Ancient Aluminium .
Andre Willers
6 Mar 2014
“Jades are a girl’s better friends .”
Synopsis :
Naturally formed aluminium nuggets have been found . Jade is
but a by product .
Discussion :
1.Formation :
Aluminium + a lot of heat .
Like a meteor .
Impact or volcanic process .
2. Easier if some bauxite was around . A small meteor , with
concomitant lightning storms (electricity) would be sufficient to form
aluminium nuggets .
3. These have been found . Even on the Moon .
What ! You thought there was no lightning on the Moon ?
You don’t need an atmosphere for lightning , only a kinetic
separation of charged particles .
Like the blow-back after a meteor strike .
See Appendix AA
4. So , the ancients ran across Aluminium nuggets . Made
them into buttons , whatever .
5. Aluminium in this process is associated with Jade .
It happens easier if bauxite is around .
Considerably more valuable than gold or diamonds.
Jade deposits are associated with meteor impacts
(Columbia-Dinosaur) , South-Africa(Vredefort) , Russia(Platinum) , etc .
6.World producers of Bauxite
7.Yet , South Africa has some jade . Called South African
Jade .
This could only have been produced from bauxite near a major
electrical storms from a small impact .
There are some Bauxite deposits in KZN . So there should be
Jade near them .
8. Where to look for large chunks of jade and the source of
the bauxite .
“An
alternate endorheic basin is roughly Upington-Garies-Calvinia . This
would be accessable depending on tectonic activity . (It is a bit lower than
the previous basin)”
Try the
channel between the Orange and the Makgadigadi .
See Appendix BB
9. You should also find oil and gas near jade deposits , but
most of these have already been discovered .
10. Well , Dejah Thoris had this thing with Greens .
.jpg)
Better luck on Mars .
Andre
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Appendix AA
Natural Aluminium nuggets .
Aluminum rare species collections.
Al, A native metallic element.
Aluminum has now been found in several localities in Russia and elsewhere. Probably the first reported find was, Oleinikov et.al who reported it from Siberian basalts.1,3 It has also been reported in diatremes in Kazakhstan and a skarn deposit at Taror, Tajikistan. Also on Bula Island, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and in epithermal veins at Nikitovka Mercury deposit, Ukraine. One of the first reports of aluminum was on the moon. Initially there were many in Russia and elsewhere that felt that native aluminum was reported in error. Even the late and highly venerated Michael Fleischer commented “This seems extremely improbable from thermodynamic considerations.2 Translating this from academic speak into the common vernacular it means “No fu----- way!” Dmitry Belakovsky of Moscow thought he had discovered native aluminum in some charoite samples he was working on. It turned out however that the aluminum was from the aluminum foil that the miners had used to wrap the explosives they were using when blasting the charoite out of the deposit. This and other reasons made it difficult for many researchers to believe that native aluminum had actually been discovered. Dmitry Belakovsky and Pavel Kartashov assure me however that specimens of aluminum really do exist.
1. Pavel Kartashov, personal communication 2. American Mineralogist, Vol. 65, p205, 1980. 3. Oleinikov B.V, Okrugin Av., Leskova N.V. (1978) Petrological significance of occurrences of native aluminum in basalts, - DAN SSSR, 243(1), pp. 191-194 (in Rus). [Rock Currier & Pavel Kartashov 20 December 2008]]
Aluminum
Azerbaijan, Qobustan District, Caspian Sea, Bulla Island
Al, A native metallic element.
Aluminum has now been found in several localities in Russia and elsewhere. Probably the first reported find was, Oleinikov et.al who reported it from Siberian basalts.1,3 It has also been reported in diatremes in Kazakhstan and a skarn deposit at Taror, Tajikistan. Also on Bula Island, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and in epithermal veins at Nikitovka Mercury deposit, Ukraine. One of the first reports of aluminum was on the moon. Initially there were many in Russia and elsewhere that felt that native aluminum was reported in error. Even the late and highly venerated Michael Fleischer commented “This seems extremely improbable from thermodynamic considerations.2 Translating this from academic speak into the common vernacular it means “No fu----- way!” Dmitry Belakovsky of Moscow thought he had discovered native aluminum in some charoite samples he was working on. It turned out however that the aluminum was from the aluminum foil that the miners had used to wrap the explosives they were using when blasting the charoite out of the deposit. This and other reasons made it difficult for many researchers to believe that native aluminum had actually been discovered. Dmitry Belakovsky and Pavel Kartashov assure me however that specimens of aluminum really do exist.
1. Pavel Kartashov, personal communication 2. American Mineralogist, Vol. 65, p205, 1980. 3. Oleinikov B.V, Okrugin Av., Leskova N.V. (1978) Petrological significance of occurrences of native aluminum in basalts, - DAN SSSR, 243(1), pp. 191-194 (in Rus). [Rock Currier & Pavel Kartashov 20 December 2008]]
Aluminum
Azerbaijan, Qobustan District, Caspian Sea, Bulla Island
Aluminum, field of view 4mm
Picture one two.
