1.
United Arab Emirates
–
In 2013, the UAEs population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates. The country is a federation of seven emirates, and was established on 2 December 1971, the constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by a monarch, together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the monarchs is selected as the President of the United Arab Emirates, Islam is the official religion of the UAE and Arabic is the official language. The UAEs oil reserves are the seventh-largest in the world while its natural gas reserves are the worlds seventeenth-largest, Sheikh Zayed, ruler of Abu Dhabi and the first President of the UAE, oversaw the development of the Emirates and steered oil revenues into healthcare, education and infrastructure. The UAEs economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city, nevertheless, the country remains principally reliant on its export of petroleum and natural gas. The UAE is criticised for its rights record, including the specific interpretations of Sharia used in its legal system. The UAEs rising international profile has led analysts to identify it as a regional. It appears the land of the Emirates has been occupied for thousands of years, there is no proof of contact with the outside world at that stage, although in time it developed with civilisations in Mesopotamia and Iran. This contact persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, in ancient times, Al Hasa was part of Al Bahreyn and adjoined Greater Oman. Sassanid groups were present on the Batinah coast, in 637, Julfar was an important port that was used as a staging post for the Islamic invasion of the Sassanian Empire. The area of the Al Ain/Buraimi Oasis was known as Tuam and was an important trading post for camel routes between the coast and the Arabian interior. The earliest Christian site in the UAE was first discovered in the 1990s, a monastic complex on what is now known as Sir Bani Yas Island. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 AD, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully in 750 AD and it forms a rare physical link to a legacy of Christianity which is thought to have spread across the peninsula from 50 to 350 AD following trade routes. Certainly, by the 5th century, Oman had a bishop named John – the last bishop of Oman being Etienne, in 676 AD. This led to a group of travelling to Medina, converting to Islam and subsequently driving a successful uprising against the unpopular Sassanids. Following the death of Prophet Muhammad, the new Islamic communities south of the Persian Gulf threatened to disintegrate, with insurrections against the Muslim leaders. The Caliph Abu Bakr sent an army from the capital Medina which completed its reconquest of the territory with the battle of Dibba in which 10,000 lives are thought to have been lost
2.
Land reclamation
–
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill, is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds, or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as ground or land fill. In a number of jurisdictions, including parts of the United States. In Alberta, Canada, for example, reclamation is defined by the government as The process of reconverting disturbed land to its former or other productive uses. In Oceania it is referred to as land rehabilitation. Land reclamation can be achieved with a number of different methods, the most simple method involves simply filling the area with large amounts of heavy rock and/or cement, then filling with clay and dirt until the desired height is reached. The process is called infilling and the used to fill the space is generically called infill. Draining of submerged wetlands is often used to land for agricultural use. Deep cement mixing is used typically in situations in which the material displaced by either dredging or draining may be contaminated, the creation of new land was for the need of human activities. Notable examples include, Much of the coastlines of Mumbai, India and it took over 150 years to join the original seven islands of Mumbai. Much of the coastlines of Mainland China, Hong Kong, North Korea and it is estimated that nearly 65% of tidal flats around the Yellow Sea have been reclaimed. Inland lowlands in the Yangtze valley, China, including the areas of important cities like Shanghai, Much of the coastline of Karachi, Pakistan. A part of the Hamad International Airport in Qatar, around 36 square kilometres, the entire island of The Pearl-Qatar situated in West Bay, Qatar. The city-state of Singapore, where land is in supply, is also famous for its efforts on land reclamation. The Palm Islands, The World and hotel Burj al-Arab off Dubai in the United Arab Emirates The Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and it is one of the six divisions of Malé City. The Eko Atlantic in Lagos, Nigeria, mexico City, the chinampas are a famous example. Parts of Panama City urban and street development are based on reclaimed land, aeroparque Jorge Newbery, in Buenos Aires, Argentina One of the earliest large scale projects was the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands, realized in 1612 adding 70 square kilometres of land. In Hong Kong the Praya Reclamation Scheme added 20 to 24 hectares of land in 1890 during the phase of construction
3.
