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1993_Storm_of_the_Century
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The 1993 Storm of the Century ( also known as the 93 Super Storm or the Great Blizzard of 1993 ) was a large cyclonic storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12 , 1993 . The storm eventually dissipated in the North Atlantic Ocean on March 15 , 1993 . It was unique for its intensity , massive size , and wide-reaching effects . At its height , the storm stretched from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico . The cyclone moved through the Gulf of Mexico and then through the eastern United States before moving onto Canada . Heavy snow was first reported in highland areas as far south as Alabama and northern Georgia , with Union County , Georgia reporting up to 35 inches of snow in the north Georgia mountains . Birmingham , Alabama , reported a rare 13 in of snow . The Florida Panhandle reported up to 4 in , with hurricane-force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures . Between Louisiana and Cuba , the hurricane-force winds produced high storm surges across Northwestern Florida which , in combination with scattered tornadoes , killed dozens of people . Record cold temperatures were seen across portions of the south and east of the US in the wake of this storm . In the United States , the storm was responsible for the loss of electric power to more than 10 million households . An estimated 40 percent of the country 's population experienced the effects of the storm with a total of 208 fatalities .
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1906_San_Francisco_earthquake
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The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on April 18 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI ( Extreme ) . Severe shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast to the Salinas Valley , an agricultural region to the south of the San Francisco Bay Area . Devastating fires soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days . As a result , about 3,000 people died and over 80 % of the city of San Francisco was destroyed . The events are remembered as one of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States . The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California 's history and high in the lists of American urban disasters .
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1257_Samalas_eruption
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The 1257 Samalas eruption was a major volcanic eruption of the Samalas volcano , next to Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok , Indonesia . It left a large caldera next to Rinjani volcano , the lake Segara Anak . This volcanic eruption reached a volcanic explosivity index of 7 , making it one of the largest eruptions of the Holocene . The occurrence of this eruption was originally deduced from ice core information revealing a spike in sulfate deposition around the year 1257 ; in 2013 the source of this eruption at Samalas was definitively proven as a result of historical records from that time . This eruption proceeded during four distinct phases , alternately creating eruption columns reaching up for tens of kilometres and pyroclastic flows that buried large parts of Lombok , destroying human habitations including the city of Pamatan . Ash from the eruption fell as far as Java . The volume of the deposits left exceeds 10 km3 . Later activity from the volcano created additional volcanic centres in the caldera , including the present day active Barujari cone . The eruption was witnessed by humans on Lombok , who recorded its effects on text written on palm leaves . The aerosols injected by the volcano into the atmosphere reduced the solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth , triggering a volcanic winter and cooling lasting for several years . It is possible that the 1257 Samalas eruption helped trigger the Little Ice Age .
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1938_New_England_hurricane
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The 1938 New England Hurricane ( also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and Long Island Express ) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike New England . The storm formed near the coast of Africa on September 9 , becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale before making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Long Island on September 21 . It is estimated that the hurricane killed 682 people , damaged or destroyed more than 57,000 homes , and caused property losses estimated at US$ 306 million ( $ 4.7 billion in ) . Damaged trees and buildings were still seen in the affected areas as late as 1951 . It remains the most powerful and deadliest hurricane in recorded New England history , eclipsed in landfall intensity perhaps only by the Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 . It was only the third hurricane to strike New England since 1635 .
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1990s
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The 1990s ( pronounced `` nineteen-nineties '' and abbreviated as the `` Nineties '' ) was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1 , 1990 , and ended on December 31 , 1999 .
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2010s
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2011_Wisconsin_protests
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The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 , also called the `` Wisconsin Budget Repair bill . '' Subsequently , anti-tax activists and other conservatives , including Tea Party advocates , launched small pockets of counter protests . The protests centered on the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison , with satellite protests also occurring at other municipalities throughout the state . Demonstrations took place at various college campuses , including the University of Wisconsin -- Madison and the University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee . After the collective bargaining bill was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on June 14 , the number of protesters declined to about 1,000 within a couple days . The protests were a major driving force for recall elections of state senators in 2011 and 2012 , the failed recall of Governor Scott Walker in 2012 and a contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2011 .
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2006_North_American_heat_wave
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The 2006 North American heat wave spread throughout most of the United States and Canada beginning on July 15 , 2006 , killing at least 225 people . That day the temperature reached 117 ° F ( 47 ° C ) in Pierre , South Dakota , with many places in South Dakota that hit well into the 120s . In early reports from this heat wave , at least three died in Philadelphia , Arkansas , and Indiana . In Maryland , the state health officials reported that three people died of heat-related causes . Another heat related death was suspected in Chicago . Although many heat related deaths go unreported , by July 19 , the Associated Press reported that the soaring heat was blamed for 12 deaths from Oklahoma City to the Philadelphia area . Reports by early morning July 20 raised the death toll to at least 16 in seven states . This period of heat also saw a wind storm ( derecho ) in St. Louis that caused widespread power outages , including for cooling centers designed to provide relief for those suffering from the heat . In addition , places on the West Coast , like California 's Central Valley and Southern California experienced humid heat , which is unusual for the area .
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21st_century
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The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era , in accordance with the Gregorian calendar . It began on January 1 , 2001 and will end on December 31 , 2100 . It is the first century of the 3rd millennium . It is distinct from the time span known as the 2000s , which began on January 1 , 2000 and will end on December 31 , 2099 .
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2015_in_science
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A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2015 . Gene editing based on CRISPR got improved significantly . A new human-like species , Homo naledi , was first described . Gravitational waves were observed for the first time ( announced publicly in 2016 ) , and dwarf planets Pluto and Ceres were visited by spacecrafts for the first time . The United Nations declared 2015 the International Year of Soils and Light-based Technologies .
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2014–15_North_American_winter
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The 2014 -- 15 North American winter refers to winter as it occurred across the continent from late 2014 through early 2015 . While there is no well-agreed-upon date used to indicate the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere , there are two definitions of winter which may be used . Based on the astronomical definition , winter begins at the winter solstice , which in 2014 occurred on December 21 , and ends at the March equinox , which in 2015 occurred on March 20 . Based on the meteorological definition , the first day of winter is December 1 and the last day February 28 . Both definitions involve a period of approximately three months , with some variability . While both the meteorological and astronomical definitions of winter involve the onset of winter occurring in December , many places in North America experienced their first wintry weather during mid November . A period of below-average temperatures affected much of the contiguous United States , and several records were broken . An early trace of snowfall was recorded in Arkansas . There were greater accumulations of snow across parts of Oklahoma as well . A quasi-permanent phenomenon referred to as the polar vortex may have been partly responsible for the cold weather . Temperatures in much of the United States dropped 15 to below average by November 19 following a southward `` dip '' of the polar vortex into the eastern two-thirds of the country . The effects of this dip were widespread , bringing about temperatures as low as 28 F in Pensacola , Florida . Following a significant snowstorm there , Buffalo , New York received several feet of snow from November 17 -- 21 . During the 2014 -- 15 winter season , Boston broke its all-time official seasonal 107.6 in snowfall record from the winter of 1995 -- 96 , with a total snowfall record of 108.6 in as of March 15 , 2015 . Many records for snowfall and temperature were broken , many for the month of February , with every state east of the Mississippi River being colder than average , some for the entire winter . However , this meteorological winter was the 19th-warmest of the past 120 winters over the lower 48 states , largely due to persistent warm weather in the West .
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2013_in_science
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A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2013 , including the discovery of numerous Earthlike exoplanets , the development of viable lab-grown ears , teeth , livers and blood vessels , and the atmospheric entry of the most destructive meteor since 1908 . The year also saw successful new treatments for diseases such as HIV , Usher syndrome and leukodystrophy , and a major expansion in the use and capabilities of technologies such as 3D printing and autonomous cars . The United Nations designated 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation .
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2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami
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The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on 26 December with the epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra , Indonesia . The shock had a moment magnitude of 9.1 -- 9.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX ( Violent ) . The undersea megathrust earthquake was caused when the Indian Plate was subducted by the Burma Plate and triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean , killing 230,000 -- 280,000 people in 14 countries , and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 m high . It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history . Indonesia was the hardest-hit country , followed by Sri Lanka , India , and Thailand . It is the third-largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph and 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 and triggered other earthquakes as far away as Alaska . Its epicentre was between Simeulue and mainland Indonesia . The plight of the affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian response . In all , the worldwide community donated more than US$ 14 billion ( 2004 ) in humanitarian aid . The event is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra -- Andaman earthquake . The resulting tsunami was given various names , including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami , South Asian tsunami , Indonesian tsunami , the Christmas tsunami , and the Boxing Day tsunami .
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2015_Indian_heat_wave
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In May 2015 , India was struck by a severe heat wave . , it has caused the deaths of at least 2,500 people in multiple regions . The heat wave occurred during the Indian dry season , which typically lasts from March to July with peak temperatures in April and May . Although it typically remains hot until late October , Indian monsoons often provide some respite from the heat . The South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and the neighbouring Telangana , where more than 1,735 and 585 people died respectively , were the areas most affected by the heat wave . Other casualties were from the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha . The high demand for electricity to power air conditioning led to power outages in some cities . The 2015 heat wave has had the highest recorded temperatures since 1995 . In May 2016 , a new record was set in Phalodi .
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2012_in_science
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The year 2012 involved many significant scientific events and discoveries , including the first orbital rendezvous by a commercial spacecraft , the discovery of a particle highly similar to the long-sought Higgs boson , and the near-eradication of guinea worm disease . A total of 72 successful orbital spaceflights occurred in 2012 , and the year also saw numerous developments in fields such as robotics , 3D printing , stem cell research and genetics . Over 540,000 technological patent applications were made in the United States alone in 2012 . 2012 was declared the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All by the United Nations . 2012 also marked Alan Turing Year , a celebration of the life and work of the English mathematician , logician , cryptanalyst and computer scientist Alan Turing .
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2000s_(decade)
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The 2000s ( pronounced `` two-thousands '' or `` twenty-hundreds '' ) was a decade of the Gregorian calendar that began on January 1 , 2000 , and ended on December 31 , 2009 . The growth of the Internet contributed to globalization during the decade , which allowed faster communication among people around the world . The economic growth of the 2000s had considerable social , environmental and mass extinction consequences , raised demand for diminishing energy resources , and was still vulnerable , as demonstrated by the financial crisis of 2007 -- 08 .
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2015_South_Indian_floods
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The 2015 South Indian floods resulted from heavy rainfall generated by the annual northeast monsoon in November -- December 2015 . They affected the Coromandel Coast region of the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh , and the union territory of Puducherry , with Tamil Nadu and the city of Chennai particularly hard-hit . More than 500 people were killed and over 18 lakh ( 1.8 million ) people were displaced . With estimates of damages and losses ranging from nearly to over , the floods were the costliest to have occurred in 2015 , and were among the costliest natural disasters of the year . The flooding has been attributed to the 2014 -- 16 El Niño event .
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2014_in_science
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A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2014 , including the first robotic landing on a comet and the first complete stem-cell-assisted recovery from paraplegia . The year also saw a significant expansion in the worldwide use and sophistication of technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles and wearable electronics . The United Nations declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming and Crystallography .
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2010_Russian_wildfires
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The 2010 Russian wildfires were several hundred wildfires that broke out across Russia , primarily in the west in summer 2010 . They started burning in late July and lasted until early September 2010 . The fires were associated with record-high temperatures , which were attributed to climate change -- the summer had been the hottest recorded in Russian history -- and drought . Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared a state of emergency in seven regions , and 28 other regions were under a state of emergency due to crop failures caused by the drought . The fires cost roughly $ 15 billion in damages . A combination of the smoke from the fires , producing heavy smog blanketing large urban regions and the record-breaking heat wave put stress on the Russian healthcare system . Munich Re estimated that in all , 56,000 people died from the effects of the smog and the heat wave . The 2010 wildfires were the worst on record to that time ; in 2012 , however , new wildfires broke out , and they proved even more extensive and damaging .
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2013–14_North_American_winter
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The 2013 -- 14 North American winter refers to winter as it occurred across the continent from late 2013 through early 2014 . While there is no well-agreed-upon date used to indicate the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere , there are two definitions of winter which may be used . Based on the astronomical definition , winter begins at the winter solstice , which in 2013 occurred on December 21 , and ends at the March equinox , which in 2014 occurred on March 20 . Based on the meteorological definition , the first day of winter is December 1 and the last day February 28 . Both definitions involve a period of approximately three months , with some variability . __ TOC __
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2006_European_heat_wave
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The 2006 European heat wave was a period of exceptionally hot weather that arrived at the end of June 2006 in certain European countries . The United Kingdom , France , Belgium , the Netherlands , Luxembourg , Italy , Poland , the Czech Republic , Hungary , Germany and western parts of Russia were most affected . Several records were broken . In the Netherlands , Belgium , Germany , Ireland and the United Kingdom , July 2006 was the warmest month since official measurements began .
