#fluids in the earth's crust

[concernedwith]

[jcmarchi]

Study: Heavy snowfall and rain may contribute to some earthquakes

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/study-heavy-snowfall-and-rain-may-contribute-to-some-earthquakes/

Study: Heavy snowfall and rain may contribute to some earthquakes

When scientists look for an earthquake’s cause, their search often starts underground. As centuries of seismic studies have made clear, it’s the collision of tectonic plates and the movement of subsurface faults and fissures that primarily trigger a temblor.

But MIT scientists have now found that certain weather events may also play a role in setting off some quakes.

In a study appearing today in Science Advances, the researchers report that episodes of heavy snowfall and rain likely contributed to a swarm of earthquakes over the past several years in northern Japan. The study is the first to show that climate conditions could initiate some quakes.

“We see that snowfall and other environmental loading at the surface impacts the stress state underground, and the timing of intense precipitation events is well-correlated with the start of this earthquake swarm,” says study author William Frank, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). “So, climate obviously has an impact on the response of the solid earth, and part of that response is earthquakes.”

The new study focuses on a series of ongoing earthquakes in Japan’s Noto Peninsula. The team discovered that seismic activity in the region is surprisingly synchronized with certain changes in underground pressure, and that those changes are influenced by seasonal patterns of snowfall and precipitation. The scientists suspect that this new connection between quakes and climate may not be unique to Japan and could play a role in shaking up other parts of the world.

Looking to the future, they predict that the climate’s influence on earthquakes could be more pronounced with global warming.

“If we’re going into a climate that’s changing, with more extreme precipitation events, and we expect a redistribution of water in the atmosphere, oceans, and continents, that will change how the Earth’s crust is loaded,” Frank adds. “That will have an impact for sure, and it’s a link we could further explore.”

The study’s lead author is former MIT research associate Qing-Yu Wang (now at Grenoble Alpes University), and also includes EAPS postdoc Xin Cui, Yang Lu of the University of Vienna, Takashi Hirose of Tohoku University, and Kazushige Obara of the University of Tokyo.

Seismic speed

Since late 2020, hundreds of small earthquakes have shaken up Japan’s Noto Peninsula — a finger of land that curves north from the country’s main island into the Sea of Japan. Unlike a typical earthquake sequence, which begins as a main shock that gives way to a series of aftershocks before dying out, Noto’s seismic activity is an “earthquake swarm” — a pattern of multiple, ongoing quakes with no obvious main shock, or seismic trigger.

The MIT team, along with their colleagues in Japan, aimed to spot any patterns in the swarm that would explain the persistent quakes. They started by looking through the Japanese Meteorological Agency’s catalog of earthquakes that provides data on seismic activity throughout the country over time. They focused on quakes in the Noto Peninsula over the last 11 years, during which the region has experienced episodic earthquake activity, including the most recent swarm.

With seismic data from the catalog, the team counted the number of seismic events that occurred in the region over time, and found that the timing of quakes prior to 2020 appeared sporadic and unrelated, compared to late 2020, when earthquakes grew more intense and clustered in time, signaling the start of the swarm, with quakes that are correlated in some way.

The scientists then looked to a second dataset of seismic measurements taken by monitoring stations over the same 11-year period. Each station continuously records any displacement, or local shaking that occurs. The shaking from one station to another can give scientists an idea of how fast a seismic wave travels between stations. This “seismic velocity” is related to the structure of the Earth through which the seismic wave is traveling. Wang used the station measurements to calculate the seismic velocity between every station in and around Noto over the last 11 years.

The researchers generated an evolving picture of seismic velocity beneath the Noto Peninsula and observed a surprising pattern: In 2020, around when the earthquake swarm is thought to have begun, changes in seismic velocity appeared to be synchronized with the seasons.

“We then had to explain why we were observing this seasonal variation,” Frank says.

Snow pressure

The team wondered whether environmental changes from season to season could influence the underlying structure of the Earth in a way that would set off an earthquake swarm. Specifically, they looked at how seasonal precipitation would affect the underground “pore fluid pressure” — the amount of pressure that fluids in the Earth’s cracks and fissures exert within the bedrock.

“When it rains or snows, that adds weight, which increases pore pressure, which allows seismic waves to travel through slower,” Frank explains. “When all that weight is removed, through evaporation or runoff, all of a sudden, that pore pressure decreases and seismic waves are faster.”

Wang and Cui developed a hydromechanical model of the Noto Peninsula to simulate the underlying pore pressure over the last 11 years in response to seasonal changes in precipitation. They fed into the model meteorological data from this same period, including measurements of daily snow, rainfall, and sea-level changes. From their model, they were able to track changes in excess pore pressure beneath the Noto Peninsula, before and during the earthquake swarm. They then compared this timeline of evolving pore pressure with their evolving picture of seismic velocity.

“We had seismic velocity observations, and we had the model of excess pore pressure, and when we overlapped them, we saw they just fit extremely well,” Frank says.

In particular, they found that when they included snowfall data, and especially, extreme snowfall events, the fit between the model and observations was stronger than if they only considered rainfall and other events. In other words, the ongoing earthquake swarm that Noto residents have been experiencing can be explained in part by seasonal precipitation, and particularly, heavy snowfall events.

“We can see that the timing of these earthquakes lines up extremely well with multiple times where we see intense snowfall,” Frank says. “It’s well-correlated with earthquake activity. And we think there’s a physical link between the two.”

The researchers suspect that heavy snowfall and similar extreme precipitation could play a role in earthquakes elsewhere, though they emphasize that the primary trigger will always originate underground.

“When we first want to understand how earthquakes work, we look to plate tectonics, because that is and will always be the number one reason why an earthquake happens,” Frank says. “But, what are the other things that could affect when and how an earthquake happens? That’s when you start to go to second-order controlling factors, and the climate is obviously one of those.”

This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation.

