1.
Abuja
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Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria located in the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory. It is a city and was built mainly in the 1980s. Abujas geography is defined by Aso Rock, a 400-metre monolith left by water erosion, the Presidential Complex, National Assembly, Supreme Court and much of the city extend to the south of the rock. Zuma Rock, a 792-metre monolith, lies just north of the city on the road to Kaduna State, at the 2006 census, the city of Abuja had a population of 776,298, making it one of the ten most populous cities in Nigeria. According to the United Nations, Abuja grew by 139. 7% between 2000 and 2010, making it the fastest growing city in the world. The unofficial metropolitan area of Abuja has a population of well over three million, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, surpassed only by Lagos, Kano, as at 2016, the metropolitan area of Abuja is estimated at 6 million persons. Major religious sites include the Nigerian National Mosque and the Nigerian National Christian Centre, the city is served by the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. Abuja is known for being one of the few capital cities in Africa. The indigenous inhabitants of Abuja are the Gbagyi as the language, Bassa, Gwandara, Gade, Ganagana. The location was designated in the centre of the country in the early 1970s as it signified neutrality. Another impetus for Abuja came because of Lagos population boom that made that city overcrowded, the logic used was similar to the way Brazil planned its capital, Brasília. Construction broke ground and was dedicated in the late 1970s but, due to economic and political instability, the master plan for Abuja defined the general structure and major design elements of the city that are visible in its current form. Most countries relocated their embassies to Abuja, and many maintain their former embassies as consulates in Lagos, Abuja is the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States and the regional headquarters of OPEC. Abuja and the FCT have experienced population growth, it has been reported that some areas around Abuja have been growing at 20% to 30% per year. Squatter settlements and towns have spread rapidly in and outside the city limits, tens of thousands of people have been evicted since former FCT minister Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai started a demolition campaign in 2003. Along the Airport Road are clusters of settlements, namely Lugbe, Chika, Kuchigworo. Other satellite settlements are Idu, Mpape, Karimu, Gwagwa, Abujas Central District, also called Central Area, spans from the foot of Aso Rock, across the Three Arms Zone, to the southern base of the inner ring road. It is like the citys spinal cord, dividing it into the sector with Maitama and Wuse
2.
Mojave Desert
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The Mojave Desert is an arid rain-shadow desert and the driest desert in North America. It is located in the southwestern United States, primarily within southeastern California and southern Nevada, very small areas also extend into Utah and Arizona. The central part of the desert is sparsely populated, while its peripheries support large communities such as Las Vegas, Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, the Mojave Desert is bordered by the Great Basin Desert to its north and the Sonoran Desert to its south and east. Topographical boundaries include the Tehachapi Mountains to the west, and the San Gabriel Mountains, the mountain boundaries are distinct because they are outlined by the two largest faults in California – the San Andreas and Garlock faults. The Mojave Desert displays typical basin and range topography and it occupies less than 50,000 sq mi, making it the smallest of the North American deserts. The Mojave Desert is often referred to as the desert, in contrast to the low desert. However, the Mojave Desert is generally lower than the Great Basin Desert to the north, the spelling Mojave originates from the Spanish language while the spelling Mohave comes from modern English. The Mojave Desert receives less than 13 in of rain a year and is generally between 2,000 and 5,000 feet in elevation, zion National Park in Utah lies at the junction of the Mojave, the Great Basin Desert, and the Colorado Plateau. Despite its aridity, the Mojave has long been a center of production, fed by irrigation coming from groundwater. The Mojave is a desert of temperature extremes and two distinct seasons, winter months bring comfortable daytime temperatures, which dip precipitously to around 20 °F on valley floors, and below 0 °F at higher elevations. Storms moving from the Pacific Northwest can bring rain and in places even snow. More often, the shadow created by the Sierra Nevada as well as mountain ranges within the desert such as the Spring Mountains, bring only clouds. By early June, it is rare for another Pacific storm to have a significant impact on the regions weather, summer weather is dominated by heat. Temperatures on valley floors can soar above 120 °F and above 130 °F at the lowest elevations, low humidity, high temperatures, and low pressure, draw in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico creating thunderstorms across the desert southwest known as the North American monsoon. Autumn is generally pleasant, with one to two Pacific storm systems creating regional rain events, october is one of the driest and sunniest months in the Mojave, and temperatures usually remain between 70 °F and 90 °F on the valley floors. After temperature, wind is the most significant weather phenomenon in the Mojave, during the June Gloom, cooler air can be pushed out into the desert from Southern California. In Santa Ana wind events, hot air from the desert blows out into the Los Angeles basin, wind farms in these areas generate power from these winds. The other major factor in the region is elevation
3.
