Good news for our Armed Forces...

Good news!!

The LAST big group of British troops have recently arrived in Afghanistan to help to complete the UK's mission there. 

The 7th Armoured Brigade, also known as the Desert Rats, have arrived in Helmand Province which is in the south of the country, where most of the British troops are based.  They'll be there for the next nine months and their main job will be packing up kit before British forces finally leave Afghanistan next year. Local troops will then take over. 

UK troops have been in Afghanistan for just over 10 years now - we are really glad they are coming home!!

Written by RC

Diamonds in the sky...

It sounds like science fiction, but as much as 10 million tons of diamonds may be stored in Saturn and Jupiter, researchers announced this week. Observational evidence of storms on Saturn that actively generate carbon particles, combined with new laboratory experiments and models that show how carbon behaves under extreme conditions, have led a pair of scientists to posit that both planets may offer stable environments for the formation of diamonds.

Written by RC

Hurricane Facts

Some Amazing Hurricane Facts...

 

A hurricane is an intense tropical storm with powerful winds and heavy rain.

Other names for a hurricane include cyclone, typhoon and tropical storm, the different names usually indicate where the storm took place. Tropical storms that form in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific (near the United States) are called hurricanes, those that form near in the Northwest Pacific (near Japan) are called typhoons and those that form in the South Pacific or Indian oceans are called cyclones.

Hurricanes usually form in tropical areas of the world.

Hurricanes develop over warm water and use it as an energy source.

Hurricanes lose strength as they move over land.

 

 

Written by AS

 

Ocean life dying fast...

 

 

The health of the world’s oceans is declining faster than thought. The ocean is heating up by climate change, turning less alkaline after absorbing carbon-dioxide gas. As well as that, other issues like over fishing and chemical pollution is combining together resulting in a more powerful threat. The international programme on the State of the Ocean warns that if the oceans get to hot and full of acid then that means that it could be a big threat; this is because it could result to extinction of much sea life. People have said that we have been taking the ocean for granted and that we should care for it more. The IPSO have said that we must stop the increase of carbon-dioxide if we want to save this beautiful world under the sea.

 

 

Written by AL and VL

 

 

 

Part of the Family...

Three tiger cubs have been adopted by a dog in Russia!

 

 

Three abandoned tigers are now being looked after by a dog in Russia called Tally. It’s not the first time they have been abandoned; however the zoo owners knew that they needed to be looked after by another animal because the tigers could possibly die. Someone put an advert on the internet, for a dog to feed the cubs; this is where Tally came in. Tally already had some cubs, but raised the cute tigers as her own. After the traumas of this 9 more puppies were born from tally; isn’t that a fantastic dog!

 

 

Written by NL and RF

 

Topic of the Month - Mt. Kilauea

This volcano is located in the Hawaii islands; the volcano is a shield volcano. It formed millions of years ago underwater. Mt. Kilauea has erupted so many times it rose up from the water.

Mt. Kilauea created some of Hawaii and its islands; this is because the volcano erupted so much and so often that little by little it has grown and grown and grown. Now it is a full island with its own name, but it will continue to grow as the lava is constantly flowing out and this means that little by little the lava falls into the sea. The lava has then risen through the water, cooled and got bigger and bigger.

The volcano is located near the pacific plate, lots of tourists love visiting this volcano. They love seeing the lava spew out!!! However this volcano could become very hazardous, if it carries on erupting it might destroy some of the islands!

Written by AL and VL

Picture of the day...

Here at Geoblogs HQ we are feeling the effects of the third week back to school, when we saw this picture today we couldn't help but feel relaxed...

Small auks called dovekies dive for copepods and nest on rocky shores in Svalbard, Norway's Arctic archipelago. The birds deposit guano and carcasses on land, fertilizing a mossy garden that provides ideal lurking ground for arctic foxes and other hunters.

 

Ecosystems under threat??

Poisonous Poachers...

The number of vultures in southern Africa is under threat. They may not be nature’s most glamorous animals but few people realise the important part they play in the eco system.

