1.
East Falkland
–
East Falkland is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic having an area of 6,605 km2 or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two land masses, the more southerly of which is known as Lafonia, joined by a narrow isthmus that was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War. The two main centres of population in the Falklands, Stanley and Mount Pleasant, both of which are in the half of East Falkland are home to three quarters of the islands population. East Falkland, which has an area of 6,605 km2, the islands 1,668.7 km coastline has many smaller bays, inlets and headlands. The principal range of hills, the 600 m Wickham Heights runs from east to west, the highest point of the range, is Mount Usborne which has a height of 705 m. The area away from the range consists chiefly of low undulating ground, a mixture of pasture and morass, with many shallow freshwater tarns. Two inlets, Berkeley Sound and Port William, run far into the land at the extremity of the island. In contrast, Lafonia is underlain by Mesozoic rocks, a rock than the Palaeozoic rock to the north. Other scenery includes stone runs, heathland, and bogs, gypsy Cove is noted as a beauty spot. Stanley, the capital of the islands and the seaport is in East Falkland. The islands Christchurch cathedral is also in Stanley, Port Louis, at the head of Berkeley Sound, was once the seat of government. Other settlements include Port Louis, Darwin, Port San Carlos, San Carlos, Salvador, Johnsons Harbour, Fitzroy, Mare Harbour, East Falkland also has two airports with paved runways, Port Stanley Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant. There is a lighthouse at Cape Pembroke near Stanley, East Falkland contains most of the archipelagos few roads. The main industries on the island are fishing, sheep farming, government, some oats are also grown, but due to high humidity and acidic soil, the land is mainly used for grazing. As Stanley is the capital, and East Falkland is the most populous island, many cruise ships now stop there. A large economic role is played by RAF Mount Pleasant. Although these number a few hundred, their role in a population of under two thousand is significant and disproportionate. Smaller industries include horse and cattle farming, and there is recent evidence to suggest possible valuable mineral deposits on the island
2.
Erosion
–
In earth science, erosion is the action of surface processes that remove soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earths crust, then transport it away to another location. Eroded sediment or solutes may be transported just a few millimetres, the rates at which such processes act control how fast a surface is eroded. Feedbacks are also possible between rates of erosion and the amount of eroded material that is carried by, for example. Processes of erosion that produce sediment or solutes from a place contrast with those of deposition, while erosion is a natural process, human activities have increased by 10-40 times the rate at which erosion is occurring globally. At well-known agriculture sites such as the Appalachian Mountains, intensive farming practices have caused erosion up to 100x the speed of the rate of erosion in the region. Excessive erosion causes both on-site and off-site problems, on-site impacts include decreases in agricultural productivity and ecological collapse, both because of loss of the nutrient-rich upper soil layers. In some cases, the end result is desertification. Off-site effects include sedimentation of waterways and eutrophication of bodies, as well as sediment-related damage to roads. Intensive agriculture, deforestation, roads, anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl are amongst the most significant human activities in regard to their effect on stimulating erosion, however, there are many prevention and remediation practices that can curtail or limit erosion of vulnerable soils. Rainfall, and the surface runoff which may result from rainfall, produces four types of soil erosion, splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion. Splash erosion is generally seen as the first and least severe stage in the erosion process. In splash erosion, the impact of a falling raindrop creates a crater in the soil. The distance these soil particles travel can be as much as 0.6 m vertically and 1.5 m horizontally on level ground. If the soil is saturated, or if the rate is greater than the rate at which water can infiltrate into the soil. If the runoff has sufficient flow energy, it will transport loosened soil particles down the slope, sheet erosion is the transport of loosened soil particles by overland flow. Rill erosion refers to the development of small, ephemeral concentrated flow paths which function as both sediment source and sediment delivery systems for erosion on hillslopes, generally, where water erosion rates on disturbed upland areas are greatest, rills are active. Flow depths in rills are typically of the order of a few centimetres or less and this means that rills exhibit hydraulic physics very different from water flowing through the deeper, wider channels of streams and rivers. Gully erosion occurs when water accumulates and rapidly flows in narrow channels during or immediately after heavy rains or melting snow
3.
