World Issues I.S.U: El Nino

World Issues I.S.U: El Nino Introduction El Nino has been a reoccurring phenomenon for centuries. Man has only started to realize how much of the worlds weather is effected by it. In the late 1990's catastrophic droughts, floods, fires, and famines became synonymous with the term El Nino. But El Nino was stretching its imprint on the world in a myriad ways, long before it made the headline news. From the sinking of the Titanic to the Irish Potato famine, from the outbreak of the war of independence in Mexico to the collapse of Hitler's Russian campaign, El Nino has shaped the world and will continue to do so. El Nino has been a reoccurring phenomenon for centuries, and currently plays a major role in global warming. The phenomenon does not bring just the negative aspects that scientists and the weather personnel's are so quick to point out. El Nino has some positive aspects to it; that takes a deeper look into the phenomenon to be realized. El Nino's global effects are not just confined to changes in the temperature of the world but it also affects the biological ecosystem, the economy of countries world wide, and creates an imbalance in nature. What is an El Nino? How does it occur? When and where does it occur? The term El Nino refers to an irregular warming of the seas surface. El Nino is a natural phenomenon that occurs frequently or more precisely whenever the trade

  • Word count: 2287
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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The Effects of Global Warming:

The Effects of Global Warming: Some of the most drastic effects of global warming contain: rising global temperatures which are expected to raise sea level and change precipitation and other local climate conditions. Changing regional climate could alter forests, crop yields, and water supplies. It also could possibly affect human health, animals, and many types of ecosystems. Deserts may expand into existing rangelands, and features of some of our National Parks may be permanently altered. Most of the United States is expected to warm, although sulfates may limit warming in some areas. Scientists currently are unable to determine which parts of the United States will become wetter or drier, but there is likely to be an overall trend toward increased precipitation and evaporation, more intense rainstorms, and drier soils. Unfortunately, many of the potentially most important impacts depend upon whether rainfall increases or decreases, which can not be reliably projected for specific areas. As mentioned above, global warming also has great effect on crops and weather conditions around the world. The northern hemisphere contains more land area than the southern hemisphere, and conversely, a lower percentage of the world's oceans. Since oceans absorb more heat than land areas, it is not surprising that most climate models predict faster heating over the northern hemisphere

  • Word count: 680
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Changi beach, spit

Geography coursework By: Nguyen Manh Hoang From: 3.18 MAP 1 (Scale 1:4521): Map of the spit and its neighbourhood My following report centers on the spit near Changi village. From Map 1, we can see that this is a wide spit extended from the original beach in the East- South East. It consists of A and B and has been interfered by humans as there are lots of man-grown greeneries. Hence, I aim to address the current factors affecting this spit such as waves, winds and human interference with reference to the data collected... and also the likely changes on this spit in the future with respect to these factors. Specifically, I hypothesize that the spit will be partially extended more in the future at A, while B will experience a very slow change in gradient. These will lead to the formation of a longer inlet. In addition, people will probably build a bigger port behind the spit. In my report, I will use methodology from my on-site records at the spit regarding the gradients, waves' directions and frequencies on both sides, which make my report precise, as well as information from textbook and the Internet to advocate my hypothesis convincingly. In order to measure the gradient of the spit, on each side, we set a number of wooden poles upright in regular 1m margin on a perpendicular line with the shore. After the setup, we hold a tape measure which coincides with the 1m

  • Word count: 1615
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Discussion_of_Tourism_Impacts_on_Historic_Towns 2009-02

