Eutrophication

Eutrophication is a syndrome of ecosystem responses to human activities that fertilize water bodies with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), often leading to changes in animal and plant populations and degradation of water and habitat quality. Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential components of structural proteins, enzymes, cell membranes, nucleic acids, and molecules that capture and utilize light and chemical energy to support life. The biologically available forms of N and P are present at low concentrations in pristine lakes, rivers, estuaries, and in vast regions of the upper ocean. Pristine aquatic ecosystems function in approximate steady state in which primary production of new plant biomass is sustained by N and P released as byproducts of microbial and animal metabolism. This balanced state is disrupted by human activities that artificially enrich water bodies with N and P, resulting in unnaturally high rates of plant production and accumulation of organic matter that can degrade water and habitat quality. These inputs may come from sewage treatment plants or run-off of fertilizer from farm fields or suburban lawns.

Algal bloom in Orielton Lagoon, Australia, 1994. (Photo by Geoff Prestedge)

Eutrophication was first evident in lakes and rivers as they became choked with excessive growth of rooted plants and floating algal scums, prompting intense study in the 1960’s-70’s and culminating in the scientific basis for banning phosphate detergents (a major source of P, the most frequent culprit in eutrophication of lakes) and upgrading sewage treatment to reduce wastewater N and P discharges to inland waters. Symptoms of eutrophication in estuaries and other coastal marine ecosystems (where N is the most frequent contributor to eutrophication) were clearly evident by the 1980’s, as human activities doubled the transport of N and tripled the transport of P from Earth’s land surface to its oceans. Eutrophication has emerged as a key human stressor on the world’s coastal ecosystems.

Nutrient enrichment of marine waters promotes the growth of algae, either as attached multicellular forms (e.g. sea lettuce) or as suspended microscopic phytoplankton, because algae can grow faster than larger vascular plants. Small increases in algal abundance or biomass have subtle ecological responses that can increase production in food webs sustaining fish and shellfish, even producing higher fish yields. However, over-stimulation of algal growth leads to a complex suite of interconnected biological and chemical responses that can severely degrade water quality and threaten human health and sustainability of living resources in the coastal zone.

Fish Kill in the Salton Sea as a result of eutrophication.

As algal biomass builds during blooms it forms aggregates that sink and fuel bacterial growth in bottom waters and sediments. Bacterial metabolism consumes oxygen. If the rates of aeration of water by mixing are slower than bacterial metabolism, then bottom waters become hypoxic (low in oxygen) or anoxic (devoid of oxygen), creating conditions stressful or even lethal for marine invertebrates and fish. Seasonal occurrences of dead zones devoid of oxygen and animal life have expanded in the Gulf of Mexico (where the dead zone has approached the size of New Jersey), the Baltic Sea, and Sea of Marmara as a consequence of eutrophication from nutrients delivered by large rivers.

Seagrasses are important communities in undisturbed shallow coastal ecosystems, providing essential habitat for many species of marine animals. The distribution and abundance of seagrasses have greatly diminished in nutrient-enriched coastal waters, such as Chesapeake Bay and Danish estuaries, where water transparency and light availability to rooted plants have declined as result of phytoplankton growth and fouling of the grass blades by epiphytes and biofilms. These habitat changes propagate through food webs, and the abundance and species diversity of fish and shellfish decrease as seagrasses are eliminated from nutrient-enriched coastal waters.

Some phytoplankton species excrete large quantities of mucilage during blooms that is whipped into foam by wind mixing and washes ashore, making beaches undesirable for holiday visitors. Other phytoplankton species produce toxic chemicals that can impair respiratory, nervous, digestive and reproductive system function, and even cause death of fish, shellfish, seabirds, mammals, and humans. The economic impacts of harmful algal blooms can be severe as tourism is lost and shellfish harvest and fishing are closed across increasingly widespread marine regions. Marine scientists are trying to determine if and how nutrient enrichment selectively promotes the growth of harmful algal species, and if the frequency of harmful algal blooms has increased globally in response to nutrient enrichment.

Protection of marine waters from the harmful consequences of nutrient enrichment is a challenge to resource managers because the sources and delivery routes of N and P are diverse. Combustion of fossil fuels produces gaseous nitrogen oxides, and animal production and fertilizer use produce volatile ammonia, two sources of atmospheric N that can be carried by winds and deposited on coastal waters and lakes hundreds of kilometers from their origin. Modern high-yield agriculture and urban gardeners are dependent upon commercial fertilizers that became cheap to produce in the mid 20th century – the era in which N and P concentrations began to increase in surface waters carrying agricultural and urban runoff to the sea. The world’s human population is growing disproportionately in the coastal zone, creating an additional challenge of reducing nutrient inputs from municipal waste, septic systems, and fertilizer runoff from lawns and gardens. Projections indicate that the largest future increases in N and P delivery to the coastal ocean will occur in eastern and southern Asia where populations and economies are growing most rapidly.

The eutrophication problem illustrates how human activities on land can degrade the quality of coastal waters and habitats, with potentially large economic and ecological costs. Solutions to the coastal eutrophication problem require changes in all these activities within the watersheds and airsheds connected to coastal waters. Commitments to these solutions are now beginning – the European Union’s Water Framework Directive mandates strategies to reduce N and P delivery to coastal waters, and a 2000 National Research Council report recommended a National Coastal Nutrient Management Strategy for the United States.

Proposed solutions to the eutrophication problem are multidimensional and include actions to restore wetlands and riparian buffer zones between farms and surface waters, reduce livestock densities, improve efficiencies of fertilizer applications, treat urban runoff from streets and storm drains, reduce N emissions from vehicles and power plants, and further increase the efficiency of N and P removal from municipal wastewater. As coastal fish and shellfish aquaculture expand, management considerations of this rapidly growing internal source of nutrients will be required as well.

source:http://www.eoearth.org/article/Eutrophication

The Living Ocean Ecosytem

Much about the oceans is still not known: widespread weather and climate measurements for the atmosphere go back 150 years, but scientists have only been systematically monitoring ocean temperatures for about 50 years (although ice-sheet cores and deep-sea sediments provide important clues about climate patterns and temperatures further back in time, much like tree rings do).

