Regions.

The chain can be divided into three subsections. The first, the Hawaiian archipelago (also known as the "Windward isles"), consists of the islands comprising the U.S. state of Hawaii. As it is the closest to the hotspot, this volcanically active region is the youngest part of the chain, with ages ranging from 400,000 years to 5.1 million years. The island of Hawaii is composed of five volcanoes, of which three (Kilauea, Mauna Loa, and Hualalai) are still active. Haleakalā on the island of Maui is dormant. Lōihi Seamount continues to grow offshore of Hawaii island, and is the only known volcano in the chain in the submarine pre-shield stage.  The second part of the chain is composed of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, collectively referred to as the "Leeward isles", the constituents of which are between 7.2 and 27.7 million years in age. Erosion has long since overtaken volcanic activity at these islands, and most of them are atolls, atoll islands, and extinct islands. They contain many of the most northerly atolls in the world; Kure Atoll, in this group, is the northernmost atoll on Earth. On June 15, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush issued a proclamation creating Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The national monument, meant to protect the biodiversity of the Hawaiian isles, encompasses all of the northern isles, and is one of the largest such protected areas in the world. The proclamation limits tourism to the area, and called for a phase-out of fishing by 2011.  The oldest and most heavily eroded part of the chain are the Emperor seamounts, which are 39 to 85 million years in age. The Emperor and Hawaiian chains form an angle of about 120°. This bend was long attributed to a relatively sudden change of 60° in the direction of plate motion, but research conducted in 2003 suggests that it was the movement of the hotspot itself that caused the bend. The issue is still currently under academic debate. All of the volcanoes in this part of the chain have long since subsided below sea level, becoming seamounts and guyots (see also the seamount and guyot stages of Hawaiian volcanism). Many of the volcanoes are named after former emperors of Japan. The seamount chain extends to the West Pacific, and terminates at the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench, a subduction zone at the border of Russia.

Formation.

The oldest age for the Emperor Seamounts is 81 million years, and comes from Detroit Seamount. However, Meiji Guyot, located to the north of Detroit Seamount, is likely somewhat older.  In 1963, geologist John Tuzo Wilson hypothesized the origins of the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, explaining that they were created by a hotspot of volcanic activity that was essentially stationary as the Pacific tectonic plate drifted in a northwesterly direction, leaving a trail of increasingly eroded volcanic islands and seamounts in its wake. An otherwise inexplicable kink in the chain marks a shift in the movement of the Pacific plate some 47 million years ago, from a northward to a more northwesterly direction, and the kink has been presented in geology texts as an example of how a tectonic plate can shift direction comparatively suddenly. A look at the USGS map on the origin of the Hawaiian Islands clearly shows this "spearpoint".  In a more recent study, Sharp and Clague (2006) interpret the bend as starting at about 50 million years ago. They also conclude that the bend formed from a "traditional" cause—a change in the direction of motion of the Pacific plate.  However, recent research shows that the hotspot itself may have moved with time. Some evidence comes from analysis of the orientation of the ancient magnetic field preserved by magnetite in ancient lava flows sampled at four seamounts (Tarduno "et al.", 2003): this evidence from paleomagnetism shows a more complex history than the commonly accepted view of a stationary hotspot. If the hotspot had remained above a fixed mantle plume during the past 80 million years, the latitude as recorded by the orientation of the ancient magnetic field preserved by magnetite (paleolatitude) should be constant for each sample; this should also signify original cooling at the same latitude as the current location of the Hawaiian hotspot. Instead of remaining constant, the paleolatitudes of the Emperor Seamounts show a change from north to south, with decreasing age. The paleomagnetic data from the seamounts of the Emperor chain suggest motion of the Hawaiian hotspot in Earth's mantle. Tarduno et al. (2009) have summarized evidence that the bend in the seamount chain may be caused by circulation patterns in the flowing solid mantle (mantle "wind") rather than a change in plate motion.

Aging.

The chain has been produced by the movement of the ocean crust over the Hawaii hotspot, an upwelling of hot rock from the Earth's mantle. As the oceanic crust moves the volcanoes farther away from their source of magma, their eruptions become less frequent and less powerful until they eventually cease to erupt altogether. At that point erosion of the volcano and subsidence of the seafloor cause the volcano to gradually diminish. As the volcano sinks and erodes, it first becomes an atoll island and then an atoll. Further subsidence causes the volcano to sink below the sea surface, becoming a seamount and/or a guyot.

The Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain is a mostly undersea mountain range in the Pacific Ocean that reaches above sea level in Hawaii. It is composed of the Hawaiian ridge, consisting of the islands of the Hawaiian chain northwest to Kure Atoll, and the Emperor Seamounts: together they form a vast underwater mountain region of islands and intervening seamounts, atolls, shallows, banks and reefs along a line trending southeast to northwest beneath the northern Pacific Ocean. The seamount chain, containing over 80 identified undersea volcanoes, stretches about from the Aleutian Trench in the far northwest Pacific to the Loʻihi seamount, the youngest volcano in the chain, which lies about southeast of the Island of Hawaiʻi.

La chaîne sous-marine Hawaï-Empereur (en anglais "Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain") est composée de la dorsale d'Hawaï et des monts sous-marins de l'Empereur (ou chaîne de l'Empereur), une vaste région montagneuse sous-marine d'îles, de monts sous-marins, d'atolls, de bancs et de récifs le long d'un axe sud-est / nord-ouest, qui traverse une grande partie du nord de l'océan Pacifique ().


Biography.

The formation of Gorgoroth.

Infernus founded the black metal band Gorgoroth in Sunnfjord, Norway, in 1992, after making 'a pact with the Devil'. The first Gorgoroth demo, "A Sorcery Written in Blood", was released in 1993, and this demo landed the band a record deal with French label Embassy Productions. The first full-length Gorgoroth album, "Pentagram", was released in 1994. The following years the band experienced several line-up changes, with Infernus being the only original member to continue in the band. Joining members of black metal bands such as Ulver, Immortal, Enslaved and Molested, he also participated as bassist on Borknagar's self-titled debut album, which was released in 1996. After signing a deal with German label Malicious Records, Gorgoroth released the albums "Antichrist" in 1996 and "Under the Sign of Hell" in 1997, with Infernus responsible for all the music and also the majority of the lyrics, as well as doing both guitar and bass duties on the albums. These three first albums were the first steps towards fame in Norway, and the following albums resulted in Gorgoroth earning their reputation as one of the leading black metal bands in the world.

Gorgoroth tenure with Nuclear Blast.

After the release of "Under the Sign of Hell" and a European headlining tour in 1997, Gorgoroth was signed by the major German metal label Nuclear Blast. Infernus wrote the majority of the first two Gorgoroth albums released on Nuclear Blast, "Destroyer" (1998) and "Incipit Satan" (2000). Guitarist Tormentor, who had joined the band in 1996, wrote the title tracks for these two albums, and Infernus and Tormentor also released an album and three limited edition 7" vinyls in 1998 as a black metal side project called Desekrator, which included members of Enslaved and Old Funeral. After performing live with Gorgoroth on several festivals and tours both in Europe and South America, Infernus became one of the founding members of the black metal band Orcustus in 2002, a band consisting of members and ex-members of Gorgoroth, Gehenna and Enslaved. "Twilight of the Idols - In Conspiracy with Satan", which was Gorgoroth's third release on Nuclear Blast, came out in 2003.

Allegations of rape.

In 2003, Infernus was accused of raping a woman at an after-party. In the following trial, he was acquitted of rape, but was convicted of gross negligent rape and served 4 months in prison in winter 2006/2007.

Gorgoroth controversy in Kraków and transfer to Regain Records.

On 1 February 2004 Infernus and Gorgoroth performed a controversial live gig in Kraków, Poland, which was meant to be released on DVD by Metal Mind Productions. Due to the satanic nature of the live show, the band and DVD producers were accused of breaking the Polish blasphemy laws. The tapes from the concert were confiscated by the Polish police for 4 years, but the concert was finally released on DVD in summer 2008, as "Black Mass Krakow 2004". In 2005, Infernus and Tormentor (who had quit Gorgoroth in 2002) released a cover version of Von's "Satanic Blood", under the name Norwegian Evil. After leaving Nuclear Blast in 2004, Infernus and Gorgoroth signed on Swedish record label Regain Records, which released the next Gorgoroth album, "Ad Majorem Sathanas Gloriam", in 2006.

Forces of Satan Records.

On 6 June 2006 Infernus started his own record label, Forces of Satan Records, dedicated to only releasing albums by bands with a "clear-cut Satanic profile". The label's first release was the Gorgoroth live EP "Bergen 1996", followed by albums by the Italian black metal band Black Flame, the Brazilian death metal band Ophiolatry, and the Serbian black metal band Triumfall.

Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt.

With the departure of Gaahl and King ov Hell from Gorgoroth, Infernus recruited drummer Tomas Asklund (Dissection) and bassist Bøddel (Obituary) as well as guitarist Tormentor and vocalist Pest into the band, and recorded and released the album "Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt" in 2009.  In March that year, Infernus announced that he had won the rights to the Gorgoroth band name in a dispute with Gaahl and King. According to Tiegs, City District Court delivered a verdict on the main question in the Gorgoroth trademark case, which took place at the end of January 2009. The court decided that King ov Hell's trademark registration No. 243365 of the band name Gorgoroth was not valid and was therefore to be deleted. The court stated that King ov Hell and Gaahl excluded themselves from the band Gorgoroth when they tried to fire Infernus in October 2007. The court further stated that Infernus cannot be excluded from Gorgoroth, unless he himself should decide to quit.

Beliefs.

Infernus is a theistic Satanist and as the founding member of Gorgoroth, has built the band on his philosophy and religion, proclaiming himself as 'Satan's Minister on Earth'. When asked in March 2009 about what he specifically practiced, he described it as a Gnostic form of Satanism. In an interview conducted in March 2009 following the conclusion of the Gorgoroth name dispute with former colleagues Gaahl and King ov Hell, he explicitly reaffirmed that he was 'the ideological backbone of Gorgoroth'. He has expressed opposition to the Church of Satan on the basis of commercial frivolity, and when asked about this on a couple of occasions in 2009 he also said that he disagreed with their basic values:'Basically, because they reject a theist view upon being. I do not regard man as the center of the universe. These are my views and they are not the views of any humanist or so-called atheist.'

