How do hurricanes form?

It's hurricane season, the time of year when countries in the tropics are at risks of hurricanes causing devastation.

Hurricane Katrina satellite image -  Gulf of Mexico 2005

For a hurricane to form, a mixture of conditions is needed:
- Warm ocean water - the water in the ocean must be at least 27' C (80'F) to substantial depths.
- Westward moving area of low air pressure - these are called tropical disturbances
- Constant wind-speeds between 0-22km above sea-level

Hurricane Formation:
1. The warm-sea water evaporates and rises, causing low-pressure areas, and as this water condenses it form clouds. The condensation releases heat energy to power the storm.
2. As the air rises, it cools and sinks in the middle and this forms the eye (a period of calm which typically spans a diameter of 30-50km in the centre of the hurricane)

3.  The force which causes moist air in the hurricane to spin is called the 'Coriolus Effect', a phenomenon related to the earth's spin which means that fluids swirl anti-clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern. It is for this reason that hurricanes do not form directly on the equator, because the Coriolis effect is too weak for the hurricane to spin, so they usually form 5-20' north and south of the equator.
4. As hurricanes move across warm ocean, they suck in more moist air, making the hurricane grow. On the right the is a scale which shows how hurricanes are classified and as a hurricane gains more power, it can be reclassified to a higher category hurricane which has the ability to cause more damage.

Hazards of Hurricanes:

• Winds - category 5 hurricanes can cause wind speeds higher than 156mph and the highest ever recorded sustained winds caused by cyclone (the name for a hurricane in India and Australia) Olivia with wind speeds of 253.5. Extremely high wind speeds can cause extensive structural damage and the risk of flying debris. 
• Storm surges -  the storm's low pressure can cause water to rise well above predicted tides (8cm rise in level for every 10mb fall in pressure). Winds then drive these waves onshore, where the storm surges causes flooding, extreme damage to infrastructure and buildings, and salt-water contamination. Hurricane Katrina (2005) caused storm surges of 25 to 28 ft above normal tide level along the coast of Mississippi and New Orleans. 
• Heavy Rainfall - this is due to rapidly cooling moist air and can cause flooding and mudslides. The heavy flooding can make rescue much more difficult, putting many people at risk.

Storm surge hitting Atlantic City cause by hurricane Sandy 2012

The dissipation of a hurricane is caused by a number of factors:

- High winds above the hurricane's vertical system are called shearing winds as they can break up and disorganize the hurricane, weakening it.

- If the hurricane passes of colder sea water, it loses power supplied by warmer water and so the hurricane begins to lose momentum and decay.

- One a hurricane makes landfall it ultimately begins to dissipate because the landmass causes friction and sucks out the hurricanes moisture.

IDP crisis in north-pakistan

Save The Children have estimated that in total, 600,000 people will be displaced from the Tirah Valley in northern Pakistan, following violent conflicts between militant groups; half of these IDPs (internally displaced people) are believed to be children.

Why are people fleeing the area? - from January 2012, increased military offence on organised armed groups in the FATA (federally administered tribal areas) region of north-Pakistan has led to increased conflict between tribal groups, putting hundreds of thousands of lives ,including those of women and children at risk.

After fleeing their home, IDPs will arrive in severely cramped aid camps or host communities, where there is little access to food, healthcare, clean water (69% of IDPs from this region are living without clean water) and sanitation.

Moreover, many of these displaced people are suffering psychological traumas after witnessing extremely disturbing violence and war crime. It is implausible for many of us to imagine how it feels to be a small child, suddenly uprooted from home amidst obscene violence, fleeing to somewhere of complete uncertainty and inevitable lacking of everything a child should have the right to. But that is the story for many children in this region, around 300,000 in fact.

find out more about this crisis:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/524812/unhcr-unilaterally-postpones-facilitation-to-tirah-idps/ - a news article detailing the military conflict in the area.

http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/areas-of-concern/conflict-pakistan-displaced-people.aspx - a Christian Aid fact page, there is a link on the page which allows you to donate to this and other similar crisis.

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/08-Jun-2012/military-operation-in-pakistan-may-displace-600-000-people-aid-agency - a Pakistani newspaper article covering the crisis.

Phosphate Mining in Chengdu, China

the mining site - greenpeace.org

What's happening? -

An Environmental research group have discovered that phosphate mining in the Longmen Mountian in the Sichuan province of China, greatly increasing the siesemic area's risk to earthquakes and natural disasters and moreover, endangering wildlife reserves and a nearby population of pandas. The phosphate is used in chemical fertilizers which are used to allow for China's mass plant production to feed a rapidly growing population. Plants need phosphate in order to stimulate leaf and root growth and to prevent disease, and China's low-phosphate soil means fertilization is necessary for efficient plant growth.

