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119-519: The boat was renamed Race for Water in 2015, after the name of the foundation which then operated the vessel and was dedicated to water conservation missions and to protect the oceans from plastic pollution . In 2021, new owners Porrima projects renamed the ship Porrima . In September 2022, Porrima ran aground in India and was heavily damaged; see: Porrima runs aground in India The 31-metre boat

238-465: A cave . They have been important to humans as a place of shelter since the dawn of humanity. Craters are depressions in the ground, but unlike caves, they do not provide shelter or extend underground . There are many kinds of craters, such as impact craters , volcanic calderas , and isostatic depressions . Karst processes can create both solution caves , the most frequent cave type, and craters, as seen in karst sinkholes . The pedosphere

357-434: A habitat refers to the environment where a given species or population of organisms lives. Biomes may span more than one continent, and contain a variety of ecosystems and habitats. Land plants evolved from green algae , and are called embryophytes . They include trees , shrubs , ferns , grass , moss , and flowers . Most plants are vascular plants , meaning that their tissues distribute water and minerals throughout

476-623: A coastline may be impacted by the tides , caused by changes in gravitational forces on larger bodies of water. Coasts are important zones in natural ecosystems, often home to a wide range of biodiversity . On land, they harbour important ecosystems such as freshwater or estuarine wetlands , which are important for bird populations and other terrestrial animals. In wave-protected areas they harbor saltmarshes , mangroves or seagrasses , all of which can provide nursery habitat for finfish, shellfish , and other aquatic species. Rocky shores are usually found along exposed coasts and provide habitat for

595-507: A consequential change plastic pollution has made on the ocean and even the coasts. In January 2022 a group of scientists defined a planetary boundary for "novel entities" (pollution, including plastic pollution) and found it has already been exceeded. According to co-author Patricia Villarubia-Gómez from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, "There has been a 50-fold increase in the production of chemicals since 1950. This

714-439: A diameter smaller than human hair. If not ingested, this microdebris floats instead of being absorbed into the marine environment. Thompson predicts there may be 300,000 plastic items per square kilometre of sea surface and 100,000 plastic particles per square kilometre of seabed . International Pellet Watch collected samples of polythene pellets from 30 beaches in 17 countries which were analysed for organic micro-pollutants. It

833-592: A habitat for soil organisms , a recycling system for nutrients and organic wastes , a regulator of water quality , a modifier of atmospheric composition , and a medium for plant growth , making it a critically important provider of ecosystem services . Since soil has a tremendous range of available niches and habitats , it contains a prominent part of the Earth's genetic diversity . A gram of soil can contain billions of organisms, belonging to thousands of species, mostly microbial and largely still unexplored. Soil

952-455: A large area, it can influence climate and weather patterns. The terrain of a region largely determines its suitability for human settlement: flatter alluvial plains tend to have better farming soils than steeper, rockier uplands. Elevation is defined as the vertical distance between an object and sea level, while altitude is defined as the vertical distance from an object to Earth's surface. The elevation of Earth's land surface varies from

1071-491: A large elevation difference between the highest and lowest points would be deemed "high relief". Most land has relatively low relief. The change in elevation between two points of the terrain is called a slope or gradient. A topographic map is a form of terrain cartography which depicts terrain in terms of its elevation, slope, and the orientation of its landforms. It has prominent contour lines , which connect points of similar elevation, while perpendicular slope lines point in

1190-539: A long time to cause noticeable changes in the landscape—for example, the Grand Canyon was created over the past 70 million years by the Colorado River , which scientists estimate continues to erode the canyon at a rate of 0.3 meters (1 foot) every 200 years. However, humans have caused erosion to be 10–40 times faster than normal, causing half the topsoil of the surface of Earth's land to be lost within

1309-481: A mere 20%, most discarded plastics end up incinerated or in landfills, where they emit methane as they decompose . The international community is divided on how to address the plastic issue. Proposals range from national pledges to mandatory production controls, with the latter being supported by entities like the European Union . However, the recycling solution is under scrutiny due to low success rates. As

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1428-438: A plastic beverage holder will take 400 years, a disposable nappy will take 450 years, and fishing line will take 600 years to degrade. It was estimated that global production of plastics is approximately 250 Mt per year. Their abundance has been found to transport persistent organic pollutants , also known as POPs. These pollutants have been linked to an increased distribution of algae associated with red tides . In 2019,

1547-473: A result, manufacturers choose to use plastic over other materials. However, the chemical structure of most plastics renders them resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result they are slow to degrade. Together, these two factors allow large volumes of plastic to enter the environment as mismanaged waste which persists in the ecosystem and travels throughout food webs . Plastic pollution can afflict land , waterways and oceans . It

1666-433: A result, there's a growing movement towards reducing plastic production and implementing bans on single-use plastics. States like Maine and Oregon are taking legislative action with extended producer responsibility laws to ensure that manufacturers are accountable for the lifecycle environmental impact of their products. Plastic pollution on land poses a threat to the plants and animals – including humans who are based on

1785-518: A role in the regional and global climate. Densely populated cities are warmer and create urban heat islands that have effects on the precipitation, cloud cover , and temperature of the region. A landform is a natural or manmade land feature. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography . Landforms include hills , mountains , canyons , and valleys , as well as shoreline features such as bays , capes , and peninsulas . The shoreline

1904-421: A set of practices called sustainable land management . A biome is an area "characterized by its vegetation, soil, climate, and wildlife ." There are five major types of biomes on land: grasslands, forests, deserts, tundras, and freshwater. Other types of biomes include shrublands, wetlands, and polar ice caps . An ecosystem refers to the interaction between organisms within a particular environment, and