Roger Tiegs (born 18 June 1972 in Nordfjord), better known by his stage name Infernus, is a Norwegian black metal musician and Satanist. He is the sole founding member and chief ideologist of the Norwegian black metal band Gorgoroth, which was formed in 1992, as well as the founder and head of Forces of Satan Records. He is mainly a guitarist, but has also participated as bassist, drummer and vocalist on several recordings released both by Gorgoroth and other bands.

Roger Tiegs (né le ), nom de scène "Infernus", est un musicien norvégien, célèbre pour être le membre fondateur du groupe de black metal Gorgoroth en 1992. Il est ou a déjà été impliqué dans d'autres groupes tels que Borknagar, Orcustus, Norwegian Evil, ou Desekrator. Il est principalement guitariste, mais a déjà joué dans Gorgoroth de la basse, de la batterie et même quelquefois la voix. Il a pratiquement composé en entier les 5 premiers albums de Gorgoroth.


History.

Navy personnel from the United States constructed the main part of Wilkes in a period of 16 days in January and February 1957, unloading 11,000 tons of material and supplies. It took a crew of over 100 to erect the station which housed 24 naval personnel and scientists for the next 18 months.  As this was the time of the Cold War, there was considerable concern by the United States and Australia about Russian activity in Antarctica. Wilkes was seen to be strategically located because of its proximity to the south magnetic pole.  Australia assumed custody of Wilkes, which remained the property of the U.S. State Department, in February 1959. Although Australia officially took over the operational command, the remaining US personnel did not take kindly to being under Australian control. Consequently, there was a 'back down' until 1961 when the station came under exclusive ANARE control.  Wilkes had originally been built in 1957 for a two-year period. By 1964 the buildings had become a fire hazard due to fuel seepage, and the station was becoming buried by snow and ice. The new station of Casey Repstat (Replacement Station) was developed on the other, southern, side of Newcomb Bay, about two kilometers across the bay south of Wilkes. It was commissioned in 1969 and Wilkes was closed down.

Current status.

Wilkes Station is now almost permanently frozen in ice and is only occasionally revealed during a big thaw every four or five years. Many objects remain embedded in the ice, and visitors are often able to see the remains of the station through the ice.  What remains at Wilkes are a number of barracks buildings known as "Clements" huts, and the remnants of the semi-cylindrical canvas store buildings known as "Jamesway" huts.

Clean-up program.

Wilkes features a series of storage dumps and a considerable amount of rubbish resulting from 12 years of occupation, including approximately 7000 fuel and oil drums. In early 1988, the Australian Army's 17th Construction Squadron deployed Lieutenant Andrew Stanner to Wilkes Station, Antarctica in order to develop an environmental clean-up plan to remove, make safe or dispose of a large accumulation of rubbish, fuel in drums, explosives, chemicals and gas cylinders deposited since the late 1950s. The plan was subsequently carried out over a period of years for the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions by a series of detachments from the squadron.

Wilkes Station in literature.

The Coldest Place on Earth (1969), written by Robert Thompson who led the September 1962 Wilkes-Vostock Traverse, returning to Wilkes in January 1963.

Wilkes Station was an Antarctic research station established 29 January 1957 by the United States as one of seven U.S. stations established for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) program in Antarctica. It was taken over by Australia on 7 February 1959.

La station Wilkes est une base antarctique américaine créée le lors de l’année géophysique internationale (AGI). Elle porte le nom de l'officier de marine et explorateur américain Charles Wilkes (1798-1877).


Behaviour.

One of the larger damselflies, this species is most common in July and August. It is often found by ponds and lakes, and is very rarely seen along flowing water. Emerald Damselflies like to perch among reeds, their colour providing good camouflage. They are not as strong fliers when compared to other common damselflies such as the common blue or large red damselflies, but they are more likely to be seen on misty, rainy days then those species. When disturbed they usually do not fly very far away, landing on another perch a few yards away. Their habit of perching with their wings half open is characteristic of the family Lestidae and gives rise to their other common name of spreadwings. A population can consist of several hundred insects.  "L. sponsa" mate in the usual dragonfly manner and will form tandem pairs away from water. Copulation lasts from 30–60 minutes and after mating they stay paired for egg-laying. The female usually lays eggs in submerged vegetation and whilst egg-laying the female can remain submerged for 30 min. The female pierces the tissue of aquatic plants and inserts her eggs. Occasionally females lay their eggs in vegetation above the water surface in places that will become submerged when the water level rises. The eggs start to develop and will continue to develop for the next few weeks. Then due to changing environmental conditions the development of the eggs slows down. In this state of slow development, called diapause the eggs overwinter. "L. sponsa" is an obligatory univoltine species.  The prolarva stage hatches from the egg in spring. This is a specialised short lived stage often lasting only minutes. The prolarva has no limbs and cannot feed but it can move by jumping or wriggling and if a prolarva is not in water when it hatches it will move about until water is found. Once in water the prolarva molt to the second stadia stage. The larvae are active and actively hunt prey leading to rapid larval growth. The larvae molt from one stadia to the next until growth is complete; in dragonflies the larval stages are the only stages where growth occurs. The number of stadia is not fixed and in good conditions the last larval stage, called F-0 can be reached in as little as 8 weeks.  The adults emerge in July and are on the wing until September. Adults are not sexually mature when they emerge and need a week or more, depending on conditions, before they can breed. In "L.sponsa" in Japan the length of the summer maturation period is correlated with temperature and lasts on average 20 days in the north where it is cooler up to 120 days in the hotter south. This stops egg laying early in summer, which could lead to egg not entering diapause and hatching in autumn. This would disrupt the normal cycle as larva hatched in autumn would not survive the winter.

Description.

All species in the genus "Lestes" are very similar and are hard to separate in the field. The shapes of the anal appendages are characteristic. In "L. sponsa" the anal appendage is black with the superior appendage (which are the ones on the outside) with two internal teeth. The inferior appendage is elongated and cylindrical. In northern Europe five species of "Lestes" occur whilst in Europe as a whole there are six species, so identification can be problematical and it is best to look at as many features as possible.  "L. sponsa" is a typical member of the genus with a green metallic body and wings held away from the body at rest. The abdomen is 26-33mm long and the wings are 19-23mm long. Mature males have a powder blue colour on the prothorax and on segments 1–2 and 9–10 of the abdomen. Mature males have blue eyes. Females lacks the blue colour. Immature males also lack the blue pruinescence and have greeny brown eyes. The pterostigmata of immature males are almost white.

Habitat and distribution.

Preferred habitats of this species are pools, ponds and moorlands, it is a species of still or very slow flowing water. The emerald damselfly has a large Palaeartic distribution, and is found in a band across central Europe and Asia from Spain to the Pacific. It is not found in the far north in Europe and Asia or in the extreme south, being absent from southern Spain, southern Italy and Greece. It probably occurs in some areas of north Africa; where it occurs around the Mediterranean it is found at altitude. In Great Britain it is the only "Lestes" species that is common.

Lestes sponsa, is a damselfly, with a wide Palaearctic distribution. It is known commonly as the emerald damselfly or common spreadwing. Both males and females have a metallic green colour and when resting its wings are usually half opened.

Lestes sponsa, le leste fiancé, est une espèce d'insectes odonates du sous-ordre des demoiselles, de la famille des Lestidae. Comme toutes les espèces de Lestidae, il a les ailes transparentes et de longs ptérostigmas.


Geography.

The Cook Inlet region contains active volcanoes, including Augustine Volcano and Mount Redoubt. Volcanic eruptions in the region have been associated with earthquakes and tsunamis, and debris avalanches have resulted in tsunamis also. There was an earthquake of the magnitude of 7.1 on December 31, 1901 generated by an eruption that caused several tsunamis. In 2009 a lahar from Mt. Redoubt threatened the Drift River oil terminal.

History.

The inlet was first explored and settled by Dena'ina people. In the 18th century, Russian fur hunters "(promyshlenniki)" were among the first European visitors. The Lebedev Lastochkin Company leader Stepan Zaikov established a post at the mouth of the Kenai River, Fort Nikolaev, in 1786. These fur trappers used Siberian Native and Alaska Native people, particularly Aleuts from the Aleutian Islands and Koniag natives from Kodiak, to hunt for sea otters and other marine mammal species for trade with China via Russia's then-exclusive inland port of trade at Kiakhta.  Other Europeans to visit Cook Inlet include the 1778 expedition of James Cook, its namesake, who sailed into it while searching for the Northwest Passage. Cook received maps of Alaska, the Aleutians, and Kamchatka during a visit with Russian fur trader Gerasim Izmailov in Unalaska, and combined these maps with those of his expedition to create the first Mercator projection of the North Pacific. The inlet was named after Cook in 1794 by George Vancouver, who had served under Cook in 1778. Turnagain Arm was named by William Bligh of HMS "Bounty" fame. Bligh served as Cook's Sailing Master on his 3rd and final voyage, the aim of which was discovery of the Northwest Passage.  Upon reaching the head of Cook Inlet, Bligh was of the opinion that both Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm were the mouths of rivers and not the opening to the Northwest Passage. Under Cook's orders Bligh organized a party to travel up Knik Arm, which quickly returned to report Knik Arm indeed led only to a river.  Afterwards a second party was dispatched up Turnagain Arm and it too returned to report only a river lay ahead. As a result of this frustration the second body of water was given the disingenuous name "Turn Again". Early maps label Turnagain Arm as the "Turnagain River". The S.S. "Farallon" was a wooden Alaskan Steamship Company liner that struck Black Reef in the Cook Inlet on January 5, 1910. All thirty-eight men on board survived, and were rescued twenty-nine days later. Few white people visited upper Cook Inlet until construction of the Alaska Railroad along the eastern shores of Turnagain Arm and Knik Arm of Cook Inlet around 1915. The natives of the Eklutna village are the descendants of the residents of eight native villages around upper Cook Inlet.  During the 1964 Alaska earthquake, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as by subsidence and subsequent tidal action. Both hamlets were destroyed. Girdwood was later relocated inland and Portage was abandoned. About of the Seward Highway sank below the high-water mark of Turnagain Arm; the highway and its bridges were raised and rebuilt in 1964–66.

Communities.

Most of Alaska's population is in the Cook Inlet area, with highest concentration in Anchorage, Alaska. Along the East side of the Cook Inlet, the Kenai Peninsula is host to many smaller fishing communities, such as Kenai, Soldotna, Ninilchick, Anchor Point and Homer. Many residents of the Kenai rely on income generated from fisheries in the Cook Inlet. The west side of the Inlet is not connected to any major road systems and is typically accessed by boat or plane. Here you can find the village of Tyonek, Alaska, some oil camps, and many seasonal fishing camps.

