From: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
PET/GUE Divers descend into the abyss at Hoyo Negro.
Photo by Daniel Riordan-AraujoBy Fabio Esteban AmadorExplorers have discovered what might be the oldest evidence of humans in the Americas.Alex Alvarez, Franco Attolini, and Alberto (Beto) Nava are members of PET (Projecto Espeleológico de Tulum), an organization that specializes in the exploration and survey of underwater caves on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.Alex, Franco and Beto have surveyed tens of thousands of feet of mazelike cave passages in the state of Quintana Roo. The team's relatively recent explorations of a large pit named Hoyo Negro (Black Hole, in Spanish), deep within a flooded cave, resulted in their breathtaking and once-in-a-lifetime discovery of the remains of an Ice Age mastodon and a human skull at the very bottom of the black abyss.Photo by Daniel Riordan-Araujo Beto recalls the amazing day of the discovery of Hoyo Negro."We started the exploration while following the main tunnel and progressed relatively fast by using scooters to cover more terrain."After about 1,500 feet [450 meters] we began to see the light of another entrance, so we headed towards it and surfaced."After taking a moment to chat and laugh about what a great dive we were having, we dropped down to continue the work."After about 400 feet [120 meters] the tunnel narrowed to form a circular shape, almost like a huge cement pipe. I made one tie-off and, while waiting for Franco to complete his surveying effort, I took a good look at the strangely shaped tunnel."All I could see was the whiteness of the cave walls along the sides, and beyond that it was all black. I thought to myself that this is either the largest tunnel I have seen or there is something unusual at the end of it."After Franco caught up, we continued for another 200 feet [60 meters] and eventually reached the end of the tube-shaped tunnel. To our surprise the floor disappeared and all we could see was blackness in all directions. It felt like we had reached a big drop-off or the edge of a canyon wall."We tried to slow down our heart rates as we were not really sure of what to do next."Photo by Daniel Riordan-AraujoWhere is Hoyo Negro?Hoyo Negro was reached by the PET team after the divers travelled more than 4,000 feet [1,200 meters] through underwater passages using underwater propulsion vehicles, or scooters, which enabled them to cover long distances in the flooded cave system.Once they reached the pit, they began to survey and document its dimensions. The pit is approximately 200 feet [60 meters] deep and 120 feet [36 meters] in diameter and is located inside the Aktun-Hu cave system in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.Submerged cave systems in Quintana Roo have been systematically surveyed and mapped by teams of highly specialized divers. The PET team is affiliated with Global Underwater Explorers, as is the Mexico Cave Exploration Project."The immense size of Hoyo Negro is difficult to comprehend. Once you enter the pit you cannot see the floor below, and all that can be seen in front of you is a black void -- an inviting entrance to the abyss, " recalls Franco.The team of explorers touched bottom at 197 feet [57 meters], where they made their incredible discovery.
How Did the Tunnels Form?The Yucatan Peninsula's geology is almost entirely limestone -- a karstic shelf that is easily dissolved by rainwater, forming caves and sinkholes.Approximately 12,000 years ago, at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, Earth experienced great climatic changes. The melting of the ice caps caused a dramatic rise in global sea levels, which flooded low lying coastal landscapes and cave systems. Many of the subterranean spaces that once provided people and animals with water and shelter became inundated and lost until the advent of cave diving.Photo by Daniel Riordan-AraujoIronically, the Yucatan Peninsula does not have any major rivers or lakes; however, there are many underground rivers and water-filled caves or sinkholes known as cenotes (a Spanish word derived from the Maya dzonot).What Was Found at the Bottom of the Black Hole?While the team of explorers conducted various dives for the purpose of mapping and surveying of this newly discovered pit, they noticed some peculiar bones sitting on the bottom. They first came across several megafauna remains and what was clearly a mastodon bone, while subsequent dives proved even more exciting when they spotted a human skull resting upside down with other nearby remains at about 140 feet [43 meters] depth."I was searching for more of the mastodon remains, when I saw what looked like a human skull. I had thought we already had a great discovery after finding the remains of several Pleistocene animals...but finding a human skull was totally amazing for us. All of our efforts... walking through the jungle, carrying all the gear, securing the helium required to do such a deep dive, laying thousands of feet of exploration line... paid off at that moment. This is the Holy Grail of underwater cave exploration," Alex said."This is the Holy Grail of underwater cave exploration."Soon after the discovery, the team contacted Guillermo de Anda, an archaeologist from the University of Yucatan in Merida (UADY) who has also been documenting Pleistocene megafauna sites and who helped in the identification of the Hoyo Negro discovery."The findings of Hoyo Negro are a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. The skull looks pre-Maya, which could make it one of the oldest set of human remains in the area. Gaining an understanding of how this human and these animals entered the site will reveal an immense