|
|
|
Nicaragua
Ortega Govt Channeling Migrants
Over 260 charter flights believed to be carrying migrants from Haiti have landed in Nicaragua in recent months, allegedly as a way of channeling them towards the US. It is believed that aiding migrants is a measure by governments like Nicaragua’s to get concessions from the US amid tightening sanctions. Nicaragua has long been used as a migratory springboard for people fleeing Caribbean nations like Cuba and Haiti as well as several African countries, because it is one of the few countries that does not require visas for entry. Although these journeys are not on official air routes, flight tracking data shows that 268 charter flights went from Haiti to Nicaragua since the beginning of August. The charter airlines have flown as many as 31,000 people out of Haiti, representing nearly 60% of the Haitians arriving to the U.S. border, adding to a crisis of inbound migrants that has challenged security and resources in the US and Latin American countries..
This map depicts the flight path from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Managua, Nicaragua taken by thousands of Haitians in recent months. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: AP News
__________________________________________
|
|
Finland
Chinese Damage Balticonnector
Finnish investigators said Tuesday they believed an anchor of a Chinese container ship dislodged and caused the damage to the undersea Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia on the Baltic Sea detected earlier this month. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a branch of the Finnish police, said that it has evidence and data pointing to the Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel Newnew Polar Bear as the culprit in damaging the pipeline running across the Gulf of Finland. NBI’s head of the investigation said in a news conference on Tuesday that a 1.5 to 4-meter-wide dragging trail on the seabed is seen to lead to the point of damage in the gas pipeline, and a ship’s anchor has been retrieved.
This map depicts the Balticonnector and Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
Graphic Source: The Economist
__________________________________________
|
|
Australia
Argoland Location Found
The location of Argoland, a 3,100-mile “lost” continent that broke off of Western Australia 155 million years ago, has been found. The Argo Abyssal Plain, a basin below the ocean floor, previously served as evidence of Argoland’s existence. Other lost continents have been found to have dipped into the mantle, vanishing forever and leaving behind only their uppermost layer. However, a new study published in the journal Gondwana Research shows that Argoland has fragmented, not disappeared. This research shows that Argoland was not originally one large land mass, rather an ‘Argopelago’ of land fragments. Since Argoland’s separation from Australia, its pieces have been drifting. These fragments today lie beneath Indonesia and Myanmar, 18,000 feet below the surface of the ocean.
This map depicts the drift of Argoland since its separation from Western Australia. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Q: After its surrounding waters were drained, which city now sits on an ancient lake and subsides 20 inches per year?
A: Mexico City
The capital city of Mexico, a city of 22 million people, sits on the ancient lakebed of Lake Texcoco. Below it are the ancient ruins of the island city Tenochtitlan, the former capital of the Aztec Empire destroyed by Hernan Cortes in 1521. The Spaniards built their own structures on top of Tenochtitlan, draining the lake to do so, and simultaneously deprived themselves of access to water. Today, the only remains of the lake are the canals of Xochimilco, where Aztec “floating gardens” called chinampas are still in use. After centuries of water drainage from underground aquifers, the lakebed on which this city sits has grown increasingly dry, causing the clay sheets to compress and crack at a largely unstoppable rate. Rain and spring water running off the mountains surrounding Mexico City have left the sunken city especially prone to flooding. As the clay underneath it further sinks and cracks, the authors worry this strong downward flow of water will ultimately percolate through to the groundwater, introducing pollutants or sewerage. Without a widespread system for reusing wastewater or collecting rainwater, the city is struggling to meet demand.
Source
|
|
|
|
|
Q: In what country can the weakest pull of gravity on Earth be found?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
|
|
|
|
|
AGS is accepting DailyGeo GeoQuestion suggestions.
Write to ags@americangeo.org with any ideas!
Please include GeoQuestions in the subject line, along with your answer and source.
|
|
|
|
DailyGeo is a daily digital communication created by the American Geographical Society (AGS) for the geography community. If you are receiving this email, it is because you are an affiliate of AGS or a participant in one of our programs. Feel free to share and encourage others to become part of the community too!
Copyright © 2023 American Geographical Society, All rights reserved.
We understand this might not be for everyone. Although we would hate to see you go, you can unsubscribe here.
How are we doing? We want to hear your feedback on the DailyGeo – what are we doing right and what should we be doing differently. Talk to us by emailing ags@americangeo.org.
|
|
|
|
|
