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Venezuela
Upcoming Vote on Essequibo
On Sunday, Venezuelans will vote whether to support their government’s territorial claim on Essequibo, a region internationally recognized as part of Guyana. Essequibo is an oil-rich 61,600 square-mile area directly bordering Venezuela. Venezuela claims the territory because it was within its boundaries during the Spanish colonial period, despite the 1899 arbitration that established that the region belongs to Guyana. Since then, there have been further negotiations between the two countries, but Essequibo has remained recognized as part of Guyana. The majority of people who live in Essequibo are Indigenous, some of whom are frustrated that they are being overlooked in this process. Essequibo makes up two-thirds of Guyana, and its large oil reserves make it extremely valuable.
This map depicts the location of the Essequibo region. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: France 24
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Japan
US Osprey Crashes
One person has died after a US V-22 Osprey military aircraft crashed during training off the coast of Yakushima Island in Japan. The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command states that the Osprey was conducting a training mission with another aircraft before its left engine caught on fire and crashed. Along with one individual reported dead, rescue operations continue in search of the other seven individuals aboard the aircraft. The crash was first reported by a fishing boat, which then made an emergency call to the Japanese Coast Guard. The Osprey was assigned to Yokota Air Force Base, located outside Tokyo, and had departed Iwakuni Air Base to fly to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. This incident follows other crashes involving Ospreys in recent years, including one that killed five U.S. Marines last summer in California.
This map depicts the location of the crash of a the US military V-22 Osprey off the coast of Japan. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Kyodo News
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Russia
Atlantic Water Mass Revealed
Scientists from Moscow’s Shirshov Institute of Oceanology have confirmed the previously-theorized existence of a mass of water in the Atlantic Ocean referred to as the Atlantic Equatorial Water. The World Ocean is filled with geographically distinct masses of water characterized by specific ranges of temperature and salinity, as well as oxygenation and other mineral content. As described in a report in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, Equatorial Waters – places where water masses formed by northern and southern currents meet and mix – had been observed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But researchers had been unsuccessful for decades in locating a mass in the Atlantic with similar properties. The Atlantic mass was finally revealed after combing through data on water properties collected by the Argo program, an international array of self-submerging robotic floats distributed through the World Ocean.
This map depicts the water mass in the ocean now recognized as the Atlantic Equatorial Water, in yellow. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What animal has the longest migration of any mammal on Earth?
A: Humpback Whale
The Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale known for its elaborate courtship songs and displays. It ranges in length from 46–56 ft (14–17 m) and weighs up to 44 short tons (40 metric tons). Humpback whales live along the coasts of all oceans, occasionally swimming close to shore, even into harbors and rivers. They undertake vast migrations of up to 9,900 mi (16,000 km) each year between polar feeding grounds in summer and tropical or subtropical breeding grounds in winter. The most vocal of all whales, humpbacks make a great variety of sounds, from moans and cries to groans and snores. The whales string these together to form “songs” lasting 5–35 minutes. The humpback is also one of the most acrobatic cetaceans (infraorder of aquatic mammals which includes dolphins, whales, and porpoises). It frequently breaches by leaping belly-up completely clear of the water, then arching backward and returning to the surface with a loud slapping sound. Much of the growth of commercial whale watching was built on the humpback whale.
Source
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Q: What animal has the longest known terrestrial migration on Earth?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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