1.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
2.
Labrador Sea
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The Labrador Sea is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest and it connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait. It has been described as a sea of the Atlantic. The sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago, the Labrador Sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago and stopped about 40 million years ago. A sedimentary basin, which is now buried under the continental shelves, onset of magmatic sea-floor spreading was accompanied by volcanic eruptions of picrites and basalts in the Paleocene at the Davis Strait and Baffin Bay. Between about 500 BC and 1300 AD, the southern coast of the sea contained Dorset, Beothuk and Inuit settlements, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Labrador Sea as follows, On the North, the South limit of Davis Strait. On the East, a line from Cape St. Francis 47°45′N 52°27′W to Cape Farewell, thence a line joining this ledge with the East extreme of Cape St. Charles in Labrador. The Labrador Sea is about 3,400 m deep and 1,000 km wide where it joins the Atlantic Ocean and it becomes shallower, to less than 700 m towards Baffin Bay and passes into the 300 kilometres wide Davis Strait. A 100–200 m deep turbidity current channel system, which is about 2–5 km wide and 3,800 kilometres long, runs on the bottom of the sea and it is called the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel and is one of the worlds longest drainage systems of Pleistocene age. It appears as a river bed with numerous tributaries and is maintained by high-density turbidity currents flowing within the levees. The water temperature varies between −1 °C in winter and 5–6 °C in summer, the salinity is relatively low, at 31–34.9 parts per thousand. Two-thirds of the sea is covered in ice in winter, tides are semi-diurnal, reaching 4 m. There is a water circulation in the sea. It is initiated by the East Greenland Current and continued by the West Greenland Current, then, the Baffin Island Current and Labrador Current transport cold and less saline water southward along the Canadian coast. These currents carry numerous icebergs and therefore hinder navigation and exploration of the gas fields beneath the sea bed. The speed of the Labrador current is typically 0. 3–0.5 m/s, the Labrador Current maintains the water temperature at 0 °C and salinity between 30 and 34 parts per thousand. The NADW consists of three parts of different origin and salinity, and the top one, the Labrador Sea Water, is formed in the Labrador Sea. This part occurs at a depth and has a relatively low salinity, low temperature and high oxygen content compared to the layers above
3.
Greenland
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Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Danish Realm between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, Greenland is the worlds largest island. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of about 56,480, it is the least densely populated country in the world, the Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements. Greenland has been inhabited off and on for at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada, Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, and Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century, soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador. In the early 18th century, Scandinavian explorers reached Greenland again, to strengthen trading and power, Denmark-Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Greenland was settled by Vikings more than a thousand years ago, Vikings set sail from Greenland and Iceland, discovering North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached Caribbean islands. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1262, the Kingdom of Norway was extensive and a military power until the mid-14th century. Thus, the two kingdoms resources were directed at creating Copenhagen, Norway became the weaker part and lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814, and was made a part of the Danish Realm in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, in 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC which was effected in 1985, Greenland contains the worlds largest and most northernly national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. Greenland is divided into four municipalities - Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qaasuitsup and it also retains control of monetary policy, providing an initial annual subsidy of DKK3.4 billion, which is planned to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources, the capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, the early Viking settlers named the island as Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter, along with his extended family and his thralls, he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding an area and settling there, he named it Grœnland
4.
Nunavut
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Nunavut is the newest, largest, and northernmost territory of Canada. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canadas political map since the incorporation of the province of Newfoundland, Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its vast territory makes it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world, the capital Iqaluit, on Baffin Island in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay and it is Canadas only geo-political region that is not connected to the rest of North America by highway. Nunavut is the largest in area and the second least populous of Canadas provinces and territories. One of the worlds most remote, sparsely settled regions, it has a population of 35,944, mostly Inuit, spread over an area of just over 1,750,000 km2, Nunavut is also home to the worlds northernmost permanently inhabited place, Alert. A weather station farther down Ellesmere Island, Eureka, has the lowest average temperature of any Canadian weather station. Nunavut means our land in Inuktitut, Nunavut covers 1,877,787 km2 of land and 160,935 km2 of water in Northern Canada. This makes it the fifth largest subnational entity in the world, if Nunavut were a country, it would rank 15th in area. It also shares borders with Greenland and the provinces of Quebec, Ontario. Nunavuts highest point is Barbeau Peak on Ellesmere Island, the population density is 0.019 persons/km2, one of the lowest in the world. By comparison, Greenland has approximately the area and nearly twice the population. Nunavut experiences a climate in most regions, owing to its high latitude. In more southerly continental areas very cold climates can be found. The region now known as Nunavut has supported an indigenous population for approximately 4,000 years. Most historians identify the coast of Baffin Island with the Helluland described in Norse sagas, the materials were collected in five seasons of excavation at Cape Tanfield. Scholars determined that these provide evidence of European traders and possibly settlers on Baffin Island and they seem to indicate prolonged contact, possibly up to 1450. So you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, the ore turned out to be worthless, but Frobisher made the first recorded European contact with the Inuit
5.
Canada
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Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day
6.
Baffin Island
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Baffin Island, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is 507,451 km2 and its population is about 11,000 and it is located 65.4215 N and 70.9654 W. Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, is located on the southeastern coast. Until 1987, the town shared the name Frobisher Bay with the bay on which it is located, to the south lies Hudson Strait, separating Baffin Island from mainland Quebec. South of the end of the island is the Fury. To the east are Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, with Greenland beyond, the Foxe Basin, the Gulf of Boothia and Lancaster Sound separate Baffin Island from the rest of the archipelago to the west and north. The Baffin Mountains run along the shore of the island and are a part of the Arctic Cordillera. Mount Odin is the highest peak, with an elevation of at least 2,143 m, another peak of note is Mount Asgard, located in Auyuittuq National Park, with an elevation of 2,011 m. Mount Thor, with an elevation of 1,675 m, is said to have the greatest purely vertical drop of any mountain on Earth, the two largest lakes on the island lie in the south-central part of the island, Nettilling Lake and Amadjuak Lake further south. Conversely, in the 1970s parts of Baffin Island failed to have the usual ice-free period in the summer, the island has been continuously inhabited by Inuit peoples for centuries. In September 2008, Nunatsiaq News reported that a team led by Dr, so you have to consider the possibility that as remote as it may seem, these finds may represent evidence of contact with Europeans prior to the Vikings arrival in Greenland. Dr Sutherlands research eventually led to a 2012 announcement that whetstones had been found remnants of alloys indicative of Viking presence. The archaeological site at Tanfield Valley is thought to have been a trading post, Baffin Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region. Additionally, the communities of Qikiqtarjuaq and Cape Dorset are located on offshore islands, there are discussions to start the Baffinland Iron Mine, an iron ore mine with a 21-year life, at Mary River, and to build a railway and a port to transport the ore. This may create a mining community there. Baffin Island has both year-round and summer visitor wildlife, on land, examples of year-round wildlife are barren-ground caribou, polar bear, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, lemming and Arctic wolf. In 2012, a survey of caribou herds found that the population was only about 5000. Polar bears mate approximately every year with one to three cubs being born around March. Female polar bears may travel 10–20 km inland to find a large snow bank where they dig a den in which to spend the winter and later for giving birth, the polar bear population here is one of 19 genetically distinct demes of the circumpolar region
7.