Socio - cultural impact of tourism on historical town such as Canterbury In this essay will be discussed the socio-cultural impact of tourism on historic towns, looking at the case of Canterbury, Kent. Some ideas will also be given of how to reduce the negative and increase the positive impacts of tourism activities. Canterbury is situated in north-East Kent. The city lies on the River Great Stour. (Photo no 0.) (www.wikipedia.com, 2009) We cannot discuss a historic town without taking a glimpse at its history. Canterbury, like many historic towns, has had its share of rising and falling throughout its history. The author looks at five major historical periods that had a significant impact on the town's development and its tourism. The first period was when the Romans occupied England (43AD-410AD). They built stone houses, theatres, temples and baths, and also constructed roads which allowed better access to the city. (Photo no 1, 2, 3) The second was the reign of Henry II (1154-89) when Archbishop Thomas Becket's death brought mass tourism into the city in the form of pilgrims visiting Becket's shrine. (Photo no 4) The third period was when Geoffrey Chaucer's (1343-1400) Canterbury Tales were written and also when the biggest pilgrim inns were built. Today one of the most visited attractions is the Canterbury Tales House. (See photo no. 5) It shows that these periods

  • Word count: 1121
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Canada The Capital city of Canada is Ottawa in the province of Ontario.

Canada The Capital city of Canada is Ottawa in the province of Ontario. Canada has 27,367 millions Inhabitants and is the 2nd largest country with more than 9,9 million km². Seven percent of the world's area and nine percent of the world's fresh water provision belong to Canada. Canada has ten provinces and three territories. The national symbol is the maple leaf which has been connected with Canada since the 18th century. The leaf is regarded as the most important national symbol of Canada since 1965. Since then Canada has also got its own flag. On 1st July 1980 the hymn "O Canada" became the Canadian national anthem. Geographical nature The Canadian landscapeis marked by its great variety. Plains with fertile farm land can be found as well as huge mountain ranges, lakes and rivers. * The huge mountain ranges in the eastern areas are the Torgat Mountains, the Appalachians and the Laurentians. In the west there are the Rocky Mountains and the Mackenzie Mountains. The Pelly Mountains and Mount St. Elias are situated in the north. The highest mountain is Mount Logan in the Yukon - territory. * There are a lot of big lakes in Canada. The biggest is the Great Bear Lake. It covers 31.326 km². * Canada's longest river is the Mackenzie River in the Northwest - territories. Other big rivers are the St. Lawrence River, the Churchill River and the Nelson River. * Canada's

  • Word count: 593
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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1.1 What are mangroves? 1.2 What are the factors that determine area, diversity and growth of mangroves?

.1 What are mangroves? .2 What are the factors that determine area, diversity and growth of mangroves? The health of the mangrove wetlands with reference to hydrological and soil conditions, and the wealth of the mangrove wetlands in terms of area, species diversity, biomass and productivity are determined by Degree of protection against high-waves Quantity and duration of freshwater flow and sediment supply Larger tidal amplitude and Gently sloping coastal topography. Young mangrove plants of settle and grow only in coastal areas where wave energy is low or in places where the mangrove wetlands are protected by a sand barrier against high-waves. The coastline of the Muthupet region of the then combined Thanjavur District and that of Sunderbans in West Bengal are the best examples of low wave energy coasts where mangroves grow luxuriantly. In the Pichavaram mangrove wetland of Cuddalore District, wave energy along the coast is high but a sandy beach, located between the mangroves and the sea, protects the mangroves. Most of the mangrove plants require low salinity condition for their growth and reproduction. Hence, luxuriant mangrove forests can be seen only in the estuarine regions where a large amount of fresh water is discharged for long periods of time in a year. For example, the Sunderbans mangrove forest of West Bengal, which receives fresh water from

  • Word count: 3147
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Global Warming and the Polar bear

Global Warming and the Polar bear It was realized that in 1988 that mankind was transforming the atmosphere of our planet (Pearce, 1). Global Warming is a big concern to scientists aside from pollution and is certainly under way. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. Global warming has risen within the last 50 years because of the result of humans activities. These activities have distorted the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide (EPA, The Climate). What is the cause of global warming and if it serious what is being done to end it. What will be the effects on earth if global warming continues, and last but not least what is occurring around us at this very moment from global warming? Many of these questions are being asked by scientist and are being researched to find more plausible answers and predictions for us. Global warming is found to be caused by the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect has been described, by the US Vice President Al Gore, as the potentially most dangerous environmental problem facing mankind, with consequences second only to nuclear war (CS, What is the Greenhouse Effect?). The Green house effect

  • Word count: 1662
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Ther Indus Valley civilization.

