The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body of scientists drawn from around the world, will use its next assessment due in 2014 to look at how the impact of global warming is falling unequally on the poorest developing countries.

Two hundred key members of the IPCC met in Venice last week to begin scoping out its fifth assessment. Rajendra Pachauri, the body's chairman, told reporters at the UN building in New York today that the panel was determined to increase its understanding of local and regional impacts of rising temperatures.

There was an awareness, he said, that in Africa in particular there was insufficient scientific and modelling fire-power to be able to predict in any detail what was likely to happen under global warming. "It's critically important that we create the capacity in Africa to be able to assess the impact of climate change."

A portion of the money the panel was awarded for the 2007 Nobel peace prize that it shared with Al Gore has been put into a trust specifically to help the least developed countries predict, and thus prepare for, the likely consequences.

Pachauri said the fifth assessment, the first draft of which is scheduled for 2013, would concentrate both on adaptations and mitigations that countries could make as rising temperatures take hold. "Every nation and community in the world will have to adapt [to] whatever happens in Copenhagen."

Pachauri said he had been heartened by the recent G8 meeting in which the world's industrialised powers agreed on an aspirational ceiling of 2C temperature rise. But he said that in that case they should also have signed up to the IPCC's conclusion that to contain global temperatures within that limit, emissions of greenhouse gases had to peak in 2015 and decline rapidly thereafter.

"They should have categorically stated that by 2020 they will implement deep cuts in emissions. So there are several gaps that are rather glaring." He went on to say that "the time has come for the global community to take action. There is frustration about the gap between our knowledge [of climate change] and acting on that knowledge."

Another area that the IPCC will home in on in its fifth assessment is extreme weather caused by climate change, a topic that has garnered mounting public attention in recent years.

The solar eclipse that will take place on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 will be a total eclipse of the Sun. It will be the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting at greatest eclipse 6 minutes, 39 seconds, it has sparked tourist interest in eastern China and India.[1][2][3].

The eclipse is part of series 136 in the Saros cycle, like the record setting Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991. The exceptional duration is a result of the moon being near perigee, with the diameter of the moon 8% larger than the sun (magnitude 1.080). This is second in the series of three eclipses in a month. There was a lunar eclipse on July 7 and now a solar eclipse on July 22 and then a lunar eclipse on August 6.


Visibility

It will be visible from a narrow corridor through nothern Maldives, northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

Totality will be visible in many large cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Dinajpur, Guwahati, Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam.[4][5] According to some experts, Taregana[6][7] in Bihar is the "best" place to view the event.

A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of South East Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania.

Taregana is treated as one of the best locations to see this solar eclipse.


Duration

This solar eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the twenty-first century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality will last for up to 6 minutes and 580 seconds, with the maximum eclipse occurring in the ocean at 02:35:21 UTC about 100 km south of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan. The North Iwo Jima island is the landmass with totality time closest to maximum.

Urban Legend

According to majority of scientists earthquakes are not caused by the moon or any event such as this, no matter how long the eclipse lasts or how significant it is from other eclipses. The moon's gravitational pull is only known to cause tides. In this instance also there is a high probability for a mild change in ocean tides during the eclipse which should not be mistaken for a Tsunami.[8]

However, there has been an unendorsed earthquake prediction by a software developer who specializes in Computer Game physics and has posted an article on a blog post.[9] His statement is based on an existing theory by James O. Berkland[10] originally posted on National Geographic.[11] According to this speculation, the combined gravitational pull of sun and moon during the long total eclipse will cause a undersea tectonic uplift in south of Japan resulting a major tsunami. However, the author states that this is only a hypothesis and acknowledges that he is not qualified to make a formal prediction. The news is swiftly gaining attention worldwide as an electronic chain letter.[12] Mainstream scientists and media have already rejected this hypothesis stating that there is no credible evidence to prove any correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes.[13][14][15]

NEW DELHI, July 21 (Bernama) -- While Indian sky gazers anxiously await for the first solar eclipse of the 21st century, Indian scientists are busying preparing to study its impact on animals and marine lives.

In Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, zoologists have been collecting animal behaviour data to analyse how they would react when the solar eclipse crosses the state on Wednesday morning.

"We want to see how wild animals behave, how their behaviour deviates during the solar eclipse because their biological clock will change.

"For this project, we have selected about 41 different carnivorous animals and for the last 15 days, we have been observing how these animals behave," A. K. Khare, the park's deputy director told Bernama.

Every morning at the national park, zookeepers are keeping a close watch on lions, tigers, leopards, snakes, crocodiles and birds.

The solar eclipse would pass over India on July 22, lasting for about six minutes and 39 seconds (between 5.30am and 7.30am) and it would be best witnessed from cities like Bhopal, Patna and Varanasi.

Meanwhile, in the state of Gujarat, a team of biologists from the Veer Marmad South Gujarat University has started a research to probe the eclipse's effect on aquatic life.

Dr Mohini Gadhia, the university's head of the Aquatic Biology department, is leading a four-member research team to investigate behavioural pattern in aquatic animals.

"For the next three days, we will be monitoring how gold fish, carp and prawn would behave. This control study will be videographed to see if there are any changes in their breathing pattern, swimming, changes in (body) colours or physiological changes," she told Bernama from Surat.