Baffin Bay
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Baffin Bay, located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea, the narrower Nares Strait connects Baffin Bay with the Arctic Ocean. The bay is not navigable most of the year because of the ice cover and high density of floating ice, however, a polynya of about 80,000 km2, known as the North Water, opens in summer on the north near Smith Sound. Most of the life of the bay is concentrated near that region. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of Baffin Bay as follows, a line from Cape Sheridan, Grant Land to Cape Bryant, Greenland. The parallel of 70° North between Greenland and Baffin Land, the Eastern limits of the North-West Passages. The area of the bay has been inhabited since c. 500 BC, around AD1200, the initial Dorset settlers were replaced by the Thule peoples. Recent excavations also suggest that the Norse colonization of the Americas reached the shores of Baffin Bay sometime between the 10th and 14th centuries, the English explorer John Davis was the first recorded European to enter the bay, arriving in 1585. In 1612, a group of English merchants formed the Company of Merchants of London and their governor Thomas Smythe organized five expeditions to explore the northern coasts of Canada in search of a maritime passage to the Far East. Henry Hudson and Thomas Buttons explored Hudson Bay, William Gibbons Labrador, and Robert Bylot Hudson Strait, aboard the Discovery, Baffin charted the area and named Lancaster, Smith, and Jones Sounds after members of his company. By the completion of his 1616 voyage, Baffin held out no hope of an ice-free passage, over time, his account came to be doubted until it was confirmed by John Rosss 1818 voyage. More advanced scientific studies followed in 1928, in the 1930s and after World War II by Danish, currently, there are a few Inuit settlements on the Canadian coast of the bay, including Arctic Bay, Pond Inlet and Clyde River. Those settlements are accessed and supplied by air and annual sealifts, in 1975, a town was built at Nanisivik to support lead and zinc production at the Nanisivik Mine—the first Canadian mine in the Arctic. The mine was closed in 2002 due to declining resources and metal prices, whereas the town still has a functional seaport and an airport, as of the 2006 census, it has an official population of zero. Baffin Bay was the epicenter of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in 1933 and this is the largest known earthquake north of the Arctic Circle. It caused no damage because of its location and the small number of the nearby onshore communities. The northwestern part of the bay remains one of the most seismically active regions in eastern Canada, five earthquakes of magnitude 6 have occurred here since 1933. The latest strong earthquake occurred on 15 April 2010 and had the magnitude of 5.1, Baffin Bay is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean bounded by the Baffin Island in the west, Greenland in the east, and Ellesmere Island in the north
8.
John Davis (English explorer)
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John Davis or Davys was one of the chief English navigators of Elizabeth I. He led several voyages to discover the Northwest Passage and served as pilot and he discovered the Falkland Islands in August 1592. It is important that Captain John Davis of Sandridge should not be confused with a contemporary, both served in the fleet of Captain James Lancaster during the first voyage of the East India Company to the East Indies. Davis was born in the parish of Stoke Gabriel in Devon circa 1550 and it has been suggested that he learned much of his seamanship as a child while plying boats along the river Dart, and went to sea at an early age. His childhood neighbours included Adrian Gilbert and Humphrey Gilbert and their half-brother Walter Raleigh, from early on, he also became friends with John Dee. He began pitching a voyage in search of the Northwest Passage to the queens secretary Francis Walsingham in 1583. Two years later, in 1585, the secretary relented and funded the expedition, which traced Frobishers route to Greenlands east coast, around Cape Farewell, sunshine attempted to circumnavigate the island from the east. His ships were attacked by Inuit in Hamilton Inlet. A third expedition in 1587 reached 72°12N and Disko Island before being repulsed by unfavorable winds, on his return, he charted the Davis Inlet in the coast of Labrador. The log of this remained a textbook model for later captains for centuries. In 1588, he seems to have commanded Black Dog against the Spanish Armada, in 1589, he joined the Earl of Cumberland as part of the Azores Voyage of 1589. In 1591 he accompanied Thomas Cavendish on the mans last voyage and his crew was forced to kill hundreds of penguins for food on the islands, but the stored meat spoiled in the tropics and only fourteen of his 76 men made it home alive. He narrowly escaped destruction from treachery at Achin on Sumatra, from 1601 to 1603, he accompanied Sir James Lancaster as Pilot-Major on the first voyage of the English East India Company. For his part Davis was to receive if the voyage doubled its original investment. Before departure, Davis had told London merchants that pepper could be obtained in Aceh at a price of four reals of eight per hundredweight whereas it was actually 20, when the voyage returned, Lancaster complained that Davis had been wrong about both the price and availability of pepper. On this journey, he was killed off Bintan Island near Singapore by one of his captive Japanese pirates whose vessel he had just seized, Daviss explorations in the Arctic were published by Richard Hakluyt and appeared on his world map. Davis himself published a treatise on practical navigation called The Seamans Secrets in 1594. The account of Daviss last voyage was written by Michelborne on his return to England in 1606 and his invention of the backstaff and double quadrant remained popular among English seamen until long after Hadleys reflecting quadrant had been introduced
9.
Northwest Passage
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For centuries explorers sought a navigable passage as a possible trade route. Until 2009, the Arctic pack ice prevented regular marine shipping throughout most of the year, Arctic sea ice decline has rendered the waterways more navigable. If, as has been claimed, parts of the end of the Passage are barely 15 metres deep. Fully loaded, Nordic Orion was too large to sail through the Panama Canal, between the end of the 15th century and the 20th century, colonial powers from Europe dispatched explorers in an attempt to discover a commercial sea route north and west around North America. The Northwest Passage represented a new route to the trading nations of Asia. England called the northern route the Northwest Passage. The desire to establish such a route motivated much of the European exploration of both coasts of North America, when it became apparent that there was no route through the heart of the continent, attention turned to the possibility of a passage through northern waters. There was a lack of knowledge about conditions, for instance. Explorers thought that a water route close to the North Pole must exist. The belief that a route lay to the far north persisted for several centuries, many ended in disaster, including that by Sir John Franklin in 1845. While searching for him the McClure Arctic Expedition discovered the Northwest Passage in 1850, in 1906, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen first successfully completed a passage from Greenland to Alaska in the sloop Gjøa. Since that date, several fortified ships have made the journey, from east to west, the direction of most early exploration attempts, expeditions entered the passage from the Atlantic Ocean via the Davis Strait and through Baffin Bay. Five to seven routes have taken through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, via the McClure Strait, Dease Strait, and the Prince of Wales Strait. From there ships passed through waterways through the Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, on August 21,2007, the Northwest Passage became open to ships without the need of an icebreaker. According to Nalan Koc of the Norwegian Polar Institute, this was the first time the Passage has been clear since they began keeping records in 1972, the Northwest Passage opened again on August 25,2008. Thawing ocean or melting ice simultaneously opened up the Northwest Passage, awaited by shipping companies, this historic event will cut thousands of miles off their routes. We are going to see more and more as the years go by. Due to Arctic shrinkage, the Beluga group of Bremen, Germany, however, Canadas Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that ships entering the North-West passage should first report to his government
10.