Pavel Kartashov thinks the best specimen of aluminum was/is a 5 cm 100 to 120 gm concretion that consisted of at least 50% native aluminum. It also contained magnetite, akdalaite, baryte, halite, AlCl3, sinjarite and clay. Only one such nodule was found. The expedition that was exploring the deposit was looking for native iron and did not expect to find native aluminum. The nodule was apparently collected because it was magnetic. It was later discovered that this was because of the significant magnetite component in the nodule. “Initially it was a very regular sphere with two flattened places on its poles. These circular places were light colored. So initially it was an almost black (or very dark-gray) ball with two white spots/dots about 1 cm in diameter. When the concretion was opened, it became visible, that it contained an axial zone very similar to a tangerine or orange section (this zone wasn’t a straight channel as a hole in a bead, but curved). The white material of the axial zone was magnetite free, and was composed of aluminum and “course”- tabular akdalaite, so it was really metallic-pearly white, very bright white. The complex structure of the concretion persuaded me most of all of its natural origin. I don’t see any technical mechanism that would permit its artificial formation.”1 The aluminum in the nodule consisted of 1.5 to 2 mm blebs of polycrystalline aluminum and the aluminum content of the nodule was estimated to be about 50 gms. Pavel Kartashov says that it was a shame that the nodule was not photographed before work began on it because it was black and glassy and looked like a tangerine without its skin. It had a certain amount of halite in its structure and when the nodule was cut using water as a coolant, the halite content was lost and the color changed to gray and the nodule became porous. The remains of the main portion of the nodule is in the Fersman Museum in Moscow.1 On Bula Island is a mud volcano. The island is (4x5 km size) in the Baku archipelago some km SE of Baku city. The main volcanic activity episodes were observed in 1857, 1859, 1940, 1947, 1959, 1960 and 1963. The strongest eruptions occurred in 1857 and 1940, when volumes of erupted breccias attained some millions of cubic meters and flame pillars were up to a kilometer high. The most interesting mineralization (native metals, akdalaite) is connected with ejecta of 1947 eruption.2 Some pieces of native iron up to 4 cm in diameter were recovered here but at least some investigators think they may not be of natural origin.1
1. Pavel Kartashov, personal communication 2. Novgorodova M.I., Mamedov Yu.G. (1996) Native aluminum from mud volcano of Bulla island (Caspian sea). - Litologiya i poleznye iskopaemye, N4, 339-349 (in Russ.)
[Rock Currier & Pavel Kartashov 20 December 2008]]
Aluminum
Russia, Southern Ural Mountains, Orenburg Oblast, Kurmak Deposit
Aluminium and lead intergrowth about 1:1, specimen size 0.6x1 cm.
Native aluminum has been found here in quartz veins. The Fersman Museum in Moscow has a specimen described as a 3 cm piece of gray white quartz with a thin sheet of “native aluminum” measuring about 5 mm across.1 Pavel Kartashov notes that these specimens from Kurmak are not pure aluminum but mainly native lead mixed with tin, aluminum and gold in a quartz matrix. Some time the “aluminum” is tin dominant but this is rare. The aluminum content can on occasion reach 50%. The “aluminium” is part of a vein filling, and resemble rough flattened nuggets ranging from 5 to 20mm and .5 to 1mm thick. According to M.I. Novgorodova these “aluminium nuggets” can reach 2 cm though most are smaller. The thickness of the nuggets range from about .5 to 1mm. Probably the best thing written about the discovery of aluminium at this locality is in the book Native Metals by M.I. Novgorodova (1987) Znanie, Moscow, p. 48. Margarita Ivanovna describe history of discovery of Kumak aluminium much more complete and interesting than in any scientific article. There are currently some tens of specimens of “aluminium” from this deposit.2
1. Dmitry Belakovsky, personal communication 2002. 2. Pavel Kartashov, personal communication 3. Novgorodova M.I. (1979) DAN SSSR, 248(4), pp. 965-968 (in Rus). kimberlites of Yakutia
[Rock Currier & Pavel Kartashov 22 October 2008]
Aluminum
Russia, Far-Eastern Region, Primosrkiy Kray, Khanaka Lake, Pavlovskoe REE-coal deposit
A few grains of native aluminum up to about 1mm have been found here in specimens from the deposit, but their total weight is thought not to exceed 50mg.1
1. Pavel Kartashov, personal communication
[Rock Currier & Pavel Kartashov 22 October 2008]
Aluminum
Moon, Apollonius highlands Luna 20 site
Aluminium?, SEM microphotograph.