Resources.

The Cook Inlet Basin contains large oil and gas deposits including several offshore fields. As of 2005 there were 16 platforms in Cook Inlet, the oldest of which is the "XTO A" platform first installed by Shell in 1964, and newest of which is the "Osprey" platform installed by Forest Oil in 2000. Most of the platforms are operated by Union Oil, which was acquired by Chevron in 2005. There are also numerous oil and gas pipelines running around and under the Cook Inlet. The main destinations of the gas pipelines are to Kenai where the gas is primarily used to fuel commercial fertilizer production and a liquified natural gas (LNG) plant and to Anchorage where the gas is consumed largely for domestic uses.  Alaska has approximately half the known coal reserves in the U.S. For decades, there has been a proposal to build a large coal mine (the Chuitna Coal Mine) on the west side of Cook Inlet near the Chuitna River, and the native village of Tyonek, Alaska. American Rivers has placed the Chuitna River on its list of the 10 most endangered rivers for 2007, based on the threat of this mine. Turnagain Arm is one of only about 60 bodies of water worldwide to exhibit a tidal bore. The bore may be more than six feet high and travel at 15 miles per hour on high spring tides and opposing winds. Turnagain Arm sees the largest tidal range in United States, with a mean of 30 feet (9.2 m), and the fourth highest in the world, behind Bay of Fundy (11.7m), Ungava Bay (9.75m), and Bristol Channel (9.6m). The ocean's natural 12-hour 25-minute tidal cycle is close to Turnagain Arm's natural resonance frequency, which then reinforces the tide similar to water sloshing in a bathtub. Tidal fluctuations in the main body of Cook Inlet, while not as extreme as the shallow and narrow Turnagain Arm, regularly reach or more and exhibit currents in excess of at full tidal flow. The inlet and its arms have been proposed as a potentially attractive site for the generation of tidal power. Turnagain Arm and Knik Arm are known for large areas of silt. At low tide, much of this is exposed, making marine navigation difficult. Historically, ships and boats designed for the area had a relatively flat bottom with a modest centerboard and absence of a large keel because the boats would occasionally become beached at low tide either on purpose or by accident. This design allowed the craft to support its weight on land without sustaining any serious damage to its structure. An example of this design is the Nomad, a much photographed fishing boat once owned by Joe Reddington which has sat on a mudflat near Knik for several decades.  These mudflats can also be dangerous to walk on, exhibiting quicksand-like characteristics, and have claimed the life of at least two people who have wandered out on them.  Cruise ships dock at Seward on the Gulf of Alaska or Whittier in Prince William Sound and transport passengers via bus or train to Anchorage. However, over 95% of freight entering Alaska comes through the Port of Anchorage, which is served by major container ship companies and other carriers.

Conservation.

The Cook Inlet beluga whale is a genetically distinct and geographically isolated stock. The population fell to 278 in 2005 and it is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This was perhaps due to local hunt, although a recent article in the Anchorage Daily News questioned this conclusion.  In 2000, the US National Marine Fisheries Service listed the Cook Inlet beluga whale population as depleted and began development of a conservation plan. On October 22, 2008 the Cook Inlet beluga whale was put onto the endangered species list.  Cook Inlet activities include commercial fishing, oil and gas development, release of treated sewage, noise from aircraft and ships, shipping traffic, and tourism. However, it is not known what impact these activities had on the beluga whale population.  The Coastal Marine Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks's School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences working with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS), began a three-year project in 2003 focusing on the water circulation in Cook Inlet.  Cook Inletkeeper, a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, began in 1994 when a group of Alaskans became concerned about the rapid ecological changes in the inlet. The group formally incorporated the following year using settlement proceeds from a Clean Water Act lawsuit against Cook Inlet oil and gas producers. Their stated mission is to "protect Alaska's Cook Inlet watershed and the life it sustains," with a focus on clean water, healthy habitat, local economies, and energy. They are based in Homer.

Cook Inlet (Dena'ina: "Tikahtnu", ) stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its south end merges with Shelikof Strait, Stevenson Entrance, Kennedy Entrance and Chugach Passage.

Le golfe de Cook, en anglais "", aussi appelé "Nuti", est un golfe situé dans le centre-sud de l'Alaska aux États-Unis. Il s'étend sur 288 kilomètres de longueur depuis l'ouest du golfe d'Alaska - sur lequel il s'ouvre - jusqu'à Anchorage. Il sépare la péninsule de Kenai, à l'est, du reste de l'Alaska. Le fond du golfe, au nord, se termine par deux estuaires, le Knik Arm et le Turnagain Arm, de chaque côté de la ville d'Anchorage.


Structure.

The PCL is located within the knee joint where it stabilizes the articulating bones, particularly the femur and the tibia, during movement. It originates from the lateral edge of the medial femoral condyle and the roof of the intercondyle notch then stretches, at a posterior and lateral angle, toward the posterior of the tibia just below its articular surface.

Function.

Although each PCL is a unified unit, they are described as separate anterolateral and posteromedial sections based off where each section's attachment site and function. During knee joint movement, the PCL rotates such that the anterolateral section stretches in knee flexion but not in knee extension and the posteromedial bundle stretches in extension rather than flexion.  The function of the PCL is to prevent the femur from sliding off the anterior edge of the tibia and to prevent the tibia from displacing posterior to the femur. The posterior cruciate ligament is located within the knee. Ligaments are sturdy bands of tissues that connect bones. Similar to the anterior cruciate ligament, the PCL connects the femur to the tibia.

Clinical significance.

Common causes of injuries are direct blows to the flexed knee, such as the knee hitting the dashboard in a car accident or falling hard on the knee, both instances displacing the tibia posterior to the femur.  An additional test of posterior cruciate ligament injury is the "posterior sag test", where, in contrast to the drawer test, no active force is applied. Rather, the person lies supine with the leg held by another person so that the hip is flexed to 90 degrees and the knee 90 degrees. The main parameter in this test is "step-off", which is the shortest distance from the femur to a hypothetical line that tangents the surface of the tibia from the tibial tuberosity and upwards. Normally, the "step-off" is approximately 1 cm, but is decreased (Grade I) or even absent (Grade II) or inverse (Grade III) in injuries to the posterior cruciate ligament. The posterior drawer test is one of the tests used by doctors and physiotherapists to detect injury to the PCL. Patients who are suspected to have a posterior cruciate ligament injury should always be evaluated for other knee injuries that often occur in combination with an PCL injuries. These include cartilage/meniscus injuries, bone bruises, ACL tears, fractures, posterolateral injuries and collateral ligament injuries.  There are four different grades of classification in which medical doctors classify a PCL injury: With these grades of PCL injuries, there are different treatments available for such injuries.

Mechanism.

In this position, the PCL functions to prevent movement of the tibia in the posterior direction and to prevent the tilting or shifting of the patella. However, the respective laxity of the two sections makes the PCL susceptible to injury during hyperflexion, hyperextension, and in a mechanism known as a dashboard injury. Because ligaments are viscoelastic) they can handle higher amounts of stress only when the load is increased slowly. When hyperflexion and hyperextension occur suddenly in combination with this viscoelastic behavior, the PCL deforms or tears. In the third and most common mechanism, the dashboard injury mechanism, the knee experiences impact in a posterior direction during knee flexion toward the space above the tibia. These mechanisms occur in excessive external tibial rotation and during falls that induce a combination of extension and adduction of the tibia, which is referred to as varus-extension stress, or that occur while the knee is flexed.

Treatment.

It is possible for the PCL to heal on its own. Even if the PCL does not heal normally, it is unusual for surgery to be required. Treatment is usually physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee; usually they provide adequate stability even without a functional PCL. Only if there are ongoing symptoms down the track, or if there are other injuries in the knee (eg posterolateral corner injury) will ligament reconstruction be required. Ligament reconstruction is used to replace the torn PCL with a new ligament, which is usually a graft taken from the hamstring or Achilles tendon from a host cadaver. An arthroscope allows a complete evaluation of the entire knee joint, including the knee cap (patella), the cartilage surfaces, the meniscus, the ligaments (ACL & PCL), and the joint lining. Then, the new ligament is attached to the bone of the thigh and lower leg with screws to hold it in place. Surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament is controversial due to its placement and technical difficulty.  It is possible for the PCL to heal on its own without surgery when it is a Grade I or Grade II injury. PCL injuries that are diagnosed in these categories can have their recovery times reduced by performing certain rehabilitative exercises. Fernandez and Pugh(2012) found that following a PCL grade II diagnosis, a multimodal treatment that spanned the course of 8 weeks consisting of chiropractic lumbopelvic manipulation, physiotherapy, and implementing an exercise program that emphasized eccentric muscle contraction (lunges, 1-leg squats, and trunk stabilization proved to be an effective way to recover from the PCL injury. For Grades III and IV, operative surgery is recommended or is usually needed. Grafts is the method when addressing PCL injuries that are in need of operative surgery. With grafts, there are different methods such as the tibial inlay or tunnel method.

Other animals.

In the quadruped stifle (analogous to the human knee), based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the caudal cruciate ligament.

The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is a ligament in each knee of humans and various other animals. It works as a counterpart to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the medial condyle of the femur. This configuration allows the PCL to resist forces pushing the tibia posteriorly relative to the femur.

Le ligament croisé postérieur (sigle LCP), ou ligament croisé postéro-interne dans l'ancienne nomenclature, est un ligament situé dans le genou dont il compose le pivot central. Il se trouve dans l'échancrure du fémur, en arrière du ligament croisé antérieur (LCA). Le LCP stabilise l'articulation du genou, il s’oppose au déplacement du tibia vers l’arrière par rapport au fémur et empêche ainsi le mouvement de tiroir postérieur du tibia.


Topography.

The Challenger Deep is a relatively small slot-shaped depression in the bottom of a considerably larger crescent-shaped oceanic trench, which itself is an unusually deep feature in the ocean floor. The Challenger Deep consists of three basins, each long, wide, and over in depth, oriented in echelon

Surveys and bathymetry.

