The Existence of Plate Tectonics on Mars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Existence of Plate Tectonics on Mars - Essay Example However, observations of the planet's current state shows Mars at much higher level of deterioration that that of Earth. NASA's latest Mars project, Phoenix, made a successful landing on Mars and spent five months collecting data that has yet to be fully analyzed on the planet's climate, soil, and atmosphere. This mission yielded further proof that there was a type of water on or near the surface of Mars. Soil samples collected prove that there could have once been sustainable life on the planet (Cowing). There have also been findings in recent years suggesting that Mars once had a molten inner core, much like our own. The presence of stripes along the crust layer of Mars, believed to be formed from the crust renewing itself through use of the molten core, lends further proof to the idea that there were once tectonic plates resembling those of Earth (Cain). "The theory of plate tectonics is based on the movement of rigid plates on the planet's surface. Plates are bounded a ridge wher e new crust is created, a trench or subduction zone, where the crust is consumed, and transform faults, along which plates slip" (Connerney, et al. 2005, p. 4). The question as to the existence of tectonic plates on Mars remains a very highly debated issues among scientists. In its current state, Mars is essentially a dead planet, meaning there is no life present and little to no activity on behalf of the planet itself. The lakes and riverbeds have dried up and what is left of the atmosphere is being blown away in chunks by massive wind shears (Cain). Though it is believed that Mars could have once supported life, that seems virtually impossible now. New theories are supported by scientific evidence which suggest that the layers of Mars once greatly resembled the layers of Earth, including a molten core, tectonic plates, and a changing crust layer. It is believed that the molten core of the planet slowly cooled, leaving the stripes currently observable in the hardened crust. Proof of the tectonic plates was recorded by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor in a 1999 (NASA Press Release). While the initial findings only showed the striping of Mar's magnetic field in the southern hemisphere, new data shows that the magnetic field covers the entire surface of the pl anet in a pattern similar to that of Earth (NASA Status Report).(NASA/JPL) Along the striped lines of the magnetic field there are also fault formations and other geographic signs that point toward the existence of a tectonic plate system similar to that of our own planet. As an example of this, the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars are actually aligned in a straight line and it is now believed that, like the Hawaiian Islands, these volcanoes formed over a hot spot in the mantle (Cain). Fault formations, similar to the Martian ones, can only be formed by tectonic plates shifting, pushing new molten crust up from the planet's mantle and changing magnetic polarity of the area as it hardens (Cain). Unfortunately an exhaustive analysis of the geology of Mars has yet to be conducted. Therefore many of the currently accepted theories of the inner workings of the planet are based on what has been observed and studied on Mars combined with what is known about its sister planet, Earth. Whatever plate tectonics previously existed on

Radiohead - No Surprises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Radiohead - No Surprises - Essay Example But suddenly, all over the world, gothic culture broke out, arresting conservatism and demanding the right to be musically deranged. Alice Cooper drank chicken blood on stage. For some reason, Ozzy Osborne bit the head off of a bat. Graphic tattoos, pythons and tongue piercings had become boring. Out of nowhere, a musical emancipation pronounced darker theories of death and pain that drew many punk rockers and pop culture fans into the dark. John Lennon was replaced by Marilyn Manson. Novelist Tom Wolfe labeled the 70s as the ‘Me’ Decade in â€Å"The ‘Me’ Decade and the Third Great Awakening". By the late 1970s, a culture of black lipstick, blood and men adopting female names had grown into its own genre. The State of California was easing its ban of marijuana and by 1979, the Gay Movement was red hot. Roughly between 1971 and 1984, everybody was in some type of artistic movement and expressed themselves through music. It was this era that inspired the gothic music genre unification of punk rockers, heavy metal fans, and even some conservative Rock-n-Rollers through the World Wide Web. In 1985, Jonny and Colin Greenwood, Thom York, Ed O’Brien, and Phil Selway joined the melodic movement of the misunderstood as Radiohead in Oxfordshire, England. Influenced by alternative rock, American indie and surges of punk and Britpop that surrounded them locally, the band brought their own kind of ‘strange’ to Rock. This paper is an exploration of a new era genre of music; particularly that of the fairly new punk rock band Radiohead. The focus of the study of the linguistic analysis of the musical style and songs including, Ok Computers, The Bends, and Radiohead’s 1997 release No Surprises, within the context of popular music idioms and rock. 1.1 Radiohead Radiohead was formed in Oxford because all the band members grew up and attended secondary school in Oxfordshire (Osborne, 2004: 15). Through their use of harmony, disruptive melodic figuration and rhythm, Radiohead has been able to build a reputation by accumulating a distinctive musical language, and by drawing from a musical palette characterized by a strained relationship between mainstream expectation and convention. The band’s music style is based upon garage band effects: loud and expressive, much like the American grunge bands Nirvana, Sound Garden and Pearl Jam (Hiburn, 1998:7). A significant part of Radiohead’s reputation as original composers and performers of music, punk-ish rock that did not conform to stereotypical pop-music expectations and norms. A vital part of engaging with their music is being able to track the events that form associations for the Radiohead-listener with equal events in a single Radiohead song or album (Moore, 2003: 58). Radiohead’s early music was rather mainstream. Radiohead’s first two studio recordings seemed quite primitive due to lack of a provocative esotericism that came to be associated in their later works. The making of OK Computers played a large role as a significant paradigm shift for the band, arti stically and musically (Tate, 2005: 14). Both of their first two albums, 1993’s Pablo Honey and 1995’