The Earth is a complex living system. All its individual parts depend on the others. Just as a person can hobble along for years with a weak heart or damaged lungs, but cannot live if either fails, the Earth can sustain only so much disruption. This evidence is in the geologic record — punctuated with massive and widespread extinctions caused by disruptions to the Earth’s systems.

The Earth’s oceans and atmosphere are akin to the human body’s respiratory and circulatory systems. The oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, store 1,000 times more heat than the atmosphere, and is the planet’s largest reservoir of water. Through evaporation, the ocean transfers huge amounts of water vapor to the atmosphere, where it cools, condenses and eventually falls to the ground as rain or snow (a process known as the hydrological cycle).

The ocean’s currents play a fundamental role in regulating the Earth’s climate and circulating life-sustaining nutrients around the globe. Just as blood vessels and capillaries bring oxygen from the lungs and nutrients to cells throughout the human body, the ocean’s currents distribute oxygen, nutrients and heat worldwide. The ocean distributes 25 to 50 percent of the energy received from the sun, and the ocean conveyor is a major source of heat to the North Atlantic.
Salt and heat: The conveyor’s “motors”

The oceans are a mix of salty and fresh water, and how they move and mix provide important clues to climate dynamics. The process that propels the conveyor works like this:

The ocean’s system of currents takes 1,000 years to go full cycle. Warm water is chilled in the far North Atlantic and sinks. The cold, salty current flows south near the bottom. PHOTO: Argonne National Laboratory.
At the equator, the sun warms surface waters and triggers evaporation. As water evaporates, the tropical waters get saltier.
The warm, salty water is carried northward along the East Coast of the United States by the Gulf Stream, a tributary of the Conveyor, and then over towards Europe.
As it travels, this current releases a huge amount of heat to the atmosphere in the North Atlantic
As this great volume of water becomes colder and denser, it plunges downward to the ocean depths (salty, cold water is denser than fresher, warm water).
As cold, salty water sinks in the North Atlantic, it pulls warm, salty tropical waters northward to replace the sinking colder waters.
This massive plunge of water drives the ocean’s “conveyor belt,” sending deep currents traveling along the ocean bottom to surface elsewhere around the world. Eventually these currents resurface in the Atlantic.

This cycle takes centuries to complete, unlike global wind and air circulation patterns, which take place over days or weeks. It’s called the “thermohaline circulation” from the Greek words “thermos” (heat) and “halos” (salt).

The release of the heat from the warm waters of the Gulf Stream tempers Northern Europe’s winter temperatures. It also generally distributes heat more evenly around the planet, moderating extremes of both between cold northern latitudes and hot equatorial regions.

A food source for fish, zooplankton (tiny swimming animals) are part of the food chain that relies on upwelling for nutrients. PHOTO: Matt Wilson/Jay Clark, NOAA
Delivering oxygen and nutrients around the globe

This system of currents delivers more just heat. “Deep beneath the surface, this cold, dense, salty water flows south, turns east around the Cape of South Africa, and then slowly warms and, centuries later, rises to the surface in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean,” explains Environmental Defense marine ecologist Rod Fujita in his book Heal the Ocean. “It brings oxygen and carbon dioxide to deep waters and nutrients to surface waters where phytoplankton can use them.”

Cold, nutrient-rich waters rise to the surface seasonally, and mix with sunlit surface waters. These upwellings trigger the growth of phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants). In turn, phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton, which are eaten by fish and other sea animals up the food chain. The areas where these upwellings occur are often rich fishing grounds, the sea’s “gardens of Eden” where an abundance of marine life flourishes. The waters off the Channel Islands, the west coast of Africa, and the west coast of South America are good examples.

In Heal the Ocean Fujita writes of this drama at sea: “the magnificent large fishes of the Pacific were not wandering about aimlessly; they, and the albatrosses, turtles and sharks were focusing on patches of highly concentrated food. The sought-after squid and fishes were in turn congregating where the water was rich in plankton. The plankton in turn was concentrated where deep, nutrient-rich waters were upwelling and where eddies, gyres, and fronts were pushing nutrients, plankton, fish, and squid together.”
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The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is tipped to fall

The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is tipped to fall in the next year as the so-called “solar module supply bubble”, which has seen demand exceed supply, bursts.
The biggest problem facing the solar electric industry over the last five years has been a shortage of silicon, the most common ingredient in solar PV cells. This shortage is the reason costs of solar-electric modules has remained relatively high, with most individual rooftop solar energy panels costing over $1000 each.

But according to a report from Lux Research, a US group specialising in nanotechnology, the silicon shortage will ease in 2009 and that, combined with other breakthroughs in solar technology, will combine to drive costs down. This will affect the bottom-line of existing renewable energy companies, especially those who fail to adapt to new ways of converting sunlight to electricity. In a reaction to the silicon shortage, several solar power companies have begun making photovoltaic cells from cadmium tellurid instead.

“The market is now approaching a tipping point: We project that the supply of solar modules will exceed demand in 2009, leading to falling prices and a shakeout among companies that aren’t prepared to thrive in this new environment–particularly crystalline silicon players that haven’t invested in new thin-film solar PV technologies,” the report said.

However, the global solar power industry is approaching a boom period, as demand for photovoltaic panels and cells increases. Annual growth of solar in the US will hit 27% this year, becoming a $70 billion market by 2012.

Analysts are predicting a solar shakeup, with companies either dropping out of the market altogether or merging. Consumers will be the winners in the upcoming shakeup, as manufacturers of solar panels are forced to lower prices to compete for market share. In a recent Australian presentation by Suntech one of the largest solar module manufacturers it was predicted that within five years the cost of electricity supplied via the energy retailer will be on parity with the cost of electricity supplied by solar power systems.
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Vestas coming to Northern Colorado

It now looks likely that Vestas, the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer will build a blade manufacturing plant in Nortern Colorado, near Windsor. I’d guess that some of the factors that made Danish Vestas consider locating here are:
The proximity to NREL’s Wind Technology Center for turbine testing.
Amendment 37, which will require large investments in wind farms in Colorado.
The State’s central location, making it easy to ship blades anywhere in North America.
Political support for wind, especially from newly elected Bill Ritter and the Democratically controlled state legislature.
Colorado’s excellent wind resource.

