The Atlantic Ocean is expanding by about two inches each year, pushing Europe and Africa away from the Americas, while the Pacific Ocean is shrinking by a fifth of a square mile per year.

Although the size of the Earth’s oceans does not change significantly in the short term, any changes have a significant effect over millions of years due to the geological processes that occur. But it is the set of interactions that continue to shape our world.

The change in the size of the oceans is an important factor, the tectonic plates that make up the earth’s crust, because the earth’s surface is divided into many tectonic plates that are constantly moving, although we are not usually aware of them.

Tectonic plates can move toward each other, away from each other, or next to each other. As the plates move away from each other, they create what is called a ridge or oceanic rift, and as they move towards each other, this can lead to the formation of a subduction zone beneath one plate beneath the other.

Why is the Atlantic Ocean expanding?

As for the Atlantic Ocean, it is a vast body of water on our planet that covers more than 20% of the Earth’s surface. Although it is the second largest ocean in the world and has an area of ​​106.5 million square kilometers, it is still expanding at a rate of 4 centimeters every year.

That’s because parts of the Atlantic Ocean are moving away from each other, and the key to this expansion lies in what’s happening beneath a large underwater mountain range in the middle, according to a study published in 2021 in the journal Nature. of the ocean known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

University of Southampton researchers have shown that material deep in the Earth rises to the surface under the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, forming a new oceanic crust, as magma rises from the Earth’s crust and solidifies at the surface, pushing the plates.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the largest tectonic range on the planet, as it stretches 16.93 kilometers from the Arctic Ocean to the southern tip of Africa, separating two tectonic plates: the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate, and separating the African Plate to South American Plate.

According to Live Science, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is where the South American and North American plates are moving away from the Eurasian and African plates at a rate of about 4 centimeters per year, widening the Atlantic Ocean.

According to information published on the University of Southampton website, the research team found that magma and rocks can travel up to 410 miles below the crust to the surface. It is this flow of material that propels tectonic plates and continents upward at a rate of 4 centimeters per year.

The study found that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a hotspot for convection, which makes the region thinner and magma material rises to the ocean floor more easily than the rest of Earth.

Material trying to move from the lower to upper mantle is usually blocked by a dense group of rocks called the mantle transition zone, located between 255 miles and 410 miles below our feet. Research suggests that the upwelling of material from deep in the mantle may be driving this expansion in the Atlantic Ocean.

The process began 200 million years ago, but one day the rate of expansion may accelerate, Catherine Reichert, a geophysicist at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study, tells Insider.

Why is the Pacific Ocean shrinking?

As for the Pacific Ocean, although it is the world’s largest ocean covering about 30% of the Earth’s surface, it is shrinking by about a fifth of a square mile every year, some scientists believe. After millions of years, it will disappear completely.

As reported on the “Science ABC” website, this contraction is caused by Earth’s largest tectonic plate, the Pacific plate, being pushed beneath other plates in a process called subduction. The Pacific plate is subducting as it moves deeper into the Earth’s crust, causing the ocean above it to shrink.

In addition, the Pacific Ocean experiences complex interactions between different convergent and divergent tectonic plate boundaries and eventually shrinks in size. While parts of the Pacific Plate are moving toward other plates, such as the North American Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate, there are also areas where plates are moving away from other plates, such as the eastern boundary of the Pacific Plate with the Nazca Plate.

In addition to having many volcanoes in the world, it is believed that most earthquakes occur in the Pacific Ocean. All these cause high vibrations, causing the plates to move and destroy old parts of the Earth’s crust. The sea floor cannot grow fast enough to replace degraded areas.

Ultimately, the size of Earth’s oceans is determined by long-term geologic processes related to plate tectonics, and any changes in ocean sizes occur on geologic timescales, not human lifetimes. These geological processes have been shaping the world as we know it for millions of years.

300 million years ago, our planet did not consist of 7 continents, but instead consisted of one ocean and one continent, which scientists called “Pangaea”. Over time, the continent slowly collapsed, according to Bright Side.

At one point, South America, Antarctica, Australia, and Africa were one unit, and North America and Eurasia were another. Over time, these continents also separated, each moving in its own direction.