Frost heaving
–
Ice growth requires a water supply that delivers water to the freezing front via capillary action in certain soils. The weight of overlying soil restrains vertical growth of the ice, yet the force of one or more growing ice lenses is sufficient to lift a layer of soil, as much as 1 foot or more. The soil through which passes to feed the formation of ice lenses must be sufficiently porous to allow capillary action. Such soil is referred to as frost susceptible, the growth of ice lenses continually consumes the rising water at the freezing front. Differential frost heaving can crack road surfaces—contributing to springtime pothole formation—and damage building foundations, according to Beskow, Urban Hjärne described frost effects in soil in 1694. e. With little contribution from migration of water within the soil, Ice is unusual among compounds because it increases in molar volume from its liquid state, water. Most compounds decrease in volume when changing phase from liquid to solid, taber showed that the vertical displacement of soil in frost heaving can be significantly greater than that due to molar volume expansion. Taber demonstrated that liquid water migrates towards the line within soil. He showed that other liquids, such as benzene, which contracts when it freezes and this excluded molar volume changes as the dominant mechanism for vertical displacement of freezing soil. His experiments further demonstrated the development of ice lenses inside columns of soil that were frozen by cooling the surface only. The dominant cause of displacement in frost heaving is the development of ice lenses. During frost heave, one or more soil-free ice lenses grow and these lenses grow by the continual addition of water from a groundwater source that is lower in the soil and below the freezing line in the soil. The presence of soil with a pore structure that allows capillary flow is essential to supplying water to the ice lenses as they form. Owing to the Gibbs–Thomson effect of the confinement of liquids in pores and this effect allows water to percolate through the soil towards the ice lens, allowing the lens to grow. Another water-transport effect is the preservation of a few layers of liquid water on the surface of the ice lens. Faraday reported in 1860 on the layer of premelted water. Ice premelts against its own vapor, and in contact with silica, the same intermolecular forces that cause premelting at surfaces contribute to frost heaving at the particle scale on the bottom side of the forming ice lens. The thickness of such a film is temperature dependent and is thinner on the side of the particle
4.
Moraine
–
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions on Earth, through geomorphological processes. Moraines are formed from debris previously carried along by a glacier, lateral moraines are formed at the side of the ice flow and terminal moraines at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines, till-covered areas with irregular topography, moraines may be composed of debris ranging in size from silt-sized glacial flour to large boulders. The debris is typically sub-angular to rounded in shape, moraines may be on the glacier’s surface or deposited as piles or sheets of debris where the glacier has melted. Moraines may form through a number of processes, depending on the characteristics of sediment, the dynamics on the ice, moraine forming processes may be loosely divided into passive and active. Passive processes involve the placing of chaotic supraglacial sediments onto the landscape with limited reworking and these moraines are composed of supraglacial sediments from the ice surface. Active processes form or rework moraine sediment directly by the movement of ice and these form push moraines and thrust-block moraines, which are often composed of till and reworked proglacial sediment. Moraine may also form by the accumulation of sand and gravel deposits from glacial streams emanating from the ice margin and these fan deposits may coalesce to form a long moraine bank marking the ice margin. Several processes may combine to form and rework a single moraine, moraines can be classified either by origin, location with respect to a glacier or former glacier, or by shape. Some moraine types are only from ancient glaciers, while medial moraines of valley glaciers are poorly preserved. Lateral moraines are parallel ridges of debris deposited along the sides of a glacier, the unconsolidated debris can be deposited on top of the glacier by frost shattering of the valley walls and/or from tributary streams flowing into the valley. The till is carried along the glacial margin until the glacier melts, lateral moraines stand high because they protect the ice under them from the elements, causing it to melt or sublime less than the uncovered parts of the glacier. Multiple lateral moraines may develop as the glacier advances and retreats, ground moraines are till-covered areas with irregular topography and no ridges, often forming gently rolling hills or plains. They are accumulated at the base of the ice as lodgment till, in alpine glaciers, ground moraines are often found between the two lateral moraines. Ground moraines may be modified into drumlins by the overriding ice, Rogen moraines or ribbed moraines are a type of basal moraines that form a series of ribs perpendicular to the ice flow in an ice sheet. The depressions between the ribs are sometimes filled with water, making the Rogen moraines look like tigerstripes on aerial photographs, Rogen moraines are named after Lake Rogen in Härjedalen, Sweden, the landform’s type locality. End moraines, or terminal moraines, are ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited at the snout or end of the glacier and they usually reflect the shape of the glaciers terminus. Glaciers act much like a belt, carrying debris from the top of the glacier to the bottom where it deposits it in end moraines
5.
