Termite mound

Keywords Termite, mound, size fraction, northern Ghana. Geochemical field... 

The gold contents (in ppb) in the various size fractions from the termite mounds are presented in Table 1 and the geochemical distribution of gold in the various size fractions were compared with the gold content in -125pm fractions as that appeared to be the size fractions used in gold exploration surveys especially in Ghana and West Africa. 

Table 1. Comparisons of gold in different size fractions in termite mounds...

Despite the lack of precision associated with the coarser size fractions, all the four size - fractions defined the same areas but confidence of finding potential mineralization appeared associated with the -125 pm size fraction. It is apparent that termite mound survey thus be used as a supplementary grassroots exploration tool to enhance the conventional exploration methods especially in areas under cover. 

Affam, M. Arhin, E. 2004. Termite Mound - a supplementary geochemical gold sampling medium in complex regolith terrains. Ghana Mining Journai, 8, 1-7. 

D orey, F.C.C. 1975. Combination of termite mound to locating hidden Copper Deposit. Transactions of the institute of Minerai and Metaiiurgy - Appiied Earth Science, 84, 150-156. 

Chimpanzees daily eat termite mound clay. The habit may have started by ingesting dirt along with termites. Rats, after rotation that causes motion sickness (stomach upset and diarrhea), eat more clay than normal (Mitchell et al, 1977). Geophagy may be instrumental in the success of rats in habitats with unpredictable diets and the resistance of the species to poisoning by humans. Clay can be eaten prophylactically but also in response to toxic food already in the gastrointestinal tract. 

Figure 1.28 A termite mound in Australia s Northern Territory. Termite mounds are classic examples of Natural emergent structures.

EXHIBIT 26.1 Termite Mound. A termite mound can seem eeriiy iike a skyscraper, especiaiiy when you consider the mound s efficient reguiation of air flow, temperature, and humidity. 

Sugimoto A., Inoue T., Kirtibutr N., and Abe T. (1998) Methane oxidation by termite mounds estimated by the carbon isotopic composition of methane. Global Biogeo-chem. Cycles 12, 595-605. 

Lopez-Hernandez, D. (2001) Nutrient dynamics (C, N and P) in termite mounds of Nasutitermes ephratae from savannas of the Orinoco Llanos (Venezuela). Soil Biology and Biochemistry 33, 747-753. 

Column ojMatahele army ants (Dorylus [Anomma] t x" -wilverthi) en route to raiding a ground termite mound in South Luangwu National Park,... 

Watson, J. P. 1971. Comparison of chromium -versenate and tiitiated water movement in a termite mound and soil. Soil Sci. 111(3) 188-191. 

The hives huilt hy eusocial species have a stabilizing effect on the local environment. Termite mounds help buffer the surroundings against wild swings of climate. As islands of productivity and stability in resource-limited areas, termite mounds are oases, like coral reefs located above ground. While the coral reefs host a diversity of species, eusocial hives protect fewer species but more complexity within the species. (Coral reefs, too, evolve faster than expected after climate stress, with a mechanism that seems almost Lamarckian, a term 1 will soon explain.)... 

Termite mounds help buffer the surroundings against wild swings of climate. J. A. Bonachela et al. Termite mounds can increase the robustness of dryland ecosystems to climatic change. 2015. Science 347(6222), p. 651. DOI 10.1126/science.l261487. 

Methane itself is a greenhouse gas released in large quantities from cattle, termite mounds, rice paddy fields and swamps. The methane produced is the product of bacteria living under anaerobic conditions. In recent years focus has been directed towards a potential source of methane that represents both an opportunity and a threat. Methane has been found stored in the sediments of the continental shelf beneath the deep ocean, underneath the permafrost of the Arctic and in deep Antarctic ice cores (Figure 10.60). In these circumstances the methane is stored in the form of methane clathrates. Clathrates are structures formed by the inclusion of atoms or molecules of one kind, in this case methane, in cavities of the crystal lattice of another, in this case ice. The open, hydrogen-bonded structure of ice (see Chapter 4) lends itself to the formation of such caged structures. 

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