Over many years, the search for, and investigation of, the location of the maximum depth of the world's oceans has involved many different vessels, and continues into the twenty-first century.  The accuracy of determining geographical location, and the beamwidth of (multibeam) echosounder systems, limits the horizontal and vertical bathymetric sensor resolution hydrographers can obtain from onsite data. This is especially important when sounding in deep water, as the resulting footprint of an acoustic pulse gets large once it reaches a distant sea floor. Further, sonar operation is affected by variations in sound speed, particularly in the vertical plane. The speed is determined by the water's bulk modulus, mass, and density. The bulk modulus is affected by temperature, pressure, and dissolved impurities (usually salinity).  1875 – HMS "Challenger" –– In 1875, during her transit from the Admiralty Islands to Yokohama, the three-masted sailing corvette HMS ""Challenger" "attempted to make landfall at Guam, but was set to the west by “baffling winds” preventing them from “visiting either the Carolines or the Ladrones.” "These winds pushed her track to the west, across the 35-mile-long depression which, 85-years later, would achieve prominence as the Challenger Deep. Even more amazing, one of her thirteen sampling stations on that 2,300 nm track to Japan was within fifteen miles of the deepest depression in the world’s oceans." On 23 March 1875, at sample station number #225, HMS "Challenger" recorded the bottom at deep, (the deepest sounding of her three-plus-year eastward circumnavigation of the Earth) at —and confirmed it with a second sounding at the same location. Depth soundings were by Baillie-weighted marked rope, and geographical locations were determined by celestial navigation (to an estimated accuracy of two nautical miles). The serendipitous discovery of Earth’s deepest depression by history’s first major scientific expedition devoted entirely to the emerging science of oceanography, was incredibly good fortune, and especially notable when compared to the Earth’s third deepest site (the Sirena Deep only 150 nautical miles east of the Challenger Deep), which would remain undiscovered for another 122 years.  1951 – SV HMS "Challenger II" –– Seventy-five years later, the 1,140-ton British survey vessel HMS "Challenger II", on her three-year westward circumnavigation of Earth, investigated the extreme depths southwest of Guam reported in 1875 by her predecessor, HMS "Challenger". On her southbound track from Japan to New Zealand (May–July 1951), "Challenger II" conducted a survey of “the Marianas Trench between Guam and Ulithi,” using seismic-sized bomb-soundings and recorded a maximum depth of. The depth was beyond "Challenger II" echo sounder capability to verify, so they resorted to using a taut wire with “140-lbs of scrap iron”, and documented a depth of. In New Zealand, the "Challenger II" team gained the assistance of the Royal New Zealand Dockyard, “who managed to boost the echo sounder to record at the greatest depths.” They returned to the “Marianas Deep” (sic) in October 1951. Using their newly improved echo sounder, they ran survey lines at right angles to the axis of the trench and discovered “a considerable area of a depth greater than ” -- later identified as the Challenger Deep’s "western" basin. The greatest depth recorded was, at. Navigational accuracy of several hundred meters was attained by celestial navigation and LORAN-A. Note that the term “Challenger Deep” came into use after this 1951-52 "Challenger" circumnavigation, and commemorates both British ships of that name involved with the discovery of the deepest basin of the world’s oceans.  1957–1958 – RV "Vityaz" –– In August 1957, the 3,248-ton Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry research vessel "Vityaz" recorded a maximum depth of ± at in the western basin of the Challenger Deep during a brief transit of the area on Cruise #25. She returned in 1958, Cruise #27, to conduct a detailed single beam bathymetry survey involving over a dozen transects of the Deep, with extensive examination of the western basin and a quick peek into the eastern basin. Fisher records a total of three "Vityaz" sounding locations on Fig.2 "Trenches" (1963), one within yards of the 142°11.5' E location, and a third at, all with ± depth. The depths were considered statistical outliers, and a depth greater than 11,000 m has never been proven. Taira reports that if "Vityaz" depth was corrected with the same methodology used by the Japanese RV "Hakuho Maru" expedition of December 1992, it would be presented as ±, as opposed to modern depths from multibeam echosounder systems greater than with the NOAA accepted maximum of ± in the western basin.  1959 – RV "Stranger" –– The first definitive verification of both depth and location of the Challenger Deep (western basin) was determined by Dr. R. L. Fisher from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, aboard the 325-ton research vessel "Stranger". Using explosive soundings, they recorded ± at/near in July 1959. "Stranger" used celestial and LORAN-C for navigation. LORAN-C navigation provided geographical accuracy of or better. According to another source RV "Stranger" using bomb-sounding surveyed a maximum depth of ± at. Discrepancies between the geographical location (lat/long) of "Stranger" deepest depths and those from earlier expeditions ("Challenger II" 1951; "Vityaz" 1957 & 1958) “are probably due to uncertainties in fixing the ships’ positions.” "Stranger" north-south zig-zag survey passed well to the east of the eastern basin southbound, and well to the west of the eastern basin northbound, thus failed to discover the eastern basin of the Challenger Deep. The maximum depth measured near longitude 142°30’E was ±, about 10 kms west of the eastern basin’s deepest point. This was an important gap in information, as the eastern basin was later reported as deeper than the other two basins. "Stranger" crossed the center basin twice, measuring a maximum depth of ± in the vicinity of 142°22’E. At the western end of the central basin (approximately 142°18’E), they recorded a depth of ±. The western basin received four transects by "Stranger", recording depths of ± toward the central basin, near where "Trieste" dove in 1960 (vicinity, and where "Challenger II", in 1950, recorded ±. At the far western end of the "western" basin (about 142°11’E), the "Stranger" recorded ±, some 6 km south of the location where "Vityaz" recorded ± in 1957-1958. Fisher stated: “...differences in the "Vitiaz" (sic) and "Stranger"-"Challenger II" depths can be attributed to the [sound] velocity correction function used...” After investigating the Challenger Deep, "Stranger" proceeded to the Philippine Trench and transected the trench over twenty times in August 1959, finding a maximum depth of ±, and thus established that the Challenger Deep was about deeper than the Philippine Trench. The 1959 "Stranger" surveys of the Challenger Deep and of the Philippine Trench informed the U.S. Navy as to the appropriate site for "Trieste" record dive in 1960.  1962 – RV "Spenser F. Baird" –– The "Proa Expedition, Leg 2", returned Fisher to the Challenger Deep on 12–13 April 1962 aboard the Scripps research vessel "Spencer F. Baird" (formerly the steel-hulled US Army large tug "LT-581") and employed a Precision Depth Recorder (PDR) to verify the extreme depths previously reported. They recorded a maximum depth of (location not available). Additionally, at location “H-4” in the Challenger Deep, the expedition cast three taut-wire soundings: on 12 April, the first cast was to 5078 fathoms (corrected for wire angle) at in the central basin. (Up until 1965, US research vessels recorded soundings in fathoms.) The second cast, also on 12 April, was to 5000 fathoms at in the central basin. On 13 April, the final cast recorded 5297 fathoms (corrected for wire angle) at (the western basin). They were chased off by a hurricane after only two days on-site. Once again, Fisher entirely missed the eastern basin of the Challenger Deep, which later proved to contain the deepest depths.  1975–1980 – RV "Thomas Washington" –– The Scripps Institution of Oceanography deployed the 1,490-ton Navy-owned, civilian-crewed research vessel "Thomas Washington" (AGOR-10) to the Mariana Trench on several expeditions from 1975 to 1986. The first of these was the "Eurydice Expedition, Leg 8" which brought Fisher back to the Challenger Deep’s western basin from 28–31 March 1975. "Thomas Washington" established geodetic positioning by (SATNAV) with Autolog Gyro and EM Log. Bathymetrics were by a 12 kHz Precision Depth Recorder (PDR) with a single 60° beam. They mapped one, “possibly two,” axial basins with a depth of ±. Five dredges were hauled 27–31 March, all into or slightly north of the deepest depths of the western basin. Fisher noted that this survey of the Challenger Deep (western basin) had "...provided nothing to support and much to refute recent claims of depths there greater than ±." While Fisher missed the eastern basin of the Challenger Deep (for the third time), he did report a deep depression about 150 nautical miles east of the western basin. The 25 March dredge haul at encountered, which pre-shadowed by 22 years the discovery of HMRG Deep/Sirena Deep in 1997. The deepest waters of the HMRG Deep/Serina Deep at ± are centered at/near, approximately 2.65 km from Fisher's 25 March 1975 dredge haul.  On Scripps Institution of Oceanography's "INDOPAC Expedition Leg 3", the chief scientist, Dr. Joseph L. Reid, and oceanographer Arnold W. Mantyla made a hydrocast of a free vehicle (a special-purpose benthic lander (or "baited camera") for measurements of water temperature and salinity) on 27 May 1976 into the western basin of the Challenger Deep, "Station 21," at at about depth. On "INDOPAC Expedition Leg 9", under chief scientist A. Aristides Yayanos, "Thomas Washington" spent nine days from 13–21 January 1977 conducting an extensive and detailed investigation of the Challenger Deep, mainly with biological objectives. “Echo soundings were carried out primarily with a 3.5 kHz single-beam system, with a 12 kHz echosounder operated in addition some of the time,” (the 12 kHz system was activated for testing on 16 January). A benthic lander was put into the western basin (, on 13 January, bottoming at and recovered 50 hours later in damaged condition. Quickly repaired, it was again put down on the 15th to depth at. It was recovered on the 17th with excellent photography of amphipods (shrimp) from the Challenger Deep’s western basin. The benthic lander was put down for the third and last time on the 17th, at, in the central basin at a depth of. The benthic lander was not recovered and may remain on the bottom in the vicinity of. Free traps and pressure-retaining traps were put down at eight location from 13 to 19 January into the western basin, at depths ranging from to. Both the free traps and the pressure-retaining traps brought up good sample amphipods for study. While the ship briefly visited the area of the eastern basin, the expedition did not recognize it as potentially the deepest of the three Challenger Deep basins. "Thomas Washington" returned briefly to the Challenger Deep on 17–19 October 1978 during "Mariana Expedition Leg 5" under chief scientist James W. Hawkins. The ship tracked to the south and west of the eastern basin, and recorded depths between to. Another miss. On "Mariana Expedition Leg 8", under chief scientist Yayanos, "Thomas Washington" was again involved, from 12–21 December 1978, with an intensive biological study of the western and central basins of the Challenger Deep. Fourteen traps and pressure-retaining traps were put down to depths ranging from to meters, the greatest depth was at. All of the 10,900-plus m recordings were in the western basin. The depth was furthest east at 142°26.4’ E (in the central basin), about 17 km west of the eastern basin. Again, focused efforts on the known areas of extreme depths (the western and central basins) was so tight that the eastern basin again was missed by this expedition.  From 20 to 30 November 1980, "Thomas Washington" was on site at the western basin of the Challenger Deep, as part of "Rama Expedition Leg 7", again with chief-scientist Dr. A.A. Yayanos. Yayanos directed "Thomas Washington" in arguably the most extensive and wide-ranging of all single-beam bathymetric examinations of the Challenger Deep ever undertaken, with dozens of transits of the western basin, and ranging far into the backarc of the Challenger Deep (northward), with significant excursions into the Pacific Plate (southward) and along the trench axis to the east. They hauled eight dredges in the western basin to depths ranging from to ; and between hauls, cast thirteen free vertical traps. The dredging and traps were for biological investigation of the bottom. In the first successful retrieval of a live animal from the Challenger Deep, on 21 November 1980 in the western basin at, Yayanos recovered a live amphipod from about 10,900 meters depth with a pressurized trap. Once again, other than a brief look into the eastern basin, all bathymetric and biological investigations were into the western basin.  1976–1977 – RV "Kana Keoki" –– On Leg 3 of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics' (HIG) expedition 76010303, the 156-foot research vessel "Kana Keoki" departed Guam primarily for a seismic investigation of the Challenger Deep area, under chief scientist Donald M. Hussong. The ship was equipped with air guns (for seismic reflection soundings deep into the Earth's mantle), magnetometer, gravimeter, 3.5-kHz and 12-kHz sonar transducers, and precision depth recorders. They ran the Deep from east to west, collecting single beam bathymetry, magnetic and gravity measurements, and employed the air guns along the trench axis, and well into the backarc and forearc, from 13–15 March 1976. Thence they proceeded south to the Ontong Java Plateau. All three deep basins of the Challenger Deep were covered, but "Kana Keoki" recorded a maximum depth of. Seismic information developed from this survey was instrumental in gaining an understanding of the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Philippine Sea Plate. In 1977, "Kana Keoki" returned to the Challenger Deep area for wider coverage of the forearc and backarc.  1984 – SV "Takuyo" –– The Hydrographic Department, Maritime Safety Agency, Japan (JHOD) deployed the newly commissioned 2,600-ton survey vessel "Takuyo" (HL 02) to the Challenger Deep 17–19 February 1984. "Takuyo" was the first Japanese ship to be equipped with the new narrowbeam SeaBeam multi-beam sonar echosounder, and was the first survey ship with multi-beam capability to survey the Challenger Deep. The system was so new that JHOD had to develop their own software for drawing bathymetric charts based on the SeaBeam digital data. In just three days, they tracked 500 miles of sounding lines, and covered about 140 km2 of the Challenger Deep with multibeam ensonification. Under chief scientist Hideo Nishida, they used CTD temperature and salinity data from the top of the water column to correct depth measurements, and later conferred with Scripps Institution of Oceanography (including Fisher), and other GEBCO experts to confirm their depth correction methodology. They employed a combination of NAVSAT, LORAN-C and OMEGA systems for geodetic positioning with accuracy better than. The deepest location recorded was ± at ; for the first time documenting the eastern basin as the deepest of the three en echelon pools. In 1993, GEBCO recognized the ± report as the deepest depth of the world’s oceans. Technological advances such as improved multi-beam sonar would be the driving force in uncovering the mysteries of the Challenger Deep into the future.  1986 – RV "Thomas Washington" –– The Scripps research vessel "Thomas Washington" returned to the Challenger Deep in 1986 during the "Papatua Expedition, Leg 8", mounting one of the first commercial multi-beam echosounders capable of reaching into the deepest trenches, i.e. the 16-beam Seabeam “Classic”. This allowed chief scientist Yayanos an opportunity to transit the Challenger Deep with the most modern depth-sounding equipment available. During the pre-midnight hours of 21 April 1986, the multibeam echosounder produced a map of the Challenger Deep bottom with a swath of about 5–7 miles wide. The maximum depth recorded was (location of depth is not available). Yayanos noted: “The lasting impression from this cruise comes from the thoughts of the revolutionary things that Seabeam data can do for deep biology.”  1988 – RV "Moana Wave" –– On 22 August 1988, the U.S. Navy-owned 1,000-ton research vessel "Moana Wave" (AGOR-22), operated by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics (HIG), University of Hawaii, under the direction of chief scientist Robert C. Thunell from the University of South Carolina, transited northwesterly across the central basin of the Challenger Deep, conducting a single-beam bathymetry track by their 3.5 kHz narrow (30-degs) beam echosounder with a Precision Depth Recorder. In addition to sonar bathymetry, they took 44 gravity cores and 21 box cores of bottom sediments. The deepest echosoundings recorded were 10,656 metres (34,961 ft) to 10,916 metres (35,814 ft), with the greatest depth at 11°22′N 142°25′E in the central basin. This was the first indication that all three basins contained depths in excess of 10,900 metres (35,800 ft).  1992 – RV "Hakuhō Maru" –– The 3,987-ton Japanese research vessel "Hakuhō Maru", an Ocean Research Institute - University of Tokyo sponsored ship, on cruise KH-92-5 cast three Sea-Bird SBE-9 ultra-deep CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) profilers in a transverse line across the Challenger Deep on 1 December 1992. The center CTD was located at, in the eastern basin, at by the SeaBeam depth recorder and by the CTD. The other two CTDs were cast 19.9 km to the north and 16.1 km to the south. "Hakuhō Maru" was equipped with a narrow beam SeaBeam 500 multi-beam echosounder for depth determination, and had an Auto-Nav system with inputs from NAVSAT/NNSS, GPS, Doppler Log, EM log and track display, with a geodetic positioning accuracy approaching. When conducting CTD operations in the Challenger deep, they used the SeaBeam as a single beam depth recorder. At the corrected depth was, and at the depth was ; both in the "eastern" basin. This may demonstrate that the basins might not be flat sedimentary pools but rather undulate with a difference of or more. Taira revealed, “We considered

