Tsunami

The name tsunami came from the Japanese words, the term “tsu” means harbor and “nami” means wave. Hence the meaning of tsunami means harbor-wave

A tsunami occurs whenever there is a disturbance deeper under the ocean. These disturbances are caused mainly by the natural disasters like earthquake, a landscape or volcano. The most common cause for tsunami is an underwater earthquake. This underwater earthquake needs to be a larger one of about 7.0 magnitude or even bigger

This type of earthquake occurs because of the continental and the oceanic plates that are the huge areas of earth’s crust that push with each other and high pressure is built. The pressure builds and builds till the oceanic plate slips under the continental plate which releases all energy and that pressure which is called as an earthquake

As the underwater earthquake is large the ocean floor will also make movements accordingly and therefore the water above the floor will also move by pushing the ocean water also upward by causing the large ripple. This large water ripple starts to travel through the ocean. This large ripple soon becomes the tsunami which travels at a very fast speed of 600 miles per hour. This is how the tsunami occurs. Japan is the country where tsunami occurs more frequently. The record shows approximately 195 events

What is Climate Change?

Climate change

What is Climate Change?

Climate change

The Climate on Mars

Mars has seasons just like Earth though they last about twice as long because the Martian year is almost twice that of Earth. Mars axial tilt is 25.2 degrees which is also very close to the 23.5 of Earth.
When a Martian hemisphere is experiencing summer, the polar cap shrinks back and may even disappear from view altogether. At the same time the darker regions grow darker and change slightly from year to year. It was once thought that these markings were vegetation, but we now know they are windblown dust.
When winter ensues, the polar cap of that hemisphere grows and may expand into the middle latitudes. The ice sheets of the polar caps are mainly carbon dioxide ice, but it is believed that there may be some water ice trapped underneath those sheets closest to the pole itself.

Generally Mars is quite cold with lows that reach -140 C (-220 F) but occasionally there are days that are quite balms reaching 20C (68 F.) Because soil and rock absorb heat from the Sun, the surface would be slightly warmer. Frost that forms during the night would melt and be released as water vapor during the day.
The thin, chill blanket of the Martian atmosphere has an average density less than one-hundredth of the Earth's. At 142 million miles from the Sun, Mars receives less than half the solar energy that reaches the Earth. Yet coupled with the tenuous air and Mars' daily rotation, that energy produces some remarkable weather. Clouds of water ice form high in the Martian air, driven by winds that can gust up to 50 mph on the surface—and more than 125 mph in the vast dust storms that astronomers have seen sweeping the planet.

www.ozgate.com

Weather for summer; climate for life

As the summer holiday season approaches, is anyone paying attention to climate change, beyond a quick glance at the 7 day weather forecast?

In recent months our headlines have been dominated by spending cuts and the budget deficit. Climate change hardly got a look in at emergency budget time.

Whilst the picture across Europe isn't much different, EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard recently raised hackles by proposing a unilateral increase from 20% to 30% in Europe's self imposed 2020 carbon reduction target. This higher limit is supposed to kick in only when the rest of the world gets serious and a global climate change deal is in place.

As we know, Copenhagen last year put paid to that, at least for the time being. However, the Commissioner's thinking was that the global recession has made the 2020 carbon reduction targets cheaper to achieve, and - deal or no deal - Europe now needs to crank up its commitment to reduction in order to drive up the price of carbon and kick start investment in clean tech, and to retain its leadership status on the issue.

Hardly tabloid news fodder - and, as it happens, the Commissioner subsequently backed down somewhat in the face of opposition.

Regrettably, when climate change has managed to hit the headlines, it's been confined to alleged skulduggery and intrigue amongst the scientists, allowing the sceptics to gain the upper hand with the continuing 'Climategate' debate.

What about farther afield, in those countries where low carbon laws and policies lag well behind Europe?

It is well known that only 1 in 5 US citizens of voting age has any regular interest in international affairs, so 'Climategate' is unlikely to have had much impact over the Pond, let alone talk of European carbon targets. With hundreds of miles of Gulf coastline to clean up, and continued offshore drilling to think about, the focus for some time to come of the average American is likely to remain on fossil fuel dependency and energy security.

And in many areas of the developing world, too many people are concerned with how to feed themselves on a daily basis to worry too much about what our scientists and politicians are up to.

In contrast, the view of UK business on all of this is becoming clearer, certainly if a recent global survey by Accenture is anything to go by. Despite the recent economic downturn, an overwhelming majority of corporate CEOs - 93 percent - believed sustainability will be critical to the future success of their companies.

More interestingly, they reckoned that within a decade, a tipping point could be reached whereby sustainability becomes fully integrated into core business - its capabilities, processes and systems, and throughout global supply chains and subsidiaries.

The key point is, climate change mitigation and the development of a worldwide low carbon economy is a massive business opportunity to be grasped. Crucially, a global climate change deal will create legal and policy frameworks in developing countries that will encourage long term investment. On the other hand, if Europe goes it alone with tougher carbon targets, it will make an already uneven playing field even worse and compromise European industrial competitiveness. That in turn risks calls for trade tariffs and protectionism.

So, despite the apathy - indeed hostility - in certain quarters, a global climate change deal appears good for business. But how on earth (pardon the pun), do we get one?

Refer : blogs.birminghampost.net

How do weather and climate affect people's lives?

Weather and climate can have a major effect on people's lives, for example:

Farming - There is a direct link between the type of agriculture and climate. For example, Eastern England has a drier, warmer, sunnier climate than the west. Arable crops tend to be grown in the east, and pastoral farming dominates in the west.

Housing - In particuarly hot climates, buildings may be painted white to reflect the heat. Houses in cold climates are often built on stilts to insulate them from the freezing ground.

Clothing - There is an obvious link between clothing and climate! Why would you wear a snowsuit rather than a bikini if you visited the Arctic?

Sport and leisure opportunities - Remember the Jamaican bobsled team of Cool Runnings? They weren't too successful! Why might this be?

Sources of energy - Particularly windy areas have plenty of potential for wind farms.

Tourism - The next post considers this in more detail.

Water supply - Most of the UKs population live in the south and east, which is relatively dry. Water has to be transferred from reservoirs in the wetter west.

Snow and Ice - In areas where snow and ice are rare, even a small snowfall can lead to chaos on the roads. Schools may even be closed for the day!

Rain means a wet commute for Southland

The National Weather Service pronounces approximately an inch of rain is estimated in the Los Angeles area Monday.

The blizzard outside Sunday night with merely light smidgens in Los Angeles and a number of sleet in the elevations, but was anticipated to strengthen.

Rains are not predictable to be unembellished an adequate volume of to grounds flooding or force flights in lower reach areas blackened by most recent year's wildfires, but some elevation road and rail network north of Los Angeles will be fastened and a flash flood watch for parts of L.A. and Ventura provinces has been give out until 6 a.m.

Heavy current of air and imaginable snowstorm as low as 5,000 feet have encouraged a winter storm notice in the inside mountains.