2023-565: A set of studies summarized by Forbes (2019). The distribution of plastic debris is highly variable as a result of certain factors such as wind and ocean currents, coastline geography, urban areas, and trade routes. Human population in certain areas also plays a large role in this. Plastics are more likely to be found in enclosed regions such as the Caribbean. It serves as a means of distribution of organisms to remote coasts that are not their native environments. This could potentially increase

2142-634: A significant impact on ecosystems, an increase of this magnitude could have dramatic consequences. The trade in plastic waste has been identified as "a main culprit" of marine litter. Countries importing the waste plastics often lack the capacity to process all the material. As a result, the United Nations has imposed a ban on waste plastic trade unless it meets certain criteria. There are three major forms of plastic that contribute to plastic pollution: micro -, macro-, and mega-plastics. Mega- and micro plastics have accumulated in highest densities in

2261-746: A solid phase of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). Accordingly, soil is a three- state system of solids, liquids, and gases. Soil is a product of several factors: the influence of climate , relief (elevation, orientation, and slope of terrain), organisms, and the soil's parent materials (original minerals) interacting over time. It continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering and erosion . Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness , soil ecologists regard soil as an ecosystem . Soil acts as an engineering medium,

2380-455: A steady growth to the present-day forms or, more likely, a rapid growth early in Earth history followed by a long-term steady continental area. Continents are formed by plate tectonics , a process ultimately driven by the continuous loss of heat from the Earth's interior. On time scales lasting hundreds of millions of years, the supercontinents have formed and broken apart three times. Roughly 750  mya (million years ago), one of

2499-433: A wide range of sessile animals (e.g. mussels , starfish , barnacles ) and various kinds of seaweeds . Along tropical coasts with clear, nutrient-poor water, coral reefs can often be found between depths of 1–50 meters (3.3–164.0 feet). According to a United Nations atlas, 44% of all people live within 150 km (93 mi) of the sea. Because of their importance in society and high concentration of population,

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2618-442: Is a major component of the Earth's ecosystem. The world's ecosystems are impacted in far-reaching ways by the processes carried out in the soil, with effects ranging from ozone depletion and global warming to rainforest destruction and water pollution . With respect to Earth's carbon cycle , soil acts as an important carbon reservoir , and it is potentially one of the most reactive to human disturbance and climate change. As

2737-470: Is a reasonably sharp contrast between the more felsic upper continental crust and the lower continental crust, which is more mafic in character. The composition of land is not uniform across the Earth, varying between locations and between strata within the same location. The most prominent components of upper continental crust include silicon dioxide , aluminium oxide , and magnesium . The continental crust consists of lower density material such as

2856-442: Is also used in wetland ecology, where "upland" plants indicate an area that is not a wetland. In addition, the term moorland refers to upland shrubland biomes with acidic soils, while heathlands are lowland shrublands with acidic soils. Geomorphology refers to the study of the natural processes that shape land's surface, creating landforms. Erosion and tectonics , volcanic eruptions , flooding , weathering , glaciation ,

2975-529: Is also used more generally, as in Persian rigestân ( ریگستان ) "place of sand, desert", golestân ( گلستان ) "place of flowers, garden", gurestân ( گورستان ) "graveyard, cemetery", and Hindustân ( هندوستان ) "land of the Indo people". The study of land and its history in general is called geography . Mineralogy is the study of minerals, and petrology is the study of rocks. Soil science

3094-488: Is an island , and a chain of islands is an archipelago . The smaller the island, the larger the percentage of its land area will be adjacent to the water, and subsequently will be coast or beach. Islands can be formed by a variety of processes. The Hawaiian islands , for example, even though they are not near a plate boundary, formed from isolated volcanic activity . Atolls are ring-shaped islands made of coral , created when subsidence causes an island to sink beneath

3213-644: Is called the shoreline . The word land is derived from Old English , from the Proto-Germanic word * landą , "untilled land", and then the Proto-Indo-European * lendʰ- , especially in northern regions that were home to languages like Proto-Celtic and Proto-Slavic . Examples include Old Irish land , "land, plot, church building" and Old Irish ithlann , "threshing floor", and Old East Slavic ljadina "wasteland, weeds". A country or nation may be referred to as

3332-551: Is categorized as either primary or secondary. Primary plastics are in their original form when collected. Examples of these would be bottle caps, cigarette butts, and microbeads. Secondary plastics, on the other hand, account for smaller plastics that have resulted from the degradation of primary plastics. Microdebris are plastic pieces between 2 mm and 5 mm in size. Plastic debris that starts off as meso- or macrodebris can become microdebris through degradation and collisions that break it down into smaller pieces. Microdebris

3451-399: Is covered by 537 m of solar panels rated at 93 kWp, which in turn connect to two electric motors , one in each hull . There are 8.5 tons of lithium-ion batteries in the ship's two hulls. The boat's shape allows it to reach speeds of up to 10 knots (19 km/h). The hull was model tested in wind tunnels and was tank tested to determine its hydrodynamics and aerodynamics . The boat

3570-452: Is estimated that 1.1 to 8.8   million tonnes of plastic waste enters the ocean from coastal communities each year. It is estimated that there is a stock of 86   million tons of plastic marine debris in the worldwide ocean as of the end of 2013, with an assumption that 1.4% of global plastics produced from 1950 to 2013 has entered the ocean and has accumulated there. Global plastic production has surged from 1.5   million tons in

