Images Dated 2nd June 2005

Coal mine, cutaway artwork

Coal mine. Cutaway artwork of a coal mine, showing the seams of coal (black) and the tunnels bored into them. Coal is carved from the face and is lifted to the surface by a conveyor belt, which then deposits it in piles (upper right). Coal is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of plants. Over millions of years the remains were compacted to form a carbon rich mineral. The majority of the world's coal was formed in the Carboniferous era, between 345 and 280 million years ago. Coal is the world's major fuel source for energy production, but it is a finite resource. It is estimated that there is enough coal for around 300 years at current usage levels, but usage is likely to change with time

© GARY HINCKS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Seafloor spreading, artwork

Seafloor spreading, artwork. Seafloors spread when magma rises up at mid-ocean ridges. The magma heats the surrounding rocks, which expand to form the ridges. The seafloor spreads away from the ridges due to pressure from the cooled magma that forms in the centre of the ridge. Some theories, however, hold that it is the pull from descending magma at the plate's edge that pulls the ridge apart. Seafloor spreading was detected in the 1960s and was immediately recognised as the process that drives continental drift, and proved the theory of plate tectonics. The forces create volcanic islands (centre right) that slowly get eroded to submerged seamounts (centre left) and guyots (left) over time

© GARY HINCKS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Nashville Warbler - On what is likely a False Solomon's-seal (Smilacina sp.), Lily family. It hasn't opened yet

TOM-999
Nashville Warbler - On what is likely a False Solomon's-seal (Smilacina sp.), Lily family. It hasn't opened yet
May
Great Lakes Region, Point Pelee, Ontario, Canada
Vermivora ruficapilla
Tom & Pat Leeson
Please note that prints are for personal display purposes only and may not be reproduced in any way

© Tom & Pat Leeson/ardea.com