Whaling
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Whaling is the hunting of whales for their usable products like meat, oil and blubber. Its earliest forms date to at least circa 3000 BC, various coastal communities have long histories of subsistence whaling and harvesting beached whales. By the late 1930s, more than 50,000 whales were killed annually In 1986, contemporary whaling is subject to intense debate. Pro-whaling countries, notably Japan, Norway, and Iceland, wish to lift the ban on certain whale stocks for hunting, anti-whaling countries and environmental groups oppose lifting the ban. Whaling began in times and was initially confined to coastal waters. Early whaling affected the development of disparate cultures – such as Norway. The Basques were the first to catch whales commercially, and dominated the trade for five centuries, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. Although prehistoric hunting and gathering is considered to have had little ecological impact. Whale oil is used today and modern commercial whaling is primarily done for food. The primary species hunted are the common minke whale and Antarctic minke whale, recent scientific surveys estimate a population of 103,000 in the northeast Atlantic. International cooperation on whaling began in 1931 and culminated in the signing of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling in 1946. Its aim is to, provide for the conservation of whale stocks. The International Whaling Commission was set up under the ICRW to decide hunting quotas, non-member countries are not bound by its regulations and conduct their own management programs. The IWC voted on July 23,1982, to establish a moratorium on commercial whaling beginning in the 1985–86 season. Since 1992, the IWCs Scientific Committee has requested that it be allowed to give proposals for some whale stocks. At the 2010 meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Morocco, Japan, Norway and Iceland have urged the organisation to lift the ban. A coalition of anti-whaling nations has offered a plan that would allow these countries to continue whaling. Their plan would also completely ban whaling in the Southern Ocean, opponents of the compromise plan want to see an end to all commercial whaling, but are willing to allow subsistence-level catches by indigenous peoples
11.
International Hydrographic Organization
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The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing hydrography. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the seas, oceans. It does this through the setting of standards, the co-ordination of the endeavours of the worlds national hydrographic offices. The IHO enjoys observer status at the United Nations where it is the competent authority on hydrographic surveying. When referring to hydrography and nautical charting in Conventions and similar Instruments, it is the IHO standards, the IHO was established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau. The present name was adopted in 1970 as part of a new international Convention on the IHO adopted by the member nations. The former name International Hydrographic Bureau was retained to describe the IHO secretariat until 8 November 2016, there were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at Washington, D. C. similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912. In 1919 the hydrographers of Great Britain and France cooperated in taking the steps to convene an international conference of hydrographers. London was selected as the most suitable place for this conference, and on 24 July 1919 and this is still the major purpose of the IHO. As a result of the conference, a permanent organization was formed, the IHB, now the IHO, began its activities in 1921 with 18 nations as members. The Principality of Monaco was selected as the seat of the organization as a result of the offer of Albert I, the IHO develops hydrographic and nautical charting standards. These standards are adopted and used by its 86 member countries and others in their surveys, nautical charts. Much has been done in the field of standardisation since the Bureau was founded, the IHO has encouraged the formation of Regional Hydrographic Commissions. Each RHC coordinates the national surveying and charting activities of countries within each region, the 15 RHCs plus the IHO Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica effectively cover the world. The IHO, in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, directs the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans programme, in 2010 the IHO introduced a new, contemporary hydrographic geospatial standard for modelling marine data and information, known as S-100. S-100 and any dependent product specifications are underpinned by an on-line registry accessible via the IHO website, S-100 is aligned with the ISO19100 series of geographic standards, thereby making it fully compatible with contemporary geospatial data standards. Because S-100 is based on ISO19100, it can be used by other providers for their maritime-related data
12.
Labrador
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Labrador /ˈlæbrədɔːr/ LAB-rə-dor is the distinct northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle. It is the largest and northernmost geographical region in Atlantic Canada, Labrador occupies the eastern part of the Labrador Peninsula. It is bordered to the west and the south by the Canadian province of Quebec, Labrador also shares a small land border with the Canadian territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island. Though Labrador covers 71 percent of the land area, it has only 8 percent of the provinces population. The aboriginal peoples of Labrador include the Northern Inuit of Nunatsiavut, the Southern Inuit-Métis of Nunatukavut, many of the non-aboriginal population in Labrador did not permanently settle in Labrador until the natural resource developments of the 1940s and 1950s. Before the 1950s, very few people lived in Labrador year-round. The few European immigrants who worked seasonally for foreign merchants and brought their families were known as Settlers, Labrador has a roughly triangular shape that encompasses the easternmost section of the Canadian Shield, a sweeping geographical region of thin soil and abundant mineral resources. Its western border with Quebec is the divide of the Labrador Peninsula. Lands that drain into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, Northern Labradors climate is classified as polar, while Southern Labradors climate is classified as subarctic. Labrador can be divided into four regions, the North Coast, Central Labrador, Western Labrador. Each of those regions is described below, from Cape Chidley to Hamilton Inlet, the long thin northern tip of Labrador holds the Torngat Mountains, named after an Inuit spirit believed to inhabit them. The mountains stretch along the coast from Port Manvers to Cape Chidley, the Torngat Mountain range is also home to Mount Caubvick, the highest point in the province. This area is predominantly Inuit, with the small Innu community of Natuashish being the exception, the north coast is the most isolated region of Labrador, with snowmobiles, boats, and planes being the only modern modes of transportation. The largest community in this region is Nain, Nunatsiavut is an Inuit self-government region in Labrador created on June 23,2000. The Settlement area comprises the majority of Labradors North Coast, while the area also includes land farther to the interior. Nain is the center of Nunatsiavut. The most populous region of Labrador, Central Labrador extends from the shores of Lake Melville into the interior and it contains the Churchill River, the largest river in Labrador and one of the largest in Canada
13.
Hudson Strait
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Hudson Strait links the Atlantic Ocean to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Quebec. The strait is about 450 mi long and its width varies from 150 mi at its largest point, to a minimum of 40 mi. The name was changed to Hudson Strait in honor of the first European to sail beyond the Furious Overfall in 1610, Hudson was followed by Thomas Button in 1612, and a more detailed mapping expedition led by William Baffin in 1615. Hudson Strait links the northern seaports of Manitoba and Ontario with the Atlantic Ocean and it could be an eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage were it not for ice in the Fury and Hecla Strait south of western Baffin Island. The South coast of Baffin Island between Lloyd Point and East Bluff, the mainland between Cape Chidley and Nuvuk Point
14.
