What Is a Glacier?

Glaciers ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Daniel Taillant

It’s mind-boggling (and a bit scary) to consider that while most of our planet’s surface is covered with water, only about 2–3% of this water is actually freshwater—that is, water that we can drink. That means that most of the world’s water (about 98%) is of no use for human consumption or for agriculture. But perhaps a more startling statistic that few actually realize is that of this minuscule percentage of water that is actually apt for consumption, three-fourths of it is packed away in dense millenary ice located in the polar ice caps; this is water that we will probably never see in fresh liquid form. Except for documentaries we see occasionally on television about fearsome adventurers who traveled to Antarctica or to the ice sheets of the North Pole, most of us have never ventured (and probably never will) to the North or South Pole where this ice is located. These are rather inhospitable places of our planet that we could only tolerate on extremely nice days and only for a few days at best, if we were ever able to get there at all. We hear about the polar caps melting due to climate change. We see images of penguins in the Southern Hemisphere or polar bears in the north suffering from a warming climate, and we even see entertaining animated movies about these obscure and rapidly changing environments and how odd creatures adapt or succumb to these changes. We hear from many media sources, from scientists and from environmentalists, that enormous ice masses at the poles are melting fast and breaking away into our oceans. James Balog, a photographer and cryoactivist, recently produced a documentary film called Chasing Ice, which incredibly captured the calving (the collapse) of a chunk of glacier ice half the size of Manhattan Island, breaking off from the Ilulissat Glacier and rolling into gelid waters off Greenland. Pieces of glacier ice more than 200 meters (650 ft) tall—as tall as skyscrapers—suddenly sank, vanished, resurfaced, and bounced around in the water as this colossal glacier crumbled into the sea. Since then, much larger calvings have been reported around the world.

Polar Record ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 22 (136) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Ranulph Fiennes

AbstractThe Transglobe Expedition (leader Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt.), circumnavigated the world between September 1979 and 1982, keeping as close as possible to the Greenwich meridian. This involved journeys in both polar regions. During the expedition's southern phase (1979–81) two overwintering bases were established in Antarctica and a party of three crossed the icecap on snowmobiles, via the South Pole. During the northern phase (1981–83) two men traversed the Northwest Passage by boat on foot, sledging across Ellesmere Island to the settlement of Alert, where a party of three overwintered. Two then set out over the pack ice, crossing the North Pole and drifting with the floating ice toward Svalbard, to be picked up by the expedition ship.


1859 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 597-599

This paper is a sequel to two former communications made to the Royal Society by the author. In the first of these (communicated in 1855), the deflection of the plumb-line caused by the mountain-mass north of Hindostan is calculated; and in the second (communicated in 1858), the effect of a small excess or defect of density prevailing through extensive parts of the earth’s mass, is found, with a view to determine whether any compensating cause can possibly exist below to counteract the large amount of deflection caused by the superficial mass lying above the sea-level. A survey of the causes of disturbance of the plumb-line cannot be complete without taking into consideration the influence of the ocean. To approximate to this is the object of the present paper. The author first adverts to the peculiar geographical position of Hindostan. The highest mountain-ground in the world lies to the north of it; and an unbroken expanse of ocean extends from its shores down to the neighbourhood of the South Pole. The excess of matter presented by the first causes a deflection of the plumb-line towards the north, decreasing in amount as we travel southwards. The deficiency of matter arising from the second causes a deflection of the plumb-line also towards the north, but decreasing in amount as we travel northwards. The consequence is, that while these two causes conspire to increase the deflection at the different stations, the action of the second tends to reduce in amount the errors which the mountain-attraction causes in the amplitudes.


2000 ◽  
Vol 46 (154) ◽  
pp. 438-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Nye

AbstractA mechanical model with circular symmetry is examined to test the hypothesis that the Martian ice caps are composed of flowing water ice, together with some rock debris. In contrast with most or all previous models, no assumption of a steady state is made. Instead the accumulation and ablation is assumed to be insignificant, and it is suggested that after a sufficient time the profile would have settled down to a particular collapsing form calculated by Halfar (1983). Higher modes of flow would have decayed relatively quickly. To calculate the time constant, it is necessary to consider carefully the distribution of temperature with depth. The time constant is sensitive to the grain-size, which is assumed to be 1–10 mm and is a significant unknown, as is also the effect of preferred crystal orientation. Apart from this, the main uncertainty is the value of the upward heat flux. With a heat flux of 30 mW m−2, the water-ice hypothesis is consistent with an age of about 107 years for both the north and the south polar caps, the north cap being the younger by a factor of about 7.