Santa Barbara, California
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Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County in the U. S. state of California. Situated on a section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States. Santa Barbaras climate is described as Mediterranean, and the city has been promoted as the American Riviera. The population of the county in 2010 was 423,895. In 2004, the sector accounted for fully 35% of local employment. Education in particular is well represented, with four institutions of learning on the south coast. The Santa Barbara Airport serves the city, as does Amtrak, U. S. Highway 101 connects the Santa Barbara area with Los Angeles to the southeast and San Francisco to the northwest. Behind the city, in and beyond the Santa Ynez Mountains, is the Los Padres National Forest, Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary are located approximately 20 miles offshore. Evidence of human habitation of the area begins at least 13,000 years ago, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Chumash lived on the south coast of Santa Barbara County at the time of the first European explorations. Five Chumash villages flourished in the area, portuguese explorer João Cabrilho, sailing for the Kingdom of Spain, sailed through what is now called the Santa Barbara Channel in 1542, anchoring briefly in the area. In 1602, Spanish maritime explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno gave the name Santa Barbara to the channel, a land expedition led by Gaspar de Portolà visited in 1769, and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, who accompanied the expedition, named a large native town Laguna de la Concepcion. Cabrillos earlier name, however, is the one that has survived, the first permanent European residents were Spanish missionaries and soldiers under Felipe de Neve, who came in 1782 to build the Presidio. They were sent both to fortify the region against expansion by other such as England and Russia. Many of the Spaniards brought their families with them, and those formed the nucleus of the small town – at first just a cluster of adobes – that surrounded the Presidio, the Santa Barbara Mission was established on the Feast of Saint Barbara, December 4,1786. It was the tenth of the California Missions to be founded by the Spanish Franciscans and it was dedicated by Padre Fermín Lasuén, who succeeded Padre Junipero Serra as the second president and founder of the California Franciscan Mission Chain. The Mission fathers began the work of converting the native Chumash to Christianity. The Chumash laborers built a connection between the creek and the Santa Barbara Mission water system through the use of a dam. During the following decades, many of the natives died of such as smallpox
4.
Photographic filter
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In photography and videography, a filter is a camera accessory consisting of an optical filter that can be inserted into the optical path. Sometimes they are used to make subtle changes to images. In monochrome photography coloured filters affect the brightness of different colours. Others change the balance of images, so that photographs under incandescent lighting show colours as they are perceived. There are filters that distort the image in a way, diffusing an otherwise sharp image, adding a starry effect. Linear and circular polarising filters reduce oblique reflections from non-metallic surfaces, many filters absorb part of the light available, necessitating longer exposure. As the filter is in the path, any imperfections—non-flat or non-parallel surfaces, reflections, scratches. There is no universal naming system for filters. The Wratten numbers adopted in the twentieth century by Kodak. Colour correction filters are often identified by a code of the form CC50Y—CC for colour correction,50 for the strength of the filter, photographic filters sell in larger quantities at correspondingly lower prices than many laboratory filters. The article on optical filters has material relevant to photographic filters, in digital photography the majority of filters used with film cameras have been rendered redundant by digital filters applied either in-camera or during post processing. Exceptions include the ultraviolet filter typically used to protect the front surface of the lens, the neutral density filter, the polarising filter, the only use of a clear filter is to protect the front of a lens. UV filters are used to block ultraviolet light, to which most photographic sensors. Normally, the glass or plastic of a lens is practically opaque to short-wavelength UV. A UV filter passes all or nearly all of the visible spectrum and it can be left on the lens for nearly all shots, UV filters are often used mainly for lens protection in the same way as clear filters. Strong UV filters are sometimes used for warming color photos taken in shade with daylight-type film. While in certain cases, such as harsh environments, a filter may be necessary. Arguments for the use of protection include, If the lens is dropped
5.
