1.
1886 Indianola hurricane
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The 1886 Indianola Hurricane destroyed the town of Indianola, Texas and as such had a significant impact on the history and economic development of Texas. It was the hurricane of the 1886 Atlantic hurricane season. A tropical storm developed east of Trinidad and Tobago on August 12, originally it was thought the storm became a Category 1 hurricane the next day but re-analysis now shows it remained as a tropical storm until August 14. On the evening of August 15 it reached the island of Hispaniola, after crossing the south of that island as a Category 1 hurricane, it struck southeastern Cuba on August 16 as a Category 2 hurricane. The storm briefly weakened over land and entered the Gulf of Mexico near Matanzas on August 18 as a Category 1 storm, as the hurricane crossed the Gulf of Mexico it strengthened further, first to a Category 2 then to a Category 3 cyclone. As it approached the coast of Texas, it intensified to an 150 mph Category 4 hurricane, at the time, it was tied for the strongest hurricane ever recorded. On August 19, winds increased in Indianola, and, on August 20, the hurricane moved inland and eventually dissipated on August 21 in northeast Texas. The total death toll was at least 74, including 28 in Cuba, the storm hit the coast of Texas on August 20, wreaking property destruction in a number of towns, and resulting in a number of deaths. In Texas, the hurricane obliterated the town of Indianola that was only just recovering from a powerful 1875 hurricane on the same location, at Indianola a storm surge of 15 feet from Matagorda Bay overwhelmed the town. Every building in the town was destroyed or left uninhabitable. When the Signal Office was blown down, a fire started which took hold, the fire destroyed all but two of the towns buildings and killed a large number of citizens. The storm also destroyed two and half miles of track, making communication with Indianola very difficult and complicating rescue efforts. This storm caused fewer fatalities however, largely because the storm struck during the day, the hurricane also ended a severe drought in Texas. The village of Quintana, at the mouth of the Brazos River, was also destroyed, at Houston, the bayou rose between 5–6 feet on August 19. The storm reached Victoria, Texas at about 7 AM, destroying or damaging most of the buildings in the city, an estimated 75 houses were destroyed and another 118 were damaged. The towns jail and high school were damaged while the freight station, Masonic hall, and certain sections of town were almost literally swept from the earth. No deaths were reported in the town, but the damages were estimated at $100,000. In Galveston, Texas, the storm capsized a forty-ton schooner, the storm also damaged roads, railways and houses leading to an estimated $200,000 in damage
2.
Bar (unit)
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The bar is a metric unit of pressure, but is not approved as part of the International System of Units. It is defined as equal to 100000 Pa, which is slightly less than the current average atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level. The bar and the millibar were introduced by the Norwegian meteorologist Vilhelm Bjerknes, use of the bar is deprecated by some professional bodies in some fields. The International Astronomical Union also lists it under Non-SI units and symbols whose continued use is deprecated, as of 2004, the bar is legally recognized in countries of the European Union. Units derived from the bar include the megabar, kilobar, decibar, centibar, the notation bar, though deprecated by various bodies, represents gauge pressure, i. e. pressure in bars above ambient or atmospheric pressure. The bar is defined using the SI derived unit, pascal,1 bar ≡100000 Pa. Thus,1 bar is equal to,100 kPa 1×105 N/m21000000 Ba, notes,1 millibar =1 one-thousandth bar, or 1×10−3 bar 1 millibar =1 hectopascal. The word bar has its origin in the Greek word βάρος, the units official symbol is bar, the earlier symbol b is now deprecated and conflicts with the use of b denoting the unit barn, but it is still encountered, especially as mb to denote the millibar. Between 1793 and 1795, the bar was used for a unit of weight in an early version of the metric system. Atmospheric air pressure is given in millibars where standard sea level pressure is defined as 1013 mbar,101.3,1.013 bar. Despite the millibar not being an SI unit, meteorologists and weather reporters worldwide have long measured air pressure in millibars as the values are convenient, for example, the weather office of Environment Canada uses kilopascals and hectopascals on their weather maps. In contrast, Americans are familiar with the use of the millibar in US reports of hurricanes, in fresh water, there is an approximate numerical equivalence between the change in pressure in decibars and the change in depth from the water surface in metres. Specifically, an increase of 1 decibar occurs for every 1.019716 m increase in depth, in sea water with respect to the gravity variation, the latitude and the geopotential anomaly the pressure can be converted into meters depth according to an empirical formula. As a result, decibars are commonly used in oceanography, many engineers worldwide use the bar as a unit of pressure because, in much of their work, using pascals would involve using very large numbers. In the automotive field, turbocharger boost is often described in bars outside the USA), unicode has characters for mb and bar, but they exist only for compatibility with legacy Asian encodings and are not intended to be used in new documents. The kilobar, equivalent to 100 MPa, is used in geological systems. Bar and bara are sometimes used to indicate absolute pressures and bar and this usage is deprecated and fuller descriptions such as gauge pressure of 2 bar or 2 bar gauge are recommended.0 Unported License but not under the GFDL. Non-SI units accepted for use with the SI
3.
Pascal (unit)
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The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Youngs modulus and ultimate tensile strength. It is defined as one newton per square meter and it is named after the French polymath Blaise Pascal. Common multiple units of the pascal are the hectopascal which is equal to one millibar, the unit of measurement called standard atmosphere is defined as 101,325 Pa and approximates to the average pressure at sea-level at the latitude 45° N. Meteorological reports typically state atmospheric pressure in hectopascals, the unit is named after Blaise Pascal, noted for his contributions to hydrodynamics and hydrostatics, and experiments with a barometer. The name pascal was adopted for the SI unit newton per square metre by the 14th General Conference on Weights, one pascal is the pressure exerted by a force of magnitude one newton perpendicularly upon an area of one square metre. The unit of measurement called atmosphere or standard atmosphere is 101325 Pa and this value is often used as a reference pressure and specified as such in some national and international standards, such as ISO2787, ISO2533 and ISO5024. In contrast, IUPAC recommends the use of 100 kPa as a standard pressure when reporting the properties of substances, geophysicists use the gigapascal in measuring or calculating tectonic stresses and pressures within the Earth. Medical elastography measures tissue stiffness non-invasively with ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging, in materials science and engineering, the pascal measures the stiffness, tensile strength and compressive strength of materials. In engineering use, because the pascal represents a small quantity. The pascal is also equivalent to the SI unit of energy density and this applies not only to the thermodynamics of pressurised gases, but also to the energy density of electric, magnetic, and gravitational fields. In measurements of sound pressure, or loudness of sound, one pascal is equal to 94 decibels SPL, the quietest sound a human can hear, known as the threshold of hearing, is 0 dB SPL, or 20 µPa. The airtightness of buildings is measured at 50 Pa, the units of atmospheric pressure commonly used in meteorology were formerly the bar, which was close to the average air pressure on Earth, and the millibar. Since the introduction of SI units, meteorologists generally measure pressures in hectopascals unit, exceptions include Canada and Portugal, which use kilopascals. In many other fields of science, the SI is preferred, many countries also use the millibar or hectopascal to give aviation altimeter settings. In practically all fields, the kilopascal is used instead. Centimetre of water Metric prefix Orders of magnitude Pascals law
4.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
5.
Atlantic hurricane
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An Atlantic hurricane or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean, usually in the summer or fall. A hurricane differs from a cyclone or typhoon only on the basis of location, a hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean. Tropical cyclones can be categorized by intensity, Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph, while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained winds exceeding 74 mph. Most North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes form between June 1 and November 30, in recent times, tropical disturbances that reach tropical storm intensity are named from a predetermined list. On average, in the North Atlantic basin 11.3 named storms occur each season, the climatological peak of activity is around September 11 each season. In March 2004, Catarina was the first hurricane-intensity tropical cyclone recorded in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Tropical cyclones are steered by the flow throughout the depth of the troposphere. Specifically, air flow around high pressure systems and toward low pressure areas influence hurricane tracks, south of the subtropical ridge, surface easterly winds prevail. If the subtropical ridge is weakened by a trough, a tropical cyclone may turn poleward and then recurve. Poleward of the ridge, westerly winds prevail and generally steer tropical cyclones that reach northern latitudes toward the east. The westerlies also steer extratropical cyclones with their cold and warm fronts from west to east, generally speaking, the intensity of a tropical cyclone is determined by either the storms maximum sustained winds or lowest barometric pressure. The following table lists the most intense Atlantic hurricanes in terms of their lowest barometric pressure, in terms of wind speed, Hurricane Allen was the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone on record, with maximum sustained winds of 190 mph. However, these measurements are suspect since instrumentation used to document wind speeds at the time would likely succumb to winds of such intensity, nonetheless, their central pressures are low enough to rank them among the strongest recorded Atlantic hurricanes. Owing to their intensity, the strongest Atlantic hurricanes have all attained Category 5 classification, Hurricane Opal, the strongest Category 4 hurricane recorded, intensified to reach a minimum pressure of 916 mbar, a pressure typical of Category 5 hurricanes. Nonetheless, the pressure remains too high to list Opal as one of the ten strongest Atlantic tropical cyclones, however, this was later superseded by Hurricane Patricia in 2015 in the east Pacific, which had a pressure reading of 872 mbar. Preceding Wilma is Hurricane Gilbert, which had held the record for most intense Atlantic hurricane for 17 years. The 1935 Labor Day hurricane, with a pressure of 892 mbar, is the third strongest Atlantic hurricane, since the measurements taken during Wilma and Gilbert were documented using dropsonde, this pressure remains the lowest measured over land. However, with a pressure of 895 mbar, Rita is the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico
6.
