Rain, Rain, Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain!!!!!!

Heavy rain has returned to Cumbria, days after record-breaking rainfall swept away bridges and flooded homes.
Up to 100mm (3.9in) of rain is forecast over high ground and 15 flood warnings remain in place in England and Wales.

Click links:
BBC news
Environment Agency Flood Warnings

Smos Data!

Europe's latest Earth observation satellite has returned its first data.
Smos was launched earlier this month on a quest to help scientists understand better how water is cycled around the Earth.
The spacecraft will make the first global maps of the amount of moisture held in soils and of the quantity of salts dissolved in the oceans.
For more details click this link to the Smos Website.

6C Warmer?

Average global temperatures are on course to rise by up to 6C without urgent action to curb CO2 emissions, the lead author of a new analysis says.
Emissions rose by 29% between 2000 and 2008, says the Global Carbon Project.
All of that growth came in developing countries, but a quarter of it came through production of goods for consumption in industrialised nations.

Read more by clicking this link to the BBC.

Or go to the home page of the Global Carbon Project.

Time to evacuate

Residents of the Aberdeenshire village of Pennan are going to have to evacuate their homes while a section of cliff threatening to collapse is repaired. Engineers have been assessing the 25m crack above the village's only access road, after heavy rain.

Read more and watch the clip on this link.

The future energy supply?

The government has approved 10 sites in England and Wales for new nuclear power stations, most of them in locations where there are already plants.To find out why these sites read more on this link.

Why not have a go at trying to make your own energy policy be playing on the Electricity Calculator

Hurricane Ida

At least 91 people have been killed in El Salvador by flooding following days of heavy rain, the government says. Read more at the BBC.

Track Ida's progress at the National Hurricane Centre in Miami by clicking the image above.

Photograph Competition

Congratulations to all the winners in this years competition. The standard was very high and there was no little debate among the staff (judges) as to the eventual winners.

The unusual geology and reflection was an excellent capture by Sophie, while the beach scene from Jonathan is an intriguing composition, juxtaposing physical geography with human, the ephemeral imprint of mankind, on a serene landscape.

Both are top quality shots of a very high standard, Sophie's with the difficult contrast and Jonathan's with the low light setting.

Well done to all the entrants.

Happy thoughts for half term - Not!

A map designed to show the predicted effects of a 4C rise in global average temperature has been unveiled by the UK government.
It shows a selection of the impacts of climate change on human activity.

Read more on this link.

Year 7 - Welcome to the blog

To help you with you map work skills take a look at this website.

There are bits of advice, practice questions and games all aimed at improving your map skills.

Click on this link: Map Zone

One billion are undernourished

Targets to cut the number of hungry people in the world will not be met without greater international effort, UN food agencies have warned.
The UN's annual report on global food security confirms that more than one billion people - a sixth of the world's population - are undernourished.

Read more at the BBC.

Or read the actual report by clicking this link.