October 2009 Archives

Just in time for Halloween, there's another twist to the disembodied feet mystery. But this is no ghosts and goblins mystery. Theories of serial killers, plane crashes and tsunami victims have been suggested.

Just this past Tuesday 10/27, another sneaker was discovered washed ashore in British Columbia. Not familiar with the case?

In late 2007, a 12-year-old girl found something unusual along the shores of an island in British Columbia: a male right foot inside a shoe that had washed up with the tide. Six days later, another foot in a sneaker had washed up, this time forty miles south. It was not the missing half of the pair however, but a different right foot. Over the next fifteen months, four more feet washed ashore in the region.

Now another sneaker has been found. Though it has not been confirmed it's related to the others, it does add another clue to this bizarre mystery.

Watch a video clip from Explorer: Mystery of the Disembodied Feet. This episode of Explorer airs again on the National Geographic Channel this Saturday October 31 at 7P et.

Learn more about this mystery and watch behind the scenes video clips on the Explorer: Mystery of the Disembodied Feet site >>

by Adam Maloof, Geologist, Princeton University

Pole shifting is a fascinating and important process in geological history, but will have nothing to do with the Mayans or with 2012. Read on to understand why.

Earth is not a rigid sphere. In fact, the solid Earth deforms on a range of timescales, from the twice-a-day lunar-solar tide, to the rebound of the arctic regions over the past 10,000 years as the ice sheets melt and return their stored water weight to the oceans. Just under the influence of her own spin, Earth deforms into an oblate spheroid. In other words, Earth is fatter around the equator than it is at the pole by about 20 km (Fig. 1). It is this equatorial bulge that sticks out into the solar system, interacts with the moon, planets and sun, and leads to the orbital wobbles such as precession and obliquity. Precession is the wobble of Earth's spin axis that causes the zodiac to rotate through time (i.e., polaris has not always been the north star). Precession is the process that John Major Jenkins thinks the Mayans were able to observe and use to predict certain alignments on which to base their long count calendar. Obliquity is the changing tilt of Earth's spin axis with respect to the stars. Together, these wobbles (Fig. 2), known as Milankovitch cycles, modulate the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth's surface and are thought to pace the comings and goings of ice ages over the past few million years.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Continue reading "Pole-Shift Science With Adam Maloof" >>

Saving the Predators
by Ben Horton
Expedition Granted Competitor

Editor's Note: This blog was written by Ben from the Alacranes reef in Mexico, where he is currently on a research assignment.

We really don't know exactly what a healthy marine ecosystem is supposed to look like. We do know, though, that it is supposed to be thriving with sharks and other predators that are there to manage the quantities of other fish. Somehow, over the last century, we've managed to consume such vast amounts of these animals that they are all but lost.

When you think about it, we only eat the predator fish. When we bait our hooks, it's with smaller fish, not algae or coral, both of which have fish that survive on them. This is what is in my mind right now as I explore the reaches of the Alacranes reef in Mexico. The grazer fish are everywhere, and in such vast numbers that the reef seems to be thriving, yet there is something missing: the predators. This reef system is an example of a region that has been drastically over fished. It is an example of what places like Rio Sirena in Costa Rica will become if we don't start monitoring the commercial fishing that, as I write, is going on unimpeded. Right now Rio Sirena is on the verge of becoming what the Alacranes reef is, and what most of our ocean is.

I know most people are quite glad not to see any sharks when they go to the beach, snorkeling in Hawaii or diving in Mexico. They are glad because of the horrible reputation that sharks have been given by scared humans. If people really knew what it meant to lose all of the sharks on the planet and, of course, if they knew the real nature of these animals, I think most of us would be glad to see them return.

With their return comes a balanced, thriving ocean. An ocean that we can rely on for sustenance in the future. It's not possible for me to "Save the Ocean" all at once, but by doing this expedition to Rio Sirena it is possible for us to start a pattern of changes that could save a critically endangered ecosystem.

Danger, Guns, and Drugs
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

The fact that the lack of elephant DNA data is due to the uncertain political situation has not been lost on Team Elephant. During the summer of 2008 members of our team were asked to complete a similar data collecting mission. Our task was to paddle the Lower Congo Rapids and bring back data for a group of scientists, a feat which had never been accomplished without devastating loss of life to the attempting expeditions. The USGS and NOAA were interested in obtaining data not accessible to science due to the giant and dangerous rapids.

Midway through our 4 day journey downstream we were surrounded at a campsite by men carrying AK-47 rifles and yelling in Lingala, a local language. Finally, thanks to official documentation from the highest ministry in the country and lots of pantomiming, we were able to paddle downstream unscathed and "with our dignity." A full recount of our terrifying hold up is available from Canoe and Kayak Magazine here.