Resolution Island (Nunavut)
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Resolution Island is one of the many uninhabited Canadian Arctic islands in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It is a Baffin Island offshore island located in Hudson Strait and it has an area of 1,015 km2. The Lower Savage Islands lie between Resolution Island and Baffin Island, while Graves Strait separates Resolution Island from the more northern Edgell Island, english explorer Martin Frobisher landed on the island on July 28,1576, while on a voyage to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. However it appears to have been named Resolution in 1612 by Sir Thomas Button, after his own ship, the island was home to an American military base, now CFS Resolution Island, that became operational in 1954 as part of the Distant Early Warning line. The base was vacated in 1973 and turned over to the Canadian government in 1974, the Canadian cargo ship named MINNA was wrecked on the east side of the island, on 18 August 1974. The vessel was then under charter by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and was doing scientific surveys at the time of the accident, badly damaged, the crew and scientific equipments were removed. Bad weather swept the vessel in waters where she sank on October 2,1974. This vessel with a length of 275 feets and displacement of 4280 tons was based in Halifax and was on charter with the BIO for hydrographic surveys on the Labrador Coast. The MINNA was built in 1962 and had a crew of 21 men +18 scientists and it was during site investigations between 1987 and 1990 that contamination at the site was first discovered. The contamination originates largely from spills from the equipment, which used polychlorinated biphenyls as insulators. Other pollutants include unused transformer fluids, hydrocarbons, asbestos and heavy metals in the buildings, Resolution Island has been identified as having the highest level of PCB contamination of all former military sites that fall under Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s responsibility in the North. In 1993 and 1994, a site assessment of the area was completed. As a result, temporary barriers were placed across drainage paths to stop the migration of PCBs into the water, further investigations were done and, in 1997, INAC initiated remediation work with Qikiqtaaluk Corporation. A large-scale remediation plan was developed, in cooperation with Environment Canada, QC, steps were taken at that time to ensure that the contaminants were not posing a risk to humans and wildlife
15.
Cape Chidley
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Cape Chidley is a headland located on the eastern shore of Killiniq Island, Canada at the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula. Cape Chidley was named by English explorer John Davis on August 1,1587 after his friend, on October 22,1943, the German submarine U-537 landed just south of Cape Chidley and set up Weather Station Kurt to collect data about the weather. Originally, Cape Chidley was meant to be the site for a radar station called N-30. It was to fall within plans for the Pinetree Line, a series of stations across the 50th parallel. Supplies were moved to the site by ship during 1951-52, Cape Chidley is located on the interprovincial boundary between the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the territory of Nunavut. It forms the northernmost point of Labrador, sometimes spelled Cape Chudleigh, Cape Chidley is sometimes misrepresented as being located on the interprovincial border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. As such, the northern and western part of Killiniq Island under Nunavuts jurisdiction drains into Ungava Bay, thus Cape Chidley is also the terminus of the Northern Divide, which separates the Arctic Ocean watershed from the Atlantic Ocean watershed. The cape marks the end of the entrance to the Hudson Strait. The closest community to Cape Chidley was Port Burwell, Nunavut, Killiniq Island itself is separated from mainland North America by the narrow McLelan Strait. The Torngat Mountains run along the coast of Labrador and terminate at Killiniq Island, the top of the knoll forming the headland at Cape Chidley has an elevation of 350 m making the cape considerably higher than either of its two flanking headlands. The Cape Chidley Islands lie at the end of the cape
16.
Graben
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In geology, a graben is a depressed block of the Earths crust bordered by parallel faults. Graben is German for ditch or trench, the plural form is either graben or grabens. A graben is a valley with an escarpment on each side caused by the displacement of a block of land downward. Graben often occur side-by-side with horsts, horst and graben structures indicate tensional forces and crustal stretching. Graben are produced from parallel normal faults, where the displacement of the wall is downward. The faults typically dip toward the center of the graben from both sides, horsts are parallel blocks that remain between graben, the bounding faults of a horst typically dip away from the center line of the horst. Single or multiple graben can produce a rift valley, in many rifts, the graben are asymmetric, with a major fault along only one of the boundaries, and these are known as half-graben. The polarity of the bounding faults typically alternates along the length of the rift. The asymmetry of a half-graben strongly affects syntectonic deposition, comparatively little sediment enters the half-graben across the main bounding fault because of footwall uplift on the drainage systems. The exception is at any offset in the bounding fault. Most of the sediment will enter the half-graben down the hanging wall side. S. Central Graben, North Sea Viking Graben, North Sea Fossa
17.
Ridge
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A ridge or mountain ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size, there are several main types of ridges, Dendritic ridge, In typical dissected plateau terrain, the stream drainage valleys will leave intervening ridges. These are by far the most common ridges and these ridges usually represent slightly more erosion resistant rock, but not always – they often remain because there were more joints where the valleys formed, or other chance occurrences. This type of ridge is somewhat random in orientation, often changing direction frequently. Similar ridges have formed in such as the Black Hills. Sometimes these ridges are called hogback ridges, oceanic spreading ridge, In tectonic spreading zones around the world, such as at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the volcanic activity forming new plate boundary forms volcanic ridges at the spreading zone. Isostatic settling and erosion gradually reduce the moving away from the zone. Crater ridges, Large meteorite strikes typically form large impact craters bordered by circular ridges, volcanic crater/caldera ridges, Large volcanoes often leave behind a central crater/caldera bordered by circular ridges. Fault ridges, Faults often form escarpments, sometimes the tops of the escarpments form not plateaus, but slope back so that the edges of the escarpments form ridges. Dune ridges, In areas of large-scale dune activity, certain types of dunes result in sand ridges, moraines and eskers, Glacial activity may leave ridges in the form of moraines and eskers. An arête is a ridge of rock that is formed by glacial erosion. Volcanic subglacial ridges, Many subglacial volcanoes create ridge-like formations when lava erupts through a glacier or ice sheet. Shutter ridges, A shutter ridge is a ridge which has moved along a fault line, typically, a shutter ridge creates a valley corresponding to the alignment of the fault that produces it
18.
