Tropical cyclone names

Met Office

During the Second World War names were used by USA Air Force and Navy meteorologists monitoring Pacific tropical storms. By the mid-1960s names were used for all tropical storms except those in the North Indian Ocean. The names currently in use and those to be used in future years are listed below. Various meteorological organisations have responsibility for names and employ different conventions.

Northern hemisphere index

• Western north Pacific - West of 180 °E
• Philippines - 5-25 °N 115-135 °E
• Central North Pacific - 140-180 °W
• Eastern North Pacific - East of 140 °W
• Atlantic
• North Indian

Credits to Metoffice.UK, if you are more interested please visit their website:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone/names.html

Jal Bearing Down on Southeastern India

Tropical Cyclone Jal is bearing down on southeastern India, endangering residents and visitors over the next day or two as it spreads flooding rainfall and damaging winds across the region. The intensity of Tropical Cyclone Jal is currently the equivalent to that of a tropical storm with sustained winds near 60 mph. Landfall will be near the state border between Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. AccuWeather.com International Expert Meteorologist Jim Andrews warned this past Thursday that "the city of Chennai could be hit directly." Jal will come onshore with flooding rain and damaging winds. An inundating storm surge will also pose a serious danger. Locations along the immediate coastline in the path of Jal have already received heavy rainfall, with more on the way. Resultant flooding will be the biggest impact of Jal. More than 25 people have already died due to flooding from downpours ahead of Jal's landfall, and more than 70,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. The harvesting of crops has been affected by Jal with more than 300,000 acres of cropland being doused by heavy rain. After making landfall, Jal will continue to track into the interior of south-central India Sunday night. The higher terrain of this region will cause Jal to weaken in terms of its damaging winds. Heavy rain triggering flooding and mudslides will remain a concern.

-By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist
 Nov 7, 2010; 10:30 AM ET


 Content contributed by Eric Leister and Meghan Evans, meteorologists

Satellite Image of India on Sunday (Courtesy of India Meteorological Department)

Read more about tropical cyclone formation from: http://www.hurricanezone.net/articles/tropicalcycloneformation.html

Neighborhood Geography with Young Children

“Where’s my new preschool?” “What does ‘prairie’ mean?” Children’s natural curiosity about places is the basis for learning about geography. The Illinois Early Learning Standards call for children to express beginning geographic thinking and to locate objects and places in familiar environments. These tips can help children in your program meet these benchmarks!

Lots of educational materials can be found from the following website:-

Illinois State Board of Education
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/cgi-bin/iel/searchiel.asp

Common blue bottle

Sitting by a forest stream can't be compared with anything.
We can put small pebbles in the water and see how many droplets go up,
How many jumps one stone can do once its free from our hands,
Make models of our dream,
Can draw anything with fine sand on the banks of a river,

We can swim,
You can drink(if you trust others) water while swimming or
Sit and move our eyes as the ripples come and go...
The river has a beginning, an end, it always lives in the present, it has a variety of characteristics and indeed a sense or purpose too. From looking at the river from the perspective of its characteristics we find it has a particular chemical composition, it has an origin, it houses lot of aquatic composition, and plants, the water is used for a wide variety of purpose and the like. If the river is unaware of its variety of characteristics, it becomes ignorant and simply flows off.
I was sitting by a forest stream in western slopes of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve) looking around to do what next? (no I was trying to find my own identity(!!!) like our river flowing without the true knowledge of its own identity will surely reach the sea) Graphium sarpedon, the common bluebottle is a species of swallowtail butterfly came here to see what aquatic composition this river has got to attract female butterflies to him.  Another stakeholder of the river.

I will do anything for ----

I pulled out basic information of why this butterfly is visiting riverbank. 'His' visit is called mud-puddling- it is the phenomenon mostly seen in butterflies and involves their aggregation on substrates like wet soil, dung and carrion to obtain nutrients such as salts and amino acids. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are diverse in their strategies to gather liquid nutrients. Typically, mud-puddling behavior takes place on wet soil. But even sweat on human skin may be attractive to butterflies.This behaviour is restricted to males in many species. Males seem to benefit from the sodium uptake through mud-puddling behaviour with an increase in reproductive success. The collected sodium and amino acids are often transferred to the female with the spermatophore during mating as a nuptial gift. This nutrition also enhances the survival rate of the eggs.

a tree..

cycas circinalis

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.  Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see nature at all.  But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself”

-  William Blake, 1799, The Letters

Remote sensing

We were talking about Geography, Maps and remote sensing in a Govt. Tribal Residential School where Keystone Foundation is having Conservation Education Programs.
Suddenly when we talked about remote sensing the situation became very perplexed (one of my ability)!!
We did not carry our computer, set of maps, globe nothing, there was there to help :(

By the time our audience became very curious (which was rarely seen) to know what is this 'remote sensing'
We were looking around to find a way to explain how to address their wounder...
looking around and round we saw a small hill behind the school, asked teacher can we take children for 2 hours to that hill!!!!(teacher's expression)
It hardly took for us to climb 1000 meters. Most of them were barefoot ecologists, we were carrying no water no snacks, one camera, one binocular, note books, sketch pens and pencils and an interest to know 'remote sensing'
This is what had happened after the trek... 

Seeing school from hilltop

Sobha (barefoot cartographer) is drawing map

Geddesal school through my camera

Geddesal school through Sobha's eyes- 'Remote sensing'!(red rectangular shapes are school buildings, green rectangulars are paddy fields, mushroom shaped greens are eucalyptus plantation..

inviting bees

inviting bees...

As a part of the conservation education program in the Nilgiris, Keystone Foundation have few nurseries of forest plants. Geddesal Govt.Tribal Residential School has one of such nurseries. Last week we had a drawing session on 'conservation activities in your school'...
One of the students Ajith came with a picture, which shows the topography of the area, what they do in restoration and the expected result or the dream!!

A tribal village in Kerala won Conservation Award 2010

Bridge to Kumpalappara

Barefoot ecologist from Kumpalappara village

Keystone Foundation has established an annual Village Conservation Award to recognize and support exemplary conservation efforts undertaken by adivasi villages within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The award carries a substantial prize of ₹1 lakh as the first prize and ₹50,000 as the consolation prize, which can be utilized for the village's betterment. The award funds are specifically intended for constructing eco-friendly structures and must not be used for personal gain.

To ensure the award's impact, applications must provide quantitative and qualitative evidence demonstrating the number of individuals benefiting from or utilizing the initiative, as well as the extent of restored habitats or landscapes.

Kumpalappara, a village from the Nilambur region of Kerala, submitted an application highlighting their commitment to eco-friendly living. Situated three kilometers inside the forest from the forest boundary, this village comprises thirteen Kaatunaicka families who depend on the forest for their livelihood. They have no ration cards, electricity, public water supply (although there is a beautiful stream), wells, concrete houses, livestock beyond a couple of dogs, gas connections (they collect firewood for cooking and to keep elephants at bay), or libraries. Despite these modest means, the village boasts a peripatetic school, demonstrating their dedication to education.

Kumpalappara's submission emphasized their efforts to conserve the environment and their traditional practices. They explained how they collect only the resources they need, ensuring the sustainability of the forest. They also shared their knowledge of medicinal plants and their commitment to preserving the biodiversity of the region.

The jury was deeply impressed by Kumpalappara's commitment to eco-friendly living and their unwavering respect for the environment. The village's presentation effectively conveyed their genuine desire to protect their natural heritage and enhance their community's well-being.