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ByLuisAndresHenao and Seth Borenstein The Associated Press DECEPTIONISLAND,ANTARC- TICA Earth'spast,present and future come together here on the northern penin- sula of Antarctica, the wild- est, most desolate and mys- terious of its continents. Clues to answering hu- manity's most basic ques- tions are locked in this con- tinental freezer the size of the United States and half of Canada: Where did we come from? Are we alone in the universe? What's the fate of our warming planet? The first explorers set foot in Antarctica 194 years ago hunting 19th century riches of whale and seal oil and fur, turning tides red with blood. Since then, the fist-shaped continent has proven a treasure chest for scientists trying to deter- mine everything from the creation of the cosmos to how high seas will rise with global warming. "It's a window out to the universe and in time," said Kelly Falkner, polar pro- gram chief for the U.S. Na- tional Science Foundation. For a dozen days in Jan- uary, in the middle of the chilly Antarctic summer, The Associated Press fol- lowed scientists from dif- ferent fields searching for alien-like creatures, hints of pollution trapped in an- cient ice, leftovers from the Big Bang, biological quirks that potentially could lead to better medical treat- ments, and perhaps most of all, signs of unstoppable melting. The journey on a Chilean navy ship along the South Shetland islands and vulnerable Antarctic Penin- sula, which juts off the con- tinent like a broken pinky finger, logged 833 miles and allowing the AP team a firsthand look at part of this vital continent. Antarctica conjures up images of quiet mountains and white plateaus, but the coldest, driest and remotest continent is far from dor- mant. About 98 percent of it is covered by ice, and that ice is constantly moving. Temperatures can range from above zero in the South Shetlands and Ant- arctic Peninsula to the un- bearable frozen lands near the South Pole. As an active volcano, Deception Island is a pot of extreme condi- tions. There are spots where the sea boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Cel- sius), while in others it can be freezing at below 32 (0 degrees Celsius). And while the sun rarely shines on the long, dark Antarctic win- ters, nighttime never seems to fall on summer days. While tourists come to Antarctica for its beauty and remoteness, scientists are all business. What they find could affect the lives of people thousands of miles away; if experts are right, and the West Antarctic ice sheet has started melt- ing irreversibly, what hap- pens here will determine if cities such as Miami, New York, New Orleans, Guang- zhou, Mumbai, London and Osaka will have to regularly battle flooding from rising seas. Antarctica "is big and it's changing and it affects the rest of the planet and we can't afford to ignore what's going on down there," said David Vaughan, science di- rector of the British Antarc- tic Survey. Often, scientists find something other than what they were looking for. Last year researchers calculated that ice on the western side of the continent was melt- ing faster than expected. Last month, scientists re- searching vital geology in that melting were looking a half mile under the ice in pitch dark and found a sur- prise: fish a half foot long and shrimp-like creatures swimming by their cameras. Geologists are entranced by Antarctica's secrets. On a recent scientific expedi- tion led by Chile's Antarc- tic Institute, Richard Spik- ings, a research geologist at the University of Geneva, wielded a large hammer to collect rock samples in the South Shetlands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Curi- ous members of a penguin colony on Cape Legoupil watched as he pounded on slabs of black granite and diorite rising out of the southern ocean. By the end of the two-week trip, his colleagues had jokingly be- gun calling him "Thor." "To understand many as- pects in the diversity of ani- mals and plants it's impor- tant to understand when continents disassembled," Spikings said. "So we're also learning about the real an- tiquity of the Earth and how (continents) were config- ured together a billion years ago, half a billion years ago, 300 million years ago," he said, adding that the in- sights will help him under- stand Antarctica's key role in the jigsaw of ancient su- per continents. With names like Rodinia, Gondwana and Pangaea, scientists be- lieve they were significant landmasses in Earth's his- tory and were periodically joined together through the movement of plates. Because there is no local industry, any pollution cap- tured in the pristine ice and snow is from chemicals that traveled from afar, such as low levels of lead found in ice until it was phased out of gasoline, or radiation levels found from above- ground nuclear tests thou- sands of miles away and de- cades ago by the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Vaughan said. SCIENCE Antarctica: Mystery continent holds key to future NATACHAPISARENKO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Penguins walk on the shore of Bahia Almirantazgo in Antarctica. Landscape/Fence Steve's Tractor &LandscapeService •FenceBuilding•Landscaping • Trenching • Rototilling • Disking • Mowing • Ridging • Post Hole Digging • Blade Work • Sprinkler Installation • Concrete Work Cont. 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Call us at 527-2151 For more information Advertisement If this was your Service Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! Call us at 527-2151 For more information LEGALNOTICE CITY OF TEHAMA NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS NOTICE INVITING BIDS: Sealed proposals will be received at the office of the City Engineer for the City of Tehama at 115 Yel- lowstone Drive, Chico, California 95973, until 1:00 p.m. on March 9, 2015. At that time, all bids will be publicly opened, examined and declared for construction of: CITY OF TEHAMA 3RD and D STREETS ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECT GENERAL WORK DESCRIPTION: The work to be done under this Contract consists of pulverizing existing roadbeds, grading new road cross slopes, grading shoulders, compacting subgrade, repairing shoulders, placing 2 inches of asphalt on an estimated 119,900 square foot area, placing asphalt driveway transitions, adjusting existing water valve enclosures to finish grade, installing pavement markings and placing fire hy- drant reflective markers. Addi- tive