Her team began its observation today at 5am, where scientists are monitoring selected aquatic animals placed in aquariums.

In Surat, the eclipse is expected to last for about three minutes.

-- BERNAMA

Find out how we assess the risk posed and read details on the different sources of floods.

Flooding is a natural event. It occurs when there is heavy rainfall that fills rivers and streams above their normal capacity, or if there are very high river or coastal tides that cause levels to rise or surge. The excess water that gathers cannot be restrained by normal boundaries (such as a river embankment) and follows the path of least resistance.

This means areas that are low lying and close to the source of a flood will be the most vulnerable. Floods can also occur when rainwater collects on the ground and cannot find a source to drain into. A typical example is surface water run-off (for example, if you are located at the bottom of a hill or slope of ground). Localised flooding mainly happens when the ground cannot absorb any more water in a particular area, or if sewers and underground drains become blocked or cannot cope with the excess water trying to drain into them.

Other sources of flooding

Floods can happen anywhere at anytime, caused by rising ground water levels, burst water drains, hillside run-off from sudden rain and more.
Be prepared

Even if you're not directly at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, you could still be affected by floods from other sources.

Even if you live miles away from the coastline or a river, there's still a chance flooding could affect you. Take a look at your location. Is it at the bottom of a hill or valley, or in an area below sea level? If the answer to either of these questions is 'yes', it may be worth taking extra precautions.

Properties located at the bottom of hills - even small ones - can be vulnerable to rain water surface run-off, which can be dangerous during excessive rain. You may also be susceptible to groundwater flooding. In addition, blocked sewers can feed back and flood your home.

Flooding from surface water - how are we responding?

Much of the flooding in the summer of 2007 was due to surface water, not to rivers flooding. Government and the Pitt Report have identified flooding from surface water as a priority issue.
What is flooding from surface water?

Surface water flooding happens when the ground, rivers and drains cannot absorb heavy rainfall. Typically this type of flooding is very localised and happens very quickly after the rain has fallen, making it difficult to give any warning.

Flooding from surface water is much more complex to try to predict than flooding from rivers. It often happens in urban areas where there is little open ground to absorb rainfall, and where manmade drainage systems may be overwhelmed.
What have we done so far?

In September 2008, we sent out CDs showing areas susceptible to surface water flooding to Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) and Regional Resilience Teams (RRTs) to help them plan their response to flooding from surface water emergencies.

In July 2009, we updated 40 per cent of the data, and re-released it to professional partners through a secure web site. We also sent the data to Local Planning Authorities for the first time, to point out areas where further investigation is needed.
Collecting historic flood data

We are also collecting historic data on flooding from all our professional partners. While many local authorities, utilities and others have helped already, we need more data. This will let us give you back the most accurate national historical map of flooding in England and Wales ever compiled, and help us all manage flooding.
How will the draft Flood and Water Management Bill help us manage surface water?

The draft Flood and Water Management Bill, published in April 2009, brings some clarity to surface water management. While we would have a strategic overview for all flooding and coastal erosion in England, our executive duties and capital projects would continue to concentrate on risk-based protection for rivers and the sea.

The proposed duty for local authorities is to produce local flood risk management plans - covering flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses.

The bill also proposes removal of the automatic right to connect new developments to the public sewerage system, and legal requirements for sustainable drainage. These measures for surface water and sewerage management would also address important water quality issues, as well as flood risk issues.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake.[3][4] The resulting tsunami itself is given various names, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Asian Tsunami, Indonesian Tsunami, and Boxing Day Tsunami.

The earthquake was caused by subduction and triggered a series of devastating tsunami along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing more than 225,000 people in eleven countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand were the hardest hit.

With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. This earthquake had the longest duration of faulting ever observed, between 8.3 and 10 minutes. It caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as 1 cm (0.4 inches)[5] and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska.[6]

The plight of the many affected people and countries prompted a widespread humanitarian response. In all, the worldwide community donated more than $7 billion (2004 U.S. dollars) in humanitarian aid.

Causes

A tsunami can be generated when convergent or destructive plate boundaries abruptly move and vertically displace the overlying water. It is very unlikely that they can form at divergent (constructive) or conservative plate boundaries. This is because constructive or conservative boundaries do not generally disturb the vertical displacement of the water column. Subduction zone related earthquakes generate the majority of all tsunamis.

Tsunamis have a small amplitude (wave height) offshore, and a very long wavelength (often hundreds of kilometers long), which is why they generally pass unnoticed at sea, forming only a slight swell usually about 300 mm above the normal sea surface. They grow in height when they reach shallower water, in a wave shoaling process described below. A tsunami can occur at any state of the tide and even at low tide will still inundate coastal areas if the incoming waves surge high enough.

On April 1, 1946, a magnitude-7.8 (Richter Scale) earthquake occurred near the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. It generated a tsunami which inundated Hilo on the island of Hawai'i with a 14 m high surge. The area where the earthquake occurred is where the Pacific Ocean floor is subducting (or being pushed downwards) under Alaska.

Examples of tsunami being generated at locations away from convergent boundaries include Storegga during the Neolithic era, Grand Banks 1929, Papua New Guinea 1998 (Tappin, 2001). In the case of the Grand Banks and Papua New Guinea tsunamis an earthquake caused sediments to become unstable and subsequently fail. These slumped and as they flowed down slope a tsunami was generated. These tsunami did not travel transoceanic distances.

