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Topic Review
Tropical Savanna Climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories Aw (for a dry winter) and As (for a dry summer). Tropical savanna climates have monthly mean temperatures above 18 °C (64 °F) in every month of the year and typically a pronounced dry season, with the driest month having less than 60 mm (2.36 inches) of precipitation and also less than [math]\displaystyle{ 100-\left (\frac{Total\ Annual\ Precipitation\ (mm)}{25} \right) }[/math] of precipitation :200–1 This latter fact is in direct contrast to a tropical monsoon climate, whose driest month sees less than 60 mm of precipitation but has more than [math]\displaystyle{ 100-\left (\frac{Total\ Annual\ Precipitation\ (mm)}{25} \right) }[/math] of precipitation. In essence, a tropical savanna climate tends to either see less rainfall than a tropical monsoon climate or have more pronounced dry season(s). In tropical savanna climates, the dry season can become severe, and often drought conditions prevail during the course of the year. Tropical savanna climates often feature tree-studded grasslands, rather than thick jungle. It is this widespread occurrence of tall, coarse grass (called savanna) which has led to Aw and As climates often being referred to as tropical savanna. However, there is some doubt whether tropical grasslands are climatically induced. Additionally, pure savannas, without trees, are the exception rather than the rule.
  • 1.7K
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Mercator 1569 World Map
The Mercator world map of 1569 is titled Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio ad Usum Navigantium Emendate Accommodata (Renaissance Latin for "New and more complete representation of the terrestrial globe properly adapted for use in navigation"). The title shows that Gerardus Mercator aimed to present contemporary knowledge of the geography of the world and at the same time 'correct' the chart to be more useful to sailors. This 'correction', whereby constant bearing sailing courses on the sphere (rhumb lines) are mapped to straight lines on the plane map, characterizes the Mercator projection. While the map's geography has been superseded by modern knowledge, its projection proved to be one of the most significant advances in the history of cartography, inspiring map historian Nordenskiöld to write "The master of Rupelmonde stands unsurpassed in the history of cartography since the time of Ptolemy." The projection heralded a new era in the evolution of navigation maps and charts and it is still their basis. The map is inscribed with a great deal of text. The framed map legends (or cartouches) cover a wide variety of topics: a dedication to his patron and a copyright statement; discussions of rhumb lines, great circles and distances; comments on some of the major rivers; accounts of fictitious geography of the north pole and the southern continent. The full Latin texts and English translations of all the legends are given below. Other minor texts are sprinkled about the map. They cover such topics as the magnetic poles, the prime meridian, navigational features, minor geographical details, the voyages of discovery and myths of giants and cannibals. These minor texts are also given below. A comparison with world maps before 1569 shows how closely Mercator drew on the work of other cartographers and his own previous works, but he declares (Legend 3) that he was also greatly indebted to many new charts prepared by Portuguese and Spanish sailors in the portolan tradition. Earlier cartographers of world maps had largely ignored the more accurate practical charts of sailors, and vice versa, but the age of discovery, from the closing decade of the fifteenth century, stimulated the integration of these two mapping traditions: Mercator's world map is one of the earliest fruits of this merger.
  • 1.7K
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Closed Ecological Life Support Systems
Closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) requires agricultural production for food, CO2removal, O2generation (human respiratory quotient ofCO2/[O2= 0.84–0.87 depending on the percentage formation of carbohydrate, fat and protein in the food consumed) and water recycling with bioreactors for recycling waste. Plants consume CO2and H2O for photosynthesis under the action of sufficient PAR to produce carbohydrate food, regenerate oxygen and filter water through evapotranspiration. There have been several bioregenerative life support system programmes including Biosphere 2 (US), CELSS (NASA), Bios-3 (Roscosmos) and its predecessors and MELiSSA (ESA).
