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Magnetic poles

Posted to Maritime Musings (by Dennis Bryant) on August 5, 2014

The magnetic poles are the two points on the surface of the Earth at which the magnetic field points vertically down or up (in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively). These points are located near, but not at the northern and southern geographic poles.

Albatross

Posted to Maritime Musings (by Dennis Bryant) on August 14, 2012

The albatross is the largest of all birds in terms of wingspan (up to 12 feet). It can be found soaring above all ocean waters of the Southern Hemisphere and above the North Pacific. It is largely absent from the North Atlantic, probably due to loss of habitat.

Chinese research icebreaker Xue Long

Posted to Maritime Musings (by Dennis Bryant) on May 25, 2012

The Xue Long (Snow Dragon) is the premier polar vessel of the People’s Republic of China. It was built in the Ukraine in 1993 and modified upon its acquisition by China in 1994. Its major function is to serve as a resupply vessel and scientific research platform in the Antarctic and the Arctic.

Cruise of the Corwin

Posted to Maritime Musings (by Dennis Bryant) on June 10, 2011

The United States Revenue Cutter (USRC) Thomas Corwin was built in Portland, Oregon in 1876, becoming the first federal government vessel built in the state. She was finished and commissioned in San Francisco in 1877. San Francisco remained her homeport for her entire period of government service.

Macondo well and Fukushima Daiichi

Posted to Maritime Musings (by Dennis Bryant) on April 15, 2011

The Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (following the April 20, 2010 explosion and fire on the MODU Deepwater Horizon) and the reactor failures at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan (subsequent to the March 11,…