It is not known what caused the Storegga sediments to fail. It may have been an overloading of the sediments resulting in failure or an earthquake may have destabilized them. Still another theory is that a release of gas hydrates (methane etc.,) caused the slump.

The 1960 Valdivia earthquake (Mw 9.5) (19:11 hrs UTC), 1964 Alaska earthquake (Mw 9.2), and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake (Mw 9.2) (00:58:53 UTC) are recent examples of powerful megathrust earthquakes that generated tsunamis (known as teletsunamis) that can cross entire oceans. Smaller (Mw 4.2) earthquakes in Japan can trigger tsunamis (called local and regional tsunamis) that can devastate nearby coasts within 15 minutes or less.

In the 1950s, it was hypothesised[who?] that larger tsunamis than had previously been believed possible may be caused by landslides, explosive volcanic eruptions (e.g., Santorini and Krakatau), and impact events when they contact water. These phenomena rapidly displace large volumes of water, as energy from falling debris or expansion is transferred to the water into which the debris falls at a rate faster than the ocean water can absorb it. They have been named by the media as megatsunami.

Tsunami caused by these mechanisms, unlike the trans-oceanic tsunami caused by some earthquakes, may dissipate quickly and rarely affect coastlines distant from the source due to the small area of sea affected. These events can give rise to much larger local shock waves (solitons), such as the landslide at the head of Lituya Bay 1958, which produced a wave with an initial surge estimated at 524 m. However, an extremely large gravitational landslide might generate a so-called megatsunami that may have the ability to travel trans-oceanic distances.


Characteristics
While everyday wind waves have a wavelength (from crest to crest) of about 100 metres (330 ft) and a height of roughly 2 metres (6.6 ft), a tsunami in the deep ocean has a wavelength of about 200 kilometres (120 mi). This wave travels at well over 800 kilometres per hour (500 mph), but due to the enormous wavelength the wave oscillation at any given point takes 20 or 30 minutes to complete a cycle and has an amplitude of only about 1 metre (3.3 ft).[10] This makes tsunamis difficult to detect over deep water. Their passage usually goes unnoticed by ships.

As the tsunami approaches the coast and the waters become shallow, the wave is compressed due to wave shoaling and its forward travel slows below 80 kilometres per hour (50 mph). Its wavelength diminishes to less than 20 kilometres (12 mi) and its amplitude grows enormously, producing a distinctly visible wave. Since the wave still has a wavelength on the order of several km (a few miles), the tsunami may take minutes to ramp up to full height, with victims seeing a massive deluge of rising ocean rather than a cataclysmic wall of water. Open bays and coastlines adjacent to very deep water may shape the tsunami further into a step-like wave with a steep breaking front.

Signs of an approaching tsunami
The monument to the victims of tsunami at Laupahoehoe, Hawaii

There is often no advance warning of an approaching tsunami. However, since earthquakes are often causes of tsunami, any earthquake occurring near a body of water may generate a tsunami if it occurs at shallow depth, is of moderate or high magnitude, and the water volume and depth is sufficient.

If the first part of a tsunami to reach land is a trough (draw back) rather than a crest of the wave, the water along the shoreline may recede dramatically, exposing areas that are normally always submerged. This can serve as an advance warning of the approaching tsunami which will rush in faster than it is possible to run. If people are in a coastal area where the sea suddenly draws back (many survivors report an accompanying sucking sound), their only real chance of survival is to run for high ground or seek the high floors of high rise buildings. This occurred in Phuket Thailand, at Maikhao beach. Ten-year old Tilly Smith of Surrey, England, was on the beach with her parents and sister, and having learned about tsunamis recently in school, was able to warn her family that a tsunami might be imminent. Her parents warned others on the beach and the hotel staff minutes before the tsunami hit. Ms. Smith is credited with saving dozens of lives as a result of her recent geography lesson. She gave credit to her geography teacher, Mr. Andrew Kearney.

In the 2004 tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean drawback was not reported on the African coast or any other eastern coasts it inundated, when the tsunami approached from the east. This was because of the nature of the wave—it moved downwards on the eastern side of the fault line and upwards on the western side. It was the western pulse that inundated coastal areas of Africa and other western areas.

About 80% of all tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, but are possible wherever large bodies of water are found, including inland lakes.[citation needed] They may be caused by landslides, volcanic explosions, bolides and seismic activity.

According to an article in "Geographical" magazine (April 2008), the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004 was not the worst that the region could expect. Professor Costas Synolakis of the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California co-authored a paper in "Geophysical Journal International" which suggests that a future tsunami in the Indian Ocean basin could affect locations such as Madagascar, Singapore, Somalia, Western Australia and many others. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 300,000 people with many bodies either being lost to the sea or unidentified. Some unofficial estimates have claimed that approximately 1 million people may have died directly or indirectly solely as a result of the tsunami.[citation needed]
Warnings and prevention
Tsunami hazard sign at Bamfield, British Columbia
A seawall at Tsu, Japan

A tsunami cannot be prevented or precisely predicted—even if the right magnitude of an earthquake occurs in the right location. Geologists, oceanographers, and seismologists analyse each earthquake and based upon many factors may or may not issue a tsunami warning. However, there are some warning signs of an impending tsunami, and there are many systems being developed and in use to reduce the damage from tsunami. One of the most important systems that is used and constantly monitored are bottom pressure sensors. These are anchored and attached to buoys. Sensors on the equipment constantly monitor the pressure of the overlying water column. This is deduced through the calculation:

\,\! P = \rho gh

where
P = the overlying pressure in Newtons per metre square,
ρ = the density of the seawater= 1.1 x 103 kg/m3,
g = the acceleration due to gravity= 9.8 m/s2 and
h = the height of the water column in metres.

