Earth Tides

A Complete Explanation of Land/Earth Tides Land tides, also called Earth tides, are very small deformations or movements in the Earths lithosphere (surface) caused by the gravitational fields of the sun and moon as the Earth rotates within their fields. Land tides are similar to ocean tides in how they are formed but they have very different impacts on the physical environment. Unlike ocean tides, land tides only change the Earths surface by around 12 inches (30 cm) or so twice a day. The movements caused by land tides are so small that most people are not even aware that they exist. They are very important to scientists like volcanologists and geologists however because it is believed that these small movements may be able to trigger volcanic eruptions. Causes of Land Tides Like ocean tides, the moon has the greatest effect on land tides because it is closer to the Earth than the sun. The sun does have an effect on land tides as well because of its very large size and strong gravitational field. As the Earth rotates around the sun and the moon each of their gravitational fields pull on the Earth. Because of this pull there are small deformations or bulges on the Earths surface or land tides. These bulges face the moon and the sun as the Earth rotates. Like ocean tides where water rises in some areas and it is also forced down in others, the same is true of land tides. Land tides are small though and the actual movement of the Earths surface is usually no greater than 12 inches (30 cm). Monitoring Land Tides Due to these cycles, it is relatively easy for scientists to monitor land tides. Geologists monitor the tides with seismometers, tiltmeters, and strainmeters. All of these instruments are tools that measure the motion of the ground but tiltmeters and strainmeters are capable of measuring slow ground movements. The measurements taken by these instruments are then transferred to a graph where scientists can view the distortion of the Earth. These graphs often look like undulating curves or bulges indicating the upward and downward movement of land tides. The Oklahoma Geological Surveys website provides an example of graphs created with measurements from a seismometer for an area near Leonard, Oklahoma. The graphs show smooth undulations indicating small distortions in the Earths surface. Like ocean tides, the largest distortions for land tides appears to be when there is a new or full moon because this is when the sun and moon are aligned and the lunar and solar distortions combine. Importance of Land Tides In addition to using land tides to test their equipment, scientists are interested in studying their effect on volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. They have found that although the forces causing land tides and the deformations in the Earths surface are very small they do have the power to trigger geologic events because they are causing changes in the Earths surface. Scientists have not yet found any correlations between land tides and earthquakes but they have found a relationship between the tides and volcanic eruptions because of the movement of magma or molten rock inside volcanoes (USGS). To view an in-depth discussion about land tides, read D.C. Agnews 2007 article, Earth Tides.

The Geography of Russias 21 Republics

The Geography of Russia's 21 Republics Russia, officially called the Russian Federation, is located in Eastern Europe and stretches from its borders with Finland, Estonia, Belarus, and Ukraine through the Asian continent where it meets Mongolia, China and the Sea of Okhotsk. At approximately 6,592,850 square miles, Russia is the worlds largest country based on area. Russia is so large that it covers 11 time zones. Because of its large size, Russia is divided into 83 federal subjects (members of the Russian Federation) for local administration throughout the country. Twenty-one of those federal subjects are considered republics. A republic in Russia is an area that is comprised of people who are not of Russian ethnicity. Russias republics are thus able to set their official languages and establish their constitutions. The following is a list of Russias republics ordered alphabetically. The republics continental location, area, and official languages have been included for reference. Adygea Continent: EuropeArea: 2,934 square miles (7,600 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Adyghe Altai Continent: AsiaArea: 35,753 square miles (92,600 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Altay Bashkortostan Continent: EuropeArea: 55,444 square miles (143,600 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Bashkir Buryatia Continent: AsiaArea: 135,638 square miles (351,300 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Buryat Dagestan Continent: EuropeArea: 19,420 square miles (50,300 sq km)Official Languages: Russian, Aghul, Avar, Azeri, Chechen, Dargwa, Kumyk, Lak, Lezgian, Nogai, Rutul, Tabasaran, Tat and Tsakhur Chechnya Continent: EuropeArea: 6,680 square miles (17,300 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Chechen Ingushetia Continent: EuropeArea: 1,351 square miles (3,500 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Ingush Kabardino-Balkaria Continent: EuropeArea: 4,826 square miles (12,500 sq km)Official Languages: Russian, Kabardian and Balkar Kalmykia Continent: EuropeArea: 29,382 square miles (76,100 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Kalmyk Karachay-Cherkessia Continent: EuropeArea: 5,444 square miles (14,100 sq km)Official Languages: Russian, Abaza, Cherkess, Karachay and Nogai Karelia Continent: EuropeArea: 66,564 square miles (172,400 sq km)Official Language: Russian Komi Continent: EuropeArea: 160,580 square miles (415,900 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Komi Mari El Continent: EuropeArea: 8,957 square miles (23,200 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Mari Mordovia Continent: EuropeArea: 10,115 square miles (26,200 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Mordvin Sakha Continent: AsiaArea: 1,198,152 square miles (3,103,200 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Sakha North Ossetia-Alania Continent: EuropeArea: 3,088 square miles (8,000 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Ossetic Tatarstan Continent: EuropeArea: 26,255 square miles (68,000 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Tatar Tuva Continent: AsiaArea: 65,830 square miles (170,500 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Tuvan Udmurtia Continent: EuropeArea: 16,255 square miles (42,100 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Udmurt Khakassia Continent: AsiaArea: 23,900 square miles (61,900 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Khakass Chuvashia Continent: EuropeArea: 7,065 square miles (18,300 sq km)Official Languages: Russian and Chuvash

