We’re in Central Africa, 90 miles west of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital of Kinshasa and about 100 miles east of where the river drains into the Atlantic Ocean, ending its 3,000-mile run across equatorial Africa. A series of grassy hills called the Crystal Mountains rise subtly behind us. Gardiner and John Shelton, a hydrologist from the United States Geologic Survey, are plotting how water moves in such a massive flow. To do this, they brought along an instrument that floats alongside a boat in an orange, plastic vessel about the size of an elementary-school desk. The instrument maps water movement and measures the river’s depth. Gardiner tried to accomplish the same thing last year with a device designed for rivers. “The signal petered out well before the bottom,” he explains, his hand skimming the river’s surface. “So we bought one for oceans.”
We’re midstream, heading from the north bank to the south, on a course directly perpendicular to the current. If we manage to keep the instrument from being swallowed by one of the 40-foot-wide whirlpools studding the flow, Shelton and Gardiner’s work will produce a digital cross section of the river’s currents and depth.
The Congo’s power—its depth, speed and turbulence—is of particular interest to ichthyologist Melanie Stiassny of the American Museum of Natural History, one of the scientists in our expedition. She studies fish on the lower Congo and over the past decade has discovered six new species (she’s working on identifying three more). The number of species known to live in the lower Congo now exceeds 300 and the river contains one of the highest concentrations of "endemism," or species found nowhere else in the world. Stiassny thinks the river’s power is shaping evolution in the Congo.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Evolution-in-the-Deepest-River-in-t...
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- pandaman2105
- added this
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this story is amazing and inspiring. good one pandaman
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- thewarnerla
- 16 days ago
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I enjoyed the article as well.
Good find !!
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- cabinettags
- 16 days ago
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it is so powerful that fish a free 100 feet apart evolve diffrent
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- ras_menelik
- 16 days ago
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ras_; that picture is the stuff of nightmares. here is a place where science is humble and magic prevails. the god of evolution lives in this deep strong current.
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The Earth is full of wonders all you have to do is open your eye's
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The largest rivers on Earth, or the ones which move most of the water, also contribute to the rotation of the planet.
Not that we'll notice when China gets that huge dam finished, but the Earth's rotation will slow. It may be enough for NASA to adjust the clock they use to calculate launches. -
Good article.
Too bad we are losing more species to climate change, pollution, etc. than are being discovered. -
Not "new species"----previously unknown species. I know, being kind of picky, but who knows how long they've been down there? The picture Ras posted looks like something that could have been around with T Rex. Or, at least had the same orthodontist.
Very good article, and the tiger fish picture was great too, I'd never heard of those before. Thanks.
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MONSTER FISH PHOTOS: "Evolution on Steroids" in Congo
On an unprecedented Congo River run, scientists and kayakers have found ..
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/photogalleries/monster-fish-cong...-
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- ras_menelik
- 16 days ago
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There are so many things in this world that are yet to be discovered. I love these types of stories. Thanks so much for posting.
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- BustYourFace
- 16 days ago
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------------"There are so many things in this world that are yet to be discovered. I love these types of stories. Thanks so much for posting."----------
I like these kinds of stories too-------but I have to wonder, how many more will there be? Republique du Congo is full of mines, open pit mines with very little or no environmental regulation. International coporations go there because it is rich in minerals, and the people are desperately poor. They can hire workers for slave wages, and bribe away any kind of safety or environmental protection.
It makes me wonder how many species we have never even discovered have been destroyed, and how many will be? How many rare habitats have been destroyed? All for the sake of profits.
I think we need to get rid of petroleum, we already know that it causes immense ecological damage. Spills can spread for hundreds of miles and kill everything in their path. No only the birds, fish, and animals it touches----it can kill those it doesn't because it destroys the food chain.
I used to think that electric vehicles were the way to get away from needing petroleum. Until, with further research, I found out that EVs depend heavily on rare earth elements-----that are, well, rare. And they come from strip mines. In places where there are very few laws to protect people and environments---and what laws there are, are easily ignored with a few small bribes in the right places.
So, I have decided, that I like the idea of electric vehicles---they sound good. But when I consider what happens in the real world----I decided to make a different choice. I prefer bi-fuel(2 fuel) internal combustion engine vehicles that can run on both biofuels and natural gas at the flip of a switch. They have been around many years already. They are already well known, and well tested----and with biofuels/natural gas as fuels, we can drive them indefinitely, and never need a single drop of petroleum. And they can do anything and everything that petroleum vehicles can----without the pollution. Natural gas has always been used for vehicles that operate in places where low emissions are critical---forklifts inside warehouses for instance.
If you are a person who supports electric vehicles because you want to get rid of the pollution and environmental damage that petroleum causes----that is a very worthwhile goal. I support that. But, take a fresh look at diesel or flex fuel/ compressed natural gas vehicles. When I did, I decided that bi-fuel vehicles are a better option considering environmental concerns, cost, and what they can do.
http://green.autoblog.com/2007/08/28/fiat-siena-tetrafuel-can-run-on-four-fuel-t...
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That's amazing. They had to use an ocean measuring device to measure in the Congo river. Since grade school I've been fascinated with the Congo and the Amazon. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more info on this. Keep us posted!
The species isolated by the current may also be different because of the exposure of sunlight from one side of the river to the opposite side. How cool! It's also amazing that the ichthyologists get paid to spend much time following their love of their science so diligently. Kool beans!
Thanks for the site!-
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- nursediesel
- 15 days ago
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this is incredible. i love this. i wonder what is living down there!