amount of knowledge from that time. Therefore, protecting and learning the secrets of Hoyo Negro should be one of the main priorities for the archaeologists in the region," Guillermo told News Watch in an interview.Photo by Daniel Riordan-AraujoThe PET team formally announced the discovery at Hoyo Negro to Pilar Luna Erreguerena, Director of Underwater Archaeology for Mexico's National Institute for Archaeology and History (INAH). Pilar is the founder of underwater archaeology in Latin America and has been instrumental in protecting Mexico's submerged cultural heritage."This discovery is extremely important and confirms the cultural diversity and richness that can be found in the Yucatan Peninsula," said Pilar Luna. "INAH's division of underwater archaeology is preparing a multidisciplinary project together with discoverers of the site. This team work will allow us to scientifically recover the data and the evidence in its own context, so that experts may really get to know the true value of this discovery and turn it into a deeper knowledge or understanding of the prehistoric era in this part of Mexico."At present, the entrance to the site is limited to INAH's research team since they are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the site.Studies in the Tulum area, similar to those currently being planned for Hoyo Negro, were accomplished for the very first time by Pilar Luna's collaborators, namely Arturo González, Carmen Rojas, Octavio Del Río, Eugenio Aceves, and Jerónimo Avilés, with the support of Adriana Velázquez, Director of Centro INAH Quintana Roo.Photo by Olmo Torres TalamanteWhat is the Significance of the Discovery of Hoyo Negro?The human found with the megafauna remains in Hoyo Negro could represent the oldest evidence of humans yet discovered in the Americas.Archaeological and genetic data have long supported a northeast Asia origin for the populations that first settled North and South America. The so-called "First Americans" or Paleoindian peoples likely entered into these new lands sometime between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago.Although a number of early archaeological sites have been excavated, only few sets of Paleoindian remains have been found. A detailed analysis of the human skeletal remains from Hoyo Negro can help us to better understand who these First Americans were and when they arrived here, which is one of the greatest mysteries in American archaeology.Radiometric dating of the human bones from Hoyo Negro will have to wait for now, but its location within the cave, and its position relative to the mastodon remains, are suggestive of its antiquity.
Photo by Daniel Riordan-AraujoWaitt Institute archaeologist and New World cave expert, Dominique Rissolo, offers a compelling argument for the importance of this site and similar discoveries. "The cenotes of Quintana Roo, Mexico, have emerged as one of the most promising frontiers for Paleoindian studies in the Americas."Recent discoveries of human remains deep within the region's flooded caverns, as well the bones of mastodons and other extinct species of Pleistocene megafauna, offer an extraordinarily rare glimpse into a period that witnessed the peopling of the New World."During the Late Pleistocene, these caves were dry. The first people to occupy what is now the Caribbean coast of Mexico wandered into these caves, where some ultimately met their demise."As the last glacial maximum came to end, the melting of the polar ice caps and continental ice sheets raised sea levels worldwide. The caves of the Yucatan Peninsula filled with water and the First Americans were hidden for millennia -- only to be discovered by underwater cave explorers"It is within these dark reaches that cave explorers are discovering and documenting the oldest human skeletons yet found in the Western Hemisphere," Rissolo said.Future Research at Hoyo NegroIn the summer of 2010, Pilar Luna organized a Nautical Archaeology Society training course for the Hoyo Negro team. The course, which was funded by National GeographicMagazine thanks to Chris Sloan, a magazine editor, covered the essentials of underwater archaeological site recording.In collaboration with INAH, the team hopes to continue their exploration of Hoyo Negro and to thoroughly document the findings at the site.Perhaps this is a turning point in scientific exploration in the region, where successful research will depend upon the knowledge and experience of a multidisciplinary team that includes underwater archaeologists, geologists, and paleontologists working side by side with highly skilled divers.The National Geographic/Waitt Grants Program has funded similar research in the past by supporting GUE diver, Sam Meacham, in his cave exploration and water conservation work in Quintana Roo.National Geographic has been active in featuring similar discoveries made by cave divers on the Yucatan peninsula. In 2008 National Geographic Daily News published the discovery of the Eve of Naharon, a female skeleton dated to 13,600 years old, which was also found in an underwater cave in Quintana Roo. (Oldest Skeleton in Americas Found in Underwater Cave? )More recently in 2010, National Geographic Daily News published an article on the Young Man of Chan Hol, a possible ritual burial from 10,000 years ago. (Undersea Cave Yields One of Oldest Skeletons in Americas) In addition to the latest extraordinary expedition and amazing discovery, Robbie Schmittner connected the Aktun-Hu cave system (where Hoyo Negro is located) to theSac Actun cave system. Together they may now represent the longest underwater cave system in the world.Future investigations in Hoyo Negro will no doubt reveal new clues about the peopling of the New World.