The 500 high-paying jobs will be ones wind advocates can point to when talking about the benefits of renewable resources over fossil fuels.

UPDATE:

It’s official. According to this follow-up article in the Rocky Mountian News, transport was indeed crucial to winning the bid. In particular, they wanted a site with rail service.

originally published by:http://tomkonrad.wordpress.com

Atolls

Atolls are circular, oval, or horseshoe-shaped arrays of coral reef islands that are perched around an oceanic volcanic seamount and encircle a shallow central lagoon. The small islands are separated from each other by channels that lead from the sea into the central lagoon.
Distribution of Atolls

Because atoll formation requires coral reef building, atolls are limited to tropical waters. Atolls are most commonly found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Size of Atolls

Atolls can vary greatly in size, ranging from quite small to over 130 kilometers (km) long and 32 km wide (Kwajalein in the Marshal Islands). The reef and lagoon area in some of the atolls of the Maldives are larger than 3000 km sq. Kiribati has a land area of about 390 km sq. Atoll islands are typically low lying, with elevations of less than 5 meters (m).
Formation of Atolls
Atoll Formation. Marine Science.

Charles Darwin was one of the first people to think about the origins of coral atolls and his “subsidence theory of coral reef formation” has received empirical support. An atoll is thought to begin as living corals colonize and build a fringing reef on the flanks of a seamount or volcano. Over time, as the volcano cools and becomes denser, its gradually sinks below the sea surface. The corals, whose symbiotic algae require light to grow, continue to build the reef upward towards the sea surface, maintaining the top of the reef in the photic zone. The reef gradually becomes separated from the subsiding island by a lagoon, thus forming a barrier reef. Eventually the cold volcano sinks so far that it disappears beneath the surface, leaving behind the characteristic ring-shaped reef surrounding a central lagoon. Thus, atolls are built on thick layers of dead coral reefs. Scientists have drilled over 1400 m through coral limestone before striking volcanic rock on Pacific atolls, supporting Darwin’s hypothesis that atolls develop as fringing reefs subside. Raised atolls, such as Nauru and Niue, were produced when geologic action elevated the coral limestone above the surrounding sea.

source:http://www.eoearth.org/article/Atoll

Maldives

ROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Maldives

Geography
Area: 298 sq. km. (115 sq. mi.), over 1,100 islands; twice the size of Washington, DC.
Cities: Capital–Male’ (pop. 70,000).
Terrain: Flat islands.
Climate: Hot and humid.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective–Maldivian(s).
Population: 370,000 (plus 31,000 expatriate laborers who are not counted in the census).
Population growth rate: 1.66%. Population growth rate has dropped dramatically in recent years.
Ethnic groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs.
Religion: Sunni Islam.
Languages: Dhivehi (official); many government officials speak English.
Education: Years compulsory–none. Attendance–primary (grades 1-5) 99%; secondary: (grades 6-10) 51%, (grades 11-12) 5%. Literacy–98%.
Health: Infant mortality rate–18/1,000. Life expectancy–73 years male; 74 years female.
Resident work force: Community, social and personal services–21%; manufacturing–13%; fishing–11%; tourism–11%; transport, storage, and communication–9%; other–35%.

Government
Type: Republic.
Independence: July 26, 1965 (formerly a British protectorate).
Constitution: November 11, 1968.
Branches: Executive–president, cabinet. Legislative–unicameral Majlis (parliament). Judicial–High Court, Civil Court, Criminal Court, Family and Juvenile Court, and 204 general courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 19 atolls and capital city.
Political parties: Adalath Party, Dhivehi Raiyyethunge Party, Islamic Democratic Party, Maldivian Democratic Party.
Suffrage: Universal at age 21.

Economy
GDP (2006 est.): $907 million.
GDP growth rate (2006 est.): 18.5%.
Per capita GDP (2006 est.): $3,000.
Inflation (2006): 2.8%.
Percentages of GDP (2006 est.): Tourism–28%; transport and communications–17%; government–15%; manufacturing–7%; real estate–6%; fishing–7%; construction–6%; agriculture–2%; other–12%.
Trade (2006 est.): Exports–$147 million: fish products. Major markets–U.S., Thailand, EU, Sri Lanka, Japan (source: Maldives Customs Service). Imports–$832 million: oil, construction material, prepared foodstuffs, vegetables, animal products, electrical appliances, wood products, computers, transport equipment. Major suppliers–Singapore, Sri Lanka, EU, India, Malaysia, U.A.E.

PEOPLE, HISTORY, AND CULTURE
Maldives comprises 1,191 islands in the Indian Ocean. The earliest settlers were probably from southern India. Indo-European speakers followed them from Sri Lanka in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. In the 12th century AD, sailors from East Africa and Arab countries came to the islands. Today, the Maldivian ethnic identity is a blend of these cultures, reinforced by religion and language.

Originally Buddhists, Maldivians were converted to Sunni Islam in the mid-12th century. Islam is the official religion of the entire population. Strict adherence to Islamic precepts and close community relationships have helped keep crime low and under control.

The official and common language is Dhivehi, an Indo-European language related to Sinhala, a language of Sri Lanka. The writing system is from right to left. English is used widely in commerce and increasingly as the medium of instruction in government schools.

Some social stratification exists on the islands. It is not rigid, since rank is based on varied factors, including occupation, wealth, perceived Islamic virtue, and family ties. Members of the social elite are concentrated in Male’.

The early history of the Maldives is obscure. According to Maldivian legend, a Sinhalese prince named KoiMale was stranded with his bride–daughter of the king of Sri Lanka–in a Maldivian lagoon and stayed on to rule as the first sultan.

Over the centuries, the islands have been visited and their development influenced by sailors from countries on the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean littorals. Mopla pirates from the Malabar Coast–present-day Kerala state in India–harassed the islands. In the 16th century, the Portuguese subjugated and ruled the islands for 15 years (1558-73) before being driven away by the warrior-patriot Muhammad Thakurufar Al-Azam.