Author(s):  
William deBuys

Mapmakers typically depict the aridlands of the world in colors like buff and buckskin, in contrast to the greens of wetter regions. Their choice is true to reality, for dry places usually produce scant vegetation, and the bare ground, baked by unobstructed sun, tends to wear a washed-out shade of dun, or one of its cousins. In the North American Southwest, you might add a touch of rust to reflect the widespread iron-rich geology. In many areas, oxides of iron produce the pinkish flesh tones that make it easy to think the landscape is alive. If you also brush in some piney greens and spruce black for upland woods and forests, and dab smaller areas white to represent high-country snowcaps, you have a fair start toward capturing the palette of the region. But you would still be missing the most definitive color of the Southwest, which is found not beneath the feet, but overhead. You can look up, straight up, almost any day of the year, and there it is: an intense, infinite blue, miles deep and beyond reach. It is not merely bluish, not the watery blue of Scandinavian eyes, not the black-mixed blue of dark seas or bachelor buttons, not the hazy blue of glacier ice or distant mountains, but an Ur-blue, an über-blue, a defining quintessence. It is to other blues as brandy is to wine: a distillation, pure and heady. It can be a little deflating to reflect that the ethereal blue of southwestern skies results from mundane forces, that it is the product of solar radiation and atmospheric gases interacting in an environment shaped by climate. If the air held more water vapor, the sky would whiten overhead, as it does at the horizons, where the light that reaches our eyes has more atmosphere and diffusing vapor to travel through.


Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.


Think India ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-192
Author(s):  
Dr. Oinam Ranjit Singh ◽  
Dr. Nushar Bargayary

The Bodo of the North Eastern region of India have their own kinship system to maintain social relationship since ancient periods. Kinship is the expression of social relationship. Kinship may be defined as connection or relationships between persons based on marriage or blood. In each and every society of the world, social relationship is considered to be the more important than the biological bond. The relationship is not socially recognized, it fall outside the realm of kinship. Since kinship is considered as universal, it plays a vital role in the socialization of individuals and the maintenance of social cohesion of the group. Thus, kinship is considered to be the study of the sum total of these relations. The kinship of the Bodo is bilateral. The kin related through the father is known as Bahagi in Bodo whereas the kin to the mother is called Kurma. The nature of social relationships, the kinship terms, kinship behaviours and prescriptive and proscriptive rules are the important themes of the present study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-272
Author(s):  
Onat Başbay ◽  
Mudar Salimeh ◽  
Eddie John

We review the continuing and extensive spread of Papilio demoleus in south-eastern Turkey and in regions of Turkey and Syria adjacent to the north-eastern Mediterranean. Since the authors documented the arrival of this attractive but potentially destructive papilionid species at coastal areas of Syria in 2019, regular monitoring has confirmed successful overwintering there, as well as in Turkey. As previously indicated, P. demoleus is widely recognized as an invasive pest species in Citrus-growing areas of the world and hence its arrival is of potential economic importance to a region in which citrus is widely grown.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adib Rifqi Setiawan