1884 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1884 Atlantic hurricane season was one of only three Atlantic hurricane seasons, along with 1852 and 1858, in which every known tropical cyclone attained hurricane status. Overall, four tropical cyclones developed, three of which made landfall, the first system was initially observed over the northwestern Atlantic Ocean on September 1. It struck Newfoundland the following day, but impact there is unknown, on September 3, the next hurricane developed, though it did not effect land in its duration. The third hurricane struck Georgia, accompanied by damaging waves in north Florida, the final storm was last noted on October 17. These dates fall within the period with the most tropical activity in the Atlantic. Only two tropical cyclones during the season existed simultaneously, the hurricane brought heavy rainfall to Jamaica, resulting in eight deaths. This storm also left damage to crops and vessels in portions of the Bahamas, because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, historical data on tropical cyclones from this period may not be comprehensive. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 has been estimated, the first storm of the season was spotted by the steamship State of Nebraska, while located about midway between Bermuda and Sable Island at 00,00 UTC on September 1. Initially, sustained winds of 80 mph were observed, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, later on September 1, the bark Engelbert lost spars and sail to the east of Sable Island. Additionally, the Naupactus encountered heavy seas and lost of portion of its deckload, early on September 2, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm. Shortly thereafter, it made landfall in southeastern Newfoundland, accelerating northeastward, the storm transitioned into an extratropical cyclone around 00,00 UTC on September 3, while located about 460 mi northeast of St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador. The extratropical remnants moved east-northeastward across the Atlantic and struck Ireland and this hurricane was added to HURDAT based on a study by Jose F. Partagas and Henry F. Diaz in 1996. Another tropical storm was first observed by the bark Campero at 00,00 UTC on September 3, while located about 850 mi northeast of Cayenne, moving west-northwestward, the storm intensified into a Category 1 hurricane on September 5. The brig Comalo was damaged by the hurricane and was leaky and dismasted upon arrival in Saint Thomas, by midday on September 6, the storm strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. Early the following day, the system intensified into a Category 3 hurricane while curving northeastward. At 12,00 UTC on September 7, the storm attained its peak intensity maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. Early the following day, the weakened to a Category 2 hurricane. Around 00,00 UTC on September 12, the storm deteriorated further to a Category 1 hurricane, the next day, the hurricane began accelerating to the northeast
7.
1885 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1885 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1885. This is the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin, in 1885 there were two tropical storms and six hurricanes in the Atlantic basin. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. The Atlantic hurricane database recognizes eight tropical cyclones for 1885 in the Atlantic basin, from north of Puerto Rico, Hurricane Two struck the Bahamas but then remained offshore until making a landfall in South Carolina. The hurricane caused damage throughout the Carolinas, Georgia and Maryland. Also in August, Tropical Storm Three formed in the Gulf of Mexico, before crossing Florida, Hurricane Four also grew from a tropical storm that formed in the Gulf of Mexico. It brought high winds and flooding to towns along the Gulf coast and this storm also crossed over Florida into the Atlantic and eventually made another landfall at New Brunswick as an extratropical storm. Hurricane Five existed in the tropical Atlantic between September 18 and September 21, without making landfall, Hurricane Six formed as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and reached hurricane strength off North Carolina a week later on October 2. The cyclone had impacted both Mississippi and Florida as it had travelled north, Hurricane Seven existed in the mid-Atlantic between September 26 and September 29. The last known cyclone of 1885 was Tropical Storm Eight which formed north of Cuba and it travelled through the south-east United States and brought gales and flooding to the North Carolina coast. A tropical storm was seen on August 7 to the southeast of Bermuda and it moved north-northeastward, and became a hurricane on August 8. It turned to the northeast, and passed offshore of Newfoundland on the 10th as a 90 mph hurricane, the hurricane weakened over the north Atlantic Ocean, and became extratropical on the 14th. A tropical storm was first observed north of Puerto Rico on August 21 and it moved to the west, hitting the Bahamas. At Smithville the anemometer was destroyed measuring a speed of 98 mph. The maximum wind speed was estimated at 125 mph. The hurricane weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it accelerated to the northeast and it became extratropical on August 28. The storm caused damage at Wilmington, Smithville, Charleston. The value of damage was estimated at $1,790,000. Heavy rains and flooding were seen across Maryland
8.
1887 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1887 Atlantic hurricane season was the third most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, tying with the 1995,2010,2011, and the 2012 seasons for third most number of storms. The season ran through the summer and almost all of the fall in 1887, and was surpassed in number of tropical cyclones only by the seasons of 1933. The 1887 season saw tropical activity as early as May, Tropical cyclones that did not approach populated areas or shipping lanes, especially if they were relatively weak and of short duration, may have remained undetected. Because technologies such as satellite monitoring were not available until the 1960s, an undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. Of the known 1887 cyclones, Tropical Storm One and Tropical Storm Three were first documented in 1996 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and they also proposed large alterations to the known tracks of several of the other 1887 storms. Later re-analysis led to the duration of Hurricane Six, and also that of Hurricane Fifteen. Ten of the nineteen known storms attained hurricane status. Only a few of the storms during the 1887 season did not impact land, the first storm of the season formed south of Bermuda on May 15, outside of the season boundaries and moved to the northwest, staying out to sea. After peaking at 70 mph late the day, it turned northward. Another May storm formed south of Jamaica on May 17, way outside of the season and it crossed Cuba on May 19 as a tropical storm, and moved out to sea. Two peaked at 60 mph twice, once on May 18, two dissipated on May May 21 in the Atlantic Ocean. When this storm and the first storm were active simultaneously from May 17 to May 18, a weak tropical storm, which began its life in the northwest Caribbean Sea on June 12. Three peaked at 40 mph and moved northward through the Gulf of Mexico, on July 20 a tropical storm formed 150 miles southeast of Barbados. The next day it passed south of the island as a Category 1 hurricane, the hurricane continued westward into the Caribbean Sea, becoming a strong Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph on July 22. Although the hurricane passed far to the south of Cuba, it caused several vessels to sink at Batabanó and brought heavy rain, continuing westward, the hurricane passed over the eastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula before first turning northward and then northeasterly. It made landfall on the Florida panhandle on the morning of July 27 as a Category 1 hurricane, the storm continued northward, as a tropical storm, before dissipating late on July 28 near Augusta, Georgia. Vincent before dissipating near Cuba the same day, the seasons first of two major hurricanes, both following a very similar Cape Verde-type hurricane path in mid-August, but remained offshore. Six formed on August 14 in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Six started moving toward the Carolina coast and moved far north and peaked as a 120 mph &967 mbar major hurricane on August 20, when rapid weakening began
9.
1888 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1888 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1888. In the 1888 Atlantic season there were two tropical storms, four hurricanes, and two major hurricanes, an undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. The first tropical storm and first hurricane of the season formed by 00,00 UTC on June 16 in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, centered about 200 miles southeast of Galveston Island, the cyclone moved west-northwestward and quickly strengthened, becoming a hurricane late on June 16. It reached its intensity of 80 miles per hour early on June 17. Around 06,00 UTC on June 17, the hurricane made landfall southwest of Bay City, Texas, turning to the northwest after landfall, it quickly degenerated into a tropical storm, gradually turning northward over time. By 06,00 UTC on June 18, it weakened into a tropical depression, in Texas, the cyclone produced heavy rain, peaking at 6.4 inches over a 16-hour period at Galveston. The highest measured winds reached 54 mph in the city, along the coast of Texas, the lowest measured pressure was 29.69 inches of mercury at Corpus Christi, about 120 miles southwest of the landfall location. The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project estimated that the central pressure in the storm was likely close to 985 millibars at the time of landfall. Operationally, the U. S. Signal Corps—predecessor to the U. S. However, the second tropical storm of the season originated about 200 mi east of the mouth of the Rio Grande, on the Texas–Mexico border. It moved north-northwest, attaining its peak intensity of 60 mph by 00,00 UTC on July 5, about 16 hours later, the moderate tropical storm made landfall at that intensity just east of Bay City—impacting the same region as the previous storm. The cyclone turned north and north-northeast after striking land, slowly weakening as it did so, by 12,00 UTC on July 6, the cyclone was last positioned over northwestern Cherokee County, Texas. In Texas, the storm produced winds of 42 mph in Galveston. Like the preceding storm, the cyclone produced heavy rain over parts of Texas, the third tropical storm and second hurricane of the season was first detected by 12,00 UTC on August 14, while centered about 100 mi north-northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Moving west-northwestward, the storm steadily intensified into a hurricane 24 hours later on August 15. It made landfall on Cat Island in The Bahamas, which were then a British crown colony and overseas territory. Continuing to intensify, the hurricane passed just 20 mi south of the Bahamian capital Nassau, the cyclone, continuing to the west-northwest, then made another landfall on the northern end of Andros Island. About seven hours later, it made landfall just north of present-day Miami Beach at peak intensity. The cyclone weakened as it moved inland over the Everglades, south of Lake Okeechobee, by that time maximum sustained winds had decreased to 80 mph
10.