Hence for a water column of 5,000 m depth the overlying pressure is equal to

\,\! P = \rho gh=(1.1 * 10^3 \frac{kg}{m^3})(9.8 \frac{m}{s^2})(5.0 * 10^3 m)=5.4*10^7 \frac{N}{m^2}=54 MPa

or about 5500 tonnes per metre square.[citation needed]

In instances where the leading edge of the tsunami wave is the trough, the sea will recede from the coast half of the wave's period before the wave's arrival. If the slope of the coastal seabed is shallow, this recession can exceed many hundreds of meters. People unaware of the danger may remain at or near the shore out of curiosity, or for collecting fish from the exposed seabed. During the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, the sea withdrew and many people then went onto the exposed sea bed to investigate. Pictures taken show people on the normally submerged areas with the advancing wave in the background. Most people who were on the beach were unable to escape to high ground and died.
A tsunami warning sign on a seawall in Kamakura, Japan, 2004. In the Muromachi period, a tsunami struck Kamakura, destroying the wooden building that housed the colossal statue of Amida Buddha at Kotokuin. Since that time, the statue has been outdoors.

Regions with a high risk of tsunami may use tsunami warning systems to detect tsunami and warn the general population before the wave reaches land. On the west coast of the United States, which is prone to Pacific Ocean tsunami, warning signs advise people of evacuation routes.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning System is based in Honolulu. It monitors all sesimic activity that occurs anywhere within the Pacific. Based up the magnitude and other information a tsunami warning may be issued. It is important to note that the subduction zones around the Pacific are seismically active, but not all earthquakes generate tsunami and for this reason computers are used as a tool to assist in analysing the risk of tsunami generation of each and every earthquake that occurs in the Pacific Ocean and the adjoining land masses.

As a direct result of the Indian Ocean tsunami, a re-appraisal of the tsunami threat of all coastal areas is being undertaken by national governments and the United Nations Disaster Mitigation Committee. A tsunami warning system is currently being installed in the Indian Ocean.

Computer models can predict tsunami arrival—observations have shown that predicted arrival times are usually within minutes of the actual time. Bottom pressure sensors are able to relay information in real time and based upon the readings and other information about the seismic event that triggered it and the shape of the seafloor (bathymetry) and coastal land (topography), it is possible to estimate the amplitude and therefore the surge height, of the approaching tsunami. All the countries that border the Pacific Ocean collaborate in the Tsunami Warning System and most regularly practice evacuation and other procedures to prepare people for the inevitable tsunami. In Japan such preparation is a mandatory requirement of government, local authorities, emergency services and the population.
Tsunami Evacuation Route signage along U.S. Route 101, in Washington

Some zoologists hypothesise that animals may have an ability to sense subsonic Rayleigh waves from an earthquake or a tsunami. Some animals seem to have the ability to detect natural phenomena and if correct, careful observation and monitoring could possibly provide advance warning of earthquakes, tsunami etc. However, the evidence is controversial and has not been proven scientifically. There are some unsubstantiated claims that animals before the Lisbon quake were restless and moved away from low lying areas to higher ground. Yet many other animals in the same areas drowned. The phenomenon was also noted by media sources in Sri Lanka in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[11][12] It is possible that certain animals (e.g., elephants) may have heard the sounds of the tsunami as it approached the coast. The elephants reaction was to move away from the approaching noise—inland. Some humans, on the other hand, went to the shore to investigate and many drowned as a result.

It is not possible to prevent a tsunami. However, in some tsunami-prone countries some earthquake engineering measures have been taken to reduce the damage caused on shore. Japan has implemented an extensive programme of building tsunami walls of up to 4.5 m (13.5 ft) high in front of populated coastal areas. Other localities have built floodgates and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami. However, their effectiveness has been questioned, as tsunami often surge higher than the barriers. For instance, the Okushiri, Hokkaidō tsunami which struck Okushiri Island of Hokkaidō within two to five minutes of the earthquake on July 12, 1993 created waves as much as 30 m (100 ft) tall—as high as a 10-story building. The port town of Aonae was completely surrounded by a tsunami wall, but the waves washed right over the wall and destroyed all the wood-framed structures in the area. The wall may have succeeded in slowing down and moderating the height of the tsunami, but it did not prevent major destruction and loss of life.[13]

The effects of a tsunami may be mitigated by natural factors such as tree cover on the shoreline. Some locations in the path of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami escaped almost unscathed as a result of the tsunami's energy being absorbed by trees such as coconut palms and mangroves. In one striking example, the village of Naluvedapathy in India's Tamil Nadu region suffered minimal damage and few deaths as the wave broke up on a forest of 80,244 trees planted along the shoreline in 2002 in a bid to enter the Guinness Book of Records.[14] Environmentalists have suggested tree planting along stretches of seacoast which are prone to tsunami risks. It would take some years for the trees to grow to a useful size, but such plantations could offer a much cheaper and longer-lasting means of tsunami mitigation than the construction of artificial barriers.
Tsunami in history
Main article: Historic tsunami

Tsunami are not rare, with at least 25 tsunami occurring in the last century. Of these, many were recorded in the Asia–Pacific region—particularly Japan. The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami caused approximately 350,000 deaths and many more injuries.

