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India
Top Court Upholds End of Status
The Supreme Court of India has upheld a 2019 decision by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revoke special status for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Under the special status, Jammu and Kashmir was a semi-autonomous region with a separate constitution and other inherited protections. The government has set a deadline of September 30 next year to hold local elections. The whole of Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan, with China also holding a sparsely-populated portion of the area. India paired the area of Kashmir it controls, its only Muslim-majority region, with nearby Hindu-majority Jammu. India and Pakistan have been at odds over control of the Kashmir territory since they gained independence from the British Empire in 1947. The unanimous order by a panel of five judges now splits the area controlled by India into two federally-administered territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and the Buddhist territory of Ladakh.
This map depicts the respective areas of control by China, India, and Pakistan over the Kashmir region. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Barron’s
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Israel
Israel-Gaza War Expands South
Israel’s air raids in central and northern Gaza continue this morning with ground fighting reported in the southern part of the Strip, as its leaders say they are prepared to fight for months to defeat Hamas. Hamas reports around 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardment since October 7. The revised death toll of Israelis killed stands at 1,147. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the Gaza Strip, where U.N. agencies say there is no safe place to flee. Israeli officials maintain they take steps to curb the risk to civilians. Despite international outcry over mounting civilian deaths in Gaza, the United States government has maintained support for Israel, including providing ammunition, while also claiming to be working to encourage Israel to limit civilian impacts and keep the conflict from spreading throughout the Middle East.
This map depicts the extent of group operations by Israeli ground forces. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Barron’s
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World
Threat of Methane Release
In a recent Nature Geoscience article, Newcastle University researchers revealed their findings that frozen methane trapped as a solid under our oceans is at risk of melting due to climate change, potentially releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. The researchers used advanced three-dimensional seismic imaging techniques to examine a portion of methane hydrate, also known as fire-ice, that dissociated during climatic warming off the coast of Mauritania in Northwest Africa. They identified a specific case where dissociated methane migrated over 25 miles (40 km) and was released through a field of underwater depressions, known as pockmarks, during past warm periods. The new data shows far larger volumes of methane may be liberated from marine hydrates, and the results of the study can therefore be used to help predict and address the impact of methane on the changing climate.
This map depicts the levels of carbon per square meter trapped underwater in different areas around the world. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What is the world’s longest mountain range, considering both submarine and above-water mountains?
A: Mid-Ocean Ridge System
The mid-ocean ridge system is the most extensive chain of mountains on Earth, stretching nearly 40,390 miles (65,000 kilometers) and with more than 90 percent of the mountain range lying underwater, in the deep ocean. This system of mountains and valleys crisscrosses the globe, resembling the stitches in a baseball. It’s formed by the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates. As the great plates push apart, mountains and valleys form along the seafloor as magma rises up to fill the gaps. As the Earth’s crust spreads, new ocean floor is created. This process renews the surface of our planet. If you look at a map of the world’s volcanoes, you’ll find that most of them form along the boundaries of this great system. In fact, the global mid-ocean ridge system forms the largest single volcanic feature on the Earth. The mid-ocean ridge consists of thousands of individual volcanoes or volcanic ridge segments which periodically erupt. The ridge system includes volcanic islands of varying size, including Iceland, Azores, St. Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha.
Source
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Q: The world’s largest waterfall is created by the interaction between what two oceans?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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