Prehistoric Life During the Devonian Period

Prehistoric Life During the Devonian Period From a human perspective, the Devonian period was a crucial time for the evolution of vertebrate life: this was the period in geological history when the first tetrapods climbed out of the primordial seas and began to colonize dry land. The Devonian occupied the middle part of the Paleozoic Era (542-250 million years ago), preceded by the Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian periods and followed by the Carboniferous and Permian periods. Climate and Geography The global climate during the Devonian period was surprisingly mild, with average ocean temperatures of only 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (compared to as high as 120 degrees during the preceding Ordovician and Silurian periods). The North and South Poles were only marginally cooler than the areas closer to the equator, and there were no ice caps; the only glaciers were to be found atop high mountain ranges. The smallish continents of Laurentia and Baltica gradually merged to form Euramerica, while the giant Gondwana (which was destined to break apart millions of years later into Africa, South America, Antarctica, and Australia) continued its slow southward drift. Terrestrial Life Vertebrates. It was during the Devonian period that the archetypal evolutionary event in the history of life  took place: the adaptation of lobe-finned fish to life on dry land. The two best candidates for the earliest tetrapods (four-footed vertebrates) are Acanthostega and Ichthyostega, which themselves evolved from earlier, exclusively marine vertebrates like Tiktaalik and Panderichthys. Surprisingly, many of these early tetrapods possessed seven or eight digits on each of their feet, meaning they represented dead ends in evolution since all terrestrial vertebrates on earth today employ the five-finger, five-toe body plan. Invertebrates. Although tetrapods were certainly the biggest news of the Devonian period, they werent the only animals that colonized  dry land. There was also a wide array of small arthropods, worms, flightless insects and other pesky invertebrates, which took advantage of the complex terrestrial plant ecosystems that started to develop at this time to gradually spread inland (though still not too far away from bodies of water). During this time, though, the vast bulk of life on earth lived deep in the water. Marine Life The Devonian period marked both the apex and the extinction of the placoderms, prehistoric fish characterized by their tough armor plating (some placoderms, such as the enormous Dunkleosteus, attained weights of three or four tons). As noted above, the Devonian also teemed with lobe-finned fish, from which the first tetrapods evolved, as well as relatively new ray-finned fish, the most populous family of fish on earth today. Relatively small sharkssuch as the bizarrely ornamented Stethacanthus and the weirdly scaleless Cladoselachewere an increasingly common sight in the Devonian seas. Invertebrates like sponges and corals continued to flourish, but the ranks of the trilobites were thinned out, and only the giant eurypterids (invertebrate sea scorpions) successfully competed with vertebrate sharks for prey. Plant Life It was during the Devonian period that the temperate regions of the earths evolving continents first became truly green. The Devonian witnessed the first significant jungles and forests, the spread of which was aided by the evolutionary competition among plants to gather as much sunlight as possible (in a dense forest canopy, a tall tree has a significant advantage in harvesting energy over a tiny shrub). The trees of the late Devonian period were the first to evolve rudimentary bark (to support their weight and protect their trunks), as well as robust internal water-conduction mechanisms that helped to counteract the force of gravity. The End-Devonian Extinction The end of the Devonian period ushered in the second great extinction of prehistoric life on earth, the first being the mass extinction event at the end of the Ordovician period. Not all animal groups were affected equally by the End-Devonian Extinction: reef-dwelling placoderms and trilobites were especially vulnerable, but deep-sea organisms escaped relatively unscathed. The evidence is sketchy, but many paleontologists believe that the Devonian extinction was caused by multiple meteor impacts, debris from which may have poisoned the surfaces of lakes, oceans, and rivers.