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2003_invasion_of_Iraq
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The 2003 invasion of Iraq lasted from 20 March to 1 May 2003 and signalled the start of the Iraq War , which was dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States ( prior to 19 March , the mission in Iraq was called Operation Enduring Freedom , a carryover from the War in Afghanistan ) . The invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations , in which a combined force of troops from the United States , the United Kingdom , Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein . The invasion phase consisted primarily of a conventionally fought war which included the capture of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by American forces with the implicit assistance of the United Kingdom alongside Australia and Poland . 160,000 troops were sent by the Coalition into Iraq , during the initial invasion phase , which lasted from 19 March to 9 April 2003 . About 130,000 were sent from the USA alone , with about 28,000 British soldiers , Australia ( 2,000 ) , and Poland ( 194 ) . 36 other countries were involved in its aftermath . In preparation for the invasion , 100,000 U.S. troops were assembled in Kuwait by 18 February . The coalition forces also received support from Kurdish irregulars in Iraqi Kurdistan . According to U.S. President George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair , the coalition mission was `` to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction , to end Saddam Hussein 's support for terrorism , and to free the Iraqi people . '' Others place a much greater emphasis on the impact of the September 11 attacks , and the role this played in changing U.S. strategic calculations , and the rise of the freedom agenda . According to Blair , the trigger was Iraq 's failure to take a `` final opportunity '' to disarm itself of alleged nuclear , chemical , and biological weapons that U.S. and British officials called an immediate and intolerable threat to world peace . In a January 2003 CBS poll , 64 % of Americans had approved of military action against Iraq ; however , 63 % wanted Bush to find a diplomatic solution rather than go to war , and 62 % believed the threat of terrorism directed against the U.S. would increase due to war . The invasion of Iraq was strongly opposed by some long-standing U.S. allies , including the governments of France , Germany , and New Zealand . Their leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading the country was not justified in the context of UNMOVIC 's 12 February 2003 report . On 15 February 2003 , a month before the invasion , there were worldwide protests against the Iraq War , including a rally of three million people in Rome , which is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest ever anti-war rally . According to the French academic Dominique Reynié , between 3 January and 12 April 2003 , 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 protests against the Iraq war . The invasion was preceded by an airstrike on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on 20 March 2003 . The following day , coalition forces launched an incursion into Basra Province from their massing point close to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border . While the special forces launched an amphibious assault from the Persian Gulf to secure Basra and the surrounding petroleum fields , the main invasion army moved into southern Iraq , occupying the region and engaging in the Battle of Nasiriyah on 23 March . Massive air strikes across the country and against Iraqi command and control threw the defending army into chaos and prevented an effective resistance . On 26 March , the 173rd Airborne Brigade was airdropped near the northern city of Kirkuk , where they joined forces with Kurdish rebels and fought several actions against the Iraqi Army to secure the northern part of the country . The main body of coalition forces continued their drive into the heart of Iraq and met with little resistance . Most of the Iraqi military was quickly defeated and Baghdad was occupied on 9 April . Other operations occurred against pockets of the Iraqi army , including the capture and occupation of Kirkuk on 10 April , and the attack and capture of Tikrit on 15 April . Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the central leadership went into hiding as the coalition forces completed the occupation of the country . On 1 May , an end of major combat operations was declared , ending the invasion period and beginning the military occupation period .
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2015_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference
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The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference , COP 21 or CMP 11 was held in Paris , France , from 30 November to 12 December 2015 . It was the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties ( COP ) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) and the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties ( CMP ) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol . The conference negotiated the Paris Agreement , a global agreement on the reduction of climate change , the text of which represented a consensus of the representatives of the 196 parties attending it . The agreement will enter into force when joined by at least 55 countries which together represent at least 55 percent of global greenhouse emissions . On 22 April 2016 ( Earth Day ) , 174 countries signed the agreement in New York , and began adopting it within their own legal systems ( through ratification , acceptance , approval , or accession ) . According to the organizing committee at the outset of the talks , the expected key result was an agreement to set a goal of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius ( ° C ) compared to pre-industrial levels . The agreement calls for zero net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to be reached during the second half of the 21st century . In the adopted version of the Paris Agreement , the parties will also `` pursue efforts to '' limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ° C . The 1.5 ° C goal will require zero emissions sometime between 2030 and 2050 , according to some scientists . Prior to the conference , 146 national climate panels publicly presented draft national climate contributions ( called `` Intended Nationally Determined Contributions '' , INDCs ) . These suggested commitments were estimated to limit global warming to 2.7 degrees Celsius by 2100 . For example , the EU suggested INDC is a commitment to a 40 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 . The agreement establishes a `` global stocktake '' which revisits the national goals to `` update and enhance '' them every five years beginning 2023 . However , no detailed timetable or country-specific goals for emissions were incorporated into the Paris Agreement -- as opposed to the previous Kyoto Protocol . A number of meetings took place in preparation for COP21 , including the Bonn Climate Change Conference , 19 to 23 October 2015 , which produced a draft agreement .
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2007_United_Kingdom_floods
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A series of destructive floods occurred in parts of the United Kingdom during the summer of 2007 . The worst of the flooding occurred across Scotland on 14 June ; East Yorkshire and The Midlands on 15 June ; Yorkshire , The Midlands , Gloucestershire , Herefordshire and Worcestershire on 25 June ; and Gloucestershire , Herefordshire , Worcestershire , Oxfordshire , Berkshire and South Wales on 28 July 2007 . June was one of the wettest months on record in Britain ( see List of weather records ) . Average rainfall across the country was 140 mm ; more than double the June average . Some areas received a month 's worth of precipitation in 24 hours . It was Britain 's wettest May -- July since records began in 1776 . July had unusually unsettled weather and above-average rainfall through the month , peaking on 20 July as an active frontal system dumped more than 120 mm of rain in southern England . Civil and military authorities described the June and July rescue efforts as the biggest in peacetime Britain . The Environment Agency described the July floods as critical and expected them to exceed the 1947 benchmark .
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2013_New_South_Wales_bushfires
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The 2013 New South Wales bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting , or becoming notable , on 13 October 2013 ; followed by the worst of the fires beginning in the Greater Blue Mountains Area on 16 and 17 October 2013 . High fuel loads , coupled with warm , dry and windy weather , provided dangerous conditions which fuelled the fires . At the peak of the fires , on the morning of 18 October , over 100 fires were burning across the state . The Premier of New South Wales Barry O'Farrell declared a state of emergency on 20 October , empowering firefighters to evict residents and demolish fire-affected buildings . The fires are the worst in New South Wales since the 1960s . , 248 houses and other structures were destroyed across the state . Two fatalities were attributed to the fires . It was estimated that claims will exceed 94 million .
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2009_United_Nations_Climate_Change_Conference
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The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference , commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit , was held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen , Denmark , between 7 and 18 December . The conference included the 15th Conference of the Parties ( COP 15 ) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) and the 5th Meeting of the Parties ( MOP 5 ) to the Kyoto Protocol . According to the Bali Road Map , a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012 was to be agreed there . On Friday 18 December , the final day of the conference , international media reported that the climate talks were `` in disarray '' . Media also reported that in lieu of a summit collapse , only a `` weak political statement '' was anticipated at the conclusion of the conference . The Copenhagen Accord was drafted by the United States , China , India , Brazil and South Africa on 18 December , and judged a `` meaningful agreement '' by the United States government . It was `` taken note of '' , but not `` adopted '' , in a debate of all the participating countries the next day , and it was not passed unanimously . The document recognised that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the present day and that actions should be taken to keep any temperature increases to below 2 ° C . The document is not legally binding and does not contain any legally binding commitments for reducing emissions . In January 2014 , documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published by Dagbladet Information revealed that the US government negotiators were in receipt of information during the conference that was being obtained by spying against other conference delegations . The US National Security Agency provided US delegates with advance details other delegations ' positions , including the Danish plan to `` rescue '' the talks should they flounder . Members of the Danish negotiating team said that both the US and Chinese delegations were `` peculiarly well-informed '' about closed-door discussions : `` They simply sat back , just as we had feared they would if they knew about our document . ''
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2014–16_El_Niño_event
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The 2014 -- 16 El Niño was a warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean that resulted in unusually warm waters developing between the coast of South America and the International Date Line . These unusually warm waters influenced the world 's weather in a number of ways , which in turn significantly affected various parts of the world . These included drought conditions in Venezuela , Australia and a number of Pacific islands while significant flooding was also recorded . During the event more tropical cyclones than normal occurred within the Pacific Ocean , while fewer than normal occurred in the Atlantic Ocean .
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20th_century
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The 20th century was a century that began on January 1 , 1901 and ended on December 31 , 2000 . It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium . It is distinct from the century known as the 1900s which began on January 1 , 1900 , and ended on December 31 , 1999 . The 20th century was dominated by a chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era : World War I and World War II , nuclear power and space exploration , nationalism and decolonization , the Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts ; intergovernmental organizations and cultural homogenization through developments in emerging transportation and communications technology ; poverty reduction and world population growth , awareness of environmental degradation , ecological extinction ; and the birth of the Digital Revolution . It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication and genetic modification of life . The term `` short twentieth century '' was coined to represent the events from 1914 to 1991 . Global total fertility rates , sea level rise and ecological collapses increased ; the resulting competition for land and dwindling resources accelerated deforestation , water depletion . and the mass extinction of half the world 's estimated nine million unique species and wildlife population ; consequences which are now being dealt with . It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world 's population to reach 1 billion ; world population reached an estimated 2 billion in 1927 ; by late 1999 , the global population reached 6 billion . Global literacy averaged 80 % ; global lifespan-averages exceeded 40 + years for the first time in history , with over half achieving 70 + years ( three decades longer than it was a century ago ) .
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2008_Atlantic_hurricane_season
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The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was a very active hurricane season with sixteen named storms formed , including eight that became hurricanes and five that became major hurricanes . The season officially started on June 1 and ended on November 30 . These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin . However , the formation of Tropical Storm Arthur caused the season to start two days early . This season is the fourth most costly on record , behind only the 2004 , 2005 and 2012 seasons , with over $ 47.5 billion in damage ( 2008 USD ) . It was the fourth busiest year since 1944 and the only year on record in which a major hurricane existed in every month from July through November in the North Atlantic . Bertha became the longest lived July tropical cyclone on record for the basin , the first of several long-lived systems during 2008 . The season was devastating for Haiti , where over 800 people were killed by four consecutive tropical cyclones ( Fay , Gustav , Hanna , and Ike ) , especially Hanna , in August and September . Hurricane Paloma 's outer rain bands also made landfall over Haiti . Ike was also the most destructive storm of the season , as well as the strongest , devastating Cuba as a major hurricane and later making landfall near Galveston , Texas at Category 2 ( nearly Category 3 ) intensity . One very unusual feat was a streak of tropical cyclones affecting land . All but one system impacted land in 2008 . The unprecedented number of storms with impact led to one of the deadliest and destructive seasons in the history of the Atlantic basin , especially with Hurricane Ike , as its overall damages made it the third costliest hurricane in the Atlantic .
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2014_California_wildfires
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The 2014 California wildfire season saw several notable wildfires ignited in the state of California , especially during the month of May , when multiple fires were ablaze concurrently in Southern California , and during September , when several massive wildfires were burning in Northern California . In the context of the 2012 -- 15 North American drought ( especially the 2011 -- 15 California drought ) , as well as powerful Santa Ana winds , weather conditions were ideal for wildfires . The season began unusually early when a wildfire ignited on January 1 , followed by 6 more fires igniting later within the same month . During a heat wave and dry Santa Ana conditions in May 2014 , multiple wildfires broke out simultaneously in San Diego County , along with several other wildfires elsewhere in California . By mid-May , fire officials said they had already dealt with 1,400 wildfires in California in 2014 - twice the normal amount for that time of year - and a spokesman for CAL FIRE described the conditions as `` unprecedented . '' The May 2014 San Diego County wildfires were estimated to have caused at least $ 60 million ( 2014 USD ) in damage . In late June to early August , another group of wildfires ignited across the state , some of which reached over twenty thousand acres in size . In mid-September , the largest group of wildfires erupted , with some wildfires becoming larger than 50,000 acres in size . In early September 2014 , the Happy Complex Fire became the largest wildfire of the season , eventually topping out at 135369 acres in size on September 27 . On October 8 , an aerial tanker crashed during a firefighting effort at the Dog Rock Fire , which killed the pilot and sparked a small wildfire . From late September to late October , the latest flare-up of major wildfires were extinguished by cooler weather and precipitation . From December 10 -- 13 , a powerful winter storm extinguished the remaining wildfires that were present . In mid-December through late December , several more small wildfires sparked , but they were all extinguished by December 31 . A total of 5,620 wildfires ignited throughout the year , which burned at least 631434 acres of land . The wildfires caused a total of 146 injuries and 2 fatalities , in addition to causing at least $ 184.02 million ( 2014 USD ) in damage .
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Aeolis_quadrangle
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The Aeolis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) Astrogeology Research Program . The Aeolis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-23 ( Mars Chart-23 ) . The Aeolis quadrangle covers 180 ° to 225 ° W and 0 ° to 30 ° south on Mars , and contains parts of the regions Elysium Planitia and Terra Cimmeria . A small part of the Medusae Fossae Formation lies in this quadrangle . The name refers to the name of a floating western island of Aiolos , the ruler of the winds . In Homer 's account , Odysseus received the west wind Zephyr here and kept it in bags , but the wind got out . It is famous as the site of two spacecraft landings : the Spirit rover landing site in Gusev crater ( January 4 , 2004 ) , and the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater ( August 6 , 2012 ) . A large , ancient river valley , called Ma'adim Vallis , enters at the south rim of Gusev Crater , so Gusev Crater was believed to be an ancient lake bed . However , it seems that a volcanic flow covered up the lakebed sediments . Apollinaris Patera , a large volcano , lies directly north of Gusev Crater . Gale Crater , in the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle , is of special interest to geologists because it contains a 2 -- 4 km ( 1.2 -- 2.5 mile ) high mound of layered sedimentary rocks , named `` Mount Sharp '' by NASA in honor of Robert P. Sharp ( 1911 -- 2004 ) , a planetary scientist of early Mars missions . More recently , on 16 May 2012 , `` Mount Sharp '' was officially named Aeolis Mons by the USGS and IAU . Some regions in the Aeolis quadrangle show inverted relief . In these locations , a stream bed may be a raised feature , instead of a valley . The inverted former stream channels may be caused by the deposition of large rocks or due to cementation . In either case erosion would erode the surrounding land but leave the old channel as a raised ridge because the ridge will be more resistant to erosion Yardangs are another feature found in this quadrangle They are generally visible as a series of parallel linear ridges , caused by the direction of the prevailing wind .
