Tag: land

The Lush Forests of Australia and Antarctica During the Mesozoic Period and the Reason Antarctica Became Cold

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Both Australia and Antarctica were once fused together as part of the supercontinent Gondwana, neither being an arid and hot landscape nor a cold desert but instead a vast and lush forest, larger than the Amazon Rainforest, spanning thousands of kilometers in size. The reason Antarctica is no longer temperate and forested is because in contrast to most shorelines which disrupt and disperse ocean currents upon contact with the coastline, the waters around Antarctica encircle it unobstructed, forming the Antarctic Circumpolar Current after the Drake Passage opened 34,000,000 (34 million) years ago. Because there is no land to stop this flow of water, it forces the current to become stronger and deeper over time. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current cut the continent of Antarctica off from the warm waters of the north, a thermal isolation further exacerbated by decreasing carbon dioxide levels over millions of years. In a mere 1,000,000 (1 million) years during a rapid cooling phase, although the full shift took tens of millions of years to complete, Antarctica transitioned from an appearance which resembled Australia during its wetter, forested period of the Cenozoic Era, to become a frozen tundra, virtually uninhabitable by humans until the mid 20th century, due to its subzero temperatures which consistently remain far below any other location upon Earth, as well as being locked in by vast ice sheets which formed 14,000,000 (14 million) years ago

The Reason Life Upon Earth Migrated From the Ocean Onto Land

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Billions of years ago when the first living organisms started harnessing the energy of the sun through photosynthesis, they began producing a waste product which was oxygen. When oxygen rises high up into the atmosphere, it transforms into ozone which is why the Earth has a thin protective layer of ozone which alongside the magnetic field, helps protect the Earth from the violent ultraviolet radiation spewed out by the sun. As plants, microbes, and fungi migrated from the water to land, even more oxygen was produced, extending the ozone layer to become much more formidable. This was the catalyst for life migrating onto dry land which occurred 450,000,000 – 500,000,000 (450 million – 500 million) years ago during the Paleozoic Era, specifically during the Ordovician and Silurian periods

The Canadian Government Forcing the Relocation of First Nations Persons to Expand Canadian Territory

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During the 1950’s, the Canadian government sent a ship into Nunavik, Canada and forcibly confined 87 Inuit residents relocating these individuals much farther north into the territory of Resolute Bay, not for the benefit of the people affected as no one had ever lived this far north in Canada prior, with the sole objective being for the Canadian federal government to justify Canada’s sovereignty and territorial claim within the High Arctic. The Canadian government believed that if gravesites of Inuit persons were found in this region, it would formally and legally solidify the land as Canadian territory. Migration took 3 months by ship and when the Inuit arrived, they were provided no provisions, forcing them to setup tent shelters in the one of the most formidable and domineering landscapes of North America. The Canadian government fraudulently assured those affected that living conditions would be better with an abundance of animals to hunt and fish for despite few wild animals being present. This event was referred to as the High Arctic Relocation. The term for “Resolute Bay” within the In Inuktitut (pronounced “ee-nook-tee-tut”) language is “Qausuittuq” (pronounced “ko-so-ee-took”) which means “Place of Darkness” and/or “Place Where the Sun Does Not Rise”

Technology Provided by the Iron Age

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Iron was favored over bronze throughout history because it could be formed into thin and detailed structures which could not be achieved when casting bronze. This is important because it meant that iron blades could be worked and therefore sharpened to a much more refined degree than bronze which was brittle. Iron is also more readily found, a metal which could be found locally around the world and did not depend upon an immense, trading network. By 400 B.C., iron tools and iron objects became ubiquitous throughout various civilizations with the effects of this new technology felt upon the cutting edge of agricultural technology. Iron is more practical than bronze as bronze needs to be melted down and recast if broken in opposition to iron which could be taken to a fire, hit with a hard object, and repaired to the point at which it becomes functional once again. These aspects helped iron to gain favor worldwide as the metal of choice for building and advancing society. As the Iron Age progressed, knowledge about where iron deposits are found became better understood with more and more iron becoming available upon the open market. This is important because the more readily available a particular type of artifact is, the younger the item typically presents as. As time progressed, iron became akin to plastic of the modern day, being cost effective and readily available to manufacture virtually anywhere. Iron tipped wooden plows allowed for more difficult soils to be farmed, which meant that more land could be cultivated making iron truly an agricultural and commercial revolution in the ancient world. Despite lasting for a period of 1000 years, the Bronze Age was quickly replaced with the more effective and efficient Iron Age. The issue of total replacement is complicated as bronze was not only used for tool making, it also helped to create an elite class and was used for spiritual and ceremonial objects as well as visual displays of prestige and wealth. Iron tools several hundred years later, failed to achieve the same intrinsic value within society that bronze once had as it was less rare and precious and therefore less valuable. Iron tools however were highly practical unlike their bronze counterparts, a feature which plagued agriculture and society as a whole

The Tallest Mountain On Earth

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Mauna Kea (pronounced “mah-nah kay-ah”) is the tallest mountain in the world, 1.6 kilometers taller than Mount Everest. The main difference between Mauna Kea and Mount Everest is that Mauna Kea ascends from the ocean, instead of from land as Mount Everest does. Mauna Kea is not only the largest mountain on Earth, it is also the largest land mass in the world

