Save your office up to on Sandwich Platters! Save your office up to on Sandwich Platters! Platter of 6 Sandwiches Platter of 6 Sandwiches Platter of 6 Sandwiches terms and conditions apply FREE DELIVERY Contact: info@funkyfoods.ieContact: info@funkyfoods.ieContact: info@funkyfoods.ie or via website funkyfoods.ieor via website funkyfoods.ieor via website funkyfoods.ie Quality Office CateringQuality Office CateringQuality Office Catering D Monday, October 19, 2009 METRO sikh to impress Baba Balwant Singh, of the Sikh religious warriors Nihang Army, sports a 700m, turban at the Fateh Divas festivities in Amritsar, India Picture: Getty By CoN Doherty Flashing sea explained as natural phenomenon Spectacular green neon flashes flaring up the sea along Irelands east coast is not radioactive waste but a harmless natural phenomenon, ma- rine experts have said. Hardy swimmers taking dips after dark in popular outdoor bathing spots like the Forty Foot and Killiney Bay in Dublin have been enjoying the aquatic light show in recent weeks. Bodies striking through the evening waves are being illuminated by a glow-in-the-dark plankton a float- ing bloom of algae which fires up into a fluorescent sparkle when disturbed. One regular swimmer, richard al- lan, 35, from prestwick in Scotland but now living in Dublin, described it as a magical experience. Its like witnessing other natural phenomena like a meteor shower or solar eclipse the only difference be- ing youre up close to this, he said. the computer engineer who swims at the Forty Foot admitted being sheep- ish about getting into the water when he first spotted the spectral glow around other dippers, fearing it could be radioactive waste from the Sell- afield nuclear plant in the uK. Its less apparent when youre sta- tionary, but if youre moving or splashing about, youre treated to this spectacular light show, with patterns of blue-ish white light appearing and disappearing up to 10ft around where the water is disturbed. unsurprisingly, the Marine Institute has a more scientific description for the phantom-like sightings, insisting it is most likely a bioluminescent plankton called Noctiluca scintillans sometimes known as Fire of Sea. Bioluminescence is a harmless nat- ural phenomenon, said the institutes Dr John Joyce. METRO Briefing What is Noctiluca scintil- lans? It is a free-living, non- parasitic, marine-dwelling species of dinoflagellate that exhibits bioluminescence. these organisms cause the sea to glow when they float in swarms of millions. It is commonly known as Sea Ghost or Fire of Sea. What colour is it? the colour is in part derived from the pigments of organisms inside their vacuoles. For instance, green tides result from popula- tions that contain green-pigment- ed plant algae. Is it toxic? As they feed on phytoplankton, high levels of ammonia is excreted into the area which may add to the neurotoxic- ity of other aquatic life. however, there is no danger to humans. Plain sailing: 16-year-old Jessica Watson aN auStralIaN teenager yesterday steered her pink yacht out of Sydney Harbour to start her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world. Jessica Watson, 16, who plans to make a 38,000km (23,600mile) journey through some of the worlds most treacherous waters, sparked a debate in australia about whether someone so young should be allowed to try such a potentially dangerous feat. Ms Watson and her family insist she is an experienced and capable sailor who has studied navigation, electronics and maritime safety procedures. although she will sail solo and unassisted, she will be in constant contact with her support team via radio, e-mail and a blog detailing her journey. teen aims to sail into record books Scarred for life: Katie is the subject of a Channel 4 documentary a MODel and aspiring tV presenter who had sulphuric acid thrown in her face has revealed details of her battle to recover and the pioneering surgery to treat her burns. Katie piper was left fighting for her life when violent thug Daniel lynch raped her and then arranged for another man to throw the corrosive liquid. the acid burned through all four layers of skin on her face and some spilled down her throat, damaging it so badly that she needs to be fed through a tube into her stomach. Surgeons led by Mohammad Jawad at chelsea and Westminster Hospital carried out a procedure to rebuild her face, the first operation of its kind to be done. the 26-year-olds recovery will feature in a channel 4 cutting edge documentary later in the month. Acid attack model tells of recovery METRONEWS AT THE SPEED OF LIFE Bigger meteor may have killed dinosaursTHE dinosaurs may have been wiped out by a meteor four times bigger than the one previously thought to have caused their demise. Their mass extinction could have been sparked by a meteor 40km (25miles) wide, which slammed into the ocean off western India. It would dwarf the 10km (six- mile) meteor that left a 180km (112- mile) crater in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and was thought to have caused the mass extinction some 65million years ago. The Shiva basin near India has a diameter of 500km (310miles) and would be the worlds biggest crater if the findings prove correct. The Shiva impact would have vaporised the Earths crust, killing most life and leaving the ultra-hot mantle to well up in its place, said Dr Sankar Chatterjee of Texas Tech University. A team now plans to drill into the bottom of the crater in an attempt to prove its theory. Rocks from the bottom of the crater will tell us the tell-tale sign of the impact event from shattered and melted target rocks, said Dr Chatterjee.Dinosaurs: Crater index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html