The iOS 17 software update gives Apple the option to record momentary emotions or daily moods in the mental tracking feature.

Users can share the results of the assessment by activating the feature with a doctor or trusted specialist for follow-up.

AndApple mentions The Apple Health app in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 and the Mindfulness app in watchOS 10 offer users an engaging and seamless way to delve deeper into their psychological state.

All information entered in both registration and assessment tools is encrypted on the device and can only be accessed using a passcode, Touch ID or Face ID.

When you sync health data to the cloud (iCloud) using default two-factor authentication and a passcode, your health data is end-to-end encrypted. In other words, no one, including Apple, can read it.

Where can I find this feature on the device?

The Mindfulness feature is found in the Apple Health section on iPhone and iPad and through the Mindness app on Apple Watch.

On an iPhone or iPad, you can find this feature under the list of health categories by opening Apple Health and tapping Browse.

Click on this option and then select Mood.

On the next screen, click the Get Started button if you’re using this feature for the first time, or click the Register button or calendar icon in the top right corner if you’ve done it before.

You can program a daily reminder to log your mood or emotions by tapping Options and from there, choose to be reminded to create a new entry during your day, at the end of your day, and/or at a specific time. day

This menu also includes an option to manage Apple Watch recording notifications.

To find the recording feature on your Apple Watch, tap the Mindbeing app, and if you have watchOS 10, you’ll find a recording option in that menu.

Difference between Mood and Emotion

Before you register anything, Apple Health makes an important distinction between emotion and mindset.

In an explanatory article on the difference between emotion and mood in the mental health aspect, Apple Health points out that emotion is a temporary reaction to a particular experience, while mood lasts for a long time and may or may not be caused by many factors. An obvious reason.

When you select the register button or mental status icon, you can start the registration process.

When asked to “score,” select an emotion or mood, based on the day’s events or trends you’d like to analyze.

You can also choose to record emotions and moods separately.

For example, someone who has recently become a parent may want to record both feelings and mood to track feelings that arise in response to stressful or happy parenting experiences, as well as to better understand their overall mood over time and their overall mood as they adapt to their new situation. .

Recording feelings is useful for someone who wants to identify experiences that improve or worsen their health, such as time spent on social media, hobbies, or physical activity.

Whatever you choose, you’ll be asked to rate the nature of your mood or emotions on a scale from “very unpleasant” to “very pleasant.”

Click “Next” to choose from more than thirty adjectives that best describe your feelings, including “peaceful,” “angry,” “indifferent,” “jealous,” “happy” and “proud.”

Finally, you will be asked to note what “affects” you the most.

Pre-written factors you can choose from include health, spirituality, family, tasks, weather, money, and current events.

It is mentioned that you can go back in time and record past feelings or moods via the calendar icon.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Humans may one day become Mars. This does not mean that we will become green aliens with three eyes and antennae, but rather that we will be born and raised on the red planet.

In preparation for the space agency’s ambitious plan to send the first astronauts to Mars in the early 2030s, NASA researchers are currently spending a year in the US state of Texas in a settlement that simulates the Martian environment, while the European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing for the first flight. Back and forth from Earth to Mars at the end of the current decade.

But accurate Earth maps and local weather data are essential for spacecraft to land safely.

Researchers at New York University Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (NYUAD) are trying to bring this dream closer to reality with their “Mars Atlas”.

By combining more than 3,000 high-resolution images carefully collected by the United Arab Emirates’ Hope probe, which has been orbiting Mars since 2021, the team created a “beautiful colorful mosaic of the entire planet,” said Dimitra Adri, head of the Mars Research Group. At NYUAD..

“If you look at the history of Mars, many probes have crashed,” Adri said, “because the thin atmosphere makes it difficult to slow rockets down, and even light winds can change landing trajectories.”

“When a probe goes down, it means a huge loss of science and resources,” Adri explained. “But when you send humans, you have to be very careful.”

Understanding daily and seasonal weather patterns will help researchers determine the safest time and place to land, Adri said.

Precipitation is one of the challenges that accurate maps can help solve, but finding the best places for human settlements based on environment, temperature and resources is another aspect they can contribute to.