“The real treasure is in the minds of our children, and all we have to do is extract it.” Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah writes in website Queen Rania Foundation For Education And Development www.qrf.org/en. Rania Al Yassin was born on August 31, 1970. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the American University of Cairo in 1991. She applied this, first, to a banking career in Jordan and, later, to the information technology sector. After marrying Prince Abdullah bin Al Hussein on June 10, 1993, they went on to have four children: Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma, and Prince Hashem. In addition to being a wife and mother, Queen Rania works hard to lift the lives of Jordanians by supporting their endeavours and helping to create new opportunities for them. Locally, she is committed to breathe new life into the public education system; empower communities and women especially through microfinance initiatives; protect children and families; and drive innovation, technology and entrepreneurship, especially amongst young people. Internationally, Queen Rania is an advocate for tolerance, compassion and bridge building between people of all cultures and backgrounds. Her efforts to simultaneously challenge stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims, and promote greater understanding and acceptance between people of all faiths and cultures, have won her global recognition. Her Majesty’s passion is education. She believes that every Jordanian girl and boy, and all children, should have access not only to stimulating classrooms and modern curricula, but inspiring teachers and technology that can connect Jordan’s children to the world and the world to Jordan’s children. Her efforts in the education sector complement the work of the Ministry of Education through initiatives such as the Jordan Education Initiative, the Queen Rania Teachers Academy, Madrasati, Edraak and others. To realize these and so much more, Queen Rania has encouraged private sector partners to drive improvements and strengthen the foundations of Jordan’s education system. Queen Rania is also a global voice for access to quality education for children around the world. In 2009, Her Majesty championed the 1 Goal campaign for education; she is Honorary Chair of the UN Girl’s Education Initiatives and has advocated access to education in forums and gatherings around the world. Her work and her efforts to improve the learning opportunities for children have been recognized at the highest levels, nationally, regionally and internationally. Additionally, through her position on their boards, Her Majesty contributes to the work of the United Nations Fund and the World Economic Forum. She is the Eminent Advocate for UNICEF; and she was part of the UN appointed High Level Panel who advised on the shape and content of the Sustainable Development Goals which aim to improve the lives of millions of people before 2030. In recognition of her work, Her Majesty has humbly accepted many awards, locally, regionally and globally. These include the Walther Rathenau Award from the Walther RathenauInstitut in Germany for her efforts to greater peace and understanding; the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award from Tech Awards, USA; the Arab Knight of Giving Award from Arab Giving Forum, UAE; the North South Prize by the North South Prize, Portugal; as well as the YouTube Visionary Award. Her Majesty authored several books primarily for children including the Sandwich Swap, which was inspired by her own childhood experiences.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 229-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan L. Titus ◽  
Jeffrey G. Eaton ◽  
Joseph Sertich

The Late Cretaceous succession of southern Utah was deposited in an active foreland basin circa 100 to 70 million years ago. Thick siliciclastic units represent a variety of marine, coastal, and alluvial plain environments, but are dominantly terrestrial, and also highly fossiliferous. Conditions for vertebrate fossil preservation appear to have optimized in alluvial plain settings more distant from the coast, and so in general the locus of good preservation of diverse assemblages shifts eastward through the Late Cretaceous. The Middle and Late Campanian record of the Paunsaugunt and Kaiparowits Plateau regions is especially good, exhibiting common soft tissue preservation, and comparable with that of the contemporaneous Judith River and Belly River Groups to the north. Collectively the Cenomanian through Campanian strata of southern Utah hold one of the most complete single region terrestrial vertebrate fossil records in the world.


1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-187
Author(s):  
Arif Sultan

Within a short span of time a number of economic blocs have emergedon the world horizon. In this race, all countriedeveloped, developingand underdeveloped-are included. Members of the North America FreeTrade Agreement (NAITA) and the European Economic Community(EEC) are primarily of the developed countries, while the EconomicCooperation Organization (ECO) and the Association of South EastAsian Nations (ASEAN) are of the developing and underdevelopedAsian countries.The developed countries are scrambling to create hegemonies throughthe General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT). In these circumstances,economic cooperation among Muslim countries should be onthe top of their agenda.Muslim countries today constitute about one-third of the membershipof the United Nations. There are around 56 independentMuslim states with a population of around 800 million coveringabout 20 percent of the land area of the world. Stretchingbetween Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, the Muslim Worldstraddles from North Africa to Indonesia, in two major Islamicblocs, they are concentrated in the heart of Africa to Indonesia,in two major blocs, they are concentrated in the heart of Africaand Asia and a smaller group in South and Southeast Asia.'GATT is a multilateral agreement on tariffs and trade establishing thecode of rules, regulations, and modalities regulating and operating internationaltrade. It also serves as a forum for discussions and negotiations ...


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