Optical phenomena
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Optical phenomena are any observable events that result from the interaction of light and matter. See also list of topics and optics. A mirage is an example of an optical phenomenon, common optical phenomena are often due to the interaction of light from the sun or moon with the atmosphere, clouds, water, dust, and other particulates. One common example is the rainbow, when light from the sun is reflected and refracted by water droplets, some, such as the green ray, are so rare they are sometimes thought to be mythical. Others, such as Fata Morganas, are commonplace in favored locations, other phenomena are simply interesting aspects of optics, or optical effects. For instance, the colors generated by a prism are often shown in classrooms, optical phenomena include those arising from the optical properties of the atmosphere, the rest of nature, of objects, whether natural or human-made, and of our eyes. Also listed here are unexplained phenomena that could have an optical explanation, there are many phenomena that result from either the particle or the wave nature of light. Some are quite subtle and observable only by precise measurement using scientific instruments, one famous observation is of the bending of light from a star by the Sun observed during a solar eclipse. This demonstrates that space is curved, as the theory of relativity predicts, afterglow Airglow Alexanders band, the dark region between the two bows of a double rainbow. Some consider many of these mysteries to simply be local tourist attractions that are not worthy of thorough investigation. Minnaert, Light and Color in the Outdoors, ISBN 0-387-97935-2 John Naylor Out of the Blue, A 24-hour Skywatchers Guide, CUP,2002, ISBN 0-521-80925-8 Abenteuer im Erdschatten
6.
Smoke
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It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires, but may also be used for pest control, communication, defensive and offensive capabilities in the military, cooking, or smoking. Smoke is used in rituals where incense, sage, or resin is burned to produce a smell for spiritual purposes, smoke is sometimes used as a flavoring agent, and preservative for various foodstuffs. Smoke is also a component of internal combustion engine exhaust gas, smoke inhalation is the primary cause of death in victims of indoor fires. The smoke kills by a combination of damage, poisoning and pulmonary irritation caused by carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide. Smoke is an aerosol of solid particles and liquid droplets that are close to the range of sizes for Mie scattering of visible light. This effect has been likened to three-dimensional textured privacy glass — a smoke cloud does not obstruct an image, the composition of smoke depends on the nature of the burning fuel and the conditions of combustion. High temperature also leads to production of nitrogen oxides, sulfur content yields sulfur dioxide, or in case of incomplete combustion, hydrogen sulfide. Carbon and hydrogen are almost completely oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, fires burning with lack of oxygen produce a significantly wider palette of compounds, many of them toxic. Partial oxidation of carbon produces carbon monoxide, nitrogen-containing materials can yield hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, hydrogen gas can be produced instead of water. Content of halogens such as chlorine may lead to production of e. g. hydrogen chloride, phosgene, dioxin, hydrogen fluoride can be formed from fluorocarbons, whether fluoropolymers subjected to fire or halocarbon fire suppression agents. Phosphorus and antimony oxides and their products can be formed from some fire retardant additives. Heterocyclic compounds may be also present, heavier hydrocarbons may condense as tar, smoke with significant tar content is yellow to brown. Partial oxidation of the released hydrocarbons yields in a palette of other compounds, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols. The visible particulate matter in such smokes is most commonly composed of carbon, other particulates may be composed of drops of condensed tar, or solid particles of ash. The presence of metals in the fuel yields particles of metal oxides, particles of inorganic salts may also be formed, e. g. ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, or sodium chloride. Inorganic salts present on the surface of the particles may make them hydrophilic. Many organic compounds, typically the aromatic hydrocarbons, may be adsorbed on the surface of the solid particles. Metal oxides can be present when metal-containing fuels are burned, e. g. solid rocket fuels containing aluminium, depleted uranium projectiles after impacting the target ignite, producing particles of uranium oxides
7.