Although governed as an independent Islamic sultanate for most of its history from 1153 to 1968, the Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887 until July 25, 1965. In 1953, there was a brief, abortive attempt at a republican form of government, after which the sultanate was re-imposed. Following independence from Britain in 1965, the sultanate continued to operate for another 3 years. On November 11, 1968, it was abolished and replaced by a republic, and the country assumed its present name.

Environmental Concerns
There is growing concern about coral reef and marine life damage because of coral mining (used for building and jewelry making), sand dredging, and solid waste pollution. Mining of sand and coral have removed the natural coral reef that protected several important islands, making them highly susceptible to the erosive effects of the sea. The practices have recently been banned. In April 1987, high tides swept over the Maldives, inundating much of Male’ and nearby islands. That event prompted high-level Maldivian interest in global climatic changes, as its highest point is about 8 feet above sea level. The Asian Brown Cloud, a U.S.-sized area of pollution over the Indian Ocean, has the potential of wreaking havoc on the tourism- and fishery-based Maldivian economy.

Investment in Education
The government expenditure for education was 20% of the budget in 2004. Both formal and nonformal education have made remarkable strides in the last decade. Unique to Maldives, modern and traditional schools exist side by side. The traditional schools are staffed by community-paid teachers without formal training and provide basic numeracy and literacy skills in addition to religious instruction.

The modern schools, run by both the government and private sector, provide primary and secondary education. As the modern English-medium school system expands, the traditional system is gradually being upgraded. By early 2003, every inhabited island was equipped to provide primary school education up through grade seven. Secondary schools (grades 8 through 10) are available in atoll capitals and on the islands with larger populations. Five schools have higher secondary classes, two in Capital Male and in three atolls. Only around 5% of students go to high school, but literacy is high at 98%.

Seven post-secondary technical training institutes provide opportunities for youth to gain skills that are in demand. The World Bank provided $17 million for education development from 2000-2004. It plans to commit a further $1.5 million for education development, as well as $9 million for an education-related component under an integrated human development project. Over 2000-2006, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed $7 million to support post-secondary education development in Maldives. ADB has committed $6.5 million for employment skills training over 2004-2009.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
A 1968 referendum approved the constitution, making Maldives a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The constitution was amended in 1970, 1972, and 1975 and is again under revision.

Ibrahim Nasir, Prime Minister under the pre-1968 sultanate, became President and held office from 1968 to 1978. He was succeeded by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was elected President in 1978 and reelected in 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, and again in October 2003. The president heads the executive branch and appoints the cabinet. Nominated to a 5-year term by a secret ballot of the Majlis (parliament), the president must be confirmed by a national referendum.

The unicameral Majlis is composed of 50 members serving 5-year terms. Two members from each atoll and Male’ are elected directly by universal suffrage. Eight are appointed by the president. A special Majlis session began meeting in mid-2004 to review constitutional reform issues. Regularly scheduled Majlis elections took place in January 2005.

The Maldivian legal system–derived mainly from traditional Islamic law–is administered by secular officials, a chief justice, and lesser judges on each of the 19 atolls, who are appointed by the president and function under the Ministry of Justice. There is also an attorney general. Each inhabited island within an atoll has a chief who is responsible for law and order. Every atoll chief, appointed by the president, functions as a district officer in the British South Asian tradition.

On November 8, 1988, Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries tried to overthrow the Maldivian Government. At President Gayoom’s request, the Indian military suppressed the coup attempt within 24 hours. In September 2003, following the death of an inmate, a brief prison riot broke out on an island near the capital Male’. Three other inmates were killed during the incident. In response to the killings of the inmates, brief rioting took place on the streets of Male’. The government often prevents opposition rallies from taking place. Throughout 2006, the opposition faced restrictions on freedom of assembly, and the government continued to arrest opposition activists. The government also keeps a tight rein on expressions of Islamic extremism. The government is investigating links between religious extremists and a September 2007 bombing in a Male’ park that injured several tourists.

President Gayoom’s commitment to introduce political reforms in June 2004 was widely welcomed. A human rights commission was established, and a special Majlis, or parliament, was convened to consider changes in the constitution, including the legalization of political parties. In August 2004, however, a demonstration in the capital turned violent and the government declared an emergency and arrested a large number said to be connected to the protest. Some of those arrested were prominent in the reform movement, including several members of the special Majlis. Most were released a few months later.

The Maldives were badly hit by the Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004, which killed 82 and caused substantial damage to Maldives tourism, housing, and fishing infrastructure. The U.S. provided $1.6 million in immediate relief assistance. Despite the disaster, the Government of the Maldives held parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for December 31, on January 22, 2005. Reform candidates performed strongly. Following the poll, President Gayoom announced plans to establish multiparty democracy within a year.

In June 2005, the members of the People’s Majlis unanimously voted to legally recognize political parties. In order of registration the parties are the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, the government’s Dhivehi Raiyyethunge Party, the Adalath (Justice) Party, and the Islamic Democratic Party. Although no elections have been held since the party system was implemented, members of parliament have declared their political affiliations.

In March 2006, the government introduced a “Roadmap for Reform” and subsequently introduced several bills in parliament. However, as of January 2007, parliament had not yet enacted any of the reform legislation.

In August 2007, a referendum was held to decide whether Maldives’ new constitution would provide for a presidential or parliamentary system of government. The special Majlis missed a November 2007 deadline for completing the new constitution, but continues to meet. A presidential election, although not yet scheduled, must be held before November 2008, according to the existing constitution.

Principal Government Officials
President–Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Minister of Defense and National Security–Ismail Shafeeu
Minister of Economic Development and Trade–Mohamed Jaleel
Minister of Finance and Treasury–Qasim Ibrahim
Minister of Home Affairs–Abdullah Kamal Deen
Minister of Foreign Affairs–Abdullah Shahid

ECONOMY
The Maldivian economy is based on tourism and fishing. Of the Maldives’ 1,191 islands, only 200 are inhabited. The population is scattered throughout the country, with the greatest concentration on the capital island, Male’. Limitations on potable water and arable land constrain expansion.