bid items include pulveriz- ing the existing roadbed, road- way excavation, grading, compacting subgrade, placing aggregate base, installing con- crete valley gutters, placing as- phalt concrete, relocating sign, installing pavement striping and markings and placing fire hy- drant reflective markers. The work consists of a Base Bid project and three Additive Bid projects. Bids are required for the entire work described here- in. Based upon available fund- ing, a contract, if awarded, will be awarded for the Base Bid on- ly; the Base Bid together with Additive Bid No. 1; the Base Bid ly; together Additive Bid No. 1; the Base Bid together with Additive Bid No. 1 and Additive Bid No. 2; or the Base Bid together with Additive Bid No. 1, Additive Bid No. 2, and Additive Bid No. 3. The Engineer's Estimate is ap- proximately $279,000.00 for the Base Bid, approximately $8,900.00 for Additive Bid No. 1, approximately $9,000.00 for Ad- ditive Bid No. 2, and approxi- mately $20,600.00 for Additive Bid No. 3. The Owner will issue a Notice to Proceed on a date mutually agreed upon by the Owner and the Contractor. Work shall be completed within 20 working days after issuance of the No- tice to Proceed by the Owner on the base bid. An additional 3 working days will be added for each additive bid item, if any ad- ditive bids are awarded. The contractor is to carefully ex- amine the site of the proposed work, and is to make his or her own determination of the scope of the work to be performed, in- cluding but not limited to the soil and existing pavement con- ditions and/or groundwater con- ditions to be encountered in per- forming the work, and he or she is to carefully examine these Contract Documents. BID SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS: No proposal will be accepted unless it is made on a Proposal form furnished by the City of Tehama. To ensure considera- tion, the Proposal must be en- closed in a sealed envelope, clearly marked PROPOSAL which also bears the name of the proj- ect and the date and time set for opening of Proposals. Each Pro- posal must be accompanied by cash, certified cashier's posal accompanied by cash, certified or cashier's check, or bidder's bond made payable to the CITY OF TEHAMA for an amount equal to ten per- cent (10%) of the amount bid, such guaranty to be forfeited should the bidder to whom the Contract is awarded fail to exe- cute the Contract. No Proposal will be accepted from a contractor who is not currently licensed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 9, Division III of the Business and Professions Code. Subcontractors shall also be li- censed as required by said code. The contractor shall possess ei- ther a Class A license or a com- bination of Class C licenses which constitutes a majority of the work at the time this con- tract is awarded. No contractor or subcontractor may be listed on a bid proposal for a public works project (sub- mitted on or after March 1, 2015) unless registered with the De- partment of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code section 1725.5 [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code Section 1771.1(a)]. No contractor or subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project (awarded on or after April 1, 2015) unless registered with the Department of Industri- al Relations pursuant to Labor Code Section 1725.5. This project is subject to compli- ance monitoring and enforce- ment by the Department of In- dustrial Relations. PREVAILING WAGES: Pursuant to Section 1770, and following, of the California Labor Code, the successful bidder shall pay not less than the prevailing rate of per diem wages as determined by the Director of the California Department of Industrial Rela- tions. Copies of such prevailing rate of per diem wages are on file at the City of Tehama, City Hall. The successful bidder shall post a copy of the applicable wage rates on the job site dur- ing the construction period. APPRENTICESHIP STANDARDS: In accordance with the provi- sions of Part 7, Chapter 1, Article 2, Section 1777.5 of the Labor Code of the State of California, the prime contractor shall be re- sponsible for fully complying with the provisions of this Sec- tion, as well as any regulations adopted by the Director of In- dustrial Relations, for all apprenticeable crafts or trades, and shall also assure compli- ance by his or her sub- contractors with respect to such apprenticeable crafts or trades. INSURANCE AND BONDS RE- QUIRED: The successful bidder to whom the Contract is award- ed will be required to furnish ap- propriate insurance certificates as required by Section D.1 of the General Conditions and the Spe- cial Conditions. He or she shall also furnish a Payment Bond in an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of the total Contract amount and a Faithful Perform- ance Bond in the amount equal to the total Contract amount, with a corporate surety ap- proved by the City of Tehama. PAYMENT RETENTION AND SUB- Five STITUTION OF SECURITIES: Five percent (5%) will be withheld from each progress payment made to the Contractor for work performed and will be held until completion of the work, its ac- ceptance and the expiration of the period provided by law for filing of liens by laborers or materialmen. In accordance with the provisions of Public Contract Code Section 23300, se- curities may be substituted for any monies which the City may withhold pursuant to the terms of the Contract to insure per- formance. BIDDER'S INFORMATION: Con- tract Documents, including Plans and Specifications, are available for inspection at Val- ley Contractors Exchange at 951 E. 8th Street, Chico, California; and Shasta Builders Exchange at 2990 Innsbruck Drive, Redding, California. Copies are available for purchase at the office of Rolls, Anderson & Rolls, 115 Yel- lowstone Drive, Chico, California 95973, phone: (530) 895-1422 for a NON-REFUNDABLE PAYMENT of $25.00, and an additional $5.00 if shipped. BID AWARD: The Contract, if awarded, will be awarded within 7 days after opening the propos- als, to the lowest responsible bidder as determined by the owner. Owner reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to re- ject any and all bids for any rea- son whatsoever, or to waive mi- nor irregularities in any bid, and to accept any bid. Date: 2/18/15 City of Tehama Carolyn Steffan City Clerk Publish: 2/21/15 & 2/26/15 i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià i}> ÌVià | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2015 8 B