From the 30 grams of lunar regolith that the Soviet moon mission returned to earth. containing aggregates up to 3 mm. I think this is the only native aluminum found on the moon and I wonder just how certain the describers of this mineral are that it is native to the moon and not perhaps an artifact created by the landing of the mission. 1,2
1. Pavel Kartashov, personal communication. 2. Ashikhmina N.A., Bogatikov O.A., Gorshkov A.I. (1979) DAN SSSR, 246(4), pp. 958-961 (in Rus).
[Rock Currier & Pavel Kartashov 20 December 2008]
This article took 58 edits to get it to its current state.
A Best Minerals forum has already been created with many entries like rhodochrosite, though most of them need a lot more work. Right now only managers have access to it and it has been my personal play pen for the last month or so. We hope to open this forum site wide in March or April, If other articles are developed and polished up on this thread in the meantime, Ill move them over to this forum out of harms way for the time being.
Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2009 09:32PM by Rob Woodside.
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Appendix
BB
Makgadikgadi
Sea .
Andre
Willers .
Update : 26 Oct 2010
Also
Magadigadi sea , Makgadigadi sea , Magadikgadi sea .
Also shown
in "DaMing Hun Yi Tu" ("Amalgamated map of the Great Ming Empire")
dated 1398 AD on 17 square meters of silk , thought to be based on data about
1320-1380 AD , from preparation explorers before the Admiral He fleet .
This
includes a map clearly showing the inland sea before it drained through Kariba
, and Orange River as described below .
Accuracy :
The
latitudes could then be measured fairly accurately , but the longitudes seem
slightly wonky . However , what is interesting is what is not shown : ie the
outlets of the Zambezi or the Orange , though it does show the outlet of the
Cunene at the correct latitude . Major mountain ranges are also shown at
correct latitudes .
We suspect
that at the time of the mapping (circa 1320 AD) , the outlets of the Zambezi
and Orange rivers did not exist , but were opened shortly afterwards by
tectonic action of the active faults in the regions .
What the map
does show is the Caledon , ending in an endorheic basin roughly bounded today
by Coleberg-Tarkastad-BarkleyEast.
The
tributary/outflow shown to the south of the Makgadigadi Sea is more interesting
. The flow here would be towards an endorheic basin roughly bounded by
Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland . The map shows the Makgadigadi Sea to be
rather full at the time , so the water flow would have been into this endorheic
basin .
In times of
drought , the Makgadigadi Sea would shrink and the flow would reverse .
An alternate
endorheic basin is roughly Upington-Garies-Calvinia . This would be accessable
depending on tectonic activity . (It is a bit lower than the previous basin)
Tectonic
activity would also periodically open the Orange and Zambezi outlets to the
oceans .
Fluctuate
this over geologic time , and you have diamond deposits from the weathering of
the volcanoes formed after the Vredefoort impact .
These have
been found at the Orange outlet , Upington-Garies-Calvinia basin (eg Hexriver
diamonds) , Botswana , Zimbabwe .
But , nobody
has really looked at the Prieska-VictoriaWest-Sutherland endorheic basin .
There should be very rich alluvial diamond pockets in potholes in the old
riverbeds as the water swished back and forth .
Gas and Oil
:
Endorheic
basins are usually associated with gas or oil if they fluctuated over geologic
timespans . Biologic material gets washed into basins with no outlet , covered
up and pressurized . Voila! At least gas . Maybe oil .
You know you
have struck it rich when
Your
borehole at Sutherland blows and the diamonds clog the oil-filters .
Have fun!
Andre
-------------------------
Previous
article:
Makgadikgadi
Sea .
28 Aug 2009
Synopsis :
Southern
Africa had a large interior freshwater sea until historical times , with major
effects on human evolution and regional climates .
Discussion :
Map source :
Reader's digest "Atlas of the World" (1993) ISBN 0-276-42001-264-7 .
P128 : Map
of Southern Africa .
Wikipedia ,
Google . See appendices .
The
topographical map clearly shows a major basin with 200 – 1000 meter elevation
Location :
Bounded by
16 to 28 degrees latitude (longest about 1 320 km) ,
The width
varies : roughly hourglass-shape . At the narrowest in the middle : 23 to 25
degrees longitude (about 240 km) at about latitude 22 degrees .
The widest
about 500 km . Bounded in the east by about 27 degrees longitude , and the west
by 20 degrees longitude .
The basin is
bounded by higher elevations and mountains on all sides , except for the
breakthrough gap of the Zambezi at Victoria Falls .
Faults :
Roughly the
line from Worcester – Grootvlei – Kakamas – Khakea – Lake Ngami – Victoria
Falls – Present course of Zambezi to Great Rift Valley .
Essentially
a branch of the Great East African Rift . See the Luangwa river plains .
See also
Zimbabwe – Kalahari Axis , Gumare fault .See Appendices .