3689-402: Is generated in sectors including agriculture (e.g. irrigation pipes, greenhouse covers, fencing, pellets, mulch; construction (e.g. pipes, paints, flooring and roofing, insulants and sealants); transport (e.g. abraded tyres, road surfaces and road markings); electronic and electric equipment (e-waste); and pharmaceuticals and healthcare. The total amounts of plastic waste generated by these sectors

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3808-469: Is more commonly referred to as nurdles . Nurdles are recycled to make new plastic items, but they easily end up released into the environment during production because of their small size. They often end up in ocean waters through rivers and streams. Microdebris that come from cleaning and cosmetic products are also referred to as scrubbers. Because microdebris and scrubbers are so small in size, filter-feeding organisms often consume them. Nurdles enter

3927-418: Is often defined as the solid, dry surface of Earth. The word land may also collectively refer the collective natural resources of Earth, including its land cover , rivers , shallow lakes , its biosphere , the lowest layer of the atmosphere ( troposphere ), groundwater reserves, and the physical results of human activity on land, such as architecture and agriculture. The boundary between land and sea

4046-460: Is produced each year; 51% in Asia, where China is the world's largest producer. From the 1950s up to 2018, an estimated 6.3   billion tonnes of plastic has been produced worldwide, of which an estimated 9% has been recycled and another 12% has been incinerated . This large amount of plastic waste enters the environment and causes problems throughout the ecosystem; for example, studies suggest that

4165-421: Is projected to triple again by 2050". There are at least 350,000 artificial chemicals in the world. They have mostly "negative effects on planetary health ". Plastic alone contain more than 10,000 chemicals and create large problems. The researchers are calling for limit on chemical production and shift to circular economy , meaning to products that can be reused and recycled. The problem of ocean plastic debris

4284-459: Is pushed upwards, or subductional events, where Earth's crust is pushed into the mantle, causing the crust to melt, rise due to its low density, and solidify into hardened rock, thickening the crust. A plateau , also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side, creating steep cliffs or escarpments . Both volcanic activity such as

4403-448: Is the interface between the land and the ocean . It migrates each day as tides rise and fall, and moves over long periods of time as sea levels change. The shore extends from the low tide line to the highest elevation that can be reached by storm waves, and the coast stretches out inland until the point where ocean-related features are no longer found. When land is in contact with bodies of water, it can be eroded. The weathering of

4522-399: Is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes . Below it, the lithosphere encompasses both Earth's crust and the uppermost layer of the mantle . The lithosphere rests, or "floats", on top of the mantle below it via isostasy . Above the solid ground, the troposphere and humans' use of land can be considered layers of

4641-467: Is the study of soils, encompassing the sub-disciplines of pedology , which focuses on soil formation, and edaphology , which focuses on the relationship between soil and life. The earliest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5672 ± 0.0006  bya (billion years ago); therefore, the Earth itself must have been formed by accretion around this time. The formation and evolution of

4760-465: Is thicker than oceanic crust , and it is far more varied in terms of composition. About 31% of this continental crust is submerged in shallow water, forming continental shelves. Land provides many ecosystem services , such as mitigating climate change, regulating water supply through drainage basins and river systems, and supporting food production. Land resources are finite, which has led to regulations intended to safeguard these ecosystem services, and

4879-413: Is transported to the ocean each year. Land Land , also known as dry land , ground , or earth , is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water . It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands . Earth's land surface is almost entirely covered by regolith , a layer of rock , soil , and minerals that forms

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4998-537: Is ubiquitous. It is estimated that 1.5–4% of global plastics production ends up in the oceans every year, mainly as a result of poor waste management infrastructure and practices combined with irresponsible attitudes to the use and disposal of plastics. The weathering of plastic debris causes its fragmentation into particles that even small marine invertebrates may ingest hence contaminating the food chain. Their small size renders them untraceable to their source and extremely difficult to remove from open ocean environments. In

5117-484: Is uncertain. Several studies have attempted to quantify plastic leakage into the environment at both national and global levels which have highlight the difficulty of determining the sources and amounts of all plastic leakage. One global study has estimated that between 60 and 99   million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste were produced in 2015. Borrelle et al. 2020 has estimated that 19–23   million tonnes of plastic waste entered aquatic ecosystems in 2016. while

5236-529: The COVID-19 pandemic due to increased demand for protective equipment and packaging materials. Higher amounts of plastic ended up in the ocean, especially plastic from medical waste and masks. Several news reports point to a plastic industry trying to take advantage of the health concerns and desire for disposable masks and packaging to increase production of single use plastic. There are differing estimates of how much plastic waste has been produced in

5355-689: The Earth's magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind . The atmosphere and oceans of the Earth continuously shape the land by eroding and transporting solids on the surface. Earth's crust formed when the molten outer layer of the planet Earth cooled to form a solid mass as the accumulated water vapour began to act in the atmosphere. Once land became capable of supporting life, biodiversity evolved over hundreds of millions of years, expanding continually except when punctuated by mass extinctions. The two models that explain land mass propose either

5474-678: The Gulf Stream . On the return trip the boat reached St John's, Newfoundland, on 1 August 2013 before heading back across the Atlantic. Plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads ) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized by size into micro-, meso-, or macro debris. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, making them very adaptable for different uses; as

5593-591: The Niger ) and eight in Asia (the Ganges , Indus , Yellow , Yangtze , Hai He , Pearl , Mekong and Amur ) "transport 88–95% of the global plastics load into the sea.". The Caribbean Islands are the biggest plastic polluters per capita in the world. Trinidad and Tobago produces 1.5 kilograms of waste per capita per day, is the biggest plastic polluter per capita in the world. At least 0.19 kg per person per day of Trinidad and Tobago's plastic debris end up in