Fault (geology)
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In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movement. Large faults within the Earths crust result from the action of tectonic forces. Energy release associated with movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes. A fault plane is the plane that represents the surface of a fault. A fault trace or fault line is the intersection of a plane with the ground surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on maps to represent a fault. Since faults do not usually consist of a single, clean fracture, the two sides of a non-vertical fault are known as the hanging wall and footwall. By definition, the wall occurs above the fault plane. This terminology comes from mining, when working a tabular ore body, because of friction and the rigidity of rocks, they cannot glide or flow past each other easily, and occasionally all movement stops. A fault in ductile rocks can also release instantaneously when the rate is too great. The energy released by instantaneous strain-release causes earthquakes, a common phenomenon along transform boundaries, slip is defined as the relative movement of geological features present on either side of a fault plane, and is a displacement vector. A faults sense of slip is defined as the motion of the rock on each side of the fault with respect to the other side. In practice, it is only possible to find the slip direction of faults. Based on direction of slip, faults can be categorized as, strike-slip. Dip-slip, offset is predominantly vertical and/or perpendicular to the fault trace, oblique-slip, combining significant strike and dip slip. The fault surface is usually vertical and the footwall moves either left or right or laterally with very little vertical motion. Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are known as sinistral faults. Those with right-lateral motion are known as dextral faults
19.
Paleogene
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The Paleogene is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago to the beginning of the Neogene Period 23.03 Mya. It is the beginning of the Cenozoic Era of the present Phanerozoic Eon and this period consists of the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene epochs. The terms Paleogene System and lower Tertiary System are applied to the rocks deposited during the Paleogene Period. By dividing the Tertiary Period into two periods instead of directly into five epochs, the periods are more comparable to the duration of periods of the preceding Mesozoic and Paleozoic Eras. The trend was caused by the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. During the Paleogene, the continued to drift closer to their current positions. India was in the process of colliding with Asia, subsequently forming the Himalayas, the Atlantic Ocean continued to widen by a few centimeters each year. Africa was moving north to meet with Europe and form the Mediterranean, inland seas retreated from North America early in the period. Australia had also separated from Antarctica and was drifting towards Southeast Asia, mammals began a rapid diversification during this period. Some of these mammals would evolve into forms that would dominate the land, while others would become capable of living in marine, specialized terrestrial. Those that took to the oceans became modern cetaceans, while those that took to the trees became primates, the group to which humans belong. Birds, which were well established by the end of the Cretaceous. In comparison to birds and mammals, most other branches of life remained unchanged during this period. As the Earth cooled, tropical plants became less numerous and were now restricted to equatorial regions, deciduous plants, which could survive through the seasonal climates the world was now experiencing, became more common. The Paleogene is notable in the context of offshore oil drilling, and especially in Gulf of Mexico oil exploration and these rock formations represent the current cutting edge of deep-water oil discovery. Lower Tertiary explorations to date include, Kaskida Oil Field Tiber Oil Field Jack 2 Paleogene Microfossils, 180+ images of Foraminifera
20.
Plate tectonics
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The theoretical model builds on the concept of continental drift developed during the first few decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s, the lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet, is broken up into tectonic plates. The Earths lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates, where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of boundary, convergent, divergent, or transform. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually, tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust. Along convergent boundaries, subduction carries plates into the mantle, the material lost is balanced by the formation of new crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In this way, the surface of the lithosphere remains the same. This prediction of plate tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle, earlier theories, since disproven, proposed gradual shrinking or gradual expansion of the globe. Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earths lithosphere has greater strength than the underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the result in convection. Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of the seafloor away from the ridge and drag, with downward suction. Another explanation lies in the different forces generated by forces of the Sun. The relative importance of each of these factors and their relationship to other is unclear. The outer layers of the Earth are divided into the lithosphere and asthenosphere and this is based on differences in mechanical properties and in the method for the transfer of heat. Mechanically, the lithosphere is cooler and more rigid, while the asthenosphere is hotter, in terms of heat transfer, the lithosphere loses heat by conduction, whereas the asthenosphere also transfers heat by convection and has a nearly adiabatic temperature gradient. The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate and distinct tectonic plates, Plate motions range up to a typical 10–40 mm/year, to about 160 mm/year. The driving mechanism behind this movement is described below, tectonic lithosphere plates consist of lithospheric mantle overlain by either or both of two types of crustal material, oceanic crust and continental crust. Average oceanic lithosphere is typically 100 km thick, its thickness is a function of its age, as passes, it conductively cools
21.
Strait
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A strait is a naturally formed, narrow, typically navigable waterway that connects two larger bodies of water. Most commonly it is a channel of water that lies between two land masses, some straits are not navigable, for example because they are too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago. The terms channel, pass or passage, can be synonymous and used interchangeably with strait, in Scotland firth or kyle are also sometimes used as synonyms for strait. Straits can be important shipping routes, and wars have been fought for control of them, numerous artificial channels, called canals, have been constructed to connect two bodies of water over land, such as the Suez Canal. Although rivers and canals often provide passage between two large lakes or a lake and a sea, and these seem to suit the formal definition of strait, the term strait is typically reserved for much larger, wider features of the marine environment. There are exceptions, with straits being called canals, Pearse Canal, Straits are the converse of isthmuses. That is, while a strait lies between two masses and connects two larger bodies of water, an isthmus lies between two bodies of water and connects two larger land masses. Some straits have the potential to generate significant tidal power using tidal stream turbines, tides are more predictable than wave power or wind power. The Pentland Firth may be capable of generating 10 GW, cook Strait in New Zealand may be capable of generating 5. There may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits, list of straits Media related to Straits at Wikimedia Commons
22.
Petroleum exploration in the Arctic
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The exploration of the Arctic for petroleum is considered to be extremely technically challenging. However, recent technological developments as well as relatively high oil prices have allowed for exploration, as a result, the region has received significant interest from the petroleum industry. There are 19 geological basins making up the Arctic region, some of these basins have experienced oil and gas exploration, most notably the Alaska North Slope where oil was first produced in 1968 from Prudhoe Bay. However, only half the basins – such as the Beaufort Sea and this represents 13% of the undiscovered oil in the world. It is further estimated that approximately 84% of the undiscovered oil, the USGS did not consider economic factors such as the effects of permanent sea ice or oceanic water depth in its assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. This assessment is lower than a 2000 survey, which had included lands south of the arctic circle, a recent study carried out by Wood Mackenzie on the Arctic potential comments that the likely remaining reserves will be 75% natural gas and 25% oil. Extensive drilling was done in the Canadian Arctic during the 1970s and 1980s by such companies as Panarctic Oils Ltd. After 176 wells were drilled at billions of dollars of cost and these discoveries were insufficient to justify development, and all the wells which were drilled were plugged and abandoned. Drilling in the Canadian Arctic turned out to be expensive and dangerous, the geology of the Canadian Arctic turned out to be far more complex than oil-producing regions like the Gulf of Mexico. In June 2007, a group of Russian geologists returned from a voyage on a nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy. The territory contained 10bn tonnes of gas and oil deposits, the scientists said, in the early 2012 Russia plans to start the first commercial offshore oil drilling in the Arctic, on Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea. The platform will be the first Arctic-class ice-resistant oil rig in the world, Greenland is believed by some geologists to have some of the world’s largest remaining oil resources. Prospecting is taking place under the auspices of NUNAOIL, a partnership between the Greenland Home Rule Government and the Danish state. U. S. Geological Survey found in 2001 that the waters off north-eastern Greenland, in the Greenland Sea north and south of the Arctic Circle, Greenland has offered 8 license blocks for tender along its west coast by Baffin Bay. Currently 7 of those blocks have been bid for by a combination of oil companies. The area available known as the West Disko licensing round is of an interest due to its relative accessibility compared to other Arctic basins as the area remains free of ice. As well as a number of promising geological leads and prospects from the Paleocene era, however, on September 23, Shell began drilling a top-hole over its Burger prospect in the Chukchi. And on October 3, Shell began drilling a top-hole over its Sivulliq prospect in the Beaufort Sea, as of October,2012, Conoco still plans to drill at its Devils Paw prospect in summer of 2013
23.