Note that
these faults runs right through the center of the old Kalahari Sea , and was
thus sensitive to the changes in it's water level . This in turn was sensitive
to rainfall and river-inflow / outflow balance . Changes in the weight of the
water would cause changes in seismic activity .
The faults
are quite active (cf Tulbagh earthquakes , when the southernmost end had a mild
6.8 tremor.) . The Zimbabwe – Kalahari Axis and Gumare fault have been active
in historical times , but with long intervals . Overdue . .
Periodic
fluctuations .
The entire
system is seismically sensitive to climate fluctuations caused by the periodic
filling and emptying of the Makgadikgadi Sea . Hence the zig-zag pattern of the
Victoria Falls gorges .
Climate .
There is
also a complex feedback with rainfall patterns in the catchment areas of the
feeder rivers . The system is an endorheic basin (internal drainage-see
Appendix B)
But such a
large body of water and concomitant vegetation drastically alters the rainfall
in its region .
Notice the
orientation of rivers on the sides of the old sea (ie Namibia , Angola) . They
are all on the side of ridges facing the basin , ie from where moisture will
come . A large percentage of moisture simply recirculated within the basin .
During the
full episodes , it simply overflowed through the Limpopo .
Earthquakes
opened the Victoria Falls portal . The water level fell . Moisture
recirculation fell . The borders dried up . If this coincides with a dry
climate period , we get the present shrinkage to marshes at the deepest parts .
Earthquakes
sooner or later close the Victoria Falls portal , and the process reverses .
This has
been going on for more than 3 million years (see Appendix C) .
The latest
reversal started about 10 000 years ago , with the major climate shift at the
end of the ice age .
Orange River
.
Note the
very peculiar fact that most major rivers in South Africa (Orange , Vaal ,
Harts , Modder , etc) are on top of ridges . This has led to some interesting
squirming by geologists , since water has this well-known propensity to flow
downhill . The explanations are suitably convoluted and involve escarpments ,
really long stretches of time and lots of erosion .
Whatever ,
it still means that the major rivers are unstable vis-a-vis major tectonic
movements , but may be self-sealing due to heavy silting .Though this takes
some heavy swallowing .
But the
Orange river has a high probability of also periodically emptying into the
Inland Sea . Most probably about 60 km downstream from Kakamas , where it comes
nearest to the Molopo .
This is not
an idle question , since such an old riverbed will be lousy with alluvial
diamonds . Might even be gold-nuggets from the Vaal .
Human
Evolution .
See Appendix
D .
The point
actually pinpointed is where the borders of present RSA , Namibia and Botswana
meet . This is not an accident , since the borders follow habitability . This
is where the Nossob river meets the westernmost part of the old inland sea . An
ideal place for human evolution .
Lots of food
, easily gathered . A whole sea of potable water .Lots of caves . An extended
coastline to accommodate expanding population or climatic change . An outlet to
the South-South-West with no unsurmountable barriers for the bored and
rebellious .
The
inhabitants of Pinnacle Point near Mosselbay were thus colonizers , migrating
via the West Coast . They were stopped by the dense Tsitsikama forest and
inhospitable terrain past that . The really inhospitable central plateaux were
only the populated by outcasts , criminals and refugees .
Others on
the inland sea would move northwards during fluctuations , eventually ending up
in the Rift Valley system . From there they could easily move northwards ,
using well-known strategies and technologies next to the rift lakes . Bypassing
the whole problem of latitude crossing (cf Jared Diamond) .
Back-pressure
.
The periodic
nature of the process means that after the first migration , and after Toba
(73 000 BP)
, there would be people already there . But population density was low and
newcomers (essentially refugees) , were helped on their way , eventually
towards North Africa , Middle-East , Asia and Europe . This attitude (called
Ubuntu) is still a characteristic of most ordinary people in Africa .
Interesting
asides :
Aquatic
human episode : a freshwater sea like the Magadikgadi Sea would be a much more
benign environment for such evolutionary development than salt-water ocean .
Note the trainable capability of humans to see underwater (not very well known
, but well documented) .
More telling
is Click . See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com "Click
and human Evolution" Click sounds aid fishing . Do humans still use this ?
(without technology)
The inland
sea teemed with fish . Clicking would not only locate , but also chase fish
into weirs or nets . We know they used weirs (stone weirs have been found by
archeologists in areas like Mosselbay) . The efficiency of clicks (mimicking
predators like dolphins) would be very efficient in chasing fish . They would
also attract dolphins , which would share of the largesse . The beginning of a
long cupboard love .
With the
invention of agriculture , click-languages fell out of fashion .
"So
last year .Who needs the effort ." But some aquaculture enclaves might
still have it . Cf surprising Chinese efficiency in freshwater aquaculture . Do
they cluck ?
Was the
first domestication done simply by seeing which animals responded to clicks ,
then selecting and breeding . This could be easily tested .