This experience underscored the potential for disaster and the difficulty of working in a country like the DR Congo. While meeting with Sam Wasser he described the way ivory poaching has changed over the years. According to Sam, early elephant poachers would hammer a lead pipe onto a 4x4 and use cut sections of re-bar and gunpowder for ammunition. This would of course end up blowing poachers faces off as often as it would end up killing an elephant.

Times - and guns - have changed.

The price of ivory has ballooned from $200 per kilo just over two decades ago up to $1800 per kilo in June of this year. This makes ivory more expensive than drugs in some cases and has lead to highly organized international ivory trafficking syndicates controlling the poaching industry. According to Sam Wasser, "we're not talking about poor people trying to feed their family, we're talking about very wealthy poachers here." And as in the drug industry, with wealth comes guns.

Ivory poachers in the DR Congo these days are well armed. With as violent a conflict as has raged there for years, guns are very available and cheap. Stories of elephant poachers hunting with automatic weapons or the "AK credit card" as the Kolishnacof is called in the country are common.

This risks are, however, very avoidable if we are conservative, responsible and not over confident. We'll travel with local guides into all areas that could be dangerous. The locals live there day in and day out. They know the dangerous areas and they know how to avoid them. In many cases, we'll travel with armed park guards since elephants are easiest to find in national parks, although sadly they are often not protected.

What we won't do under any circumstances, though, is carry guns ourselves. If our experience on the banks of the Congo taught us anything it was that we can talk ourselves out of a conflict much easier that we can shoot ourselves out of it, even if we don't share a common language.

The Importance of Elephant Scat
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

This week I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Sammuel Wasser, the mastermind behind my expedition. I headed up to Seattle where his lab takes up the better part of a floor in a University of Washington science building.

Wasser, Conservation Biology department director at the university, is a pioneering biologist who has literally changed the face of his field. He's developed techniques for non-invasive research on animals from elephants to spotted owls and most surprisingly, killer whales. Non-invasive means that instead of shooting animals with tranquilizers and using radio collars or taking skin samples for DNA, he's able to study these animals just by sifting through their poop.

In 2004 Wasser fundamentally changed the way wildlife forensics works for the international policing agency INTERPOL. By analyzing DNA from the largest seizure of poached ivory since the 1989 ban and then comparing it to his DNA map of African elephant populations, he made quite a discovery. Instead of cherry picking many different African elephant herds, Wasser found that ivory poachers were actually consistently hammering the same populations time and time again, pushing them dangerously close to the brink.

Where does the poop come in? The data for his DNA map comes largely from collecting scat samples of elephants all over Africa. This discovery, enabled by poop, underscores the urgency of completing this DNA map of all elephant populations in Africa and thus the urgency of our project.

While touring Wasser's lab he repeated the importance of our expedition to his work and to preventing forest elephant herds in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be pushed any closer to the edge of extinction. Elephants there are not as lucky as other populations and sadly have fewer advocates. Because of the dense tree cover, aerial surveys are inaccurate and Wasser has little DNA data from the Congo. It would seem that the same threat to elephants in the area - easy access to big guns - has also intimidated many of the would-be poop scooping researchers.

Not to say that we're fearless, but my team's experience in the country during our Congo River Expedition in 2008 instilled a passion for the region's vast and, in many cases, intact wilderness and the people that inhabit it. To imagine one of the largest wilderness areas remaining in the world without their iconic species, the forest elephant, is difficult at best. The possibility that these amazing animals could disappear in our lifetime is ample motivation to put in the hours - and months - it will take to get in and out safely, with a backpack full of feces.

A Boatload of Stuff
by Ben Horton
Expedition Granted Competitor

A new adventure is just a week away. A group called the International League of Conservation Photographers has arranged to send me to a desert Island in the Gulf of Mexico for nearly two weeks. The Island is called the Alacranes.

Alacranes is about 65 miles north of the Yucatan Peninsula, and is another critically endangered marine ecosystem. The Island is part of the largest reef system in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been mostly ignored by the scientific community, and a quick Google search reveals very little about it. While I'm there, I'll be collecting data on invasive species, and reporting back to the "ILCP" and a group out of Santa Cruz called Island Conservation. Along with the data, I'll be trying my best to tell the story through photographs. It's a reef system, so the photographs will mostly be taken underwater.

The remoteness of the Island, and the difficult nature of taking photographs underwater mean I'll be taking a boatload of equipment with me. That last sentence was meant to be taken quite literally.

Cameras need waterproof housings to be taken underwater, and computers to process the images. I also need a power system to charge all of it, so I'm taking Brunton solar panels and portable batteries to store the energy.