[tanadrin]

I mean, renaissance does extend to the modern era but started during the middle ages. Discovery of the Americas / reformation are what are usually used as the symbolic cut-off points

no, this is actually completely wrong. modernity is a sticky but diaphanous fluid which began to seep up through a crack in the earth's crust below florence, italy, after the earthquake of september 28, 1453. it adheres vigorously to animal flesh, and minute traces are spread by person to person contact. even in trace amounts, its presence inhibits miracles, spiritual apparitions, and feudalism, and encourages the mercantile spirit, which is why its spread ended the middle ages. it also enables the visual cortex to comprehend perspective, which is why paintings looked so funny before. unfortunately it also tends to accumulate in the inner ear, dampening transcendent vibrations that otherwise are naturally picked up by the auditory nerve, making it impossible for humans to hear the voice of the divine.

that sounds bad, but most of what untainted humans in europe were perceiving as the voice of the divine was actually just the voice of a lesser divinity that pope adrian iv trapped in the roman catacombs, harvesting its body for communion. while non-sentient, the psychic defense mechanism of this creature produced aggression, zealotry, and visions of fire. since modernity is toxic to divine beings, despite the church's best efforts it began to sicken in the 17th century and by the 18th was in dire condition. its death finally enabled the first vatican council to occur.

of course if you ask about this at the vatican they won't tell you the truth. it's not on purpose: when divine beings die all memory of them vanishes from this plane of existence as well, including written records. but traces remain if you know where to look. you didn't think the eucharist was always just a little cracker and a sip of wine, did you? that wouldn't make sense. it doesn't even look like flesh.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - August 21, 2023

🌊 - Discover the Ocean's Hidden Gem Deep down in the Pacific

1. Massachusetts passed a millionaire's tax. Now, the revenue is paying for free public school lunches.

Every kid in Massachusetts will get a free lunch, paid for by proceeds from a new state tax on millionaires.

A new 4% tax on the state's wealthiest residents will account for $1 billion of the state's $56 billion fiscal budget for 2024, according to state documents. A portion of those funds will be used to provide all public-school students with free weekday meals, according to State House News Service.

2. Plant-based filter removes up to 99.9% of microplastics from water

Researchers may have found an effective, green way to remove microplastics from our water using readily available plant materials. Their device was found to capture up to 99.9% of a wide variety of microplastics known to pose a health risk to humans.

3. Scientists Find A Whole New Ecosystem Hiding Beneath Earth's Seafloor

Most recently, aquanauts on board a vessel from the Schmidt Ocean Institute used an underwater robot to turn over slabs of volcanic crust in the deep, dark Pacific. Underneath the seafloor of this well-studied site, the international team of researchers found veins of subsurface fluids swimming with life that has never been seen before.

It's a whole new world we didn't know existed.

4. How solar has exploded in the US in just a year

Solar and storage companies have announced over $100 billion in private sector investments in the US since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago, according to a new analysis released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Since President Joe Biden signed the IRA in August 2022, 51 solar factories have been announced or expanded in the US.

5. Researchers have identified a new pack of endangered gray wolves in California

A new pack of gray wolves has shown up in California’s Sierra Nevada, several hundred miles away from any other known population of the endangered species, wildlife officials announced Friday.

It’s a discovery to make researchers howl with delight, given that the native species was hunted to extinction in California in the 1920s. Only in the past decade or so have a few gray wolves wandered back into the state from out-of-state packs.

6. Record-Breaking Cleanup: 25,000 Pounds of Trash Removed from Pacific Garbage Patch

Ocean cleanup crews have fished out the most trash ever taken from one of the largest garbage patches in the world.

The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental engineering organization, saw its largest extraction earlier this month by removing about 25,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the organization

7. The Inflation Reduction Act Took U.S. Climate Action Global

The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aimed to promote clean energy investments in the U.S. and globally. In its first year, the IRA successfully spurred other nations to develop competitive climate plans.

Clean energy projects in 44 U.S. states driven by the IRA have generated over 170,600 jobs and $278 billion in investments, aligning with Paris Agreement goals.

---

That's it for this week :)

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[toastykaykes]

Paint it Black (Prologue)

Hello! This is the beginning of a series for me! Series rating will be M (18+). There will be mention of torture, mention of SA, abuse, fighting, alcohol, sex, and probably more that I'll warn before the chapter.

Pair: Logan Howlett x Mutant!Reader.

Please give me feedback so I can become better! But anyway guys, here's the Prologue!! Teehee Enjoy

Word count: 1116

-----------------------------------------------------

CLANG 

CLANG CLANG

.

.

“Get up.”

You peek through your eyes, feeling as if you are the earth gazing upon humanities evils. There’s so much crust and filth embedded in your skin, it’s essentially consuming you. You just want to sink and hide beneath it. Away from all of this. Away from this pain. 

You look past this facade and see the same place you’ve been encased in for…how long now? You’ve lost track of time, between the hell they put you through and the salvation you call your mind when everything goes black.

Grime and grease, blood and bodily fluids litter the concrete floor of your cell. No bed, no toilet, just chains they use to confine you. To use you. 

“I SAID GET THE FUCK UP! WHAT YOU CAN’T EVEN HEAR ANYMORE?” The man yells, the increase of volume and proximity making your earthbound soul shake. He pounds the cell wall, this fist probably getting scuffed trying to make himself look like a monster. 

A monster.

You shift your head, (e/c) eyes finding the same guard as always who comes to collect you. His face naturally hosts a snarl of a smirk, as do most of the people at this place. Oh how you just wish to clean the earth of them all. People like them, all they do is hurt and consume others. You manage to contort your muscles in your face to paint on some form of a twisted smile. If it even could be called that. It’s more so of a snarl, but depends on who’s looking. To him, he takes it as a smile, throwing one back as he enters the stall. 

“I knew that would catch your attention honey,” He draws out while his hand jerks out to grab your head, smacking it against the wall behind you, “ya know you’ve lasted way longer than another mutant down here. Poor Wanda couldn’t handle it anymore…tsk. What a shame, right.” 

As you take in his words, your heart feels like it stops. There’s no way she’s..gone. She was so strong, way stronger than me. We both promised to get out of here together, to finally free ourselves of this filth. To make sure no other children and women would ever go through this pain. 

Something that is all you feel right now, throbbing throughout your body. If your body had anything left in it, you would feel the tears slip past the threshold, becoming one with the dirt on your face. You let your eyes fall, shutting out the feeling his hands go lower to your neck ready to start. The cold steel of the needle just barely pierces your skin. 

