Tuesday, May 13, 2008
China: Panda and Earthquakes
Credit: Robyn Rowles Photography
Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China close to the epicenter of the major earthquakes taking place this week. Pandas feed almost exclusively on bamboo and are by far China's favorite animals. :-)
Credit: Marc Brody, USCEF.
Wolong Nature Reserve - Panda kingdom
Freshwater
A comprehensive map of the worlds different freshwater habitats has been put together coordinated by World Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. From this map we learn that there are quite a number of different freshwaters serving as home for various animals.
In summary, this is what you can find on Freshwater Ecoregions of the World:
* 426 freshwater ecoregions
* The combined expertise of more than 200 leading scientists
* Distribution data for more than
o 13,400 freshwater fish species
o 4,000 amphibian species
o 300 turtle species
o 20 crocodilian species
* Global analyses of major threats to freshwater ecoregions like water use and irrigation
Monday, May 12, 2008
China: Sichuan Earthquake
Read the article in Australias Couriermail.
A computer-generated image from the US Geological Survey showing the intensity of the Chinese quake.
Red indicates extreme shaking with potentially very heavy damage. The yellow indicates strong shaking.
7.8 on Richter's
According to the State Seismological Bureau (SSB) a major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale jolted Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. local time, 12. May 2008.
Many parts of China, even the remote southern island province of Hainan, felt the quake. So did Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
US Geological Survey detailed map of Earthquakes in the area around Chengdu.
China: Population
As can be seen from this population map, the 7.8 earthquake that hit China today 12 May 2008 close to Chengdu in Sichuan Province is situated in the middle of a highly populated area. In addition to the major earthquake measuring 7,8 on Richter's scale, several afterquakes are registered as well. Beijing also experienced an earthquake.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Solar Probe
Credit: NASA/John Hopkins University
The Solar Probe, that will be build based on the experiences with Messenger, will try to shed some light on the following topics:
- structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind;
- flow of energy that heats the corona and accelerates the solar wind;
- mechanisms accelerating and transporting energetic particles;
- exploring dusty plasma near the sun and its influence on solar wind and energetic particle formation.
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