From: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/
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From: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/
Photograph by Glenn Traver, My Shot
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Weather Photos
Sunrise on the Painted Hills at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Painted Hills, Oregon. I had to travel three hours on very rural winding country roads in the dark, with steep drop-offs to get there for this opening shot of the day!
(This photo and caption were submitted to My Shot.)
August 14, 2010
Photograph by Stephen Oachs
This Month in Photo of the Day: Photos From the 2009 International Photo Contest
The rising sun illuminates Black Rock Desert and the Fly Geyser, which sends a continuous stream of scalding, mineral-laden water sky-high.By COLLEEN SURRIDGE
From: http://www.kansas.com/
Parsons Sun
PARSONS — Freelance photojournalist Steve McCurry, whose work has graced the pages of National Geographic, laid 36 slides representing the last frames of Kodachrome film on the light board sitting on a counter in Dwayne's Photo Service in Parsons.
He placed a lupe - a magnifier that makes it easier to view film - over one frame and took a closer look at the film.
McCurry told Dwayne's vice president Grant Steinle how he had chosen to shoot the last roll of Kodachrome produced by Eastman Kodak by capturing images around New York.
"Then we went to India, where I photographed a tribe that is actually on the verge of extinction. It's actually disappearing, the same way as Kodachrome," he told Steinle.
Kodak announced last year that it would retire Kodachrome, a brand name of color reversal film it had manufactured since 1935. McCurry, well-known for his 1984 photograph of Sharbat Gula, or the "Afghan Girl," published on the cover of National Geographic magazine, requested from Kodak to shoot the last roll of 36 frames it manufactured.
National Geographic has closely documented the journey of the final roll of Kodachrome manufactured, down to its being processed. Dwayne's is only photo lab left in the world to handle Kodachrome processing, so National Geographic Television producer Yvonne Russo and National Geographic magazine senior video producer Hans Weise found themselves in Parsons Monday, along with McCurry, with the final roll of the iconic film of the 20th century.
As a professional freelance photographer, McCurry has used Kodachrome film for 35 years.
"It's definitely the end of an era," he said of Kodachrome. "It has such a wonderful color palette ... a poetic look, not particularly garish or cartoonish, but wonderful, true colors that were vibrant, but true to what you were shooting."
There are definite advantages to digital photography by comparison to film, McCurry said.
"You have the ability to view, edit and monitor what we are doing as we go. We can evaluate the light and composition and the design instantly. And we can shoot in extremely low light, which was impossible with film."
Regardless, digital photography is simply not the same.
"I like having something to hold in my hand," McCurry said. "With digital photography, it's just a hard drive. With Kodachrome, the film is real. You can touch it, put it in a drawer, and come back to it later. It's tangible. It's an object. With digital, the pictures only exist in a hard drive, in a memory chip."
A photographer since 1974, and photojournalist for National Geographic for 30 years, Kodachrome has been a part of McCurry's professional career.
Russo said they documented McCurry shooting the final roll of film in New York, then traveling to Bombay, India and Rajasthan, India, then back to New York, shooting along the way several iconic personalities of the world of filmmaking.McCurry said he spent about two months shooting the images, which also included some scenic photos, as well as serendipitous moments on the streets of New York.
"And I actually shot the last three frames here in Parsons," McCurry said.
As Kodachrome is no longer manufactured, Steinle said that on Dec. 10 Dwayne's Photo will end its processing of Kodachrome.
"All this is going to be discarded," McCurry said of the processing equipment for Kodachrome, " ... so it's just a piece of history. It's nostalgic. It's kind of sad. I have about 800,000 Kodachrome images in my lab and these will be the last."
If National Geographic does a spread on the journey of this final roll of Kodachrome, McCurry said it will likely come out in the spring 2011 and will consist of only four to six images selected from the roll.
However, Weise said, "The entire 36 frames shot will be sent to the Eastman House in Rochester, New York, where Kodak is based, and live there."