Tropical cyclone
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Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon /taɪˈfuːn/, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface and this energy source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms, such as noreasters and European windstorms, which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts. The strong rotating winds of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of momentum imparted by the Earths rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation. As a result, they form within 5° of the equator. Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and 2,000 km in diameter, Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. Cyclone refers to their nature, with wind blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis effect, in addition to strong winds and rain, tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves, damaging storm surge, and tornadoes. They typically weaken rapidly over land where they are cut off from their energy source. For this reason, coastal regions are vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions. Heavy rains, however, can cause significant flooding inland, though their effects on human populations are often devastating, tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes. Tropical cyclones are areas of low pressure in the troposphere. On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level, the environment near the center of tropical cyclones is warmer than the surroundings at all altitudes, thus they are characterized as warm core systems. The near-surface wind field of a cyclone is characterized by air rotating rapidly around a center of circulation while also flowing radially inwards. At the outer edge of the storm, air may be nearly calm, however, due to the Earths rotation, as air flows radially inward, it begins to rotate cyclonically in order to conserve angular momentum. At an inner radius, air begins to ascend to the top of the troposphere and this radius is typically coincident with the inner radius of the eyewall, and has the strongest near-surface winds of the storm, consequently, it is known as the radius of maximum winds. Once aloft, air flows away from the center, producing a shield of cirrus clouds
11.
Atlantic Ocean
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The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans with a total area of about 106,460,000 square kilometres. It covers approximately 20 percent of the Earths surface and about 29 percent of its surface area. It separates the Old World from the New World, the Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Eurasia and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the North Atlantic Ocean, in contrast, the term Atlantic originally referred specifically to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and the sea off the Strait of Gibraltar and the North African coast. The Greek word thalassa has been reused by scientists for the huge Panthalassa ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea hundreds of years ago. The term Aethiopian Ocean, derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century, many Irish or British people refer to the United States and Canada as across the pond, and vice versa. The Black Atlantic refers to the role of ocean in shaping black peoples history. Irish migration to the US is meant when the term The Green Atlantic is used, the term Red Atlantic has been used in reference to the Marxian concept of an Atlantic working class, as well as to the Atlantic experience of indigenous Americans. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas varies, the Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the Denmark Strait, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea, to the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe, the Strait of Gibraltar and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean, the 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean, the Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs, and seas. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km compared to 135,663 km for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km2 or 23. 5% of the ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km3 or 23. 3%. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km2 and has a volume of 305,811,900 km3, the North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km2 and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km2. The average depth is 3,646 m and the maximum depth, the bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It runs from 87°N or 300 km south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 42°S, the MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above 2000 m along most of its length, the MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other
12.
Coordinated Universal Time
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Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
13.
Surface weather observation
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Surface weather observations are the fundamental data used for safety as well as climatological reasons to forecast weather and issue warnings worldwide. Airport observations can be transmitted worldwide through the use of the METAR observing code, a thirty-year average of a locations weather observations is traditionally used to determine the stations climate. Surface weather observations have traditionally taken at airports due to safety concerns during takeoffs. The ICAO defines the International Standard Atmosphere, which is the model of the variation of pressure, temperature, density. This is useful in calibrating instruments and designing aircraft, and is used to reduce a stations pressure to sea level pressure where it can then be used on weather maps, in the United States, the FAA mandates the taking of weather observations at larger airports for safety reasons. To help facilitate the purchase of an automated weather station, such as ASOS. The airport observations are then transmitted using the METAR observing code. METAR reports typically come from airports or permanent weather observation stations, reports are generated once an hour, however, if conditions change significantly, they may be updated in special reports called SPECIs. For example, the first letter for areas in and around the Pacific Ocean is P, the second character may represent the country/state the location lies within. For Hawaii, the first two letters are PH while for Great Britain, the first two letters of the station identifier are EG, canada and the contiguous United States are an exception, with the first letters C and K representing the regions, respectively. The final two or three letters normally represent the name of the location or airport, visibility, measured in meters for most sites worldwide, except in the United States where statute miles are reported. Runway visibility, measured in meters in many locations worldwide, or feet within the United States, temperature is a measure of the kinetic energy of a sample of matter. Temperature is the physical property that determines the direction of heat flow between two objects placed in thermal contact. If no heat flow occurs, the two objects have the same temperature, otherwise heat flows from the object to the colder object. Temperature, within meteorology, is measured with thermometers exposed to the air, in most of the world, the degree Celsius scale is used for most temperature measuring purposes. However, the United States is the last major country in which the degree Fahrenheit temperature scale is used by most lay people, industry, popular meteorology, despite this, METAR reports from the United States also report the temperature in degrees Celsius. Dew point is the temperature to which a parcel of air must be cooled, at constant atmospheric pressure. The condensed water is called dew, the dew point is a saturation point
14.
Tropical cyclone observation
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Tropical cyclone observation has been carried out over the past couple of centuries in various ways. Recent studies have concentrated on studying hurricane impacts lying within rocks or near shore lake sediments, recent studies of the 18O and 13C isotopes found in stalagmites in Belize show that tropical cyclone events can leave markers that can be separated out on a week-by-week basis. The error rate of type of microanalysis was 1 error in 1,200 sampling points. Rocks contain certain isotopes of elements, known as natural tracers, by studying the calcium carbonate in coral rock, past sea surface temperature and hurricane information can be revealed. Lighter oxygen isotopes are left behind in coral during periods of heavy rainfall. Since storm surges sweep coastal sands with them as they progress inland, radiocarbon dating is then used to date the layers. Before the invention of the telegraph in the early to mid-19th century, news was as fast as the quickest horse, stage, normally, there was no advance warning of a tropical cyclone impact. The variability in typhoon landfalls in Guangdong mimics that observed in other paleoclimatic proxies from China, remarkably, the two periods of most frequent typhoon strikes in Guangdong coincide with two of the coldest and driest periods in northern and central China during the Little Ice Age. For centuries, people have sailed the oceans and seas. The worst of the cyclones over the open seas likely took those that observed them into the depths of the oceans, however, some did survive to report harrowing tales. Wind reports from ships at sea have become based on anemometers. This is important to note as the Beaufort Scale underestimates winds at higher wind speeds, as Christopher Landsea et al. point out, many tropical cyclones that formed on the open sea and did not affect any coast usually went undetected prior to satellite observation since the 1970s. They estimated an undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910. These undercounts roughly take into account the size of tropical cyclones, the density of shipping tracks over the Atlantic basin. In the early 20th century, forecasting the track of cyclones was still confined to areas of the greatest surface pressure falls, based upon surface weather observations and these methods proved to be the cutting edge of tropical cyclone forecasting through the mid 20th century. Land-based surface observations remain invaluable as a source of information at locations near the coastline. Combined with ship observations and newspapers, they formed the total information network for hurricane detection until radiosondes were introduced in 1941, land-based observations of pressure and wind can show how quickly a tropical cyclone is decaying as it moves inland. Their rainfall reports show where significant rainfall is occurring, and can be an alert for possible flooding, with the establishment of the ASOS network in the United States during the 1990s, more locations are reporting around the clock than ever before
15.
Cuba
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Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and it is south of both the U. S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital, other cities include Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres, prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, as a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batistas ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement, since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, a nuclear war broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America, Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of human rights abuses. It is one of the worlds last planned economies and its economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee, according to the Human Development Index, Cuba is described as a country with high human development and is ranked the eighth highest in North America. It also ranks highly in some metrics of national performance, including health care, the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant, authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by three distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Taíno, the Guanajatabey, and the Ciboney people. The ancestors of the Ciboney migrated from the mainland of South America, the Taíno arrived from Hispanola sometime in the 3rd century A. D. When Columbus arrived they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having a population of 150,000. The name Cuba comes from the native Taíno language and it is derived from either coabana meaning great place, or from cubao meaning where fertile land is abundant. The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers, Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa, other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital
16.
1910 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1910 Atlantic hurricane season was the period during the summer and fall of 1910 in which tropical cyclones formed in the North Atlantic Ocean. The season was inactive, with only five storms, however. The season got off to a start with the formation of a tropical storm in the Caribbean Sea on August 23. September saw two storms, and the final tropical cyclone—Hurricane Five—existed during October, all but one of the storms made landfall, and the only cyclone which remained at sea had some effects on the island of Bermuda. The seasons first storm had limited reported impacts on land, Hurricane Three dropped torrential rainfall on Puerto Rico before striking the same region as the previous cyclone. Hurricane Four bypassed Bermuda to the east, where property damage was reported. Hurricane Five was the most catastrophic storm of the season, buffeting western Cuba for a period of time as it slowly executed a counterclockwise loop. Death tolls from the hurricane are estimated in the hundreds, despite producing gale-force winds, the system was likely extratropical in nature, and any time it may have spent as a tropical storm was brief. The first tropical cyclone of the season developed on August 23, not believed to have strengthened further, the storm tracked west-northwestward and struck southwestern Hispaniola. It quickly weakened to a depression as it turned more toward the northwest. On August 26, the depression passed through the Bahamas, east of the Florida Peninsula, heading due north, the storm had transitioned into an extratropical cyclone by the next day. The storm reportedly caused heavy precipitation on August 29 and 30 in Georgia, on August 26, a tropical depression formed in the central Gulf of Mexico. It drifted westward for several days, and by August 30 it intensified into a storm while turning more southwestward. The storm peaked in intensity as a tropical storm shortly thereafter. On August 31 the storm moved inland near the mouth of the Rio Grande, advisories were issued for coastal areas before which strong winds and high tides affected the Texas coast. The cyclone inflicted some property damage in the Brownsville area, winds unroofed houses at Port Isabel and destroyed some Mexican huts. The storm also blew fishing craft aground, no initial reports of fatalities were received, but two towns were left cut off from communication with Brownsville. A tropical storm developed east of the Leeward Islands on September 5 and it continued westward through the islands and is estimated to have attained winds corresponding to Category 2 status on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale
17.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
18.
