What’s the Evidence for Climate Change?

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

National Science Foundation (NSF) put out a special report detailing known changes to the planet related to global warming.

Ecologists have noted marked changes in the habitats of the species they study — changes in the places where they find a particular species, changes in the dates plants first sprout and bloom, changes in plant growth rates and even signs of evolutionary adaptation brought on by a warming climate. In some cases, species extinctions appear linked to climate change.
Ocean scientists have recorded higher temperatures and higher ocean acidity, which alter the characteristics of the most fundamental organisms of the ocean food chain. Coral reefs — some of which have thrived for centuries — have died off suddenly as a result of ocean temperatures that exceed the corals’ ability to survive.

Polar scientists have watched vast tracts of Arctic sea ice melt away, leaving behind more open water than anyone can remember seeing during any previous Northern Hemisphere summer. Glaciologists have witnessed ice shelves — once thought too large to be influenced by anything short of cataclysmic environmental change — break up into a churning sea of icebergs in a matter of days.

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Leaders vow to protect Coral Triangle and its people

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Manado, Indonesia — Leaders of six Coral Triangle countries promised to take action to safeguard the world’s richest marine resource and some 100 million people depending on it.

The announcement followed a recent WWF report which found that without action on climate change, coral reefs will disappear from the Coral Triangle by the end of the century, the ability of the region’s coastal environments to feed people will decline by 80 per cent, and the livelihoods of around 120 million people will have been lost or severely impacted.ADVERTISEMENT In a joint declaration, the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste formally adopted one of the most comprehensive and specific plans for ocean

.

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Half of Coral Reefs Could Be Destroyed

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Nearly half of the world’s coral reefs may be lost in the next 40 years unless urgent measures are taken to protect them against the threat of climate change, according to a new report released  by the World Conservation Union.

The Swiss-based organization called for the establishment of additional marine protected areas to prevent further degradation by making corals more robust and helping them resist bleaching.

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Latitude and Longitude

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Rashid Faridi

Location on the Earth

The earth is effectively a sphere, so how do we describe where a point is on its surface? The most common way to locate points on the surface of the Earth  is by standard, geographic coordinates called latitude and longitude. These coordinates values are measured in degrees, and represent angular distances calculated from the center of the Earth.th is by standard, geographic coordinates called latitude and longitude. These coordinates values are measured in degrees, and represent angular distances calculated from the center of the Earth.

What is latitude?

We can imagine the Earth as a sphere, with an axis around which it spins. The ends of the axis are the North and South Poles. The Equator is a line around the earth, an equal distance from both poles. The Equator is also the latitude line given the value of 0 degrees. This means it is the starting point for measuring latitude. Latitude values indicate the angular distance between the Equator and points north or south of it on the surface of the Earth.

A line connecting all the points with the same latitude value is called a line of latitude. This term s usually used to refer to the lines that represent values in whole degrees. All lines of latitude are parallel to the Equator, and they are sometimes also referred to as parallels. Parallels are equally spaced. There are 90 degrees of latitude going north from the Equator, and the North Pole is at 90 degrees N. There are 90 degrees to the south of the Equator, and the South Pole is at 90 degrees S. When the directional designators are omitted, northern latitudes are given positive values and southern latitudes are given negative values.

What is longitude?

Prime MeridianLines of longitude, called meridians, run perpendicular to lines of latitude, and all pass through both poles. Each longitude line is part of a great circle. There is no obvious 0-degree point for longitude, as there is for latitude. Throughout history many different starting points have been used to measure longitude. By international agreement, the meridian line through Greenwich, England, is currently given the value of 0 degrees of longitude; this meridian is referred to as the Prime Meridian. Longitude values are indicate the angular distance between the Prime Meridian and points east or west of it on the surface of the Earth.

The Earth is divided equally into 360 degrees of longitude. There are 180 degrees of longitude to the east of the Prime Meridian; when the directional designator is omitted these longitudes are given positive values. There are also 180 degrees of longitude to the west of the Prime Meridian; when the directional designator is omitted these longitudes are given negative values. The 180-degree longitude line is opposite the Prime Meridian on the globe, and is the same going either east or west.

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