Looking through the lupe at each slide image, McCurry viewed his pictures of Robert De Niro, the Brooklyn Bridge, Grand Central Station, the tribe in India, the actors, actresses and models in India and the other images of life he had captured.
Among the images shot was one self-portrait of McCurry in New York. Symbolic of the yellow and red packaging of Kodak film, McCurry chose a Yellow Cab to pose by. He called Steinle to have a look through the lupe at the cab's license plate. On it were the letters PKR 36.
Steinle laughed, not believing his eyes.
"If I hadn't seen this come off the processor myself, I would have sworn you had photoshopped that," Steinle said, explaining how PKR 36 is representative of Professional Kodak 36 film.
As the two men stood talking of the end of an era in film manufacturing and processing that affects them both, McCurry presented Steinle with a proposal.
Rather than paying Dwayne's Photo in cash for the processing of the film, McCurry offered to cut Steinle a deal. In exchange for the processing, McCurry offered to create a special print of one of the slides and have it framed and mounted with a letter of authenticity included and send it to Steinle.
It was a deal Steinle accepted eagerly.
Russo said the National Geographic special covering the last roll of Kodachrome manufactured will likely air sometime in spring 2011.
ngm.nationalgeographic.com — Scientists dive into the deadly blue holes of the Bahamas. The blue holes of the Bahamas yield a scientific trove that may even shed light on life beyond Earth. If only they weren’t so dangerous to explore.
Click here to see:Bahamas Caves Gallery [PICS]
February 3, 2010—The vampire squid can turn itself "inside out" to avoid predators—as seen in a video just released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to emphasize the need to protect deep-sea species from the effects of human activities.
© 2010 National Geographic; source video prepared by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Unedited Transcript
This menacing looking squid is just one of many species “out of sight and out of mind” that could be threatened by human activities far away from the part of the ocean in which they live.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has released this video of the vampire squid to emphasize a report that raises a red flag about the earth’s oceans.
Vampyroteuthis infernalis is a type of living fossil, meaning that it has seen very little change since it first appeared, before dinosaurs, about 300 million years ago.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Dr. Bruce Robison, who authored the report published in Conservation Biology, narrates the institute’s video:
“Vampyroteuthis has very large eyes, because it lives about a half a mile deep in the ocean, where the light is very dim. We took these pictures from a deep diving robotic submarine. And you can see the reflection of our lights in that beautiful blue eye.”
The vampire squid has 8 long arms, and a long curly strand that serves as a sensory filament.
It has a unique ability to react when it is startled. It can curl its web and arms around the rest of its body—turning sort of ‘inside out.’ This change in appearance may help it avoid being attacked by predators.
These cephalopods --they’re technically not squids-- live in the deep ocean with millions of other species, some of which are little-known and on which little study has been done.
Robison says human activities threaten all of these.
“They are threatened by ocean warming, decreasing oxygen, pollution, overfishing, industrialization and dozens of other changes taking place in the deep. We have a responsibility to learn all we can about these amazing animals and to protect them from the greatest danger to life in the deep: the human species.”
Robison’s focus is on the oceans’ “deep pelagic zones” which extend down from about 330 feet below the surface to just above the deep seafloor—up to six miles below the surface.
While the sea floor has had significant study, he points out little exploration has been done on this water above the deep floor.
This zone is home to species eaten by fish that humans eat, such as tuna and salmon. Many whales, turtles and giant squid also rely on this zone for their food.
Even though all of this is out of sight, any upset in the balance here can ultimately have a devastating effect on what humans have come to expect from the oceans – a place that provides food for millions of people.
ngm.nationalgeographic.com — In Dubai, natural and man-made electricity illuminate the night. As jagged needles of lightning darn an overcast sky, the sail-shaped, 1,053-foot-tall Burj al Arab hotel glows green on the edge of the Persian Gulf. Click to enlarge...
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— This stunning shot of the colorful kingfisher shows that the bird's aim is so unerring that, even though a protective translucent membrane veils its eyes underwater, it can confidently catch fish to depths of two feet.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (CNN) -- Melissa and Jackson Brandts knew right away that the photo from their recent trip to Canada was a good one.
Melissa and Jackson Brandts were taking a photo of themselves when the squirrel popped up.
However, it wasn't until the world -- and National Geographic -- took notice that they realized exactly how good.
Now, after submitting it to the magazine's online "Your Shot" contest (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/your-shot), the Minnesota couple's photo is set to grace the pages of the magazine's November issue. It's appeared on the Web sites of news outlets around the world, and the squirrel -- now dubbed "Crasher Squirrel" -- even has its own Wikipedia entry of the same moniker.