Persian Gulf
–
The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, the Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and it is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, the body of water is historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. Some Arab governments refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or The Gulf, the name Gulf of Iran is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf is geologically young, having been formed around 15,000 years ago. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast, the Persian Gulf is about 56 km wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Persian Gulfs southern limit as The Northwestern limit of Gulf of Oman and this limit is defined as A line joining Ràs Limah on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh on the coast of Iran. The Persian Gulf and its areas are the worlds largest single source of crude oil. Safaniya Oil Field, the worlds largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf, large gas finds have also been made, with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line. Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquefied natural gas, the oil-rich countries that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. In 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire established the first ancient empire in Persis, consequently, in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by the Achaemenid king Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. This water channel separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago. Before being given its present name, the Persian Gulf was called many different names, the classical Greek writers, like Herodotus, called it the Red Sea. In Babylonian texts, it was known as the sea above Akkad, the name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia, has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s
4.
Palm Islands
–
Palm Islands are three artificial islands, Palm Jumeirah, Deira Island and Palm Jebel Ali, on the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As of November 2014, only Palm Jumeirah has been completed and this island takes the form of a palm tree, topped by a crescent. The creation of the Palm Islands began in June 2001, shortly after, the Palm Islands was announced and reclamation work began. This island was meant to be an island, but it was later downsized. An island was planned and construction started, but this project was later remodelled and renamed to The Palm Islands, the Palm Jumeirah consists of a tree trunk, a crown with 16 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometer-long breakwater. The island itself is five kilometers by five kilometers and it adds 78 kilometers to the Dubai coastline. Residents began moving into Palm Jumeirah properties at the end of 2006, a Monorail opened in 2009, but is not connected to other public transport. The Palm Jebel Ali began construction in October 2002 and was expected to be completed in mid-2015, sediment stirred up by construction has suffocated and injured local marine fauna and reduced the amount of sunlight which filters down to seashore vegetation. Dubais megaprojects have become a cause of environmentalists. Greenpeace has criticized the Palm Islands for lack of sustainability, oyster beds have been covered in as much as two inches of sediment, while above the water, beaches are eroding with the disruption of natural currents. Palm Jumeirah was built entirely from sand and rocks and this was done in accordance with the order of the Prince of Dubai, who came up with the idea for the Palm Islands, as well as their design. Palm Jumeirah is host to a hotel, Atlantis, robert Berger Mounir Hevar Scott Hutchinson Samuel OCarroll 5.5 million cubic metres of rock brought from over 16 quarries in Dubai. 94 million cubic metres of sand brought from deep sea beds 6 nautical miles from the coast of Dubai,210 million cubic metres of rock, sand and limestone The 9/11 event in the year 2001 resulted in fewer tourists to Dubai, hitting their economy hard. This significantly slowed down the project, another important constraint was that the time estimated for completion of the project was too long. To make the process on top of the island faster,40,000 workers were hired working at 2 different shifts per day. Storm frequency of 1 in 1 year, weak soil due to constant exposure to rising sea water. Erosion is one of the biggest problems present, as it strips away the sand which forms the majority of the island, damage to the marine ecology, including disturbances in the reproductive cycles of the species of fish that were close to the shores of Dubai. g. Shifting of sand, moving boulders and the effects of the vibrat Due to the shape of the right outside the coast of Dubai
5.