5712-523: The biosphere . Human manipulation of the land, including agriculture and architecture , can also be considered part of land. Land is formed from the continental crust , the layer of rock on which soil . groundwater , and human and animal activity sits. Though modern terrestrial plants and animals evolved from aquatic creatures, Earth's first cellular life likely originated on land. Survival on land relies on fresh water from rivers, streams, lakes, and glaciers, which constitute only three percent of

5831-515: The motherland , fatherland , or homeland of its people. Many countries and other places have names incorporating the suffix -land (e.g. England , Greenland , and New Zealand ). The equivalent suffix -stan from Indo-Iranian , ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian * sthāna- , is also present in many country and location names, such as Pakistan , Afghanistan , and others throughout Central Asia . The suffix

5950-434: The upwelling of magma and extrusion of lava, or erosion of mountains caused from water, glaciers, or aeolian processes, can create plateaus. Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane , piedmont , or continental . A few plateaus may have a small flat top while others are wider. Buttes are smaller, with less extrusive and more intrusive igneous rock, while plateaus or highlands are

6069-654: The whale , that evolved from terrestrial mammals back to an aquatic lifestyle. Many megafauna of the past, such as non-avian dinosaurs , have become extinct due to extinction events, e.g. the Quaternary extinction event . Land is "deeply intertwined with human development." It is a crucial resource for human survival, humans depend on land for subsistence, and can develop strong symbolic attachments to it. Access to land can determine "survival and wealth," particularly in developing countries, giving rise to complex power relationships in production and consumption. Most of

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6188-414: The 16.9% of the mismanaged plastic waste in the oceans, according to a study published by Science in 2015. All the European Union countries combined would rank eighteenth on the list. In 2020, a study revised the potential 2016 U.S. contribution to mismanaged plastic; It estimated that U.S.-generated plastic might place the U.S. behind Indonesia and India in oceanic pollution, or it might place

6307-860: The 1950s to 335   million tons in 2016, resulting in environmental concerns. A significant issue arises from the inefficient treatment of 79% of plastic products, leading to their release into landfills or natural environments. Some researchers suggest that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight. Living organisms, particularly marine animals , can be harmed either by mechanical effects such as entanglement in plastic objects, problems related to ingestion of plastic waste, or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that interfere with their physiology . Degraded plastic waste can directly affect humans through direct consumption (i.e. in tap water), indirect consumption (by eating plants and animals), and disruption of various hormonal mechanisms. As of 2019, 368   million tonnes of plastic

6426-448: The 1950s. The plastic industry's greenhouse gas emissions are substantial, having emitted 1.8 billion metric tons in 2019, with the potential to exceed 2.5 billion metric tons by 2050 if no changes are made. The United States is on track to see its plastic emissions increase from 317 million metric tons in 2021 to 401 million by 2025, primarily due to production and disposal methods. With global recycling rates for plastic packaging at

6545-578: The Australian coast. They found the highly variable microplastic counts to be proportionate to plastic on the surface and the angle of the seafloor slope. By averaging the microplastic mass per cm , they estimated that Earth's seafloor contains about 14   million tons of microplastic – about double the amount they estimated based on data from earlier studies – despite calling both estimates "conservative" as coastal areas are known to contain much more microplastic. These estimates are about one to two times

6664-432: The Earth's crust. About 30 percent of land has a dry climate, due to losing more water through evaporation than it gains from precipitation . Since warm air rises, this generates winds, though Earth's rotation and uneven sun distribution also play a part. Land is commonly defined as the solid, dry surface of Earth. It can also refer to the collective natural resources that the land holds, including rivers , lakes , and

6783-550: The Northern Hemisphere, concentrated around urban centers and water fronts. Plastic can be found off the coast of some islands because of currents carrying the debris. Both mega- and macro-plastics are found in packaging, footwear, and other domestic items that have been washed off of ships or discarded in landfills . Fishing-related items are more likely to be found around remote islands. These may also be referred to as micro-, meso-, and macro debris. Plastic debris

6902-474: The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ (2020) have estimated that 9–14   million tonnes of plastic waste ended up in the oceans the same year. Despite global efforts to reduce the generation of plastic waste, losses to the environment are predicted to increase. Modelling indicates that, without major interventions, between 23 and 37   million tonnes per year of plastic waste could enter

7021-583: The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. The table below list the top 20 plastic waste polluting countries in 2010 according to a study published by Science , Jambeck et al (2015). All the European Union countries combined would rank eighteenth on the list. In a study published by Environmental Science & Technology , Schmidt et al (2017) calculated that ten rivers: two in Africa (the Nile and

7140-523: The Rings , translates to "The Power of the Sun". On 27 September 2010, Tûranor PlanetSolar set off from Monaco to circumnavigate the globe solely with the aid of solar power. One aim of the project was to focus public awareness on the importance of renewable energies for environmental protection. The boat had a full-time crew of four including: Additional crew members joined the voyage during select legs of

7259-579: The Solar System bodies occurred in tandem with the Sun. In theory, a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disc , out of which the planets then grow (in tandem with the star). A nebula contains gas, ice grains and dust (including primordial nuclides ). In nebular theory , planetesimals begin to form as particulate matter accumulates by cohesive clumping and then by gravity. The primordial Earth's assembly took 10– 20  myr . By 4.54 ± 0.04 bya ,