United States Geological Survey
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The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its resources. The organization has four science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology. The USGS is a research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, the USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, the current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is science for a changing world. The agencys previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its anniversary, was Earth Science in the Public Service. Prompted by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, the USGS was created, by a last-minute amendment and it was charged with the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain. This task was driven by the need to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the legislation also provided that the Hayden, Powell, and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30,1879. Clarence King, the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies, after a short tenure, King was succeeded in the directors chair by John Wesley Powell. Administratively, it is divided into a Headquarters unit and six Regional Units, Other specific programs include, Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location, the USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System. The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and it also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards, USGS has released the UCERF California earthquake forecast. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time, the USGS operates the streamgaging network for the United States, with over 7400 streamgages. Real-time streamflow data are available online, since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar, and planetary exploration and mapping. USGS operates a number of related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program. USGS Water data is available from their National Water Information System database
24.
Natural gas
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It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of bonds in the gas. Natural gas is a fuel used as a source of energy for heating, cooking. It is also used as fuel for vehicles and as a feedstock in the manufacture of plastics. Natural gas is found in underground rock formations or associated with other hydrocarbon reservoirs in coal beds. Petroleum is another resource and fossil fuel found in proximity to. Most natural gas was created over time by two mechanisms, biogenic and thermogenic, biogenic gas is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, landfills, and shallow sediments. Deeper in the earth, at temperature and pressure, thermogenic gas is created from buried organic material. In petroleum production gas is burnt as flare gas. The World Bank estimates that over 150 cubic kilometers of gas are flared or vented annually. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, most, Natural gas is often informally referred to simply as gas, especially when compared to other energy sources such as oil or coal. However, it is not to be confused with gasoline, especially in North America, Natural gas was used by the Chinese in about 500 BCE. They discovered a way to transport gas seeping from the ground in crude pipelines of bamboo to where it was used to salt water to extract the salt. The worlds first industrial extraction of gas started at Fredonia, New York. By 2009,66000 km³ had been used out of the total 850000 km³ of estimated remaining reserves of natural gas. An annual increase in usage of 2–3% could result in currently recoverable reserves lasting significantly less, unwanted natural gas was a disposal problem in the active oil fields. If there was not a market for natural gas near the wellhead it was expensive to pipe to the end user. In the 19th century and early 20th century, unwanted gas was burned off at oil fields
25.
Petroleum
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Petroleum is a naturally occurring, yellow-to-black liquid found in geological formations beneath the Earths surface, which is commonly refined into various types of fuels. Components of petroleum are separated using a technique called fractional distillation and it consists of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other organic compounds. The name petroleum covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude oil and petroleum products that are made up of refined crude oil. A fossil fuel, petroleum is formed when large quantities of dead organisms, usually zooplankton and algae, are buried underneath sedimentary rock, Petroleum has mostly been recovered by oil drilling. Drilling is carried out studies of structural geology, sedimentary basin analysis. Petroleum is used in manufacturing a variety of materials. Concern over the depletion of the earths finite reserves of oil, the burning of fossil fuels plays the major role in the current episode of global warming. The word petroleum comes from Greek, πέτρα for rocks and Greek, the term was found in 10th-century Old English sources. It was used in the treatise De Natura Fossilium, published in 1546 by the German mineralogist Georg Bauer, Petroleum, in one form or another, has been used since ancient times, and is now important across society, including in economy, politics and technology. Great quantities of it were found on the banks of the river Issus, ancient Persian tablets indicate the medicinal and lighting uses of petroleum in the upper levels of their society. By 347 AD, oil was produced from bamboo-drilled wells in China, early British explorers to Myanmar documented a flourishing oil extraction industry based in Yenangyaung that, in 1795, had hundreds of hand-dug wells under production. The mythological origins of the oil fields at Yenangyaung, and its hereditary monopoly control by 24 families, Pechelbronn is said to be the first European site where petroleum has been explored and used. The still active Erdpechquelle, a spring where petroleum appears mixed with water has been used since 1498, Oil sands have been mined since the 18th century. In Wietze in lower Saxony, natural asphalt/bitumen has been explored since the 18th century, both in Pechelbronn as in Wietze, the coal industry dominated the petroleum technologies. In 1848 Young set up a small business refining the crude oil, Young eventually succeeded, by distilling cannel coal at a low heat, in creating a fluid resembling petroleum, which when treated in the same way as the seep oil gave similar products. The production of oils and solid paraffin wax from coal formed the subject of his patent dated 17 October 1850. In 1850 Young & Meldrum and Edward William Binney entered into partnership under the title of E. W. Binney & Co. at Bathgate in West Lothian, the worlds first oil refinery was built in 1856 by Ignacy Łukasiewicz. The demand for petroleum as a fuel for lighting in North America, edwin Drakes 1859 well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, is popularly considered the first modern well
26.
Natural-gas processing
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Natural-gas processing begins at the well head. The composition of the raw natural gas extracted from producing wells depends on the type, depth, and location of the underground deposit, oil and natural gas are often found together in the same reservoir. The natural gas produced from oil wells is generally classified as associated-dissolved, Natural gas production absent any association with crude oil is classified as “non-associated. ”In 2009,89 percent of U. S. wellhead production of natural gas was non-associated. Natural-gas processing plants purify raw natural gas by removing common contaminants such as water, carbon dioxide, some of the substances which contaminate natural gas have economic value and are further processed or sold. A fully operational plant delivers pipeline-quality dry natural gas that can be used as fuel by residential, commercial and industrial consumers, raw natural gas comes primarily from any one of three types of wells, crude oil wells, gas wells, and condensate wells. Natural gas that comes from oil wells is typically called associated gas. This gas can have existed as a gas cap above the oil in the underground formation. Natural gas from gas wells and from wells, in which there is little or no crude oil, is called non-associated gas. Gas wells typically produce raw natural gas, while condensate wells produce raw natural gas along with other low molecular weight hydrocarbons. Those that are liquid at ambient conditions are called natural gas condensate, Natural gas is called sweet gas when relatively free of hydrogen sulfide, gas that does contain hydrogen sulfide is called sour gas. Such gas is referred to as coalbed gas or coalbed methane, coalbed gas has become an important source of energy in recent decades. Raw natural gas typically consists primarily of methane, the shortest and lightest hydrocarbon molecule and it also contains varying amounts of, Heavier gaseous hydrocarbons, ethane, propane, normal butane, isobutane, pentanes and even higher molecular weight hydrocarbons. When processed and purified into finished by-products, all of these are referred to as Natural Gas Liquids or NGL. Acid gases, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans such as methanethiol and ethanethiol, water, water vapor and liquid water. Also dissolved salts and dissolved gases, liquid hydrocarbons, perhaps some natural-gas condensate and/or crude oil. Mercury, very small amounts of mercury primarily in elemental form, naturally occurring radioactive material, natural gas may contain radon, and the produced water may contain dissolved traces of radium, which can accumulate within piping and processing equipment. This can render piping and equipment radioactive over time, the raw natural gas must be purified to meet the quality standards specified by the major pipeline transmission and distribution companies. Those quality standards vary from pipeline to pipeline and are usually a function of a pipeline systems design, in general, the standards specify that the natural gas, Be within a specific range of heating value
27.
