"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Month: October 2024
Sinkholes
10/22/24
“What exactly are sinkholes?”
Imagine a piece of land suddenly collapsing to leave a giant hole underneath. This actually happens in reality. Sinkholes form when the soil or rock underneath a surface is eroded away by water, leading to structural failure.
Why Wetlands Are Effective at Treating Wastewater
10/20/24
“Why are wetlands effective at treating wastewater?”
Wastewater can be incredibly complicated to treat. Many wastewater treatment processes use gargantuan amounts of energy. However, lagoons can accomplish this naturally. Wetlands can bind sediments, remove harmful chemicals, soak floodwater, and produce clean effluent naturally. This is Why Wetlands Are Effective at Treating Wastewater.
Sewage Lagoons
10/17/24
“How can lagoons be used for sewage treatment?”
Lagoons can be found all over the world. Many contain bacteria that can feed on toxic waste. This makes it possible to use as a wastewater treatment by dumping sewage into the lagoon and letting the bacteria break down the waste. These Sewage Lagoons are typically aided by wind and sunlight.
Image credit: https://nanogasenvironmental.com/
Lowland Rivers
10/16/24
“What are the characteristics of rivers in lowlands?”
A river’s natural environment affects its properties. Rivers in lowlands, termed Lowland Rivers are slower because they go through a smaller gravitational potential difference. They also contain more sediment than upland rivers which makes them contain less oxygen and appear more opaque.
Upland Rivers
10/15/24
“What are the rivers that originate in mountainous environments?”
Rivers are found almost everywhere on Earth. Rivers that start in mountainous environments are labeled Upland Rivers. These rivers are typically fast-moving due to their steep drop in elevation. Upland rivers are typically clear and have copious amounts of oxygen.
River Banks
10/14/24
“What is the terrain next to a river?”
Rivers are powerful streams of water. The terrain next to them is called River Banks. River banks are surrounded by two sides, a left bank, and a right bank.
Why Venice is Built on Stilts
10/13/24
“Why is the city of Venice built on stilts?”
Venice is a top-rated destination for countless people all over the world. There is so much to love from its beautiful canals to its deep history. However, one of the most interesting aspects is that the city itself is built on stilts. Why did the Venetians do this? Well, the islands that serve as Venice’s base are made of weak, soft mud and silt. This makes building very dangerous and arduous. Building a foundation of wooden stilts makes development stronger. This is Why Venice is Built on Stilts.
Phylogenetic Trees
10/12/24
“How can we represent evolutionary history on a tree diagram?”
Phylogenetics studies how organisms evolve with time. But how can we visualize how organisms evolve from one another? Well, what if we were to visualize all organism’s genetic history as starting out from a root (the first single-celled organism) and then evolving outwards in a tree-like structure? This is the idea behind Phylogenetic Trees and it’s one of the most standard ways to display an organism’s evolutionary history.
Phylogenetics
10/10/24
“How can we use genetics to study the evolutionary history of life?”
Genetics can tell us a lot about an organism. One of the things it can do is tell us about the evolutionary history of life and how organisms became the way they are. This field of science is called Phylogenetics.
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