Chickens and
falcons also respond better to clicks . How deep does it go ? I will need a lot
of convincing for a virus click-whisperer . What about a homeopathic
click-whisperer ? The shaman has click-whispered into this large body of water
and it is transmitted . Sigh . Many humans believe exactly that . Holy water .
Endorheic
Pumps.
See Appendix
B
Basins which
have internal drainage act like pumps to any living organisms inside them .
Because of the interaction between rainfall and vegetation , there is a feedback
oscillation . When times are good , populations increase . When times are bad ,
the tough emigrate , and export their troubles .
The
Magadikgadi basin is probably the oldest , but the Tibetan Plateau is not far
behind . Ditto the steppes of Mongolia , Aral and Black Seas . North Africa
(Lake Fezzan , Lake Chad) , the whole Arabian and Sinai peninsulas , northern
Mexico , Middle-West USA are examples . All the troublespots . Even small
climatic fluctuations cause trouble if the population is over carrying capacity
.
Zimbabwe I
For about
2000 years , to about 1400 AD , there was a flourishing civilization around the
borders of the inland sea . The climate in the highland-areas around it was
very benign , with rain the year around . Extensive ruins of terraced
agriculture are discernable . The center was in Zimbabwe .
Value added
items were exported to India , Arabia mainly gold , minerals and precious
stones Like now .
See the
photo's in Adam's Calender by Heine and Tellinger . (ISBN 1-920153-07-1) .
Especially
p25-p27 . Kilometers of ruins showing clear evidence of agriculture (terraced
,nogal) and husbandry , with market mechanisms (roads , but no evidence of
wheel tracks) . Though the authors try hard , the ruins are patently fresh .
They show less weathering than equivalent Roman ruins in Europe . They are
younger than 1000 years . There is no evidence of Deep Time . Stone fences are
still above ground . Terraces are evident . Not very old at all . But still
indicative of a flourishing society about 100 BC to 1400 AD .
So what happened ?
A severe
earthquake opened up Victoria Falls again and the inland sea started draining .
This coincided with the latest long-term drying-up . A tipping point was
reached (because of the feedback effect) , and things went to hell in a
handbasket quickly after that . There was already shrinkage before that , but
this was the coup-de-grace .
The overseas
merchants (Dravidian South Indian merchant class – the Komati) cut their losses
and departed . Markets shrunk . The locals abandoned expensive agriculture ,
especially as the climate changed . The shrinkage was gradual . When the final
pull-out occurred , the remnants could live on the land in a simple subsistence
economy .
What
remained was kilometers of ruins (like Rome before the Renaissance.)
Note that
this was not a failure of civilization , but an effect of climate change .
The market
disappeared because the infrastructure to feed the labour force was no longer
sufficient . A market cannot create a climate . (Not then , in case)
What can we do about it ?
Well , we
can rob the Congo river or the Rift lakes , but that is inelegant .
(Ne
kulturny)
An elegant
solution is to punch a channel underground to below 1000 meters in the Atlantic
, use the pressure to squirt the water into basin , after desalinating it .
The
technology exists :
1.The tunnel :
Sub-Crustal
torpedoes . Submarine versions are already in use with the Russian and USA
navies . Simply a high-speed projectile that uses vaporized plasma ahead of it
to change the phase of the material . A train of them condenses the plasma on
the sidewalls as a strong material .Cheap .
2.The
desalination :
The
nanotechnology is due at any moment . By it's very nature , it is high
throughput .
3. The ideal
spot :
The top
reaches of the Nossob river , about midway between Okanhanja and Epokira . From
there is an uncomplicated run for a sub-crustal missile to the Atlantic towards
the south-west .. The further advantage is that the flooding would be via a
natural river . It would be truly spectacular . It is doubtful that they could
get the right depth on first try , but would rather go too deep , than too
shallow . A huge permanent geyser of water hundreds of meters high would result
. An inverse waterfall , to rival Victoria Falls .
4. What if
the desalination is not ready ?
(Yakkity-yak
humans –most likely)
A sea-water
sea would be nearly as acceptable . The climatic effects would be similar. We
have a model in the Black Sea .
Do the same
in other endorheic basins ? Libya might do it first . Or repopulating the Aral
sea . The Black Sea can do with some topping up .
This can be
done definitely within 6 months from now .
See map of
endorheic basins in Arabia and Sinai .
Not to
mention India . Or Australia . They really need it .
5. Ocean
current climatology will suddenly assume a new strategic importance .
6. The
defense strategic importance of sub-crustal missile technology .
Nil .
They cannot
defend against super-crustal missiles . So that is not applicable . The thing a
nation or civilization has to worry about is resources . And this technology
frees up the oceans' resources .
Ecology is
the major worry , and avenues for that exist .
7. Money .
There is an
incredible amount of money to be made .
