Topic Review
Taupo Volcano
Lake Taupo, in the centre of New Zealand’s North Island, is the caldera of a large rhyolitic supervolcano called the Taupo Volcano. This huge volcano has produced two of the world’s most violent eruptions in geologically recent times. The Taupo Volcano forms part of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, a region of volcanic activity that extends from Ruapehu in the South, through the Taupo and Rotorua districts, to White Island, in the Bay of Plenty region. Taupo began erupting about 300,000 years ago, but the main eruptions that still affect the surrounding landscape are the Oruanui eruption, about 26,500 years ago, which is responsible for the shape of the modern caldera, and the Hatepe eruption, dated 232 ± 5 CE. However, there have been many more eruptions, with major ones every thousand years or so (see timeline of last 10,000 years of eruptions). Considering recent history alone, the volcano has been inactive for an unusually long period of time, but considering its long-term activity, it was inactive for much longer between 8100 and 5100 BCE (3,000 year inactivity, compared to the current 1,800 years). Some volcanoes within the Taupo Volcanic Zone have erupted far more recently, however, notably a violent VEI-5 eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, and frequent activity of Whakaari/White Island, which erupted most recently in December 2019.
  • 1.3K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
BiOCl and g-C3N4
Many organic pollutants are discharged into the environment, which results in the frequent detection of organic pollutants in surface water and underground water. Some of the organic pollutants can stay for a long time in the environment due to their recalcitrance. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) can effectively treat the recalcitrant organic compounds in water. Photocatalysis as one of the AOPs has attracted a lot of interest. BiOCl and g-C3N4 are nice photocatalysts. However, their catalytic activity should be further improved for industrial utilization. The construction of heterojunction between the two different components is deemed as an efficient strategy for developing a highly efficient photocatalyst. As a typical type-II heterojunction, g-C3N4/BiOCl heterojunctions showed better photocatalytic performance. To date, the g-C3N4/BiOCl composites were mainly studied in the field of water purification. The photoactivity of the pristine catalysts was greatly enhanced by the combination of the two materials. However, three kinds of proposed mechanisms were used to explain the improvement of the g-C3N4/BiOCl heterojunctions. But few researchers tried to explain why there were three different scenarios employed to explain the charge transfer. According to the articles reviewed, no direct evidence could indicate whether the band structures of the heterojunctions based on BiOCl and g-C3N4 were changed. Therefore, many more studies are needed to reveal the truth. Having a clearer understanding of the mechanism is beneficial for researchers to construct more efficient photocatalysts. This article is trying to start a new direction of research to inspire more researchers to prepare highly effective photocatalysts.
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  • 15 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Countries Dependent on the Bay of Bengal
The countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal include littoral and landlocked countries that depend on the Bay of Bengal for maritime usage. Historically, the Bay of Bengal has been a highway of transport, trade and cultural exchange between diverse peoples encompassing South Asia and Southeast Asia. Today, the Bay of Bengal region is the convergence of two major geopolitical blocs- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) promotes regional engagement in the area. The Bay of Bengal countries are often categorized into a maritime subregion. The bay hosts vital shipping routes linking its littoral and landlocked hinterland with the Indian Ocean. Its sea bed is being explored and exploited for hydrocarbon reserves.
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  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Climate Change and Ecosystems
Climate change has adversely affected both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and is expected to further affect many ecosystems, including tundra, mangroves, coral reefs, and caves. Increasing global temperature, more frequent occurrence of extreme weather, and rising sea level are among some of the effects of climate change that will have the most significant impact. Some of the possible consequences of these effects include species decline and extinction, behavior change within ecosystems, increased prevalence of invasive species, a shift from forests being carbon sinks to carbon sources, ocean acidification, disruption of the water cycle, and increased occurrence of natural disasters, among others.
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  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
List of Minerals D (Complete)
This list includes those recognised minerals beginning with the letter D. The International Mineralogical Association is the international group that recognises new minerals and new mineral names, however minerals discovered before 1959 did not go through the official naming procedure, although some minerals published previously have been either confirmed or discredited since that date. This list contains a mixture of mineral names that have been approved since 1959 and those mineral names believed to still refer to valid mineral species (these are called "grandfathered" species). The list is divided into groups: The data was exported from mindat.org on 29 April 2005; updated up to 'IMA2018'. The minerals are sorted by name, followed by the structural group (rruff.info/ima and ima-cnmnc by mineralienatlas.de, mainly) or chemical class (mindat.org and basics), the year of publication (if it's before of an IMA approval procedure), the IMA approval and the Nickel–Strunz code. The first link is to mindat.org, the second link is to webmineral.com, and the third is to the Handbook of Mineralogy (Mineralogical Society of America).
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  • 05 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Korea's Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an environmental-impact assessment method is gaining increasing attention all over the world due to the urgent need for the preservation and sustainability of the environment. Commonly utilized in the environmental analysis of businesses, industries, products, and services, this assessment method promoted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Life Cycle Initiative, the Forum for Sustainability through Life Cycle Assessment (FSLCI), International reference Life Cycle Database System (ILCD), the European reference Life Cycle Database system (ELCD), and a host of others aims at improving environmental performance towards the achievement of economically viable, safe, and sustainable societies. In Korea, LCA has drawn much attention from both industry and academia since the mid-90s, hence this study assessed the status of environmental LCA studies as it concerns the country. The Life Cycle Assessment technique serves as an important means of identifying the environmental impact of products or services throughout their entire life cycle stages. 