Development has been centered upon the tourism industry and its complementary service sectors, transport, distribution, real estate, construction, and government. Taxes on the tourist industry have been plowed into infrastructure and used to improve technology in the agricultural sector.

GDP in 2006 totaled $907 million, or about $3,000 per capita. The Maldivian economy has made a remarkable recovery from the tsunami, which inflicted damages of about $375 million, excluding $100 million in damages to resorts, the bulk of which was covered by private insurance. A rebound in tourism, post-tsunami reconstruction, and new resort construction helped increase GDP by about 18% in 2006 from a contraction of 4.5% in 2005. Inflation has moderated to about 3%. As tourism staged a speedy recovery and government borrowing increased, the balance of payments recorded a surplus of about $40 million in 2006 from a deficit of $17 million in 2005. Fiscal control has deteriorated due to tsunami reconstruction as well as an increase in non-tsunami-related government expenditure. Government expenditure was estimated at 74.5% of GDP in 2006, compared to 36% of GDP in 2004 before the tsunami. The budget deficit was 18% of GDP in 2006. While reconstruction is ongoing, the recovery process remains underfunded.

The Maldives has been running a merchandise trade deficit in the range of $200 to $260 million annually since 1997. The trade deficit ballooned to $386 million in 2004, $493 million in 2005, and reached an estimated $618 million in 2006, largely the result of increased oil prices and increased imports of construction material.

International shipping to and from the Maldives is mainly operated by the private sector with only a small fraction of the tonnage carried on vessels operated by the national carrier, Maldives Shipping Management Ltd. Over the years, the Maldives has received economic assistance from multilateral development organizations, including the UN Development Program (UNDP), Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank. Individual donors–including Japan, India, Australia, and European and Arab countries (including Islamic Development Bank and the Kuwaiti Fund)–also have contributed.

A 1956 bilateral agreement gave the United Kingdom the use of Gan–in Addu Atoll in the far south–for 20 years as an air facility in return for British aid. The agreement ended in 1976, shortly after the British closed the Gan air station.

Economic Sectors
Tourism. In recent years, Maldives has successfully marketed its natural assets for tourism–beautiful, unpolluted beaches on small coral islands, diving in blue waters abundant with tropical fish, and glorious sunsets. Tourism now brings in about $450 million a year. Tourism and related services contributed 28% of GDP in 2007.

Since the first resort was established in 1972, more than 90 islands have been developed, with a total capacity of some 17,500 beds. Maldives has embarked on a rapid tourism expansion plan. The government has awarded tenders for the development of about 40 new resorts. Over 650,000 tourists (mainly from Europe) visited Maldives in 2007. The average occupancy rate is over 80%, and reaches over 95% in the peak winter tourist season. Average tourist stay is 8 days.

Fishing. This sector employs about 11% of the labor force. The fisheries industry, including fish processing, traditionally contributes about 7% of GDP. Due to a drastic drop in the fish catch, the industry’s contribution to GDP was only about 4.5% in 2007. However, international tuna prices increased in 2007, thereby increasing export earnings to about $100 million. The use of nets is illegal; all fishing is done by line. Production was about 115,000 metric tons in 2007, most of which was skipjack tuna. More than 60% is exported, largely to Sri Lanka, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the European Union. Fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted, and canned tuna exports account for about 90% of all marine product exports.

Agriculture. Poor soil and scarce arable land have historically limited agriculture to a few subsistence crops, such as coconut, banana, breadfruit, papayas, mangoes, taro, betel, chilies, sweet potatoes, and onions. Almost all food, including staples, has to be imported. The December 2004 tsunami inundated several agricultural islands, which could take a significant amount of time to recover. Agriculture provides about 2% of GDP.

Manufacturing. The manufacturing sector provides less than 7% of GDP. Traditional industry consists of boat building and handicrafts, while modern industry is limited to a few tuna canneries, a bottling plant, and a few enterprises in the capital producing PVC pipe, soap, furniture, and food products. Five garment factories that had exported principally to the United States closed in 2005, following the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) that had set quotas on developing country garment exports to developed countries. The loss of these factories has not proven an insurmountable hurdle, however, as most of the profits were repatriated and most of the labor was expatriate.

Other. The construction sector contributes approximately 6% of GDP due to tsunami reconstruction and new resort construction.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Maldives follows a nonaligned policy and is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all countries. The country has a UN Mission in New York, with the Permanent Representative to the UN in New York also accredited as Ambassador to the United States, an embassy in Sri Lanka and in the United Kingdom, a trade representative in Singapore, and a Tourist Information Bureau in Germany. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka maintain resident embassies in Male’. Denmark, Norway, the U.K., Germany, Turkey, and Sweden have consular agencies in Male’ under the supervision of their embassies in Sri Lanka and India. The UNDP has a representative resident in Male’, as do the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Like the United States, many countries have nonresident ambassadors accredited to the Maldives, most of them based in Sri Lanka or India. The Maldives is a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

U.S. MALDIVIAN RELATIONS
The United States has friendly relations with the Republic of Maldives. The U.S. Ambassador and some Embassy staff in Sri Lanka are accredited to the Maldives and make periodic visits. The United States supports Maldivian independence and territorial integrity and publicly endorsed India’s timely intervention on behalf of the Maldivian Government during the November 1988 coup attempt. U.S. Naval vessels have regularly called at Male’ in recent years. The Maldives extended strong support to U.S. efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing in 2001-2002.

U.S. contributions to economic development in the Maldives have been made principally through international organization programs. Following the December 2004 tsunami, the U.S. and Maldives signed a bilateral assistance agreement for $8.6 million in reconstruction assistance. This assistance will help in the rebuilding of harbors, sewerage systems, and electrical generation facilities and in the development of aid absorption capacity in the Ministry of Finance. The United States has directly funded training in airport management and narcotics interdiction and provided desktop computers for Maldivian customs, immigration, and drug-control efforts in recent years. The United States also trains a small number of Maldivian military personnel annually. About 10 U.S. citizens are resident in the Maldives; some 5,000 Americans visit the Maldives annually. The Maldives welcomes foreign investment, although the ambiguity of codified law acts as somewhat of a damper. Areas of opportunity for U.S. businesses include tourism, construction, and simple export-oriented manufacturing, such as garments and electrical appliance assembly. There is a shortage of local skilled labor, and most industrial labor has to be imported from Sri Lanka or elsewhere.