His chapped fucking lips scorch your ear, “You’re all just filthy demons. You act like you're all powerful when really all you are is weak. Disgusting and impure. Can’t even fight back, I bet you like what we do to you huh? You filthy whore.”

Fight back? All I’ve been doing is fighting back. Day after day, fighting the urge to just let myself die. To end this hellish loop I've been stuck in. But I never did, because of Wanda….

You fall inside your mind, where you're standing surrounded by your shadows. Your safe place. It’s here where you can truly react to what just happened. Wanda is gone. The only person who made you feel an ounce of sanity. Gone. Your knees give out as you gasp, feeling the air leave your body. You feel the shadows around you, swirling between your fingertips and through your anger. You gaze up, tears cascading down your cheeks to see the door. That goddamn red door. 

You begin to smile. Wanda wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

I’ll show them who the real monster is. 

And you let your shadows paint the door Black. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Miss (l/n)?” 

You look up from your stack of ungraded assignments to see Daven holding his hand up. You smile. “Something on your mind Daven?” 

“I was wondering if you have a favorite hero here? Like mine is Cyclops. He’s so cool with his lasers that go ‘bbsszzzz’” Daven asks with a huge grin, hands reenacting exactly what Scott’s eyes do when fighting. The whole class starts to laugh, children chiming in louder who theirs is. 

You can’t help but chuckle as they start to all talk about who on the X-men is their hero. So much for a quiet break. “How about you all draw your favorite X-men and give it to them as a gift? I think that would be quite nice, wouldn't you?” 

This of course went over very well with them, their smiles growing wider in excitement. Chairs topple over as you see them all rush to get their papers and crayons, some grabbing paints. “Remember to be clean!” You chime while sitting back down, grading their homework assignments before their attention span dies. 

By the end of class, everyone has their special drawing and the room is clean. Thank God. 

You hold the door for them as they all let out one by one. “Next week you have a quiz! So remember to read your chapters over the weekend.” You smile at them all, feeling content they enjoyed their art class. It’s something you hold dear to yourself, always finding serenity and peace with it. Which makes your heart happy to be able to share with them. 

“Miss (l/n), I have something for you.”

You look down to see Marie, adorably clad with pigtails and bows that match her uniform. 

“Whatcha got sweetie?” You say while reaching out to grab what she was offering. 

“My hero doesn’t come here often. He’s mysterious like that. But I wanted you to give it to him if you see him.” Her drawing is a misshapen round circle person clad in a yellow suit with what looks like knives poking out of his hands like Freddy Kreuger. HUH

“Honey, you sure you don’t want to give it to him? You made it. I’m sure he’d love to receive it from you.” You look down to see her shake her head no. 

“No, I think you should give it to Logan.” She then turns on her cute little shoes and makes her way out the door and down the hall.  Bro I don’t even know a Logan. Huh, maybe Professor Charles knows something about this. You sigh to yourself before folding it into itself and stuffing it into your bag. You feel the exhaustion from today begin to settle in with the quiet. Closing the door behind you, you walk down the hall, ready to get this meeting over with.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Reference: Gem Formation

Most gems form naturally as minerals within the Earth.

Most form as crystals, solids whose atoms are arranged in highly ordered repeating patterns called crystal systems.

TRADITIONALLY, we were taught there are 3 kinds of rock formation processes:

Igneous rocks - are created with heat, deep within the Earth.

Metamorphic rocks - form when heat and pressure conditions change existing minerals into something new.

Sedimentary rocks - form from deposits of sediment.

TODAY, geologists prefer to describe rock formation as involving 4 processes:

Molten rock and associated fluids

Environmental changes

Surface water

Gem formation in the Earth's mantle

Technically, gems rarely form in the Earth's magma itself.

Rather, they form from fluids that escape from it, such as gems from hydrothermal deposits and pegmatites.

Diamond Crystallization

Diamonds crystallize at temperatures higher than other minerals.

Scientists now believe that most diamonds may form in the magma, near the Earth's crust where it's the coolest.

If true, this also means that conditions for diamond crystallization are the most common underground.

Diamonds may actually be the most plentiful crystals in the Earth.

They just aren't the easiest to reach.

How Diamonds Reach the Surface:

A magma pocket comes in contact with a weak area in the crust.

A quick explosion results, carrying diamond-bearing magma to the surface. During the eruption, a cone builds on the surface.

The carrot-shaped pipe eventually cools.

The cone quickly erodes away (geologically speaking), leaving the diamond-bearing earth where people can reach it.

How Mountain Building and Erosion Bring Gems to the Surface:

Over vast periods of time, the movement of the continental plates causes mountains to rise. Then, years of weathering take down the mountain, leaving the gem deposits near the surface. This process takes many millions of years.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Gemology

[bitsbug]

you guys seem to like my echo iterator, Distant Humming, so here’s more Humming lore

first thing’s first, her can is weird! the void fluid she dipped herself in didn’t take too kindly to her structure, melting and dissolving and stretching it in odd ways as she descended into the sea. Despite literally looking like a corpse, she’s doing fine! Becoming an echo unshackled her from the limitations of physics, and also the dangers of physical damage.

She resides over what was once her facility grounds. After she got dissolved, the void fluid kept boring through everything around it, digging a hole into the earth’s crust right back to the sea. The Pit is the most direct way to the depths, but a perilous journey due to the unstable walls and sheer drops. Like all echoes, Distant Humming only appears when you’re on your current max karma - just a bit more dramatic because, instead of a singular guy, it’s at least 3 regions appearing overnight. When she’s visible, the echo pacification aura affects almost all of the Pit, and even a bit outside of it.