Vitosha
–
Vitosha, the ancient Scomius or Scombrus, is a volcanic mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism, convenient bus lines and rope ways render the mountain easily accessible. Vitosha has the outlines of an enormous dome, the territory of the mountain includes Vitosha nature park that encompasses the best known and most frequently visited parts. The foothills of Vitosha shelter resort quarters of Sofia, Knyazhevo quarter has mineral springs, Vitosha is the oldest nature park in the Balkans. The mountain emerged as a result of activity and has been subsequently shaped by the slow folding of the granite rock layers. It appears dome shaped at first sight, but the mountain,19 km long by 17 km wide, Vitosha is separated into four main parts whose main ridges gather at a crown known as Cherni Vrah. This is the highest point of the mountain at 2290 m and is one of 10 peaks of Vitosha over 2000 m in height. Bulgarias longest cave – Duhlata, with a length of 18,200 m, is situated in Vitosha in the karstic region near the village of Bosnek. Since the ancient times of the Thracians a large population has existed at the base of Vitosha. For the last four years the economy of this large settlement has always been connected, in one way or another. The name Vitosha comes from the two-peaked, twin ridge mountain, a meteorological station was built at the top in 1935, and is still operating. The station also serves as a rest shelter for hikers and is the headquarters for the rescue team. Historical documents show that several centuries ago Vitosha mountain was covered by the remains of the inaccessible Great Bulgarian Forest. Today, the coniferous forests of Vitosha remain only in the reserve Bistrishko Branishte. The Golden Bridges is a stone river consisting of a ribbon of huge boulders running down the mountainside and this scenic spot is located along the Vladayska River in an area of mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. However, this is one of the stone rivers found in Vitosha. Their further formation occurred due to the erosion of the sienite rocks and their gradual movement to down stream valleys by the forces of gravity. During the following year, some of the early Bulgarian reserves, Bistrishko Branishte, the park boundaries fluctuated over many years and today it encompasses the entire mountain, an area of 266.06 km²
6.
Falkland Islands
–
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 miles east of South Americas southern Patagonian coast, the archipelago, with an area of 4,700 square miles, comprises East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, the islands capital is Stanley on East Falkland. Controversy exists over the Falklands discovery and subsequent colonisation by Europeans, at various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, although Argentina maintains its claim to the islands, in April 1982, Argentine forces temporarily occupied the islands. British administration was restored two months later at the end of the Falklands War, most Falklanders favour the archipelago remaining a UK overseas territory, but its sovereignty status is part of an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The population primarily consists of native-born Falkland Islanders, the majority of British descent, other ethnicities include French, Gibraltarian and Scandinavian. Immigration from the United Kingdom, the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, under the British Nationality Act 1983, Falkland Islanders are British citizens. The islands lie on the boundary of the oceanic and tundra climate zones. They are home to bird populations, although many no longer breed on the main islands because of competition from introduced species. Major economic activities include fishing, tourism and sheep farming, with an emphasis on high-quality wool exports, oil exploration, licensed by the Falkland Islands Government, remains controversial as a result of maritime disputes with Argentina. The Falkland Islands take their name from the Falkland Sound, a strait separating the two main islands. The name Falkland was applied to the channel by John Strong, Strong named the strait in honour of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, the Treasurer of the Navy who sponsored their journey. The name Falklands was not applied to the islands until 1765, the term Falklands is a standard abbreviation used to refer to the islands. The Spanish name for the archipelago, Islas Malvinas, derives from the French Îles Malouines — the name given to the islands by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764, Bougainville, who founded the islands first settlement, named the area after the port of Saint-Malo. The port, located in the Brittany region of western France, was in turn named after St. Malo, in Spanish, the territory was designated as Islas Malvinas. The nomenclature used by the United Nations for statistical processing purposes is Falkland Islands, although Fuegians from Patagonia may have visited the Falkland Islands in prehistoric times, the islands were uninhabited at the time of their discovery by Europeans. Claims of discovery date back to the 16th century, but no consensus exists on whether these early explorers discovered the Falklands or other islands in the South Atlantic, whether or not the settlements were aware of each others existence is debated by historians
7.
Bulgaria
–
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, with a territory of 110,994 square kilometres, Bulgaria is Europes 16th-largest country. Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period and its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and Huns. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State, the following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc, in December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgarias transition into a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgarias population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised, most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are industry, power engineering. The countrys current political structure dates to the adoption of a constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative. Human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria can be traced back to the Paleolithic, animal bones incised with man-made markings from Kozarnika cave are assumed to be the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in humans. Organised prehistoric societies in Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture, Vinča culture, the latter is credited with inventing gold working and exploitation. Some of these first gold smelters produced the coins, weapons and jewellery of the Varna Necropolis treasure and this site also offers insights for understanding the social hierarchy of the earliest European societies. Thracians, one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians, began appearing in the region during the Iron Age. In the late 6th century BC, the Persians conquered most of present-day Bulgaria, and kept it until 479 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in the 5th century the area fell under Byzantine control, by this time, Christianity had already spread in the region. A small Gothic community in Nicopolis ad Istrum produced the first Germanic language book in the 4th century, the first Christian monastery in Europe was established around the same time by Saint Athanasius in central Bulgaria. From the 6th century the easternmost South Slavs gradually settled in the region, in 680 Bulgar tribes under the leadership of Asparukh moved south across the Danube and settled in the area between the lower Danube and the Balkan, establishing their capital at Pliska
8.
