About the Earths Geographic and Magnetic South Pole

About the Earths Geographic and Magnetic South Pole The South Pole is the southernmost point on the Earths surface. It is at 90ËšS latitude and it is on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole. The South Pole is located in Antarctica and it is at the site of the United States Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, a research station that was established in 1956. Geography of the South Pole The Geographic South Pole is defined as the southern point on Earths surface that crosses the Earths axis of rotation. This is the South Pole that is located at the site of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. It moves about 33 feet (ten meters) because it is located on a moving ice sheet. The South Pole is on an ice plateau about 800 miles (1,300 km) from McMurdo Sound. The ice at this location is about 9,301 feet (2,835 m) thick. As a result ices movement, the location of the Geographic South Pole, also called the Geodetic South Pole, must be recalculated yearly on January 1. Usually, the coordinates of this location are just expressed in terms of latitude (90ËšS) because it essentially has no longitude as it is located where the meridians of longitude converge. Although, if longitude is given it is said to be 0ËšW. In addition, all points moving away from the South Pole face north and must have a latitude below 90Ëš as they move north toward the Earths equator. These points are still given in degrees south however because they are in the Southern Hemisphere. Because the South Pole has no longitude, it is difficult to tell time there. In addition, time cannot be estimated by using the suns position in the sky either because it rises and sets only once a year at the South Pole (due to its extreme southern location and the Earths axial tilt). Thus, for convenience, time is kept in New Zealand time at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Magnetic and Geomagnetic South Pole Like the North Pole, the South Pole also has magnetic and geomagnetic poles which differ from the 90ËšS Geographic South Pole. According to the Australian Antarctic Division, the Magnetic South pole is the location on the Earths surface where the direction of the Earths magnetic field is vertically upwards. This forms a magnetic dip that is 90Ëš at the Magnetic South Pole. This location moves about 3 miles (5 km) per year and in 2007 it was located at 64.497ËšS and 137.684ËšE. The Geomagnetic South Pole is defined by the Australian Antarctic Division as the point of intersection between the Earths surface and the axis of a magnetic dipole that approximates the Earths center and the beginning of the Earths magnetic field. The Geomagnetic South Pole is estimated to be located at 79.74ËšS and 108.22ËšE. This location is near the Vostok Station, a Russian research outpost. Exploration of the South Pole Although exploration of Antarctica began in the mid-1800s, attempted exploration of the South Pole did not occur until 1901. In that year, Robert Falcon Scott attempted the first expedition from Antarcticas coastline to the South Pole. His Discovery Expedition lasted from 1901 to 1904 and on December 31, 1902, he reached 82.26ËšS but he did not travel any farther south. Shortly thereafter, Ernest Shackleton, who had been on Scotts Discovery Expedition, launched another attempt to reach the South Pole. This expedition was called the Nimrod Expedition and on January 9, 1909, he came within 112 miles (180 km) from the South Pole before he had to turn back. Finally in 1911 however, Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the Geographic South Pole on December 14. Upon reaching the pole, Amundsen established a camp named Polhiem and named the plateau that the South Pole is on, King Haakon VII Vidde. 34 days later on January 17, 1912, Scott, who was attempting to race Amundsen, also reached the South Pole, but on his return home Scott and his entire expedition died due to cold and starvation. Following Amundsen and Scotts reaching the South Pole, people did not return there until October 1956. In that year, U.S. Navy Admiral George Dufek landed there and shortly thereafter, the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was established from 1956-1957. People did not reach the South Pole by land though until 1958 when Edmund Hillary and Vivian Fuchs launched the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Since the 1950s, most of the people on or near the South Pole have been researchers and scientific expeditions. Since the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was established in 1956, researchers have continually staffed it and recently it has been upgraded and expanded to allow more people to work there throughout the year. To learn more about the South Pole and to view webcams, visit the ESRL Global Monitorings South Pole Observatory website. References Australian Antarctic Division. (21 August 2010). Poles and Directions: Australian Antarctic Division. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). ESRL Global Monitoring Division - South Pole Observatory. Wikipedia.org. (18 October 2010). South Pole - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.

Ethics in the Energy Industry essays

Ethics in the Energy Industry essays The purpose of this paper is to examine the ethical issues faced by the energy industry before, during, and after the deregulation of the energy market in California. Part one will explain the ethical issues and how they came about. Part two will look at how several of the players in this industry have addressed these issues. In part three, I will critique the appropriateness of how the issues were addressed. In my analysis of these issues, I will focus on the following measurements: whether the industries initial approach to the issue was appropriate, whether the industry followed through appropriately as the issue developed; whether it industry has taken the necessary steps to avoid similar problems in the future. The story of the California energy crisis is the story of a deregulation nightmare made worse by the unethical actions of several very powerful companies. This story is fraught with perils such as planning lapses, serious policy blunders, and warnings that came too late. The overall effects of the energy crisis in California have been devastating. Johnson (2001) reported that the experiment in deregulation has come at a staggering cost: $40 billion. That number includes the $23 billion already paid by customers when rates were frozen at artificially high levels, and the $7.5 billion in bonds financing consumers' own rate reduction. (p. 1A) The central issue is whether the major players in the California energy market acted ethically before, during, and after the deregulation of that market. Shaw and Barry (2004) define business ethics as the study of what constitutes right and wrong, or good and bad, human conduct in a business context (Shaw The road ...

Why and in what ways did the Oxford Movement make an impact on Essay

Why and in what ways did the Oxford Movement make an impact on religious life in England - Essay Example Their influences were felt in the spiritual and doctrinal levels.1 The Oxford movement brought to the forefront some of the problems within the Church of England. One of the major forces that caused the movement occurred in the year 1832 where there was the passage of the Reform Act. This Act required that ten Irish bishops be eliminated from the Church. One of the major participants of the movement was John Keble. He voiced his objections against that reform and even described it as a form of apostasy by the nation. He voiced these complaints in a Sermon at Oxford during the year 1833. The leaders of the Oxford movement felt that adherents to the Anglican faith were not as devoted as they should be to the church and the clergy. Standards of worship had declined and something needed to be done in order to change this. They also felt that tradition no longer formed a central part of worship and there was a need to return to that. The movement protested against involvement of the government in matters of the Church. This was highlighted in the famous sermon of 1833. Newman asserted that the church was a holy institution and as such should be left to run its own affairs without interruptions from external bodies. He also spoke against the way the government had ruined the apostolic succession principle which required that bishops should be succeeded in a religious and not a political manner.2 Leaders of the movement were also instrumental in making the people of England realise that there were certain linkages between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. These beliefs caused the formulation of the Branch Theory in which The Orthodox, Anglicans and Roman Catholics were termed as branches of the real Catholic Church. These movement’s leaders compared some elements of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church to prove the latter fact. They asserted that the 39 articles of their church and the Council of Trent were one