Her interior isn’t any less weird. Everything free-floating inside her structure melted into the walls and floors and ceilings, distorting in the void. Anything that didn’t get attached was lost, making her interior uncannily still. She’s literally incapable of losing anything else now, as if a piece gets dislodged it’s instantly replaced by a clone of itself. Yes you can produce infinite neurons this way. They’re only nutritional inside her regions.

she’s so normal :thumbs up:

[zorosdimples]

pairing ⛧ creepy medical student! law x gn! reader

warnings ⛧ minors: please do not interact! i will block you. while there’s no smut, this is suggestive, and everything that happens is nonconsensual (law is gross). mentions of masturbation, fucking inanimate objects, bruises, and death. additionally: cum sighting, cursing, knife play, a little blood, some spit, manhandling, and general grimetown weirdness.

word count ⛧ 1132

notes ⛧ this is another installment of the garden of earthly delights series, as well as a contribution to @bastardblvd’s house of slimy horrors collab—my prompt was “pumpkin patch”! the plot is nonexistent… just go with it <3

something isn’t right.

the early evening sky is hazy, the sun obscured by a leaden film that shrouds grimetown’s pumpkin patch in a deathly hue. the barren field before you is more of a squash graveyard than anything else—the vast expanse of dirt is littered with a few dozen orange carcasses.

this is certainly not what you were expecting when your date suggested a fun autumnal outing.

“this has to be the world’s most depressing pumpkin patch,” you grouse, craning your neck to look up at law’s stony expression; as usual, his face doesn’t betray his thoughts. you can never get a good read on him. you don’t know him well enough to tell if he’s simply awkward or if he genuinely doesn’t emote. “we should go somewhere else.”

the jet-haired man places a firm palm on the small of your back, urging you forward. “c’mon, we’re already here. we can’t make jack-o-lanterns without pumpkins. toji joe’s is out of ‘em.”

there’s a peculiar lilt to his words—a faux positivity that makes you hesitate for a split second. but you move forward anyway.

the blustery air ruffles your clothes as you drift across the dark earth with law, searching for a pumpkin that isn’t in some state of decomposition. this is exactly the sort of scenario you hear about on your favorite podcasts and documentaries: a careless person accompanied by a man they barely know in a remote area, not so much as a whisper of nearby life on the wind.

all you really know about law is that he’s a handsome medical student who shares similar interests, namely in true crime and literature. that, and he had been unusually pushy about this outing.

“hey, that looks like a good one.” law points to a suitable carving prospect. crouching down to get a closer look, a gasp leaves your lips when you find a hole a few inches in diameter bored into the side of the pumpkin. what appears to have once been a pale cream fluid is now a flaky crust, caking the opening. “is that—”

“probably,” law cuts in, resting a cold, tattooed hand on your shoulder. startled, you nearly topple over, but his strong arms catch you and pull you to his chest. now standing, you jerk in his embrace; he releases his hold and you take a few steps back. “it’s one of kappa upsilon mu’s fall festival activities.”

it’s impossible to hide the disgust that furrows your brow and creeps into your voice. “they mutilate pumpkins and fuck them like fleshlights as a frat tradition?”

law shrugs. you swear you see a glimmer of humor flit through his amber irises. “it’s not even close to the weirdest thing they do. ever heard of a ‘cum fountain’?”

you hold up a hand to stop him. “i don’t even wanna know.”

but something isn’t adding up you think with a frown. “if you knew all the pumpkins were going to be cut up and…violated, why did you bring me here, law?” you tried to measure your words carefully, but now that they hang in the open, your accusation is evident.

your date’s lips curl into an ominous smirk. the familiar chill of dread nips at your heels and paws at your chest. “well,” law starts, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a switchblade. your eyes rivet on the tool—the weapon—as he fiddles with it, nimble fingers gliding along the handle before flicking it open with ease. his bored, yellow gaze unnerves you; his words ooze calculated confidence. “i’m gonna practice my carving skills with you.”

his statement rips the breath from your lungs. unsure of what to do, you chuckle uncomfortably, praying that he’s still talking about the goddamn pumpkins.

law edges closer to you, a hunter testing his prey. you don’t move—you don’t think you could if you tried. your mind is racing in countless directions, but you can’t settle on an action, a plan. and this freak—your date—is one small thrust of the blade from you, crowding your space. so you stare down the predator’s maw.

“you’re beautiful,” law states, though it doesn’t sound complimentary; it’s an observation. there’s a clinical coldness to his words that makes you feel like you’re trapped in a microscope slide. he gestures to you with the knife, the unspoken threat palpable.

“oh. um, th-thank you,” you stammer, eyes darting wildly, cornered prey.

you force yourself to think: how do you escape this fucker? you had to take a shitty taxi to get to the pumpkin patch, but the driver could barely keep the car in its lane and tried to proposition you for sex. is everyone in grimetown a slimeball? you don’t realize your nails are biting so deeply into the skin of your palms that blood is dripping onto the dirt.

as though he can read your thoughts, law says coolly, “i wouldn’t run if i were you.”

options dwindling, you remember your lifeline. slowly, you inch a hand toward your back pocket where your phone sits. but your opponent is perceptive; law cracks a wide smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, running his tongue across his sharp teeth. he raises the knife and presses the flat side of the blade against your neck.

it’s an effective warning.

“there’s no signal out here—the only cell provider that services grimetown is slime mobile. you can check, though, if it makes you feel better,” law taunts.

to your horror, your phone reads “no service” at the top of the screen. your skin itches, nerves buzzing with adrenaline. your hands shake, fear and rage coalescing into an unshakeable tremor that has sweat beading at your temples. hot tears of frustration singe your cheeks. but the cold steel of the blade against your throat saps the fight from your body.

your final resort?

“fuck you,” you hiss with all the venom you can muster. and, before you can stop yourself: ptui. you launch a glob of spit that lands squarely on law’s cheek, punctuating your insult.

law doesn’t flinch. rather, he swipes two calloused fingertips through your precious gift. he holds his wet digits up, admiring the glistening pads of his fingers, then pops them into his mouth. the groan he emits while enjoying your taste makes you lightheaded. he pivots his blade so that the honed tip scrapes an angry line up the column of your throat. the pressure isn’t enough to slice your flesh—yet.

you shriek when law forcefully grabs your jaw and pulls you to him. bruises in the shape of his fingers will bloom on your face tomorrow—if you live that long, anyway. for the first time, his wide grin crinkles his hawkish eyes.

his voice is thick with desire as he murmurs, “i’d like to fuck you first.”

