No. 1 Story
ACCC clears Optus to scrap HFC network and use NBN instead
The ACCC has cleared, provisionally, the proposed deal between Optus and NBN Co under which Optus is to be paid around $800m to shut down its HFC network and transfer customers onto the NBN. read moreMore From
Israeli desert is oldest known surface on Earth
William Atkins
Friday, 08 May 2009 18:46
Page 2 of 2
A photograph of the surface is found on LiveScience.com. Its description says, "Desert pavement formed long ago in an area that is extremely flat and arid, where tectonic activity is low and rocks are highly resistant to weathering. A pencil is shown for scale."
The isotope 10Be is a beryllium isotope that is produced in the Earth’s atmosphere by the interaction of the elements oxygen and nitrogen with cosmic rays coming in from outer space.
The isotope accumulates in soils but decays gradually (half-life of 1.51 million years) into 10B, a boron isotope.
Dr. Matmon stated, "The surface we dated most likely represents large areas in the Sahara and Arabia Deserts. We hope to be able to collect samples from other locations in the Sahara and Arabia Deserts and establish the global extent of these old surfaces."
LiveScience.com quoted Dr. Matmon: "Since the initial formation of desert pavement (the material we dated) is ... related to the age of the surface, we dated the surface itself. We did not choose the outstanding anomalous rocks on the surface." [“Oldest Surface on Earth Discovered”]
For more information, read the MSBNC article “Oldest surface on Earth discovered.”
You think you have a disaster recovery plan?
Think again. Most businesses only have PART of a DR plan - and this spells business disaster in the event of an IT disaster.
Download The Seven Sins of Disaster Recovery White Paper now and find out how you can prevent this happening to you.
