The Mantle Matrix

      The heat at the core of the Earth is important for a number of things, primarily it helps sustain the planet’s magnetic field as well as helps keep surface temperatures relatively in check. The glowing and flowing fiery iron in the Earth’s core is critical life on the planet but that might not be the case forever. And scientists are now suggesting that the temperatures in the core  (now roughly 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit) are cooling at a much faster rate than originally anticipated. Basically, they’ve been on the downtrend since the beginning, but the cooling pace is picking up and that’s going to be an issue.  It isn’t possible to measure the exact temperature of the Earth’s core or to track the increases or decreases in a 1:1 type fashion, so scientists have had to come up with different methods to track what exactly is happening there. According to reporting by Science Alert , a group from Switzerland is working to try and measure the tem...

Brachystelma attenuatum , a rare plant species, makes comeback after 188 years Like in soap operas the lead actor comes back to life after years of being non-existent, a plant species, after 188 years of being extinct has been rediscovered in Himachal Pradesh. The plant, ‘Brachystelma attenuatum’, a rare, threatened, and presumably extinct species, was rediscovered by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) scientists. Know about the species ‘Brachystelma attenuatum’ is characterized by its larger flowers with long and narrow corolla lobes that separate it from Brachystelma parviflorum, another species from the same genus. This species was described by Robert Wight under the genus Eriopetalum Wight in 1835 based on J.F. Royle’s collection from Doongie (Dungi, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh). The species appears to be declining as a result of local exploitation for its edible tubers. The study suggested that the species should be categorized as Critically Endangered based on IUCN Red List crit...

UNESCO World Heritage Site, Valley of Flowers opens for public from today Summers are the best time to wander in nature. Imagine yourself amid the tall green trees adjacent to the mountain; the river flows nearby, you can see it, birds are chirruping loud, and you can hear it. This can be your reality, as UNESCO World Heritage site, the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand, opened for tourists on Wednesday, June 1. Situated at an altitude of around 3,600 m above sea level, the Valley of Flowers remains accessible to the public from June to October. One of the major attraction points for tourists in Uttarkhand, the Valley contains many rare and unique flowers, including Brahmkamal, the State flower of Uttarakhand. The garden of flowers In the backdrop of the mighty Himalayan ranges, the Valley of Flowers National Park spreads over an area of 87 sq km in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Valley is believed to have been discovered in 1931 by three British mountaineers – ...

Haploptychius sahyadriensis – New Snail species discovered in Maharashtra The Western Ghats is full of surprises. The northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra has a new species of snail – Haploptychius sahyadriensis, a third in the genus Haploptychius. The species is endemic to Vishalgad Conservation Reserve in Kolhapur. Earlier in 1860s, the species H. andamanicus and H. pfeifferi were recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. About the Species Haploptychius sahyadriensis is different from the other Indian and South-East Asian Haploptychius sp. It has a suboblique-heliciform shell, a low spire, and a strong parietal lamella. The researchers placed the new species in the genus Haploptychius based on the shell morphology and genital characters. The new species has unique genital anatomy in having a long penis with a penial sheath, the presence of penial appendix, penial hooks, atrium and vagina with longitudinal ridges and irregular transverse ridges respectively, but without any hook...

Sayonara aquatic animals! See you near the north or south pole but not near the equators. Most of the marine species is found near the equator because of favourable conditions such as availability of food, optimum temperature required for survival and probably because chances of finding a patner is much higher. But rise in ocean temperature is forcing aquatic life to flee away from the equator According to a new study, global warming has caused temperatures to rise in water bodies. Consequently, it has led to tens of thousands of marine species to fleet the ocean away from the equator to places with cooler water temperature. According to a study conducted by researchers of the University of Auckland, nearly 50,000 species of aquatic life including fish, mollusks, birds, and corals reefs have moved towards the pole since 1955. WHY IS MARINE LIFE FLEEING AWAY FROM THE EQUATOR? The equator water is known to be the home to the richest diversity of aquatic life on earth. On the contrary, th...