Images Dated 23rd February 2004

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A windsurfer gets airbourne as the sun sets over Cape Town's Blaauwberg beach, February 23, 2004. Strong south easterly winds and clear summer days draws thousands of tourists and local enthusiasts of the sport to the city's beaches every year. Pictures of the month February 2004 NO RIGHTS CLEARANCES OR PERMISSIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS IMAGE BLIFE REUTERS/Mike Hutchings PP04020136 MH/WS also see: GF2E4980TUI01

LM of assorted Foraminifera shells

Foraminiferan shells. Light micrograph of assorted species of shells belonging to the order Foramini- fera. Single-celled protozoans inhabit these shells which are composed of several chambers and usually penetrated by pores through which the cellular contents is extruded. The organisms live in the sea or salt-water lakes. Foraminiferan shells form an important component of chalk and of many deep sea oozes. In previous geological ages Foraminifera occurred in such enormous numbers that their shells, largely of calcium carbonate, have formed immense fossil deposits seen today as limestone. Magnification: x90 at 6x6cm size

© PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Lava lake covered with sections of cooled rock

Lava lake. Lake of molten rock (lava) with dark, cooler, solidified sections floating on its surface. The internal motions of the lava causes the surface sections to break apart and reveal the brighter lava beneath. These sections of cooler material riding on the fluid lava duplicate, on a very small scale, the motion of the plates of the Earth's crust as they move over the fluid mantle within our planet. The movement of these crustal plates is known as plate tectonics. Cracks between the crustal plates allow molten rock within the mantle to reach the surface and be released as lava. Photographed at the Mauna Loa vent of the Kilauea volcano, Hawaii on 27 August 1972

© US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY