Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, known as the Younger Edda, Snorris Edda or, simply as Edda, is an Old Norse work of literature written in Iceland in the early 13th century. The work is assumed to have been written, or at least compiled, by the Icelandic scholar. It begins with a euhemerized Prologue, a section on the Norse cosmogony and this is followed by three distinct books, Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál and Háttatal. Seven manuscripts, dating from around 1300 to around 1600, have independent textual value, Sturluson planned the collection as a textbook. It was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse, at that time, versions of the Edda were well known in Iceland, but scholars speculated that there once was an Elder Edda which contained the poems which Snorri quotes in his Edda. The etymology of Edda remains uncertain, there are many hypotheses, and little agreement. Some argue that the word derives from the name of Oddi, Edda could therefore mean book of Oddi.
However, this assumption is generally rejected, Faulkes in his English translation of the Prose Edda commented that this is unlikely, both in terms of linguistics and history since Snorri was no longer living at Oddi when he composed his work. Another connection was made with the word óðr, which means poetry or inspiration in Old Norse, Edda means great-parent, a word used by Snorri himself in the Skáldskaparmál. That is, with the meaning, the name of a character in the Rigsthula. A final hypothesis is derived from the Latin edo, meaning I write and it relies on the fact that the word kredda is certified and comes from the Latin credo, I believe. It seems likely Snorri would have been able to invent the word, Edda in this case could be translated as Poetic Art. This is the meaning that the word was given in the Middle Ages. The name Sæmundar Edda was given by the Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson to the collection of poems contained in the Codex Regius, many of which are quoted by Snorri. Brynjólfur, along many others of his time incorrectly believed that they were collected by Sæmundr fróði.
Seven manuscripts of the Edda have survived, six compositions of the Middle Ages, no one manuscript is complete, and each has variations. In addition to three fragments, the four manuscripts are Codex Regius, Codex Wormianus, Codex Trajectinus. Codex Upsaliensis, was composed in the first quarter of the century and is the oldest manuscript preserved of the Edda of Snorri
Sea level
Mean sea level is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earths oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured. A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a low and mean high tide at a particular location. Sea levels can be affected by factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change, the term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level. Precise determination of a sea level is a difficult problem because of the many factors that affect sea level. Sea level varies quite a lot on several scales of time and this is because the sea is in constant motion, affected by the tides, atmospheric pressure, local gravitational differences, salinity and so forth. The easiest way this may be calculated is by selecting a location and calculating the mean sea level at that point, for example, a period of 19 years of hourly level observations may be averaged and used to determine the mean sea level at some measurement point.
One measures the values of MSL in respect to the land, hence a change in MSL can result from a real change in sea level, or from a change in the height of the land on which the tide gauge operates. In the UK, the Ordnance Datum is the sea level measured at Newlyn in Cornwall between 1915 and 1921. Prior to 1921, the datum was MSL at the Victoria Dock, in Hong Kong, mPD is a surveying term meaning metres above Principal Datum and refers to height of 1. 230m below the average sea level. In France, the Marégraphe in Marseilles measures continuously the sea level since 1883 and it is used for a part of continental Europe and main part of Africa as official sea level. Elsewhere in Europe vertical elevation references are made to the Amsterdam Peil elevation, satellite altimeters have been making precise measurements of sea level since the launch of TOPEX/Poseidon in 1992. A joint mission of NASA and CNES, TOPEX/Poseidon was followed by Jason-1 in 2001, height above mean sea level is the elevation or altitude of an object, relative to the average sea level datum.
It is used in aviation, where some heights are recorded and reported with respect to sea level, and in the atmospheric sciences. An alternative is to base height measurements on an ellipsoid of the entire Earth, in aviation, the ellipsoid known as World Geodetic System 84 is increasingly used to define heights, differences up to 100 metres exist between this ellipsoid height and mean tidal height. The alternative is to use a vertical datum such as NAVD88. When referring to geographic features such as mountains on a topographic map, the elevation of a mountain denotes the highest point or summit and is typically illustrated as a small circle on a topographic map with the AMSL height shown in metres, feet or both. In the rare case that a location is below sea level, for one such case, see Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Kattegat
The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits. The sea area is a continuation of the Skagerrak and may be seen as a bay of the Baltic Sea or the North Sea or, as in traditional Scandinavian usage, neither of these. The Kattegat is a shallow sea and can be very difficult and dangerous to navigate, due to the many sandy and stony reefs. There are several cities and major ports in the Kattegat, including Gothenburg, Aalborg and Frederikshavn, mentioned by descending size. The main islands of the Kattegat are Samsø, Læsø and Anholt, since the 1950s, a bridge project usually referred to as Kattegatbroen connecting Jutland and Zealand across the Kattegat has been considered. Since the late 2000s, the project has seen a renewed interest from several politicians in Denmark. The bridge is usually envisioned as connecting Hov with Samsø and Kalundborg, on the South, The limits of the Baltic Sea in the Belts and Sound, In the Little Belt, A line joining Falshöft and Vejsnæs Nakke. In the Great Belt, A line joining Gulstav and Kappel Kirke on the island of Laaland, in the Sound, A line joining Stevns Lighthouse and Falsterbo Point.