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7378-440: The U.S. behind Indonesia, India, Thailand, China, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt, Japan, Russia, and Vietnam. In 2022, it was estimated all OECD countries (North America, Chile, Colombia, Europe, Israel, Japan, S. Korea) may contribute 5% of oceanic plastic pollution, with the rest of the world polluting 95%. Since 2016 China ceased importing plastics for recycling and since 2019 international treaties signed by 187 countries restricted

7497-618: The United States is higher than in any other country, with the average American producing 130.09 kilograms of plastic waste per year. Other high-income countries, such as those of the EU-28 (annual per capita generation 58.56 kg), also have a high per capita plastic waste generation rate. Some high-income countries, such as Japan (annual per capital generation 38.44 kg), produce far less plastic waste per capita. The United States National Academy of Sciences estimated in 2022 that

7616-546: The amount of plastic thought – per Jambeck et al., 2015 – to currently enter the oceans annually. Plastic debris is categorized as macrodebris when it is larger than 20 mm. These include items such as plastic grocery bags. Macrodebris are often found in ocean waters, and can have a serious impact on the native organisms. Fishing nets have been prime pollutants. Even after they have been abandoned, they continue to trap marine organisms and other plastic debris. Eventually, these abandoned nets become too difficult to remove from

7735-491: The bodies of 90% of seabirds contain plastic debris. In some areas there have been significant efforts to reduce the prominence of free range plastic pollution, through reducing plastic consumption, litter cleanup, and promoting plastic recycling . As of 2020, the global mass of produced plastic exceeds the biomass of all land and marine animals combined. A May 2019 amendment to the Basel Convention regulates

7854-430: The carbon budget. The OECD estimated the emissions from plastic as 1.8 GtCO2 (3.7% of total emissions) in 2019 which will rise to 4.3 GtCO2 (4.5% of total emissions) in 2060, without measures to reduce them. In a 2024 Bloomberg article, the ever-increasing consumption of plastics was highlighted as a critical environmental issue. Global use is projected to reach 1.1 billion metric tons by 2050, up from just 2 million in

7973-506: The climate change impacts on habitats and biodiversity, as well as natural resources, in the target areas. Land cover change detection and mapping is a key component of interdisciplinary land change science , which uses it to determine the consequences of land change on climate. Land change modeling is used to predict and analyze changes in land cover and use. Soil is a mixture of organic matter , minerals , gases , liquids , and organisms that together support life . Soil consists of

8092-636: The coast is important for major parts of the global food and economic system, and they provide many ecosystem services to humankind. For example, important human activities happen in port cities . Coastal fisheries for commercial, recreational, and subsistence purposes, and aquaculture are major economic activities and provide jobs, livelihoods, and protein for the majority of coastal human populations. Other coastal spaces like beaches and seaside resorts generate economic activity through tourism . Marine coastal ecosystems can also provide protection against sea level rise and tsunamis . In many countries,

8211-419: The coastal mangrove is the primary source of wood for fuel (e.g. charcoal) and building materials. Coastal ecosystems have a much higher capacity for carbon sequestration than many terrestrial ecosystems , and as such can play a critical role in the near future to help mitigate climate change effects by uptake of atmospheric anthropogenic carbon dioxide . A subcontinental area of land surrounded by water

8330-492: The consumption of virgin plastic by one third. Pepsico responded that they want to decrease "virgin plastic in our beverage business by 35% by 2025" and also expanding reuse and refill practices what should prevent 67   billion single use bottles by 2025. A study from 2024, using the Break Free From Plastic dataset, found that of the aforementioned 50% of the waste that was identifiable by brand, 11%

8449-580: The direction of the steepest slope. Hypsometric tints are colors placed between contour lines to indicate elevation relative to sea level . A difference between uplands, or highlands , and lowlands is drawn in several earth science fields. In river ecology, " upland " rivers are fast-moving and colder than "lowland" rivers, encouraging different species of fish and other aquatic wildlife to live in these habitats. For example, nutrients are more present in slow-moving lowland rivers, encouraging different species of macrophytes to grow there. The term "upland"

8568-981: The earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia , began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia , 600– 540 mya , then finally Pangaea , which also broke apart 180 mya . A continuous area of land surrounded by an ocean is called a landmass. Although it is most often written as one word to distinguish it from the usage "land mass"—the measure of land area—it may also be written as two words. There are four major continuous landmasses on Earth: Afro-Eurasia , America (landmass) , Antarctica , and Australia (landmass) , which are subdivided into continents. Up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from greatest to least land area, these continents are Asia , Africa , North America , South America , Antarctica , Europe , and Australia . Terrain refers to an area of land and its features. Terrain affects travel, mapmaking, ecosystems, and surface water flow and distribution. Over

8687-450: The earth's remaining carbon budget . By 2100 it will emit 260   billion tonnes, more than half of the carbon budget. Those are emission from production, transportation, incineration, but there are also releases of methane and effects on phytoplankton . The emissions of methane from plastic decomposition and impact on phytoplankton, were still not known well when the report was released. According to one estimate, plastic floating in

8806-405: The export of plastics for recycling. A 2019 study calculated the mismanaged plastic waste, in millions of metric tonnes (Mt) per year: Around 275   million tonnes of plastic waste is generated each year around the world; between 4.8 million and 12.7   million tonnes is dumped into the sea. About 60% of the plastic waste in the ocean comes from the top five countries: China, Indonesia,

8925-477: The exportation/importation of plastic waste, largely intended to prevent the shipping of plastic waste from developed countries to developing countries . Nearly all countries have joined this agreement. On 2 March 2022, in Nairobi, 175 countries pledged to create a legally binding agreement by the end of the year 2024 with a goal to end plastic pollution. The amount of plastic waste produced increased during