[finrays]

Sometimes I think about Kyoshi moving an entire peninsula out into the ocean and as someone with an undergrad minor in Physical Geography, I go slightly insane.

So, basic plate tectonics review; we live on what's essentially a pool floatie raft that's sitting in a pool that's PACKED with other floaties. They move around and bump into each other, but most of the pool/planet is fluid. Unfortunately, giant slabs of rock aren't really as bouncy as pool floaties, and they tend to smash into each other and keep pushing instead of rebounding gracefully;

Which is how you get things like trenches, mountain ranges, etc. Continents are rooted to the plates; they don't float around on top of the water like ice cubes. It's solid all the way down to the parts where the rock gets hot enough to hit caramel-like consistency. Continental crust is lighter than oceanic crust, and tends to pop up when a continental plate and an oceanic plate collide, while oceanic crust is more dense, and tends to go down and crush into the mantle. When it's two of the same, the denser plate subducts.

So the Yokoya Peninsula would have been part of a tectonic plate... either in the middle of a plate, or on the boundary of one, it doesn't really matter.

Because Kyoshi either undercut the peninsula like an ice cream scoop and then connected the rock to the seafloor again, which would have been INSANE and left a big submerged plateau off the coast of the Earth Kingdom.

Or, in an INCREDIBLY MIND-BLOWING MOVE, she might have moved the entire tectonic plate. Considering we see magma in the show, which implies that she cut through the entire fucking lithosphere? It's not out of the question.

Look at those plates up there; you can see what would happen on each end of Kyoshi carving out a new tectonic plate and moving it the fuck out into the ocean. On the back end, nearest the Earth Kingdom, you'd have a new seafloor ridge, possibly with some volcanic activity, but with all that bending in play, she may have just put a plug in that. Or not... there might be a bunch of steaming vents there now. Sick.

On the other end, the place closer to the final spot she's moving the island to? You would have two oceanic plates crushing together and subducting.

Which creates something I'm calling the Kyoshi Trench; she could LITERALLY have gouged a deep hole into the seafloor by crushing the back edge of the new plate (which I will refer to as the Kyoshi Plate) into the adjacent one.

So Kyoshi didn't JUST make an island if this is what she did; she also made a new tectonic plate, a new seafloor spreading ridge, and what's possibly the Avatar world's version of the Marianas Trench.

tl;dr: Q U E E N S H I T

[thespacewirednews]

4.4-bn-yr-old meteorite grain shows hot water once flowed on Mars !

A zircon grain in Martian meteorite NWA7034, discovered in the Sahara in 2011, revealed evidence of water-rich fluids on Mars 4.45 billion years ago. Using nano-scale geochemistry, researchers detected signs of hot water on Mars during its early crust formation. The findings suggest hydrothermal systems, essential for life on Earth, may have existed on Mars, raising possibility of alien life.

[h3lfaerie]

I just made the coolest addition to the World-building in PoA.

If you recall, in Chapter 9, we established that iron is highly harmful to the Fae; a trait found both in Celtic and in Nordic Folklore.

Now as you may know, iron is the fourth most abundant element, by mass, in the Earth's crust. The core of the Earth is thought to be largely composed of iron with nickel and sulfur. But aside from iron ore, the element is also naturally found in abundance of foods like molasses and seafood.

It is also found in the blood.

So.

Yours truly did a little research.

The red colour of human blood is due to the red blood cells containing haemoglobin, a protein containing iron, so we can presume that blood without haemoglobin is not that bright (I know this firsthand, I'm anaemic). But if we take all red cells out of the blood then the remaining fluid is called plasma.

And you know what colour plasma is?

Yellowish or golden.

It's because of the presence of bilirubin in that, which is a breakdown product of iron containing the heme part of haemoglobin.

There are also other iron-containing proteins like transferrin and vitamin-A derivatives like carotenoids, that contribute their part in imparting the same colour. 

But again, having iron subunits in the blood wouldn't make sense for the Fae seeing as iron can kill them, therefore we can assume that their blood does not contain any traces of that element. No part of their body would.

So, we do a second wipe down.

If we were to remove every single possible iron subunit from the blood, it still leaves other pigments like the carotenoids, but no hemoglobin, no bilirubin, and no urobilinogen, which are all components that give blood its colour. As they are derivative from red blood cells, we can presume that they were never present to begin with in species like the Fae.

The remaining plasma would be mostly composed of water and other proteins, which are typically colorless or very pale. A faint golden hue would still be present due to the small amount of pigment remaining, but overall we are left with a pretty much translucent colour.

Now add some lore-typical whimsy. Say "magic in the blood", which I can colour however I please.

And the Fae bleed gold.

Incandescent, fucking gold.

And it makes sense.

The groundwork was already there with the base plasma fluid being yellow and/or golden, but I've essentially stripped it down to a colorless ichor by removing every single ferrous component. Which means I can then build up the fluid with whatever properties I please.

And I'm choosing an obnoxious glittery gold. Because duh.

It's Faeries.

If that ain't the coolest thing I've added to the lore so far, I don't know what is.

P.S. I recommend watching this scene from Gods of Egypt for a visual of what gold blood would look like. Obviously spoiler warning for the movie, and it is a fight scene, therefore injury, hence blood.

P.S. (2) Sett, a.k.a. the villain in this movie, is played by Gerard Butler, a.k.a. Stoick the Vast.

P.S. (3) I am actually so giddy over this. I made gold blood make sense.

[apod]

2023 April 4

Olympus Mons: Largest Volcano in the Solar System Image Credit: ESA, DLR, FU Berlin, Mars Express; Processing & CC BY 2.0 License: Andrea Luck

Explanation: The largest volcano in our Solar System is on Mars. Although three times higher than Earth's Mount Everest, Olympus Mons will not be difficult for humans to climb because of the volcano's shallow slopes and Mars' low gravity. Covering an area greater than the entire Hawaiian volcano chain, the slopes of Olympus Mons typically rise only a few degrees at a time. Olympus Mons is an immense shield volcano, built long ago by fluid lava. A relatively static surface crust allowed it to build up over time. Its last eruption is thought to have been about 25 million years ago. The featured image was taken by the European Space Agency's robotic Mars Express spacecraft currently orbiting the Red Planet.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230404.html

[quills-of-freedom]

Short Story ~

Stuffed 🥵

Female Bodied Reader X Porco

Warnings: NSFW 18+ Smut. Panty stuffing.