Scotland
–
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
9.
Prince Edward Islands
–
The Prince Edward Islands are two small islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean that are part of South Africa. The islands are named Marion Island and Prince Edward Island, further protection was granted when the area was declared a Marine Protected Area in 2013. The only human inhabitants of the islands are the staff of a meteorological and biological research station run by the South African National Antarctic Programme on Marion Island. In January 1772, the French frigate Le Mascarin, captained by Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, visited the islands and spent five days trying to land, Marion named the islands Terre de lEspérance and Ile de la Caverne. After failing to land, Le Mascarin continued eastward, discovering the Crozet Islands and landing at New Zealand, where Marion du Fresne and some of his crew were killed by natives. Julien Crozet, navigator and second in command of Le Mascarin, survived the disaster, and happened to meet James Cook at Cape Town in 1776, at the onset of Cooks third voyage. Crozet shared the charts of his expedition, and as Cook sailed from Cape Town, he passed the islands on 13 December. The first recorded landing on the islands was in 1799 by a group of French seal hunters of the Sally, another landing in late 1803 by a group of seal hunters led by American captain Henry Fanning of the Catharine found signs of earlier human occupation. The islands were frequented by sealers until about 1810, when the fur seal populations had been nearly eradicated. The first scientific expedition to the islands was led by James Clark Ross, who visited in 1840 during his exploration of the Antarctic, Ross sailed along the islands on 21 April 1840. He made observations on vast numbers of penguins, and other kinds of sea-birds and he also saw fur seals, which he supposed to be of the species Arctocephalus falklandicus. The islands were surveyed during the Challenger Expedition, led by Captain George Nares. The islands have been the location of several shipwrecks, in 1908 the Norwegian vessel Solglimt was shipwrecked on Marion Island, and survivors established a short-lived village at the north coast, before being rescued. The wreck of the Solglimt is the best-known in the islands, in 1908 the British government assumed ownership of the islands. In late 1947 and early 1948, South Africa, with Britains agreement, annexed the islands, the research station was soon enlarged and today studies regional meteorology and the biology of the islands, in particular the birds and seals. A new research base was built from 2001 to 2011 to replace older buildings on the site, the access to the station is either by boat or helicopter. A helipad and storage hangar is located behind the base structure. The island group is about 955 nmi south-east of Port Elizabeth in mainland South Africa, at 46 degrees latitude, the distance to the equator is only slightly longer than to the South Pole
10.
Crozet Islands
–
The Crozet Islands are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five districts of the French Southern. The Crozet Islands were discovered on 24 January 1772 by the expedition of French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and his second-in-command Jules Crozet landed on Île de la Possession, claiming the archipelago for France. The expedition continued east and landed at New Zealand, where Captain Marion, Crozet survived the disaster, and successfully led the survivors back to their base at Mauritius. In 1776 Crozet met James Cook at Cape Town, at the onset of Cooks third voyage, Crozet shared the charts of his ill-fated expedition, and as Cook sailed eastward he stopped at the islands, naming the western group Marion and the eastern group Crozet. In the early 19th century, the islands were visited by sealers. Subsequently, whaling was the activity around the islands, especially by the whalers from Massachusetts. In 1841 there were a dozen whaleships around the islands, within a couple of years this had increased to twenty from the United States alone. Such exploitation was short-lived, and the islands were visited for the rest of the century. Shipwrecks occurred frequently at the Crozet Islands, the British sealer, Princess of Wales, sank in 1821, and the survivors spent two years on the islands. The Strathmore was wrecked in 1875, in 1887, the French Tamaris was wrecked and her crew stranded on Île des Cochons. They tied a note to the leg of an albatross, which was seven months later in Fremantle. Because shipwrecks around the islands were so common, for some time the Royal Navy dispatched a ship every few years to look for stranded survivors, the steamship Australasian also checked for survivors en route to Australia. Between 1924 and 1955, France administered the islands as a dependency of Madagascar, Crozet Islands became part of the French Southern Territories in 1955. In 1938, the Crozet Islands were declared a nature reserve, in 1961, a first research station was set up, but it was not until 1963 that the permanent station Alfred Faure opened at Port Alfred on Île de la Possession. The station is staffed by 18 to 30 people and does meteorological, biological, and geological research, maintains a seismograph, not including minor islets or rock reefs etc. the Crozet group consists of six islands. From west to east, Group of two islands and about 20 pinnacle rocks. Previous scientific stations included La Grande Manchotière and La Petite Manchotière, analysis of magnetic anomalies on the sea floor indicates that the Crozet Plateau formed some 50 million years ago