2004 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record until surpassed by the following year. More than half of the 16 tropical cyclones brushed or struck the United States, the season officially began on June 1, and ended on November 30. The first storm, Alex, developed offshore of the Southeastern United States on July 31 and it brushed the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic, causing one death and $7.5 million in damage. Several storms caused only minor damage, including tropical storms Bonnie, Earl, Hermine, in addition, hurricanes Danielle, Karl, and Lisa, Tropical Depression Ten, Subtropical Storm Nicole and Tropical Storm Otto had no effect on land while tropical cyclones. Hurricane Charley made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, later in August, Hurricane Frances struck the Bahamas and Florida, causing at least 49 deaths and $9.5 billion in damage. The most intense storm, and the one caused the most damage, was Hurricane Ivan. Throughout the countries it passed through, Ivan left 129 fatalities, the most significant tropical cyclone in terms of deaths was Hurricane Jeanne. In Haiti, torrential rainfall in the mountainous areas resulted in mudslides, Jeanne also struck Florida, inflicting extensive destruction. Overall, the storm caused at least $8.1 billion in damage and 3,042 deaths. Collectively, the storms of this caused at least 3,270 deaths and about $57.37 billion in damage, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane season at the time. With six hurricanes reaching at least Category 3 intensity,2004 also had the most major hurricanes since 1996, however, that record would also be surpassed in 2005, with seven major hurricanes that year. In the spring of 2005, four names were retired, Charley, Frances, Ivan and this tied the then-record most names retired with 1955 and 1995, while five were retired in 2005. Governments National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to CSU, the average season between 1950 and 2000 had 9.6 tropical storms,5.9 hurricanes, and 2.3 major hurricanes, which are Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. A normal season, as defined by NOAA, has 12.1 named storms, CSU released its first prediction on December 5,2003, which projected an above average season, with 13 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes. This forecast was adjusted upward slightly on April 2, Dr. Gray released a prediction on May 28 that was similar, with 14 named storms, eight reaching hurricane strength, and three becoming major hurricanes. After the season began, Dr. Gray announced he had revised his predictions slightly downwards on August 6 and his new forecast was thirteen named storms, seven hurricanes, and three reaching major hurricane intensity. On August 10, NOAA released a prediction as well, with a 90% probability of above-to-near normal activity. CSU issued another forecast on September 3, indicating sixteen tropical storms, eight hurricanes, the season ended up with sixteen tropical depressions, fifteen named storms, nine hurricanes, and six major hurricanes, which matched CSUs final prediction on October 1
19.
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, shattering numerous records. The impact of the season was widespread and ruinous with an estimated 3,913 deaths, of the storms that made landfall, five of the seasons seven major hurricanes—Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma—were responsible for most of the destruction. Furthermore, Hurricane Stan combined with a system to cause deadly mudslides across Central America. The 2005 season was the first to observe more tropical cyclones in the Atlantic than the West Pacific, on average, the season officially began on June 1,2005, and lasted until November 30, although it effectively persisted into January 2006 due to continued storm activity. A record twenty-eight tropical and subtropical storms formed, of which a record fifteen became hurricanes, among these Category 5 storms were hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, respectively the costliest and the most intense Atlantic hurricanes on record. This year was notable because the list of storm names was used up. Governments National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, prior to and during the 2005 season, Gray issued four forecasts, each time increasing the predicted level of activity. The NOAA issued two forecasts, one shortly before the season and one two months into the season, drastically increasing the level of activity in the second release. Nonetheless, all forecasts fell far short of the activity of the season. On December 3,2004, Grays team issued its first extended-range forecast for the 2005 season, additionally, the team predicted a greatly increased chance of a major hurricane striking the East Coast of the United States and the Florida peninsula. Though the forecast predicted above-average activity, the level predicted was significantly less than the 2004 season, in addition, the chance of a storm impacting the United States was raised slightly. On May 16,2005,16 days before the season began, NOAA issued its outlook for the 2005 season, the accumulated cyclone energy value for the season was predicted to be 120–190% of the median ACE of 87.5 ×104 kt2. Shortly thereafter, on May 31, the day before the season began, Grays team revised its April forecast upwards to 15 named storms,8 hurricanes. The ACE value was now forecast to be 180 to 270% of the median, the NOAA also noted a higher than normal confidence in the forecast of above-normal activity. On August 5,2005, Gray and his associates followed suit and issued their updated forecast, although neither the NOAA nor Gray had ever forecast such high levels of activity, even the midseason outlooks fell far short of the actual level of activity. The actual ACE would prove to be 248 ×104 kt2 — 277% of the median, Arlene caused only moderate damage, although one swimmer was caught in a riptide and drowned in Miami Beach, Florida. Tropical Storm Bret formed in the Bay of Campeche on June 28, the storm damaged hundreds of homes and caused flooding which killed two people. Hurricane Cindy formed in the Gulf of Mexico on July 4, Cindy was upgraded to a hurricane in the post-storm analysis
20.
Gulf of Mexico
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The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The U. S. states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas border the Gulf on the north, Atlantic and Pacific coasts, or sometimes the south coast, in juxtaposition to the Great Lakes region being the north coast. One of the seven main areas is the Gulf of Mexico basin. The Gulf of Mexico formed approximately 300 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics, the Gulfs basin is roughly oval and is approximately 810 nautical miles wide and floored by sedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the U. S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba, with the narrow connection to the Atlantic, the Gulf experiences very small tidal ranges. The size of the Gulf basin is approximately 1.6 million km2, almost half of the basin is shallow continental shelf waters. The basin contains a volume of roughly 2,500 quadrillion liters, the consensus among geologists who have studied the geology of the Gulf of Mexico, is that prior to the Late Triassic, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist. It was created by the collision of plates that formed Pangea. As interpreted by Roy Van Arsdale and Randel T. Cox, geologists and other Earth scientists agree in general that the present Gulf of Mexico basin originated in Late Triassic time as the result of rifting within Pangea. The rifting was associated with zones of weakness within Pangea, including sutures where the Laurentia, South American, first, there was a Late Triassic-Early Jurassic phase of rifting during which rift valleys formed and filled with continental red beds. Second, as rifting progressed through Early and Middle Jurassic time and it was at this time that tectonics first created a connection to the Pacific Ocean across central Mexico and later eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. This flooded the basin created by rifting and crustal thinning to create the Gulf of Mexico. While the Gulf of Mexico was a basin, the subsiding transitional crust was blanketed by the widespread deposition of Louann Salt. Initially, during the Late Jurassic, continued rifting widened the Gulf of Mexico and progressed to the point that sea-floor spreading, at this point, sufficient circulation with the Atlantic Ocean was established that the deposition of Louann Salt ceased. During the Late Jurassic through Early Cretaceous, the occupied by the Gulf of Mexico experienced a period of cooling. The subsidence was the result of a combination of stretching, cooling. Initially, the combination of stretching and cooling caused about 5–7 km of tectonic subsidence of the central thin transitional
21.
Gulf Coast of the United States
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The Gulf Coast of the United States is the coastline along which the Southern United States meets the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, the economy of the Gulf Coast area is dominated by industries related to energy, petrochemicals, fishing, aerospace, agriculture, and tourism. The Gulf Coast is made of many inlets, bays, the coast is also intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the Mississippi River. Much of the land along the Gulf Coast is, or was and these landforms protect numerous bays and inlets providing as a barrier to oncoming waves. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, the eastern part of the Gulf Coast, predominantly Florida, is dotted with many bays and inlets. The Gulf Coast climate is humid subtropical for the most part, although the tip of Florida. Much of the year is warm to hot along the Gulf Coast, while the 3 winters months bring periods of cool, the area is vulnerable to hurricanes as well as floods and severe thunderstorms. Tornadoes are infrequent at the coast but do occur, however the frequency at which they occur in inland portions of Gulf Coast states is much greater. Earthquakes are extremely rare to the area, but a surprising 6.0 earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico on September 10,2006, the Gulf Coast is a major center of economic activity. The marshlands along the Louisiana and Texas coasts provide breeding grounds, the Port of South Louisiana and the Port of Houston are two of the ten busiest ports in the world by cargo volume. As of 2004, seven of the top ten busiest ports in the U. S. are on the Gulf Coast. The discovery of oil and gas deposits along the coast and offshore, the coast contains nearly 4,000 oil platforms. S. Before Europeans arrived in the region, the region was home to several kingdoms that had extensive trade networks with empires such as the Aztecs. Shark and alligator teeth and shells from the Gulf have been found as far north as Ohio, the first Europeans to settle the Gulf Coast were primarily the French and the Spanish. The Louisiana Purchase and the Texas Revolution made the Gulf Coast a part of the United States during the first half of the 19th century. As the U. S. population continued to expand its frontiers westward, the development of sugar and cotton production allowed the South to prosper. Two major events were turning points in the history of the Gulf Coast region. The first was the American Civil War, which caused damage to some economic sectors in the South
22.