  • 1.7K
  • 13 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Cultural Eutrophication
Cultural eutrophication is when a flux of excess nutrients from human activity are added into a local run-off which in turns speeds up the natural eutrophication. This is caused by human activity. The problem became apparent once the green revolution and industrial revolution began in the last century. Phosphates and nitrates are the two main nutrients that cause cultural eutrophication as they enrich the water, allowing for aquatic plants such as algae to grow rapidly. Algae is prone to blooming into large quantities removing oxygen from the water generating anoxic conditions. This anoxic environment kills off any organisms in the water body and make it hard for terrestrial animals to gain access to the water for drinking. Increased competition for the added nutrients can cause potential disruption to entire ecosystems and food webs, as well as a loss of habitat and biodiversity of species. There are many ways in which nutrients are added through human activity, including, but not limited to: waste treatment plants, golf courses, fertilizing lawns, burning of fossil fuels and agricultural practices. Cultural eutrophication can occur in fresh water and salt water bodies, usually shallow waters are the most susceptible. In shallow lakes, sediments are frequently disturbed by wind-wave and resuspended, which result in huge nutrients release to overlying water As well the shallow areas are normally where the run-off reaches first and has less water to dilute the excess nutrients. This begins to cause many problems for the nearby wildlife as well as recreational activities for humans. Eutrophication restricts water use for fisheries, recreation, industry and drinking because of increased growth of undesirable algae and aquatic weeds and the oxygen shortages caused by their death and decomposition.
  • 1.7K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Environmental Monitoring
Human activities and climate change constitute the contemporary catalyst for natural processes and their impacts, i.e., geo-environmental hazards. Globally, natural catastrophic phenomena and hazards, such as drought, soil erosion, quantitative and qualitative degradation of groundwater, frost, flooding, sea level rise, etc., are intensified by anthropogenic factors. Thus, they present rapid increase in intensity, frequency of occurrence, spatial density, and significant spread of the areas of occurrence. The impact of these phenomena is devastating to human life and to global economies, private holdings, infrastructure, etc., while in a wider context it has a very negative effect on the social, environmental, and economic status of the affected region. Geospatial technologies including Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing—Earth Observation as well as related spatial data analysis tools, models, databases, contribute nowadays significantly in predicting, preventing, researching, addressing, rehabilitating, and managing these phenomena and their effects. 
  • 1.7K
  • 20 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Policy Evolution of Chinese New Energy Vehicle Industry
The Chinese new energy vehicle industry policy is divided into three development periods: 2004–2008—promotion policy and technological policy; 2009–2013—financial policy; and 2014–2020—charging infrastructure policy. 
  • 1.7K
  • 29 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Media Coverage of Global Warming
Media coverage of global warming has had effects on public opinion on climate change, as it mediates the scientific opinion on climate change that the global temperature has increased in recent decades and that the trend is mainly caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases. Almost all scientific bodies of national or international standing agree with this view, although a few organisations hold non-committal positions. Climate change communication research frequently studies the effectiveness of that media. Some researchers and journalists believe that media coverage of political issues is adequate and fair, while a few feel that it is biased. However, most studies on media coverage of the topic are neither recent nor concerned with coverage of environmental issues. Moreover, they are only rarely concerned specifically with the question of bias. Despite recent trends in increased coverage on climate change, media coverage is not constant, and researchers wonder if the current increase in attention will be sustained.
  • 1.7K
  • 11 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Fungal Pellets Towards Heavy Metals
The biosorption on fungal pellets is getting attention as an attractive water remediation technique, as it offers an enhanced biomass separation and a high resilience in severe environmental conditions. In this entry, biosorption capacity of fungal pellets towards heavy metals was reviewed. Available data about the adsorption capacity of pellets, their removal efficiency, and the operational conditions used were collected and synthesized. It was found that the biosorption of complex mixtures of pollutants on fungal pellets is scarcely studied, as well as the interfering effect of anions commonly found in water and wastewater. Furthermore, there is a lack of research with real wastewater and at pilot and large scale. These topics need to be further explored to take full advantage of fungal pellets on improving the quality of aquatic systems.
  • 1.7K
  • 04 May 2021
Topic Review
ELVs Recycling in Developing Countries
End-of-life vehicle is a vehicle that has reached the end of its useful life and requires proper treatment.
  • 1.7K
  • 28 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Blockchain Technology and Tokenization
Blockchain is an open-source technology that excludes the traditional third parties by relying on collective verification, thus offering a great alternative in terms of costs, traceability, security, and speed. When two financial entities such as banks receive a request to transfer money from one account to another, they have to update the balances of their respective customers. This costly and time-consuming coordination and synchronization exercise can be simplified on a blockchain by using a single ledger of transactions reflecting a single version of records instead of two different databases. Blockchain technology offers a myriad of value through a frictionless process of immutable and transparent records and through converting assets into digital tokens (i.e., tokenization) with smart contracts. 
  • 1.6K
  • 01 Jun 2021
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