A gorgonian, also known as sea whip or sea fan, is a cnidarian found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the tropics .Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are flat, branch -like, and reminiscent of a fan . Others may be whiplike or bushy . A colony can be several feet high and across but only a few cms. thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow..Each gorgonian polyp with its eight tentacles catches plankton . This process is carried out when the "fan" is oriented across the current to maximise water and food supply.
Some gorgonians contain algae, or zooxanthellae. The gorgonians with zooxanthellae are usually have brownish polyps. Those without zooxanthellae usually have more brightly colored polyps.
Gorgonians are found primarily in shallow waters, though some have been found in deeper locations. The size, shape, and appearance of the gorgonians are highly correlated with their location. The more fan-shaped and flexible gorgonians tend to live in shallower areas with strong currents, while the taller, thinner, and stiffer gorgonians can be found in deeper, calmer waters.
Watch out! gorgonians aren´t corals.
This photograph shows part of a dead coral reef due to global warming. It´s all grey and grim. Compare it with the colourful gorgonians on the top. We all have a responsibility towards the planet. Read part of this article .It´s food for thought!
What causes global warming?
Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thick blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Coal-burning power plants all over ther world are source of carbon dioxide pollution Cars the second largest source.
Technologies exist today to make cars run cleaner and burn less gas, modernise power plants and generate electricity from nonpolluting sources, and cut our electricity use through energy efficiency. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use.
Is the earth really getting hotter?
Yes. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Scientists say that unless we curb global warming emissions, temperatures could be 3 to 9 degrees higher by the end of the century.
Are warmer temperatures causing bad things to happen?
Global warming is already causing damage in many parts of the world. In 2002, in US , floods caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Texas , Montana and North Dakota. Since the early 1950s, snow accumulation has declined 60 percent and winter seasons have shortened in some areas of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington.
In 2003, extreme heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1,500 deaths in India. And in what scientists regard as an alarming sign of events to come, the area of the Arctic's perennial polar ice cap is declining at the rate of 9 percent per decade.
Is global warming making hurricanes worse?
Global warming doesn't create hurricanes, but it makes them stronger and more dangerous. Because the ocean is getting warmer, tropical storms can pick up more energy and become more powerful. So global warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a much more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the destructive potential of hurricanes has greatly increased along with ocean temperature over the past 35 years. (to be continued)
NB2A/C
-- Homework:Grammar,unit 45 . As nobody had done it ,it was left for next Thursday. Step on it and do something!
--Vocabulary: Irregular verbs as if it was an exam but it was you who marked your partners´ answers .
--Speaking: Irregular verb bingo just to have fun and to unwind after the stenuous test you had done a few minutes before.
--Speaking: With with activity we finished dealing with the simple past tense . Questions and answers about holidays either real or imaginary.
--Speaking: The weather forecast with the map of the British Isles and a photocopy with vocabulary related to the topic. You had to stick tiny pieces of paper with symbols of rain, snow, fog,thunders,showers... and foresee the weather in the most accurate way.
--Listening: With the map of the British Isles ,which has turned out to be extremely useful, you drew the symbols and wrote some of the words about the temperatures.Remember that Great Britain is what we call Inglaterra.
--Reading: 2B. A Moment in Time on p.18 . The past continuous tense is used here mainly to describe what the people in the photos were doing when the photos were taken, e.g.when he took this photo, the people were attacking the Berlin Wall.
--Grammar: on page 128. We saw the rules and did a couple of exercises to make sure you had understood it.
--Homework: Grammar unit 45 about questions, unit 13 about the past continuous tense and study the vocabulary abouth the weather.
NI2E
--Homework: workbook,pages14,15 and 16 and the reading of student´s books,p.22.Match questions with answers .
--Grammar: a handout with conditionals.Rules and exercises,all very clearly stated. We only had time to see the rules and the variations of tenses with the if clause and the result clause. The exercises ,for homework.
--Reading: St.books p.22. We dealt with the reading in detail. You took it in turns to read out the paragraphs and I noted down the most common pronunciation mistakes which were checked on the blackboard. Then, some minutes to ask for meanings of unkown words .
--Speaking: Each of you were given two sections of the reading to remember and retell your classmate. This took some time.
--Listening: p.23 about the different kinds of medicine and some people´s opinions about them. As we ran out of time, only half of the activity was done, the other half for tomorrow Thursday.
-- Homework: start doing the exercises of the handout about conditionals. To be finished by Monday.