Parliament of Greenland
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The Inatsisartut, also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament of Greenland, the autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark. It meets in Inatsisartut, on the islet of Nuuk Center in central Nuuk, there are 31 members,16 are needed for a majority. They are elected for four-year periods, the Parliament of Greenland succeeded the Provincial Council on 1 May 1979. The Parliament is led by a Presidency comprising four members of the Parliament, there are 31 members in the Assembly. The speaker is the officer of the Inatsisartut. The speaker determines which members may speak, and is responsible for maintaining order, the current speaker is Lars Emil Johansen, former leader of the Forward Party. The Speaker is nominated by the Prime Minister immediately following an election and is confirmed by members. After the election, the social-democratic Siumut has decided to form a government with two center-right parties, the Democrats and Atassut. On 27 October 2016, Siumut has pursued a different coalition government formation with both the Inuit Ataqatigiit and Partii Naleraq, leaving its two former parties in the Opposition. In terms of numbers, this is the largest coalition in the recent history of the Greenlandic Parliament
28.
Greenland Sea
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The Greenland Sea is often defined as part of the Arctic Ocean, sometimes as part of the Atlantic Ocean. However, definitions of the Arctic Ocean and its seas tend to be imprecise or arbitrary, in general usage the term Arctic Ocean would exclude the Greenland Sea. In oceanographic studies the Greenland Sea is considered part of the Nordic Seas, the Nordic Seas are the main connection between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and, as such, could be of great significance in a possible shutdown of thermohaline circulation. In oceanography the Arctic Ocean and Nordic Seas are often referred to collectively as the Arctic Mediterranean Sea, the sea has Arctic climate with regular northern winds and temperatures rarely rising above 0 °C. The West Ice forms in winter in the Greenland Sea, north of Iceland and it is a major breeding ground of harp seal and hooded seal that has been used for seal hunting for more than 200 years. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Greenland Sea as follows, a line joining the Northernmost point of Spitzbergen to the Northernmost point of Greenland. The West coast of West Spitzbergen, a line joining Straumnes to Cape Nansen in Greenland. The East and Northeast coast of Greenland between Cape Nansen and the northernmost point, while the sea is known for millennia, its first scientific investigations were carried out in 1876–1878 within the Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition. Since then, many countries, mostly Norway, Iceland and Russia have sent scientific expeditions to the area, the complex water current system was detailed in 1909 by the Fridtjof Nansen. The Greenland Sea was a hunting ground for the whaling industry for 300 years, until 1911. At that point, the formerly rich whale population here, was so depleted that the industry was no longer profitable, the remaining whales of the Greenland Sea has been protected ever since, but the populations had not shown any proof of significant regeneration. In the last 20 years, polar biologists reports an increase in the local bowhead whale population and in 2015, arctic scientists discovered a surprising abundance of them in a small area. These results may be interpreted as an sign of a beginning recovery for this particular species. The inuit hunted whales on a scale in the Greenland Sea since the fifteenth century. The Greenland Sea is bounded to the west by the island of Greenland, to the southeast, behind the Jan Mayen island lies the vast expanse of the Norwegian Sea, of which Greenland Sea may be considered an extension. Across the Fram Strait to the northeast, the sea is delimited by the Svalbard archipelago, the bottom of the Greenland Sea is a depression bounded to the south by the underwater Greenland-Iceland ridge and to the east by the Mohns Ridge and Knipovich Ridge. To the west, the bottom rises first slowly, but then rapidly toward the wide Greenland coastal strip, silts fill the submarine hollows and gorges, silty sands, gravel, boulders, and other products of erosion coat the shelves and ridges. Of those, only the Svalbard islands are inhabited, and Jan Mayen has only temporal military staff, several radio and meteorological stations operate on the island nowadays
29.
Polar Record
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Polar Record is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering all aspects of Arctic and Antarctic exploration and research. It is managed by the Scott Polar Research Institute and published by Cambridge University Press, the journal was established in 1931 and the editor-in-chief is Ian R. Stone. The journal is abstracted and indexed in, According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal was established in 1931, by The Scott Polar Research Institute which itself was founded in 1926. The main body of The Polar Record, therefore, is a resume of polar news extracted from the best available sources, the Committee of Management decided that the director of the Scott Polar Research Institute also be the editor. Therefore, the director of the institute, Frank Debenham became the founding editor of the journal. From its inception in 1931 to 1953, each volume was triennial, between years 1954 and 1987 the volumes became biennial, with three issues published every year starting in 1955. In 1988 each volume became annual, with publication of issues
30.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
31.
Moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer
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The instruments capture data in 36 spectral bands ranging in wavelength from 0.4 µm to 14.4 µm and at varying spatial resolutions. Together the instruments image the entire Earth every 1 to 2 days, MODIS has used the marine optical buoy for vicarious calibration. MODIS is succeeded by the VIIRS instrument on board the Suomi NPP satellite launched in 2011, the MODIS characterization support team is dedicated to the production of high-quality MODIS calibrated product which is a precursor to every geophysical science product. A detailed description of the MCST mission statement and other details can be found at MCST Web, with its low spatial resolution but high temporal resolution, MODIS data is useful to track changes in the landscape over time. The United States Forest Services Remote Sensing Applications Center analyzes MODIS imagery on a basis to provide information for the management. The following MODIS Level 3 datasets are available from NASA, as processed by the Collection 5 software, most of the data is available in the HDF-EOS format — a variant of Hierarchical Data Format prescribed for the data derived from Earth Observing System missions. Imaging spectroscopy NASA World Wind Official NASA site MODIS bands and spectral ranges MODIS Images of the Day MODIS Image of the Day – Google Gadget referring to MODIS image of the day
32.