Actually
made . Real wealth creation . Millions of acres made fertile even with just
saline water nearby . The carbon credits of a sub-ocean fountain dissolving CO2
alone will pay the fairly modest capital costs (about $500 million) . Sneer at
iceberg-towing.
Global
flooding ?. Rather worry whether there is enough water in the oceans to satisfy
human demand .
An
interesting exercise : calculate the remaining sea-level after maximal usage of
sea-water . (Hint : look at ice-ages . Would we use the water-equivalent of
miles thick glaciers on land ? Easily .Crops , drinking , industrial etc . But
remember , if it is properly cleansed , it is borrowed . It does get returned
to the ocean . But an awful lot of it is "in use" , in the air as it
were . This percentage will increase .)
Industrial
demand will lead to such a shortage of water that it would be economical to
import water from the Saturn orbital clouds .
8. Parallel
sub-crustal missiles .
I am deeply
unhappy about the fact that major river systems in South Africa are on hard ridges
. It is simply unstable , unless there is a deep trench in the river bed . The
only way I can think of is a a collapsed tunnel . Drilled by a sub-crustal
missile .
Meteor
impact :
If you look
at the paths of the Vaal ,Caledon and Orange rivers and backtrack , you see
that the tracks meet at 36.67 degrees longtitude and 26.78 latitude . This
would be the putative impact point of a meteorite that split into two and
tunneled under the crust for about 1 620 km till the two plasma bodies slowed
to a threshold velocity and they swerved sharply towards each other . They
impacted roughly where Hopetown is now . (A bit to the south-east , actually .)
Expect diamonds .
What to
expect at the impact point :
This is
about 200 km from Beira . This has been a carbon rich area for a long time . I
do not know when the impact took place , but even if it was a fragment of the
Vredefoort meteor there would still be gas and maybe oil deposits formed by the
impact waves .
Note the
lightning-like offshoots before the final .
At the end ,
quantum distribution of charge on the plasma body overwhelms internal coherence
and the two bodies rush towards each other and self-annihilate .
Violent
energy release results .
Hence the
little stretch of the Orange river between Colesberg and Kimberley .
What to
expect at the impact point (36.67 degrees longtitude and 26.78 latitude) .
This is in
the Mozambique channel . There should be oil and gas in a radius of 120 km .
The two
missile trajectories passed on either side of Nelspruit , with dense rock
concentrators on either side . There should be at least gas , probably oil .
Something
similar at Bloemfontein , but probably only gas .(Figures)
Notice all
the thermal springs around .
At Nelspruit
: narrow at the top and wide at the bottom . Quite large .
Andre .
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Appendix A
Geological
changes to the course
More than two
million years ago, the Upper Zambezi river used to flow south through what is
now the Makgadikgadi Pan to the Limpopo River. The land
around the pan experienced tectonic uplift (perhaps as
part of the African superswell) and a large
lake formed, and extended east.
Meanwhile,
1,000 kilometres (620 mi) east, a western tributary of the Shire River in the Great Rift Valley's southern
extension through Malawi eroded a deep valley on its western
escarpment. At the rate of a few cm per year, this river, the Middle
Zambezi, started cutting back the bed of its river towards the west, aided by grabens (rift valleys) forming along
its course in an east-west axis. As it did so it captured a number of
south-flowing rivers such as the Luangwa and Kafue.
Eventually the
large lake trapped at Makgadikgadi (or a tributary of it) was captured by the
Middle Zambezi cutting back towards it, and emptied eastwards. The Upper
Zambezi was captured as well. The Middle Zambezi was about 300 metres
(980 ft) lower than the Upper Zambezi, and a high waterfall formed at the
edge of the basalt plateau across which the upper river flows. This was the
first Victoria Falls, somewhere down the Batoka Gorge near where Lake Kariba is
now.[6] For details of
how the falls cuts back its bed to form the gorge, see How the Victoria Falls formed.
The Zambezi
region was known to medieval geographers as the Empire of Monomotapa, and the
course of the river, as well as the position of Lakes Ngami and Nyasa, were given
broadly accurately in early maps. These were probably constructed from Arab information.
Appendix B
List of endorheic basins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Appendix C
Lake Makgadikgadi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake
Makgadikgadi is an ancient lake that existed
in what is now the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. It may have
once covered as much as 80,000 km² and been 30 m deep. The Okavango, Zambezi, and Cuando rivers once
all emptied into the lake.
Origin and
History
Approximately 3
million years ago, strong easterly winds brought about the formation of
elongated dunes which ran from east to west across the middle of the Kalahari
Desert. During wetter times, these dunes channeled the flow of the great rivers
of the area, the Okavango, Chobe, and Zambezi, eastwards with the Limpopo River into the Indian Ocean.
About 2 million
years ago, the formation of the fault known as the Kalahari-Zimbabwe axis, which runs
from the Zimbabwe capital Harare through its
second-largest city Bulawayo and ends in the eastern side of the
Kalahari, created an enormous basin and forced these rivers to flow into and
fill up the basin. Lake Makgadikgadi was thus created.
