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Gilgai
A gilgai is a small, ephemeral lake formed from a surface depression in expanding clay soils. Gilgai is also used to refer to the overall micro-relief in such areas, consisting of mounds and depressions. The name comes from an Australian Aboriginal word meaning small water hole. The pools are commonly a few metres across and less than deep but, in some instances, they may be several metres deep and up to across. Gilgais are found worldwide wherever there are cracking clay soils and marked wet and dry seasons. Gilgais are also called melonholes, crabholes, hogwallows, or puff and shelf formations. Formation Gilgais are thought to form in vertisols through repeated cycles of swelling when wet and subsequent shrinkage upon drying. That action, known as argillipedoturbation, causes the soil to crack when dry, allowing loose soil material to fill the cracks. When the soil swells upon subsequent re-wetting, the soil pressure cannot be dispersed into the now-full cracks and the so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bay Of Biscay Soil
Bay of Biscay is a term used in South Australia for a dark clay soil of a highly reactive nature, forming a sticky mass when wet and shrinking during long dry spells, developing deep cracks. Though found elsewhere, it is prevalent in many parts of the Adelaide plain. It is a particular challenge to all-masonry structures, resulting in fractured foundations and vertical cracks in walls. It is not uncommon to see older buildings with walls braced with railway iron or having long steel rods at ceiling level, holding opposite walls together. A common type of construction in such areas is brick-veneer — essentially a timber-framed building with non-structural brick outer walls — accepting cracks as a likely, but cosmetic outcome, not affecting the building's performance. See also Gilgai A gilgai is a small, ephemeral lake formed from a surface depression in expanding clay soils. Gilgai is also used to refer to the overall micro-relief in such areas, consisting of mounds and depr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ephemeral
Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, from digital media to types of streams. "There is no single definition of ephemerality". With respect to unique performances, for example, it has been noted that " hemerality is a quality caused by the ebb and flow of the crowd's concentration on the performance and a reflection of the nostalgic character of specific performances". Because different people may value the passage of time differently, ephemerality may be a relative, perceptual concept: "In brief, what is short-lived may not be the object itself, but the attention we afford it".Ronald Beiner, ''Political Philosophy: What It Is and Why It Matters'' (2014), p. 10. Ephemerality and nature Geographical features An ephemeral stream is that which only exists following precipitation. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pastoralism
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal species involved include cattle, camels, goats, yaks, llamas, reindeer, horses, and sheep. Pastoralism occurs in many variations throughout the world, generally where environmentally effected characteristics such as aridity, poor soils, cold or hot temperatures, and lack of water make crop-growing difficult or impossible. Operating in more extreme environments with more marginal lands means that pastoral communities are very vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Pastoralism remains a way of life in many geographic areas, including Africa, the Tibetan plateau, the Eurasian steppes, the Andes, Patagonia, the Pampas, Australia and many other places. , between 200 million and 500 million people globally practiced pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakes
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from the ocean, although they may be connected with the ocean by rivers. Lakes, as with other bodies of water, are part of the water cycle, the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Most lakes are fresh water and account for almost all the world's surface freshwater, but some are salt lakes with salinities even higher than that of seawater. Lakes vary significantly in surface area and volume of water. Lakes are typically larger and deeper than ponds, which are also water-filled basins on land, although there are no official definitions or scientific criteria distinguishing the two. Lakes are also distinct from lagoons, which are generally shallow tidal pools dammed by sandbars or other material at coastal regions of oceans or large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language. While Australia has no official language, English is the first language of Languages of Australia, the majority of the population, and has been entrenched as the ''de facto'' national language since the onset of History of Australia (1788–1850), British settlement, being the only language spoken in the home for 72% of Australians in 2021. It is also the main language used in compulsory education, as well as federal, state and territorial legislatures and courts. Australian English began to diverge from British English, British and Hiberno-English after the First Fleet established the Colony of New South Wales in 1788. Australian English arose from a Koiné language, dialectal melting pot created by the intermingling of early settlers who were from a variety of d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mima Mound