Johnson Bayou, Louisiana
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The village is spread across coastal chenieres which were formed by deltaic sedimentation by the shifting of the Mississippi River. This geologic formation, the coastal cheniere, is only in a few locations across the globe. Johnson Bayou is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area, between Sabine Pass and Beaumont, thirty miles of track of the Sabine and East Texas Railway, were damaged badly and partly washed away. It was hit again by Hurricane Audrey in 1957, and yet again by Hurricane Rita on September 24,2005, on September 13,2007, Hurricane Humberto made landfall west of Johnson Bayou at High Island, Texas, bringing heavy rains to the community. On September 13,2008, Hurricane Ike, a large and nearly category 3 storm with massive storm surge made landfall on the upper Texas coast. It is located on Louisiana Highway 82,12 miles west of Holly Beach, the Holleyman Bird Sanctuary/Peveto Woods Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary is located in the community, and is south of the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge. Johnson Bayou is home to four natural gas pipelines, and the home of one of the largest LNG Terminals in the world. This LNG regasification terminal is being built by Cheniere Energy, http, //www. cheniere. com/default. shtml Cameron Parish School Board operates Johnson Bayou High School, a combined primary and secondary school serving the area. Cameron Parish Public Library operates the Johnson Branch at 4586 Gulf Beach Highway in the area,1886 Atlantic hurricane season Galveston Daily News, October 14–23,1886
23.
Caribbean Sea
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The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. The entire area of the Caribbean Sea, the islands of the West Indies. The Caribbean Sea is one of the largest seas and has an area of about 2,754,000 km2, the seas deepest point is the Cayman Trough, between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, at 7,686 m below sea level. The Caribbean coastline has many gulfs and bays, the Gulf of Gonâve, Gulf of Venezuela, Gulf of Darién, Golfo de los Mosquitos, Gulf of Paria, the Caribbean Sea has the worlds second biggest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. It runs 1,000 km along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, the name Caribbean derives from the Caribs, one of the regions dominant Native American groups at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. During the first century of development, Spanish dominance in the region remained undisputed, from the 16th century, Europeans visiting the Caribbean region identified the South Sea as opposed to the North Sea. The Caribbean Sea had been unknown to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, at that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was colonised by several Western cultures. As of 2015 the area is home to 22 island territories, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Caribbean Sea as follows, On the North. In the Windward Channel – a line joining Caleta Point and Pearl Point in Haïti, in the Mona Passage – a line joining Cape Engano and the extreme of Agujereada in Puerto Rico. From Galera Point through Trinidad to Galeota Point and thence to Baja Point in Venezuela, note that, although Barbados is an island on the same continental shelf, it is considered to be in the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean Sea is an oceanic sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate, the Caribbean Sea is separated from the ocean by several island arcs of various ages. The youngest stretches from the Lesser Antilles to the Virgin Islands to the north east of Trinidad, the larger islands in the northern part of the sea Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico lie on an older island arc. The geological age of the Caribbean Sea is estimated to be between 160 and 180 million years and was formed by a fracture that split the supercontinent called Pangea in the Mesozoic Era. It is assumed the proto-caribbean basin existed in the Devonian period, in the early Carboniferous movement of Gondwana to the north and its convergence with the Euramerica basin decreased in size. The next stage of the Caribbean Seas formation began in the Triassic, powerful rifting led to the formation of narrow troughs, stretching from modern Newfoundland to the west coast of the Gulf of Mexico which formed siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. In the early Jurassic due to powerful marine transgression, water broke into the present area of the Gulf of Mexico creating a vast shallow pool, the emergence of deep basins in the Caribbean occurred during the Middle Jurassic rifting. The emergence of these marked the beginning of the Atlantic Ocean
24.
Greater Antilles
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The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. The Greater Antilles constitute nearly 90% of the mass of the entire West Indies. The remainder of the land belongs to the archipelago of the Lesser Antilles, the Lucayan Archipelago is not considered to be a part of the Antilles archipelagoes but rather of the North Atlantic. Cohen, S. Groene, J. Werner, L. Vladimir, hiller, H. L. Caribbean, The Greater Antilles, Bermuda, Bahamas. Anolis Lizards of the Caribbean, Ecology, Evolution, and Plate Tectonics, Ecology, Evolution, oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution. A Brief History of the Caribbean, new York, Facts on File,1992. Media related to Greater Antilles at Wikimedia Commons
25.
Rapid intensification
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Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, typhoon /taɪˈfuːn/, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water. They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface and this energy source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms, such as noreasters and European windstorms, which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts. The strong rotating winds of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of momentum imparted by the Earths rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation. As a result, they form within 5° of the equator. Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and 2,000 km in diameter, Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems, which form almost exclusively over tropical seas. Cyclone refers to their nature, with wind blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis effect, in addition to strong winds and rain, tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves, damaging storm surge, and tornadoes. They typically weaken rapidly over land where they are cut off from their energy source. For this reason, coastal regions are vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions. Heavy rains, however, can cause significant flooding inland, though their effects on human populations are often devastating, tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions. They also carry heat away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes. Tropical cyclones are areas of low pressure in the troposphere. On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centers of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level, the environment near the center of tropical cyclones is warmer than the surroundings at all altitudes, thus they are characterized as warm core systems. The near-surface wind field of a cyclone is characterized by air rotating rapidly around a center of circulation while also flowing radially inwards. At the outer edge of the storm, air may be nearly calm, however, due to the Earths rotation, as air flows radially inward, it begins to rotate cyclonically in order to conserve angular momentum. At an inner radius, air begins to ascend to the top of the troposphere and this radius is typically coincident with the inner radius of the eyewall, and has the strongest near-surface winds of the storm, consequently, it is known as the radius of maximum winds. Once aloft, air flows away from the center, producing a shield of cirrus clouds
26.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
27.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
28.
Jamaica
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Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island,10,990 square kilometres in area, lies about 145 kilometres south of Cuba, Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean, by area. Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494, Many of the indigenous people died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as labourers. Named Santiago, the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly dependent on slaves imported from Africa. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British imported Chinese and Indian indentured labour to work on plantations, the island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962. With 2.8 million people, Jamaica is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, Kingston is the countrys capital and largest city, with a population of 937,700. Jamaicans predominately have African ancestry, with significant European, Chinese, Hakka, Indian, due to a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Sir Patrick Allen since 2009. Andrew Holness has served as the head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2016, the indigenous people, the Taíno, called it Xaymaca in Arawakan, meaning the Land of Wood and Water or the Land of Springs. Colloquially Jamaicans refer to their island as the Rock. Slang names such as Jamrock, Jamdown, or briefly Ja, have derived from this, the Arawak and Taíno indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were more than 200 villages ruled by caciques, the south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour. The Taino still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655, the Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawak. Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay, although there is some debate that it might have been St. Anns Bay. St. Anns Bay was named Saint Gloria by Columbus, as the first sighting of the land, the capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called St. Jago de la Vega, around 1534. Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral of the British colonies in the Caribbean, the Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655, the English, led by Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables, the English continued to import African slaves as labourers
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Low-pressure area
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A low-pressure area, low, or depression is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence that occur in the levels of the troposphere. The formation process of an area is known as cyclogenesis. Within the field of meteorology, atmospheric divergence aloft occurs in two areas, the first area is on the east side of upper troughs, which form half of a Rossby wave within the Westerlies. A second area of wind divergence aloft occurs ahead of embedded shortwave troughs, diverging winds aloft ahead of these troughs cause atmospheric lift within the troposphere below, which lowers surface pressures as upward motion partially counteracts the force of gravity. Thermal lows form due to localized heating caused by greater sunshine over deserts, since localized areas of warm air are less dense than their surroundings, this warmer air rises, which lowers atmospheric pressure near that portion of the Earths surface. Large-scale thermal lows over continents help drive monsoon circulations, low-pressure areas can also form due to organized thunderstorm activity over warm water. When this occurs over the tropics in concert with the Intertropical Convergence Zone, Monsoon troughs reach their northerly extent in August and their southerly extent in February. When a convective low acquires a well-hot circulation in the tropics it is termed a tropical cyclone, Tropical cyclones can form during any month of the year globally, but can occur in either the northern or southern hemisphere during November. Since clouds reflect sunlight, incoming solar radiation decreases, which causes lower temperatures during the day. At night the effect of clouds on outgoing longwave radiation, such as heat energy from the surface. The stronger the area of low pressure, the stronger the winds experienced in its vicinity, globally, low-pressure systems are most frequently located over the Tibetan Plateau and in the lee of the Rocky mountains. In Europe, recurring low-pressure weather systems are known as depressions. Cyclogenesis is the development and strengthening of cyclonic circulations, or low-pressure areas, cyclogenesis is the opposite of cyclolysis, and has an anticyclonic equivalent which deals with the formation of high-pressure areas—anticyclogenesis. Cyclogenesis is a term for several different processes, all of which result in the development of some sort of cyclone. Meteorologists use the term cyclone where circular pressure systems flow in the direction of the Earths rotation, the largest low-pressure systems are cold-core polar cyclones and extratropical cyclones which lie on the synoptic scale. Warm-core cyclones such as cyclones, mesocyclones, and polar lows lie within the smaller mesoscale. Subtropical cyclones are of intermediate size, cyclogenesis can occur at various scales, from the microscale to the synoptic scale
