The
Big Bird
The Andes mountains of South
America have a VIP inhabitant: the Andean condor,
the largest bird of prey on earth. Despite its grandeur,
it is a species that has been decimated and brought
to the verge of extinction.
The Andean condors of course
have a scientific name: 'Vultur
gryphus'. When they are in full flight, their
wingspan can measure up to three meters wide.
Some time ago, these birds were
plentiful throughout the Andes, from Venezuela in
the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south. But their
numbers began to dwindle, mostly due to threats and
changes in habitat caused by humans.
The Andean condor is a carrion
feeder, like its cousin the California
condor. It also feeds on the young of some animals
that inhabit the region. In captivity, far from the
threats of humans or a degraded habitat, it can live
as long as 70 years.
The sharp decline in population
put the Andean condor on the lists of the Convention
on International Trade in Endangers Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES)
and the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
Today there are several programs
to preserve the condor and to repopulate the Andean
mountains with this species.
A journey through the Internet
shows that these efforts are popular. There are portals
on the Andean condor and several sites with detailed
descriptions and photos of this giant bird.
Andean
Condor Home Page
Portal:
Andean Condor
For
Kids: PBS - Soar Like the Condor
Vultur
Gryphus
Andean
Condor: UNEP-WCMC Classification
Vultur
Gryphus on IUCN Red List
California
Condor Recovery Program
Andean
Condor: Characteristics
Southern
Ice
Antarctica is home to the icy
South Pole, one of the most amazing places on Earth.
It is a part of the world where ice reigns amid ecosystems
that often defy earthly logic.
The figures related to this
region at first seem to be exaggerated: Antarctica
holds 90 percent of the world's ice, making it the
largest freshwater repository, with 70 percent of
the known reserves. Nevertheless, it is a desert.
The Internet sites dedicated
to the mysteries of Antarctica describe this place
as the driest, coldest and windiest place on Earth.
A place like this provides a
number of challenges for the explorers, adventurers,
scientists and ecologists it has attracted over the
last century. Reaching the South Pole was a contest
to overcome geography and climate that was won Dec
14, 1911, by the team led by Roald Amundsen (see photo).
Many years later, Antarctica
was recognized as a set of unique ecosystems, attracting
scientists from numerous countries who set up bases
on the frozen continent to carry out their research.
The scientists have warned that
preserving Antarctica is fundamental for the entire
plant. Protecting the continent's environment is a
goal of several international organizations and of
the Antarctic Treaty, under which governments periodically
lay out new conservation goals.
But beyond these efforts, the
region is the scenario of an ecological problem with
devastating effects: global warming is causing the
ice to melt, dramatically altering the landscape and
the fragile coastal ecosystems.
Encyclopaedia
Antarctica
The
Antarctica Project
Antarctic
Philately and Explorers
Educational:
NOVA on the Antarctic
Antarctic
Treaty
FAQs
about the South Pole
Virtual
Antarctica
Mountains
of Fire
Volcanoes are the guardians of
nearly unimaginable forces that originate from deep
inside the Earth. For millions of years they have
been a force of destruction and creation, and have
also been a source of fascination for humans.
The complex beauty of these formations,
described by some as a pipeline system that transports
rock in its liquid state from dozens of kilometers
underground to the Earth's surface, have also won
a place on the Internet, where it is possible to study
them like never before - and undoubtedly with greater
safety…
One of the numerous websites
dedicated to volcanoes lists more than 1,500 of these
fiery mountains, and another informs us that more
than 500 of them are active.
Volcanoes exist on the Earth's
land surface as well as in the ocean depths. The study
of their activity, still a great mystery, is the work
of volcanologists, scientists who often run considerable
risks as they make their observations blasted by the
heat of lava.
The Internet provides the curious
with extensive portals
and directories,
sites dedicated to explaining
the ''anatomy'' of the volcano, lists of these formations
around the world, and even a registry of eruptions…
Portal:
Volcano World
Global
Volcanism Program
Current
Volcanic Eruptions
Latin
American Volcanoes
Directory:
Volcanoes.com
Weekly
Volcanic Activity Report
Volcano
Observatory
Volcanoes
Online
|
