William Morris Davis

• His Early Life:
• William Morris Davis was born on 12 February 1850, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Edward M. Davis, was a businessman and his mother’s name was Maria Mott Davis. His maternal grandmother, Lucretia Mott, was a women’s rights and anti-slavery activist.
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• As a boy, he was not much interested in sports, rather he was more absorbed in his studies. For many years he was homeschooled by his mother; this laid the foundation of a flawless vocabulary and his firmness for accurate writings by his students.
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• He was a bright student and at the age of nineteen, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Harvard University. He received a Master of Engineering degree a year later in 1870.

His Career:

• William Morris Davis was an American geographer, geologist, and meteorologist, who founded the science of geomorphology—the study of landforms.
•  He is often referred to as the “Father of American Geography”. He began his career as a meteorologist with the National Observatory at Córdoba, Argentina, and in three years, he acquired a position with Harvard University, where he continued his employment for the next 36 years. 
• Post-retirement, he became a visiting lecturer to several universities, dedicated many hours to writing and field studies, and conducted in-depth researches of coral reefs and coral islands; the learnings of which were published in ‘The Coral Reef Problem’ (1928). During his lifetime, he published more than 500 works on Geography.
• William Morris Davis died on February 5, 1934,

His Influence in Meteorology:

• Davis studied meteorological phenomena, along with geological and geographical issues. This made his work much more valuable in that he could tie in one object of study to others.
• By doing this, he was able to show the correlation between the meteorological happenings that took place and the geological and geographical issues that were affected by them. This provided those who followed his work with much more information than otherwise available.
• While Davis was a meteorologist, he studied many other aspects of nature. Therefore, he addressed meteorological issues from a nature-based perspective. He became an instructor at Harvard teaching geology.

The Melting of Permafrost

Permafrost is a layer that is made up from soil, gravel, sand, or sediment that has been frozen continuously for a minimum of two years. Permafrost makes up 24% of the exposed surface of the Northern Hemisphere. it can found in the Arctic regions of Siberia, Canada, Greenland, and Alaska. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimate that by the mid-21st Century, permafrost in the Northern Hemisphere will decline by 20-35%.

When it melts down, the organic matter within it begins to decompose and release carbon and methane among other gases which exacerbates the greenhouse effect and global warming. In addition to releasing carbon and methane upon thawing, permafrost also releases potentially dangerous substances like mercury and anthrax. Mercury can not only pollute the ocean but disrupt the ecosystems with it and cause serious harm to the food chain there. Mercury is also toxic to humans and can cause death. Thawed Permafrost can also expose people to anthrax, this especially happens in Siberia.

The melting of permafrost also affects coastal cities and areas. Melting permafrost can cause a rise in sea level which can increase the severity of hurricane flooding into coastal areas. The damage of Coastal Cities/Areas can also affect those areas financially. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is left to dole out billions of dollars to help the affected areas rebuild and recuperate but these areas choose not to take precautions and cause the Federal Government to have to pay for the damages again. This places a bigger burden on the taxpayer because the government raises taxes to compensate for the amount of money spent on repairing the damaged coastal areas.

Arctic areas built on top of layers of permafrost are affected an inordinate amount by its melting.As the permafrost in arctic cities thaws, the grounds begin to buckle, sink, and decompose as the temperatures continue to rise rapidly. In Canada, Nunavut and Russia, the permafrost issue has led to the destruction of many dozens of homes that were built atop the grounds. 

One of the best ways humanity can do to prevent further melting of permafrost is to reduce our carbon footprint. Reducing our carbon footprint would help slow the Greenhouse Effect. One notable way to do so is investing in energy-efficient products or alternative energy sources. Another way of reducing our carbon footprint is supporting Climate-friendly businesses, legislation, and policies.

Bhola Cyclone

Bhola Cyclone Formation

The Bhola cyclone began with the help of a leftover tropical storm that was breaking up in the Pacific Ocean. This contributed to a tropical depression that formed November 8th, 1970 in the Bay of Bengal. It traveled north from there toward east Pakistan and got stronger. By November 11th the wind speed has reached between 85-90 miles per hour. It made landfall the afternoon of November 12th. 

The Cyclone flooded densely populated lowland plains of the Ganges Delta and wiped out hundreds of villages overnight on November 12th during an above-average lunar high tide. The storm surged from 20 feet to 35 feet on the Ganges Delta. People were interviewed after the event, and they described horrific scenes of watching their children being swept away by the strong current. 

Government officials said that the majority of the dead from the impact of the cyclone were women and children because they were not strong enough to hold on to trees when the water came. They predicted that the water knocked over the weak ones and drowned them. The average wind speed was 140 miles per hour. Coastal areas like Tazumuddin were destroyed, with half the population missing or were dead. 85% of homes in the area were affected by the Bhola, they were destroyed or severely damaged along the coast.

The aftermath was almost worse than the initial impact. Very little to no food, the water was contaminated so either people were dying from dehydration or from diseases, and people were dying from infection. A lot of death could have been prevented if a message was broadcasted out on the radio. However, there was no signal sent out over the radio.

1932 Cuba Hurricane

The 1932 Cuba Hurricane is also known as the Camaguey Hurricane or the Hurricane of Santa Cruz del Sur. This is known as one the most intense hurricanes of the 20th century. The hurricane started forming on October 30, 1932 and the hurricane dissipated on November 14, 1932. The storm reached hurricane strength on November 2nd, 1932. On November 6th, 1932, the tropical cyclone reached its peak of intensity as a category 5 hurricane. This hurricane was the deadliest in the history of Cuba. There was an estimated 3,033 casualties and $40 million dollars in damage because of the hurricane. The highest record wind speed was 175 mph for about one minute of the hurricane. The hurricane also affected areas like the Bahamas, Jamaica and a little bit of South America. 

The picture shows the a bay in Cuba that got absolutely destroyed by the hurricane. 

This picture shows the areas of the Caribbean that got most affected. It shows what areas got the strongest amount of wind which you can also tell which areas got the most amount of damage.