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Adelaide
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Adelaide ( -LSB- ˈædəleɪdaudio = En-au-Adelaide . oga -RSB- ) is the capital city of the state of South Australia , and the fifth-most populous city of Australia . In June 2016 , Adelaide had an estimated resident population of 1,326,354 . South Australia , with a total of 1.7 million inhabitants , has the most centralised population of any state in Australia , with more than 75 percent of its people living in greater Adelaide , while the other population centres in the state are relatively small . Adelaide is north of the Fleurieu Peninsula , on the Adelaide Plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges which surround the city . Adelaide stretches 20 km from the coast to the foothills , and 94 to 104 km from Gawler at its northern extent to Sellicks Beach in the south . Named in honour of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen , queen consort to King William IV , the city was founded in 1836 as the planned capital for a freely-settled British province in Australia . Colonel William Light , one of Adelaide 's founding fathers , designed the city and chose its location close to the River Torrens , in the area originally inhabited by the Kaurna people . Light 's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout , interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares , and entirely surrounded by parklands . Early Adelaide was shaped by prosperity and wealth -- until the Second World War , it was Australia 's third-largest city and one of the few Australian cities to not have convict history . It has been noted for early examples of religious freedom , a commitment to political progressivism and civil liberties . It has been known as the `` City of Churches '' since the mid-19th century . The demonym `` Adelaidean '' is used in reference to the city and its residents . As South Australia 's seat of government and commercial centre , Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions . Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of North Terrace , King William Street and in various districts of the metropolitan area . Today , Adelaide is noted for its many festivals and sporting events , its food and wine , its long beachfronts , and its large defence and manufacturing sectors . It ranks highly in terms of liveability , being listed in the Top 10 of The Economist Intelligence Units World 's Most Liveable Cities index in 2010 , 2011 , 2012 and 2015 . It was also ranked the most liveable city in Australia by the Property Council of Australia in 2011 , 2012 and 2013 .
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Abbott_Government
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The Abbott Government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott . The Government was made up of members of the Liberal -- National Coalition . The Leader of the Nationals , Warren Truss , served as Deputy Prime Minister . Following the 2013 Australian federal election on 7 September , the Coalition defeated the second Rudd Government , ending six years of Labor Government . The Abbott Government was sworn into office on 18 September 2013 . Less than two years later on 14 September 2015 , Malcolm Turnbull defeated Abbott in a leadership ballot , 54 votes to 44 . In economic policy , the Abbott Government aimed to rein in a budget deficit that reached A$ 48.5 billion by June 2014 . It concluded free trade agreements with China , Japan and South Korea . It removed the Rudd-Gillard era Resource Super Profits Tax and carbon pricing . It established the National Commission of Audit to advise on restoring the Budget to surplus ; instituted the Royal Commission into trade union governance and corruption ; founded the Medical Research Future Fund ; and produced White Papers on Developing Northern Australia and the Agricultural Competitiveness . Treasurer Joe Hockey delivered two Budgets , the first focused on expenditure reduction measures , but faced a hostile reception in the Senate and media . Partial deregulation of universities , and a $ 7 contribution to doctor visits were proposed , but blocked by the Senate . The second Budget emphasised stimulus for the small business sector . Abbott campaigned in Opposition and in Office to halt the people smuggling trade , and unauthorised maritime arrivals ceased during his term of office under Operation Sovereign Borders . In foreign policy , Australia continued its military engagement in the Mid-East , amid the worsening Syrian conflict . In 2015 , The Abbott Government agreed to resettle an additional 12,000 refugees from the region . Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop challenged Russia at the United Nations over the shooting down of Malaysian Flight MH17 in Ukraine . The Government launched the New Colombo Plan to encourage educational exchange with the Indo-Pacific region . Domestically , Abbott campaigned for recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Australian Constitution , flagging a referendum for 2017 , and promised a plebiscite on the issue of same-sex marriage . Air and road infrastructure was prioritised . Abbott had to negotiate a hostile Senate . The Palmer United Party had emerged at the 2013 Election , but fractured soon after . The Liberal Party faced Cabinet leaks and early leadership instability , after a poorly received first Budget and amid media criticism . Abbott became the shortest-serving Australian Prime Minister since William McMahon , when his government was succeeded by the Turnbull Government .
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Academic_journal
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An academic or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published . Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation , scrutiny and discussion of research . They are usually peer-reviewed or refereed . Content typically takes the form of articles presenting original research , review articles , and book reviews . The purpose of an academic journal , according to the first editor of the world 's oldest academic journal Henry Oldenburg , is to give researchers a venue to `` impart their knowledge to one another , and contribute what they can to the Grand design of improving natural knowledge , and perfecting all Philosophical Arts , and Sciences . '' The term academic journal applies to scholarly publications in all fields ; this article discusses the aspects common to all academic field journals . Scientific journals and journals of the quantitative social sciences vary in form and function from journals of the humanities and qualitative social sciences ; their specific aspects are separately discussed .
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Abadan,_Iran
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Abadan ( آبادان Ābādān ) is a city in and the capital of Abadan County , Khuzestan Province which is located in central west of Iran . It lies on Abadan Island ( 68 km long , 3 -- 19 km or 2 -- 12 miles wide ) , the island is bounded in the west by the Arvand waterway and to the east by the Bahmanshir outlet of the Karun River ( the Shatt al-Arab ) , 53 km from the Persian Gulf , near the Iraqi-Iran border . '' '
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Adventure_Time
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Adventure Time is an American animated television series created by Pendleton Ward for Cartoon Network . It follows the adventures of a boy named Finn ( voiced by Jeremy Shada ) and his best friend and adoptive brother Jake ( John DiMaggio ) a dog with the magical power to change shape and size at will . Finn and Jake live in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo , where they interact with Princess Bubblegum ( Hynden Walch ) , the Ice King ( Tom Kenny ) , Marceline the Vampire Queen ( Olivia Olson ) , BMO ( Niki Yang ) , and others . The series is based on a 2007 short produced for Nicktoons and Frederator Studios ' animation incubator series Random ! Cartoons . After the short became a viral hit on the Internet , Cartoon Network commissioned a full-length series , which previewed on March 11 , 2010 , and officially premiered on April 5 , 2010 . The series draws inspiration from a variety of sources , including the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and video games . It is produced using hand-drawn animation ; action and dialogue for episodes are decided by storyboarding artists . Because each episode takes roughly eight to nine months to complete , multiple episodes are worked on concurrently . The cast members record their lines in group recordings , and the series regularly employs guest actors for minor and recurring characters . Each episode runs for about eleven minutes ; pairs of episodes are often telecast to fill half-hour program slots . Eight seasons of the program have aired , and a ninth and final season premiered on April 21 , 2017 . , a feature-length film is in development . Since its debut , Adventure Time has been a ratings success for Cartoon Network , with the highest-rated episodes having attracted over 3 million viewers . The show has received positive reviews from critics anddespite being aimed primarily at childrenhas developed a following among teenagers and adults . Adventure Time has won awards including : six Primetime Emmy Awards , a Peabody Award , three Annie Awards , two British Academy Children 's Awards , a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award , a Pixel Award , and a Kerrang ! Award . The series has also been nominated for three Critics ' Choice Television Awards , two Annecy Festival Awards , a TCA Award , and a Sundance Film Festival Award , among others . Of the many comic book spin-offs based on the series , one received an Eisner Award and two Harvey Awards . The series has also inspired various clothing items and related merchandise , video games , and DVD compilations .
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Abrupt_climate_change
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An abrupt climate change occurs when the climate system is forced to transition to a new climate state at a rate that is determined by the climate system energy-balance , and which is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing . Past events include the end of the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse , Younger Dryas , Dansgaard-Oeschger events , Heinrich events and possibly also the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum . The term is also used within the context of global warming to describe sudden climate change that is detectable over the time-scale of a human lifetime . One proposed reason for the observed abrupt climate change is that feedback loops within the climate system both enhance small perturbations and cause a variety of stable states . Timescales of events described as ` abrupt ' may vary dramatically . Changes recorded in the climate of Greenland at the end of the Younger Dryas , as measured by ice-cores , imply a sudden warming of + 10 C-change within a timescale of a few years . Other abrupt changes are the + 4 C-change on Greenland 11,270 years ago or the abrupt + 6 C-change warming 22,000 years ago on Antarctica . By contrast , the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum may have initiated anywhere between a few decades and several thousand years . Finally , Earth Systems models project that under ongoing greenhouse gas emissions as early as 2047 , the Earth 's near surface temperature could depart from the range of variability in the last 150 years , affecting over 3 billion people and most places of great species diversity on Earth .
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Agriculture
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Agriculture or farming is the cultivation and breeding of animals , plants and fungi for food , fiber , biofuel , medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life . Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization . The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science . The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years , and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates , cultures , and technologies . Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology . Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation , but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects . Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat , but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics , growth hormones , and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production . Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture , although they are banned in several countries . Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts . Significant degradation of land and water resources , including the depletion of aquifers , has been observed in recent decades , and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood . The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods , fibers , fuels , and raw materials . Specific foods include cereals ( grains ) , vegetables , fruits , oils , meats and spices . Fibers include cotton , wool , hemp , silk and flax . Raw materials include lumber and bamboo . Other useful materials are also produced by plants , such as resins , dyes , drugs , perfumes , biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants . Over one third of the world 's workers are employed in agriculture , second only to the service sector , although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries .
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Adam_Scaife
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Adam Arthur Scaife B.A. M.A. MSc PhD FRMetS ( born 18 March 1970 ) is a British physicist , and head of long range prediction at the Met Office . He is an honorary visiting Professor at Exeter University . Scaife carries out research into long range weather forecasting and computer modelling of the climate . Scaife has published over 100 peer reviewed studies on atmospheric dynamics , computer modelling and climate predictability and change and recently published popular science and academic books on meteorology .
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Acid
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An acid is a molecule or ion capable of donating a hydron ( proton or hydrogen ion H + ) , or , alternatively , capable of forming a covalent bond with an electron pair ( a Lewis acid ) . The first category of acids is the proton donors or Brønsted acids . In the special case of aqueous solutions , proton donors form the hydronium ion H3O + and are known as Arrhenius acids . Brønsted and Lowry generalized the Arrhenius theory to include non-aqueous solvents . A Brønsted or Arrhenius acid usually contains a hydrogen atom bonded to a chemical structure that is still energetically favorable after loss of H + . Aqueous Arrhenius acids have characteristic properties which provide a practical description of an acid . Acids form aqueous solutions with a sour taste , can turn blue litmus red , and react with bases and certain metals ( like calcium ) to form salts . The word acid is derived from the Latin acidus/ac ēre meaning sour . An aqueous solution of an acid has a pH less than 7 and is colloquially also referred to as ` acid ' ( as in ` dissolved in acid ' ) , while the strict definition refers only to the solute . A lower pH means a higher acidity , and thus a higher concentration of positive hydrogen ions in the solution . Chemicals or substances having the property of an acid are said to be acidic . Common aqueous acids include hydrochloric acid ( a solution of hydrogen chloride which is found in gastric acid in the stomach and activates digestive enzymes ) , acetic acid ( vinegar is a dilute aqueous solution of this liquid ) , sulfuric acid ( used in car batteries ) , and citric acid ( found in citrus fruits ) . As these examples show , acids ( in the colloquial sense ) can be solutions or pure substances , and can be derived from acids ( in the strict sense ) that are solids , liquids , or gases . Strong acids and some concentrated weak acids are corrosive , but there are exceptions such as carboranes and boric acid . The second category of acids are Lewis acids , which form a covalent bond with an electron pair . An example is boron trifluoride ( BF3 ) , whose boron atom has a vacant orbital which can form a covalent bond by sharing a lone pair of electrons on an atom in a base , for example the nitrogen atom in ammonia ( NH3 ) . Lewis considered this as a generalization of the Brønsted definition , so that an acid is a chemical species that accepts electron pairs either directly or by releasing protons ( H + ) into the solution , which then accept electron pairs . However , hydrogen chloride , acetic acid , and most other Brønsted-Lowry acids can not form a covalent bond with an electron pair and are therefore not Lewis acids . Conversely , many Lewis acids are not Arrhenius or Brønsted-Lowry acids . In modern terminology , an acid is implicitly a Brønsted acid and not a Lewis acid , since chemists almost always refer to a Lewis acid explicitly as a Lewis acid .
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Americans
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Americans are citizens of the United States of America . The country is home to people of many different national origins . As a result , Americans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity , but with citizenship and allegiance . Although citizens make up the majority of Americans , non-citizen residents , dual citizens , and expatriates may also claim an American identity . The use in English of the term `` American '' to exclusively mean people of the United States developed from its original use to differentiate English people of the American colonies from English people of England despite its linguistic ambiguity in other senses of the word `` American '' , which can also refer to people from the Americas in general . See Names for United States citizens .
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Aircraft_lease
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Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators . Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons : to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them , and to provide temporary increase in capacity . The industry has two main leasing types : wet-leasing , which is normally used for short-term leasing , and dry-leasing which is more normal for longer-term leases . The industry also uses combinations of wet and dry . For example , when the aircraft is wet-leased to establish new services , then as the airline 's flight or cabin crews become trained , they can be switched to a dry lease . 50 % of global lessor set are based in Ireland and in 2015 over $ 120b of new commercial aircraft was delivered worldwide . Operating leases of jet airliner accounted for less than 2 % of the fleet in 1976 , then 15 % in the early 1990s , 25 % in 2000 and 40 % in 2017 , with lessors involved in 62 % of second hand mid-life aircraft transactions since 2000 : 42 % in Europe and 29 % in North America .
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Alaska
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Alaska ( -LSB- əˈlæskə -RSB- ) is a U.S. state located in the northwest extremity of North America . The Canadian administrative divisions of British Columbia and Yukon border the state to the east ; its most extreme western part is Attu Island ; it has a maritime border with Russia to the west across the Bering Strait . To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort seas -- the southern parts of the Arctic Ocean . The Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southwest . It is the largest state in the United States by area . In addition , it is the 3rd least populous and the most sparsely populated of the 50 United States ; nevertheless , it is by far the most populous territory located mostly north of the 60th parallel in North America , its population ( the total estimated at 738,432 by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015 ) more than quadrupling the combined populations of Northern Canada and Greenland . Approximately half of Alaska 's residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area . Alaska 's economy is dominated by the fishing , natural gas , and oil industries , resources which it has in abundance . Military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy . The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire on March 30 , 1867 , for 7.2 million U.S. dollars at approximately two cents per acre ( $ 4.74 / km2 ) . The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11 , 1912 . It was admitted as the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3 , 1959 .