You didn’t know what to feel. What to think. What to say. 

The toxic concoctions of emotions swirling within you consisted of anger, disgust and even the slightest tinge of fear. Yet it was being diluted by relief. Relief that he actually felt the same about you as you did him, even if you had found out in such a bizarre way. This cocktail of heat was only strengthened by lust and libido; you’d have to be careful, walking the fine line of such strong feelings. You didn’t want to topple off the edge into full blown hysteria. 

 “Well?!” You breathe, your chest heaving as your eyes are glued onto Porco’s stunned face - your lost panties now found and clutched in your hand. 

He didn’t know if this were real or if he was about to wake up in a cold sweat from this nightmare situation. His mouth opened and closed like an idiot fish out of water; eyes wide and an instant red hue etching across his cheeks.

 It had been going on for about a year now. You’d noticed some of your underwear would just disappear off the face of the earth. 

You were sure you’d only washed these and put them away the day before…

Then you began to notice they would vanish from within your laundry basket. It took a couple of months to realise that no, you weren’t going crazy. Someone was taking them. Your first guess was Reiner - you knew he’d had a thing for him for a while. And he was bound to act weird after his four years on that island. It would have been a more forgivable crime, you were understanding and sympathetic with Braun and his issues. But no.

You’d proven it wasn’t Braun, your panties always still in their assigned location after having him alone in your room. 

It was Porco. 

Porco Galliard who really had no excuse or reason to have eight pairs of your underwear tucked under his mattress. 

 He begins to stutter your name; fingers fumbling together and his mind desperately trying to think of a valid excuse. But really, there wasn’t any. 

“I’m so sorry.” He finally croaks, his head hanging in shame. 

You throw them down onto his bed in disbelief, examining them. 

The older pairs he’d had for a while were hardened, crusted over in what you could only guess from the smell being his semen. 

“I just want you… so bad.” He admits, eyes snapping to yours with a hint of a hopeful gleam.

Hopeful of forgiveness. Hope of you not telling anyone his dirty little secret. And hopeful that you would want him too. 

 That tightrope you were balancing on quite well now snapped with his admission - plunging you into the scolding sea of hazed lust, your self control quickly spiraling as you glare back at him, your body overtaking your mind.

He would have killed to know what you were thinking at that moment. But it wasn’t long before it became abundantly clear - your now desperate claws hooking into his shirt as you crash your mouth against his.

He’s surprised at first. He was fully expecting you to kick his ass and report him. But that shock quickly melted into elation as his hands glued themselves to your waist, eyes closing and inhaling with a groan as he pushed his tongue past your sweet lips, finally able to taste some sort of fluid of his most desired.

Your hands can’t seem to decide where you want to touch him. Roughly grazing through his dirty blonde strands, his broad shoulders, the solid abs under his tight shirt - you fuckin’ needed Porco Galliard to ruin you. 

Once it had fully sunken it what was happening, he picks you up with ease and throws you down onto his bed with a grunt. The possession of sexual desire already morphing his orbs into a pair you hardly recognise as he looms over you, removing his shirt with a deep sigh and laying on top of you. His mouth returning to yours and his hungry hands pawing at your form, rubbing up and down your breasts roughly. 

He was determined to do all of your soiled panties justice. All of those frustrated and yearning jerks into your sweet pussy-scented material over the months was finally manifested into his reality. 

He grunts as his mouth moves down to your neck, his hands slipping up your shirt and the feel of your bare breasts finally in his palms was enough to make him give in and just insert himself into you then and there - finally filling you up to the brim with his seed. But he refused to let his years of lust for you snap in such a short time, your shirt now removed and his mouth suctioned around your nipple, the other being tugged at harshly with his fingers.

Your breast vibrates and buzzes with his groans, his head lowered so you could see his broad back and shoulders hunching over you and closing you in were you to try and escape his desires.

Not that you’d want to. 

“Fuck, y/n…” He hisses with venom, returning his head up to your view. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

The thought of Porco needing your body to the extent where he’d stolen your panties and jerked into them for months on end, absolutely drove you wild. Hell, he could do whatever the fuck he wanted to you at this point. 

Your sex was already heated; beyond damp and into soaking territory as his hands grab the hem of your skirt and pull it down your pins, his mouth following closely behind, trailing his lips down your thighs. 

He doesn’t hold back his loud groan when he sees you in nothing but your pants, the grey cotton adorned deliciously with a large darkened patch at your crotch from your arousal. 

The irony wasn’t lost on him as he smirks, placing his head between your thighs and inhaling your scent deeply.

 “Fu~~ck…” He gasps, not even knowing where to begin. 

He caresses your ribs, hands roaming over you while his lips massage your lower stomach and inner thighs, your fingers entwined into his strands as you hum and gasp at the searing branding of his touch.

He takes his time, trembling from excitement as he carefully devours you; afraid he was about to wake up at any given time with a sticky mess in his shorts. 

His teeth nip at your flesh, your chest raising and falling heavily as your breathing rate increases, his fingers caressing at your panty crotch line, ever so tantalisingly close. 

  “Porco…” You breathe, barely audible. 

You thrust your hips a little, needing his friction against you.

“Yeah, Baby?” He grins slyly. 

Hearing him talk to you like that and calling you that for the first time was intoxicating. 

“Touch me…” You plead. “Have me. I want to be yours…”

His tongue rolls over his lip, eyes telling his brain that he was about to consume a mouthwatering meal; pupils dilating and his teeth baring - his primal instincts ready to tear into your flesh before his mouth encloses around the damp cloth, sucking at the moisture with a low, rumbled moan.

The heat from his mouth filtering through the cotton makes you squirm, desperately wanting bare flesh on his tongue. 

His steamy breath encases your sex, your lip being bitten by your teeth as you glance down at him - his eyes desperate and pleading as he then gently bites down onto the material, nipping it and tugging them down your legs, his nose inhaling your scent as it passes your slit.

