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VV BD © oe VEN? land, is around 1,000 pascals (10 millibars) higher between August and February than during the rest of the year. The extra force on the Japanese plate is equivalent to placing 100-kilogram weights on each square metre. This pushes down the Eurasian plate, but the extra air pressure has no effect on the Philippine Sea plate which lies underwater. The stress differential could be enough to trigger a quake. (Source: New Scientist, 26 November 1994) Scientists around the world have reacted with fury and aston- ishment at Russian environmental recklessness which, they fear, will haunt the planet for cen- turies. Revealing one of the best-kept secrets of the Cold War, Moscow has confirmed that it spent 30 years disposing of atomic waste by pumping directly into the Earth. Worse still, the pumping is still going on! Already it is suspected to have leaked into rivers leading into the Caspian Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and has been blamed for 4 the rise in cancer deaths in sever- al locations where the waste has started returning to the surface. ~ The dumped atomic material is reported to measure up to 3 billion curies of radiation. This compares to about 50 million curies released in the Chernobyl accident, and 50 curies released at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Even a small amount of this waste could totally sterilise vast areas of the northern oceans, destroying and contaminating the food chain for the entire northern hemi- sphere, and rendering vast areas uninhabit- able for centuries. Could this be the beginning of the fulfil- ment of the prophecy mentioned on page 42 in this issue? (Source: The Weekly Telegraph [UK], 30 November-6 December 1994) WATER FOUND ON THE MOON? There is a strong possibility that water has been found on the Moon, in the form of ice. "If this is confirmed, it will greatly enhance the prospects for human colonisation,” said Dr Stewart Nozette, of Allied Signal at Alexandria, Virginia, USA, announcing the results of a recent lunar probe. The findings of Clementine—a civilian- military spacecraft that orbited the Moon for 71 days between February and May 1994, taking more than two million colour pictures—are described for the first time in a recent issue of Science. "There are many craters in the Moon's south polar region that are in permanent darkness because of surrounding moun- tains," Dr Nozette said. “When Clementine passed over these, its radar detected what appears to be the char- acteristic signal of water," (Source: The Weekly Telegraph [UK], Issue No. 180, 1994) ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE TRIGGERING EARTHQUAKES? er oe Changes in atmospheric pressure may be enough to trigger major earthquakes off Japan's Pacific coast, a Japanese seismolo- gist has warned. Masakazu Outake points out that all 13 major earthquakes chronicled between the years 684 to 1946 occurred during the autumn and winter when atmospheric pres- sure is high. His study of meteorological data going back to 1961 found that average monthly pressure in the region around Japan's south- west coast where the Philippine Sea crustal plate is movgng under the Japanese main- i Wie PEO heshire cat sleeping MYSTERY TUNNEL IN SPHINX Workers repairing the ailing Sphinx have discovered an ancient passage leading deep into the body of the mysterious monument. The Giza antiquities chief, Mr Zahi Hawass, said there was no dispute that the tunnel was very old. However, what is puzzling is who built the passage? Why? And where does it lead? Mr Hawass said he had no plans to remove the stones blocking its entrance until at least February 1995. The secret tunnel burrows into the north- ern side of the Sphinx, about halfway between the Sphinx's outstretched front paws and its curved tail. (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 1994) 6 ¢ NEXUS A DISASTER BEGINS FEBRUARY - MARCH 1995