As early as 426 B.C. the Greek historian Thucydides inquired in his book History of the Peloponnesian War about the causes of tsunami, and argued correctly that it could only be explained as a consequence of ocean earthquakes.[2] He was thus the first in the history of natural science to correlate quakes and waves in terms of cause and effect:[3]

The cause, in my opinion, of this phenomenon must be sought in the earthquake. At the point where its shock has been the most violent the sea is driven back, and suddenly recoiling with redoubled force, causes the inundation. Without an earthquake I do not see how such an accident could happen.[15]

The Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (Res Gestae 26.10.15-19) described the typical sequence of a tsunami, including an incipient earthquake, the sudden retreat of the sea and a following gigantic wave, after the 365 A.D. tsunami devastated Alexandria.[16][17]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Satellites can spot the leading edge of a tsunami, U.S. government researchers said on Wednesday in a study that might lead to better ways of detecting the giant waves and get people out of their way.

They went back and looked at satellite images in the Indian Ocean as the December 2004 tsunami raced across to destroy coastlines in Thailand, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. They found clear patterns in the water.

"We've found that roughness of the surface water provides a good measure of the true strength of the tsunami along its entire leading edge," Oleg Godin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement.

"This is the first time that we can see tsunami propagation in this way across the open ocean."

A giant earthquake in Indonesia triggered the 2004 tsunami, which killed more than 228,000 people.

Governments have since rushed to complete an early warning system of mid-ocean buoys that would detect such waves as they pass by. But such a system is imperfect and might miss areas, especially as the buoys cannot be placed everywhere.

Tsunamis can only usually be seen when they enter shallow water. In the depths of an ocean, the water they displace barely shows -- although this tiny movement can also be detected by satellites.

The satellites that can do this, however, do not cover all the world's seas.

Godin's team found that tsunamis crossing the open ocean stir up and darken the surface waters along the leading edge of the wave. Many ordinary satellites can detect the dark pattern, they reported in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences.

Possible drug targets revealed in flatworms that cause schistosomiasis.

Kerri Smith
schistosoma mansoniThe Schistosoma mansoni genome was much larger than scientists expected.Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Researchers have sequenced the genomes of two species of flatworm that cause the tropical disease schistosomiasis, revealing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by drug developers.

Schistosomiasis — also called bilharzia — is transmitted by water-borne snails, and affects more than 200 million people, many of whom live in Africa. Infections are usually chronic, rather than fatal. There is currently only one drug, praziquantel, in use against schistosomiasis and, although it is effective, scientists don't understand exactly how it works.

An international team led by Matthew Berriman at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, and Najib El-Sayed at the University of Maryland in College Park has sequenced the genome of the parasite found throughout Africa (Schistosoma mansoni). The Asian strain (S. japonicum) was tackled by the Schistosoma japonicum Genome Sequencing and Functional Analysis Consortium. Both genomes are published in Nature1,2.
Small fluke, big genome

The two genomes confirm theories about the flatworm's biology — for example, it depends on its host for fatty acids that it can't make itself. But they also throw up some surprises. One is a new class of genes, thought to be involved in directing the movements of proteins around the organism's cells, each of which is seen in a number of different forms. The researchers think that this variation helps the parasite to hide from its host's immune system.

Another surprise is the size of the genomes. "This is a really big genome in terms of its overall length," says Berriman of the African schistosome genome.

Karl Hoffman, a schistosomiasis researcher at Aberystwyth University, UK, and his team are already using the genome information to find targets for drugs and vaccines. Researchers are particularly interested, for example, in genes that are found in the worm's genome but not in the human genome, so that the proteins they make could be targeted by drugs or vaccines. That includes genes that, when knocked out, stop the female parasite producing eggs.

Berriman's group is also hunting for drug targets by looking for similarities. "We're now also looking for things that are very similar to the host and for which drugs already exist," he says. "If we can persuade [drug companies] they may already have things in their drug cabinet that could work, it could open up some new avenues." The drug cyclosporine, which is already used in humans as an immune suppressant, is one possible candidate.
Going straight

The genomes could shed light on the early evolution of animals — specifically, the point at which animals started to develop body plans that were straight rather than spherical like sea urchins. "Because schistosomes are flatworms, and flatworms occurred very early in this process, they allow us to get much closer in time to that split," says Berriman.

Scott Lawton, a researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, is excited by the possible insights the genomes could yield. In terms of discovering new genes, "it did fill in a lot of gaps", he says. It also shows which genes have moved around in the genome — for example, the Hox genes, which control body pattern in animals, are clustered together in many animals, but in schistosomes they are scattered around.