“Porco!” You gasp in surprise.

Surprise that he could make you feel so so good after doing so little, your orbs following him as he leans down and grabs one of the more fresh pairs of your stolen underwear. The strong whiff of his old cum wafts over as you he swings his arm back to its original position between your legs.

His breathing becomes more labored as he has you before him at his mercy, your eager and starving pussy leaking arousal and quivering in anticipation.

Leaning down, he runs his wet muscle up your entirety; lapping up your taste with a satisfied moan.

“You taste better than I could have ever imagined.” He comments, fumbling with his belt to give his solid cock some breathing room - becoming too enlarged and throbbing to sit comfortably within the confines of his shorts. 

Your eyes enlarge and a gasp escapes you as you behold his large, fat cock in all of its glory as it springs up and out of his boxers before kicking them onto the floor. His fat head is gleaming and crying with pre-cum, the scent rolling its way up your body and into your nose before he returns his face to your slit. 

Your back snaps into an arch as his tongue rolls over your clit, his hands retaking those soiled knickers before pressing them to your tight entrance, his eyes wide with desire.

He wants to taint you. Ruin you. Mark you as his own.

What better way than with cloth covered in his dead seed before the more fresh dose? 

Taking his two fingers, he pushes them in slowly - the sensation strange but good all at the same time, your moan melodic to his receptive ears.

“You like that, huh?” He hums, leaning back and marveling at the sight of your cunt swallowing the material like a large pill.

He grabs a second pair - a thong that he admittedly thought was a piece of string when he’d first laid his yearning eyes on them.

The scent on these is a lot stronger, having tied them around his shaft a few times while rubbing his head with another pair.

He rubs the thin rope around your inner lips before pushing those into you too - the full feeling driving you insane, his thumb lazily circling your clit as he grabs a third pair. 

���P-porco…”

“Sh…” He soothes, almost salivating. “You can take this baby. My cock will fill you more full than these…” 

You cry out as he balls up this pair and pushes it inside you, moving the previous two further up into your tunnel, his movements on your clit quickening as the stuffed feeling makes your eyes roll. You feel him shift, lining his head up to your open hole as he circles himself around it, teasing and pushing you to your limit as just the tip of his fat head pushes into you with a loud groan emitting from his throat, pushing the material further inside you.

You swear you could feel them in your throat as he rocks his tip in and out of you slowly, his arms shaking as his grip on your thighs tighten.

He takes a fourth pair - making sure it was the first he’d ever taken, leaning over you and grazing his lips against yours before pushing the Brazilian brief style underwear into your mouth, silencing your whimpers as he pushes his dick a little further inside of you. 

Your sob is muffled, your body feeling more like a taxidermized piece of art by the second.

His hand splays around your neck, hips rocking a little faster his “mmm” sounds get a lot more urgent.

Your nails sink into his arms, your eyes clamped shut, not ever thinking feeling this good would be possible.

He pushes in deeper, the cotton and lace now against your cervix when he bites down onto your neck, gladly leaving his mark while he slowly pulls out and re-enters himself into you over and over again.

The feel of your already ruined garments on his head was sinfully beautiful, your throat vibrating under his palm as you beg for mercy within your gag. 

He removes himself fully, his index and middle finger pinching the fabric and removing them painfully slow, the slow emptying of your insides driving you beyond the limitations of the borders of your sanity.

Once removed, he brings them to his face with zero shame, eyes rolling as he inhales and gasps.

“I’m keeping these.” He mutters, throwing them aside.

All you can do is nod as he returns his cock to your entrance, sliding in with one firm, deep thrust and he grabs your legs as he starts to ruin you. 

You moan, you sob, you plead - his cock smashing against your g-spot over and over again, his abs rolling under his skin as he pants and groans; his invasion of your inner walls beyond pleasurable, his large balls slapping against your ass as your tits bounce and face becomes flushed, your golden end pretty much guaranteed soon. 

“Fuck, you feel so good…” He breathes, biting his lip as he watches you squirm and beg at his charity. 

“Fuck… y/n…” 

“Pa…parco… porc…porco…” Your cognitive functions are thrown into the trash, your body too focused on receiving this magnificent man’s seed as you’re hurtled into your orgasm, a gush of sweet juice covering him. 

“Cum on my cock, yeah… just like that baby… good fuckin’ girl…”

His movements become more urgent, the thought of finally having your cum engulfing his dick too much to handle, his shaft dancing with his pulse as his thick, hot mess explodes into you, he makes sounds comparable to some wild animal as he cries out your name again and again, his heavenly end bittersweet. 

 He keeps stuffing you with his cock even after he’s came, your eyes in the back of your head and mouth open, your cunt swallowing all of his unloaded junk.

“Take every drop I give you to take.” He hisses as he finally slows to a stop. 

 You didn’t know what to feel. What to think. What to say. 

The beautiful concoctions of emotions swirling within you consisted of satisfaction, relaxation and even the slightest tinge of love. Yet it was being diluted by relief. Relief that he actually felt the same about you as you did him, even if you had found out in such a bizarre way.

[illeaadante]

Headcanon: the 'Dragon Pulse' in FMA:B is the movement of groundwater.

lbr, the only reason Ed/Al let the 'dragon pulse' explanation fly was because they had other shit to worry about at the time. you know Ed would be all over that shit any other time.

If Edward "I met god and came out of that an atheist" Elric heard about the mystic sounding dragon's pulse, he would crack open the whole crust of the earth to get to the bottom of that shit.

I think it's groundwater movement bc:

A) groundwater is, by necessity, closer to the surface of the earth than the tectonic plates where alchemists get their energy from, which means it would be faster to draw on and also could bypass the philosopher stone layer under amestris. (you know those stones needed to be buried deep so that no one could just... accidentally dig up a Philospher's Stone.)

B) I don't remember if it's explicitly stated in the show, but decently popular fanon has alkahestry as having a basis in healing and the body, and sense of self. Groundwater movement is way less rigid and would also symbolically link well with healing and life.