Unlike my proposed expedition to Rio Sirena, I'll be mostly alone. I'm taking my dad as an assistant, for company, and for the added safety of having someone else around while diving. In Sirena, I will be taking a scientist, a videographer, a boat and captain, and an assistant.

The gear is about the same, give or take a few items specific to the project, like the shark tags and tracking device that I'll need to record the daily movements of the sharks in and out of the river system. Other than that though, the waterproof cases and their contents are more or less identical. People rarely get to see what goes into an expedition like this, and have practically no idea the amount of preparation that goes into it. Of course, the gear would be far less if all I needed to do was survive, but I need to work while I'm there, and of course, if dad isn't having a good time, the trip could be a whole lot more daunting!

Although this trip is very important, I'm also keen to dial in my system for working with the sharks of Rio Sirena. The Rio Sirena trip is my own project, and the ecosystem of the Rio Sirena area is on the verge of collapse. I want to be as ready as I can be, so that when all is said and done, we might just be able to save it.

Production Diary, by Ross Goodlass
The Truth Behind the Ark
Sunday November 8 10P et/pt

And so our epic trip around the globe in search of the truth behind Noah's Ark continues, this time taking us to the eastern mountains of Turkey and the ancient city of Van. Located thousands of miles away from the usual beaten tourist track of Turkey, the residents of Van are very surprised to see western faces lugging about huge piles of camera equipment on their backs.

At first I wasn't sure what our reception was going to be like, located in a largely Kurdish area of Turkey, I had read many stories in the press about the PKK terrorist group operating in the area. However, any initial fears I had were quickly extinguished as our Turkish guide welcomed us with a big smile, open arms, and gallons and gallons of Turkish Tea.

Our destination for this section of the shoot wasn't actually in Van itself, but instead high up in the mountains which towered to the east of the city. After spending a few moments filling ourselves to the brim with tea, we then sloshed our way into the guide's van and began the perilous journey up through the mountains to the remote town of Dogubayazit...

Continue Reading Ross Goodlass' Production Diary >>

Production Crew Diary
The Truth Behind the Bermuda Triangle
Sunday November 8 9P et/pt

Next, we were surprised to find ourselves experiencing electrical problems in a light aircraft close to the Bermuda Triangle during filming. That certainly wasn't part of the plan!

We had arranged a day's filming with Triangle survivor and author Bruce Gernon. Bruce's theory on a strange vapor called 'electronic fog' needed closer investigation. So we'd chartered a plane and enlisted the help of meteorologist David Pares to see just what we could find out...

Read the rest of "Electrical Problems in the Sky" >>

Production Crew Diary
The Truth Behind the Bermuda Triangle
Sunday November 8 9P et/pt

During our filming days in America we had two unnerving moments! The first whilst we were filming a diving expedition near the island of South Bimini...

During our preparations for the shoot in the Bahamas, we had read about the potential of sharks in the shallow waters of the Great Bahama Bank. Most, we were told, would be reef sharks... nothing too much to be concerned about.

We were told to keep an eye out for bull sharks, which are particularly ferocious and considered by some experts as the most dangerous sharks in the world. We never actually expected to see any...

Read the rest of "Shark Scare in the Devil's Triangle" >>

Preparing for Adventure
by Ben Horton
Expedition Granted Competitor

As is the case with expeditions, as hard as I try to get everything done, it still seems like all of the important things don't happen until the last minute. I'm packing for an upcoming expedition to the Alacranes Reef in Mexico where my next assignment is, and I'm trying to get my life in order before I leave for three weeks. It seems like I'm spending most of my time just trying to remember what it is I'm supposed to be doing!

This is what I love though, making plans, expeditions on the horizon, and in all of it a feeling that I'm aiming high and that accomplishments will be made. Hopefully in the end, the World will be a slightly better place because of my efforts. Besides, I love the time I get to spend in the natural world, learning about my place in it, and learning through immersion.

The most fantastic points in my life have all taken place in the wild. It was spending time in the places I love that has driven me to become active in the conservation world. Projects like my upcoming Rio Sirena trip don't come about by sitting in my living room thinking about what next adventure will help build my career, they come about by being there, and seeing for myself how desperate the ecosystem is for protection.

Photography is just my personal medium for conservation. It is also an effective medium. When the masses see sheets full of data on the dangers facing a species, they have a hard time visualizing exactly what it means. But when we see a photograph like this one I took in Hong Kong of a warehouse full of shark fins, the point is driven home. That's my job, and that is who I have become, I'm the guy that brings back the photographs and shows them to the people who can't see these things for themselves, so that they might feel something effectual, like, hope, pity, regret, or my favorite, inspiration.

