What is a Geyser?

A geyser is a vent in Earth’s surface that periodically ejects a column of hot water and steam. Even a small geyser is an amazing phenomenon; however some geysers have eruptions that blast thousands of gallons of boiling hot water up to a few hundred feet in the air.

Old Faithful is the world’s best known geyser. It is located in Yellowstone National Park (USA). Old Faithful erupts every 60 to 90 minutes and blasts a few thousand gallons of boiling hot water between 100 and 200 feet into the air. Read more

Most Coastal Wetlands Worldwide Could Disappear This Century

Under a rapid sea-level rise model most coastal marshes will be flooded

Coastal Wetlands are at Greater Risk

Many coastal wetlands worldwide – including several on the U.S. Atlantic coast – may be more sensitive than previously thought to climate change and sea-level rise projections for the 21st century.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists made this conclusion from an international research modeling effort published December 1, 2010 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. Scientists identified conditions under which coastal wetlands could survive rising sea level. Read more

What are children’s water needs?

When a child is born, its water needs for healthy growth and development are supplied initially by water in the milk it drinks and then by water intake itself. 

Children need more water than adults because they grow – Remember, each new cell that forms has to be filled up mainly with water.

The growth hormone and other water regulators drive the thirst mechanism and the body’s calls for water. Because of that children are constantly and naturally dehydrated. The process of cell expansion and division uses up a great deal of water. Read more

Waterbed Information

Waterbeds have a bad rap as being a motion sickness inducing relic of the yuppie 80s bedroom. Just the word waterbed brings to mind angular abstract art in varying pastels and mirror-covered, lacquered headboards. Many who have slept in older waterbeds have experienced the discomfort of climbing onto a plastic sack filled with cold water, only to wake up sweaty and stuck hours later. Worse than the temperature differential was the potential of waking up in a pool, rather than a bed.

Since then, waterbed technology has made leaps ahead. Waterbeds are available in varying firmness, ranging from the traditional, wavy bed to beds that are nearly as firm as traditional spring mattresses. One of the major benefits of the waterbed is its maintenance schedule. A traditional mattress needs to vacuumed and flipped every six months to prevent sagging and dust accumulation. A waterbed mattress can be cleaned with a wet cloth. Read more

Arts, Water in the

From ancient times, in Western culture and worldwide, water has been an enduring theme in the arts. Water themes (including snow and ice) flow

 

Sea monsters in literature often are exaggerations of naturally occurring creatures. An enormous and “hostile” giant squid became a menacing foe in Jules Verne’s 1873 classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Read more