Study of the depth and location of the Challenger Deep.

In 2014, a study was conducted regarding the determination of the depth and location of the Challenger Deep based on data collected previous to and during the 2010 sonar mapping of the Mariana Trench with a Kongsberg Maritime EM 122 multibeam echosounder system aboard USNS "Sumner". This study by James. V. Gardner et al. of the Center for Coastal & Ocean Mapping-Joint Hydrographic Center (CCOM/JHC), Chase Ocean Engineering Laboratory of the University of New Hampshire splits the measurement attempt history into three main groups: early single-beam echo sounders (1950s-1970s), early multibeam echo sounders (1980s - 21st century), and modern (i.e., post-GPS, high-resolution) multibeam echo sounders. Taking uncertainties in depth measurements and position estimation into account the raw data of the 2010 bathymetry of the Challenger Deep vicinity consisting of 2,051,371 soundings from eight survey lines was analyzed. The study concludes that with the best of 2010 multibeam echosounder technologies after the analysis a depth uncertainty of ± (95% confidence level) on 9 degrees of freedom and a positional uncertainty of ± (2drms) remain and the location of the deepest depth recorded in the 2010 mapping is at. The depth measurement uncertainty is a composite of measured uncertainties in the spatial variations in sound-speed through the

Descents.

Crewed descents.

1960 – "Trieste".

On 23 January 1960, the Swiss-designed "Trieste", originally built in Italy and acquired by the U.S. Navy, supported by the USS "Wandank" (ATF 204) and escorted by the USS "Lewis" (DE 535), descended to the ocean floor in the trench manned by Jacques Piccard (who co-designed the submersible along with his father, Auguste Piccard) and USN Lieutenant Don Walsh. Their crew compartment was inside a spherical pressure vessel - measuring 2.16 metres in diameter suspended beneath a buoyancy tank 18.4 metres in length - which was a heavy-duty replacement (of the Italian original)

2012 – "Deepsea Challenger".

On 26 March 2012 (local time), Canadian film director James Cameron made a solo manned descent in the DSV "Deepsea Challenger" to the bottom of the Challenger Deep. At approximately 05:15 ChST on 26 March (19:15 UTC on 25 March), the descent began. At 07:52 ChST (21:52 UTC), "Deepsea Challenger" arrived at the bottom. The descent lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes and the recorded depth was when "Deepsea Challenger" touched down. Cameron had planned to spend about six hours near the ocean floor exploring but decided to start the ascent to the surface after only

2019 – "Five Deeps Expedition / DSV Limiting Factor".

The Five Deeps Expedition objective was to thoroughly map and visit the deepest points of all five of the world's oceans by the end of September 2019. On 28 April 2019, explorer Victor Vescovo descended to the "Eastern Pool" of the Challenger Deep in the Deep-Submergence Vehicle "DSV Limiting Factor" (a Triton 36000/2 model submersible). Between 28 April and 4 May 2019, the "Limiting Factor" completed four dives to the bottom of Challenger Deep. The fourth dive descended to the slightly less deep "Central Pool" of the Challenger Deep (crew: Patrick Lahey, Pilot; John Ramsay, Sub Designer). The Five Deeps Expedition estimated maximum depths of ± and ±

2020 – "Ring of Fire Expedition / DSV Limiting Factor".

Caladan Oceanic's "Ring of Fire" expedition in the Pacific is planned to include as many as eight crewed descends into all three basins of the Challenger Deep all piloted by Victor Vescovo and further topographical and marine life survey of the entire Challenger Deep. The expedition craft used are the Deep Submersible Support Vessel "DSSV Pressure Drop", Deep-Submergence Vehicle "DSV Limiting Factor" and the ultra-deep-sea landers "Closp", "Flere" and

Planned crewed descents.

In January 2020, Caladan Oceanic commenced its second year of deep diving with the "DSV Limiting Factor", piloted by Victor Vescovo. The first dives of the 2020 season commenced with dives to the French submarine "Minerve" in the Mediterranean Sea on 1–2 February, and are to include several dives in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean before returning to the Challenger Deep in June/July 2020.  As of 2020, several other manned expeditions are planned. These include:  Virgin Oceanic, sponsored by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, was developing a submersible designed by Graham Hawkes, DeepFlight Challenger, but the project was quietly shelved in 2014.

Unmanned descents by ROVs.

1996 and 1998 – "Kaikō".