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Amundsen–Scott_South_Pole_Station
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The Amundsen -- Scott South Pole Station is a United States scientific research station at the South Pole , the southernmost place on the Earth . The station is located on the high plateau of Antarctica at an elevation of 2,835 metres ( 9,301 feet ) above sea level and is administered by the Division of Polar Programs within the National Science Foundation under the United States Antarctic Program ( USAP ) . The original Amundsen -- Scott Station was built by Navy Seabees for the Federal government of the United States during November 1956 , as a part of its commitment to the scientific goals of the International Geophysical Year ( IGY ) , an international effort lasting from January 1957 through June 1958 , to study , among other things , the geophysics of the polar regions of Earth . Before November 1956 , there was no permanent human structure at the South Pole , and very little human presence in the interior of Antarctica at all . The few scientific stations in Antarctica were located on and near its seacoast . The station has been continuously occupied since it was built . The Amundsen -- Scott Station has been rebuilt , demolished , expanded , and upgraded several times since 1956 . Since the Amundsen -- Scott Station is located at the South Pole , it is at the only place on the land surface of the Earth where the Sun is continuously up for six months and then continuously down for six months . ( The only other such place is at the North Pole , on the sea ice in the middle of the Arctic Ocean . ) Thus , during each year , this station experiences one extremely long `` day '' and one extremely long `` night '' . During the six-month `` day '' , the angle of elevation of the Sun above the horizon varies continuously . The Sun rises on the September equinox , reaches its maximum angle above the horizon on the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere , around December 20 , and sets on the March equinox . During the six-month `` night '' , it gets extremely cold at the South Pole , with air temperatures sometimes dropping below -73 ° C . This is also the time of the year when blizzards , sometimes with gale-force winds , strike the Amundsen -- Scott Station . The continuous period of darkness and dry atmosphere make the station an excellent place from which to make astronomical observations , although the Moon is up for two weeks of every 27.3 days . The number of scientific researchers and members of the support staff housed at the Amundsen -- Scott Station has always varied seasonally , with a peak population of about 200 in the summer operational season from October to February . In recent years the winter-time population has been around 50 people .
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American_Civil_War
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The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865 . After a long standing controversy over slavery and state 's rights , war broke out in April 1861 , when Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina , shortly after Abraham Lincoln was elected . The nationalists of the Union proclaimed loyalty to the U.S. Constitution . They faced secessionists of the Confederate States of America advocating states ' rights to perpetual slavery and its expansion in the Americas . Among the 34 U.S. states in February 1861 , seven Southern slave states individually declared their secession from the U.S. to form the Confederate States of America . The Confederacy grew to include eleven states ; it claimed two more border states ( Kentucky and Missouri ) , the Indian Territory , and the southern portions of the Union 's western territories of Arizona and New Mexico , which was organized and incorporated into the Confederacy as Confederate Arizona . The Confederacy was never diplomatically recognized by the United States government , nor was it recognized by any foreign country ( although Britain and France granted it belligerent status ) . The states that remained loyal , including the border states where slavery was legal , were known as the Union or the North . The North and South quickly raised volunteer and conscription armies that fought mostly in the South over four years . During this time many innovations in warfare occurred , including the development and use of iron-clad ships , ultimately changing naval strategy around the world . The Union finally won the war when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the battle of Appomattox , which triggered a series of surrenders by Confederate generals throughout the southern states . Four years of intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers dead , a higher number than the number of American military deaths in World War I and World War II combined , and much of the South 's infrastructure was destroyed . The Confederacy collapsed , slavery was abolished and 4 million slaves were freed . The Reconstruction Era ( 1863 -- 1877 ) overlapped and followed the war , with the process of restoring national unity , strengthening the national government , and granting civil rights to freed slaves throughout the country . The Civil War is arguably the most studied and written about episode in American history .
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Airliner
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An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo . Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines . Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country , an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service . The largest airliners are wide-body jets . These aircraft are frequently called twin-aisle aircraft because they generally have two separate aisles running from the front to the back of the passenger cabin . These aircraft are usually used for long-haul flights between airline hubs and major cities with many passengers . A smaller , more common class of airliners is the narrow-body or single aisle aircraft . These smaller airliners are generally used for short to medium-distance flights with fewer passengers than their wide-body counterparts . Regional airliners typically seat fewer than 100 passengers and may be powered by turbofans or turboprops . These airliners are the non-mainline counterparts to the larger aircraft operated by the major carriers , legacy carriers , and flag carriers and are used to feed traffic into the large airline hubs . These regional routes then form the spokes of a hub-and-spoke air transport model . The lightest ( light aircraft , list of light transport aircraft ) of short haul regional feeder airliner type aircraft that carry 19 or fewer passenger seats are called commuter aircraft , commuterliners , feederliners , and air taxis , depending on their size , engines , how they are marketed , region of the world , and seating configurations . The Beechcraft 1900 , for example , has only 19 seats .
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American_Legislative_Exchange_Council
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The American Legislative Exchange Council ( ALEC ) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives that drafts and shares model state-level legislation for distribution among state governments in the United States . ALEC provides a forum for state legislators and private sector members to collaborate on model bills -- draft legislation that members may customize and introduce for debate in their own state legislatures . ALEC has produced model bills on a broad range of issues , such as reducing regulation and individual and corporate taxation , combating illegal immigration , loosening environmental regulations , tightening voter identification rules , weakening labor unions and opposing gun control . Some of these bills dominate legislative agendas in states such as Arizona , Wisconsin , Colorado , Michigan , New Hampshire , and Maine . Approximately 200 model bills become law each year . ALEC also serves as a networking tool among state legislators , allowing them to research conservative policies implemented in other states . Many ALEC legislators say the organization converts campaign rhetoric and nascent policy ideas into legislative language . ALEC 's activities , while legal , received public scrutiny after being reported by liberal groups in 2011 and after news reports from outlets such as The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek described ALEC as an organization that gave corporate interests outsized influence . Resulting public pressure led to a number of legislators and corporations withdrawing from the organization .
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Alentejo
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Alentejo is a geographical , historical and cultural region of south-central and southern Portugal . Literally , in Portuguese it means `` beyond '' ( além ) Tagus river ( Tejo ) . Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo . It corresponds to the districts of Beja , Évora , Portalegre and the Alentejo Litoral . The main cities are : Évora , Beja , Serpa , Estremoz , Elvas and Portalegre . It has borders with Beira Baixa in the North , with Spain ( Andalucia and Extremadura in the east , with Algarve in the South and with the Atlantic Ocean , Ribatejo and Estremadura in the West . The Alentejo is a region known for its traditional polyphonic singing groups , similar to those found in Tuscany , Corsica , and elsewhere .
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Air_pollution
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Air pollution occurs when harmful substances including particulates and biological molecules are introduced into Earth 's atmosphere . It may cause diseases , allergies or death in humans ; it may also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops , and may damage the natural or built environment . Human activity and natural processes can both generate air pollution . Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world 's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World 's Worst Polluted Places report . According to the 2014 WHO report , air pollution in 2012 caused the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide , an estimate roughly matched by the International Energy Agency .
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Alaska_North_Slope
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The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean , the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow , and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern .
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Albany,_New_York
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Albany ( -LSB- ˈɔːlbəni -RSB- ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York and the seat of Albany County . Roughly 150 mi north of New York City , Albany developed on the west bank of the Hudson River , about 10 mi south of its confluence with the Mohawk River . The population of the City of Albany was 97,856 according to the 2010 census . Albany constitutes the economic and cultural core of the Capital District of New York State , which comprises the Albany-Schenectady-Troy , NY Metropolitan Statistical Area , including the nearby cities and suburbs of Troy , Schenectady , and Saratoga Springs . With a 2013 Census-estimated population of 1.1 million the Capital District is the third-most populous metropolitan region in the state and 38th in the United States . Fortune 500 companies with offices in Albany include American Express , J.P. Morgan and Chase , Merrill Lynch , General Electric , Verizon , Goldman Sachs , International Paper , and Key Bank . In the 21st century , the Capital District has emerged as a major anchor of Tech Valley , the moniker describing the technologically-focused region of eastern New York State . This was the first European settlement in the state . It was settled by Dutch colonists who in 1614 , built Fort Nassau for fur trading and Fort Orange in 1624 . They formed successful relations with both the Mahican and the Mohawk peoples , two major Native American nations in the region . The fur trade attracted settlers who founded a village called Beverwijck near Fort Orange . In 1664 the English took over the Dutch settlements , renaming the city as Albany , in honor of the then Duke of Albany , the future James II of England and James VII of Scotland . The city was officially chartered in 1686 under English rule . It became the capital of New York State in 1797 , following the United States gaining independence in the American Revolutionary War . Albany is one of the oldest surviving settlements of the original British thirteen colonies , and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States . Its charter is possibly the longest-running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere . During the late 18th century and throughout most of the 19th , Albany was a center of trade and transportation . It is on the north end of the navigable Hudson River , was the original eastern terminus of the Erie Canal connecting to the Great Lakes , and was home to some of the earliest railroad systems in the world . Albany 's main exports at the time were beer , lumber , published works , and ironworks . Beginning in 1810 , Albany was one of the ten most populous cities in the United States , a distinction it held until the 1860 census . Albany is one of the first cities in the world to have installed public water mains , sewer lines , natural gas lines and electricity , infrastructure and utilities that attracted and supported substantial new industry to the city and surrounding area during the 19th century . In the 20th century , the city opened one of the first commercial airports in the world , the precursor of today 's Albany International Airport . During the 1920s a powerful political machine controlled by the Democratic Party arose in the state capital , connected to politics in New York City as well . It marshalled the power of immigrants and their descendants in both cities . The city 's skyline changed in the 1960s and 1970s with the construction of office towers around the Empire State Plaza and at the uptown campus of SUNY Albany , mainly under the direction of Governor Nelson Rockefeller . While Albany experienced a decline in its population due to urban sprawl and suburbanization , many of its historic neighborhoods were saved from destruction through the policies of Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd , the longest-serving mayor of any city in the United States . In the early 21st century , Albany has experienced growth in the high-technology industry , with great strides in the nanotechnology sector . Albany has been a center of higher education for over a century , with much of the remainder of its economy dependent on state government and health care services . The city has rebounded from the urban decline of the 1970s and 1980s , with noticeable development taking place in the city 's downtown and midtown neighborhoods . Albany is known for its rich history , commerce , culture , architecture , and institutions of higher education . Albany won the All-America City Award in both 1991 and 2009 .
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Al_Gore
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Albert Arnold Gore Jr. ( born March 31 , 1948 ) is an American politician and environmentalist who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton . He was Clinton 's running mate in their successful campaign in 1992 , and was re-elected in 1996 . At the end of Clinton 's second term , Gore was picked as the Democratic nominee for the 2000 presidential election . After leaving office , Gore remained prominent as an author and environmental activist , whose work in climate change activism earned him ( jointly with the IPCC ) the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 . Gore was an elected official for 24 years . He was a Congressman from Tennessee ( 1977 -- 85 ) and from 1985 to 1993 served as one of the state 's Senators . He served as Vice President during the Clinton administration from 1993 to 2001 . In the 2000 presidential election , in what was one of the closest presidential races in history , Gore won the popular vote but lost in the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush . A controversial election dispute over a vote recount in Florida was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court , which ruled 5 -- 4 in favor of Bush . Gore is the founder and current chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection , the co-founder and chair of Generation Investment Management and the now-defunct Current TV network , a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Inc. , and a senior adviser to Google . Gore is also a partner in the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers , heading its climate change solutions group . He has served as a visiting professor at Middle Tennessee State University , Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism , Fisk University , and the University of California , Los Angeles . He served on the Board of Directors of World Resources Institute . Gore has received a number of awards including the Nobel Peace Prize ( joint award with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2007 ) , a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album ( 2009 ) for his book An Inconvenient Truth , a Primetime Emmy Award for Current TV ( 2007 ) , and a Webby Award ( 2005 ) . Gore was also the subject of the Academy Award-winning ( 2007 ) documentary An Inconvenient Truth in 2006 . In 2007 , he was named a runner-up for Time 2007 Person of the Year .
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Amazon_basin
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The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries . The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,500,000 km2 , or roughly 40 percent of the South American continent . It is located in the countries of Bolivia , Brazil , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Peru , Suriname and Venezuela . Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon Rainforest , also known as Amazonia . With a 5500000 km2 area of dense tropical forest , this is the largest rainforest in the world .
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Alcoa
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Alcoa Corporation ( from Aluminum Company of America ) is an American industrial corporation . It is the world 's fifth largest producer of aluminum , with corporate headquarters in New York City . From its operational base in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania in the United States , Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries . Alcoa is a major producer of primary aluminum , fabricated aluminum , and alumina combined , through its active and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry : technology , mining , refining , smelting , fabricating , and recycling . In May 2007 Alcoa Inc. made a US$ 27 billion hostile takeover bid for Alcan in an attempt to form the world 's largest aluminum producer . The bid was withdrawn when Alcan announced a friendly takeover by Rio Tinto in July 2007 . On November 1 , 2016 , Alcoa Inc. split into two new entities : Alcoa Corporation , which is engaged in the mining and manufacture of raw aluminum , and Arconic , which processes aluminum and other metals . In April 2017 , Alcoa announced it will move its headquarters back to Pittsburgh effective September 1 .