Fog
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Fog consists of visible cloud water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earths surface. Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud and is influenced by nearby bodies of water, topography. In turn, fog has affected many human activities, such as shipping, travel, the term fog is typically distinguished from the more generic term cloud in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated locally. By definition, fog reduces visibility to less than 1 kilometre, for aviation purposes in the UK, a visibility of less than 5 kilometres but greater than 999 metres is considered to be mist if the relative humidity is 70% or greater, below 70%, haze is reported. Fog forms when the difference between air temperature and dew point is less than 2.5 °C or 4 °F, Fog begins to form when water vapor condenses into tiny liquid water droplets suspended in the air. Water vapor normally begins to condense on condensation nuclei such as dust, ice, Fog, like its elevated cousin stratus, is a stable cloud deck which tends to form when a cool, stable air mass is trapped underneath a warm air mass. Fog normally occurs at a relative humidity near 100% and this occurs from either added moisture in the air, or falling ambient air temperature. However, fog can form at lower humidities, and can fail to form with relative humidity at 100%. At 100% relative humidity, the air cannot hold additional moisture, thus, Fog can form suddenly and can dissipate just as rapidly. The sudden formation of fog is known as flash fog, Fog commonly produces precipitation in the form of drizzle or very light snow. Drizzle occurs when the humidity of fog attains 100% and the cloud droplets begin to coalesce into larger droplets. This can occur when the fog layer is lifted and cooled sufficiently, drizzle becomes freezing drizzle when the temperature at the surface drops below the freezing point. The inversion boundary varies its altitude primarily in response to the weight of the air above it, the marine layer, and any fogbank it may contain, will be squashed when the pressure is high, and conversely, may expand upwards when the pressure above it is lowering. Fog can form in a number of ways, depending on how the cooling that caused the condensation occurred, radiation fog is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by thermal radiation in calm conditions with clear sky. The warm ground produces condensation in the air by heat conduction. In perfect calm the fog layer can be less than a meter deep, radiation fogs occur at night, and usually do not last long after sunrise, but they can persist all day in the winter months especially in areas bounded by high ground. Radiation fog is most common in autumn and early winter, examples of this phenomenon include the Tule fog. Ground fog is fog that obscures less than 60% of the sky, advection fog occurs when moist air passes over a cool surface by advection and is cooled
8.
Mist
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Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in air. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion and it is most commonly seen where warm, moist air meets sudden cooling, such as in exhaled air in the winter, or when throwing water onto the hot stove of a sauna. It can be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the humidity and it can also occur as part of natural weather, when humid air cools rapidly, for example when the air comes into contact with surfaces that are much cooler than the air. The formation of mist, as of other suspensions, is aided by the presence of nucleation sites on which the suspended water phase can congeal. The only difference between mist and fog is visibility, the phenomenon is called fog if the visibility is one kilometre or less. In the UK the definition of fog is visibility less than 100 metres, otherwise it is known as mist. Mist makes a beam of light visible from the side via refraction and reflection on the water droplets. Scotch mist is a steady drizzle. Mist usually occurs near the shores, and is associated with fog. Mist can be as high as mountain tops when extreme temperatures are low, freezing mist is similar to freezing fog, only the density is less and the visibility greater. Aerosol Aeroponics Brocken spectre Drizzle Haze Spray
9.