Principal U.S. Embassy Official
Ambassador–Robert O. Blake

The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka is at 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3; tel: +94 (1) 244-8007; fax: +94 (1) 2437-345.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State’s Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department’s travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State’s single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled “Health Information for International Travel” (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.
STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

source:http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5476.htm

What Causes Earthquakes?

Local Shakes Volcanoes Plate Tectonics
Local Shakes
The Herd of Elephants Theory
Have you ever felt the ground shake as a herd of elephants stampeded by? Has your mom ever told you that you sound (and feel!) like a herd of elephants because you are making the whole house shake? Is that an earthquake? Maybe its just a housequake. Have you ever felt your house shake when a truck drives by? Well, that is a very local earthquake. In all these cases, the earth shakes in response to a local shock. These shakes would show up on a seismograph. In fact, they do show up on seismographs and scientists have to know how to tell the difference between a big truck going by outside (or a herd of elephants stampeding down the hall) and a large earthquake halfway around the world.

How do they do it?

The Nuclear Explosion Theory
On a larger scale an explosion can cause the earth to shake for a considerable distance. Scientists use seismographs to monitor nuclear tests. People in Las Vegas could feel the shaking caused by underground nuclear tests in the desert miles away. The government analyzes the shock waves (earthquakes) produced by nuclear explosions to study the effects of nuclear tests and to monitor tests elsewhere in the world.

The Extraterrestrial, or Meteor, Theory
Every day tiny meteors hit the earth, as we move through space. The vast majority of them burn up in the atmosphere, leaving no more trace than a shooting star across the sky. Once in a while, a meteorite will reach the surface of the earth. Very rarely a great meteorite will hit, causing the ground to shake and creating a large crater. The Meteor Crater in Arizona is an excellent example of this type of crater. Imagine how the ground shook for miles around when it was formed!

The moon is full of meteor craters that we can see because they have not eroded away. The earth also has been struck many times over its history. Erosion by wind and rain wear down the craters so we can’t see most of them anymore. Scientists studying the earth have found traces of many meteor impacts around the world. Each impact creates an earthquake.

Volcanoes
Earthquakes are one of the indicators of increased volcanic activity leading up to an eruption. As magma forces its way up into a volcano, it pushes aside the rocks in its way, causing bulges in the ground and a flurry of earthquakes. Scientists studying volcanoes watch for an increase in earthquakes to tell them that an eruption may be on the way. Using this and other measures of volcanic activity, they have been able to warn residents to evacuate before eruptions. Although they still cannot predict eruptions with absolute certainty, they are learning more all the time about what to look for to make better predictions. Much of this knowledge comes from studying volcanic earthquakes.

Plate Tectonics

Most Earthquakes are caused by Plate Tectonics. The earth’s crust consists of a number of sections or plates that float on the molten rock of the mantle. These plates move on convection currents caused by heat rising from the center of the earth. The hot magma rises and spreads out on the surface, creating new crust. The crust spreads out forming a new plate until it meets another plate. One of the plates will be pushed down into the interior of the earth and reabsorbed into the mantle. Plates can also be compressed to push up mountains when they collide or move sideways along transform faults.

The plates are the Earth’s crust that float on the molten rock in the center of the Earth. Most of the inside of the Earth is so hot that the rock melts. Just as a pot of hot chocolate on the stove will bubble as it is heated; the molten rock, or magma, very slowly bubbles up in great currents under the surface of the Earth. The crust that floats on the magma moves with it, like the skin that might form on the hot chocolate. The Plates are just pieces of the crust. The part that makes it hard to understand is that it all moves so slowly. Even though the magma is very hot it is also very thick and under tremendous pressure in the middle of the Earth. So it moves only a few centimeters a year. Over millions of years that adds up to a lot of movement. More information from the University of Nevada at Reno explains Plate Tectonics with examples from different parts of the world. There are also good explanations here of the different plate movements and how they result in different kinds of earthquakes. Extensional, Compressional and Transform faults are explained.

This Dynamic Earth is a publication put out by the US Geological Survey that explains the basics of Plate Tectonics. It explains the evidence that brought scientists to accept this theory.

What Causes Earthquakes?
Local Shakes Volcanoes Plate Tectonics
Local Shakes
The Herd of Elephants Theory
Have you ever felt the ground shake as a herd of elephants stampeded by? Has your mom ever told you that you sound (and feel!) like a herd of elephants because you are making the whole house shake? Is that an earthquake? Maybe its just a housequake. Have you ever felt your house shake when a truck drives by? Well, that is a very local earthquake. In all these cases, the earth shakes in response to a local shock. These shakes would show up on a seismograph. In fact, they do show up on seismographs and scientists have to know how to tell the difference between a big truck going by outside (or a herd of elephants stampeding down the hall) and a large earthquake halfway around the world.

How do they do it?

The Nuclear Explosion Theory
On a larger scale an explosion can cause the earth to shake for a considerable distance. Scientists use seismographs to monitor nuclear tests. People in Las Vegas could feel the shaking caused by underground nuclear tests in the desert miles away. The government analyzes the shock waves (earthquakes) produced by nuclear explosions to study the effects of nuclear tests and to monitor tests elsewhere in the world.

The Extraterrestrial, or Meteor, Theory
Every day tiny meteors hit the earth, as we move through space. The vast majority of them burn up in the atmosphere, leaving no more trace than a shooting star across the sky. Once in a while, a meteorite will reach the surface of the earth. Very rarely a great meteorite will hit, causing the ground to shake and creating a large crater. The Meteor Crater in Arizona is an excellent example of this type of crater. Imagine how the ground shook for miles around when it was formed!

