The bows and rings of dawn and dusk

The arcs of dawn and dusk are natural phenomena that define the boundary of the border between day and night. They are associated with the refraction of solar rays at high angles of incidence that converge to project an arc of light onto the back side of the earth's atmosphere. The rings of dawn and dusk, in turn, are associated with rays, also at large angles of incidence, which converge to project the image of the Sun. Arcs and rings become visible by scattering light by clouds or particles suspended in atmospheric air in the region in which they occur. Here we show a model that describes these natural phenomena and report the first-time record image produced in July of this year.

Natural Phenomena and Youth Conflicts

The study conducted exploratively from an analytical desk review perspective sought to establish climate change-induced conflicts on the youths in Zimbabwe and how they may be addressed. This is against a background where most studies around climate change often fail to focus on its effects on the youth and how it drives the latter to engage in conflicts. Data was drawn from both archival material and policy documents. The study was guided by a concept of human security, which looks at climate change as a threat to the youth, resulting in conflicts. The study established what it calls climate conflicts. It also noted that climate change does not lead to conflicts. Rather it is the result of climate change complimented by other factors that the risk of climate-induced conflicts by youths may arise. It also concluded that all the climate change effects cascade to youths' opportunities for jobs and development.

Torrential Floods and Soil Erosion

Floods on large rivers and torrential floods are the most common natural disasters in the Republic of Serbia. Floods on rivers are natural phenomena that go far beyond the framework of water management and hydro-technical measures. Given the distribution of hilly and mountainous areas in the Republic of Serbia and the developed hydrographic network, torrential floods occur very often, almost every year. Torrential floods and soil erosion are inseparable natural phenomena that shaped the relief long before the appearance of living beings on Earth. Erosion processes are difficult to notice and slow and are most often noticed only when large areas are exposed, and then the problem of erosion becomes a difficult-to-solve or unsolvable problem. For the classification of erosion processes in the Republic of Serbia, the EPM method (erosion potential method) is used, which classifies erosion into five categories that have their own quantitative characteristics.

Emissaries from other worlds: Asteroids, science and mythology in The Color Out of Space and the film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds

In this paper, we suggest a speculative comparison between the short story The Color Out of Space (Howard Phillips Lovecraft, 1927) and the documentary film Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer, 2020). We explore the similarities between Herzog’s specific interest in extreme phenomena of Nature and Lovecraftian Cosmicism. We observe that both authors have, to a certain extent, compatible views on the relationship between humans and nature: Herzog and Lovecraft seem to be interested in identifying and investigating humanity’s difficulty in coping with their insignificance when facing catastrophic events caused by indifferent Nature; both chose the same kind of landscape (iced lands, volcanic areas) and extreme natural phenomena (like meteorite falls); and they show a particular interest in characters connected to scientific experiences, and obsessed (even sometimes driven to madness) with the mysteries of nature. Our analysis does not suggest a direct influence of Lovecraft on Herzog, but a productive coincidence that can shed light on the film Fireball and its possible Lovecraftian resonances.

ULUL ALBAB DALAM AL-QUR’AN (TAFSIR TEMATIK)

Ulul albab in the Qur´an discusses people who use their minds to think and make remembrance of natural phenomena and the power of Allah swt. There are sixteen times the derivation of ulul albab verses in the Qur'an, therefore this study uses thematic interpretation studies. This study formulates how to understand the characteristics of ulul albab in the Qur´an?. This research method uses thematic analysis with a philosophical and exgesic approach. This research is a literature review conducted by collecting data and analyzing data according to primary and secondary sources. The results of this study conclude that the concept of ulul albab in the Qur'an is someone who has broad insight and has sharpness in analyzing a problem, and ulul albab is referred to as someone who has the advantage of always getting closer to Allah by remembering (z\ikr) and think (tafakkur).Keywords: Ulul Albab, Thematic Exegesis, The Holy al-Qur´an, Z|ikr, Tafakku>r. Abstrak: Ulul albab dalam Al-Qur´an membahas tentang orang-orang yang menggunakan akal untuk berpikir dan berzikir terhadap fenomena alam dan kekuasaan Allah swt. Terdapat enam belas kali derivasi ayat-ayat ulul albab dalam Al-Qur´an oleh sebabnya penelitian ini menggunakan kajian tafsir tematik. Penelitian ini merumuskan bagaimana memahami karakteristik ulul albab dalam al-Qur´an?. Metode penelitian ini menggunakan analisis tematik dengan pendekatan filosofis dan eksegesis Penelitian ini bersifat kajian pustaka yang dilakukan dengan cara mengumpulkan data dan menelaah data sesuai dengan sumber primer dan sekunder. Hasil penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa konsep ulul albab dalam Al-Qur´an menggambarkan seseorang yang memiliki wawasan yang luas dan mempunyai ketajaman dalam menganalisis suatu permasalahan, serta selalu mendekatkan diri kepada Allah dengan cara mengingat (z\ikr) dan memikirkan (tafakkur). Kata Kunci: Ulul Albab, Tafsir Tematik, al-Qur´an, Zikir, Tafakkur.

