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United States-Canada
U.S. Intercepts Russian Jets
Nine U.S. fighter jets were dispatched to escort five Russian warplanes out of Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), coastal airspace which is jointly administered by the United States and Canada. The region covers the Bering Strait between Alaska and Russia, as well as the surrounding area over the Pacific Ocean. All aircraft in a country’s ADIZ are required to identify themselves upon entry. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said Russian activity in the ADIZ occurs regularly and this instance was not seen as a security threat, as the Russian jets did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace. While sovereign airspace is recognized by international law, the ADIZ established by many coastal countries are under local jurisdiction.
This map depicts the Air Defense Identification Zone surrounding Alaska. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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United States
Sewage Spill in Potomac River
Washington, D.C., officials declared a public emergency this week after a sewer pipe that broke on January 19th in a Maryland county just outside D.C. pumped more than 240 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asked the White House for a presidential emergency disaster declaration, which would open up funding for repair and cleanup. Maryland has yet to do the same. The pipe that collapsed is within the C&O Canal National Historic Park, which is property controlled by the federal government within Maryland. DC Water owns and operates the broken sewer pipe known as the Potomac Interceptor, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates and oversees it. Both state and federal agencies maintain there is no evidence the spillage has impacted drinking water quality, while also advising residents to avoid all contact with the Potomac. This is one of the largest sewage spills in U.S. history, dubbed by the EPA as an ecological disaster of “historic proportion.”
This map depicts the location of the sewage spill in Washington, DC, and where the water has been tested. Click on the map to learn more.
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Niger
Stunning New Spinosaurus Fossil
Paleontologists are hailing the discovery of dinosaur fossils from a newly-identified species of Spinosaur found deep in Niger’s portion of the Sahara. The species, Spinosaurus mirabilis, as described in an article in Science, sported a crest on its head that resembles a scimitar, and was the first of its kind known to live in a habitat far from the coastline. The team speculates that this area of the Sahara was a forest crisscrossed by smaller waterways during the Cretaceous era, 95 million years ago. This species sported a “fish-trap” mouth, with sharp teeth from its lower jaw protruding out from between the teeth of its upper jaw, an arrangement only previously seen in other fish-eating reptiles of the time, but never before seen in any other species of dinosaur. This gives further evidence that this inland region had abundant fish in its waterways, where S. mirabilis would have waded as it hunted for fish like a giant heron.
This map depicts prehistoric fossil finds from an area of Niger deep in the Sahara, including where the newly-identified Spinosaurus mirabilis was uncovered. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What petroleum-rich river delta was once known as the “Oil Rivers” because of the production of palm oil?
A: Niger River Delta
The Niger Delta is where the NIger River empties into the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. The Niger is the third-longest river in Africa, exceeded by the Nile and the Congo Rivers. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. The river runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Niger, on the border with Benin, and then through Nigeria. The Niger Delta is a very densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil. The area was the British Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 until 1893, when it was expanded and became the Niger Coast Protectorate. The delta is a petroleum-rich region and has been the center of international concern over extensive pollution.
Source
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Q: Although it often receives the title as the “Grand Canyon of Mexico,” what is the name of Mexico’s massive canyon which is actually four times larger than its northern counterpart?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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