sinkholes including Florida, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.

North Carolina has some areas in the piedmont and the southern coast that have the conditions necessary for sinkholes to form. Northern coastal areas are not at risk for developing sinkholes.

Last year, an eight-foot wide sinkhole swallowed a car in Durham. A twenty-foot wide sinkhole was caused by a waterline break that weakened the earth below. Since 2010, Raleigh has experienced a sinkhole that took down a city bus and a few months later a sinkhole opened on Wade Ave.

Geologists know that sinkholes appear in karst terrain where the underlying rock of gypsum, limestone, or other carbonate rock can be dissolved by underground water. When the rock becomes unstable because of the water flow, the ground above collapses into the hole that has been formed. Often the event happens quickly and with no warning.

Sinkholes can be a few feet or hundreds of acres wide and the depth can range from one to one hundred feet. They have swallowed highways, buildings, and swimming pools. The more urban the setting, the more damage is done.

Human activities that can eventually contribute to the earth’s giving-way include broken pipes, old landfills and collapsed mines. Scientists working at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) develop geological maps which are used by planners, policy makers, and the public to determine if land is at risk.

For thousands of years, Mayans have inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula, and the ancient Mayans were advanced in mathematics, language, and art. The peninsula itself, which is surrounded by the Bay of Campeche, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea is underlined with limestone that makes it vulnerable to the formation of sinkholes.

Ancient Mayans considered the geological phenomenon to be a gateway to the underworld and the home of their god of water, Chac.

These deep wells or cenotes were considered sacred places, and often the Mayans would throw the human victims of their sacrificial ceremonies into the clear water.

In modern times, the wells have been explored and human remains and jewelry have been found. Mayans thought that they gained favor with their gods by performing sacrifices.

Even now, some people consider it a blessing to be able to drink from the cenotes.

Often in human history science, religion, and mythology form a continuum of human understanding.

 

(Source: images.lregsi.com)

Red or Grey, don't let those foxes out-fox you

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

Red or Grey, don't let those foxes out-fox you

The first time I saw the red fox in the yard, I was taking a walk down our long driveway. Startled, I stopped and looked at him, and he returned the stare. What bothered me was that he didn’t run as I expected even when I waved my hands and made noise.

That’s when I started backing up and ended the exercise for the day.

Later, we started seeing a gray fox walking through the back yard every day at about the same time. Hubby discovered a den with four pups under some tree branches. It was time for some research.

Both red and gray foxes live in all parts of North Carolina, but the gray fox is the native. European settlers who liked to hunt them brought red foxes to America in Colonial times. The same shade of red fur covers their heads, bodies, and tails, but the underside is light and its legs and tail are tipped with black. Gray foxes are smaller and have some red on their neck and legs, but their overall color is gray with dark streaks. The gray fox can climb trees and the red fox cannot.

Many people are afraid when they see a fox in the daytime and think it might be rabid or aggressive. In recent years, foxes have become used to the lack of threats by humans and the availability of food near urban areas.

If you see a den of pups, it is best to leave them alone until the babies are older and the family moves on. Try to fill the den with something like branches so that they will not nest there again.

There are several steps you can take to so that conflict with the fox will be reduced. Of course, you should never approach or try to pet a fox, and do not feed them or any wild animal. If they lose their fear of people, they might become more aggressive. Keep your pet’s food and garbage containers secured. Also, keep bird feeder areas clean and pick-up any fruit that has fallen from trees.

Keep your own pets away from the den because the fox may become aggressive if he feels threatened by another animal.

Close crawl spaces and places underneath porches so that they won’t be encouraged to rest there or build dens too close to your home. Yelling or banging pots and pans may discourage them also.

The most important thing to do is to teach children that they should never approach any wild animal. Foxes may be particularly attractive to children because they look like dogs.

Call local animal control if you see signs of rabies in any animal such as aggression, stumbling, turning in circles, or foaming at the mouth.

It is illegal to relocate foxes in North Carolina because if there is a problem, it will just spread. Mutual respect and caution is the key to living with wildlife nearby.

(Source: www.nickdunlop.com)