The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) "Kaikō" made many unmanned descents to the Mariana Trench from its support ship RV "Yokosuka" during two expeditions in 1996 and 1998. From 29 February to 4 March the ROV "Kaiko" three dives into the "central" basin, "Kaiko" #21 – "Kaiko" #23,. Depths ranged from at, to at ; dives #22 & #23 to the north, and dive #21 northeast of the deepest waters of the "central" basin. During the 1996 measurements the temperature (water temperature increases at great depth due to adiabatic compression), salinity and water pressure at the sampling station was, 34.7‰ and, respectively at

2009 – "Nereus".

From 2 May to 5 June 2009, the RV "Kilo Moana" hosted the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) hybrid remotely operated vehicle (HROV) "Nereus" team for the first operational test of the "" in its 3-ton teathered ROV mode. The "Nereus" team was headed by Dr. Louis Whitcomb of Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Dana Yoerger and Andy Bowen of WHOI. The University of Hawaii sent two chief scientists: biologist Tim Shank, and geologist Patricia Fryer, to head the science team exploiting the ship’s bathymetry and organizing the science experiments deployed by the "Nereus". From "Nereus" dive #007ROV to just south of Guam, to dive #010ROV into the Nero Deep at, the testing gradually increased depths and complexities of activities at the bottom.  Dive #011ROV, on 31 May 2009, saw the "Nereus" piloted on a 27.8-hour underwater mission, with about ten hours transversing

Unmanned descents near the Challenger Deep.

2008 – "ABISMO".

In June 2008, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) deployed the research vessel "Kairei" to the area of Guam for cruise KR08-05 Leg 1 and Leg 2. On 1-3 June 2008, during Leg 1, the Japanese robotic deep-sea probe "ABISMO" (Automatic Bottom Inspection and Sampling Mobile) on dives 11-13 almost reached the bottom about east of the Challenger Deep: "Unfortunately, we were unable to dive to the sea floor because the legacy primary cable of the Kaiko system was a little bit short. The 2-m long gravity core sampler was dropped in free fall, and sediment samples of 1.6m length were obtained. Twelve bottles of water samples

2016 – "Haidou-1".

On 23 May 2016, the Chinese submersible "Haidou-1" dove to a depth of at an undisclosed position in the Mariana Trench,

2020 – "Vityaz-D".

On 8 May 2020, the Russian submersible "Vityaz-D" dove to a depth of at an undisclosed position in the Mariana Trench.

Lifeforms.

The summary report of the expedition lists radiolaria from the two dredged samples taken when the Challenger Deep was first discovered. These (Nassellaria and Spumellaria) were reported in the Report on Radiolaria (1887) written by Ernst Haeckel.  On their 1960 descent, the crew of the "Trieste" noted that the floor consisted of diatomaceous ooze and reported observing "some type of flatfish" lying on the seabed.  Many marine biologists are now skeptical of this supposed sighting, and it is suggested that the creature may instead have been a sea cucumber. The video camera on board the "Kaiko" probe spotted a sea cucumber, a scale worm and a shrimp at the bottom. At the bottom of the Challenger deep, the "Nereus" probe spotted one polychaete worm (a multi-legged predator) about an inch long.  An analysis of the sediment samples collected by "Kaiko" found large numbers of simple organisms at. While similar lifeforms have been known to exist in shallower ocean trenches (> 7,000 m) and on the abyssal plain, the lifeforms discovered in the Challenger Deep possibly represent taxa distinct from those in shallower ecosystems.  Most of the organisms collected were simple, soft-shelled foraminifera (432 species according to National Geographic), with four of the others representing species of the complex, multi-chambered genera "Leptohalysis" and "Reophax". Eighty-five percent of the specimens were organic, soft-shelled allogromiids, which is unusual compared to samples of sediment-dwelling organisms from other deep-sea environments, where the percentage of organic-walled foraminifera ranges from 5% to 20%. As small organisms with hard, calcareous shells have trouble growing at extreme depths because of the high solubility of calcium carbonate in the pressurized water, scientists theorize that the preponderance of soft-shelled organisms in the Challenger Deep may have resulted from the typical biosphere present when the Challenger Deep was shallower than it is now. Over the course of six to nine million years, as the Challenger Deep grew to its present depth, many of the species present in the sediment died out or were unable to adapt to the increasing water pressure and changing environment. The species that survived the change in depth were the ancestors of the Challenger Deep's current denizens.  On 17 March 2013, researchers reported data that suggested microbial life forms thrive in the Challenger Deep. Other researchers reported related studies that microbes thrive inside rocks up to below the sea floor under of ocean off the coast of the northwestern United States. According to one of the researchers, "You can find microbes everywherethey're extremely adaptable to conditions, and survive wherever they are."

The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the Earth's seabed hydrosphere (the oceans), with a depth of by direct measurement from deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated vehicles and benthic landers and (sometimes) slightly more by sonar bathymetry.

Le est le point le plus profond jamais mesuré dans les océans, plus de sous le niveau de la mer. Il se situe à proximité des îles Mariannes, à l'extrémité sud de la fosse des Mariannes (). La terre émergée la plus proche est l'île Fais, une des îles environnantes de Yap, appartenant aux États fédérés de Micronésie, au sud-ouest, et Guam, au nord-est.


Life and career.

Born in Walton in Gordano, Somerset, Geoff and his mother moved to the town Portishead when he was eleven, after his parents divorced. After being involved in many local rock bands, playing drums and DJing in hip hop groups, Barrow got his first job at the Coach House Studios as a tape operator soon after it opened in 1989. In 1991, while he was assisting on Massive Attack's breakthrough album "Blue Lines", the band allowed him spare studio time to get his own ideas on tape. A few years later, when the Portishead project had been assembled, the group came back to record "Sour Times" in that same studio. At the dawn of the '90s, Barrow was making a name for himself as a remixer, working with such artists as Primal Scream, Paul Weller, Gabrielle and Depeche Mode. In addition, Barrow had produced a track for Tricky and written songs for Neneh Cherry.  In 2001, he formed the Australian record label, Invada Records (whose artist roster includes acts such as RuC.L and ARIA-award-winning group Koolism), together with Katalyst's Ashley Anderson.  In 2003, Barrow set up Invada UK, a more experimental music label with partner Fat Paul, signing bands such as Gonga, Team Brick, Atavist, Joe Volk, malakai and Crippled Black Phoenix. As "Fuzzface", Barrow co-produced and co-wrote Stephanie McKay's 2003 debut album, "McKay", featuring songs co-penned by Tim Saul and Carl Hancock Rux. He has also remixed songs for both Gravediggaz and The Pharcyde.  In 2005, Barrow, along with Adrian Utley, produced The Coral's third album, "The Invisible Invasion". He and the other members of Portishead recorded and released an album in April 2008, titled "Third".  In 2009, Barrow produced The Horrors' second album "Primary Colours" with Craig Silvey.  Another Barrow project is Beak with Billy Fuller (Fuzz Against Junk) and Matt Williams (Team Brick). Their self-titled album was released in 2009.  In 2010, Barrow met a political journalist who shared the same musical vision and a week later she, Barrow, Fuller and Williams begin recording material. After twelve days, using one room, no overdubs or repair, and only edits to create arrangements, they produced Anika's self-titled debut album "Anika", and its lead single "Yang Yang", released 17 November 2009 on Barrows' Invada and on Stones Throw Records in USA & Japan.  Barrow was the music supervisor for the Banksy film "Exit Through the Gift Shop", premièred at the Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2010, and released in April 2010.  In early 2012, Barrow's new hip hop project Quakers was announced to be releasing an album on Stones Throw Records. He also formed the musical project Drokk with TV composer Ben Salisbury and released the album "" from the movie "Dredd".  On 2 July 2012, Barrow, Billy Fuller and Matt Williams released their second Beak album on Invada Records.  In 2013, Barrow collaborated again with Ben Salisbury on the score for the Alex Garland film "Ex Machina". They also worked together on 2018's film "Annihilation".  In 2016, he scored the Ben Wheatley film "Free Fire".  On 20 September 2018, Barrow, Billy Fuller and Will Young (who replaced Matt Williams) released their third Beak album on Invada Records.

Credits.

Production and guest appearances.

Filmography:  2015  "Ex Machina" Alex Garland  Composed With Ben Salisbury  First Collaboration, Album Label At Back Lot Music  2016  "Men Against Fire"  Composed With Ben Salisbury  Second Collaboration, Album Label At Lakeshore Records  2016  "Free Fire" Ben Wheatley  Composed With Ben Salisbury  Third Collaboration, Album Label At Lakeshore Records  2018  "Annihilation" Alex Garland  Composed with Ben Salisbury  Fourth collaboration, Album Label At Lakeshore Records / Invada Records

Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, disc jockey, and is the instrumentalist for the band Portishead. Barrow is also a member of the band Beak and hip-hop supergroup Quakers, in addition to his work as a film score composer.

Geoff Barrow est un musicien et producteur anglais né à, près de Bristol, le. Il est notamment connu comme étant l'un des membres créateurs du groupe Portishead.


Elements.

The three golden stars above the shield represent three historical regions of Latvia: Vidzeme (Swedish Livonia), Latgale (Latgalia or Polish Livonia) and Kurzeme (Courland, usually also representing Zemgale (Semigallia) as the Duchy of Courland and Semigalia).  The golden sun in a blue field represents freedom. Sun was also used as a symbol of distinction and national identity used by the Imperial Russian Army's Latvian Riflemen units during World War I. During the war, the sun was fashioned with 17 rays that symbolized the 17 Latvian-inhabited districts.  The bottom part of escutcheon is divided into two fields:  The red lion and silver griffin are also used as supporters.  Base of the coat of arms is decorated with the branches of an oak tree, Quercus robur, which is one of Latvia's national symbols.

Usage.

The proper use of the Latvian coat of arms is firmly regulated. Three types of symbol are used: the large coat of arms, the small enhanced coat of arms and the small coat of arms.  After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, the coat of arms was used until August 5, 1940. During the existence of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic the emblem of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was used. The Latvian coat of arms was restored once again on February 15, 1990.

Colors.

The official colors used in the coat of arms are defined according to the Pantone Color Matching System thus:

Coat of arms of Republic of Latvia was officially adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on July 15, 1921, and was in official use from August 19, 1921. It was created using new national symbols and elements of coats of arms of Polish and Swedish Livonia and of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. Thus the coat of arms combines symbols of Latvian national statehood, as well as symbols of its historical regions. The Latvian national coat of arms was designed by the Latvian artist Rihards Zariņš.

