The South-eastern Anatolia Project

Turkey started in the 1980s with the South-eastern Anatolia Project.

The South-eastern Anatolia Project is a project that includes the construction of 22 dams along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the South-eastern provinces of Turkey.

Currently there are plans to build more than 90 dams and 60 power plants in the Euphrates and Tigris basin.

The main purposes of the project are:

·         to eliminate the regional development inequalities by raising people's income level and living standards,

·         energy production (an installed capacity of 7500 Megawatts is planned) and

·         regional development through irrigated (1.82 Mio. ha land) agricultural production.

Ataturk dam

A farmer maintains irrigated cotton fields in southeast Turkey.

The Euphrates and the Tigris

The Euphrates and the Tigris, are the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia. Originating in eastern Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join in the Persian Gulf.

Environmental disasters

An environmental disaster is a disaster to the natural environment due to human activity, which distinguishes it from the concept of a natural disaster.

environmental disaster	natural disaster
An environmental disaster is a disaster to the natural environment due to human activity	A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard.
E.g. leaks from oil tankers, leaks from oil rigs or waste from cities and industry.	E.g. flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake, heat wave, or landslide

Gapminder

Gapminder is software for the animation of statistics. The  application Gapminder that shows statistical and historical data about the development of the countries of the world.

http://www.gapminder.org/

Gapminder was initially developed by Hans Rosling in Sweden. Hans Rosling is a Swedish medical doctor. He is professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute and co-founder and chairman of the Gapminder Foundation

Oil platform

An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a large structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing. In many cases, the platform contains facilities to house the workforce as well.

Gross National Product - GNP

Gross national product (GNP) per capita is the dollar value of a country’s final output of goods and services in a year, divided by its population. It reflects the average income of a country’s citizens. Countries with low GNP per capita tend to be located in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. Countries with high GNP per capita tend to be located in Europe, North America and parts of Asia.

Intertropical Convergence Zone

Near the equator, from about 5° north and 5° south, the northeast trade winds and southeast trade winds converge in a low pressure zone known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
The Intertropical Convergence Zone is also known as

• the ITCZ,
• the Equatorial Convergence Zone or
• the Intertropical Front.

The location of the ITCZ varies throughout the year and while it remains near the equator. Solar heating in the region forces air to rise through convection which results in a surplus of precipitation. The ITCZ is a key component of the global circulation system and consequently the Monsoon winds

The location of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) varies over time. Over land, it moves back and forth across the equator following the sun's zenith point. Over the oceans, where the convergence zone is better defined, the seasonal cycle is more subtle, as the convection is constrained by the distribution of ocean temperatures.

Monsoon

India’s climate is dominated by monsoons. Monsoon is a tropical phenomenon.
Monsoons are strong, often violent winds that change direction with the season.

The Indian subcontinent, lying northwards of the equator up to the Himalayas, lies primarily in the tropical zone of the Northern Hemisphere.

It involves winds blowing from the south-west direction from the Indian Ocean onto the Indian landmass during the months of June through September.

The South-West Monsoon are rain-bearing on-shore winds, blowing from sea to land, and bring rains to most parts of the subcontinent. The Monsoon winds are eagerly awaited in most parts of India for their agricultural and economic importance.

Subsequently later in the year, around October, these winds reverse direction and start blowing from north direction. The North-East Monsoon are off-shore winds. Given their land to sea flow, from subcontinent onto the Indian Ocean, they have less moisture and bring rain to only limited parts of India. This is known as the North-East Monsoon.

Spain's Islamic heritage

Alhambra, Spain




Cordoba, Spain

Topography of the Middle East - blank map

A blank outline map of the Middle East to print out for educational use.