What threat does phosphate mining cause?

The area surrounding the phosphate mining site is prone to earthquakes and landslides and was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2008. A Greenpeace East Asia report highlighted the role that the phosphate mine has in lowering the stability of the mountain geology, imposing a greater risk of landslides, earthquakes and natural disasters to the area, its inhabitants and wildlife.

pandas are being threatened by the mining

Moreover, the phosphate mining activity is having a detrimental impact on a nearby nature reserve which is home to 11 endangered pandas. In 2012, the province's government lowered the size of the reserve's area to allow for increased phosphate mining, greatly reducing the panda's habitat and the survival chances of the species.

What can be done to reduce this threat?

- Appeals need to be made to the Sichuen Province Governement to halt mining in order for a full risk analysis to be carried out so measures can be taken to ensure that phosphate mining is strictly regulated and done without risk to the area.

- Plant nutritienist, Zhang Fusuo, has reported that China uses phosphate based plant fertilizer at levels much higher than actually nescessary. China's phosphate fertilizer use could be reduced by: encouraging farmers to use fertilisers at an appropriate level and to use 'build-up' measures to keep the soil phosphate at an optimum level; using technology to manipulate the chemistry of the layer of soil surrounding the roots, the rhizosphere, to increase the percentage of phosphate in the soil plants can uptake; using animal manure as a fertilizer, which would also greatly decrease the pollution of water ways caused by run-off of animal manure which triggers harmful algal bloom, killing fish and endangering the area.

sources:
Greenpeace - the campaigning organisation have highlighted and provided information on the issue in their magazine and blog. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/uglyfood-the-other-truth-about-chemical-ferti/blog/44782/
Nature - this article contains in-depth information on the phophate fertilizer issue in China

Project In focus: India Biogas Project

India Biogas Project

who is making the project happen? - An NGO called Mitranetikan, with the help of EPG volunteers

where is it happening? - In a rural village called Vellenad, Trivandrum in south India.

what's the problem? -  The village, like many other similar, rural villages is prevented from developing due shortages of liquid petroleum gas for energy. Many homes use biomass fuels such as wood, which, aswell as being an expensive, relatively unsustainable rescource (it requires deforestation which is a huge collective contributor to greenhouse gases); burning it indoors is highly dangerous because it can lead to respiritory problems, and in an area where lack of healthcare is already a crippling issue, this is a big problem.

what is the aim of the project? - to provide 20 biogas units for the families in the village and to train local people to use the technology.

simple diagram of biogas unit.
source: http://www.ashden.org/biogas

what is biogas? - When biological matter such as cow dung and waste is digested anaerobically (in the absence of oxygen) by bacteria, biogas is produced (which is made of mainly methane, 60%, carbon dioxide, 39% and other gases). This biogas can then be collected and used to fuel homes for heating, light, cooking and refrigeration. 
Benefits:
- renewable energy source
- reduces use of wood for fuel which is expensive and cause health risks due to smoke
- the sludge can be used to fertilise crop feilds (cheaper than manufactured products and more effective than manure)
- Less pathogens than if the waste is left untreated
- Easy and cheap to run - can be used in future generations - sustainable!
- Provides woman and children with an extra 2 hours a day due to reduction in labour of collecting biomass fuel such as wood and cleaning pots
- Fewer emissions of methane as it is used as fuel (methane is 21 times stronger than co2 as a greenhouse gas)

Find out more about biogas and this project:
http://egp.org.uk/india/ - find out about this particular project, there is a link to donate.
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/biogas/basic/ - this site has some detailed information about the technology behind biogas.
http://www.biogas-india.com/ - database about biogas and projects in india and around the world.

The Millennium Seed Bank Project

The Millennium Seed Bank is based in Kew Gardens and aims to protect and conserve the world's plant species which are most threatened by extinction and are most useful to humans in the future.

Why conserve seeds?
Plants are the most valuable things on our earth: they provide us with resources for food, materials and medicines; they help maintain the complex ecosystems on earth; the air we breathe and the water we drink is purified and sustained by plants. However, this is being threatened. Deforestation, over-exploitation, introduction of alien-species, are just some of the human activities which are endangering the future of our valuable plants.

How the seed bank works:
- They collect seeds from all over the world by working with partners from over 50 countries (see a map of collection projects here) which help the seed bank workers to decide which plant seeds are of the most priority because they are at use to the country and are most endangered. Seeds are taken from a number of plants in the species to ensure genetic diversity.
- When they get to the seed bank, the seeds are labelled and dried to remove for a length of time to remove moisture increase their lifetime. They are then cleaned to remove bacteria and separate from plant material.
- Seeds are then sealed in containers and frozen and stored at around -20'C so the seeds are dormant. It is estimated that for every 5'C under 0, the seeds' lifetime is doubled. Seeds' lifetime varies from seed to seed but some seeds can be stored for a few hundred years!
- Extensive research is carried out on all plant seed species to work out how best to store the seeds. Seeds are germinated regularly to test their viability and to test the environmental factors that help the chances of a seed's germination. 
- A database of accurate information about every single seed species stored at the bank and the details of their collection so we can understand the nature of each species.