Although much of the S. mansoni data has been public for some time on the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute website, assembling it all is still a milestone that the community has been "looking forward to", says Hoffman.

"It doesn't matter what organism you work on and at what level," Lawton says. "If you've got a full genome, you've got a benchmark."

Family: Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes

Description 35-66" (89-167.6 cm). Cylindrical-bodied, glossy black or blue-black snake with 3 narrow red stripes running length of body. Yellow or reddish-yellow stripe on sides along margins of belly scales. Underside red, with a double row of black spots, one pair on each belly scale. Tail short and tipped with a sharp spine. Males smaller than females. Scales smooth, in 19 rows. Anal plate usually divided.

Subspecies Common Rainbow (F. e. erytrogramma), belly predominantly red; s. Maryland south to c. Florida, west to Mississippi River.
Southern Florida (F. e. seminola), belly scales and several rows of adjacent scales with heavy black pigment; vicinity of Lake Okeechobee, Florida.

Breeding In July, female lays a clutch of 20-52 eggs, each about 1 1/2" (38 mm) long, in a cavity in sandy soil.

Habitat Areas of loose sandy soil near water; streams, rivers, cypress swamps, spring runs, and marshland.

Range Coastal plain, s. Maryland south to c. Florida and west to Mississippi River.

Discussion Rarely seen. Burrows in sandy soil or under wet debris and mats of vegetation along water's edge. Active at night but occasionally may be seen during the day foraging for eels, its principal prey. Hatchlings eat salamanders and tadpoles. Folk tales have it that the "stinging snake," "hoop snake," or "thunderbolt," bites its tail, rolls like a hoop, and stings a victim to death with the spine on the tail tip. In fact, the Rainbow Snake is usually docile and the spine is harmless.

amily: Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes

Description 36-72" (90-152 cm). Large, slender, agile, and fast moving. Adults pale blue or bluish-green above; head darker blue. Belly white or bluish-white. Young gray with conspicuous dark spots on sides and dark gray, brown, or reddish-brown blotches down midline of back. Scales smooth, in 17 rows (15 rows at vent). Anal plate divided.

Habitat Prairies, open woodland, lake and bog edges, and other open areas.

Range Extreme s. Ontario, Michigan, and nw. Ohio west to se. Minnesota, e. Iowa, and most of Illinois.

Discussion This racer subspecies can be confused with blue individuals of the smaller Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer, which occupies the plains from Montana to Texas. The two subspecies sometimes intergrade.

Family: Crocodylidae, Crocodiles

Description 7-15' (2.1-4.6 m). Long slender snout distinguishes it from American Alligator. Gray-green, dark olive-green, or gray-brown with dark crossbands on back and tail; crossbands obscure in old adults. Large 4th tooth on bottom jaw visible when mouth is closed. No curved bony ridge in front of eyes, as seen in caimans.

Endangered Status The American Crocodile is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered throughout its range in southern Florida. Most of the world’s crocodilians -- 17 species out of a total of 22 -- are in danger of becoming extinct. All have suffered from collection by humans for their hides and the destruction of their habitat. The American Crocodile, declared endangered in 1975, lives only in southern Florida, where about 500 individuals survive. The species was nearly wiped out by the effects of the construction of highways, beachfront homes, and mobile home parks, as well as poaching. One of the current threats to the species is the increasing salinity of the waters in their habitat, a result of damming and other practices. The adult crocs can survive in salt water but their young cannot. Additionally, these very rare animals are sometimes killed by humans who mistake them for American Alligators, which are quite numerous and even considered a pest in some areas.

Warning Crocodiles are carnivores that feed on fish and other large water animals and also stalk prey onshore near water. All crocodiles should be considered dangerous, even those basking in the sun. They can attack with amazing suddenness and have very sharp, grasping teeth and powerfully strong jaws.

Breeding Female builds mound-shaped nest of soil, sand, and mangrove peat; lays 35-50 eggs, late April to early May. Hatchlings emerge July to early August, are about 9" (22.9 cm) long.

Habitat Florida Bay in Everglades National Park, Biscayne Bay, and Florida Keys; bogs and mangrove swamps.

Range Extreme coastal s. Florida and the Keys.

Discussion May have reached 23' (7 m) in South America. The adult diet includes crabs, fish (especially mullet), raccoons, and water birds. Drawn to the sounds of hatchlings, the female opens the nest cavity and carefully picks up the young in her mouth and, in a series of trips, carries them to water.

Mars lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago, so the solar wind interacts directly with the Martian ionosphere, keeping the atmosphere thinner than it would otherwise be by stripping away atoms from the outer layer. Both Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express have detected these ionised atmospheric particles trailing off into space behind Mars.[52][53] The atmosphere of Mars is now relatively thin. Atmospheric pressure on the surface varies from around 30 Pa (0.03 kPa) on Olympus Mons to over 1,155 Pa (1.155 kPa) in the depths of Hellas Planitia, with a mean surface level pressure of 600 Pa (0.6 kPa). Mars's mean surface pressure equals the pressure found 35 km above the Earth's surface. This is less than 1% of the surface pressure on Earth (101.3 kPa). The scale height of the atmosphere, about 11 km, is higher than Earth's (6 km) due to the lower gravity. Mars' gravity is only about 38% of the surface gravity on Earth.