Indus Valley civilization was one of the world's first great civilizations. The civilization began to flourish about 4,500 years ago and was centred in the vast river plains of what are now Pakistan and northwestern India. This civilization is sometimes called the Harappan civilization. It is named after the Pakistani town of Harappa, where archaeologists first discovered evidence of the culture. Development of the Indus civilization. The Indus civilization developed out of farming and herding communities that carried on trade with each other. About 2500 B.C., the communities became more unified culturally, and in some places people began laying out carefully planned cities. In time, the Indus civilization grew to cover most of present-day Pakistan and parts of what are now Afghanistan and northern India. The heart of the civilization was the vast flood plain of the Indus and Hakra rivers. The Hakra River (also known as the Ghaggar River or Sarasvati River) is now dried up. It once flowed east of--and parallel to--the Indus River, in what are now India and Pakistan. The civilization developed a standardized system of weights and measures and a system of writing that used pictographs (simple drawings representing words). In the early 1800's, British scholars learned that people had found ancient artefacts buried in huge earthen mounds in the region. But it was

  • Word count: 661
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Effect of Hurricane Katrina

Effect of Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina first appeared as a tropical storm 30 degree off the equator on the 23th August 2005. On the 26th of August it developed as a Category 2 hurricane after the 1st landfall by the south of Florida. On the 28th August, it has developed as a catastrophic (Category 4) hurricane with wind speed excess 150mph. The devastating effects happened on the third landfall where the eye wall wind hit New Orleans on the 30th of August. New Orleans was flooded with a maximum 18 feet storm surge as well as other areas near Mississippi's coast. It was totally damaged and destroyed. 83% schools are damaged, 850000 houses were damaged or destroyed with 1m people displayed. The floodwater carried sewage, chemical toxin and 11m gallon of crude oil spill from 30 different oil platforms into lakes and water pipe. After the hurricane, the Government released $62 billion aid relief to affected areas such as New Orleans, Mississippi and south east Louisiana. 700000 people were re-housed by FEMA. There was a long term effect of lead poisoning and oil spillage. There were looting and violence across streets; troops were transported to control the situation and looters were shot on scene. 1.3m people evacuate New Orleans before the destruction but still with a total death of approximately 1800 people including looters and criminals taking advantage of the panic

  • Word count: 360
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Destruction of Amazonian Rainforest and its effect on the environment

Destruction of Amazonian Rainforest This area of the Amazon rain forest has been cleared by burning, following which a ground cover of small plants grew quickly, but could not prevent the rapid erosion of the soil by rain water, the signs of which can be seen in the channels leading down to the central gully. The fast erosion of already nutrient-poor soil makes regeneration of the forest an even more precarious prospect. Anne LaBastille/Bruce Coleman Inc Deforestation, the large-scale removal of forest, prior to its replacement by other land uses. It is proceeding at about 17 million hectares each year (170,000 sq km or 65,000 sq mi, an area larger than England, Wales, and Northern Ireland combined). Between 1980 and 1990, annual deforestation rates were 1.2 per cent in Asia and the Pacific, 0.8 per cent in Latin America, and 0.7 per cent in Africa. Forest area is generally stable in Europe and North America, although the rate of transition from old-growth forest to other forms in North America is controversially high. Deforestation may be distinguished from forest degradation, which is a reduction in forest quality. The two are linked, and result in several problems. They cause soil erosion and watershed destabilization, resulting in flooding or drought. They reduce biodiversity (the range of habitat, species, and genetic types), particularly significant in tropical

  • Word count: 1876
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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