9044-490: The geological continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as continental shelves . This layer is sometimes called sial because its bulk composition is richer in aluminium silicate and has a lower density compared to the oceanic crust , called sima which is richer in magnesium silicate . Changes in seismic wave velocities have shown that at a certain depth (the Conrad discontinuity ), there

9163-523: The globe. After an engine refit, Tûranor PlanetSolar broke its own record, crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Las Palmas to Saint Martin in the Caribbean in only 22 days, four days faster than on the circumnavigation trip. The boat left Las Palmas on 25 April and arrived in Marigot on Saint Martin on 18 May. The trip led to Miami , Florida, and then continued as a scientific expedition along

9282-430: The group Break Free From Plastic organized over 70,000 volunteers in 51 countries to collect and identify plastic waste. These volunteers collected over "59,000 plastic bags, 53,000 sachets and 29,000 plastic bottles," as reported by The Guardian . Nearly half of the items were identifiable by consumer brands. The most common brands were Coca-Cola , Nestlé , and Pepsico . According to the global campaign coordinator for

9401-409: The growth of coral reefs , and meteorite impacts are among the processes that constantly reshape Earth's surface over geological time . Erosion transports one part of land to another via natural processes, such as wind , water, ice , and gravity . In contrast, weathering wears away rock and other solid land without transporting the land somewhere else. Natural erosional processes usually take

9520-402: The harvest of crops. Floodplains provided agricultural land for some of the earliest civilizations . Erosion is often a main driver for the creation of plains and valleys, with rift valleys being a noticeable exception. Fjords are glacial valleys that can be thousands of meters deep, opening out to the sea. Any natural void in the ground which can be entered by a human can be considered

9639-623: The igneous rocks granite and andesite . Less common is basalt , a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors . Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes buried and compacted together . Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form about 5% of the crust. The most abundant silicate minerals on Earth's surface include quartz , feldspars , amphibole , mica , pyroxene and olivine . Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone ) and dolomite . The rock that makes up land

9758-476: The land is divided into two major categories: Mountain ranges and relatively flat interiors called cratons . Both form over millions of years through plate tectonics . Streams – a major part of Earth's water cycle – shape the landscape , carve rocks, transport sediments, and replenish groundwater. At high elevations or latitudes , snow is compacted and recrystallized over hundreds or thousands of years to form glaciers, which can be so heavy that they warp

9877-489: The land will influence how much solar radiation reaches its surface. High latitudes receive less solar radiation than low latitudes. The land's topography is important in creating and transforming airflow and precipitation . Large landforms, such as mountain ranges, can divert wind energy and make air parcels less dense and therefore able to hold less heat. As air rises, this cooling effect causes condensation and precipitation. Different types of land cover will influence

9996-425: The land's albedo , a measure of the solar radiation that is reflected, rather than absorbed and transferred to Earth. Vegetation has a relatively low albedo, meaning that vegetated surfaces are good absorbers of the sun's energy. Forests have an albedo of 10–15 percent while grasslands have an albedo of 15–20 percent. In comparison, sandy deserts have an albedo of 25–40 percent. Land use by humans also plays

10115-705: The land. Land cover refers to the material physically present on the land surface, for example, woody crops, herbaceous crops, barren land, and shrub-covered areas. Artificial surfaces (including cities) account for about a third of a percent of all land. Land use refers to human allocation of land for various purposes, including farming, ranching, and recreation (e.g. national parks); worldwide, there are an estimated 16.7 million km (6.4 million sq mi) of cropland, and 33.5 million km (12.9 million sq mi) of pastureland. Land cover change detection using remote sensing and geospatial data provides baseline information for assessing

10234-536: The land. Estimates of the amount of plastic concentration on land are between four and twenty three times that of the ocean. The amount of plastic poised on the land is greater and more concentrated than that in the water. Mismanaged plastic waste ranges from 60 percent in East Asia and Pacific to one percent in North America. It is estimated that between 1 million and 1.7 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic

10353-477: The last century. By one estimate, one billion tons of plastic waste have been discarded since the 1950s. Others estimate a cumulative human production of 8.3   billion tons of plastic, of which 6.3   billion tons is waste, with only 9% getting recycled. It is estimated that this waste is made up of 81% polymer resin , 13% polymer fibres and 32% polymer additives . In 2018 more than 343   million tonnes of plastic waste were generated, 90% of which

10472-465: The low point of −418 m (−1,371 ft) at the Dead Sea , to a maximum altitude of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is about 797 m (2,615 ft), with 98.9% of dry land situated above sea level. Relief refers to the difference in elevation within a landscape; for example, flat terrain would have "low relief", while terrain with

10591-529: The marine environment, plastic pollution causes "Entanglement, toxicological effects via ingestion of plastics, suffocation, starvation, dispersal, and rafting of organisms, provision of new habitats, and introduction of invasive species are significant ecological effects with growing threats to biodiversity and trophic relationships. Degradation (changes in the ecosystem state) and modifications of marine systems are associated with loss of ecosystem services and values. Consequently, this emerging contaminant affects

10710-420: The method for their polymerization . Depending on their chemical composition, plastics and resins have varying properties related to contaminant absorption and adsorption . Polymer degradation takes much longer as a result of saline environments and the cooling effect of the sea. These factors contribute to the persistence of plastic debris in certain environments. Recent studies have shown that plastics in

10829-450: The ocean by means of spills during transportation or from land based sources. The Ocean Conservancy reported that China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam dump more plastic in the sea than all other countries combined. It is estimated that 10% of the plastics in the ocean are nurdles, making them one of the most common types of plastic pollution, along with plastic bags and food containers. These micro-plastics can accumulate in