Les armoiries de la Lettonie (« "gerbonis" ») furent adoptées après l'indépendance du pays, le, et dessinées par l'artiste Rihards Zariņš. Elles réunissent les symboles nationaux (le Soleil et les trois étoiles) avec les blasons des régions historiques de Lettonie (les partitions avec le lion et le griffon). Le Soleil sur un champ d'azur situé dans la partie supérieure du blason fut employé par les soldats lettons sous le joug russe durant la Première Guerre mondiale. À cette époque, il y avait dix-sept rayons, un pour chaque contrée lettone. Les trois étoiles d'or à cinq branches représentent les régions historiques de Lettonie : Vidzeme, Latgale et Zemgale.


Content.

The magazine was geared more to pro-wrestling than sports entertainment, covering promotions from all over the world (particularly Japanese puroresu), and has also on occasion covered MMA events. This was often partly to do with involvement of professional wrestling personalities, for example Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović appeared in the pages of "Power Slam" numerous times due to Japanese promoters (especially K-1) pitting him against wrestlers in legitimate shoot fights.  "Power Slam" took an impartial view on the wrestling world being non affiliated with any wrestling promotion or organization. Contributor Greg Lambert has been an on-screen talent and behind-the-scenes promoter/booker for Britain's Frontier Wrestling Alliance but the magazine never crossed the grounds of journalistic integrity by inviting/allowing him to promote his real-life business.  A 2009 "Power Slam" interview with Triple H was subject to scrutiny from the "Pro Wrestling Torch", who criticized Triple H's comments within it.  In 2012, Fin Martin defended CM Punk against ongoing rumours that Punk's "straight edge" lifestyle was a ruse. Martin wrote: "We have spoken to many people over the last eight years who have been to bars and nightclubs with Punk and/or traveled with him in Europe and the U.S. and Canada, and all report that Punk has invariably abstained from alcohol, illegal drugs and tobacco."  "Power Slam" was used as a reference in the Jim Cornette, James Dixon and Benjamin Richardson book, "Titan Sinking: The decline of the WWF in 1995".

PS 50.

Every year the magazine presented the PS 50 (akin to the PWI 500) listing the 50 wrestlers whom the writers believed to have had the most successful year, in terms of workrate and performance. 2012 winner Hiroshi Tanahashi was the first wrestler to be ranked number one in two consecutive PS 50s, followed by Austin Aries and CM Punk. There was also an annual reader's poll for various awards ('match of the year', etc.) similar to that carried out by RSPW.  Despite their criticisms, their readers polls always crowned WWE as the top promotion of the year until 2005, where TNA overtook the company for the first time. TNA would follow up that victory with another in the 2006 reader awards, although in 2007 the percentage of votes for TNA dropped considerably.

Power Slam was an independent non-kayfabe magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1991–2014 by SW Publishing, with co-founders Findlay Martin and former "WCW Magazine" owner Colin Bowman. "Power Slam" was Europe's best-selling pro wrestling publication.

Power Slam The Wrestling Magazine est un magazine sur le monde du catch (Wrestling). Il rend compte tous les mois des résultats des différentes fédérations et de la vie des catcheurs. Ce magazine nait sous le nom de "Superstars of Wrestling" puis, après 30 numéros, il devient en 1994 Power Slam. Il est publié mensuellement en Angleterre par SW Publishing.


Demographics.

Of the 133 islands, only 38 are inhabited. The Islands are culturally unique, with much to distinguish them from neighbouring Papua New Guinea, South-east Asia and the Pacific Islands. Today the society is multicultural, having attracted Asian and Pacific Island traders to the beche-de-mer, mother-of-pearl and trochus shell industries over the years.  In the 2016 Australian Census, there were 4,514 people living on the Islands, of whom 91.8% were Torres Strait Islander or Aboriginal Australian people. (64% of the population identified as Torres Strait Islander; 8.3% as Aboriginal Australian; 6.5% as Papua New Guinean; 3.6% as other Australian and 2.6% as "Maritime South-East Asian", etc.). In 2006 the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) had reported 6,800 Torres Strait Islanders living in the Torres Strait area.  People identifying themselves as of Torres Strait Islander descent in the whole of Australia in the 2016 census numbered 32,345, while those of both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal descent numbered a further 26,767 (compared with 29,515 and 17,811 respectively in 2006).  There are five Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian communities living on the coast of the Queensland, mainly at Bamaga, Seisia, Injinoo, Umagico and New Mapoon on the Northern Peninsula area of Cape York.

Administration.

Until the late 20th century, Torres Strait Islanders had been administered by a system of elected councils, a system based partly on traditional pre-Christian local government and partly on the introduced mission management system.  Today, the Torres Strait Regional Authority, an Australian government body established in 1994 and consisting of 20 elected representatives, oversees the islands, with its primary function being to strengthen the economic, social and cultural development of the peoples of the Torres Strait area.  Further to the TSRA, there are several Queensland LGAs which administer areas occupied by Torres Strait Islander communities:

Indigenous peoples.

Torres Strait Islander people are of predominantly Melanesian descent, distinct from Aboriginal Australians on the mainland and some other Australian islands, and share some genetic and cultural traits with the people of New Guinea.  The five-pointed star on the national flag represents the five cultural groups; another source says that it originally represented the five groups of islands, but today (as of 2001) it represents the five major political divisions.  Pre-colonial Island people were not an homogeneous group and until then did not regard themselves as a single people. They have links with the people of Papua New Guinea, several islands being much closer to PNG than Australia, as well as the northern tip of Cape York on the Australian continent.  Sources are generally agreed that there are five distinct geographical and/or cultural divisions, but descriptions and naming of the groups differ widely.  Ethno-linguistic groups found on Wikipedia:

Languages.

There are two distinct Indigenous languages spoken on the Islands, as well as a creole language.  The Western-central Torres Strait Language, or Kalaw Lagaw Ya, is spoken on the southwestern, western, northern and central islands; a further dialect, Kala Kawa Ya (Top Western and Western) may be distinguished. It is a member of the Pama-Nyungan family of languages of Australia.  Meriam Mir is spoken on the eastern islands. It is one of the four Eastern Trans-Fly languages, the other three being spoken in Papua New Guinea.  Torres Strait Creole, an English-based creole language, is also spoken.

Culture.

Archaeological, linguistic and folk history evidence suggests that the core of Island culture is Papuo-Austronesian. The people are agriculturalists as well as engaging in hunting and gathering. Dugong, turtles, crayfish, crabs, shellfish, reef fish and wild fruits and vegetables were traditionally hunted and collected and remain an important part of their subsistence lifestyle. Traditional foods play an important role in ceremonies and celebrations even when they do not live on the islands. Dugong and turtle hunting as well as fishing are seen as a way of continuing the Islander tradition of being closely associated with the sea. The islands have long history of trade and interactions with explorers from other parts of the globe, both east and west, which has influenced their lifestyle and culture.  The Indigenous people of the Torres Strait have a distinct culture which has slight variants on the different islands where they live. Cultural practices share similarities with Australian Aboriginal and Papuan culture. Historically, they have an oral culture, with stories handed down and communicated through song, dance and ceremonial performance. As a seafaring people, sea, sky and land feature strongly in their stories and art.  Post-colonisation history has seen new cultural influences on the people, most notably the place of Christianity. After the "Coming of Light" (see Religion section), artefacts previously important to their ceremonies lost their relevance, instead replaced by crucifixes and other symbols of Christianity. In some cases the missionaries prohibited the use of traditional sacred objects, and eventually production ceased. Missionaries, anthropologists and museums "collected" a huge amount of material: all of the pieces collected by missionary Samuel McFarlane, were in London and then split between three European museums and a number of mainland Australian museums.  In 1898–9, British anthropologist Alfred Cort Haddon collected about 2000 objects, convinced that hundreds of art objects collected had to be saved from destruction by the zealous Christian missionaries intent on obliterating the religious traditions and ceremonies of the native islanders. Film footage of ceremonial dances was also collected. The collection at Cambridge University is known as the Haddon Collection and is the most comprehensive collection of Torres Strait Islander artefacts in the world.  During the first half of the 20th century, Torres Strait Islander culture was largely restricted to dance and song, weaving and producing a few items for particular festive occasions. In the 1960s and 1970s, researchers trying to salvage what was left of traditional knowledge from surviving elders influenced the revival of interest in the old ways of life. An Australian historian, Margaret Lawrie, employed by the Queensland State Library, spent much time travelling the Islands, speaking to local people and recording their stories, which have since influenced visual art on the Islands.

Art.

Mythology and culture, deeply influenced by the ocean and the natural life around the islands, have always informed traditional artforms. Featured strongly are turtles, fish, dugongs, sharks, seabirds and saltwater crocodiles, which are considered totemic beings.  Torres Strait Islander people are the only culture in the world to make turtleshell masks, known as "krar" (turtleshell) in the Western Islands and "le-op" (human face) in the Eastern Islands.  Prominent among the artforms is "wame" (alt. "wameya"), many different string figures.  Elaborate headdresses or "dhari" (also spelt "dari"), as featured on the Torres Strait Islander Flag, are created for the purposes of ceremonial dances.  The Islands have a long tradition of woodcarving, creating masks and drums, and carving decorative features on these and other items for ceremonial use. From the 1970s, young artists were beginning their studies at around the same time that a significant re-connection to traditional myths and legends was happening. Margaret Lawrie's publications, "Myths and Legends of the Torres Strait" (1970) and "Tales from the Torres Strait" (1972), reviving stories which had all but been forgotten, influenced the artists greatly. While some of these stories had been written down by Haddon after his 1898 expedition to the Torres Strait, many had subsequently fallen out of use or been forgotten.  In the 1990s a group of younger artists, including the award-winning Dennis Nona (b.1973), started translating these skills into the more portable forms of printmaking, linocut and etching, as well as larger scale bronze sculptures. Other outstanding artists include Billy Missi (1970-2012), known for his decorated black and white linocuts of the local vegetation and eco-systems, and Alick Tipoti (b.1975). These and other Torres Strait artists have greatly expanded the forms of Indigenous art within Australia, bringing superb Melanesian carving skills as well as new stories and subject matter. The College of Technical and Further Education on Thursday Island was a starting point for young Islanders to pursue studies in art. Many went on to further art studies, especially in printmaking, initially in Cairns, Queensland and later at the Australian National University in what is now the School of Art and Design. Other artists such as Laurie Nona, Brian Robinson, David Bosun, Glen Mackie, Joemen Nona, Daniel O'Shane and Tommy Pau are known for their printmaking work. An exhibition of Alick Tipoti's work, titled "Zugubal", was mounted at the Cairns Regional Gallery in July 2015.