Kitikmeot Region
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Kitikmeot Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. The regional seat is Cambridge Bay, before 1999, Kitikmeot Region existed under slightly different boundaries as Kitikmeot Region, Northwest Territories. Access to the capital of Iqaluit is difficult and expensive as there are no direct flights from any community in the region. For example, Iqaluit is approximately 1,069 km from Kugaaruk, in total a trip of about 3,627 km. Like the rest of Nunavut there is no access to the region. All five hamlets have certified airports, Cambridge Bay Airport, Gjoa Haven Airport, Kugaaruk Airport, Kugluktuk Airport and Taloyoak Airport, with scheduled flights by Canadian North, there are also five registered aerodromes in the region. Cambridge Bay Water Aerodrome is a floatplane base open in the summer only, Doris Lake Aerodrome, a 7,894 ft ice runway, the longest in the region which serves the Doris Lake mine. George Lake Aerodrome, an ice runway, like Doris Lake is only open from January to April, goose Lake Aerodrome also serves the Back River Gold Project and has both an ice and gravel runway. Hope Bay Aerodrome serves the Hope Bay mine site and is a gravel runway, none of the aerodromes have scheduled flights and are charter only. Bathurst Inlet and Umingmaktok have landing strips and no scheduled flights, seaplanes may land there in the summer. The region forms part of the Northwest Passage and has hosted several cruise ships, although the waterways are open in the summer there are no scheduled general passenger ships and only private yachts, such as the Octopus owned by Paul Allen, and cruise ships pass through. The region is home to the two communities in Nunavut that voted no in the 1982 division plebiscite, Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk. The region has four districts, Cambridge Bay, which covers Bathurst Inlet, Cambridge Bay. The seat is held by Keith Peterson, Gjoa Haven, which covers the community of Gjoa Haven and is held by Tony Akoak. The seat is held by Peter Taptuna the Premier of Nunavut, netsilik, which covers Taloyoak and Kugaaruk. The seat is held by Emilino Qirngnuq, former districts include Akulliq, which covered Kugaaruk and Naujaat in the Kivalliq Region. It was the ony electoral district in Nunavut to cross two regions, nattilik, which covered Gjoa Haven and Taloyoak. The previous incumbent was the former federal Minister of Health, Leona Aglukkaq, however, the party was not formed and consequently no members ran for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut which continues to run as a consensus government
33.
Bellot Strait
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Bellot Strait is a passage of water in Nunavut separating Somerset Island on the north from the Boothia Peninsula on the south. At its eastern end is the Murchison Promontory, the northernmost part of mainland North America, the 2 km wide 25 km long strait connects the Gulf of Boothia and Prince Regent Inlet on the east with Peel Sound and Franklin Strait on the west. The north side of the strait rises steeply to approximately 450 m, the current in the strait can run at up to 8 kn and often changes its direction. It is also filled with small icebergs which pose a danger to ships in the strait. The first Europeans to see the strait were Captain William Kennedy and this proved that Somerset Island was an island and that Prince Regent Inlet had a difficult westward exit. In 1858 Francis Leopold McClintock tried to pass the strait and gave up, the strait was first crossed from west to east by the Hudsons Bay Company ship Aklavik in 1937, piloted by Scotty Gall. Henry Larsen crossed it in 1942 on the first west-east transit of the Northwest Passage
34.
Dolphin and Union Strait
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Dolphin and Union Strait lies in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, between the mainland and Victoria Island. It links Amundsen Gulf, lying to the northwest, with Coronation Gulf, the southeastern end of the strait is marked by Austin Bay. It gets its name from the two used by John Richardson who first explored it in 1826. This is partly why the first explorers who ventured into this awe-inspiring, there are several islands within the strait, including the Liston and Sutton Islands, historically home to the Noahonirmiut band of Copper Inuit. The strait is about 161 km long and ranges from 32 to 64 km in width, when frozen, it is used by Barren-ground caribou, known the Dolphin and Union herd, to reach Victoria Island for the summer and to return to the mainland for the winter. Eider ducks are found in the strait. The caribou are known locally as tuktu which is understood across the circumpolar world, conversely, eider ducks are called kingalik which means, simply, big-nose. In recent decades, the local Inuvialuit have seen the reduction in average winter sea-ice thickness from roughly 6 to 7 ft in the early 1960s to about 110 to 120 cm even in the dead of winter today. There is also a preponderance of new species from flies to wasps, and new birds arriving that have never been seen before, grizzlies roam where they were once that most rare curiosity
35.
James Ross Strait
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James Ross Strait, an arm of the Arctic Ocean, is a channel between King William Island and the Boothia Peninsula in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. 180 km long, and 48 km to 64 km wide, Islands in the channel include the Clarence Islands, Tennent Islands, Beverley Island, and Matty Island. A number of polar explorers searching for the Northwest Passage sailed through the strait, the strait is named after British polar explorer James Clark Ross. James Ross Strait - Entry in the Columbia Gazetteer of North America on Bartleby. com
36.
Victoria Strait
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Victoria Strait is a strait in northern Canada that lies in Nunavut off the mainland in the Arctic Ocean. It is between Victoria Island to the west and King William Island to the east, from the north the strait links the MClintock Channel and the Larsen Sound with the Queen Maud Gulf to the south. The strait is about 100 mi long and anywhere from 50 to 80 mi wide, the strait is wide, with almost no islands, save for the rather large Royal Geographical Society Island near the Queen Maud Gulf at the extreme south of the strait. The strait has never been surveyed, however charted potions indicate several patches where the water is only 30 feet of depth. Ships drawing up to 30 feet have navigated the strait, most of the year the strait is covered with rough, heavy ice. Much of this is polar ice which has flowed down the McClintock Channel from the Viscount Melville Sound, large-scale breakup of the ice in the strait begins by late July and continues into late September when it begins to freeze again. Near the entrance of Victoria Strait was where HMS Terror and HMS Erebus became trapped during John Franklins expedition and were abandoned in 1848, due to the hazards of the strait, a longer route was used which went around King William Island. This route was easier despite having an even shallower bottom, in 1967, the Victoria Strait was used for the first time by an icebreaker, the John A. Macdonald, when travelling to the western Arctic to assist shipping. It was crossed again by the same icebreaker in 1975, and later in 1976 by the icebreakers CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent and CCGS J. E. Bernier
37.
Kivalliq Region
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The Kivalliq Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the portion of the mainland to the west of Hudson Bay together with Southampton Island, the regional seat is Rankin Inlet. The population was 10,413 in the 2016 Census, an increase of 16. 3% from the 2011 Census, before 1999, Kivalliq Region existed under slightly different boundaries as Keewatin Region, Northwest Territories. Although the Kivalliq name became official in 1999, Statistics Canada has continued to refer to the area as Keewatin Region, the Kivalliq Region is experiencing the worlds highest rate of post-glacial rebound. The remainder of the region is referred to as Unorganized Keewatin by Statistics Canada
