Washington, September 1 (ANI): A new research by a team of scientists has shown that sea level rise as a result of ice sheet melt can happen very rapidly, with a prominent example being the increased Greenland ice melt and sea level rise.

The research came about because of the fact that scientists still have to reach a consensus on how much and how quickly melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet will contribute to sea level rise.

To shed light on this question, scientists at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University's Center for Climate Systems Research analyzed the disappearance of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the last ice sheet to melt completely in the Northern Hemisphere and the closest example of what can be expected to happen to the Greenland Ice Sheet in the next century.

"We have never seen an ice sheet retreat significantly or even disappear before, yet this may happen for the Greenland Ice Sheet in the coming centuries to millennia," said Anders Carlson, the study's lead author and assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"What we don't know is the rate of melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The geologic data we compiled on the retreat history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, however, gives us a window into how fast these large blocks of ice can melt and raise sea level," he added.

Analyzing geologic data and computer models, the team of researchers used terrestrial and marine records to reconstruct the demise of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, a land-based ice mass that covered much of North America, until its ultimate disappearance at around 6,500 years ago.

The ice sheet, which once covered most of Canada and the upper reaches of the United States, had two intervals of rapid melting, the first around 9,000 years ago, and the second 7,500 years ago.

The researchers estimate that around the time of the first melting phase, the retreating ice sheet led to about approximately 7 meters of sea level rise at about 1.3 cm a year. The second phase accounts for around 5 meters of sea level rise at about 1.0 cm a year.

These rates are comparable to evidence for global sea level rise for this interval derived from coral records.

"I was surprised to see that the model-in agreement with Anders' data-showed the Laurentide Ice Sheet disappearing at 2.7 m/year," said Allegra LeGrande, who led the computer modeling portion of this study and is a postdoctoral research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University.

"This finding shows the potential for ice to disappear quickly, given the right push," she added. (ANI)

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Cairo, September 1 (ANI): Egyptian archaeologists have uncovered the burial chamber and coffin of King Senusret II, who was believed to have ruled Egypt from 1897 BC to 1878 BC.

The burial chamber was found in Al Lahun, the town built by Senusret, which became Egypt's political capital during the 12th and 13th dynasties, and where the king built his pyramid.

"The coffin is made of pink granite and the burial chamber is lined with red granite," said Ahmed Abdel Aal, head of antiquities in Fayum, south of Cairo.

The team also discovered "corridors and passageways inside the pyramid built to mislead thieves," he added.

Wooden parts belonging to the king's boat were also found as well as alabaster and ceramic containers decorated with hieroglyphs.

Senusret II was known for launching major irrigation projects in the Fayum area, turning vast areas of marshland into cultivable land. (ANI)

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London, September 1 (ANI): Archeologists have uncovered the remains of what they believe to be a 20 ft fence designed to screen Stonehenge from the view of 'lower classes' in Stone Age Britain.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the wooden construction extended nearly two miles across Salisbury Plain more than 5,000 years ago, and would have served to shield the sacred site from the prying eyes of ordinary lower-class locals.

Trenches have been dug around the monument, tracing the course of the fence that meanders around the stone circle.

The construction must have taken a lot of manpower, according to the dig's co-director Dr Josh Pollard, of Bristol University in the UK.

"The palisade is an open structure which would not have been defensive and was too high to be practical for controlling livestock," said Pollard. "It certainly wasn't for hunting herded animals and so, like everything else in this ceremonial landscape, we have to believe it must have had a religious significance," he added.

"The most plausible explanation is that it was built at huge cost to the community to screen the environs of Stonehenge from view. Basically, we think it was to keep the lower classes from seeing what exactly their rulers and the priestly class were doing," said Pollard.

According to Mike Pitts, editor of British Archaeology Magazine, this is a fantastic insight into what the landscape would have looked like.

"This huge wooden palisade would have snaked across the landscape, blotting out views to Stonehenge from one side. The other side was the ceremonial route to the Henge from the River Avon and would have been shielded by the contours," he said. "The palisade would have heightened the mystery of whatever ceremonies were performed and it would have endowed those who were privy to those secrets with more power and prestige. In modern terms, you had to be invited or have a ticket to get in," he added. (ANI)

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Washington, Sep.1 (ANI): San Francisco is playing host to a four-day Slow Food Nation conference-convention-festival that highlights the connection between your plate and the planet.

Slow Food was founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini in response to the 1986 opening of a McDonald's in Rome, near the Spanish Steps, the first McDonald's location in Italy.

The movement began with a fledgling group called Arcigola. It is headquartered in Bra, Italy, in the Piedmont region.

Today, it has 83,000 members from 131 countries; and roughly 20 percent, or 16,000 members, are from the U.S.

Slow Food USA, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, was established in 2000. There are roughly 200 chapters in 47 states.

Every two years in the fall, Slow Food International hosts a Salone del Gusto (salon of taste) in Turin, Italy, a celebration of artisan food and culinary traditions from around the world.

Since 2004, there has been a coinciding Terra Madre event, with a focus on farmers and sustainable food production.

Salone has spawned smaller regional festivals, including SlowFish and SlowCheese.

As part of its Foundation for Biodiversity, Slow Food established an Ark of Taste, an effort to protect raw foodstuffs (like seeds) and culinary traditions (like raw milk cheese) from extinction.

In 2004, Petrini founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences, also in Bra.

This weekend's event is the first of its kind and scale for Slow Food USA.

Alice Waters who opened the world-renowned Chez Panisse restaurant in 1971 conceived the idea for Slow Food Nation.(ANI)

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