Snow falling seasonally in Greenland and Antarctica or on glaciers around the globe is slowly compressed into ice and during this process, bubbles of air remained trapped in the ice. Scientists and researchers, using ice cores, are able "to read" these bubbles and thus to measure the concentration of gases, including the one of CO2 for a specific period of time.Ice cores are created drilling the ice pack as shown in the picture underneath.
The layers of ice accumulating in the coldest regions of Earth become thus a sort of paper where scientists can read the type of atmosphere characterising other times. Ice core records allow us to get continuous reconstructions of past climate, going back a minimum of 800,000 years in the history of world's ancient amosphere. By watching past concentrations of greenhouse gases in layers in ice cores, scientists can calculate how modern amounts of CO2 and methane compare to those of the past, and, essentially, compare past concentrations of greenhouse gases to temperature.
Updated information on the number of cases is released daily in the morning around 9am.
London is so far the most affected area in the country with 91 confirmed cases. The borough counting most cases is the one of Kensington and Chelsea with 13 infected people.
London COVID-19 cases (10th March 2020)
Overall in the UK have been registered 373 cases and details per geographical area are provided using the Upper Tier Local Authorities (UTLA) mapping.
Daily, Public Health England provides data on the disease outbreak using the ArcGIS software by
Esri, the same application used by John Hopkins University to track the growth of cases at global level.
The Declaration of World Oceans Day in 2008 catalysed action worldwide.
Twenty-five years after Ocean Conference held from 5-9 June 2017. The Ocean Conference was convened to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
the first Oceans Day took place in Rio de Janeiro at The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, a special event on June 8th marked its celebration during the United Nations
Why celebrate World Oceans Day?
We celebrate World Oceans Day to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe.
The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans. They are a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere. In the end, it is a day to celebrate together the beauty, the wealth and the promise of the ocean.
The oceans cover about two-thirds of the surface of the Earth and are the very foundations of life. They generate most of the oxygen we breathe, absorb a large share of carbon dioxide emissions, provide food and nutrients and regulate climate. They are important economically for countries that rely on tourism, fishing and other marine resources for income and serve as the backbone of international trade.
Unfortunately, human pressures, including over-exploitation, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, destructive fishing, as well as unsustainable aquaculture practices, marine pollution, habitat destruction, alien species, climate change and ocean acidification are taking a significant toll on the world’s oceans and seas.
Peace and security are also critical to the full enjoyment of the benefits that can be derived from the oceans and for their sustainable development. As has been remarked by the Secretary-General: “There will be no development without security and no security without development.”
Action focus for 2018: preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean
Plastic pollution is causing tremendous harm to our marine resources. For example:
80% of all pollution in the ocean comes from people on land.
8 million tonnes of plastic per year end up in the ocean, wreaking havoc on wildlife, fisheries and tourism.
Plastic pollution costs the lives of 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals per year.
Fish eat plastic, and we eat the fish.
Plastic causes $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems each year.
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