Facts:
- The seed bank now holds an estimated 10% of the world's plant species and aims to increase this to 25%  by 2020.
- It is estimated that the global value of nature's services is  £11–37 trillion - this is why the kew seed bank is so vital to us!
-They tend to collect seeds from alpine, dryland, coastal and island ecosystems, as these are most vulnerable to climate change
- The seed bank at kew is the largest ex-situ collection of seeds in the world!
- The building itself covers an area of 5,000m² and cost £17.8m to construct.

You can read more about the seedbank project here: http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/millennium-seed-bank-partnership

More Than Human - Tim Flach photography

Biodiversity on our planet has never before been so threatened, with 15,589 species are currently threatened with extinction – 1 in 4 mammals and 1 in 8 birds. This number is increasing as habitats are continually diminished and degraded. Photographer Tim Flach's incredible animal portraits are such an inspiration to help conserve the beautiful life on our earth. some of my favourites:

Ozone Depletion

What is the ozone layer?
The ozone layer in the stratosphere is vital for life on earth because ozone (O₃) absorbs the sun's high energy UV-C radiation (100-280 nm) and some UV-B radiation before it reaches earth. This UV radiation can damage life on earth by causing:

• DNA mutation by breaking hydrogen bonds
• skin cancer (due to dna mutation)
• Cataracts
• Crop failure (due to dna damage and interaction with plant growth regulators) 
• Sunburn/ Epidermal hypoplasia

How is the ozone being depleted?
Human activity, in particular since the industrial revolution, has caused an increase in ozone depleting compounds in the atmosphere, including CFCs and NOx .

Chlorofluorocarbons are compounds which are highly unreactive in the troposphere due to their very strong C-Cl and C-F bonds (polar bonds with high enthalpy). This makes them useful in things like: aerosols, refrigerant coolants, electrical circuit cleaning solvents etc.

However, it is because they are so unreactive that makes them so harmful!

The C-Cl bond has too high an enthalpy to be broken down in the troposphere, but when they reach the stratosphere, uv light can break this bond homolytically which produces chlorine radicals.

catalytic destruction of ozone

The chlorine radicals can then go on to catalyse the destruction of ozone (it is a homogeneous catalyst because it provides an alternative route for the reaction to take place and is regenerated). 

 It is estimated that one chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules before it is removed from the stratosphere by termination.
This means that more UV light is not absorbed by the thinner ozone layer and reaches earth.

Why is there a hole over the Antarctic?
Ozone is depleted over the antarctic in it's spring because sunlight falls on the polar stratospheric clouds (containinh chlorine radical reservoir compounds eg. HCl and ClONO₂.) which are formed and trapped in the cold air (-80'C) in the polar
vortex in the winter. When sunlight falls on these clouds, ozone destruction is able to 
happen, which forms a hole in the ozone during the spring.

Can the ozone ever recover?
Since the Montreal Protocol in 1987, many industrialized countries have fazed out the
use of ozone depleting compounds such as CFCs (apart from vital uses such as asthma
inhalers) and stratospheric chlorine levels have been continually dropping. Ozone can 
replenish itself however this takes time; moreover, it takes decades for CFC compounds
to be completely destroyed so it will take time before the ozone layer completely recovers.

Carbon Dioxide levels in atmosphere reach 400ppm

 Photograph: Richard Vogel/AP 

In may 2013, the highest ever recorded greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere was reached, according to Hawaii's Mauna Loa observatory, where record CO2 increases are being documented.  

An article in the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/10/carbon-dioxide-highest-level-greenhouse-gas?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

I will do a blogpost about the impact of rising CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions soon, but in short:

CO2 in the atmosphere is important to maintain the earths temperature because it's molecules absorbs some of the earth's re-emitted infrared radiation and emits it in all directions and heats up the atmosphere by increasing their bond vibrational energy and kinetic energy. Too much CO2, as is scarily the case, and too much of this infrared is absorbed and stays in the earth's atmosphere, leading to certain global warming and climate change.

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog :)
I'm an a-level student and I want to go into world development or environmental sciences at uni so I'm going to blog about:
- development projects around the world
- climate change and our atmosphere
- conservation issues and projects
- chemistry industry developments
- amazing pictures of our world

Let me know if you have any suggestions/ questions or advise
** I'll try to be as factually accurate as possible but if you're an a-level student please don't rely on information on here! **