Topic Review
Global Earth Observation System of Systems
The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is being built by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan running from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of environmental data and decision-support tools with the end users of these products, with the aim of enhancing the relevance of Earth observations to global issues. GEOSS aims to produce a global public infrastructure that generates comprehensive, near-real-time environmental data, information and analyses for a wide range of users. The Secretariat Director of Geoss is Barbara Ryan.
  • 321
  • 17 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Western Caribbean Zone
The Western Caribbean Zone is a region consisting of the Caribbean coasts of Central America, from Yucatán in Mexico to northern Colombia, and also the islands west of Jamaica. The zone emerged in the late sixteenth century as the Spanish failed to completely conquer many sections of the coast, and northern European powers supported opposition to Spain, sometimes through alliances with local powers. Unsubdued indigenous inhabitants of the region included some Maya polities, and other chiefdoms and egalitarian societies, especially in Belize, eastern Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In addition, the region was the refuge of several groups of runaway slaves, who formed independent settlements or intermixed with the indigenous societies. The combination of unsubdued indigenous people, outlaws (pirates in this case), and an absence of outside control made it similar in some aspects to the American West or the Wild West, as the western half of North America is often called. Its long engagement with the English-speaking Caribbean made it an ideal conduit for trade from both the English colonies of the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, but also North America, which had been trading in the zone since the eighteenth century at least. The relatively low population and strategic location attracted United States -based transportation companies to promote infrastructure projects from railroads to the Panama Canal in the zone, and conjointly with that to introduce large-scale fruit production toward the end of the nineteenth century, often bringing in labor from the English-speaking Caribbean to assist. Unique elements of the region, relative to the population of Central America in general, is the high percentage of people of whole or partial African descent, and its cultural connections to English and the English-speaking Caribbean through language and religion.
  • 319
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Steamboat Springs (Nevada)
Steamboat Springs is a small volcanic field of rhyolitic lava domes and flows in western Nevada, located south of Reno. There is extensive geothermal activity in the area, including numerous hot springs, steam vents, and fumaroles. The residential portions of this area, located mostly east of Steamboat Creek and south of modern-day SR 341, are now known simply as Steamboat. The state of Nevada has a Steamboat Springs Historical Marker (#198) situated along the eastern shoulder of the busy Carson–Reno Highway (US 395 Alt.), approximately 1.65 miles (2.66 km) south of the Mount Rose Junction (the intersection with SR 341 and SR 431). There were once several mineral spas operating here along Steamboat Creek, with at least one still in business called Steamboat Hot Springs Healing Center & Spa. The water from the springs contains many minerals including: calcium carbonate, magnesium, sodium sulfate, carbon dioxide, lithia, soda and silica.
  • 319
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Phum Snay
Phum Snay (Khmer: ភូមិ ស្នាយ) is an Iron Age archaeological site discovered in May 2000 in Preah Neat Prey District, Banteay Meanchey Province, Northwest Cambodia, around 80 km (50 mi) from the temple ruins of Angkor. The site was excavated between 2001 and 2003 by primary excavators Dougald O’Reilly of the Australian National University, Pheng Sitha and Thuy Chanthourn. The excavation was intended to discover more about Iron Age life in Cambodia.
  • 318
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Grongar Hill
Grongar Hill is located in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire and was the subject of a loco-descriptive poem by John Dyer. Published in two versions in 1726, during the Augustan period, its celebration of the individual experience of the landscape makes it a precursor of Romanticism. As a prospect poem, it has been the subject of continuing debate over how far it meets artistic canons.
  • 310
  • 27 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Hurricane Preparedness
Cyclone mitigation encompasses the actions and planning taken before a tropical cyclone strikes to mitigate damage and injury from the storm. Knowledge of tropical cyclone impacts on an area help plan for future possibilities. Preparedness may involve preparations made by individuals as well as centralized efforts by governments or other organizations. Tracking storms during the tropical cyclone season helps individuals know current threats. Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers provide current information and forecasts to help individuals make the best decision possible.
  • 308
  • 28 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Paedotherium
Paedotherium is an extinct, potentially paraphyletic genus of Notoungulate, belonging to the family Hegetotheriidae, composed of small-sized, rodent or lagomorph-like South American ungulates. Four species are unambiguously recognized, from the Late Miocene to the Pleistocene of Argentina , and from the late Miocene of Bolivia and Chile .
  • 303
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Emeralds from Kagem Mine, Kafubu Area, Zambia
Kagem emerald mine in Zambia is deemed the largest open-pit emerald mine in the world, with extremely high economic value and a large market share. Mineral inclusions typically include actinolite, graphite, magnetite, and dolomite. Black graphite encased in actinolite in Kagem emeralds is reported herein for the first time. The FTIR spectrum of Kagem emeralds reveals that the absorption of type II H2O is stronger than that of type I H2O, indicating the presence of abundant alkali metals, which was confirmed through chemical analysis. Kagem emeralds contain high levels of Na (avg. 16,440 ppm), moderate-to-high Cs (avg. 567 ppm), as well as low-to-moderate K (avg. 185 ppm) and Rb (avg. 14 ppm) concentrations.
  • 303
  • 16 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Soufrière Hills Volcano
User:RMCD bot/subject notice The Soufrière Hills volcano is an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Many volcanoes in the Caribbean are named Soufrière (French: "sulfur outlet"). These include La Soufrière or Soufrière Saint Vincent on the island of Saint Vincent, and La Grande Soufrière on Guadeloupe. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to erupt ever since. Its eruptions have rendered more than half of Montserrat uninhabitable, destroying the capital city, Plymouth, and causing widespread evacuations: about two thirds of the population have left the island. It is andesitic in nature, and the current pattern of activity includes periods of lava dome growth, punctuated by brief episodes of dome collapse which result in pyroclastic flows, ash venting, and explosive eruption. The volcano is monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a Multi-Component Gas Analyzer System, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving prediction of volcanic activity.
  • 298
  • 25 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Kaunos
Kaunos (Carian: Kbid; Lycian: Khbide; Ancient Greek: Καῦνος; Latin: Caunus) was a city of ancient Caria and in Anatolia, a few km west of the modern town of Dalyan, Muğla Province, Turkey. The Calbys river (now known as the Dalyan river) was the border between Caria and Lycia. Initially Kaunos was a separate state; then it became a part of Caria and later still of Lycia. Kaunos was an important sea port, the history of which is supposed to date back till the 10th century BC. Because of the formation of İztuzu Beach and the silting of the former Bay of Dalyan (from approx. 200 BC onwards), Kaunos is now located about 8 km from the coast. The city had two ports, the southern port at the southeast of Küçük Kale and the inner port at its northwest (the present Sülüklü Göl, Lake of the Leeches). The southern port was used from the foundation of the city till roughly the end of the Hellenistic era, after which it became inaccessible due to its drying out. The inner or trade port could be closed by chains. The latter was used till the late days of Kaunos, but due to the silting of the delta and the ports, Kaunos had by then long lost its important function as a trade port. After Caria had been captured by Turkish tribes and the serious malaria epidemic of the 15th century AD, Kaunos was completely abandoned. In 1966 Prof. Baki Öğün started the excavations of ancient Kaunos. These have been continued up to the present day, and are now supervised by Prof. Cengiz Işık. The archeological research is not limited to Kaunos itself, but is also carried out in locations nearby e.g. near the Sultaniye Spa where there used to be a sanctuary devoted to the goddess Leto.
  • 293
  • 20 Oct 2022
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