New light on the role of instruments in exploration during the 1830 s

This paper sets out a new interpretation of the agency of scientific instruments in the field. It uses Actor Network Theory as a conceptual framework, which invokes the concept of non-human agency, meaning that scientific instruments can affect outcomes and processes. It argues that the instruments taken on expeditions by travellers on behalf of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) had agency in knowledge creation simply by being present. Having bequeathed the instruments, the RGS had sanctioned the expedition, and knowledge had to result regardless of whether the instruments had been utilized as intended. The paper builds on the work of historians on the morality of precision, but, by engaging in a detailed comparison of rhetoric and action in two case studies, it suggests a different approach. Observing the strategies of the RGS for knowledge creation in varying circumstances, it argues that the instruments had agency owing to their embedded resource rather than their tangible numerical outputs. The instruments did not always work as mediators between humans and natural phenomena, as the human actants were not able to exploit them as such. Nevertheless, they had agency in knowledge creation as their presence ensured success. The paper is based on published and unpublished material, the latter in the RGS–Institute of British Geographers archives.

Rapid change in surface-based temperature inversions across the world during the last three decades

Surface-based inversions (SBIs) are significant and common natural phenomena in the planetary boundary layer, and they play essential roles in weather and climate. This study used radiosonde data from 493 radiosonde stations worldwide from the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA) during 1989–2019 to investigate the variations in surface-based inversions from a global perspective. The results indicated that from 1989 to 2019, the SBI frequency increased, and the SBI strength variations with fluctuations and SBI depth decreased over the study period. However, the spatial distribution of frequency, strength, and depth did not have consistent trends. Compared with the Southern Hemisphere, SBIs in the Northern Hemisphere occurred more frequently and were stronger and deeper. In terms of stations over land and the ocean, we found that the SBI frequency over the ocean has increased faster than that over land in the past 15 years, and the SBI strength over land was almost twice that of the ocean. The amplitudes of the annual cycle of SBI characteristics over land were greater than over the ocean in both hemispheres, and the frequency, strength, and depth were greater over land. This study investigated surface-based inversions from a global perspective and filled a gap in the current research on SBIs.

‘This is a Call of God … or is it?’: Narratives about Humans, God and Eschatology in the Dutch Reformed Pietist Community during the COVID-19 Outbreak

In this study, we examine which narratives were put forward by key figures of the Dutch reformed pietist community during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyse sermons and news articles from the period March–November 2020. We find, as expected, a dominant narrative of COVID-19 as God’s judgment, a calling to repentance and an event which emphasizes the need for prayer. Although the pandemic was seen as a call by God, the systematic origin of the virus (God/Satan/natural phenomena) remained rather ambiguous. More often it was stated that ‘everything falls under His providence’. The earthly origin of the virus remained mostly unaddressed, as well as eschatological interpretations, contrary to our expectations. We conclude that the main narrative is a general message of repentance, rather than a concrete theological application to the dynamic of the virus, its origins and its subsequent spread. In some cases, virus ‘jargon’ even was used as a tool just to further accentuate general tendencies of reformed pietist theology.

Natural Phenomena, Geoactive Zones and Their Use in Landscape Design

The research was carried out in the Vishersky Nature Reserve and in the adjacent territories (Perm Krai). We used methods of phyto- and bioindication and decoding of satellite images with the allocation of 8 types of geoactive zones with diameters 1, 3, 8, 16, 32, 55, 76 and 110 m. Such zones are favorable for biota and are studied by the biolocation method, the data of which have been confirmed by contact photography since 2009. It is shown that the studied 25 natural phenomena were formed on a combination of 2-3 “junior” zones with dimensions of 1–8 m when they were placed inside 2–3 “senior” zones with a size of 16–110 m. A hypothesis is put forward explaining the appearance of natural phenomena by the action of the Earth’s energies and their synergetic when radiating through geoactive zones. Distances from the centers of zones forming comfortable belts in the form of rings for biota are recommended for use in landscape design. For the most numerous zones of 1 and 3 m in size, this belt is located between radii of 0.31–0.48 m. For a zone of 8 m in size, the comfort ring is located between radii of 0.91–3.20 m; for a zone of 16 m — within a radius of 1.45 m and further to the zone border; for a zone of 32 m — from 1.75 m and to its border. For large zones 55, 76 and 110 m, they are determined from single observations and start from about a distance of 5.3 m; at the same time, there are additional belts identified in space images. The use of comfort rings of geoactive zones will help to create compositions of trees and shrubs directly on the rocks, as well as to grow different types of plants in dense biogroups.