SAS 30 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Ambrosia Beetle, Queen Ant, Lignin
Document Summary
Similar to assembling a car -- various businesses manufacture all the parts of a car and then one company assembles. Lichen can damage stone structures over long periods of time. They add visual appeal (to places like cemeteries) Cemeteries can serve as refuge for endangered species of lichens. Downside: lichens can erode historically significant structures over thousands of years, like in iran. Cleaning is labor-intensive because you usually can"t powerwash a historical artifact and you must remove lichen with tweezers. Estimate time to current size based on growth rate. This results in the time surface has been exposed. Calibration can be done using the dates on headstones. Technique works for things that are less than 1000 years old. Lichens can survive in the vacuum of space for 15 days. Lichen as air quality indicators can be used for research in causes of lung cancer. Air pollution is a risk factor for lung cancer.