The moon is full of meteor craters that we can see because they have not eroded away. The earth also has been struck many times over its history. Erosion by wind and rain wear down the craters so we can’t see most of them anymore. Scientists studying the earth have found traces of many meteor impacts around the world. Each impact creates an earthquake.

Volcanoes
Earthquakes are one of the indicators of increased volcanic activity leading up to an eruption. As magma forces its way up into a volcano, it pushes aside the rocks in its way, causing bulges in the ground and a flurry of earthquakes. Scientists studying volcanoes watch for an increase in earthquakes to tell them that an eruption may be on the way. Using this and other measures of volcanic activity, they have been able to warn residents to evacuate before eruptions. Although they still cannot predict eruptions with absolute certainty, they are learning more all the time about what to look for to make better predictions. Much of this knowledge comes from studying volcanic earthquakes.

Plate Tectonics

Most Earthquakes are caused by Plate Tectonics. The earth’s crust consists of a number of sections or plates that float on the molten rock of the mantle. These plates move on convection currents caused by heat rising from the center of the earth. The hot magma rises and spreads out on the surface, creating new crust. The crust spreads out forming a new plate until it meets another plate. One of the plates will be pushed down into the interior of the earth and reabsorbed into the mantle. Plates can also be compressed to push up mountains when they collide or move sideways along transform faults.

The plates are the Earth’s crust that float on the molten rock in the center of the Earth. Most of the inside of the Earth is so hot that the rock melts. Just as a pot of hot chocolate on the stove will bubble as it is heated; the molten rock, or magma, very slowly bubbles up in great currents under the surface of the Earth. The crust that floats on the magma moves with it, like the skin that might form on the hot chocolate. The Plates are just pieces of the crust. The part that makes it hard to understand is that it all moves so slowly. Even though the magma is very hot it is also very thick and under tremendous pressure in the middle of the Earth. So it moves only a few centimeters a year. Over millions of years that adds up to a lot of movement. More information from the University of Nevada at Reno explains Plate Tectonics with examples from different parts of the world. There are also good explanations here of the different plate movements and how they result in different kinds of earthquakes. Extensional, Compressional and Transform faults are explained.

This Dynamic Earth is a publication put out by the US Geological Survey that explains the basics of Plate Tectonics. It explains the evidence that brought scientists to accept this theory.

What Causes Earthquakes?
Local Shakes Volcanoes Plate Tectonics
Local Shakes
The Herd of Elephants Theory
Have you ever felt the ground shake as a herd of elephants stampeded by? Has your mom ever told you that you sound (and feel!) like a herd of elephants because you are making the whole house shake? Is that an earthquake? Maybe its just a housequake. Have you ever felt your house shake when a truck drives by? Well, that is a very local earthquake. In all these cases, the earth shakes in response to a local shock. These shakes would show up on a seismograph. In fact, they do show up on seismographs and scientists have to know how to tell the difference between a big truck going by outside (or a herd of elephants stampeding down the hall) and a large earthquake halfway around the world.

How do they do it?

The Nuclear Explosion Theory
On a larger scale an explosion can cause the earth to shake for a considerable distance. Scientists use seismographs to monitor nuclear tests. People in Las Vegas could feel the shaking caused by underground nuclear tests in the desert miles away. The government analyzes the shock waves (earthquakes) produced by nuclear explosions to study the effects of nuclear tests and to monitor tests elsewhere in the world.

The Extraterrestrial, or Meteor, Theory
Every day tiny meteors hit the earth, as we move through space. The vast majority of them burn up in the atmosphere, leaving no more trace than a shooting star across the sky. Once in a while, a meteorite will reach the surface of the earth. Very rarely a great meteorite will hit, causing the ground to shake and creating a large crater. The Meteor Crater in Arizona is an excellent example of this type of crater. Imagine how the ground shook for miles around when it was formed!

The moon is full of meteor craters that we can see because they have not eroded away. The earth also has been struck many times over its history. Erosion by wind and rain wear down the craters so we can’t see most of them anymore. Scientists studying the earth have found traces of many meteor impacts around the world. Each impact creates an earthquake.

Volcanoes
Earthquakes are one of the indicators of increased volcanic activity leading up to an eruption. As magma forces its way up into a volcano, it pushes aside the rocks in its way, causing bulges in the ground and a flurry of earthquakes. Scientists studying volcanoes watch for an increase in earthquakes to tell them that an eruption may be on the way. Using this and other measures of volcanic activity, they have been able to warn residents to evacuate before eruptions. Although they still cannot predict eruptions with absolute certainty, they are learning more all the time about what to look for to make better predictions. Much of this knowledge comes from studying volcanic earthquakes.

Plate Tectonics

Most Earthquakes are caused by Plate Tectonics. The earth’s crust consists of a number of sections or plates that float on the molten rock of the mantle. These plates move on convection currents caused by heat rising from the center of the earth. The hot magma rises and spreads out on the surface, creating new crust. The crust spreads out forming a new plate until it meets another plate. One of the plates will be pushed down into the interior of the earth and reabsorbed into the mantle. Plates can also be compressed to push up mountains when they collide or move sideways along transform faults.

The plates are the Earth’s crust that float on the molten rock in the center of the Earth. Most of the inside of the Earth is so hot that the rock melts. Just as a pot of hot chocolate on the stove will bubble as it is heated; the molten rock, or magma, very slowly bubbles up in great currents under the surface of the Earth. The crust that floats on the magma moves with it, like the skin that might form on the hot chocolate. The Plates are just pieces of the crust. The part that makes it hard to understand is that it all moves so slowly. Even though the magma is very hot it is also very thick and under tremendous pressure in the middle of the Earth. So it moves only a few centimeters a year. Over millions of years that adds up to a lot of movement. More information from the University of Nevada at Reno explains Plate Tectonics with examples from different parts of the world. There are also good explanations here of the different plate movements and how they result in different kinds of earthquakes. Extensional, Compressional and Transform faults are explained.

