Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 tropical storm with winds of 130 miles per hour has killed at least ten people and has caused many more injured. It strengthened into a hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico fueled by a combination of factors including the warm water in the gulf and lack of wind in the upper atmosphere. Hurricane Harvey is stretching along the state's Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi to Houston and inland to Austin and San Antonio. The "500 year flood" created more than thirty inches of rain, but the flooding is only expected to intensify as rains continue. It is predicted in some areas to reach fifty inches of rainfall. Roads are turning into raging rivers and houses are flooding to the brim. Since Houston did not order evacuations before the storm, residents are trapped in flooding homes.
Hurricane Harvey is important because thousands of people are loosing their homes. It is also changing the landscape of the coast and displacing wildlife, alligators, snakes, and other bayou wildlife.
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The deep sea is the planet's largest habitat. Throughout the explorations into the darkness of the sea, bioluminescence has been discovered in more than five hundred types of creatures that can be found as deep as two miles. Bioluminescence is the biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep sea fishes. The colors vary from pale greens, blues, reds, and blue-greens which travel far in seawater. The creatures use the emitted light to lure, intimidate, stun, mislead, and find mates. The living lights emanates when oxygen and luciferase combines which prompts a chemical reaction. The luciferin molecules absorb energy and then releases it as light. Some creatures that use bioluminescence are the vampire squid, Beroe forskalu (a comb jelly), and an Atolla (a jellyfish). The vampire squid can cloak itself in a glowing blue cloud, the Beroe forskalu can produce waves of light, and the Atolla shines bright blue when threatened.
The bioluminescence is interesting because it is a chemical reaction that creates light. Can humans recreate this process? Discovering more about the deep sea and the chemical reaction that lights its darkness can help humans create the biochemical emission that maybe can be used to illuminate bedrooms without electricity. |
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March 2018
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