Mima may refer to: Places ;In Japan * Mima, Tokushima, city in western Tokushima prefecture * Mima District, Tokushima in Tokushima Prefecture * Mima, Ehime, town in the Kitauwa District, Ehime ;In the United States * Mima, Kentucky, unincorporated community * Mima, Washington, unincorporated community ;Elsewhere * Mima (Tanzanian ward), ward in Tanzania Name * Mima Ito, (伊藤 美誠) (born 2000), Japanese table tennis player * Mima Jaušovec (born 1956), Slovenian tennis player * , Japanese wrestler * Mima Soust, pseudonym of Uruguayan teacher and poet Alcira Soust Scaffo (1924–1997) * Mima Stilwell, English singer * , Japanese fashion model * , Japanese professional baseball pitcher * , Japanese model * , Japanese plasma physicist Other uses * Mima, a deified, semi-mystical machine in Harry Martinson's poem ''Aniara (poem), Aniara'' * Mima (film), ''Mima'' (film), a 1991 French film featuring Nino Manfredi * mima, the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art * Mima mounds, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioturbation
Bioturbation is defined as the reworking of soils and sediments by animals or plants. It includes burrowing, ingestion, and defecation of sediment grains. Bioturbating activities have a profound effect on the environment and are thought to be a primary driver of biodiversity. The formal study of bioturbation began in the 1800s by Charles Darwin experimenting in his garden. The disruption of aquatic sediments and terrestrial soils through bioturbating activities provides significant ecosystem services. These include the alteration of nutrients in aquatic sediment and overlying water, shelter to other species in the form of burrows in terrestrial and water ecosystems, and soil production on land.Shaler, N. S., 1891, The origin and nature of soils, in Powell, J. W., ed., USGS 12th Annual report 1890–1891: Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, p. 213-45. Bioturbators are deemed ecosystem engineers because they alter resource availability to other species through the physica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crayfish
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the infraorder Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills. Some species are found in brooks and streams, where fresh water is running, while others thrive in swamps, ditches, and paddy fields. Most crayfish cannot tolerate polluted water, although some species, such as '' Procambarus clarkii'', are hardier. Crayfish feed on animals and plants, either living or decomposing, and detritus. The term "crayfish" is applied to saltwater species in some countries. Terminology The name "crayfish" comes from the Old French word ' ( Modern French '). The word has been modified to "crayfish" by association with "fish" ( French language">Modern French '). The word has been modified to "crayfish" by association with "fish" ( American variant "crawfish" is similarly derived. Some kinds of crayfish are known lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kangaroo
Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013. As with the terms " wallaroo" and "wallaby", "kangaroo" refers to a paraphyletic grouping of species. All three terms refer to members of the same taxonomic family, Macropodidae, and are distinguished according to size. The largest species in the family are called "kangaroos" and the smallest are generally called "wallabies". The term "wallaroos" refers to species of an intermediate size. There are also the tree-kangaroos, another type of macropod which inhabit the upper branches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feral
A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some cases, contributed to extinction of indigenous species. The removal of feral species is a major focus of island restoration. Animals A feral animal is one that has escaped from a domestic or captive status and is living more or less as a wild animal, or one that is descended from such animals. Other definitions include animals that have changed from being domesticated to being wild, natural, or untamed. Some common examples of animals with feral populations are horses, dogs, goats, cats, rabbits, camels, and pigs. Zoologists generally exclude from the feral category animals that were genuinely wild before they escaped from captivity: neither lions escaped from a zoo nor the white-tailed eagles re-introduced to the UK are regarded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pump
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such as Water well pump, pumping water from wells, aquarium filtering, pond filtering and Water aeration, aeration, in the car industry for Water cooling, water-cooling and fuel injection, in the energy industry for Pumping (oil well), pumping oil and natural gas or for operating cooling towers and other components of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. In the medical industry, pumps are used for biochemical processes in developing and manufacturing medicine, and as artificial replacements for body parts, in particular the artificial heart and Penile implant, penile prosthesis. When a pump contains two or more pump mechanisms with fluid being directed to flow through them in series, it is called a ''multi-stage pump''. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Well
A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn up by a pump, or using containers, such as buckets that are raised mechanically or by hand. Water can also be injected back into the aquifer through the well. Wells were first constructed at least eight thousand years ago and historically vary in construction from a sediment of a dry watercourse to the qanats of Iran, and the stepwells and sakiehs of India. Placing a lining in the well shaft helps create stability, and linings of wood or wickerwork date back at least as far as the Iron Age. Wells have traditionally been sunk by hand digging, as is still the case in rural areas of the developing world. These wells are inexpensive and low-tech as they use mostly manual labour, and the structure can be lined with b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
