Scientists Connect the Dots With Rocks

 

Researchers high in the mountains of Antarctica found a surprise recently. They were picking through debris they believed was carried through the Transantarctic Mountains by ice streams, rivers of ice that flow at literally a glacial pace from East Antarctica. They believed the boulders would provide some clues as to the geological composition of the area, most of which is buried under two miles of ice. One randomly chosen rock, small enough to be lifted in one hand, held the answer to a long-debated question: Were Antarctica and North America once connected?

“We were picking up boulders in the moraines that looked interesting,” said John Goodge, a National Science Foundation–funded researcher with the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Minnesota–Duluth.

When the researchers analyzed the rock, they found it was very similar to a unique belt of igneous rocks in North America that stretches from California to the east through Illinois and beyond. These rocks don’t exist anywhere else but in North America. For one to show up on a glacier high in the mountains of Antarctica at the bottom of the Earth is strong evidence that parts of the two continents were once linked.

“There’s no other explanation for how it got where we found it,” Goodge says. 

Cork Your Leaky Finances

Personal finance expert Galia Gichon recommends plugging up some of those budget leaks you might be experiencing. As a matter of fact, she said that if you can figure out how to save just $125 per month, then set up an automatic savings to a mutual fund that yields an average of 7 percent, in five years you will have almost $9,000. In 20 years, that amount will have grown to $65,000.

Here are four suggestions from Gichon (www.downtoearthfinance.com) for coming up with that $125 per month:

1. Do you really need all those channels? Review your cable bill. You can decrease your bill by eliminating premium channels or subscribing to a smaller, cheaper package.

2. Stop picking up magazines. Save yourself some money by subscribing to your favorite magazine instead. If you’re subscribing to anything you don’t read, cancel it.

3. Change your cell service. Shopping around can save you bucks (just make sure you won’t be penalized for breaking a contract early).

4. Ask for a lower rate. Believe it or not, credit card companies will usually do it.