Here's another chance to play geographical detective! This Multi-angle Imaging
SpectroRadiometer (MISR) image covers an area measuring 355 kilometers x 287 kilometers,
and was captured by the instrument's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on August 14, 2000.
This mystery concerns the large lake near the left-hand side of the image, halfway down
from the top. Use any reference materials you like and answer the following three questions:
1. The lake has two commonly used names. What are they?
The large lake near the left-hand side of the image is bordered by
Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, and has several names. Lake
Constance (also written as Konstanz and "Lac de Constance") and
Bodensee are the most common names. Another, used by the German
residents of the lake, is "Schwäbisches Meer" (Swabian Sea).
2. What process formed the lake's basin?
(A) Meteor impact,
(B) Human excavation,
(C) Glacial erosion,
(D) Volcanic activity.
Answer: (C)
The lake's basin was formed by glacial activities.
3. Which one of the following statements about the lake is false?
(A) There is an international airport within 100 kilometers,
(B) Remedial efforts to mitigate eutrophication were first initiated in the 1990's,
(C) Millions of people rely on the lake for drinking water,
(D) A lakeside town hosts an annual celebration of Celtic music.
Answer: (B)
Lake Constance provides drinking water for about 4 million people.
Zurich International Airport is about 70 kilometers from the lakeside town of
Konstanz, Germany. An annual Celtic music festival is hosted on the Swiss shores
of Lake Constance at the town of Rorschach.
Eutrophication, or the process of nutrient enrichment, is rapidly
accelerated when excess phosphorous and nitrogen is discharged to a
water body from wastewater and fertilizers. This leads to
overproduction of algae and aquatic plants, exhaustion of available
oxygen, loss of some fish species, and the multiplication of
anaerobic bacteria. In recognition of the value of Lake Constance,
efforts to mitigate eutrophication were initiated in the 1970's.
50 people from all over the world sent in responses before the
deadline. Individuals who answered all three questions correctly are
listed below. The prize winners are indicated by asterisks.
1. Carolyn House, Seattle, WA, USA*
2. CFM, JB & CLP, New Braunfels, TX, USA*
3. Barbara Thalmann, Hauptwil, Switzerland*
4. Helmut Wider, Konstanz, Germany
5. Christina Cecco, Konstanz, Germany
6. Ugo Taddei, Germany
7. Julian Cooke, Bourne, England
8. Stefan Biebl, Stuttgart, Germany
9. Federica Tamburini, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
10. Simon Baeumler, Munich, Germany
11. Marius Veltmaat, The Netherlands
12. Ulrich Enderle, Bramstedtlund, Germany
13. Jan, Rosmalen, The Netherlands
Bob, Reno, NV, USA
Thorkell, Reykjavik, Iceland
Harvey, London, England
14. Christian Gfeller, Zürich, Switzerland
15. William Kinnersley, Lawrence, KS, USA
16. Luc Majno, Caraquet, New Brunswick, Canada
17. Diane Melin, Pasadena, CA, USA
In light of the great response to the recent "What Place is This?" quiz, a new "Where on
Earth...?" mystery will appear as the MISR "image of the week" approximately once per month.
A new image of the week is released every Wednesday at noon Pacific time on the MISR home
page, http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov. The image also appears on the Earth Observatory,
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/, and on the Atmospheric Sciences Data Center home page,
http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/, though usually with a several-hour delay.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
|