Monorail
–
A monorail is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail. The term is used to describe the beam of the system. Colloquially, the monorail is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style of track, not its elevation, with Mono meaning one, monorails have found applications in airport transfer and medium capacity metros. To differentiate monorails from other modes, the Monorail Society says “Monorail n. A single rail serving as a track for passenger or freight vehicles, in most cases rail is elevated, but monorails can also run at grade, below grade or in subway tunnels. Vehicles either are suspended from or straddle a narrow guide way. Monorail vehicles are wider than the way that supports them. ”Monorails are often elevated, sometimes leading to confusion with other elevated systems such as the Docklands Light Railway, Vancouver SkyTrain and the AirTrain JFK. Monorail vehicles often appear similar to light vehicles, and can be staffed or unstaffed. They can be individual rigid vehicles, articulated single units, or multiple units coupled into trains, unlike some trams and light rail systems, modern monorails are always separated from other traffic and pedestrians. From the passengers perspective, monorails can have advantages over trains, buses. As with other grade-separated transit systems, monorails avoid red lights, intersection turns, as with other elevated transit systems, monorail passengers enjoy sunlight and views and by watching for familiar landmarks, they can know better when to get off to reach their destinations. As with other systems, expensive and noisy ventilation systems are not necessary if the cars have traditional windows that can be opened by passengers, monorails can be quieter than diesel buses and trains. They obtain electricity from the structure, eliminating costly and unsightly overhead power lines and poles. Compared to the train systems of New York, Chicago and elsewhere. See Chicago L Under the Monorail Society beam width criterion, some but not all systems are considered monorails, such as the Transrapid. Maglevs differ from other monorails in that they do not physically contact the beam, the first monorail prototype was made in Russia in 1820 by Ivan Elmanov. Attempts at creating monorail alternatives to conventional railways have been made since the part of the 19th century
6.
Dubai Metro
–
The Dubai Metro is a driverless, fully automated metro rail network in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Red Line and Green Line are operational, with three further lines planned and these first two lines run underground in the city centre and on elevated viaducts elsewhere. All trains and stations are air conditioned with platform edge doors to make this possible, architecture firm Aedas designed the metros 45 stations, two depots and operational control centres. The Al Ghurair Investment group were the metros builders, the Dubai Metro is the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula and either the second in the Arab World or the third. A major expansion of the Red Line to add 15 kilometres of track, as of February 2017 the extension to the Red Line till Expo 2020 is fully operational. More than 110,000 people, or nearly 10 percent of Dubai’s population, the Dubai Metro carried 10 million passengers from launch on 9 September 2009 to 9 February 2010 with 11 stations operational on the Red Line. Engineering consultancy Atkins provided full multidisciplinary design and management of the works on Dubai Metro. Until 2016, The Dubai Metro was the worlds longest fully automated metro network with a route length of 75 kilometres. However, its route length have since been surpassed by the fully automated driverless Vancouver SkyTrain as of December 2016. Planning of the Dubai Metro began under the directive of Dubais ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who expected other projects to attract 15 million visitors to Dubai by 2010, in May 2005, a AED12.45 billion/US$3. This was to be completed by June 2010, a second phase contract was subsequently signed in July 2006 and includes extensions to the initial routes. The Red Line partially opened at 9 minutes and 9 seconds past 9 pm on 9 September 2009, inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum. The construction cost of the Dubai Metro project has shot up by about 80 per cent from the original AED15.5 billion/US$4.2 billion to AED28 billion/US$7.8 billion, the authorities contradicted this, saying that the cost of the project did not overshoot. They attributed the increase in expenditure to the changes in the scope. Work officially commenced on the construction of the metro on 21 March 2006, in February 2009, a top RTA Rail Agency official said the US$4.2 billion Dubai Metro project would be completed on schedule despite the global crisis. However, only 10 out of 29 metro stations of the red line opened on 9 September 2009, Construction of all 29 metro stations on the Red Line was declared complete on 28 April 2010 by the acting chief of the RTA Rail Agency. Seven more stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line opened on 30 April 2010, ten new trains were pressed into service, giving a total of 22 trains in service when the stations opened. The seven stations are, Emirates Station, Airport Terminal 1 Station, Dubai Internet City Station, Al Karama Station, Emirates Towers Station, Marina Station and Ibn Battuta Station
.jpg)