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Air_National_Guard
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The Air National Guard ( ANG ) , also known as the Air Guard , is a federal military reserve force as well as the militia air force of each U.S. state , the District of Columbia , the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , and the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands . It , along with each state 's , district 's , commonwealth 's or territory 's Army National Guard component , makes up the National Guard of each state and the districts , commonwealths and territories as applicable . When Air National Guard units are used under the jurisdiction of the state governor they are fulfilling their militia role . However , if federalized by order of the President of the United States , ANG units become an active part of the United States Air Force . They are jointly administered by the states and the National Guard Bureau , a joint bureau of the Army and Air Force that oversees the National Guard of the United States . Air National Guard units are organized and federally recognized federal military reserve forces in each of the fifty U.S. states , the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands , and the District of Columbia of the United States . Each state , the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has a minimum of one ANG flying unit with either assigned aircraft or aircraft shared with a unit of the active duty Air Force or the Air Force Reserve under an `` Associate '' arrangement . The ANG of the territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands have no aircraft assigned and perform ground support functions . Air National Guard activities may be located on active duty air force bases , air reserve bases , naval air stations/joint reserve bases , or air national guard bases and stations which are either independent military facilities or collocated as tenants on civilian-controlled joint civil-military airports . ANG units typically operate under Title 32 USC . However , when operating under Title 10 USC all ANG units are operationally gained by an active duty USAF major command ( MAJCOM ) . ANG units of the Combat Air Forces ( CAF ) based in the Continental United States ( CONUS ) , plus a single air control squadron of the Puerto Rico ANG , are gained by the Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . CONUS-based ANG units in the Mobility Air Forces ( MAF ) , plus the Puerto Rico ANG 's airlift wing and the Virgin Islands ANG 's civil engineering squadron are gained by the Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) . The vast majority of ANG units fall under either ACC or AMC . However , there remain a few exceptions , such as the Alaska ANG , Hawaii ANG and Guam ANG , whose CAF and MAF units are operationally gained by Pacific Air Forces ( PACAF ) , while a smaller number of ANG units in CONUS are operationally gained by Air Education and Training Command ( AETC ) , Air Force Global Strike Command ( AFGSC ) , Air Force Special Operations Command ( AFSOC ) , Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC ) , and United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa ( USAFE-AFAFRICA ) .
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An_Inconvenient_Truth
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An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore 's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that , by his own estimate made in the film , he has given more than a thousand times . The idea to document his efforts came from producer Laurie David , who saw his presentation at a town-hall meeting on global warming , which coincided with the opening of The Day After Tomorrow . Laurie David was so inspired by Gore 's slide show that she , with producer Lawrence Bender , met with Guggenheim to adapt the presentation into a film . Premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opening in New York City and Los Angeles on May 24 , 2006 , the documentary was a critical and box office success , winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song . The film grossed $ 24 million in the U.S. and $ 26 million at the international box office , becoming the tenth highest grossing documentary film to date in the United States . Since the film 's release , An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising international public awareness of global warming and reenergizing the environmental movement . The documentary has also been included in science curricula in schools around the world , which has spurred some controversy . A sequel to the film , titled An Inconvenient Sequel : Truth to Power , will be released on July 28 , 2017 .
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Algae
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Algae ( -LSB- ˈældʒi , _ ˈælɡi -RSB- singular alga -LSB- ˈælɡə -RSB- ) is an informal term for a large , diverse group of photosynthetic organisms which are not necessarily closely related , and is thus polyphyletic . Included organisms range from unicellular genera , such as Chlorella and the diatoms , to multicellular forms , such as the giant kelp , a large brown alga which may grow up to 50 m in length . Most are aquatic and autotrophic and lack many of the distinct cell and tissue types , such as stomata , xylem , and phloem , which are found in land plants . The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds , while the most complex freshwater forms are the Charophyta , a division of green algae which includes , for example , Spirogyra and the stoneworts . No definition of algae is generally accepted . One definition is that algae `` have chlorophyll as their primary photosynthetic pigment and lack a sterile covering of cells around their reproductive cells '' . Some authors exclude all prokaryotes thus do not consider cyanobacteria ( blue-green algae ) as algae . Algae constitute a polyphyletic group since they do not include a common ancestor , and although their plastids seem to have a single origin , from cyanobacteria , they were acquired in different ways . Green algae are examples of algae that have primary chloroplasts derived from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria . Diatoms and brown algae are examples of algae with secondary chloroplasts derived from an endosymbiotic red alga . Algae exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies , from simple asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproduction . Algae lack the various structures that characterize land plants , such as the phyllids ( leaf-like structures ) of bryophytes , rhizoids in nonvascular plants , and the roots , leaves , and other organs found in tracheophytes ( vascular plants ) . Most are phototrophic , although some are mixotrophic , deriving energy both from photosynthesis and uptake of organic carbon either by osmotrophy , myzotrophy , or phagotrophy . Some unicellular species of green algae , many golden algae , euglenids , dinoflagellates , and other algae have become heterotrophs ( also called colorless or apochlorotic algae ) , sometimes parasitic , relying entirely on external energy sources and have limited or no photosynthetic apparatus . Some other heterotrophic organisms , such as the apicomplexans , are also derived from cells whose ancestors possessed plastids , but are not traditionally considered as algae . Algae have photosynthetic machinery ultimately derived from cyanobacteria that produce oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis , unlike other photosynthetic bacteria such as purple and green sulfur bacteria . Fossilized filamentous algae from the Vindhya basin have been dated back to 1.6 to 1.7 billion years ago .
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Amazon_rainforest
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The Amazon rainforest ( Portuguese : Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia ; Selva Amazónica , Amazonía or usually Amazonia ; Forêt amazonienne Amazoneregenwoud ) , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle , is a moist broadleaf forest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America . This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 , of which 5,500,000 km2 are covered by the rainforest . This region includes territory belonging to nine nations . The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil , with 60 % of the rainforest , followed by Peru with 13 % , Colombia with 10 % , and with minor amounts in Venezuela , Ecuador , Bolivia , Guyana , Suriname and French Guiana . States or departments in four nations contain `` Amazonas '' in their names . The Amazon represents over half of the planet 's remaining rainforests , and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world , with an estimated 390 billion individual trees divided into 16,000 species .
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Alternative_fuel
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Alternative fuels , known as non-conventional and advanced fuels , are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels , other than conventional fuels like ; fossil fuels ( petroleum ( oil ) , coal , and natural gas ) , as well as nuclear materials such as uranium and thorium , as well as artificial radioisotope fuels that are made in nuclear reactors . Some well-known alternative fuels include biodiesel , bioalcohol ( methanol , ethanol , butanol ) , refuse-derived fuel , chemically stored electricity ( batteries and fuel cells ) , hydrogen , non-fossil methane , non-fossil natural gas , vegetable oil , propane and other biomass sources .
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Alf_Ramsey
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Sir Alfred Ernest `` Alf '' Ramsey ( 22 January 1920 -- 28 April 1999 ) was an English football player and manager who , as manager of the England national football team from 1963 to 1974 , guided England to victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup . Knighted in 1967 in recognition of England 's World Cup win , Ramsey also managed England to third place in the 1968 European Championship and the quarter-finals of the 1970 World Cup and the 1972 European Championship respectively . As a player , Ramsey was a defender and a member of England 's 1950 World Cup squad . He is , , the only person to have been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame twice , both as manager and player . Ramsey was born and raised in Dagenham , which was then a quiet Essex village . He showed sporting promise from an early age and , after serving in the British Army during the Second World War , embarked on a football career , primarily as a right-back for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur . He was generally considered a rather slow , but accomplished player with a tremendous grasp of the tactical side of the game . Nicknamed `` The General '' , he was part of the Tottenham side that won the English League championship in the 1950 -- 51 season ; he also played for England 32 times between 1948 and 1953 , captaining the side three times and scoring three goals from penalty kicks . England games in which Ramsey played include the shock 1 -- 0 defeat to the United States at the 1950 World Cup and the `` Match of the Century '' against Hungary three years later . Ramsey retired from playing in 1955 to become the manager of Ipswich Town , then in the third tier of English football . Ipswich rose through the divisions over the next six years , winning the Third Division South in 1956 -- 57 and the Second Division in 1960 -- 61 . In the 1961 -- 62 season , Ipswich 's first campaign in the top division , Ramsey 's team defied expectations to become champions of England at the first attempt . Ramsey took charge of the England team a year later . In a distinct break with common practice of the day , he used a narrow formation that led to his England side being dubbed `` The Wingless Wonders '' . England 's World Cup victory at Wembley in 1966 made Ramsey a national hero , though he had his critics , both at the time and since . He lost the England job acrimoniously , following the team 's failure to qualify for the 1974 World Cup . After briefly managing Birmingham City during the 1977 -- 78 season , then acting in an advisory role at the Greek club Panathinaikos in 1979 -- 80 , Ramsey retired to Ipswich , where he led a somewhat reclusive life over the next two decades . He died in Ipswich in 1999 , aged 79 . Soon after his death , a statue of Ramsey was built outside Ipswich 's home ground at Portman Road , and a neighbouring street was named after him . A stand at Portman Road was named after Ramsey in 2012 . A second statue of Ramsey was dedicated at the reconstructed Wembley Stadium in 2009 , in the players ' tunnel . Ramsey was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 , in recognition of his achievements as a manager ; he was admitted again , as a player , in 2010 . He remains widely regarded as one of British football 's all-time great managers .
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Airline
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An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight . Airlines utilize aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements . Generally , airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body . Airlines vary in size , from small domestic airlines to full-service international airlines . Airline services can be categorized as being intercontinental , domestic , regional , or international , and may be operated as scheduled services or charters . The largest airline currently is American Airlines Group .
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Albedo
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Albedo ( -LSB- ælˈbiːdoʊ -RSB- ) is a measure for reflectance or optical brightness ( Latin albedo , Arabic albayad , `` whiteness '' ) . It is dimensionless and measured on a scale from zero ( corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation ) to one ( corresponding to a white body that reflects all incident radiation ) . Surface albedo is defined as the ratio of radiation reflected to the radiation incident on a surface . The proportion reflected is not only determined by properties of the surface itself , but also by the spectral and angular distribution of solar radiation reaching the Earth 's surface . These factors vary with atmospheric composition , geographic location and time ( see Position of the Sun ) . While bi-hemispherical reflectance is calculated for a single angle of incidence ( i.e. , for a given position of the sun ) , albedo is the directional integration of reflectance over all solar angles in a given period . The temporal resolution may range from seconds ( as obtained from flux measurements ) to daily , seasonal or annual averages . Unless given for a specific wavelength ( spectral albedo ) , albedo refers to the entire spectrum of solar radiation . Due to measurement constraints , it is often given for the spectrum in which most solar energy reaches the surface ( approximately between 0.3 and 3 μm ) . This spectrum includes visible light ( 0.39-0 .7 μm ) , which explains why surfaces with a low albedo appear dark ( e.g. , trees absorb most radiation ) , whereas surfaces with a high albedo appear bright ( e.g. , snow reflects most radiation ) . Albedo is an important concept in climatology , astronomy , and environmental management ( e.g. , as part of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) program for sustainable rating of buildings ) . The average albedo of the Earth at the top of the atmosphere , its planetary albedo , is 30 to 35 % because of cloud cover , but widely varies locally across the surface because of different geological and environmental features . The term albedo was introduced into optics by Johann Heinrich Lambert in his 1760 work Photometria .
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Alpine_climate
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Alpine climate is the average weather ( climate ) for the regions above the tree line . This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate .
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Alternative_medicine
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Alternative medicine -- or fringe medicine -- includes practices claimed to have the healing effects of medicine but which are disproven , unproven , impossible to prove , or are excessively harmful in relation to their effect ; and where the scientific consensus is that the therapy does not , or can not , work because the known laws of nature are violated by its basic claims ; or where it is considered so much worse than conventional treatment that it would be unethical to offer as treatment . Alternative therapies or diagnoses are not part of medicine or science-based healthcare systems . Alternative medicine consists of a wide variety of practices , products , and therapies -- ranging from those that are biologically plausible but not well tested , to those with known harmful and toxic effects . Contrary to popular belief , significant expense is paid to test alternative medicine , including over $ 2.5 billion spent by the United States government . Almost none show any effect beyond that of false treatment . Perceived effects of alternative medicine may be caused by placebo ; decreased effect of functional treatment ( and therefore potentially decreased side effects ) ; and regression toward the mean where improvement that would have occurred anyway is credited to alternative therapies ; or any combination of the above . Alternative treatments are neither the same as experimental medicine , nor traditional medicine -- although the latter , when used today may be considered alternative . Alternative medicine has grown in popularity and is used by a significant percentage of the population in many countries . While it has extensively rebranded itself : from quackery to complementary or integrative medicine -- it promotes essentially the same practices . Newer proponents often suggest alternative medicine be used together with functional medical treatment , in a belief that it `` complements '' ( improves the effect of , or mitigates the side effects of ) the treatment . There is no evidence showing they do so , and significant drug interactions caused by alternative therapies may instead negatively influence treatments , making them less effective , notably cancer therapy . Despite being illegal to market alternative therapies for cancer treatment in most of the developed world , many cancer patients use them . Alternative medical diagnoses and treatments are not taught as part of science-based curricula in medical schools , and are not used in any practice where treatment is based on scientific knowledge or proven experience . Alternative therapies are often based on religion , tradition , superstition , belief in supernatural energies , pseudoscience , errors in reasoning , propaganda , fraud , or lies . Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine and health care providers varies between and within countries . Alternative medicine is criticized for being based on misleading statements , quackery , pseudoscience , antiscience , fraud , or poor scientific methodology . Promoting alternative medicine has been called dangerous and unethical . Testing alternative medicine that has no scientific basis has been called a waste of scarce research resources . Critics state `` there is really no such thing as alternative medicine , just medicine that works and medicine that does n't '' , and the problem with the idea of `` alternative '' treatments in this sense is that the `` underlying logic is magical , childish or downright absurd '' . It has been strongly suggested that the very idea of any alternative treatment that works is paradoxical , as any treatment proven to work is by definition `` medicine '' .