So what’s happening? Poachers are lacing the dead bodies of rhinos and elephants with poison. As we all know, vultures survive by eating these carcasses, so obviously a major problem has developed. Just one poisoned body kills over 600 vultures! It is worse in mating season as many chicks get killed too, doubling the number to 1200!

What ideas have you got to STOP these poachers? Comment below!

Watch the video here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24059240

Written by RC

The Impossible

Film Review Number 1: The Impossible (2012)

The Impossible is a film based on a true story of the boxing day tsunami. It is about a family, who are on holiday in Thailand and get caught up in the event. The family consists of a wife, husband and their three sons.

However when we analysed the film further we discovered that it wasn't as

geographically correct as it makes out. Firstly, it is based on a true story but the film is made well but some of the smaller events are made a lot more dramatic than they would have been. The movie in parts isn't very realistic as when the father called his dad, who is back in his home country his voice was clear and loud. However, if the landline and signal had been destroyed by the tsunami (which is very likely when you see the devastation it caused) you wouldn't have thought he would been able to reach him or even hear him clearly.

On the other hand, the film is a very gripping, heart warming story especially as its based on a true story. The surroundings and scenery of the film was excellently edited to make it look as realistic as possible. Also the film took us on a roller coaster of emotions, from the beginning to end, when it looked like the family would never meet again and when we weren't sure whether they were alive or dead. The film made us feel as if we were there next to them during the tsunami and after, feeling everything they felt.
 

Overall, the film was a great success and very emotional yet set still realistic and factual even though it wasn't always the most geographically correct. We would rate it up there with the top films and strongly recommend it to any families out there. But make sure you have a tissue at the ready and a strong stomach!

If you want to see the trailer - click here.

Written by EH and CA

Current Affairs

Conflict in Syria

  

Over the past couple of weeks there have been problems in Syria. The Syrian government have been accused of using chemical weapons against their own people. The weapons that have been used have killed thousands, many of them children.

While Syria's possession of chemical weapons has never been in any doubt, there is no reliable information on how the weapons have been obtained and developed. Barak Obama made a decision that if Syria hand over their chemical weapons to the US to be destroyed, then all will be forgotten (kind of) Syria’s neighbours Russia have agreed to this action and have also said that they will be on Syria’s side. However if they don’t hand the chemicals over then they will use the armed forces against them! Some people have predicted that if we do use the armed forces against Syria then there will be a World War III. Other people think that there will be no actions against Syria.

 So what do you think about the Syrian Conflict. Should we attack with the Armed Forces, should we leave Syria alone, do you think that if we attacked Syria there will be a World War III?

Comment below!

You can find out more information about Syria by clicking here.

Written by JH

Topic of the Month - September

Topic of the month for September is Natural Disasters...

 

Each Week in September we will post different things surrounding the same topic... To begin with we chose natural disasters as in year 9 we are studying it at the moment...

 

The eye-catching topic of the week is the Haiti Earthquake; it occurred in 2010 and had a massive magnitude of 7.0! It hit the south of Haiti’s capital, Port au Prince. The earthquake killed over 300,000 people!!

 

The strong earthquake was then followed by two more aftershocks with high magnitudes of 5.9 and 5.7, causing even more trauma for the people of Haiti.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and suffered four hurricanes and extreme storms in 2008, being barely recovered it was hit again with the disastrous earthquake in 2010.

Read more about the Haiti earthquakes through this link BBC News - Haiti devastated by massive earthquake which was published at the time.

Written by AB

In the News...

Disaster in Japan

On the 4^th of September, two tornadoes hit Japan in three days. Tornadoes tore through eastern Japan, injuring dozens of people, at least one seriously, and destroying some buildings. Police in Saitama prefecture, near Tokyo, said 63 people were reported injured.

Kyodo News reported that the tornadoes toppled power lines, blew roofs off homes and sent debris flying, smashing windows at an elementary school. Shelters have been opened in the areas affected and authorities have activated emergency plans.

We hope that all the people in Japan who were injured or lost loved ones in the tornadoes have all the help and support that the need. We also hope that no more disasters happen in the upcoming months and hopefully years, so the people have time to fix all the damage.

You can watch the latest videos by clicking here.

Written by VL and AL