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South Texas
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South Texas is a region of the U. S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of -- and sometimes including -- San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico, the population of this region is about 4.67 million according to the 2013 census estimates. The southern portion of region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend, many South Texas residents Exclude San Antonio, as San Antonio is southern Central Texas. The Rio Grande serves as the western and southern boundaries and separates Texas from Mexico, the eastern portion of South Texas is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico. This region of Texas consist of 41 counties, South Texas terrain is flat, lying on the coastal plain. South Texas is so vast, there are even subregions, the very southern tip of South Texas, called the Rio Grande Valley, has fertile soils and is known for its citrus production. The eastern portion of South Texas is often referred to as the Coastal Bend, here, coastal marshes, estuaries. The western and central parts are known as the South Texas Plains or the brush country, mesquite trees and crop fields dominate the land. The fastest growing county in South Texas is Guadalupe County, growing by 5. 64% from 2010 to 2012, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas includes the Houston division. However, Houston is most accurately classified as being within Southeast Texas, the area along the Mexican border is generally semi-arid, while the area from the coast inland to just west of San Antonio has a humid subtropical climate. South Texas weather is affected by the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains to the west, the Gulf of Mexico to the east, moisture from the Pacific is cut off by the Mexican Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental mountain ranges. Temperatures reach freezing only a few times in the winter and snowfall is rare, summers in this zone are hot and humid, with daily averages above 90 °F. Night-time temperatures are around 85 °F in summer. The region of South Texas includes the ranch country and the wetter Rio Grande Valley. Considered to be the southernmost tip of the American Great Plains region, the coastal areas are warm most of the year due to currents of the Gulf of Mexico, but can get cold in winter if a strong front comes in, occasionally causing snow at sea level. Rain in the region is more abundant than in the inland region. Inland, where it is drier, ranches dominate the landscape, characterized by thick, spiny brush, the winters in the inland region are cooler and drier, as Arctic air can make it into the region, but snow is rare due to the lack of humidity. Summers are for the most part hot and dry, but at times can be humid if winds come off the warmer Gulf of Mexico, tornadoes can occur in this region, but less frequently than in other parts of the state
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Tamaulipas
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Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria, the capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico. It is located in Northeastern Mexico and it is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the southeast, San Luis Potosí to the southwest and Nuevo León to the west. To the north, it has a 370 km stretch of the U. S. –Mexico border along the state of Texas and this state is known to be both a territorial struggle for the Gulf Cartel and the Los Zetas. The name Tamaulipas is derived from Tamaholipa, a Huastec term in which the tam- prefix signifies place, there is no scholarly agreement on the meaning of holipa, but high hills is a common interpretation. Another explanation of the name is that it is derived from Ta ma holipam. In addition to the city, Ciudad Victoria, the states largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo. The area known as Tamaulipas has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years, several different cultures have come and gone during that period. Tamaulipas was originally populated by the Olmec people and later by Chichimec and Huastec tribes, between 1445 and 1466, Mexica armies commanded by Moctezuma I Ilhuicamina conquered much of the territory and transformed it into a tributary region for the Mexica empire. However, the Aztecs never fully conquered certain mostly nomadic indigenous groups in the area, although Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs rather quickly, it took a gradual process for Spain to subjugate the inhabitants of Tamaulipas in the 16th and 17th centuries. The first permanent Spanish settlement in the area was Tampico in 1554, further settlement was done by Franciscan missionaries, widespread cattle and sheep ranching by the Spanish bolstered the area’s economy while forcing native populations from their original lands. Repeated indigenous rebellions kept the area unstable and weakened colonial interest in the region, what is now Tamaulipas was first incorporated as a separate province of New Spain in 1746 with the name Nuevo Santander. The local government capital during this time moved from Santander to San Carlos, the territory of this time spanned from the San Antonio river to the north east to the Gulf of Mexico, then south to the Panuco River near Tampico and west to the Sierra Madre Mountains. The area became a haven for rebellious Indians who fled there after increased Spanish settlements in Nuevo León, one of these groups was known as Lipan. By 1790 Europeans turned their attention from the groups and focused on containing the Apache invaders. In northeastern Coahuila and adjacent Texas, Spanish and Apache displacements created an ethnic mix. Here the local Indians mixed with displaced groups from Coahuila and Chihuahua, some groups, to escape the pressure, combined and migrated north into the Central Texas highlands. In 1824, after the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, during the fights between centralists and federalists that soon followed, the successful Texas Revolution led to the creation of the Republic of Texas in 1836
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High Island, Texas
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High Island is an Unincorporated community located in the Bolivar Peninsula census-designated place, Galveston County, Texas, United States. The community is located in the eastern part of the county on Bolivar Peninsula, less than one mile from Chambers County. As of 2000,500 people resided in High Island, the 2010 census did not record a population for High Island. The Houston Audubon Society operates four bird sanctuaries in the area, sea Rim State Park is in nearby Jefferson County, but it is inaccessible by State Highway 87, which has been closed since 1990. In 2007, Hurricane Humberto made landfall near High Island,2008 saw Hurricane Ike impact High Island with significant storm surge and winds up to 110 mph. After Hurricane Ike the United States Postal Service temporarily relocated High Island post office box services to Winnie, High Island lies on the eastern side of Galveston Bay, just inland from the Gulf of Mexico. Located on the mainland, High Islands name comes from the salt dome under the area. This salt dome raises the elevation of the area to around 38 feet, giving High Island the highest elevation of any point on the Gulf coast from Mobile, the metaphorical island has often served to protect its residents from the effects of hurricanes storm surge. The main route from Houston to High Island is to travel along Interstate 45 to Galveston, take the ferry to Port Bolivar, the High Island Independent School District serves the community. The Houston Audubon Society has 4 sanctuaries at High Island, Boy Scout Woods, Smith Oaks, Eubanks Woods, Boy Scout Woods is the headquarters, which is staffed by volunteers during peak spring migration season from mid-March to mid-May. Smith Oaks is the largest sanctuary and home to the Rookery, during this spring migration, the birds must navigate the hundreds of miles of overwater flight to find refuge and food on their journey northward. The most spectacular bird viewing is during a spring northerly storm, during these storms, the migrating birds encounter strong head winds and a prolonged and energy-draining flight over the Gulf. Every bird that comes off the Gulf near High Island is then exhausted, in such conditions, the beaches of the Bolivar Peninsula can be covered with tens of thousands of birds. With its wooded areas and more ample feeding opportunities, almost every tree, Houston Audubon - High Island U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, High Island, Texas
33.
Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project
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The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks to correct and add new information about past North Atlantic hurricanes. This effort has involved reanalyses of ship observations from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set as well as reanalyses done by other researchers over the years and it has been ongoing as of 2016, and should last another four years. HURDAT contains a number of errors which need to be corrected, the new data was constructed using old newspaper articles and the hemispheric weather map series. Hurricane histories for individual states had been constructed by the 1990s as well, since then, the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set has been utilized to check for older ship reports which were either not utilized nor available to previous researchers. By analyzing the density of ship tracks over time, it has estimated that between 1900 and 1966, an average of two storms per year are missing from HURDAT. This is mainly due to a lack of imagery and lack of reconnaissance aircraft prior to 1943. An additional storm per year is likely missing prior to the advent of new technologies, quikscat was launched in 1999, and has been credited with allowing Chantal to be named during the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. The last two help determine whether or not a low area is an extratropical cyclone, subtropical cyclone. Christopher Landsea noted that the efforts to reanalyze the Atlantic hurricane database will not be able to recover observations of open ocean tropical cyclones that were just never taken. Researchers cannot assume that the Atlantic tropical cyclone database presents a complete depiction of frequency of events before the advent of satellite imagery in the mid-1960s, moreover, newly available advanced tools and techniques are also contributing toward monitoring about one additional Atlantic tropical cyclone per year since 2002. The project has currently reanalyzed storms from the period 1886 to 1955, in 2001, data for the years 1851–1885 were added to the official database from the Fernández-Partagás series of publications. Also, a conference was held at the University of South Carolina which proposed to increase the scope of HURDAT from a starting year of 1851 to a start of 1800. The conference also discussed ways of exchanging information for the inclusion of older tropical cyclones, while the reanalysis has mostly proceeded sequentially, notable exceptions have been made for the reanalysis of some significant tropical cyclones. In 2002, for the anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, the reanalysis was completed for the hurricane. In 2014, a reanalysis was completed for Hurricane Camille. Work by Michael Chenoweth, in collaboration with Cary Mock, increased knowledge of tropical cyclones in the Caribbean Sea for 1750 to 1786, there is agreement within tropical cyclone circles of doing an Atlantic-style reanalysis for other ocean basins. Some efforts are underway to start similar reanalyses across the western and eastern north Pacific Ocean and these tropical cyclone reanalyses are important, as theories concerning climate change and tropical cyclone trends hinge upon the quality of these databases. HURDAT List of tropical cyclones Michael Chenoweth, the 18th Century Climate of Jamaica
34.