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Airplane
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An airplane or aeroplane ( informally plane ) is a powered , fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine or propeller . Airplanes come in a variety of sizes , shapes , and wing configurations . The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation , transportation of goods and people , military , and research . Commercial aviation is a massive industry involving the flying of tens of thousands of passengers daily on airliners . Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft , but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled . The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903 , recognized as `` the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight '' . They built on the works of George Cayley dating from 1799 , when he set forth the concept of the modern airplane ( and later built and flew models and successful passenger-carrying gliders ) . Between 1867 and 1896 , the German pioneer of human aviation Otto Lilienthal also studied heavier-than-air flight . Following its limited use in World War I , aircraft technology continued to develop . Airplanes had a presence in all the major battles of World War II . The first jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178 in 1939 . The first jet airliner , the de Havilland Comet , was introduced in 1952 . The Boeing 707 , the first widely successful commercial jet , was in commercial service for more than 50 years , from 1958 to at least 2013 .
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Anaerobic_digestion
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Anaerobic digestion is a collection of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen . The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste or to produce fuels . Much of the fermentation used industrially to produce food and drink products , as well as home fermentation , uses anaerobic digestion . Anaerobic digestion occurs naturally in some soils and in lake and oceanic basin sediments , where it is usually referred to as `` anaerobic activity '' . This is the source of marsh gas methane as discovered by Volta in 1776 . The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials . Insoluble organic polymers , such as carbohydrates , are broken down to soluble derivatives that become available for other bacteria . Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide , hydrogen , ammonia , and organic acids . These bacteria convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid , along with additional ammonia , hydrogen , and carbon dioxide . Finally , methanogens convert these products to methane and carbon dioxide . The methanogenic archaea populations play an indispensable role in anaerobic wastewater treatments . Anaerobic digestion is used as part of the process to treat biodegradable waste and sewage sludge . As part of an integrated waste management system , anaerobic digestion reduces the emission of landfill gas into the atmosphere . Anaerobic digesters can also be fed with purpose-grown energy crops , such as maize . Anaerobic digestion is widely used as a source of renewable energy . The process produces a biogas , consisting of methane , carbon dioxide and traces of other ` contaminant ' gases . This biogas can be used directly as fuel , in combined heat and power gas engines or upgraded to natural gas-quality biomethane . The nutrient-rich digestate also produced can be used as fertilizer . With the re-use of waste as a resource and new technological approaches that have lowered capital costs , anaerobic digestion has in recent years received increased attention among governments in a number of countries , among these the United Kingdom ( 2011 ) , Germany and Denmark ( 2011 ) .
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Arab_Spring
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The Arab Spring ( الربيع العربي ar-Rabīʻ al-ʻArabī ) also referred to as Arab revolutions ( الثورات العربية aṯ - ` awrāt al-ʻarabiyyah ) or Democracy Spring ( الربيع الديمقراطي ar-Rabīʻ ad-Dīmuqrāṭī ) was a revolutionary wave of both violent and non-violent demonstrations , protests , riots , coups and civil wars in North Africa and the Middle East that began on 17 December 2010 in Tunisia with the Tunisian Revolution . The Tunisian Revolution effect spread strongly to five other countries : Libya , Egypt , Yemen , Syria and Iraq , where either the regime was toppled or major uprisings and social violence occurred , including civil wars or insurgencies . Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco , Bahrain , Algeria , Iran , Lebanon , Jordan , Kuwait , Oman and Sudan . Minor protests occurred in Djibouti , Mauritania , the Palestinian territories , Saudi Arabia , Somalia and the Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara . A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām ( `` the people want to bring down the regime '' ) . The wave of initial revolutions and protests faded by mid-2012 , as many Arab Spring demonstrations were met with violent responses from authorities , as well as from pro-government militias and counter-demonstrators . These attacks were answered with violence from protestors in some cases . Large-scale conflicts resulted -- the Syrian Civil War , Iraqi insurgency and the following civil war , the Egyptian Crisis and coup , the Libyan Crisis , and the Crisis in Yemen . A power struggle continued after the immediate response to the Arab Spring . While leadership changed and regimes were held accountable , power went up for grabs across the Arab world . Ultimately it came down to a contentious battle between a consolidation of power by religious elites and the growing support for democracy in many Muslim-majority states . The early hopes that these popular movements would end corruption , increase political participation , and bring about greater economic equity , quickly collapsed in the wake of the counterrevolutionary moves of the deep state in Egypt , the regional and international interventions in Bahrain and Yemen , and the destructive civil wars in Syria and Libya . Some have referred to the succeeding and still ongoing conflicts as the Arab Winter . As of July 2016 , only the uprising in Tunisia resulted in a transition to constitutional democratic governance .
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Antarctic_sea_ice
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Antarctic sea ice is the sea ice of the Southern Ocean . It extends far north in winter and retreats almost to the coastline each summer . Sea ice is frozen seawater that is usually less than a few meters thick . This is in contrast to ice shelves , which are formed by glaciers , float in the sea , and are up to a kilometer thick . There are two subdivisions of sea ice : fast ice , which is attached to land ; and ice floes , which are not . Sea ice in the Southern Ocean melts from the bottom instead of from the surface like Arctic ice because it is covered in snow . As a result , melt ponds are rarely observed . On average , Antarctic sea ice is younger , thinner , warmer , saltier , and more mobile than Arctic sea ice . Due to its inaccessibility , it is not as well-studied as Arctic ice .
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Aralam_Wildlife_Sanctuary
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Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is the northernmost wildlife sanctuary of Kerala , southwest India . It is 55 km2 in area and located on the western slope of the Western Ghats . It was established in 1984 . The headquarters of the sanctuary is near Iritty . Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the southeast part of Kannur District . It lies between 11 ° 54 ′ and 11 ° 59 ′ north latitude and 75 ° 47 ′ and 75 ° 57 ′ east longitude . The sanctuary area falls in Aralam , Kelakam and Kottiyoor revenue villages and is located in the northwest slopes of Western Ghats contiguous with the forests of Coorg ( Kodagu ) district of Karnataka state . The PA ( protected area ) consists of Aralam Range , the only range of Aralam wildlife division , which is part of Northern Wildlife Circle ( Northern Region ) Palakkad . The extent of the sanctuary is 55 km2 . The sanctuary was constituted in 1984 as per GO ( P ) 300/84/AD dated 15 October 1984 . It was formed by carving out areas from the Odanthode Malavaram of Thalassery special division which was an erstwhile private forest , subsequently taken over by Govt . as per the provisions of the Kerala Private Forests ( vesting and assignment ) Act 1971 and from the Kottiyoor RF of Wayanad Forest Division . The vested forest portion of the sanctuary is 32.64 km2 and the 22.36 km2 is part of Kottiyoor RF ( Reserved Forest ) . Till 30.6.98 this sanctuary was a range in Wayanad Wildlife Division . It started functioning as an independent wildlife division since 1.7.98 as per GO ( MS ) 36/98 dated 27.5.98 . In the First Management Plan the entire area was divided into two zones viz : the Core Zone and the Buffer Zone.Climatic factors include rainfall , temperature , humidity , frost and so on . Average rainfall : 4000 mm Temperature : 11.0 ° C to 40.0 ° C Humidity : 60 to 100 % Wind : Regular wind during Southwest monsoon Water source : Cheenkannipuzha
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Anti-submarine_warfare
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Anti-submarine warfare ( ASW , or in older form A/S ) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships , aircraft , or other submarines to find , track and deter , damage or destroy enemy submarines . Successful anti-submarine warfare depends on a mix of sensor and weapon technology , training , and experience . Sophisticated sonar equipment for first detecting , then classifying , locating and tracking the target submarine is a key element of ASW . To destroy submarines both the torpedo and mine are used , launched from air , surface and underwater platforms . Other means of destruction have been used in the past but are now obsolete . ASW also involves protecting friendly ships .
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Aqua_(satellite)
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Aqua ( EOS PM-1 ) is a multi-national NASA scientific research satellite in orbit around the Earth , studying the precipitation , evaporation , and cycling of water . It is the second major component of the Earth Observing System ( EOS ) preceded by Terra ( launched 1999 ) and followed by Aura ( launched 2004 ) . The name `` Aqua '' comes from the Latin word for water . The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on May 4 , 2002 , aboard a Delta II rocket . Aqua is on a Sun-synchronous orbit . It flies as the second in the satellite formation called the `` A Train '' with several other satellites ( Aura , CALIPSO , CloudSat , OCO-2 , the French PARASOL , and the Japanese GCOM W1 ) .
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Arctic_oscillation
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The Arctic oscillation ( AO ) or Northern Annular Mode/Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode ( NAM ) is an index ( which varies over time with no particular periodicity ) of the dominant pattern of non-seasonal sea-level pressure variations north of 20N latitude , and it is characterized by pressure anomalies of one sign in the Arctic with the opposite anomalies centered about 37 -- 45N . The AO is believed by climatologists to be causally related to , and thus partially predictive of , weather patterns in locations many thousands of miles away , including many of the major population centers of Europe and North America . NASA climatologist Dr. James E. Hansen explained the mechanism by which the AO affects weather at points so distant from the Arctic , as follows : `` The degree to which Arctic air penetrates into middle latitudes is related to the AO index , which is defined by surface atmospheric pressure patterns . When the AO index is positive , surface pressure is low in the polar region . This helps the middle latitude jet stream to blow strongly and consistently from west to east , thus keeping cold Arctic air locked in the polar region . When the AO index is negative , there tends to be high pressure in the polar region , weaker zonal winds , and greater movement of frigid polar air into middle latitudes . '' This zonally symmetric seesaw between sea level pressures in polar and temperate latitudes was first identified by Edward Lorenz and named in 1998 by David W.J. Thompson and John Michael Wallace . The North Atlantic oscillation ( NAO ) is a close relative of the AO and there exist arguments about whether one or the other is more fundamentally representative of the atmosphere 's dynamics ; Ambaum et al. argue that the NAO can be identified in a more physically meaningful way . Over most of the past century , the Arctic Oscillation alternated between its positive and negative phases . Starting in the 1970s the oscillation has trended to more of a positive phase when averaged using a 60-day running mean , though it has trended to a more neutral state in the last decade . The oscillation still fluctuates stochastically between negative and positive values on daily , monthly , seasonal and annual time scales , although , despite its stochastic nature , meteorologists have attained high levels of predictive accuracy in recent times , at least for the shorter term forecasts . ( The correlation between actual observations and the 7-day mean GFS ensemble AO forecasts is approximately 0.9 , a figure at the high end for that statistic . ) The National Snow and Ice Data Center describes the effects of the AO in some detail : `` In the positive phase , higher pressure at midlatitudes drives ocean storms farther north , and changes in the circulation pattern bring wetter weather to Alaska , Scotland and Scandinavia , as well as drier conditions to the western United States and the Mediterranean . In the positive phase , frigid winter air does not extend as far into the middle of North America as it would during the negative phase of the oscillation . This keeps much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains warmer than normal , but leaves Greenland and Newfoundland colder than usual . Weather patterns in the negative phase are in general `` opposite '' to those of the positive phase . '' Climatologists are now routinely invoking the Arctic Oscillation in their official public explanations for extremes of weather . The following statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's National Climatic Data Center : State of the Climate December 2010 which uses the phrase `` negative Arctic Oscillation '' four times , is very representative of this increasing tendency : `` Cold arctic air gripped western Europe in the first three weeks of December . Two major snowstorms , icy conditions , and frigid temperatures wreaked havoc across much of the region ... The harsh winter weather was attributed to a negative Arctic Oscillation , which is a climate pattern that influences weather in the Northern Hemisphere . A very persistent , strong ridge of high pressure , or ` blocking system ' , near Greenland allowed cold Arctic air to slide south into Europe . Europe was not the only region in the Northern Hemisphere affected by the Arctic Oscillation . A large snow storm and frigid temperatures affected much of the Midwest United States on December 10 -- 13 ... '' A further , quite graphic illustration of the effects of the negative phase of the oscillation occurred in February 2010 . In that month , the Arctic Oscillation reached its most negative monthly mean value , − 4.266 , in the entire post-1950 era ( the period of accurate record-keeping ) . That month was characterized by three separate historic snowstorms that occurred in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States . The first storm dumped 25 in on Baltimore , Maryland , on February 5 -- 6 , and then a second storm dumped 19.5 in on February 9 -- 10 . In New York City , a separate storm deposited 20.9 in on February 25 -- 26 . This kind of snowstorm activity is as anomalous and extreme as the negative AO value itself . Similarly , the greatest negative value for the AO since 1950 in January was − 3.767 in 1977 , which coincided with the coldest mean January temperature in New York City , Washington , D.C. , Baltimore , and many other mid-Atlantic locations in that span of time . And though the January AO has been negative only 60.6 % of the time between 1950 and 2010 , 9 of the 10 coldest Januarys in New York City since 1950 have coincided with negative AOs . However , the correlation between sharply negative Arctic Oscillations and excessive winter cold and snow in regions vulnerable in that way to these negative AOs should not be overstated . It is by no means a simple , one-to-one equivalence . An extreme Arctic Oscillation does not necessarily mean extreme weather will occur . For example , since 1950 , eight out of the 10 coldest Januarys in New York did not coincide with the 10 lowest January AO values . And the fourth warmest January there since 1950 coincided with one of those 10 most negative AOs . So , although many climatologists believe that the Arctic Oscillation affects the probability of certain weather events occurring in certain places , the heightened chance of a phenomenon by no means assures it , nor does the lessened likelihood exclude it . Further , the precise value of the AO index only imperfectly reflects the severity of the weather associated with it .