10948-402: The ocean can emit annually 76 Mt methane equal to 2,129 Mt CO2e, based on the 100 years global warming potential of methane. But these numbers are very preliminary. From one side, it can be an overestimate as it is based on the emissions of LDPE in powder form, the most emission intensive type of plastic in this case and in tropical water where intense radiation increases decomposition. But from

11067-430: The ocean decompose faster than was once thought, due to exposure to sun, rain, and other environmental conditions, resulting in the release of toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A . However, due to the increased volume of plastics in the ocean, decomposition has slowed down. The Ocean Conservancy has predicted the decomposition rates of several plastic products. It is estimated that a foam plastic cup will take 50 years,

11186-441: The ocean surface and leaves a ring of reefs around it. Mountains are features that usually rise at least 300 metres (980 ft) higher than the surrounding terrain. The formation of mountain belts is called orogenesis, and results from plate tectonics . For example, where a plate at a convergent plate boundary pushes one plate above the other, mountains could be formed by either collisional events, such that Earth's crust

11305-476: The ocean, or for example Saint Lucia which generates more than four times the amount of plastic waste per capita as China and is responsible for 1.2 times more improperly disposed plastic waste per capita than China. Of the top thirty global polluters per capita, ten are from the Caribbean region. These are Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Guyana , Barbados , Saint Lucia , Bahamas , Grenada , Anguilla and Aruba , according to

11424-740: The oceans and allow for the accumulation of Persistent Bio-accumulating Toxins such as bisphenol   A , polystyrene , DDT, and PCB's which are hydrophobic in nature and can cause adverse health affects. A 2004 study by Richard Thompson from the University of Plymouth , UK, found a great amount of microdebris on beaches and in waters in Europe, the Americas, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica. Thompson and his associates found that plastic pellets from both domestic and industrial sources were being broken down into much smaller plastic pieces, some having

11543-411: The oceans by 2040 and between 155 and 265   million tonnes per year could be discharged into the environment by 2060. Under a business as usual scenario, such increases would likely be attributable to a continuing rise in production of plastic products, driven by consumer demand, accompanied by insufficient improvements in waste management. As the plastic waste released into the environment already has

11662-814: The oceans every year out of which the 83,1% is from the following 20 countries: China is the most mismanaged plastic waste polluter leaving in the sea the 27.7% of the world total, second Indonesia with the 10.1%, third Philippines with 5.9%, fourth Vietnam with 5.8%, fifth Sri Lanka 5.0%, sixth Thailand with 3.2%, seventh Egypt with 3.0%, eighth Malaysia with 2.9%, ninth Nigeria with 2.7%, tenth Bangladesh with 2.5%, eleventh South Africa with 2.0%, twelfth India with 1.9%, thirteenth Algeria with 1.6%, fourteenth Turkey with 1.5%, fifteenth Pakistan with 1.5%, sixteenth Brazil with 1.5%, seventeenth Myanmar with 1.4%, eighteenth Morocco with 1.0%, nineteenth North Korea with 1.0%, twentieth United States with 0.9%. The rest of world's countries combined wind up

11781-415: The other side it can be an underestimate, as it is not including the decomposition of plastic on land which is probably more emission intensive, the effects on phytoplankton which can be significant, the emissions from submerged plastic. Therefore, the authors prefer to not include them in the official estimate, but to write them in the full report, as a base for further discussion noting the high importance of

11900-504: The outer part of the crust . Land plays an important role in Earth's climate system , being involved in the carbon cycle , nitrogen cycle , and water cycle . One-third of land is covered in trees, another third is used for agriculture , and one-tenth is covered in permanent snow and glaciers . The remainder consists of desert , savannah , and prairie . Land terrain varies greatly, consisting of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, glaciers, and other landforms . In physical geology,

12019-405: The past 150 years. Plate tectonics refers to the theory that Earth's lithosphere is divided into "tectonic plates" that move over the mantle. This results in continental drift , with continents moving relative to each other. The scientist Alfred Wegener first hypothesized the theory of continental drift in 1912. More researchers gradually developed his idea throughout the 20th century into

12138-408: The planet warms, it has been predicted that soils will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere due to increased biological activity at higher temperatures, a positive feedback (amplification). This prediction has, however, been questioned on consideration of more recent knowledge on soil carbon turnover. Continental crust is the layer of igneous , sedimentary , and metamorphic rocks that forms

12257-433: The plant. Through photosynthesis , most plants nourish themselves from sunlight and water, breathing in carbon dioxide and breathing out oxygen. Between 20 and 50% of oxygen is produced by land vegetation. Unlike plants, terrestrial animals are not a monophyletic group —that is, a group including all terrestrial animals does not encompass all lineages from a common ancestor . This is because there are organisms, such as

12376-441: The primordial Earth had formed. Earth's atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing that included water vapour . The origin of the world's oceans was condensation augmented by water and ice delivered by asteroids , protoplanets , and comets . In this model , atmospheric " greenhouse gases " kept the oceans from freezing while the newly formed Sun was only at 70% luminosity . By 3.5 bya ,

12495-435: The problem. The United Nations Environment Programme used 2 different studies to estimate the impact of plastic on climate: according to the first, by the year 2040 the annual emissions from plastic will reach 2.1 GtCO2 and will consume 19% of the 1.5 degrees carbon budget , while the second estimated the emissions in the year 2015 as 1.7 GtCO2 and predicted that by the year 2050 they will reach 6.5 GtCO2, consuming 15% of