Music and dance.

For Torres Strait Islander people, singing and dancing is their "literature" – "the most important aspect of Torres Strait lifestyle. The Torres Strait Islanders preserve and present their oral history through songs and dances;...the dances act as illustrative material and, of course, the dancer himself is the storyteller” (Ephraim Bani, 1979). There are many songs about the weather; others about the myths and legends; life in the sea and totemic gods; and about important events. "The dancing and its movements express the songs and acts as the illustrative material".  Dance is also major form of creative and competitive expression. "Dance machines" (hand held mechanical moving objects), clappers and headdresses (dhari/dari) enhance the dance performances. Dance artefacts used in the ceremonial performances relate to Islander traditions and clan identity, and each island group has its own performances.  Artist Ken Thaiday Snr is renowned for his elaborately sculptured dari, often with moving parts and incorporating the hammerhead shark, a powerful totem.  Christine Anu is an ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter of Torres Strait Islander heritage, who first became popular with her cover version of the song "My Island Home" (first performed by the Warumpi Band).

Religion and beliefs.

The people still have their own traditional belief systems. Stories of the Tagai represent Torres Strait Islanders as sea people, with a connection to the stars, as well as a system of order in which everything has its place in the world. They follow the instructions of the Tagai.  Some Torres Strait Islander people share beliefs similar to the Aboriginal peoples' Dreaming and "Everywhen" concepts, passed down in oral history.  From the 1870s, Christianity spread throughout the islands, and it remains strong today among Torres Strait Islander people everywhere. The London Missionary Society mission led by Rev. Samuel Macfarlane arrived on Erub (Darnley Island) on 1 July 1871, establishing its first base in the region there. The Islanders refer to this as "The Coming of the Light", or "Coming of Light" and all Island communities celebrate the occasion annually on 1 July. However the coming of Christianity did not spell the end of the people's traditional beliefs; their culture informed their understanding of the new religion, as the Christian God was welcomed and the new religion was integrated into every aspect of their everyday lives.  In the 2016 Census, Australia's Indigenous and non-Indigenous population were broadly similar with 54% (vs 55%) reporting a Christian affiliation, while less than 2% reported traditional beliefs as their religion, and 36% reported no religion. A total of 20,658 Torres Strait Islander (out of a total of 32,345 population in Australia) and 15,586 of both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal identity (out of 26,767) reported adherence to some form of Christianity.

Traditional adoptions.

A traditional cultural practice, known as "kupai omasker", allows adoption of a child by a relative or community member for a range of reasons. The reasons differ depending on which of the many Torres Islander cultures the person belongs to, with one example being "where a family requires an heir to carry on the important role of looking after land or being the caretaker of land". Other reasons might relate to "the care and responsibility of relationships between generations". There has been a problem in Queensland law, where such adoptions are not legally recognised by the state's "Succession Act 1981", with one issue being that adopted children are not able to take on the surname of their adoptive parents., the Queensland Government has not yet implemented its election promise, made in 2017, to acknowledge the practice in law.

Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia (nearly 28,000) than on the Islands (about 4,500).

Les indigènes du détroit de Torrès () sont les indigènes des îles de ce détroit, dans le nord du Queensland, en Australie. Ils forment l'un des deux ensembles de peuples indigènes dans ce pays, l'autre étant les Aborigènes d'Australie.


Institutional history.

The Council was established in 1876 under the governorship of Sir Arthur Gordon. The decision was taken following consultations with chiefs, who advised Sir Arthur on how best to govern the colony's indigenous population. In the words of anthropologist Robert Norton, it "embodied the privileged relationship of trust and protection established between the Fijians and the British".  During the colonial era, meetings of the Great Council of Chiefs were held every year or two, "with rich ceremonial protocol", and chaired by the British governor. Council members advised the governor with regards to policy on indigenous affairs, and, until 1963, selected indigenous representatives for the colonial Parliament. Among its nominees to Parliament in the 1950s and early 1960s were Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Ratu George Cakobau, Ratu Edward Cakobau and Ratu Penaia Ganilau, who were to ascend to positions of leadership in government. In 1963, this function of the Council was abolished as indigenous Fijians obtained the right to elect their representatives to Parliament.  In the 1950s, the Council ceased to be reserved for chiefs; its "membership [...] was broadened to allow representation of trade unions and other urban organizations". All members remained indigenous, however.  Fiji's first Constitution, adopted upon independence in 1970, gave the Council the right to nominate eight of the twenty-two members of the Senate.  Following the 1987 military coup conducted by Sitiveni Rabuka, the Council reverted to being an exclusively aristocratic body, its membership reserved to high chiefs. Rabuka argued that hereditary chiefs should retain paramount decision-making power.  The 1990 Constitution thus enhanced the Council's power. It was now authorised to appoint 24 of the Senate's 34 members, making the Senate a GCC-dominated body. The Council would also, henceforth, appoint the President of Fiji and the Vice-President.  The 1997 Constitution reduced its representation in the Senate to 14 members (out of 32), but recognised its right to name President and Vice-President.

Recent history of the Council.

From the late 1980s onwards, the Great Council of Chiefs was compromised by manipulation from the government. Following the coup of 2000, however, it worked, with mixed success, to regain its independence. In 2001, it dismissed 1987 coup leader and former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka from the chairmanship, in the midst of allegations about his possible involvement in the coup of 2000. It also cut its former ties with the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (which it originally sponsored in the early 1990s), and declared its intention to eschew party politics in the future, although individual members of the Council would, of course, remain free to participate in politics as individuals.  In June 2004, the Great Council of Chiefs was plunged into crisis when the government decided not to reappoint "Ratu" Epeli Ganilau as one of its six representatives on the Great Council; the Cakaudrove Provincial Council did not give him one of their three seats either. These decisions had the effect of prematurely ending Ganilau's term as Chairman of the Council, as its regulations require the chairman to be a member. It is thought that Ganilau's open disagreement with several senior government figures, including Vice-President "Ratu" Jope Seniloli and Information Minister Simione Kaitani, along with fears that he was undermining the neutrality of the Great Council to use it as a platform from which to advance his own political ambitions, were factors in the Cakaudrove Provincial Council's decision. He was replaced by "Ratu" Ovini Bokini, who was thought to be more sympathetic to the government. Bokini was re-elected to a full three-year term on 27 July 2005, and Sakiusa Makutu of Nadroga-Navosa was chosen as his Deputy, succeeding Ro Jone Mataitini, who decided not to seek re-election.  Despite Fiji's membership of the Commonwealth of Nations at that time as a republic, the Great Council recognised Queen Elizabeth II as its traditional Queen or paramount chief.  On 20 April 2005, the Fijian government announced plans to grant greater formal powers to the Great Council. This proposal was immediately opposed by Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry, who said it would lead to "dual government" in Fiji, and also drew criticism from "Ratu" Epeli Ganilau. The former Chairman of the Great Council, now the interim president of the National Alliance Party, said that he believed that the powers of the Council were already sufficient.  In a controversial move, the Great Council decided on 28 July 2005 to endorse the government's Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which aimed to establish a commission empowered to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the 2000 coup. Opponents, including former Great Council chairman Ganilau, said that it was just a legal device to free government supporters who had been convicted and imprisoned on coup-related charges.

Suspension, and projected revival.

The Council was suspended in April 2007 by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, author of the December 2006 military coup. It was not, however, abolished. In February 2008, the interim government announced that Bainimarama, as Minister for Indigenous Affairs, was appointing himself chairman of the Council. As chairman, he would appoint all other members, acting on the recommendation of the provincial councils, and would have the authority to discipline, suspend, or dismiss any member.  The interim government asked provinces to submit nominees for the Great Council of Chiefs by 15 July 2008. If certain provinces did not provide nominees, Bainimarama would name GCC members to represent those provinces himself.  On 5 August 2008, it was announced that the Great Council of Chiefs was ready to reconvene. It would be composed of three chiefs from each of the fourteen provinces, and would be chaired by the Minister for Fijian Affairs, who at that time was Commodore Bainimarama.

Disestablishment.

On 14 March 2012, Bainimarama announced that President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau had "approved decrees that formally de-establish the Great Council of the Chiefs". He accused the Council of having "become politicized to the detriment of Fiji's pursuit of a common and equal citizenry".

Composition of the Council.

The Great Council had most recently consisted of 55 members, mainly hereditary chiefs along with some specially qualified commoners. The composition was as follows:  These arrangements came into being on 9 June 1990. Previously, 22 parliamentarians holding seats allocated to indigenous Fijians held membership "ex officio" in the Great Council of Chiefs, along with 2 or 3 representatives from each of the 14 provincial councils. In addition, there were 8 chiefs and 7 commoners chosen by the Minister for Fijian Affairs. Following two military coups in 1987, the Council decided to abolish the right of elected parliamentarians to hold "ex officio" council membership, and to reduce the number of government appointees.  Except for the life member, all members served four-year terms.  The Council also recognised Elizabeth II, former Queen of Fiji, as Paramount Chief, but she was not formally a member of the Council.

Constitutional role.

According to the Constitution, the Great Council of Chiefs had two major powers:  In addition to these constitutionally mandated functions, the Great Council of Chiefs had other roles that might from time to time be prescribed by law. In addition, it was considered almost compulsory for the government to consult and secure the approval of the Council before making major changes to the Constitution, although nothing in the Constitution required it to do so.

References.

12. Great Council of Chiefs – A Colonial Legacy Created to Protect The Supremacy of Bau | url= http://fijisun.com.fj/2015/09/29/the-politics-of-fiji-a-way-forward-for-itaukei-people/

The Great Council of Chiefs "(Bose Levu Vakaturaga" in Fijian, ग्रेट काउंसिल ऑफ चीफ्स in Fiji Hindi) was a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands from 1876 to March 2012. In April 2007 the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interim government" which came to power through military coup in December 2006. It was formally disestablished by decree in March 2012.

Le Grand Conseil des Chefs ("Bose Levu Vakaturaga" en fidjien) était, de 1876 à 2012, l'un des organes du gouvernement des Îles Fidji. Le Grand Conseil fut créé par les Britanniques en 1876, pendant la période coloniale. Il avait pour rôle de prodiguer des conseils aux autorités coloniales, rôle qui fut confirmé par la Constitution de 1997. Conséquence du coup d'État du de Frank Bainimarama, le Grand Conseil des Chefs ne siège plus depuis. Il fut formellement abrogé en.