According to Den Store Danske Encyklopædi and Nudansk Ordbog, the name derives from the Dutch words kat and gat, at one point, the passable waters were a mere 3.84 km wide. The name of the Copenhagen street Kattesundet has a comparable etymological meaning, an archaic name for both the Skagerrak and Kattegat was the Norwegian Sea or Jutland Sea. Its ancient Latin name was Sinus Codanus, Control of the Kattegat, and access to it, have been important throughout the history of international seafaring. Until the completion of the Eider Canal in 1784, the Kattegat was the water route into. The dues were eventually lifted in 1857, in the Kattegat, the salinity has a pronounced two-layer structure. The upper layer has a salinity between 18‰ and 26‰ and the lower layer – separated by a strong halocline at around 15 m – has a salinity between 32‰ and 34‰. These two opposing flows transport a net surplus of 475 km3 seawater from the Baltic to the Skagerrak every year. During stronger winds, the layers in the Kattegat are completely mixed in some places, such as the Great Belt and this sets some unique conditions for the sealife here.
The Kattegat was one of the first marine dead zones to be noted in the 1970s, in recent years studies and research, has provided much insight into processes like eutrophication, and how to deal with it. The action plans sums up a range of initiatives and includes the so-called Nitrate Directives
Viking ships
Viking ships were marine vessels of unique design, built by the Vikings during the Viking Age. The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for and they were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together. Some might have had a head or other circular object protruding from the bow and stern, for design. Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade, in the literature, Viking ships are usually seen divided into two broad categories, merchant ships and warships. These categories are overlapping, some kinds of merchant ships, built for transporting cargo specifically, were regularly deployed as warships. The majority of Viking ships were designed for sailing rivers and coastal waters, while a few types, such as the knarr, could navigate the open sea and even the ocean. The Viking ships ranged from the Baltic Sea to far from the Scandinavian homelands, to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Newfoundland, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and Africa.
Scandinavia is a region with relatively high mountain ranges, dense forests. Consequently, trade routes were operated via shipping, as inland travel was both more hazardous and cumbersome. The Viking kingdoms developed into cities, all of which were deeply dependent on the North Sea. Control of the waterways was of importance, and consequently advanced war ships were in high demand. But in fact, because of their importance, ships became a mainstay of the Viking pagan religion, as they evolved into symbols of power. Throughout the first millennium, respectable Viking chieftains and noblemen were commonly buried with an intact, the Hedeby coins, among the earliest known Danish currency, have ships as emblems, showing the importance of naval vessels in the area. Through such cultural and practical significance, the Viking ship progressed into the most powerful, a faering is an open rowboat with two pairs of oars, commonly found in most boat-building traditions in Western and Northern Scandinavia, dating back to the Viking Age.
Knarr is the Norse term for ships that were built for Atlantic voyages and they were cargo ships averaging a length of about 54 feet, a beam of 15 feet, and a hull capable of carrying up to 122 tons. Because of this, the knarr was used for longer voyages, ocean going transports, the design of the knarr influenced the design of the cog, used in the Baltic Sea by the Hanseatic League. Longships were naval vessels made and used by the Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland for trade, commerce and warfare during the Viking Age. The longships design evolved over years, beginning in the Stone Age with the invention of the umiak and continuing up to the 9th century with the Nydam
European Union
The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly.
The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
Inflow (hydrology)
In hydrology, the inflow of a body of water is the source of the water in the body of water. It can refer to the volume of incoming water in unit time. All bodies of water have multiple inflows, but often, one inflow may predominate, however, in many cases, no single inflow will predominate and there will be multiple primary inflows. For a lake, the inflow may be a river or stream that flows into the lake. Inflow may be, strictly speaking, not flows, but rather precipitation, inflow can be used to refer to groundwater recharge. The dictionary definition of inflow at Wiktionary
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound and isostatic depression are different parts of a known as either glacial isostasy, glacial isostatic adjustment. Glacioisostasy is the solid Earth deformation associated with changes in ice mass distribution, the most obvious and direct effects of post-glacial rebound are readily apparent in parts of Northern Eurasia, Northern America and Antarctica. During the last glacial period, much of northern Europe, North America, the ice was as thick as three kilometres during the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago. The enormous weight of ice caused the surface of the Earths crust to deform and warp downward. Due to the viscosity of the mantle, it will take many thousands of years for the land to reach an equilibrium level. The uplift has taken place in two distinct stages, the initial uplift following deglaciation was almost immediate due to the elastic response of the crust as the ice load was removed.