Department of corrections case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Department of corrections - Case Study Example Objectives In order to go about upgrading the information systems one requirement is the identification of objectives of the department of corrections so as to determine what features will need to be included into the information system in order to achieve these objectives (Engdahl, 2010). There are a number of objectives held by this department, but the main one is the rehabilitation of convicted felons as well as the punishment of their crimes. Other objectives of the department include: †¢ Creating a safer environment for the citizens of the country by incarcerating those who project a danger to society and trying to convince them to change their ways. †¢ Providing a system that encourages the rehabilitation of the convicted felons through the inclusion of training and education programs that will provide them with skills and knowledge they can use to make a living after being released. †¢ Providing a safe environment for the felons themselves that will give them an opportunity to transform their ways during their period of incarceration (Engdahl, 2010). There are a number of measurements of accountability that can be utilized to rate the success of the department of corrections at achieving these objectives. ... The objective of creating a safer environment for members of the society and its success can be measured through studying the level of the crime rates in various regions of the country (Engdahl, 2010). A reduction in the crime rate will show that the department has managed to achieve this objective while an opposite direction will depict otherwise. The crime rate differs from region to region, but an overall perspective can also be used as a criterion of measurement. The measurement of the success of the department of corrections objective of providing a successful training and education program system can be done through follow up studies done on ex convicts who have been released (O'grady, 2011). The study can focus on whether the ex felon has been able to rebuild their life successfully and whether they used what they learned while serving their sentence. Though this may be potentially expensive to pull off, it is the most accurate way of determining the level of success of this p articular objective and the department can use volunteers who report to researchers after a period of time to reduce costs. In regard to the provision of a safe environment for the felons while in incarceration, the level of success of this objective can be determined through the observation of the level of prison crimes (that is, crimes committed by convicts within the prison) that are committed (Engdahl, 2010). A reduction in prison crimes will mean that the objective has been able to be attained. Considerations that will have to be factored into the equation include environmental with regard to the number of prisons and tactical dealing with the level of training of the prison personnel as this will affect the department’s ability to

Business Law Assinment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Law Assinment - Essay Example Additionally, being of the age of 17 years he did not have the legal capability to enter into a contract as he was a minor. Therefore, given the circumstances of the case the contract between John and the car dealer was invalid from the onset because john did not have the capability to enter into a contract. Secondly, the car that John bought was not a necessity, but a luxury as his friends had cars according to what he believed (Mann & Barry 34). Therefore, the outcome of the case would be that although John did not have the capacity to enter into the contract the car dealer relied on his word that he would make the repayments and for the reason he should pay the $500 down payment because he used the car. In the case of the car dealer, the only more he would get is the down payment as promised by the John. However, the other three installments cannot be retrieved as the contract was invalid as he enter into a contract with a minor. Entering into a contract with person who lack capacity to contract makes the contract invalid. An illegal agreement under contract law is a contract that the courts will not enforce because the reason for the agreement or the contract will not achieve a legal end. Additionally, the illegal end must also result from the performance of the contract itself. Therefore, a contract of installing a fuel tank in the lorry for putting illegal drugs not meet the legal standards of enforceability. In the case of Bovard V. American Horse Enterprises (1988) the court of Appeal in California refused to enforce a contract for the payment of promissory notes that were used to purchase a company that manufactured drug paraphernalia. Therefore, any contract that will have an illegal end is not enforceable under contract law. In the case of Jack and the mechanic, the contract was illegal because when Jack entered into the mechanic shop he told him the true intention of the extra gas tank. For that reason, he did bot mislead him into believing

