WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT! The History of the Oceans Is Locked in Whale Earwax

The Astonishing History Locked in Whale Earwax - The Atlantic:

ED YONG, NOV 21, 2018

The History of the Oceans Is Locked in Whale Earwax

The massive plugs contain spikes and dips of stress hormones that perfectly match the history of modern whaling.

MIGUEL MEDINA / GETTY

Whales are big, whales are long-lived, and whales have paddle-shaped flippers instead of dexterous hands. These three traits inexorably lead to a fourth: Over time, whales accumulate a lot of earwax.

Whale earwax forms like yours does: A gland secretes oily gunk into the ear canal, which hardens and accumulates into a solid, tapering plug. In the largest whales, like blues, a plug can grow up to 10 inches long, and looks like a cross between a goat’s horn and the world’s nastiest candle. Fin whale wax is firmer than blue whale wax, bowhead whale wax is softer and almost liquid, and sei whale wax is dark and brittle. But regardless of size or texture, these plugs are all surprisingly informative.

As whales go through their annual cycles of summer binge-eating and winter migrations, the wax in their ears changes from light to dark. These changes manifest as alternating bands, which you can see if you slice through the

HISTORY- The Laurentide Glacier and it's impacts on the North Atlantic coast

Climate change is not a myth or something created by a political party! It is closely tied to the end of the Laurentide glacial age which we are now experiencing. But, it seems, we have advanced the rate of recession and are even now having to respond to some of the impacts.

This short video will give you some idea of the changes that have occurred in 15,000 years along North Atlantic shores from the Carolinas to the Arctic.

If you would like more information, you might like this publication. 

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