As the
millennia passed, the lake was filled to capacity and began to overflow. About
20,000 years ago, as a result, it began to drain northwards and then eastwards.
This caused the middle and lower Zambezi Rivers to connect, resulting in the
formation of Victoria Falls. With the
water now able to flow out of the basin, Lake Makgadikgadi was able to drain
partially and its average level decreased.
A drier
climatic period followed which caused an increase in evaporation and a decrease
in the flow of the rivers that fed it. By about 10,000 years ago the drying of
Lake Makgadikgadi was in an advanced stage. Sediment and debris
from the Okavango River and windblown sand were gradually filling the lake.
The formation
of the Gumare fault caused a
reduction in the elevation of the land. As a result, the water of the Okavango
River spread out over a much larger area of land than it previously did,
forming the now characteristic fan-shaped inland delta of the Okavango, which
further reduced the water that flowed into Lake Makgadikgadi and hastened its
demise.
Today the only
remains of Lake Makgadikgadi, are the Okavango Delta, the Nxai Pan, Lake Ngami, Lake Xau, the Mababe Depression, and the two
main Makgadikgadi pans of Sua and Nwetwe.
Ecology
Lake
Makgadikgadi is theorized to have been the birthplace of the vast number of cichlids[1] that once swam
the Congo River, Zambezi River, Okavango River and Limpopo River - as many as
100 to 400 new species, of which approximately 25 survive today. The lake's
sheer size may have provided the ancestors of these fish with an extremely wide
range of new ecological niches to exploit and thus could have served as the
stimulus for the evolution of the new species, which they may have done in
record time before the lake drained completely. The theory further says that
the newly evolved species, after having evolved within the confines of the
lake, could have escaped with the waters of the lake as it drained, and
populated the rivers of the region to evolve into the cichlids that exist
today.
In current
times this land is desiccated most of the year and is a seasonal wetland in the rainy
summer months.[2]
References
- C. Michael Hogan (2008) Makgadikgadi,
The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham [1]
- James Owen (May 4. 2005) Lost
African Lake Spawned Fish Diversity "Beyond Belief. National
Geographic News[2]
Appendix D
Human
Evolution .
Snip from a NYT
article about a new study by a group of geneticists which
pins the origin of humankind to a spot on the coast of southwest Africa near
the Kalahari Desert. The study is said to be the largest ever of its kind on
African genetic diversity. The researchers say Africans are descended from 14
ancestral populations that typically correlate with language and cultural
groups.
Locations
for the Garden of Eden have been offered many times before, but seldom in the
somewhat inhospitable borderland where Angola and Namibia meet.
A new
genetic survey of people in Africa, the largest of its kind, suggests, however,
that the region in southwest Africa seems, on the present evidence, to be the
origin of modern humans. The authors have also identified some 14 ancestral
populations.
The new
data goes far toward equalizing the genetic picture of the world, given that
most genetic information has come from European and Asian populations. But
because it comes from Africa, the continent on which the human lineage evolved,
it also sheds light on the origins of human life.
The
research team was led by Sarah A.
Tishkoff of the University of Pennsylvania, and reported in in a recent
issue of Science: "The Genetic
Structure and History of Africans and African Americans." (via
Ned Sublette)
Appendix E
Okavango .
|
Greatest
Places Physical Geography: Dr. Cecil Keen, July 1997
Okavango
|
|
Geographic
Description: Described
as "the river which never finds the sea", the Okavango in
northwestern Botswana disappears into a 6,000-square-mile maze of lagoons,
channels, and islands. The river system annually brings more than 2 million
tons of sand and silt into the Delta, yet less than three percent of the
water emerges at the other end to either flood Lake Ngami or cross another
300 miles of the Kalahari, then to enter Lake Xau and the Makgadikgadi Pans.
The Okavango Delta, in the midst of the Kalhan sands, is Africa's largest and most beautiful oasis. The River Okavango, which rises in the highlands of Angola, never reaches the sea; instead its mighty waters empty over the sands of the Kalahari. Here the great Kalahari desert thirst is locally quenched in a blue-green wilderness of fresh water, with emerald reed beds and towering trees.
It is a natural
refuge and giant water hole for the larger animals of the Kalahari. The water
gives rise to many forms of life unexpected in a "desert": There
are fish, crocodiles basking on the sands, and hippopotamuses and swamp
antelopes feeding on the vegetation.
