Geography of the Tropic of Capricorn

Geography of the Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn is an imaginary line of latitude going around the Earth at approximately 23.5 ° south of the equator. It is the southernmost point on Earth where the suns rays can be directly overhead at local noon. It is also one of the five major circles of latitude dividing the Earth (the others are the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere, the equator, the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle). Geography  of the Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn is significant to understanding the Earths geography because it marks the southern boundary of tropics. This is the region that extends from the equator south to the Tropic of Capricorn and north to the Tropic of Cancer. Unlike the Tropic of Cancer, which passes through many areas of land in the northern hemisphere, the Tropic of Capricorn passes mainly through water because there is less land for it to cross in the southern hemisphere. However, it does cross through or is near places like Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Madagascar, and Australia. Naming of the Tropic of Capricorn Around 2,000 years ago, the sun crossed into the constellation of Capricorn at the winter solstice around December 21. This resulted in this line of latitude being named the Tropic of Capricorn. The name Capricorn itself comes from the Latin word caper, meaning goat and was the name given to the constellation. This was then later transferred to the Tropic of Capricorn. It should be noted, however, that because it was named over 2,000 years ago, the specific location of the Tropic of Capricorn today is no longer in the constellation Capricorn. Instead, it is located in the constellation Sagittarius. Significance of the Tropic of Capricorn In addition to being used to aid in dividing the Earth into different parts and marking the southern boundary of the tropics, the Tropic of Capricorn, like the Tropic of Cancer is also significant to the Earths amount of solar insolation and the creation of seasons. Solar insolation is the amount of Earths direct exposure to the suns rays from incoming solar radiation. It varies over the Earths surface based on the amount of direct sunlight hitting the surface and it is mostly when it is directly overhead at the subsolar point which migrates annually between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer based on the Earths axial tilt. When the subsolar point is at the Tropic of Capricorn, it is during the December or winter solstice and is when the southern hemisphere receives the most solar insolation. Thus, it is also when the southern hemispheres summer begins. Furthermore, this is also when the areas at latitudes higher than the Antarctic Circle receive 24 hours of daylight because there is more solar radiation to be deflected south due to the Earths axial tilt.

Prehistoric Life During the Pleistocene Epoch

Prehistoric Life During the Pleistocene Epoch The Pleistocene epoch represented the culmination of 200 million years of mammalian evolution, as bears, lions, armadillos, and even wombats grew to bizarrely large sizesand then went extinct due to climate change and human predation. The Pleistocene is the last named epoch of the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present)Â  and is the first epoch of the Quaternary period, which continues to this day. (Up to the year 2009, when paleontologists agreed on a change, the Pleistocene officially began 1.8 million rather than 2.6 million years ago.) Climate and Geography The end of the Pleistocene epoch (20,000 to 12,000 years ago) was marked by a global ice age, which led to the extinction of many megafauna mammals. What most people dont know is that this capitalized Ice Age was the last of no less than 11 Pleistocene ice ages, interspersed with more temperate intervals called interglacials. During these periods, much of North America and Eurasia was covered by ice, and ocean levels plummeted by hundreds of feet (due to the freezing of available water at and near the poles). Terrestrial Life Mammals: The dozen or so ice ages of the Pleistocene epoch wreaked havoc on megafauna mammals, the largest examples of which were simply unable to find enough food to sustain their populations. Conditions were especially severe in North and South America and Eurasia, where the late Pleistocene witnessed the extinction of Smilodon (the Saber-Toothed Tiger), the Woolly Mammoth, the Giant Short-Faced Bear, Glyptodon (the Giant Armadillo), and Megatherium (the Giant Sloth). Camels disappeared from North America, as did horses, which were only reintroduced to this continent during historical times, by Spanish settlers. From the perspective of modern humans, the most important development of the Pleistocene epoch was the continuing evolution of hominid apes. At the start of the Pleistocene, Paranthropus and Australopithecus were still extant; a population of the latter most likely spawned Homo erectus, which itself competed with Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) in Europe and Asia. By the end of the Pleistocene, Homo sapiens had appeared and spread around the globe, helping to hasten the extinction of the megafauna mammals that these early humans either hunted for food or eliminated for their own safety. Birds: During the Pleistocene epoch, bird species continued to flourish around the globe, inhabiting various ecological niches. Sadly, the giant, flightless birds of Australia and New Zealand, such as Dinornis (the Giant Moa) and Dromornis (the Thunder Bird), quickly succumbed to predation by human settlers. Some Pleistocene birds, like the Dodo and the Passenger Pigeon, managed to survive well into historical times. Reptiles: As with birds, the big reptile story of the Pleistocene epoch was the extinction of oversized species in Australia and New Zealand, most notably the giant monitor lizard Megalania (which weighed up to two tons) and the giant turtle Meiolania (which only weighed half a ton). Like their cousins around the globe, these giant reptiles were doomed by a combination of climate change and predation by early humans. Marine Life The Pleistocene epoch witnessed the final extinction of the giant shark Megalodon, which had been the top predator of the oceans for millions of years; otherwise, though, this was a relatively uneventful time in the evolution of fish, sharks, and marine mammals. One notable pinniped that appeared on the scene during the Pleistocene was Hydrodamalis (aka Stellers Sea Cow), a 10-ton behemoth that only went extinct 200 years ago. Plant Life There were no major plant innovations during the Pleistocene epoch; rather, during these two million years, grasses and trees were at the mercy of intermittently plunging and rising temperatures. As during preceding epochs, tropical jungles and rainforests were confined to the equator, with deciduous forests and barren tundra and grasslands dominating northern and southern regions.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 25

Marketing - Essay Example r that is usually thrown away is recycled and introduced into the value chain again as a new product and it must be noted that this takes less energy than using unprocessed raw materials. Paper normally thrown away from a hole punch is pulped using manual methods and it is made into different products which include stationery and document holders, artifact related products such as decorative frames depicting various pictures, paper vases, bags as well as paper towels among others. Stationary holders or vases can be skillfully made used recycled paper which is first pulped to take another new from. These holders can be molded into different shapes depending on the desire of the artists. These holders are more suitable for housed hold or official use where they are kept on desks where movement would be limited. In most cases, these vases would also serve the decorative purpose. Other products which can be made using recycled paper include decorative frames that can be hanged on the walls either in homes, offices or other public buildings such as halls or churches. Manually recycled paper often produces hard card boards which can be easily used as wall or picture frames. These frames are either decorated with various pictures depicting different artifacts or different messages can be inscribed on them. Holding bags of varying sizes can also be made from recycled paper as well. b) These products are likely to be in demand as a result of the fact that they would have been skillfully made in such a very attractive manner. In most cases, these products from waste paper are meant for decorative purposes meant to display artistic prowess by different artists. Art is used for different purposes in life hence, there would be likely chances of products being demanded by those who naturally admire hand made crafts. Indeed, artifacts are used for various purposes and there is need for the artist to first identify different things that can interest as well as satisfy the needs