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
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Hattiesburg is a city in the U. S. state of Mississippi, primarily in Forrest County and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census and it is the principal city of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Forrest, Lamar and Perry counties. Founded in 1882 by civil engineer William H. Hardy, Hattiesburg was named in honor of Hardys wife Hattie, the town was incorporated two years later with a population of 400. Hattiesburgs population first expanded as a center of the lumber and railroad industries and it now attracts newcomers to the area because of the diversity of the economy, strong neighborhoods and the central location in South Mississippi. Hattiesburg is home to The University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University, South of Hattiesburg is Camp Shelby, the largest National Guard training base east of the Mississippi River. What is now Hattiesburg was previously inhabited by the Choctaw Native Americans, between 1763 and 1783 the area that is currently Hattiesburg fell under the jurisdiction of the colony of British West Florida. After the treaty was ratified, European-American settlers began to move into the area, Hattiesburg is positioned at the fork of the Leaf and Bouie Rivers, and was founded in 1882 by Captain William H. Hardy, a civil engineer. The city of Hattiesburg was incorporated in 1884 with a population of approximately 400, originally called Twin Forks and later Gordonville, the city received its final name of Hattiesburg from Capt. Hardy, in honor of his wife Hattie. In 1884, a railroad — known then as the New Orleans and Northeastern — was built from Meridian, Mississippi, through Hattiesburg to New Orleans. The completion of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad from Gulfport, Mississippi, to Jackson, Mississippi, ran through Hattiesburg, though it was 20 years in the building, the G&SIRR more than fulfilled its promise. It gave the state a deep harbor, more than doubled the population of towns along its route, built the City of Gulfport. In 1924, the G&SIRR operated as a subsidiary of the Illinois Central Railroad, Hattiesburg gained its nickname, the Hub City, in 1912 as a result of a contest in a local newspaper. This suggestion came because the city was the intersection of a number of important rail lines, later the city also became the intersection of U. S. Highway 49, U. S. Highway 98 and U. S. Highway 11, and later, Interstate 59. Hattiesburg is centrally located less than 100 miles from the capital of Jackson as well as the Mississippi Gulf Coast, New Orleans and Mobile. The region around Hattiesburg was involved in the arms race of the Cold War. In the 1960s, two devices were detonated in the salt domes near Lumberton, Mississippi, about 28 miles southwest of Hattiesburg. Extensive follow-up of the area by the EPA has not revealed levels of contamination in the area that would be harmful to humans. Throughout the 20th Century, Hattiesburg benefited from the founding of Camp Shelby, the growing metropolitan area that includes Hattiesburg, Forrest and Lamar Counties, was designated a Metropolitan Statistical Area in 1994 with a combined population of more than 100,000 residents
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Galveston, Texas
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Galveston is a coastal resort city on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U. S. state of Texas. The community of 209.3 square miles, with a population of 50,180 in 2015, is the county seat. It is within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area, the Port of Galveston was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico following its independence from Spain. The city was the port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution. During the 19th century, Galveston became a major U. S. commercial center and it was devastated by the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, whose effects included flooding and a storm surge. The natural disaster on the barrier island is still ranked as the deadliest in United States history. Much of Galvestons economy is centered in the tourism, health care, shipping, the 84-acre University of Texas Medical Branch campus with an enrollment of more than 2,500 students is a major economic force of the city. Galveston Island was originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes who called the island Auia, the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were shipwrecked on the island or nearby in November 1528, calling it Isla de Malhado. They began their trek to a Spanish settlement in Mexico City. During his charting of the Gulf Coast in 1785, the Spanish explorer José de Evia named the island Villa Gálvez or Gálveztown in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez. The islands first permanent European settlements were constructed around 1816 by the pirate Louis-Michel Aury to support Mexicos rebellion against Spain, in 1817, Aury returned from an unsuccessful raid against Spain to find Galveston occupied by the pirate Jean Lafitte. Lafitte organized Galveston into a kingdom he called Campeche, anointing himself the islands head of government. Lafitte remained in Galveston until 1821, when the United States Navy forced him, in 1825 the Congress of Mexico established the Port of Galveston and in 1830 erected a customs house. Galveston served as the capital of the Republic of Texas when in 1836 the interim president David G. Burnet relocated his government there. In 1836, the French-Canadian Michel Branamour Menard and several associates purchased 4,605 acres of land for $50,000 to found the town that would become the city of Galveston. As Anglo-Americans migrated to the city, they brought along or purchased enslaved African-Americans, some of whom worked domestically or on the waterfront, in 1839, the City of Galveston adopted a charter and was incorporated by the Congress of the Republic of Texas. The city was by then a port of entry and attracted many new residents in the 1840s and later among the flood of German immigrants to Texas. Together with ethnic Mexican residents, these tended to oppose slavery, support the Union during the Civil War
36.
1875 Atlantic hurricane season
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The 1875 Atlantic hurricane season lasted from mid-summer to late-fall. Records show that 1875 was a relatively inactive hurricane season, there were six storms of which one peaked as a tropical storm, four as hurricanes and one as a major hurricane. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. Of the known 1875 cyclones, both Hurricane One and Hurricane Five were first documented in 1995 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz. They also proposed changes to the known track of Hurricane Six. The duration of Hurricane Two was further amended in 2008, the Atlantic hurricane database officially recognizes six tropical cyclones for the 1875 season. Five storms attained hurricane status, with winds of 75 mph or greater, the third hurricane of the season was the most intense, with maximum sustained winds up to 120 mph. The first storm of the season was a hurricane that formed northeast of the Bahamas, Hurricane Two formed on September 1 and traveled over open ocean before dissipating on September 10 without making landfall. Hurricane 3 which also formed on September 1, traveled across the Atlantic from southwest of the Cape Verde Islands to cause damage and great loss of life in Barbados, Cuba. The fifth storm of 1875 was a storm that formed on September 24 in the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall in Florida before dissipating on September 28, the final storm of the season was a hurricane that existed for four days in October off the east coast of the United States. The first known storm of the season was observed by the schooner J. W. Coffin on August 16. Due to sparsity of data, HURDAT indicates that the cyclone maintained winds of 80 mph as it tracked north-northeastward to northeastward, the hurricane was last noted offshore Nova Scotia by the bark Electra late on August 19. A tropical storm formed on September 1 near the coast of Africa, by September 3, the storm had strengthened into a hurricane. It reached a peak intensity with sustained winds at 80 mph, in addition, a minimum pressure of 982 mbar was observed a few days thereafter. This hurricane dissipated on September 10, on September 1, the first observation of the storm was made by a ship, the Tautallon Castle, southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. On September 8, the hurricane was observed east of Barbados, the hurricane moved through the Caribbean passing Jamaica. On September 12, waves breaking over cliffs between 45 and 75 feet above sea level were reported from Navassa Island just off Haiti, the eye passed over Cuba on September 13
37.
Radius of maximum wind
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The radius of maximum wind is the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds. It is a parameter in atmospheric dynamics and tropical cyclone forecasting, the highest rainfall rates occur near the RMW of tropical cyclones. The extent of a storm surge and its maximum potential intensity can be determined using the RMW. As maximum sustained winds increase, the RMW decreases, recently, RMW has been used in descriptions of tornadoes. When designing buildings to prevent against failure from atmospheric pressure change, the RMW is traditionally measured by reconnaissance aircraft in the Atlantic basin. It can also be determined on weather maps as the distance between the center and the systems greatest pressure gradient. Using weather satellite data, the distance between the coldest cloud top temperature and the warmest temperatature within the eye, in infrared imagery, is one method of determining RMW. Use of velocity data from Doppler weather radar can also be used to determine this quantity, in the case of tornadoes, knowledge of the RMW is important as atmospheric pressure change within sealed buildings can cause failure of the structure. Most buildings have openings totaling one square foot per 1, 000-cubic-foot volume to help equalize air pressure between the inside and outside of the structures. The APC is around one-half of its value at the RMW. An average value for the RMW of 47 kilometres was calculated as the mean of all hurricanes with a lowest central pressure between a pressure of 909 hectopascals and 993 hectopascals. As tropical cyclones intensify, maximum sustained winds increase as the RMW decreases, however, values for RMW produced based on central pressure or maximum wind speed could be substantial scattering around the regression lines. The heaviest rainfall within intense tropical cyclones has been observed in the vicinity of the RMW, the radius of maximum wind helps determine the direct strikes of tropical cyclones. The radius of maximum wind is used within the maximum potential intensity equation, the Emanuel equation for Maximum Intensity Potential relies upon the winds near the RMW of a tropical cyclone to determine its ultimate potential. The highest storm surge is normally coincident with the radius of maximum wind, tropical cyclones mix the ocean water within a radius three times that of the RMW, which lowers sea surface temperatures due to upwelling. Much is still unknown about the radius of maximum wind in tropical cyclones, including whether or not it can be predictable
38.