Melissa Brandts and her husband Jackson were hiking in Banff National Park the last week in May when they decided to set up their camera and use their wireless remote shutter for a few shots of the two of them. They were getting situated on the rocky shore near Lake Minnewanka when the now-iconic critter stopped by for a visit.
"The little squirrel had been running around while we were getting the shot set up," Brandts said in a phone interview Tuesday. "I was joking with my husband that I hoped he was friendly because he was getting awful close and kind of scampering around our feet and stuff."
Friendly? You might say so. It was also a bit timid and perhaps even indecisive because it soon scurried away and then, just as quickly, rushed back again.
"Photogenic" might also be a good word to use to describe it.
"All of a sudden he popped back up because he heard the shutter releasing, the clicking of the camera. The only thing we can figure is that he thought it was going to give him food or something," Brandts said.
"He popped right up and looked right into the camera, and we were laughing so hard because we were like 'get it, get it!' and we were trying to get the remote to fire. So we got a couple of pictures -- took a couple of pictures with him there, and then he ducked down and proceeded to run away."
The resulting image exceeded all expectations.
"We didn't realize how good it was until we got back to the hotel that night and downloaded it to my husband's computer, and when we could see it on the full screen we were like, 'Whoa, are you serious?'"
"We had no idea it was going to turn out exactly like it did with him being in perfect focus, us being out of focus, and then us just laughing in the background. We weren't sure if he'd be standing like in front of one of us or something like that."
An international phenomenon
Brandts said she and her husband showed the photo to their friends and family, and were subsequently incessantly prodded to "do something" with it.
For months the two weren't sure what that something could be. That changed, however, when the latest issue of National Geographic arrived in the mail.
"I saw the 'Your Shot' contest, which of course I knew existed, but I had never thought of entering one of my own pictures into it," Brandts said. "I thought, 'This is what I'm going to do!'"
Brandts said she submitted it on August 5 and by August 13 it was NationalGeopgrahic.com's photo of the day.
"Things just kind of spun out of control from there."
The photo was soon published in the pages of two national Canadian newspapers, and Brandts received calls from a friend in South Korea who'd seen it on a local South Korean news Web site.
The couple has since appeared on NBC's "Today" show, as well as the Twin Cities' local affiliate KARE.
And now that it's been selected for publication in the November issue of National Geographic, the attention hasn't subsided.
As of this writing Brandts has received Facebook messages from random fans in 29 different countries. The Facebook group "Nuts the Squirrel is a Legend" comes complete with 5,300 fans and counting.
The squirrel is also being used by Banff National Park in advertising on its Web site, and it has created a Banff squirrel Twitter account.
There's even a Web site dubbed "The Squirrelizer," which has apparently been created for people who feel their photos lack a certain "squirrel charm," if you will. The site's tool will paste the squirrel cutout onto any picture uploaded.
Other sites have pasted the squirrel onto various scenes from history, from the D-Day invasion at Normandy to the Apollo moon landing.
And it hasn't stopped there.
"It keeps popping up everywhere, like at my husband's job," Brandts added. "If people are giving him a presentation, all of the sudden they'll have a squirrel pop up."
Authenticity assured
It was during their appearance on "Today" that host Matt Lauer raised questions about the possibility the photo could have been doctored. Brandts assured him, as she did once more for CNN, that the photo is "completely authentic" but said she understood the skepticism because people had originally thought the photo was taken simply with a timer -- as opposed to the remote shutter she used in actuality -- which, if it were the case, would have kept the couple in focus and blurred the squirrel.
"National Geographic looked at the full high-resolution [image, and] realized it was authentic," Brandts said, adding, "You can't make this stuff up."
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ngm.nationalgeographic.com — On Easter Island, also called Rapa Nui, mysterious statues stand sentinel as the Milky Way spins cold and bright above. The giant moai may represent ancestors who ruled here after Polynesians discovered the island some thousand years ago during a wave of exploration that has been compared in its boldness to modern space voyages. Click to enlarge...
ngm.nationalgeographic.com — Puna flamingos make Laguna Colorada their main nesting ground. The birds had been thought extinct before a 1957 expedition discovered this particular colony, which now includes about 15,000 breeding pairs.
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ngm.nationalgeographic.com — Sparkling like underwater fireworks, this six-inch-wide (15 centimeters) Olindias jellyfish at California's Monterey Bay Aquarium displays an extravagantly curled and colored armament of tentacles loaded with stinging cells. Click to enlarge... (Photo: Frans Lanting)
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