This Dynamic Earth is a publication put out by the US Geological Survey that explains the basics of Plate Tectonics. It explains the evidence that brought scientists to accept this theory.

source:http://www.olympus.net/personal/gofamily/quake/causes.html

Prediction of Earthquakes

Can earthquakes be predicted? Many seismologists would probably answer, “Not yet, but eventually.” But to date, nobody has been able to predict earthquakes reliably enough and over short enough time scales to allow the evacuation of threatened cities. Some scientists have entirely lost faith in earthquake prediction. They say that so many factors decide whether a fault will rupture that earthquakes could well be inherently unpredictable in a practical sense.

One basic idea behind quake prediction is that faults send out subtle but detectable warnings before they slip. Scientists have looked at a host of potential warning signals, or “precursors,” including foreshocks, weird animal behavior, and changes in the water table, stream flow, well levels, and patterns of electrical currents in the ground. In 1975, the Chinese government made a successful prediction based on precursors like foreshocks, and as a result casualties from a magnitude-7.3 quake in the Haicheng-Yingkow region were relatively light. In the United States, scientists have hoped to predict quakes by noting changes in the speed of seismic waves passing through at-risk faults.

dig deeper

Quake hits Asia with huge internet blackouts

If you’ve been wondering what’s up with your Asia-based guild members on WoW, here’s what: a nasty earthquake near Taiwan disrupted all six major undersea fiber optic cables on Wednesday, and knocked out internet for nearly all of Asia, with victims including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and even Australia. Luckily, most services were restored quickly to backup systems, but exclusive business lines are still out, and could be hurting for weeks. According to Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan, Taiwan’s internet capacity is at “about 40 percent now,” and the resultant loss of bandwidth is creating traffic jams aplenty in that series of tubes we know as the internet. Phone service, especially to the US, has also been disrupted, but luckily stock trading volumes were low over the holidays, so the financial impact of the outage shouldn’t be too terrible. The damage to last night’s 40-player raid, however, could prove irreparable.

source :http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/27/quake-hits-asia-with-huge-internet-blackouts/

Earthquakes in Asia

shocks have hit this region in historical and ancient times.

Deadliest Earthquakes in South Asia
The M7.6 Kashmir-Kohistan earthquake in 2005 resulted in the greatest number of fatalities as a direct result of an earthquake in south Asia in recorded history. It superseeds the number of fatalities in South Asia from the M9.1 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake in 2004. The number of confirmed deaths in south Asian countries from the 2004 earthquake and tsunami were 41,886 with 11,340 people missing & presumed dead. The overall figure including Indonesia, Thailand & East Africa exceeded 2,50,000; the final number might never be known. These
Deadliest since 1900

Year
Place
Deaths

2004
Sumatra
1,80,000+

2005
Kashmir
~80,000

1935
Quetta
~35,000

1905
Kangra
~28,000

1934
Nepal-Bihar
15,772

are followed by the M7.8 Quetta earthquake in May 1935 in Balochistan and the M7.8 Kangra earthquake in Himachal Pradesh in April 1905. In peninsula India, the highest number of reported casualties were from the M7.6 Bhuj earthquake in the state of Gujarat in western India with 13,805 fatalities in January 2001. All these earthquakes, except the M8.1 Nepal-Bihar earthquake, struck at night or in the early hours of the morning when most people were indoors in unsafe buildings. Apart from the 2004 earthquake, in the case of all others events fatalities occurred as a direct result of ground shaking. The highest mortality occurred in the 2004 earthquake on the island of Katchall in the Nicobar islands, where 86.7% of the population was confirmed either dead or missing. In Quetta with a population between 40,000 and 65,000, the 1935 earthquake killed nearly 26,000 people in the city alone.

Strongest Earthquakes in South Asia
The largest earthquake was recorded in the Andaman & Nicobar archipelago and adjoining Sumatra in 2004. It had a magnitude of 9.1 (Mw) and was the 3rd largest in the world since 1900. Tremors were felt over nearly all of peninsula India, as far as Ahmedabad. The ensuing tsunamis decimated entire coastal communities in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
Strongest since 1900

Year
Place
Mw

2004
Sumatra
9.1

1950
Chayu-Arunachal
8.6

1934
Nepal-Bihar
8.1

1945
Off Makran Coast
8.0

1935
Quetta
7.8

Malaysia and caused damage and deaths in the Bangladesh, Kenya, Maldives, Myanmar, Somalia, the Seychelles and Tanzania. The second largest was an earthquake in Arunachal Pradesh along the Indo-China border in 1950 also known as the Chayu-Medog earthquake in Chinese literature. It had a magnitude of 8.6 (Mw) and is the 8th largest earthquake in the world. Tremors from this earthquake were felt strongly in Kolkata, near 1,000 kilometres away. The 1945 Makran earthquake which rocked the coastal areas of the Balochistan and Sindh provinces in southern Pakistan including the city of Karachi, was felt as far as Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. This earthquake also generated a major tsunami in the Arabian Sea, which struck Mumbai leaving many dead. In the 1800’s, the largest was the M8.2 Kumaon earthquake in the state of Uttaranchal in 1803 which damaged the Kutub Minar in Delhi and was felt as far as Kolkata. The greatest historical earthquake in South Asia occurred on 06 July 1505 and had a magnitude of M~8.2. This long forgotten earthquake is believed to have originated near the town of Lo Mustang along the Nepal-China border, the 1505 earthquake resulted in serious damage in Tibet and also in the Gangetic plains at Agra, Delhi, Dholpur and Gwalior. In the southern peninsula, the Kachchh earthquakes of 1819 and 2001 are the strongest with magnitudes crossing 7.0.

The truth about the infamous 1737 Calcutta Earthquake
Many historical earthquake catalogs for India list an earthquake in 1737. This event was thought to have occurred in the Kolkata area and was allegedly responsible for 3,00,000 fatalities making it one of the deadliest quakes worldwide. However, recent investigations clearly prove this claim to be false. The effects of a severe cyclone which undoubtedly caused damage and deaths in the Hoogly delta at the same time, are misinterpreted to have been an earthquake. Other significant evidence points to an exaggeration in the number of people who might have been killed by the cyclone, since the population of the area did not reach the hundred thousand figure until much later in the 1800’s.
source:http://asc-india.org/menu/gquakes.htm