The Discovery of the Sunken Titanic

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The Titanic’s shipwreck site was found by the U.S. Navy whilst embarking upon a clandestine military submarine sea voyage operation in 1982. The intent of the mission was to surpass the Russians on every front, including land, sea, air, and space. Geologist and Navy Captain Robert Ballard was the person who developed the mission idea by suggesting that the U.S. Navy scour the seafloor to gather intelligence and search for evidence of Soviet placed hardware. The original intention of the mission was to locate and recover 2 U.S. Navy submarines which were classified as top secret nuclear attack vessels and lost during the 1960’s. The first submarine was the U.S.S. Scorpion, lost in 1968 with 99 onboard, and the second was the U.S.S. Thresher, lost in 1963 with 129 onboard. Recovery of these vessels during the 1960’s was limited to the Sound Navigation and Ranging technology of the era, commonly abbreviated as “SONAR”. Ballard only had 12 days to locate the S.S. Titanic during the mission without exposing his cover story, a feat which was unable to be completed by the French and the Americans, despite having much longer time spans and multiple expeditions to achieve this goal. Ballard narrowed down the search area to 80 square kilometers and focused towards the south as he believed that ocean currents would have carried sunken debris in that direction. Ballard continued searching for a trail of scattered debris from the S.S. Titanic and on the 9th day of the expedition, with time quickly running out, the operators of the remotely operated vehicle ARGO, found wreckage from a modern iron ship which appeared to be from the early 20th century. It was confirmed shortly after on September 1, 1985 at 12:48 AM that these remains were 1 of the 29 boilers belonging to the S.S. Titanic. It had been 73 years since the S.S. Titanic was last seen, resting nearly 4 kilometers below sea level, with it’s 1500 onboard passengers and crew

King Edward II’s Homosexual Relationship with Piers Gaveston

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Piers Gaveston, a minor noble who engaged in a homosexual relationship with Edward II, may have been overlooked during the 13th century if it were not for the lavish gifts Edward II showered upon Gaveston. Gaveston was exiled from the realm by Edward I for referring to Edward II as his brother. When Edward I died, his son Edward II brought Gaveston back into his kingdom and provided him with money, gold, title, and land. This caused the whole of England to murmur behind closed doors, against the king. It was not so much the act of homosexuality which infuriated the barons, it was the man of whom Edward II fell in love with. The nobles drafted a list of grievances against Edward II referred to as “The Ordinances”. Gaveston eventually fled and was captured by the Scots. Gaveston was sentenced as an enemy of the state and was executed despite Edward II’s attempted intervention

The Exportation of Skilled Labor From the Philippines 

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Filipinos account for 40% of the seafaring workforce as they are very cost effective to employ and speak English exceedingly well making them incredibly popular with shipping companies. At sea, Filipino workers have the opportunity to work 5x – 6x more than they would on land. Every hour, 950 Filipinos leave the Philippines to work abroad. The exportation of people is the most important and profitable industry in the Philippines. Those who embark on contracts to work abroad pay 33% of their salary to the Filipino government pouring $10,000,000,000 ($10 billion) each year into the countries economy

How Aircraft Carriers Stop High Speed Aircraft When Landing

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Landing an aircraft on an aircraft carrier at sea is considered the most difficult task in aviation. The first aircraft ever landed on the deck of a steamship was accomplished in 1911, just a few short years after the Wright brothers had the first airplane become airborne. The task was accomplished by having ropes and sandbags run horizontally across the wooden landing stage on top of the deck of the ship. The rope caught a hook on the bottom of the landing aircraft and slowed it down, with each bag adding more and more weight. The engineering of this practice is still in use today, with the only significant difference being the components used, which are now high tension steel cables. Navy Marines and other ranked Navy and Airforce officers jointly train for their wings, but Navy Marine officers are more likely to take off at sea, whilst Navy officers are more likely to take off from land

Aircraft and the Travel Industry

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At any given time there are approximately 1,000,000 (1 million) people worldwide upon aircraft which are actively flying. The average commercial passenger aircraft weighs 100 tonnes, lands on a runway 150’ wide, and lands at 240 kilometers per hour whilst dropping at a rate of 10’ per second. Approximately 100,000 flights occur daily worldwide. Rolls Royce aircraft engines travel 16,000,000 (16 million) kilometers in between servicing and as such, they have sensors which send wireless data in real time as an aircraft is airborne. Most aircraft and their engines now employ this technology behind the scenes as a safety measure to ensure every flight goes smoothly. There are approximately 35,000 parts in each aircraft engine. Aircraft engines spin at 150 revolutions per second making them spin 9000 times per minute. Statisticians estimate that flying is up to 50x more safe than driving a vehicle. Approximately 7 in 1000 luggage bags do not meet their destination on time and approximately 1,400,000 (1.4 million) luggage bags per year never reunite with their owners due to lost tags or abandonment. Unclaimed luggage eventually goes to auction due to space requirements. Approximately 50% of every aircraft can be reused and the other 50% can be recycled. The most expensive and sought after parts to reuse are the engines and the most expensive and sought after parts to recycle are aluminum