A Day at the Zoo
by Trip Jennings
Expedition Granted Competitor

I went to the Portland Zoo today. I'm always amazed at the sheer size of elephants but I don't normally go to zoos because I can't stand to see the animals in cages and small enclosures. One of the elephants at the zoo (who I think was donated by Enron ) was orphaned at a young age in Asia and the rest were born there, so their origins (minus the Enron thing) aren't too shady, but with only three acres available to them they end up pacing back and forth all day. For an animal that can cover tens of miles in a day, that's a lot of pacing.

Sadly, at the rate elephants are being killed by poachers today, this could be the future of the few that survive. Sam Wasser of the UW Conservation Biology department estimates that elephants could be extinct in the wild by the year 2020, just one decade away. That's because China and the US are demanding ivory more than ever before, the Chinese for ivory ink stamps and Americans for handles of knives and guns.

Even with the international ivory trade banned, the price per kilo can exceed $800, sometimes even shooting up to $1,500 per kilo. In some cases, ivory is now worth more than drugs. Bad news for wild elephants.

Luckily, Sam Wasser is an elephant expert, having developed some of the most innovative tricks in combating poaching. What may be even more interesting though is that he's a poop expert.

Sam has developed a method for pinpointing where elephants were killed by analyzing DNA from confiscated ivory shipments all over the world by using elephant scat to create a DNA map of Africa. This means that he can pinpoint poaching hotspots before the herds are too depleted to become healthy again.

The only problem is that his DNA map is not complete. Some of the most challenging areas to sample DNA (elephant poop) are also the most difficult to access.

He figures the two best ways to help save elephants from extinction are first to finish his DNA map in order to pinpoint poaching hotspots, and second to create a groundswell of international awareness so that governments and policing agencies have the political will to stop the ivory trade where it starts.

My expedition to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a war-torn nation that found its way into my heart in 2008 when I paddled down the Congo River, aims to answer both of these problems. I'll head into the deep jungle with a crew of trusted friends to bring back two things, elephant DNA (a backpack of poop) and photo/video documentation of the elephant herds we encounter.

While picking up poop will be fun, the most exciting will likely be shooting footage and photos of elephants. Remote imaging specialist Joe Riis will be on the expedition shooting photos and helping us set up camera traps to catch the elephants up close. I'll be shooting video with my good friend Andy Maser and Kyle Dickman will be writing.

Together, we can help change the future of elephants and ensure that they life happy, healthy and wild lives, not just in zoos. Please vote for me!

By: D.L. Stern
Producer/Writer, Alaska State Troopers
Series Premiere Wednesday October 14 10P et/pt

I'd only heard stories of Arctic Man before getting the chance to actually attend this year. The stories made me think of Mardi Gras or Sturgis, or some combination of the two - only with snow...and snowmachines. Being there delivered on the promises I'd heard in these stories, with one exception, I was one of only about twenty people there (cameraman and handful of Troopers) out of over 10,000, that wasn't drinking.

The "Arctic Man Ski and Sno-Go Classic" is an annual event held in Alaska's Hoodoo Mountains just north of the little town of Paxson. The four day event which includes various snowmachine-related competitions culminates in perhaps the world's most unique and exhilarating downhill race. The main event features an intensely fast race where snowmachiners and downhill skiers team up. The skiers start at the top of the first mountain then literally link up with their snowmachine-riding partners at the bottom, getting pulled at speeds of up to 90 mph over mountains and valleys, until finally being released for the final stretch of the race. As thrilling as the race is, I quickly got the feeling that the race itself is not the only reason most of the over 10,000 spectators travelled great distances to come to Arctic Man.

Read the rest of "Spring Break - Alaska Style" >>

The live blog is now over, but read what Ed had to say below!

Ed will be commenting on the show, and online to answer your questions live! Leave a comment on the blog or ask a question through Nat Geo Channel's Twitter page.

(9:01p) Ed watching Alone in the Wild: Amazing rainfall, I got soaked filming that storm.

(9:01p) Ed watching Alone in the Wild: I've still got that tooth.

(9:02p) Ed watching Alone in the Wild: When it rains filming is twice as hard, sunny days were bliss.

(9:04p) Ed watching Alone in the Wild: Great Greyling pool but it took me a while to work out how to catch them. You have to sneak up on them.

(9:07p) Ed watching Alone in the Wild: It was therapeutic picking berries. I felt like I was doing something and it didn't take up much energy.

(9:08p) Ed watching Alone in the Wild: Neither I nor the psychologist realised the effect that talking on camera everyday would have.

Viewer question: Ed, you mentioned you brought some Jack London stories with you. Did anything in those stories help or inspire you to build better shelters or modify anything else you did?
Ed: I think Jack London mostly writes about the downfall of man against nature. Peeling away the layers of civilisation until the character either dies or becomes one with nature