Storm surge
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Most casualties during tropical cyclones occur as the result of storm surges. The deadliest storm surge on record was the 1970 Bhola cyclone, the low-lying coast of the Bay of Bengal is particularly vulnerable to surges caused by tropical cyclones. The deadliest storm surge in the twenty-first century was caused by the Cyclone Nargis, the next deadliest in this century was caused by the Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the central Philippines in 2013 and resulted in economic losses estimated at $14 billion. Louis, Diamondhead and Pass Christian in Mississippi, a high storm surge occurred in New York City from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, with a high tide of 14 ft. The pressure effects of a tropical cyclone will cause the level in the open ocean to rise in regions of low atmospheric pressure. The rising water level will counteract the low pressure such that the total pressure at some plane beneath the water surface remains constant. This effect is estimated at a 10 mm increase in sea level for every millibar drop in atmospheric pressure, strong surface winds cause surface currents at a 45° angle to the wind direction, by an effect known as the Ekman Spiral. Wind stresses cause a phenomenon referred to as wind set-up, which is the tendency for water levels to increase at the downwind shore, intuitively, this is caused by the storm simply blowing the water towards one side of the basin in the direction of its winds. Because the Ekman Spiral effects spread vertically through the water, the effect is proportional to depth. The pressure effect and the wind set-up on an open coast will be driven into bays in the way as the astronomical tide. The Earths rotation causes the Coriolis effect, which bends currents to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. When this bend brings the currents into more contact with the shore it can amplify the surge. The effect of waves, while powered by the wind, is distinct from a storms wind-powered currents. Powerful wind whips up large, strong waves in the direction of its movement, although these surface waves are responsible for very little water transport in open water, they may be responsible for significant transport near the shore. When waves are breaking on a more or less parallel to the beach. The rainfall effect is experienced predominantly in estuaries, Hurricanes may dump as much as 12 in of rainfall in 24 hours over large areas, and higher rainfall densities in localized areas. As a result, watersheds can quickly surge water into the rivers that drain them and this can increase the water level near the head of tidal estuaries as storm-driven waters surging in from the ocean meet rainfall flowing from the estuary. This situation well exemplified by the southeast coast of Florida
39.
Sabine Pass, Port Arthur, Texas
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Sabine Pass community is a neighborhood in Jefferson County within the Beaumont−Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area of the U. S. state of Texas. It lies at Sabine Pass, on the west bank of the Sabine River, although the city was formally annexed by Port Arthur in 1978, Sabine Pass has continued to maintain semi-autonomy with a separate school district, post office, water district, and port authority. Police and fire protection is provided by Port Arthur, in 1832, Thomas Corts and John McGaffey were among the first settlers of the Sabine Pass area. Stephen Hendrickson Everitt wrote a letter to Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B, lamar on March 11,1839, seeking to establish a post office in the area. There was already a Republic of Texas customs house, established in 1837, as well as a United States customs house at Garrison Ridge, there is some confusion as to if this was Sabine Pass that he had previously written about or an intended city to the south. Niles was appointed collector of revenue for the port of Sabine 1842, philip Sublett and Houston were friends and associates. Houston stayed with Sublett while recuperating from wound received at San Jacinto, in 1836, Sublett nominated Houston for president of the Republic of Texas. The US claimed jurisdiction down the Sabine River to the Gulf of Mexico, by 1838 the U. S. assigned the revenue cutter USRC Woodbury to patrol the Sabine Lake as part of the Gulf of Mexico patrol. By 1844, the Republic of Texas had the Santa Anna patrolling the area, there was one instance that could have led to war between the United States and the Republic of Texas. The Santa Anna had instructed two schooners loading cotton to stop at the house to pay a tonnage fee. The customs house had two cannons and when the schooners attempted to run the port the agent fired a warning shot across the bow of each ship. Both schooners weighed anchor and settled the matter, the name of the community evolved over time from City of Sabine, to Sabine City, and then to Sabine Pass. Although requested in 1839, and there was a lumber mill in the community in 1846. By not capitalizing city it appears that the city was named Sabine, no records indicate that the settlement was ever called just Sabine so this might have been referring to the name of the place as City of Sabine. There is reference that General J. B, magruder, ordered construction of a major fortification of five redoubts seven miles west of Sabine City. In 1863, but Sabine Pass was incorporated on June 15,1861, the expectations of the earlier settlers, as well as the founders of Sabine Pass, never materialized. Arthur Stilwell had original plans for the terminus of the Kansas City, Pittsburg. But the Kountze brothers, who owned the land Stilwell needed for the railroad, refused to make a deal so Port Arthur was born
40.
Calcasieu River
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The Calcasieu River is a river on the Gulf Coast in southwestern Louisiana. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rural area of forests and bayou country. The name Calcasieu comes from the Native American Atakapa language katkosh, for eagle, the Calcasieu rises in Vernon Parish, north of Leesville, and flows initially southeast, passing through the Kisatchie National Forest southwest of Alexandria. It then turns southwest, flowing past Oakdale and Lake Charles and it enters the north end of the brackish Calcasieu Lake, an estuary on the Gulf of Mexico approximately 10 miles southwest of Lake Charles. The lake, which is referred to by locals as Big Lake, is connected by a 5-mile channel to the gulf on the south end, the lower portion of the river south of Lake Charles is paralleled by a navigable canal which connects to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The dispute arose from differing interpretations of the boundary of Louisiana under the terms of the Louisiana Purchase. The area became known as Neutral Ground and became a haven for privateers outside the jurisdiction of both nations. In 1994 Condea Vista leaked about 47 million pounds of highly carcinogenic ethylene dichloride into the river, most of it drained into the Gulf. List of Louisiana Natural and Scenic Rivers U. S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System, Calcasieu River
41.
Southeast Texas
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Southeast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U. S. state of Texas. The subregion is geographically centered on the Houston–Sugar Land–The Woodlands and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan areas, parts of Southeast Texas overlap with Central Texas, and the region borders Acadiana and the Sabine River. Culturally Southeast Texas is more akin to Arkansas, Louisiana. Southeast Texas is in the Bible Belt creating a strong Fundamentalist Christian sentiment, though 35 percent of Texass population is now Hispanic, African-Americans are still the most populous minority in Southeast Texas. During the Civil Rights Movement several communities clashed over integration, the subregions culture is similar to that of Northeast Texas, but has more of a Cajun/Louisiana Creole influence. Many of the largest cities in East Texas outside Houston still follow a rural Southern way of life, especially in dialect, mannerisms, religion, Southeast Texas includes part of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and most of the Texas portion of the Intracoastal Waterway. The area is crossed by numerous rivers and streams, the largest being the Sabine River, the Neches River. The only large bodies of water in Southeast Texas are Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake, near the coast, the land is low and extremely flat, and often marshy. The Piney Woods extend into the parts of Southeast Texas, reaching as far south as the rice paddies. The highest point on the coast is at High Island, where a salt dome raises the elevation to around 40 feet, away from the coast, the terrain begins exhibiting the rolling hills of East and Central Texas. Toward Central Texas, the pine and hardwood forests give way to East Central Texas forests of post oak. The Golden Triangle is an area of extreme Southeast Texas near the Louisiana border, the triangle is formed by Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, which are the largest cities in the area. The golden refers to the wealth came from the Spindletop oil strike near Beaumont in 1901. In an attempt to distance the area from the petrochemical industry and this name change did not catch on, and area residents still refer to it as the Golden Triangle. The area holds the annual South Texas State Fair in Beaumont, the Big Thicket is an area of dense forest located in the area just north and northwest of the city of Beaumont. Many small towns make up the area, including Woodville and Kountze, the Big Thicket National Preserve protects part of the old thicket, highlighting the areas biological resources. The 97,000 acre preserve boasts a varied ecology of piney woods, swamps and it includes extremely diverse plant species including orchids, cactus, cypress, and pine in close proximity to each other. Approximately 65,000 people visit this area each year, Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along Texass upper coast
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Inch
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The inch is a unit of length in the imperial and United States customary systems of measurement now formally equal to 1⁄36 yard but usually understood as 1⁄12 of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia, inch is also used to translate related units in other measurement systems. The English word inch was a borrowing from Latin uncia not present in other Germanic languages. The vowel change from Latin /u/ to English /ɪ/ is known as umlaut, the consonant change from the Latin /k/ to English /tʃ/ or /ʃ/ is palatalisation. Both were features of Old English phonology, inch is cognate with ounce, whose separate pronunciation and spelling reflect its reborrowing in Middle English from Anglo-Norman unce and ounce. In many other European languages, the word for inch is the same as or derived from the word for thumb, the inch is a commonly used customary unit of length in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is also used in Japan for electronic parts, especially display screens, for example, three feet two inches can be written as 3′ 2″. Paragraph LXVII sets out the fine for wounds of various depths, one inch, one shilling, an Anglo-Saxon unit of length was the barleycorn. After 1066,1 inch was equal to 3 barleycorns, which continued to be its legal definition for several centuries, similar definitions are recorded in both English and Welsh medieval law tracts. One, dating from the first half of the 10th century, is contained in the Laws of Hywel Dda which superseded those of Dyfnwal, both definitions, as recorded in Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales, are that three lengths of a barleycorn is the inch. However, the oldest surviving manuscripts date from the early 14th century, john Bouvier similarly recorded in his 1843 law dictionary that the barleycorn was the fundamental measure. He noted that this process would not perfectly recover the standard, before the adoption of the international yard and pound, various definitions were in use. In the United Kingdom and most countries of the British Commonwealth, the United States adopted the conversion factor 1 metre =39.37 inches by an act in 1866. In 1930, the British Standards Institution adopted an inch of exactly 25.4 mm, the American Standards Association followed suit in 1933. By 1935, industry in 16 countries had adopted the industrial inch as it came to be known, in 1946, the Commonwealth Science Congress recommended a yard of exactly 0.9144 metres for adoption throughout the British Commonwealth. This was adopted by Canada in 1951, the United States on 1 July 1959, Australia in 1961, effective 1 January 1964, and the United Kingdom in 1963, effective on 1 January 1964. The new standards gave an inch of exactly 25.4 mm,1.7 millionths of a longer than the old imperial inch and 2 millionths of an inch shorter than the old US inch. The United States retains the 1/39. 37-metre definition for survey purposes and this is approximately 1/8-inch in a mile