Business Plan Implementation Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business Plan Implementation - Personal Statement Example Coral Reef Adventures will dive seven days each week and visit a variety of dive sites each day. With over 25 unique dive sites available off the coast of Palm Beach, divers will experience a truly remarkable diving experience. The Coral Reef will operate from a beautiful 38’ Canaveral Custom Boat or equivalent docked at the Riverian Beach Marina. The boat will be well equipped with a professional captain and crew to serve its guests. There will be a Certified Dive Masters on every trip, oxygen and Nitrox fills on board, complimentary soft drinks and snacks and a fresh water rinse area for all to enjoy. Coral Reef Adventures, Inc. will accommodate up to 25-30 customers at a time. The boat will be equipped with 9 well trained staff and state of the art equipment, to make each trip a safe and enjoyable adventure. The company’s mission will be to deliver a variety of programs and packages that appeal to all skill levels. It provides maximum frequencies and options to guests and demonstrates abilities to showcase best dive charter with the best service and safety conscience crew the Florida â€Å"Gold Coast† has to offer. Finally, it endeavors to provide extra value added amenities, the competition does not offer to all guests. My goal is to engender a business that performs at a consistent profitable level, and as my four Sons finish their educational careers, it is my intention to integrate each one into different functions of the business. I would like the company to have acquired 25 new boats from the current single boat in the next 10 years, and grow by an average of $ 2million per year in revenue. I will need to impart teamwork, good communication, reliability and responsiveness to my team. Besides, I will recruit those who have a passion for diving and have shown credible track record in doing honest and ethical business. I will also motivate my employees by reviewing their monthly paychecks upwards. The new technology and social

Hate Crime Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hate Crime Prevention - Essay Example In order to eradicate hate crimes, it is important to understand the nature of hate crimes. Hate crime is generally defined as "an attack on an individual or his or her property (e.g., vandalism, arson, assault, murder) in which the victim is intentionally selected because of his or her race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or sexual orientation" (U.S. Dept. of Education [USDOE], n.d.). Hate crime is a serious problem as thousands of hate crime incidents are reported every year. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] (2004), there were 7,649 reported incidents of hate crime in 2004, with more than half of those incidents were related to racial discrimination. These crimes mostly involved anti-black bias, while a small percentage was based on anti-white bias. Some of the reported hate crimes are based on religious discrimination, sexual orientation bias, ethnicity and even disability bias (FBI, 2004). Racial discrimination remains to be the bigges t issue related to hate crimes. Already there are several programs that have been developed for schools and communities to help avoid the incidence of hate crimes. ... Studies also show that people who commit hate crimes are not mentally ill, although they generally exhibit anti-social and aggressive behaviors (DeAngelis, 2001). They also tend to show discriminative and violent behaviors, so it could be possible to prevent a hate crime by discouraging bias and violence in the school. This could be done by teaching students that subtle forms of discrimination such as offensive name-calling, stereotyping, group exclusion are hurtful and could lead to head crime incidents (USDOE, n.d.). Since profiled perpetrators of hate crimes are generally not mentally ill, it is possible to appeal to feelings of empathy. Students should also be taught a way of dealing with conflict in a non-violent way. It could start in minor ways such as painting over graffiti and forming discussion groups on how to express disappointments and frustrations in a non-violent manner. DeAngelis (2001) reviewed several studies made on hate crimes and found that the tendency to commit hate crimes is rooted on stereotypes that people make on other people or groups of people that are outside their own group. It is always difficult for people to understand other cultures who come to dwell in their society, especially when they have not heard anything about those other cultures. When this happens, people tend to generalize, instead of seeing the "different" people as individuals. This attitude can be seen in how typical Americans see people who migrated from other countries. This difficulty in adjusting to "group outsiders" is more serious in young people who are at that stage where they have a need to belong and leave out people who are different. All of these issues have to be elaborated and discussed in