The atmosphere on Mars consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen and water.[5] The atmosphere is quite dusty, containing particulates about 1.5 µm in diameter which give the Martian sky a tawny color when seen from the surface.[54]
Traces of methane plumes in Mars’ atmosphere during northern summer - NASA

Several researchers claim to have detected methane in the Martian atmosphere with a concentration of about 30 ppb by volume.[55][56] Since methane is an unstable gas that is broken down by ultraviolet radiation, typically lasting about 340 years in the Martian atmosphere,[57] its presence would indicate a current or recent source of the gas on the planet. Volcanic activity, cometary impacts, and the presence of methanogenic microbial life forms are among possible sources. It was recently pointed out that methane could also be produced by a non-biological process called serpentinization[b] involving water, carbon dioxide, and the mineral olivine, which is known to be common on Mars.[58]

During a pole's winter, it lies in continuous darkness, chilling the surface and causing 25–30% of the atmosphere to condense out into thick slabs of CO2 ice (dry ice).[59] When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the frozen CO2 sublimes, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 400 km/h. These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water vapor, giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds. Clouds of water-ice were photographed by the Opportunity rover in 2004.[60]

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface.

Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth. It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. Furthermore, in June 2008 three articles published in Nature presented evidence of an enormous impact crater in Mars' northern hemisphere, 10,600 km long by 8,500 km wide, or roughly four times larger than the largest impact crater yet discovered, the South Pole-Aitken basin.[6][7] In addition to its geographical features, Mars’ rotational period and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of Earth.

Until the first flyby of Mars by Mariner 4 in 1965, many speculated that there might be liquid water on the planet's surface. This was based on observations of periodic variations in light and dark patches, particularly in the polar latitudes, which looked like seas and continents, while long, dark striations were interpreted by some observers as irrigation channels for liquid water. These straight line features were later proven not to exist and were instead explained as optical illusions. Still, of all the planets in the Solar System other than Earth, Mars is the most likely to harbor liquid water, and perhaps life.[8] Radar data from Mars Express and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed the presence of large quantities of water ice both at the poles (July 2005)[9] and at mid-latitudes (November 2008).[10] The Phoenix Mars Lander directly sampled water ice in shallow martian soil on July 31, 2008.[11]

Mars is currently host to three functional orbiting spacecraft: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. With the exception of Earth, this is more than any planet in the Solar System. The surface is also home to the two Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) and several inert landers and rovers, both successful and unsuccessful. The Phoenix lander recently completed its mission on the surface. Geological evidence gathered by these and preceding missions suggests that Mars previously had large-scale water coverage, while observations also indicate that small geyser-like water flows have occurred during the past decade.[12] Observations by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor show evidence that parts of the southern polar ice cap have been receding.[13]

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids, similar to 5261 Eureka, a Martian Trojan asteroid. Mars can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. Its apparent magnitude reaches −2.9,[5] a brightness surpassed only by Venus, the Moon, and the Sun, although most of the time Jupiter will appear brighter to the naked eye than Mars.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian engineers broke a red wax seal and six men emerged from a metal hatch after 105 days of isolation in a mock spacecraft, still smiling after testing the stresses that space travelers may face on the journey to Mars.

Sergei Ryazansky, the captain of the six-man crew, told reporters at a Moscow research institute near the Kremlin on Tuesday that the most difficult thing was knowing that instead of making the 172-million mile (276-million kilometer) journey they were locked in a windowless module of metal canisters the size of railway cars.

The men, chosen from 6,000 applicants, were paid euro15,000 ($20,987) each to be sealed up in the mock space capsule since March 31_ cut off almost entirely from the outside world.

They had no television or Internet and their only link to the outside world was communications with the experiment's controllers — who also monitored them via TV cameras — and an internal e-mail system. Communications with the outside world had 20-minute delays to imitate a real space flight.

Each crew member had his personal cabin. The interiors had hatches similar to a submarine's and were paneled in faux wood according to Soviet style of the 1970s, when the structure was originally built for space-related experiments.

The module's entrance was locked with a padlock and red sealing wax and twine — the kind that Soviet government bureaucrats have used for years to close up their offices at the end of the work day.

Common facilities included a gym and a small garden, and the modules were equipped with the new European and Russian exercise and training equipment for biomedical research. The crew also specially prepared meals and used toilets closely resembling those on the space station.

Some veteran space explorers belittled the value of the experiment, but its backers at the Russian and European space agencies insist it will only move humans closer to a real mission.

"What we're doing is important for future missions exploring the solar system," said Simonetta Di Pipo, director of the human space flight program at the European Space Agency.

"The most difficult part was that the flight was not for real," Ryazansky, wearing a blue, NASA-style jumpsuit with a large patch reading "MARS 500," told reporters hours after he and the crew emerged from the modules.

Crew member Alexey Baranov complained that the worst thing was not being with his relatives: "The separation from my loved ones and nature was depressing."

Russian TV showed images of the men — four Russians, a German and a Frenchman — during their stay, conducting experiments, lifting weights or lounging in leather reclining chairs, surrounded by throw pillows and Oriental rugs.

The men said most of them gained weight during their stay, exercising much of the time, and running experiments for medical researchers.