After this elastic phase, uplift proceeded by slow viscous flow so the rate of uplift decreased exponentially after that, typical uplift rates are of the order of 1 cm/year or less. In northern Europe, this is shown by the GPS data obtained by the BIFROST GPS network. Studies suggest that rebound will continue for about at least another 10,000 years, the total uplift from the end of deglaciation depends on the local ice load and could be several hundred metres near the centre of rebound. Recently, the term post-glacial rebound is gradually being replaced by the glacial isostatic adjustment. An alternate term that is used is glacial isostasy, because the uplift near the centre of rebound is due to the tendency towards the restoration of isostatic equilibrium. Unfortunately, that gives the wrong impression that isostatic equilibrium is somehow reached, so by appending adjustment at the end. Post-glacial rebound produces measurable effects on vertical motion, global sea levels, horizontal crustal motion, gravity field, Earths rotational motion and state of stress.
Studies of glacial rebound give us information about the law of mantle rocks. The former is important to the study of mantle convection, plate tectonics, the latter is important to glaciology and changes in global sea level. Understanding postglacial rebound is important to our ability to monitor recent global change, erratic boulders, U-shaped valleys, eskers, kettle lakes, bedrock striations are among the common signatures of the Ice Age. In addition, post-glacial rebound has caused significant changes to coastlines and landscapes over the last several thousand years
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia just outside the outskirts of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 15th largest freshwater lake by area in the world, Ladoga Lacus, a methane lake on Saturns moon Titan, is named after the lake. In one of Nestors chronicles from the 12th century he mentions a lake called the Great Nevo, ancient Norse sagas and Hanseatic treaties both mention a city made of lakes named Old Norse Aldeigja or Aldoga. Since the beginning of the 14th century this hydronym was commonly known as Ladoga, according to T. N. Jackson, it can be taken almost for granted, that the name of Ladoga first referred to the river, the city, and only the lake. Therefore, he considers the primary hydronym Ladoga to originate in the inflow to the lower reaches of the Volkhov River whose Finnic name was Alodejoki river of the lowlands. The Germanic toponym was soon borrowed by the Slavic population and transformed by means of the Old Russian metathesis ald- → lad- to Old East Slavic, Ладога.
Other theories about the origin of the name derive it from Karelian, aalto wave and Karelian, aaltokas wavy, or from the Russian dialectal word алодь, meaning open lake, eugene Helimski by contrast, offers an etymology rooted in German. Through the intermediate form *Aldaugja, Old Norse, Aldeigja cam about, the lake has an average surface area of 17,891 km2. Its north-to-south length is 219 km and its width is 83 km. Basin area,276,000 km2, volume,837 km3, there are around 660 islands, with a total area of about 435 km2. Ladoga is, on average,5 m above sea level, most of the islands, including the famous Valaam archipelago and Konevets, are situated in the northwest of the lake. Separated from the Baltic Sea by the Karelian Isthmus, it drains into the Gulf of Finland via the Neva River, Lake Ladoga is navigable, being a part of the Volga-Baltic Waterway connecting the Baltic Sea with the Volga River. The Ladoga Canal bypasses the lake in the part, connecting the Neva to the Svir. The basin of Lake Ladoga includes about 50,000 lakes and 3,500 rivers longer than 10 km, about 85% of the water inflow is due to tributaries, 13% is due to precipitation, and 2% is due to underground waters.
Geologically, the Lake Ladoga depression is a graben and syncline structure of Proterozoic age and this Ladoga–Pasha structure, as it known, hosts Jotnian sediments. During the Pleistocene glaciations the depression was partially stripped of its sedimentary rock fill by glacial overdeepening, deglaciation following the Weichsel glaciation took place in the Lake Ladoga basin between 12,500 and 11,500 radiocarbon years BP. Lake Ladoga was initially part of the Baltic Ice Lake, a historical stage of Baltic Sea. It is possible, though not certain, that Ladoga was isolated from it during regression of the subsequent Yoldia Sea brackish stage, at 9,500 BP, Lake Onega, previously draining into the White Sea, started emptying into Ladoga via the River Svir
Sweden
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