C) Mei can do alkahestry at a distance so long as something she has used, something she sees as an extension of herself, is at the point and both she and that point are connected to the ground in some way. What if that extension of self actually comes from the fact that, if you carry something for long enough, you'll sweat on it or bleed on it, and you can sense the remnants of that through the alkahestry.

C.1) the idea that all you need is a vague connection and a bodily fluid to do alkahestry at a distance opens up all sorts of fun avenues tbh. Using blood or spit probably doesn't work well unless you're setting traps on non-porous material. Trap won't work if the snare got absorbed by the nearby trees... although... could you water a plant using your blood for long enough that the tree could be used as an alkahestric target/anchor/whatever they call it? (I can just imagine Ed learning alkahestry just so he can spit in somone's face, quick clap, and break their nose without touching them. That would be sick as hell.)

It would also make sense if alkahestry and qi sense in FMA is based on water. Humans = mostly water, so if qi sense is just a sense a person can develop to see how the water (plus the hormones and reactions that make up emotional responses) move throughout another person then it would go well with alkahestry and the dragon pulse also being water based. (This is also why all of the homunculi are strange to qi sense, even Bradley, bc he was human who became homunculus ,while the others don't really have blood or normal bodily functions/systems.)

Plus, it's called the Dragon's 'pulse' which implies liquid. If the dragon is the earth, then it's pulse would be groundwater, or really just water, movement. (... if it's just water, imagine the damage a Pirate alkahestrist could do.)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Record breaking recovery of rocks that originated in Earth’s mantle

Scientists have recovered the first long section of rocks that originated in the Earth’s mantle, the layer below the crust and the planet’s largest component.

The rocks will help unravel the mantle’s role in the origins of life on Earth, the volcanic activity generated when it melts, and how it drives the global cycles of important elements such as carbon and hydrogen, according to the team.

The nearly continuous 1,268 metres of mantle rock was recovered from a “tectonic window,” a section of the seabed where rocks from the mantle were exposed along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, during Expedition 399 “Building Blocks of Life, Atlantis Massif” of the ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution in Spring 2023.

With attempts dating back to the early 1960s, the recovery was a record-breaking achievement led by the International Ocean Discovery Program, an international marine research consortium of more than 20 countries that retrieves cores—cylindrical samples of sediment and rock—from the ocean floor to study Earth’s history.

Since then, the expedition team has been compiling an inventory of the recovered mantle rocks to understand their composition, structure and context.

Their findings, presented in the journal Science, reveal a more extensive history of melting in the recovered rocks than expected.

Lead author Professor Johan Lissenberg from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: “When we recovered the rocks last year, it was a major achievement in the history of the Earth sciences, but, more than that, its value is in what the cores of mantle rocks could tell us about the makeup and evolution of our planet.

“Our study begins to look at the composition of the mantle by documenting the mineralogy of the recovered rocks, as well as their chemical makeup.

“Our results differ from what we expected. There is a lot less of the mineral pyroxene in the rocks, and the rocks have got very high concentrations of magnesium, both of which results from much higher amounts of melting than what we would have predicted.”

This melting occurred as the mantle rose from the deeper parts of the Earth towards the surface.

Results from further analysis of this process could have major implications for the understanding of how magma is formed and leads to volcanism, the researchers claim.

“We also found channels through which melt was transported through the mantle, and so we are able to track the fate of magma after it is formed and travels upwards to the Earth’s surface.

“This is important because it tells us how the mantle melts and feeds volcanoes, particularly those on the ocean floor that account for the majority of volcanism on Earth. Having access to these mantle rocks will allow us to make the connection between the volcanoes and the ultimate source of their magmas.”

The study also provides initial results on how olivine, an abundant mineral in mantle rocks, reacts with seawater, leading to a series of chemical reactions that produce hydrogen and other molecules that can fuel life.

Scientists believe this might have been one of the underpinning processes in the origin of life on Earth.

Dr Susan Q Lang, an associate scientist in Geology and Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who was a co-chief scientist on the expedition and part of a team continuing to analyse rock and fluid samples, said: “The rocks that were present on early Earth bear a closer resemblance to those we retrieved during this expedition than the more common rocks that make up our continents today.

“Analysing them gives us a critical view into the chemical and physical environments that would have been present early in Earth’s history, and that could have provided a consistent source of fuel and favorable conditions over geologically long timeframes to have hosted the earliest forms of life.”

The international team of more than 30 scientists from the JOIDES Resolution expedition will continue their research on the recovered drill cores to address a wide range of problems.

Dr. Andrew McCaig, an Associate Professor in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, who was the lead proponent of Expedition 399 and a co-chief scientist on the Expedition added: “Everyone involved in Expedition 399, starting with the first proposal in 2018, can be proud of the achievements documented in this paper. Our new deep hole will be a type section for decades to come in disciplines as diverse as melting processes in the mantle, chemical exchange between rocks and the ocean, organic geochemistry and microbiology. All data from the expedition will be fully available, an exemplar of how international science should be conducted.”

TOP IMAGE....The researchers say the rocks recovered from the mantle bear a closer resemblance to those that were present on early Earth rather than the more common rocks that make up our continents today. Credit Professor Johan Lissenberg

LOWER IMAGE....Expedition 399 “Building Blocks of Life, Atlantis Massif” of the ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution which recovered the 1,268m of near continuous mantle rock in Spring 2023. Credit Thomas Ronge (Exp. 399, JRSO_IODP)

[intergalaxylover]

Daily space fact

Earth is composed of four main layers, starting with an inner core at the planet's center, enveloped by the outer core, mantle, and crust.

The inner core is a solid sphere made of iron and nickel metals about 759 miles (1,221 kilometers) in radius. There the temperature is as high as 9,800 degrees Fahrenheit (5,400 degrees Celsius). Surrounding the inner core is the outer core. This layer is about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) thick, made of iron and nickel fluids.

In between the outer core and crust is the mantle, the thickest layer. This hot, viscous mixture of molten rock is about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) thick and has the consistency of caramel. The outermost layer, Earth's crust, goes about 19 miles (30 kilometers) deep on average on land. At the bottom of the ocean, the crust is thinner and extends about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the seafloor to the top of the mantle.