“If ice is found, it can be turned into water that can be used for habitation purposes,” Adri explained, “It may sound silly, but in the future, it may be more common for people to go to Mars and live there.”

Dust and desertification

Astronomers have been mapping Mars for nearly two centuries, and the first map of Mars was made in 1840 by Wilhelm Baer and Johann von Modler in Germany.

But it was Italian astronomer Giovanni Chiaparelli’s 1877 map that sparked a continuing fascination with the idea of ​​a Martian civilization, misclassifying the natural waterways he identified on the map as artificial waterways.

NASA’s Mariner missions in the 1960s and 1970s provided a better understanding of the Martian landscape, including the first images of volcanoes, lava flows, rocky canyons, and massive dust storms.

In the following decades, NASA produced several maps, including one based on the planet’s minerals.

Earlier this year, the US space agency released a detailed, 3D interactive map of Mars.

NYU Abu Dhabi’s map is “the first to use true-color images of the entire planet,” Adri said.

NASA’s Goddard Space Science Institute is now using NYU Abu Dhabi’s map in its Mars 24 project to maintain accurate time on Mars.

JMARS has also integrated Atlas into its database, a publicly available database used by NASA scientists to plan missions.

In an email, JMARS base representative Scott Dickenshead told CNN that the NYU Abu Dhabi map was “created from recently acquired data compared to some previous global maps” and provides “an additional view of what Mars looks like.”

While NASA and ESA’s instruments provide high-resolution data over long periods of time, the instrument used to collect data for the NYU Abu Dhabi Atlas “can observe the entire Martian disk at once,” says Dickenshead.

Dickenshead added that this perspective would be “very useful for researchers monitoring cloud or dust storm activity at the planetary scale.”

Mars and Earth

Mars was once a water-covered planet like Earth, and its atmosphere thinned out and became colder and drier, leading to its current barren state.

The planet now faces regular dust storms, which have a significant impact on its climate, including blocking radiation and trapping heat, Adri explained.

Desertification is a growing problem on Earth, especially in regions such as the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.

Adri believed that climate scientists could apply information about Mars’ desertification to Earth to “understand what will happen to our planet in the future,” adding: “My concern is that if we don’t do enough on Earth (to address climate change), “it could become like Mars.”

In the future, Adri plans to recreate Martian conditions in the laboratory to study the behavior of plants.

Mars has a harsh and unforgiving environment, with its thin atmosphere, extremely low temperatures, and high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Plants growing naturally in dry, salty soil in desert regions like the United Arab Emirates could help them understand how they can survive the Red Planet’s harsh climate and allow researchers to find the best, Atre said. Ways to grow food in space or improve agriculture in the arid regions of the planet.

The research is still in the early planning stages, and Adri hopes to get his first real samples from Mars around 2033.

But elsewhere, other researchers are already studying how innovations developed to grow food on Mars could affect Earth.

About 34% of total human-caused global greenhouse gas emissions come from food production, which consumes large amounts of land and water.

But system inefficiencies mean a third of the world’s food is wasted, with more than 345 million people suffering from severe food insecurity, high hunger and malnutrition.

Limited resources in space mean that food production technology on Mars must be highly efficient, closed-loop, and with little or no waste.

Last month, researchers in the United Kingdom published a paper in the journal Nature Food exploring how controlled ecosystem agriculture in space could provide a “gateway” to the development of Earth-like technology.

Two Canadian food scientists have published a book that says growing food on Mars could revolutionize agriculture on Earth.

Lessons learned about Mars’ geography, climate and atmosphere could help determine whether any of the thousands of planets orbiting stars outside our solar system are habitable or capable of maintaining an atmosphere, Adri noted.

Many scientists believe life originated on Mars billions of years ago on Earth, and Adri believes the Red Planet is the perfect laboratory to explore this theory.

“We need to understand our neighbor,” Adri insisted: “Maybe it had life at one point, or there’s still life beneath the surface. Maybe we have a common ancestry. Who knows?”

“It’s the best way to understand ourselves and where we’re coming from,” Adri said.