Sand
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Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. It is defined by size, being finer than gravel and coarser than silt, Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type, i. e. a soil containing more than 85% sand-sized particles by mass. The second most common type of sand is calcium carbonate, for example aragonite, for example, it is the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years like the Caribbean. Sand is a non renewable resource over human timescales, and sand suitable for making concrete is in high demand, in terms of particle size as used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. An individual particle in this size is termed a sand grain. Sand grains are between gravel and silt, a 1953 engineering standard published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials set the minimum sand size at 0.074 mm. A1938 specification of the United States Department of Agriculture was 0.05 mm. Sand feels gritty when rubbed between the fingers. ISO14688 grades sands as fine, medium and coarse with ranges 0.063 mm to 0.2 mm to 0.63 mm to 2.0 mm. In the United States, sand is commonly divided into five sub-categories based on size, very fine sand, fine sand, medium sand, coarse sand, and very coarse sand. These sizes are based on the Krumbein phi scale, where size in Φ = -log2D, on this scale, for sand the value of Φ varies from −1 to +4, with the divisions between sub-categories at whole numbers. The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources. The gypsum sand dunes of the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico are famous for their bright, arkose is a sand or sandstone with considerable feldspar content, derived from weathering and erosion of a granitic rock outcrop. Some sands contain magnetite, chlorite, glauconite or gypsum, Sands rich in magnetite are dark to black in color, as are sands derived from volcanic basalts and obsidian. Chlorite-glauconite bearing sands are typically green in color, as are sands derived from basaltic with a high olivine content, many sands, especially those found extensively in Southern Europe, have iron impurities within the quartz crystals of the sand, giving a deep yellow color. Sand deposits in some areas contain garnets and other resistant minerals, the study of individual grains can reveal much historical information as to the origin and kind of transport of the grain. Quartz sand that is weathered from granite or gneiss quartz crystals will be angular. It is called grus in geology or sharp sand in the trade where it is preferred for concrete. Sand that is transported long distances by water or wind will be rounded, people who collect sand as a hobby are known as arenophiles
10.
Snow
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Snowstorms organize and develop by feeding on sources of atmospheric moisture and cold air. Snowflakes nucleate around particles in the atmosphere by attracting supercooled water droplets, snowflakes take on a variety of shapes, basic among these are platelets, needles, columns and rime. As snow accumulates into a snowpack, it may blow into drifts, over time, accumulated snow metamorphoses, by sintering, sublimation and freeze-thaw. Where the climate is cold enough for year-to-year accumulation, a glacier may form, otherwise, snow typically melts seasonally, causing runoff into streams and rivers and recharging groundwater. Major snow-prone areas include the regions, the upper half of the Northern Hemisphere and mountainous regions worldwide with sufficient moisture. In the Southern Hemisphere, snow is confined primarily to mountainous areas, Snow affects ecosystems, as well, by providing an insulating layer during winter under which plants and animals are able to survive the cold. Snow develops in clouds that themselves are part of a weather system. The physics of snow crystal development in clouds results from a set of variables that include moisture content. The resulting shapes of the falling and fallen crystals can be classified into a number of shapes and combinations. Occasionally, some plate-like, dendritic and stellar-shaped snowflakes can form under clear sky with a cold temperature inversion present. Two additional and locally productive sources of snow are lake-effect storms and elevation effects, miid-latitude cyclones are low pressure areas which are capable of producing anything from cloudiness and mild snow storms to heavy blizzards. During a hemispheres fall, winter, and spring, the atmosphere over continents can be cold enough through the depth of the troposphere to cause snowfall, in the Northern Hemisphere, the northern side of the low pressure area produces the most snow. For the southern mid-latitudes, the side of a cyclone that produces the most snow is the southern side, a cold front, the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, can produce frontal snowsqualls—an intense frontal convective line, when temperature is near freezing at the surface. The strong convection that develops has enough moisture to produce whiteout conditions at places which line passes over as the wind causes intense blowing snow. This type of snowsquall generally lasts less than 30 minutes at any point along its path, in cases where there is a large amount of vertical growth and mixing the squall may develop embedded cumulonimbus clouds resulting in lightning and thunder which is dubbed thundersnow. A warm front can produce snow for a period, as warm, moist air overrides below-freezing air, often, snow transitions to rain in the warm sector behind the front. The same effect occurs over bodies of salt water, when it is termed ocean-effect or bay-effect snow. The effect is enhanced when the air mass is uplifted by the orographic influence of higher elevations on the downwind shores
11.
Agriculture
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Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of human civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science, the history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology, genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts, the major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals, vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber and bamboo, other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, field, Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in certain species of ant, termite and ambrosia beetle. To practice agriculture means to use resources to produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops. This definition includes arable farming or agronomy, and horticulture, all terms for the growing of plants, even then, it is acknowledged that there is a large amount of knowledge transfer and overlap between silviculture and agriculture. In traditional farming, the two are often combined even on small landholdings, leading to the term agroforestry, Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin, wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago, rice was domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. From around 11,500 years ago, the eight Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago, cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown time