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Arctic_methane_emissions
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Arctic methane release is the release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic . While a long-term natural process , it is exacerbated by global warming . This results in a positive feedback effect , as methane is itself a powerful greenhouse gas . The Arctic region is one of the many natural sources of the greenhouse gas methane . Global warming accelerates its release , due to both release of methane from existing stores , and from methanogenesis in rotting biomass . Large quantities of methane are stored in the Arctic in natural gas deposits , permafrost , and as undersea clathrates . Permafrost and clathrates degrade on warming , thus large releases of methane from these sources may arise as a result of global warming . Other sources of methane include submarine taliks , river transport , ice complex retreat , submarine permafrost and decaying gas hydrate deposits . Concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere are higher by 8 -- 10 % than that in the Antarctic atmosphere . During cold glacier epochs , this gradient decreases to practically insignificant levels . Land ecosystems are considered the main sources of this asymmetry , although it has been suggested that `` the role of the Arctic Ocean is significantly underestimated . '' Soil temperature and moisture levels have been found to be significant variables in soil methane fluxes in tundra environments .
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Apple_Corps
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Apple Corps Ltd ( informally known as Apple ) is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company ( Beatles Ltd ) and to form a conglomerate . Its name ( pronounced `` apple core '' ) is a pun . Its chief division is Apple Records , which was launched in the same year . Other divisions included Apple Electronics , Apple Films , Apple Publishing and Apple Retail , whose most notable venture was the ill-fated Apple Boutique , on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street in central London . Apple 's headquarters in the late 1960s was at the upper floors of 94 Baker Street , after that at 95 Wigmore Street , and subsequently at 3 Savile Row . The latter address was also known as the Apple Building , which was home to the Apple Studio . From 1970 to 2007 , Apple 's chief executive was former Beatles road manager Neil Aspinall , although he did not officially bear that title until Allen Klein had left the company . The current CEO is Jeff Jones . In 2010 , Apple Corps ranked number 2 on the Fast Company magazine 's list of the world 's most innovative companies in the music industry , thanks to the release of The Beatles : Rock Band video game and the remastering of the Beatles ' catalogue .
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Anthozoa
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Anthozoa is a class within the phylum Cnidaria . Unlike other cnidarians , anthozoans do not have a medusa stage in their development . Instead , they release sperm and eggs that form a planula , which attaches to some substrate on which the cnidarian grows . Some anthozoans can also reproduce asexually through budding . More than 6,100 species have been described . The name comes from the Greek words -LSB- : wikt : άνθος , άνθος -RSB- ( ánthos ; `` flower '' ) and -LSB- : wikt : ζῷον , ζώα -RSB- ( zóa ; `` animals '' ) , hence ανθόζωα ( anthozoa ) = `` flower animals '' , a reference to the floral appearance of their perennial polyp stage .
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Antarctic_ice_sheet
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The Antarctic ice sheet is one of the two polar ice caps of the Earth . It covers about 98 % of the Antarctic continent and is the largest single mass of ice on Earth . It covers an area of almost 14 e6km2 and contains 26.5 e6km3 of ice . Approximately 61 percent of all fresh water on the Earth is held in the Antarctic ice sheet , an amount equivalent to about 58 m of sea-level rise . In East Antarctica , the ice sheet rests on a major land mass , but in West Antarctica the bed can extend to more than 2,500 m below sea level . Much of the land in this area would be seabed if the ice sheet were not there . In contrast to the melting of the Arctic sea ice , sea ice around Antarctica was expanding . The reasons for this are not fully understood , but suggestions include the climatic effects on ocean and atmospheric circulation of the ozone hole , and/or cooler ocean surface temperatures as the warming deep waters melt the ice shelves .
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Antarctica
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Antarctica ( UK English -LSB- ænˈtɑːktɪkə -RSB- or -LSB- ænˈtɑːtɪkə -RSB- , US English -LSB- æntˈɑːrktɪkə -RSB- ) is Earth 's southernmost continent . It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere , almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle , and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean . At 14000000 km2 , it is the fifth-largest continent . For comparison , Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia . About 98 % of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km in thickness , which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula . Antarctica , on average , is the coldest , driest , and windiest continent , and has the highest average elevation of all the continents . Antarctica is a desert , with annual precipitation of only 200 mm ( 8 in ) along the coast and far less inland . The temperature in Antarctica has reached − 89.2 ° C ( − 128.6 ° F ) , though the average for the third quarter ( the coldest part of the year ) is − 63 ° C ( − 81 ° F ) . Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent . Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae , bacteria , fungi , plants , protista , and certain animals , such as mites , nematodes , penguins , seals and tardigrades . Vegetation , where it occurs , is tundra . Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ( `` Southern Land '' ) date back to antiquity , Antarctica is noted as the last region on Earth in recorded history to be discovered and colonised by humans , being only first sighted in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny , who sighted the Fimbul ice shelf . The continent , however , remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment , lack of easily accessible resources , and isolation . In 1895 , the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians . Antarctica is a de facto condominium , governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status . Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 , and thirty-eight have signed it since then . The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining , prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal , supports scientific research , and protects the continent 's ecozone . Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations .
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Antarctica_cooling_controversy
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An apparent contradiction in the observed cooling behavior of Antarctica between 1966 and 2000 became part of the public debate in the global warming controversy , particularly between advocacy groups of both sides in the public arena including politicians , as well as the popular media . In his novel State of Fear , Michael Crichton asserted that the Antarctic data contradict global warming . The few scientists who have commented on the supposed controversy state that there is no contradiction , while the author of the paper whose work inspired Crichton 's remarks has said that Crichton `` misused '' his results . There is no similar controversy within the scientific community , as the small observed changes in Antarctica are consistent with the small changes predicted by climate models , and because the overall trend since comprehensive observations began is now known to be one of warming . At the South Pole , where some of the strongest cooling trends were observed between the 1950s and 1990s , the mean trend is flat from 1957 through 2013 .
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Argo_(oceanography)
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Argo is an international program that uses profiling floats to observe temperature , salinity , currents , and , recently , bio-optical properties in the Earth 's oceans ; it has been operational since the early 2000s . The real-time data it provides is used in climate and oceanographic research . A special research interest is to quantify the ocean heat content ( OHC ) . The Argo fleet consists of almost 4000 drifting `` Argo floats '' ( as profiling floats used by the Argo program are often called ) deployed worldwide . Each float weighs 20 -- 30 kg . In most cases probes drift at a depth of 1000 metres ( the so-called parking depth ) and , every 10 days , by changing their buoyancy , dive to a depth of 2000 metres and then move to the sea-surface , measuring conductivity and temperature profiles as well as pressure . From these , salinity and density can be calculated . Seawater density is important in determining large-scale motions in the ocean . Average current velocities at 1000 metres are directly measured by the distance and direction a float drifts while parked at that depth , which is determined by GPS or Argos system positions at the surface . The data are transmitted to shore via satellite , and are freely available to everyone , without restrictions . The Argo program is named after the Greek mythical ship Argo to emphasize the complementary relationship of Argo with the Jason satellite altimeters .
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Argument
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In philosophy and logic , an argument is a series of statements typically used to persuade someone of something or to present reasons for accepting a conclusion . The general form of an argument in a natural language is that of premises ( typically in the form of propositions , statements or sentences ) in support of a claim : the conclusion . The structure of some arguments can also be set out in a formal language , and formally defined `` arguments '' can be made independently of natural language arguments , as in math , logic , and computer science . In a typical deductive argument , the premises guarantee the truth of the conclusion , while in an inductive argument , they are thought to provide reasons supporting the conclusion 's probable truth . The standards for evaluating non-deductive arguments may rest on different or additional criteria than truth , for example , the persuasiveness of so-called `` indispensability claims '' in transcendental arguments , the quality of hypotheses in retroduction , or even the disclosure of new possibilities for thinking and acting . The standards and criteria used in evaluating arguments and their forms of reasoning are studied in logic . Ways of formulating arguments effectively are studied in rhetoric ( see also : argumentation theory ) . An argument in a formal language shows the logical form of the symbolically represented or natural language arguments obtained by its interpretations .
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Arctic
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The Arctic ( -LSB- ˈɑrktɪk -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɑrtɪk -RSB- ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth . The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean , adjacent seas , and parts of Alaska ( United States ) , Canada , Finland , Greenland ( Denmark ) , Iceland , Norway , Russia and Sweden . Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover , with predominantly treeless permafrost-containing tundra . Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places . The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth 's ecosystems . For example , the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions . In recent years , Arctic sea ice decline has been caused by global warming . Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice , zooplankton and phytoplankton , fish and marine mammals , birds , land animals , plants and human societies . Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic .
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Anoxic_event
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Oceanic anoxic events or anoxic events ( anoxia conditions ) refer to intervals in the Earth 's past where portions of oceans become depleted in oxygen ( O2 ) at depths over a large geographic area . During some of these events , euxinia , waters that contained hydrogen sulfide , developed . Although anoxic events have not happened for millions of years , the geological record shows that they happened many times in the past . Anoxic events coincided with several mass extinctions and may have contributed to them . These mass extinctions include some that geobiologists use as time markers in biostratigraphic dating . Many geologists believe oceanic anoxic events are strongly linked to slowing of ocean circulation , climatic warming , and elevated levels of greenhouse gases . Researchers have proposed enhanced volcanism ( the release of CO2 ) as the `` central external trigger for euxinia '' .
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Arctic_Circle
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The Arctic Circle is the most northerly of the abstract five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of the Earth . It marks the northernmost point at which the noon sun is just visible on the northern winter solstice and the southernmost point at which the midnight sun is just visible on the northern summer solstice . The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic , and the zone just to the south is called the Northern Temperate Zone . North of the Arctic Circle , the sun is above the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year ( and therefore visible at midnight ) and below the horizon for twenty-four continuous hours at least once per year ( and therefore not visible at noon ) ; this is also true within the equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere , the Antarctic Circle . The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed ; as of , it runs north of the Equator . Its latitude depends on the Earth 's axial tilt , which fluctuates within a margin of 2 ° over a 40,000-year period , due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon . Consequently , the Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 15 m per year .
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Arctic_sea_ice_decline
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Arctic sea ice decline is the sea ice loss observed in recent decades in the Arctic Ocean . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that greenhouse gas forcing is largely , but not wholly , responsible for the decline in Arctic sea ice extent . A study from 2011 suggested that internal variability enhanced the greenhouse gas forced sea ice decline over the last decades . A study from 2007 found the decline to be `` faster than forecasted '' by model simulations . The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report concluded with high confidence that sea ice continues to decrease in extent , and that there is robust evidence for the downward trend in Arctic summer sea ice extent since 1979 . It has been established that the region is at its warmest for at least 40,000 years and the Arctic-wide melt season has lengthened at a rate of 5 days per decade ( from 1979 to 2013 ) , dominated by a later autumn freezeup . Sea ice changes have been identified as a mechanism for polar amplification .
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Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction
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Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction , science fantasy or horror fiction literature in which the Earth 's technological civilization is collapsing or has collapsed . The apocalypse event may be climatic , such as runaway climate change ; natural , such as an impact event ; man-made , such as nuclear warfare ; medical , such as a plague or virus , whether natural or man-made ; or imaginative , such as zombie apocalypse or alien invasion . The story may involve attempts to prevent an apocalypse event , deal with the impact and consequences of the event itself , or it may be post-apocalyptic , set after the event . The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe , focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors , the way to maintain the human race alive and together as one , or considerably later , often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten ( or mythologized ) . Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in a non-technological future world , or a world where only scattered elements of society and technology remain . Various ancient societies , including the Babylonian and Judaic , produced apocalyptic literature and mythology which dealt with the end of the world and of human society , such as the Epic of Gilgamesh , written ca. 2000 -- 1500 BC . And recognizable modern apocalyptic novels had existed since at least the first quarter of the 19th century , when Mary Shelley 's The Last Man ( 1826 ) was published . However , this form of literature gained widespread popularity after World War II , when the possibility of global annihilation by nuclear weapons entered the public consciousness . As shown above , the apocalypse is also depicted in visual art , for example in Albert Goodwin 's painting Apocalypse ( 1903 ) .
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Arctic_ice_pack
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The Arctic ice pack is the ice cover of the Arctic Ocean and its vicinity . The Arctic ice pack undergoes a regular seasonal cycle in which ice melts in spring and summer , reaches a minimum around mid-September , then increases during fall and winter . Summer ice cover in the Arctic is about 50 % of winter cover . Some of the ice survives from one year to the next . Currently 28 % of Arctic basin sea ice is multi-year ice , thicker than seasonal ice : up to 3 - thick over large areas , with ridges up to 20 m thick . As well as the regular seasonal cycle there has been an underlying trend of declining sea ice in the Arctic in recent decades .
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Arctic_Ocean
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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world 's five major oceans . The International Hydrographic Organization ( IHO ) recognizes it as an ocean , although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or simply the Arctic Sea , classifying it a mediterranean sea or an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean . Alternatively , the Arctic Ocean can be seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing World Ocean . Located mostly in the Arctic north polar region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere , the Arctic Ocean is almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America . It is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter . The Arctic Ocean 's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes ; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans , due to low evaporation , heavy fresh water inflow from rivers and streams , and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities . The summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50 % . The US National Snow and Ice Data Center ( NSIDC ) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years .
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Anglo-Saxon_settlement_of_Britain
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The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain describes the process which changed the language and culture of most of what became England from Romano-British to Germanic . The Germanic-speakers in Britain , themselves of diverse origins , eventually developed a common cultural identity as Anglo-Saxons . This process occurred from the mid 5th to early 7th centuries , following the end of Roman power in Britain around the year 410 . The settlement was followed by the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the south and east of Britain , later followed by the rest of modern England . The available evidence includes the scanty contemporary and near-contemporary written record , and archaeological and genetic information . The few literary sources tell of hostility between incomers and natives . They describe violence , destruction , massacre and the flight of the Romano-British population . Also , it has long been supposed that the influence of Celtic languages on Old English was slight . These points have suggested a very large-scale invasion by various Germanic peoples . In this view , held by the majority of historians until the mid to late twentieth century , much of England was cleared of its prior inhabitants . If this ` traditional ' viewpoint were to be correct , the genes of the later English people would have been overwhelmingly inherited from Germanic migrants . Another view , probably the most widely held today , is that the migrants were relatively few , centred on a warrior elite . They then dominated a process of acculturation to Germanic language and material culture . Consistent with this theory , archaeologists find that settlement patterns and land-use show no clear break with the Romano-British past , though there are marked changes in material culture . This view predicts that the ancestry of the people of Anglo-Saxon and modern England would be largely derived from the native Romano-British . The uncertain results of genetic studies tend to support this prediction . There are also two less well-supported theories , held by a minority of scholars , both originating from population genetics studies . First , Stephen Oppenheimer has argued that Germanic peoples , language and culture existed in eastern regions of Britain , even in pre-Roman times . This idea has been very actively challenged by a number of linguists . Second , that the early settlers may have arrived in considerable numbers but represented a minority relative to the natives . If these incomers established themselves as a social elite , this could have allowed them enhanced reproductive success ( the so-called ` Apartheid Theory ' ) . In this case , the genes of later Anglo-Saxon England could have been largely derived from moderate numbers of Germanic migrants .