The Okavango is the last surviving remnant of the great Lake Makgadikgadi whose waters and associated swamps once covered much of the Middle Kalahari. It also is closely associated with the Kwando, Linyanti, and Chobe swamps and river systems to the northeast. It is thought that long ago the Okavango, Chobe, Kwando, and upper Zambezi waterways flowed as one massive river across the Middle Kalahari, to join the Limpopo River and then to the Indian Ocean. The earth movements that created the rift of the Kalahari-Zimbabwe Axis impeded this flow, causing a damming back of the giant river, which resulted in the formation of a series of high and complex swamps. As the Okavango River left the humid highlands and entered the arid flatness of the Kalahari, it slowed and dropped its sediment load. Channels became blocked and the water sought other courses, continuing to deposit its sediments wherever it traveled. Over time, some 2 million tons of sand and debris were deposited over the Kalahari sands, creating the characteristic fan shape of the Delta. The Okavango's waters still cut the characteristic fan shape of the Delta. The Okavango's waters still cut paths through this built-up cone and deposit their sand load, causing the channels to continue changing direction. Superimposed on these changes were the climate fluctuations of the last million years. In arid periods these complex swamps and waterways would recede; in wetter times the myriad channels may have combined to form one vast river flowing into a huge lake--the former Lake Makgadikgadi. 2 parallel faults now control the direction in which the Okavango River enters the Kalahari Basin, in an area called the Panhandle. Other faults also direct its exit from the Delta, flowing south into the ocean of sand. As the Okavango flows over the Gomare Fault, a continuation of the Great Rift Valley of east Africa, that runs southwest to northeast, the slope of the land breaks it up into numerous channels, which fan outwards over the Delta. These are blocked by 2 southern faults, the Kunyere and the Thalamakane, which redirect the Delta's myriad channels. The Thalamakane Fault acts as a 150-mile-long natural dam: Here the channels abruptly change direction and join to form one river, the Boteti, which flows eastwards through a break in the fault towards the Makgadikgadi Pan. A small channel, the Nghabe River, continues southwest toward Lake Ngami, serving as both inlet and outlet depending on the strength and direction of the annual floods. The present Okavango is still connected to the Chobe-Zambezi River system via the Selinda Spillway. However, recent arid conditions have meant that these water courses are now seldom joined. The geology of the Okavango is still inherently unstable, as the faults continue to move and earth tremors occur. Channels become filled with sand and debris, and massive plugs of papyrus interrupt their flow. The pattern of drainage in the Delta will continue to change. Interior drainage systems occur typically in arid areas where water evaporates to leave an accumulation of salts as a saline pan, as in Makgadikgadi and Lake Ngami. The Okavango is unique in that it forms a freshwater Delta, simply because it has several outlets. Even though their outflow comprises only three percent of the Okavango's inflow, this is enough to carry away most of the salts and keep the Delta's waters fresh. In fact there are 2 groups of outlets: west to Lake Ngami, and south and east to the Makgadikgadi Pan via the Boteti River. Although the total drainage pattern in the Delta is complex, there is an underlying simplicity in the slow and regular pulse of water that flows down each year from the Angolan highlands. South of the Panhandle the Delta fans out for many miles. During dry periods it is estimated to cover at least 6,000 square miles, but in wetter years, with a heavy annual flood, the Okavango's waters can spread over 8,500 square miles of the Kalahari's sands. Deep water occurs in only a few channels, while vast areas of reed beds are covered by only a few inches of water. The Okavango offers an oasis of habitat for prolific plant and animal life in a personified state of "balance in nature." Two plants dominate the Delta's perennial swamps: papyrus, a giant sedge (type of grass) which grows naturally only in Africa, and the willowy phoenix palm. They provide a fascinating record of recent changes in the limits of the perennial swamps. Papyrus, being a herbaceous species, responds more quickly to changes in water level than the phoenix, which is a woody species. The full extent of the perennial swamps along the Thaoge River, before it began to dry up this century, can be seen by the distribution of the phoenix palm, which extends much further south than the papyrus. Conversely, papyrus extends much farther east than the palm, along the Moanatshira system. This indicates the expansion of perennial swamps during this century. On the Boro River, the papyrus and phoenix occur in the same places, indicating that the extent of swamp areas has remained relatively unchanged in the central Delta during this century. Inhabiting the waters of the Okavango are an estimated 35 million fish of almost 80 species. The most abundant, three species of bream, are preserved from excessive predation by crocodiles feeding on the tiger fish that would prey on the bream. Hippos flatten paths through the papyrus on their nocturnal forays to graze, allowing easier access for the sitatunga and antelope to traverse across the swamps during their daytime migrations. Belts of forest fringe the swamps with tall trees giving shade to large herds of larger game. Beyond the forest fringe the landscape forms an open savanna park land, and in these drier areas the greatest concentrations of game are accompanied by the predator families: lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, and wild dog. It is in these forest fringes and savanna grasslands that elephants and giraffes can be found browsing with antelope of almost every kind, from buffalo, wildebeest, and kudu, to sable, roan and impala. Okavango is a delicate and unique example of dynamic equilibrium at work in nature. A place worthy of being called a "greatest place." |
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