12614-503: The project Emma Priestland in 2020, the only way to solve the problem is stopping production of single use plastic and using reusable products instead. Coca-Cola answered that "more than 20% of our portfolio comes in refillable or fountain packaging", they are decreasing the amount of plastic in secondary packaging. Nestlé responded that 87% of their packaging and 66% of their plastic packaging can be reused or recycled and by 2025 they want to make it 100%. By that year they want to reduce

12733-577: The socio-economic aspects through negative impacts on tourism, fishery, shipping, and human health". In 2019 a new report "Plastic and Climate" was published. According to the report, in 2019, production and incineration of plastic will contribute greenhouse gases in the equivalent of 850   million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to the atmosphere. In current trend, annual emissions from these sources will grow to 1.34   billion tonnes by 2030. By 2050 plastic could emit 56   billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, as much as 14 percent of

12852-481: The variability and dispersal of organisms in specific areas that are less biologically diverse. Plastics can also be used as vectors for chemical contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals . Plastic pollution has also greatly negatively affected our environment. "The pollution is significant and widespread, with plastic debris found on even the most remote coastal areas and in every marine habitat". This information tells us about how much of

12971-538: The voyage including extra security in the Gulf of Aden . A significant stopover was Cancún , Mexico , during the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference held there from 29 November to 10 December 2010. During the expedition, Tûranor PlanetSolar broke two records: the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by solar boat and the longest distance ever covered by a solar electric vehicle. Tûranor PlanetSolar returned to Monaco on 4 May 2012 after 584 days sailing around

13090-462: The water because they become too heavy, having grown in weight up to 6 tonnes. 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic are estimated to have been made between 1950 and 2017. More than half this plastic has been produced since 2004. Of all the plastic discarded so far, 14% has been incinerated and less than 10% has been recycled. Plastics themselves contribute to approximately 10% of discarded waste. Many kinds of plastics exist depending on their precursors and

13209-446: The water on Earth. The vast majority of human activity throughout history has occurred in habitable land areas supporting agriculture and various natural resources . In recent decades, scientists and policymakers have emphasized the need to manage land and its biosphere more sustainably, through measures such as restoring degraded soil , preserving biodiversity , protecting endangered species , and addressing climate change . Land

13328-701: The widely accepted theory of plate tectonics of today. Several key characteristics define modern understanding of plate tectonics. The place where two tectonic plates meet is called a plate boundary , with different geological phenomena occurring across different kinds of boundaries. For example, at divergent plate boundaries , seafloor spreading is usually seen, in contrast with the subduction zones of convergent or transform plate boundaries . Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in all types of boundaries. Volcanic activity refers to any rupture in Earth's surface where magma escapes, therefore becoming lava . The Ring of Fire , containing two-thirds of

13447-512: The widest, and mesas are a general-sized plateau with horizontal bedrock strata . Wide, flat areas of land are called plains , which cover more than one-third of Earth's land area. When they occur as lowered areas between mountains, they can create valleys , canyons or gorges, and ravines . A plateau can be thought of as an elevated plain. Plains are known to have fertile soils and be important for agriculture due to their flatness supporting grasses suitable for livestock and facilitating

13566-466: The world's volcanos, and over 70% of Earth's seismological activity , comprises plate boundaries surrounding the Pacific Ocean . Earth's land interacts with and influences its climate heavily, since the land's surface heats up and cools down faster than air or water. Latitude , elevation , topography , reflectivity , and land use all have varying effects on climate. The latitude of

13685-541: The worldwide entry of plastic into the ocean was 8   million metric tons of plastic per year. A 2021 study by The Ocean Cleanup estimated that rivers convey between 0.8 and 2.7   million metric tons of plastic into the ocean, and ranked these river's countries. The top ten were, from the most to the least: Philippines, India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brazil, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Thailand. Top 12 mismanaged plastic waste polluters In 2018 approximately 513   million tonnes of plastics wind up in

13804-483: Was attributable to Coca-Cola, 5% to Pepsico, 3% to Nestle, 3% to Danone , and 2% to Altria , totaling 24% of the total branded count. 56 companies accounted for over 50% of the branded items. According to The Plastic Waste Makers index, 55% of plastic waste worldwide is created by 20 companies. The United States is the world leader in generating plastic waste, producing an annual 42   million metric tons of plastic waste. Per capita generation of plastic waste in

13923-674: Was composed of post-consumer plastic waste (industrial, agricultural, commercial and municipal plastic waste). The rest was pre-consumer waste from resin production and manufacturing of plastic products (e.g. materials rejected due to unsuitable colour, hardness, or processing characteristics). A large proportion of post-consumer plastic waste consists of plastic packaging . In the United States plastic packaging has been estimated to make up 5% of MSW. This packaging includes plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, plastic films shopping bags, rubbish bags, bubble wrap, and plastic or stretch wrap and plastic foams e.g. expanded polystyrene (EPS). Plastic waste

14042-483: Was designed to be used as a luxury yacht after the record attempt was finished. The vessel was later used as an Ambassador for the project Race for Water. The boat is registered in Switzerland and was financed by a German entrepreneur, Immo Ströher and designed by New Zealand naval architect Craig Loomes. Construction cost was € 15 million. The name Tûranor , derived from J.R.R. Tolkien 's novel The Lord of

14161-452: Was found that pellets found on beaches in the US, Vietnam and southern Africa contained compounds from pesticides suggesting a high use of pesticides in the areas. In 2020 scientists created what may be the first scientific estimate of how much microplastic currently resides in Earth's seafloor, after investigating six areas of around 3 km (1.9 mi) depth about 300 km (190 mi) off

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