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Anders_Jonas_Ångström
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Anders Jonas Ångström ( -LSB- ˈan.ˈdəʂ ˈjuː.ˈnas ˈɔŋ.ˈstrøm -RSB- ; 13 August 181421 June 1874 ) was a Swedish physicist and one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy .
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Anthony_Watts_(blogger)
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Willard Anthony Watts ( born 1958 ) is an American blogger who runs Watts Up With That ? , a popular climate change denial blog that opposes the scientific consensus on climate change . A former television meteorologist and current radio meteorologist , he is also founder of the Surface Stations project , a volunteer initiative to document the condition of U.S. weather stations . The Heartland Institute helped fund some of Watts ' projects , including publishing a report on the Surface Stations project , and has invited him to be a paid speaker at the International Conference on Climate Change from 2008 to 2014 .
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Arctic_National_Wildlife_Refuge
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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ( ANWR or Arctic Refuge ) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska , United States . It consists of 19286722 acre in the Alaska North Slope region . It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country , slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge . The refuge is administered from offices in Fairbanks . Just across the border in Yukon , Canada , are two Canadian National Parks , Ivvavik and Vuntut .
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Arctic_fox
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The Arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ) , also known as the white fox , polar fox , or snow fox , is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome . It is well adapted to living in cold environments . It has a deep thick fur which is brown in summer and white in winter . Its body length ranges from 46 to , with a generally rounded body shape to minimize the escape of body heat . The Arctic fox preys on any small creatures such as : lemmings , voles , ringed seal pups , fish , waterfowl , and seabirds . It also eats carrion , berries , seaweed , insects , and other small invertebrates . Arctic foxes form monogamous pairs during the breeding season and they stay together to raise their young in complex underground dens . Occasionally , other family members may assist in raising their young .
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Arthur_D._Levinson
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Arthur D. Levinson ( born March 31 , 1950 ) is an American businessman and is the current CEO of Calico ( an Alphabet Inc. venture ) and chairman of Apple Inc. ( 2011 to present ) . He is the former chief executive officer ( 1995 to 2009 ) and chairman ( 1999 to 2014 ) of Genentech . In addition to serving on the board of Apple Inc. ( 2000 -- present ) , Levinson serves on the board of directors of the Broad Institute ( affiliated with MIT and Harvard ) . Previously , Levinson had served on the board of directors at F. Hoffmann-La Roche ( 2010-2014 ) , NGM Biopharmaceuticals ( 2009-2014 ) , and Amyris Biotechnologies ( 2009-2014 ) . He currently serves on the Board of Scientific Consultants of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center , the Industrial Advisory Board of the California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences ( QB3 ) , the Advisory Council for the Princeton University Department of Molecular Biology and the Advisory Council for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics .
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Atlantic_hurricane
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An Atlantic hurricane or tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean , usually in the summer or fall . A hurricane differs from a cyclone or typhoon only on the basis of location . A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean , a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean , and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean . Tropical cyclones can be categorized by intensity . Tropical storms have one-minute maximum sustained winds of at least 39 mph ( 34 knots , 17 m/s , 63 km/h ) , while hurricanes have one-minute maximum sustained winds exceeding 74 mph ( 64 knots , 33 m/s , 119 km/h ) . Most North Atlantic tropical storms and hurricanes form between June 1 and November 30 . The United States National Hurricane Center monitors the basin and issues reports , watches , and warnings about tropical weather systems for the North Atlantic Basin as one of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers for tropical cyclones , as defined by the World Meteorological Organization . In recent times , tropical disturbances that reach tropical storm intensity are named from a predetermined list . Hurricanes that result in significant damage or casualties may have their names retired from the list at the request of the affected nations in order to prevent confusion should a subsequent storm be given the same name . On average , in the North Atlantic basin ( from 1966 to 2009 ) 11.3 named storms occur each season , with an average of 6.2 becoming hurricanes and 2.3 becoming major hurricanes ( Category 3 or greater ) . The climatological peak of activity is around September 11 each season . In March 2004 , Catarina was the first hurricane-intensity tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Southern Atlantic Ocean . Since 2011 , the Brazilian Navy Hydrographic Center has started to use the same scale of the North Atlantic Ocean for tropical cyclones in the South Atlantic Ocean and assign names to those which reach 35 kn .
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Baffin_Island
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Baffin Island ( ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ , Qikiqtaaluk -LSB- qikiqtaːluk -RSB- , Île de Baffin or Terre de Baffin ) , in the Canadian territory of Nunavut , is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world . Its area is 507451 km2 and its population is about 11,000 ( 2007 estimate ) . It is located 65.4215 N and 70.9654 W. Named after English explorer William Baffin , it is likely that the island was known to Pre-Columbian Norse explorers from Greenland and Iceland and that it was the location of Helluland , spoken of in the Icelandic sagas ( the Grœnlendinga saga and the Saga of Erik the Red , Eiríks saga rauða ) .
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Bangladesh
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Bangladesh ( -LSB- bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ -RSB- -LSB- ˌbɑːŋɡləˈdɛʃ -RSB- -LSB- : bn : বাংলাদেশ , বাংলাদেশ -RSB- , -LSB- ˈbaŋlad̪eʃ -RSB- , lit . `` The country of Bengal '' ) , officially the People 's Republic of Bangladesh , is a country in South Asia . It shares land borders with India and Myanmar ( Burma ) . Nepal , Bhutan and China are located near Bangladesh but do not share a border with it . The country 's maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal is roughly equal to the size of its land area . Bangladesh is the world 's eighth most populous country . Dhaka is its capital and largest city , followed by Chittagong , which has the country 's largest port . Bangladesh forms the largest and eastern part of the Bengal region . Bangladeshis include people of different ethnic groups and religions . Bengalis , who speak the official Bengali language , make up 98 % of the population . The politically dominant Bengali Muslims make the nation the world 's third largest Muslim-majority country . Most of Bangladesh is covered by the Bengal delta , the largest delta on Earth . The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km ( 5,000 miles ) of inland waterways . Highlands with evergreen forests are found in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the country . Bangladesh has many islands and a coral reef . It is home to the Sundarbans , the largest mangrove forest in the world . The country 's biodiversity includes a vast array of plant and wildlife , including critically endangered Bengal tigers , the national animal . The Greeks and Romans identified the region as Gangaridai , a powerful kingdom of the historical subcontinent , in the 3rd century BCE . Archaeological research has unearthed several ancient cities in Bangladesh , which had international trade links for millennia . The Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Bengal transformed the region into a cosmopolitan Islamic imperial power between the 14th and 18th centuries . The region was home to many principalities that had inland naval prowess . It was also a notable center of the worldwide muslin and silk trade . As part of British India , the region was influenced by the Bengali renaissance and played an important role in anti-colonial movements . The Partition of British India made East Bengal a part of the Dominion of Pakistan ; and was renamed as East Pakistan . The region witnessed the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 . After independence , a parliamentary republic was established . A presidential government was in place between 1975 and 1990 , followed by a return to parliamentary democracy . The country has also been affected by poverty , natural disasters , hunger , dominant party systems and military coups . Bangladesh is a middle power and a major developing nation . Within South Asia , the country ranks first in gender equality , second in foreign exchange earnings and third in life expectancy and peacefulness . Listed as one of the Next Eleven , its economy ranks 46th in terms of nominal gross domestic product ( GDP ) and 29th in terms of purchasing power parity ( PPP ) . It is one of the largest textile exporters in the world . Its major trading partners are the European Union , the United States , China , India , Japan , Malaysia and Singapore . With its strategically vital location between Southern , Eastern and Southeast Asia , Bangladesh is an important promoter of regional connectivity and cooperation . It is a founding member of SAARC , BIMSTEC , the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation and the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal Initiative . It is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Developing 8 Countries , the OIC , the Non Aligned Movement , the Group of 77 and the World Trade Organization . Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to United Nations peacekeeping forces .
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Atlanta
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia , with an estimated 2016 population of 472,522 . Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area , home to 5,710,795 people and the ninth largest metropolitan area in the United States . Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County , and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County . In 1837 , Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two railroad lines , and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce . In the decades following the Civil Rights Movement , the city earned a reputation as `` too busy to hate '' for the relatively progressive views of its citizens and leaders compared to other cities in the Deep South . Atlanta attained international prominence , and it became the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States , via highway , railroad , and air , with Hartsfield -- Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world 's busiest airport since 1998 . Atlanta rated an `` alpha - '' world city that exerts a significant impact upon commerce , finance , research , technology , education , media , art , and entertainment . It ranks 40th among world cities and 8th in the nation with a gross domestic product of $ 270 billion . Atlanta 's economy is considered diverse , with dominant sectors that include logistics , professional and business services , media operations , and information technology . Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage . Revitalization of Atlanta 's neighborhoods , initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta , has intensified in the 21st century , altering the city 's demographics , politics , and culture .
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Attribution_of_recent_climate_change
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Attribution of recent climate change is the effort to scientifically ascertain mechanisms responsible for recent climate changes on Earth , commonly known as ` global warming ' . The effort has focused on changes observed during the period of instrumental temperature record , when records are most reliable ; particularly in the last 50 years , when human activity has grown fastest and observations of the troposphere have become available . The dominant mechanisms are anthropogenic , i.e. , the result of human activity . They are : increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases global changes to land surface , such as deforestation increasing atmospheric concentrations of aerosols . There are also natural mechanisms for variation including climate oscillations , changes in solar activity , and volcanic activity . According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) , it is `` extremely likely '' that human influence was the dominant cause of global warming between 1951 and 2010 . The IPCC defines `` extremely likely '' as indicating a probability of 95 to 100 % , based on an expert assessment of all the available evidence . Multiple lines of evidence support attribution of recent climate change to human activities : A basic physical understanding of the climate system : greenhouse gas concentrations have increased and their warming properties are well-established . Historical estimates of past climate changes suggest that the recent changes in global surface temperature are unusual . Computer-based climate models are unable to replicate the observed warming unless human greenhouse gas emissions are included . Natural forces alone ( such as solar and volcanic activity ) can not explain the observed warming . The IPCC 's attribution of recent global warming to human activities is a view shared by the scientific community , and is also supported by 196 other scientific organizations worldwide ( see also : scientific opinion on climate change ) .
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Barack_Obama
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Barack Hussein Obama II ( -LSB- bəˈrɑːk_huːˈseɪn_oʊˈbɑːmə -RSB- ; born August 4 , 1961 ) is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 . He is the first African American to have served as president . He previously served in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 , and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004 . Obama was born in Honolulu , Hawaii , two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state . Raised largely in Hawaii , Obama also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia . After graduating from Columbia University in 1983 , he worked as a community organizer in Chicago . In 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School , where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review . After graduation , he became a civil rights attorney and professor , teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004 . Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 , when he ran for the U.S. Senate . Obama received national attention in 2004 , with his unexpected March primary win , his well-received July Democratic National Convention keynote address , and his landslide November election to the Senate . In 2008 , Obama was nominated for president , a year after his campaign began , and after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton . He was elected over Republican John McCain , and was inaugurated on January 20 , 2009 . Nine months later , Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate . During his first two years in office , Obama signed many landmark bills . Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( often referred to as `` Obamacare '' ) , the Dodd -- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , and the Do n't Ask , Do n't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 . The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Tax Relief , Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization , and Job Creation Act of 2010 served as economic stimulus amidst the Great Recession , but the GOP regained control of the House of Representatives in 2011 . After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit , Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts . In foreign policy , Obama increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan , reduced nuclear weapons with the U.S.-Russian New START treaty , and ended military involvement in the Iraq War . He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi , and the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden . After winning re-election by defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney , Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013 . During his second term , Obama promoted greater inclusiveness for LGBT Americans , with his administration filing briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional ( United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges ) . Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting , and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration . In foreign policy , Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq , continued the process of ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan , promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change , initiated the sanctions against Russia following the invasion in Ukraine , brokered a nuclear deal with Iran , and normalized U.S. relations with Cuba . Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60 % approval rating . He currently resides in Washington , D.C. His presidential library will be built in Chicago .
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Bahrain
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Bahrain ( -LSB- bɑːˈreɪn -RSB- البحرين ) , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small Arab monarchy in the Arabian Gulf . It is an island country consisting of a small archipelago centered around Bahrain Island , situated between the Qatar peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia , to which it is connected by the 25 km King Fahd Causeway . Bahrain 's population is 1,234,571 ( c. 2010 ) , including 666,172 non-nationals . It is 780 km2 in size , making it the third smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore . Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation . It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries , which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century . Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam ( 628 ) . Following a period of Arab rule , Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in 1521 , who in turn were expelled in 1602 by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire . In 1783 , the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family , with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain 's first hakim . In the late 1800s , following successive treaties with the British , Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom . In 1971 , Bahrain declared independence . Formerly an emirate , Bahrain was declared a Kingdom in 2002 . In 2011 , the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring . Bahrain had the first post-oil economy in the Arabian Gulf . Since the late 20th century , Bahrain has invested in the banking and tourism sectors . Many large financial institutions have a presence in Manama , the country 's capital . Bahrain has a high Human Development Index and was recognised by the World Bank as a high income economy .
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