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  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Thai Highlands
The Thai highlands or Hills of northern Thailand is a mountainous natural region in the north of Thailand. Its mountain ranges are part of the system of hills extending through Laos, Burma, and China and linking to the Himalayas, of which they may be considered foothills. The highlands in the north of Thailand are characterized by a pattern of generally steep hill ranges, intermontane basins and alluvial gorges. Elevations are generally moderate, little above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) for the highest summits. There is a wide range of elevations though, with floors ranging between 200 and 500 metres (660 and 1,640 ft) above sea level. Towards the Lao border, the divide to the Mekong basin becomes higher with peaks occasionally rising above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) and streams flowing in narrow steep valleys. The climate is typical of tropical mountains with clearly delineated wet and dry seasons. Winter temperatures can be cool with frosts occurring most years at higher elevations, but no snow even on the highest peaks. The region of the Thai Highlands encompasses the nine administrative provinces of northern Thailand, based on the six-region system, as well as parts of Tak and Sukhothai Provinces. Some areas of the highlands are sparsely populated.
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  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Coquina
Coquina (/koʊˈkiːnə/) is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically-sorted fragments of the shells of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. For a sediment to be considered to be a coquina, the particles composing it should average 2 mm (0.079 in) or greater in size. Coquina can vary in hardness from poorly to moderately cemented. Incompletely consolidated and poorly-cemented coquinas are considered grainstones in the Dunham classification system for carbonate sedimentary rocks. A well-cemented coquina is classified as a biosparite (fossiliferous limestone) according to the Folk classification of sedimentary rocks. Coquinas accumulate in high-energy marine and lacustrine environments where currents and waves result in the vigorous winnowing, abrasion, fracturing, and sorting of the shells that compose them. As a result, they typically exhibit well-developed bedding or cross-bedding, close packing, and good orientation of the shell fragments. The high-energy marine or lacustrine environments associated with coquinas include beaches, shallow submarine raised banks, swift tidal channels, and barrier bars.
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  • 10 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Neuroarchaeology
Neuroarchaeology refers to a field of study that records neuroscientific history through archaeological methods of investigation. The term was first suggested and thus coined by Colin Renfrew and Lambros Malafouris first individually in 2004 and then collaboratively in 2008.It is a combination of the words "neuro-" from 'neuroscience' indicating its connection with the brain sciences and "archaeology" meaning study of human history and prehistory through excavations and other tools. Significant leaps in brain and cognitive sciences in the 21st century have opened up new areas of partnership between archaeology and neuroscience. This collaboration can help an archaeologist figure out biological and neural substrates of human cognitive abilities present in the archaeological objects. The knowledge of neuroscience can also be applied to critically review and challenge existing theories and assumptions about the inception of modern human cognition. The term implies a new area of research that could investigate issues relating to the collaboration between the brain and culture over the long term development of humans. So far, the goals of neuroscience and archaeology are the same- to understand human nature. But their disciplinary approaches diverge significantly. Neuroarchaeology aims at building the analytical bridge between brain and culture ""by putting material culture, embodiment, time and long-term change at centre stage in mind".
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  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Tropical Ecology
Tropical ecology is the study of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the tropics, or the area of the Earth that lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.4378° N and 23.4378° S, respectively). The tropical climate experiences hot, humid weather and rainfall year-round. While many might associate the region solely with the rainforests, the tropics are home to a wide variety of ecosystems that boast a great wealth of biodiversity, from exotic animal species to seldom-found flora. Tropical ecology began with the work of early English naturalists and eventually saw the establishment of research stations throughout the tropics devoted to exploring and documenting these exotic landscapes. The burgeoning ecological study of the tropics has led to increased conservation education and programs devoted to the climate. This climatic zone offers numerous advantages to ecologists conducting a wide array of studies, from rich biodiversity to vast lands untainted by man.
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  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Taupo Volcanic Zone
The Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ) is a volcanic area in the North Island of New Zealand that has been active for the past two million years and is still highly active. Mount Ruapehu marks its south-western end and the zone runs north-eastward through the Taupo and Rotorua areas and offshore into the Bay of Plenty. It is part of the larger Central Volcanic Region that extends further westward through the western Bay of Plenty to the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsula and has been active for four million years. The Taupo Volcanic Zone is widening east–west at the rate of about 8 mm per year. It is named after Lake Taupo, the flooded caldera of the largest volcano in the zone, the Taupo Volcano.
  • 1.2K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
List of Programs for Point Cloud Processing
This is an overview of programs for processing 3D point clouds from appropriate photos or surveys with laser scanners.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Architectural Lighting Design
Architectural lighting design is a field within architecture, interior design and electrical engineering that is concerned with the design of lighting systems, including natural light, electric light, or both, to serve human needs. The aim of lighting design is the human response, to see clearly and without discomfort. The objective of architectural lighting design is to further the design of architecture or the experience of buildings and other physical structures.