Psychologist Olga Shevchenko said they avoided conflicts thanks to a busy schedule and intense physical training. However, she said they all complained being deprived of sights of the natural world and separation from their families.

While officials at the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems praised the experiment as a success and promised to conduct a 500-day simulation experiment later this year, some veterans of the Soviet or Russian space programs doubted its value.

"This is nothing but a test for a long isolation of average people," a two-time cosmonaut Valentin Lebedev wrote in an opinion column published in the Sovietskaya Rossiya newspaper daily last month. "Such an experiment has only vague relation to understanding the possibility of interplanetary flight."

The experiment was the second for the institute, whose previous effort in 1999 ended in scandal when a Canadian woman complained of being forcibly kissed by a Russian captain and said that two Russian crew members had a fist fight that left blood splattered on the walls.

Russian officials at the time downplayed the incidents, attributing it to cultural gaps and stress.

Soviet engineers also tried a similar yearlong experiment, but that was interrupted because of unending conflicts between crew members.

Tectonic earthquakes will occur anywhere within the earth where there is sufficient stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. In the case of transform or convergent type plate boundaries, which form the largest fault surfaces on earth, they will move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if there are no irregularities or asperities along the boundary that increase the frictional resistance. Most boundaries do have such asperities and this leads to a form of stick-slip behaviour. Once the boundary has locked, continued relative motion between the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked portion of the fault, releasing the stored energy. This energy is released as a combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an earthquake. This process of gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake failure is referred to as the Elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10 percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's available elastic potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes are negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the Earth's deep interior

There are many types of volcanoes:

* Shield Volcano - A gently-sloping volcano that emits mostly basaltic lava (very fluid lava) that flows in long-lasting, relatively gentle eruptions - explosions are minimal. Shield volcanoes can be very big. An example is Mt. Kilauea (in Hawaii, USA).
* Composite or Strato Volcano - A steep-coned volcano that explosively emits gases, ash, pumice, and a small amount of stiff, silica lava (called rhyolite). This type of volcano can have eruptions accompanied by lahars -- deadly mudflows. Most volcanoes on Earth are of this type. Stratovolcanoes kill more people than any other type of volcanoes - this is because of their abundance on Earth and their powerful mudflows. Examples are Krakatoa in Indonesia, Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, and Mt. St. Helens in Washington state, USA.
* Lava Dome - A bulbous (rounded) volcano that forms when very viscous lava barely flows. An example is Mont Pelée in Martinique.
* Cinder Cone - A cone-shaped volcano whose steep sides are formed by loose, fragmented cinders that fall to the Earth close to the vent. The lava flows through a single vent that is usually only up to about 1,000 feet tall. There is usually a bowl-shaped crater at the top. As the gas-filled lava erupts into the air, the lava fragments into pieces and forms cinders.
* Rhyolite Caldera Complex - these are the most explosive volcanoes. They do not look like common volcanoes -- after an eruption, the result is a caldera (crater) caused when the area around the vent collapses. Examples are Yellowstone in Wyoming, USA and Lake Taupo in New Zealand (which erupted around A.D. 80).

A volcano is a place on the Earth's surface (or any other planet's or moon's surface) where molten rock, gases and pyroclastic debris erupt through the earth's crust. Volcanoes vary quite a bit in their structure - some are cracks in the earth's crust where lava erupts, and some are domes, shields, or mountain-like structures with a crater at the summit.

Magma is molten rock within the Earth's crust. When magma erupts through the earth's surface it is called lava. Lava can be thick and slow-moving or thin and fast-moving. Rock also comes from volcanoes in other forms, including ash (finely powdered rock that looks like dark smoke coming from the volcano), cinders (bits of fragmented lava), and pumice (light-weight rock that is full of air bubbles and is formed in explosive volcanic eruptions - this type of rock can float on water).

Volcanic eruptions can cause great damage and the loss of life and property.

The Word Volcano:
The word volcano comes from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Vulcan was said to have had a forge (a place to melt and shape iron) on Vulcano, an active volcano on the Lipari Islands in Italy.

Extreme Volcanoes:
The largest volcano on Earth is Hawaii's Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is about 6 miles (10 km) tall from the sea floor to its summit (it rises about 4 km above sea level). It also has the greatest volume of any volcano, 10,200 cubic miles (42,500 cubic kilometers). The most active volcano in the continental USA is Mt. St. Helens (located in western Washington state).

The largest volcano in our Solar System is perhaps Olympus Mons on the planet Mars. This enormous volcano is 17 miles (27 km) tall and over 320 miles (520 km) across.

Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic.

The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and literally means "birth".[1] Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their own accord.[2][3] The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers, and has steadily gained currency ever since. This usage was confirmed during the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries.[4][5]

Within the various uses of the word today, "nature" may refer to the general realm of various types of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects–the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth, and the matter and energy of which all these things are composed. It is often taken to mean the "natural environment" or wilderness–wild animals, rocks, forest, beaches, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. For, example, manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of nature, unless qualified as, for example, "human nature" or "the whole of nature". This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the artificial being understood as that which has been brought into being by a human consciousness or a human mind. Depending on the particular context, the term "natural" might also be distinguished from the terms unnatural, the supernatural, and the artifactual.