  • 1.2K
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Field-Effect Transistor-Based Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring
The precise monitoring of environmental contaminants and agricultural plant stress factors, respectively responsible for damages to our ecosystems and crop losses, has become nowadays a topic of uttermost importance. This is also highlighted by the recent introduction of the so-called "Sustainable Development Goals" of the United Nations, which aim at reducing pollutants while implementing more sustainable food production practices leading to a reduced impact on all ecosystems. In this context, the standard methods currently used in these fields represent a sub-optimal solution, being expensive, laboratory-based techniques, and typically requiring trained personnel with high expertise. Recent advances in both biotechnology and material science, have led to the emergence of new sensing (and biosensing) technologies, enabling low-cost, precise, and real-time detection. An especially interesting category of biosensors is represented by field-effect transistor-based biosensors (bio-FETs), which enable the possibility of performing in-situ, continuous, selective, and sensitive measurements of a wide palette of different parameters of interest. Furthermore, bio-FETs offer the possibility of being fabricated using innovative and sustainable materials, employing various device configurations, each customized for a specific application. In the specific field of environmental and agricultural monitoring, the exploitation of these devices is particularly attractive as it paves the way to early detection and intervention strategies useful to limit, or even to completely avoid negative outcomes (such as diseases to animals or ecosystems losses). 
  • 1.2K
  • 08 Jun 2022
Topic Review
List of Tropical Cyclone-spawned Tornadoes
Intense tropical cyclones usually produce tornadoes, the majority of those weak, especially upon landfall.
  • 1.2K
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Antimony as a Critical Raw Material
Antimony is widely acknowledged as a critical raw material of worldwide significance, based on its recognition by many countries. According to current projections, there is an anticipated increase in the demand for antimony in the forthcoming years. An issue of significant concern within the supply chain, which poses a substantial obstacle to sustainable development, is the global unequal allocation of abundant antimony resources. Most nations exhibited a high degree of dependence on a few countries for their net imports of antimony, resulting in a notable disruption and raising concerns regarding the supply chain. 
  • 1.1K
  • 23 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Burmese Amber
Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 99 million years old, during the earliest part of the Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous. The amber is of significant palaeontological interest due to the diversity of flora and fauna contained as inclusions, particularly arthropods including insects and arachnids but also birds, lizards, snakes, frogs and fragmentary dinosaur remains. The amber has been known and commercially exploited since the first century AD, and has been known to science since the mid-nineteenth century. Research on the deposit has attracted controversy due to its role in funding internal conflict in Myanmar and hazardous working conditions in the mines where it is collected.
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  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Differentiating True and False Cinnamon
Given the intricate compositions of essential oils (EOs), various discrimination approaches were explored to ensure quality, safety, and authenticity, thereby establishing consumer confidence.
  • 1.1K
  • 05 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Chubut Province
Chubut (Spanish: Provincia del Chubut, IPA: [tʃuˈβut]; Welsh: Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina , situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes range to the west, and the Atlantic ocean to the east. The province's name derives from the Tehuelche word chupat, meaning "transparent," their description of the Chubut River. The largest city is Comodoro Rivadavia in the south of the province; it has 180,000 inhabitants. The administrative capital is Rawson (40,000). Other important cities are Puerto Madryn, Trelew, Esquel and Sarmiento. Gaiman is a cultural and demographic centre of the region known as "Y Wladfa" in which Welsh-Argentines are concentrated. Of the 25,000 Welsh speakers in Argentina, 5,000 live in the Chubut region, particularly in the early Welsh settlements of Gaiman, Trelew and Trevelin.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Geobiology
Geobiology is a field of scientific research that explores the interactions between the physical Earth and the biosphere. It is a relatively young field, and its borders are fluid. There is considerable overlap with the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, microbiology, paleontology, and particularly soil science and biogeochemistry. Geobiology applies the principles and methods of biology, geology, and soil science to the study of the ancient history of the co-evolution of life and Earth as well as the role of life in the modern world. Geobiologic studies tend to be focused on microorganisms, and on the role that life plays in altering the chemical and physical environment of the pedosphere, which exists at the intersection of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and/or cryosphere. It differs from biogeochemistry in that the focus is on processes and organisms over space and time rather than on global chemical cycles. Geobiological research synthesizes the geologic record with modern biologic studies. It deals with process - how organisms affect the Earth and vice versa - as well as history - how the Earth and life have changed together. Much research is grounded in the search for fundamental understanding, but geobiology can also be applied, as in the case of microbes that clean up oil spills. Geobiology employs molecular biology, environmental microbiology, organic geochemistry, and the geologic record to investigate the evolutionary interconnectedness of life and Earth. It attempts to understand how the Earth has changed since the origin of life and what it might have been like along the way. Some definitions of geobiology even push the boundaries of this time frame - to understanding the origin of life and to the role that humans have played and will continue to play in shaping the Earth in the Anthropocene.
  • 1.1K
  • 04 Nov 2022
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