Could you survive the tropics? Lost in the jungle? Discover how to hang on until help arrives.Finally, it's summer! And your stellar family trip to the tropics tropics, also called tropical zone or torrid zone, all the land and water of the earth situated between the Tropic of Cancer at lat. 23 1-2°N and the Tropic of Capricorn at lat. 23 1-2°S. has arrived. You decide to bike up the mountain near the lodge where you're vacationing. But a few hours later, you're deep within the jungle--lost. Can you survive this tropical wilderness until help arrives? ENERGY DRAIN A trek through twisty vines and leafy shrubs can take a toll on your body. "You sweat profusely pro·fuse adj. 1. Plentiful; copious. 2. Giving or given freely and abundantly; extravagant: were profuse in their compliments. in a tropical forest," says Richard Primack, a biologist at Boston University Boston University, at Boston, Mass.; coeducational; founded 1839, chartered 1869, first baccalaureate granted 1871. It is composed of 16 schools and colleges. . Those bullets of sweat signal that your metabolic rate Noun 1. metabolic rate - rate of metabolism; the amount of energy expended in a give period basal metabolic rate, BMR - the rate at which heat is produced by an individual in a resting state (how fast your body uses energy to function) has spiked, causing your body to heat up. One reason: "If you're hiking in the jungle, your energy requirements go up because of the physical activity. You could easily expend an additional 75 to 100 calories (units of energy Because energy is defined via work, the SI unit for energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honour of James Prescott Joule and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. ) for every mile you walk," says Chris Melby, a nutrition scientist at Colorado State University Colorado State University, at Fort Collins; land-grant with state and federal support; chartered 1870, opened 1879 as an agricultural college, assumed present name in 1957. There is a veterinary teaching hospital, an agricultural campus, and a research campus. . Since most calories come from food, this is no time to start a diet. JUNGLE FARE What's on What's On (Traditional Chinese: 熒幕八爪娛) is a weekly half-hour TV series that airs on Fairchild Television. Format Originally started in 1996, the show is currently the longest-running program in Fairchild Television history. the menu? In the tropics, there's no lack of plants to eat. "It's one of the most productive environments, for one because it's warmer and very humid, so plants grow faster and more lushly," says Primack. But if you're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. something with more protein, look no farther used elliptically for) go no farther; say no more, etc. See also: Farther than the creepy-crawlies scuttling Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. This can be achieved in several ways - valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives. around you. "Nutritionally, insects are an amazing source of food. They're mostly protein, with a little fat," says Tim Smith, an outdoor guide for Jack Mountain Bushcraft Bushcraft is a long-term extension of survival skills. A popular term for wilderness skills in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the term was popularised in the northern hemisphere by Mors Kochanski and recently gained considerable currency in the United Kingdom due to the and Guide Service in Maine. (He warns though that some insects can be poisonous. Avoid brightly colored insects, which are usually toxic. Their flashy coats keep away hungry predators--including you.) Don't feel like eating your insects raw? Cook them on a steam pit. They'll taste like salty potato chips, says Smith. Dig a shallow area out of the forest floor and spread twigs over it. Then pile rocks on top. No matches? Use your eyeglasses eyeglasses or spectacles, instrument or device for aiding and correcting defective sight. Eyeglasses usually consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. to focus the sun's rays onto the twigs. In minutes, the sun's heat should spark a fire (chemical reaction between oxygen and fuel). When the twigs burn up, the sizzling-hot rocks will fall into the pit, Place an upright stick in the middle. This will become a heat vent. Cover the pit with a thick layer of banana leaves to trap the heat. Also, wrap some leaves around your plump insects or fruits, like "hot pockets." Cover the bundles of food with dirt, then pull out the stick. Pour a little water into the hole and--poof--steam (vapor formed from heated water) will pour from the chimney. That's because convection (movement of heat in a liquid or gas) transfers the rocks' heat to the water. When the water reaches a blazing 100[degrees]C (212[degrees]F), it will boil--turn to steam. In just a few hours, you'll have a well-cooked snack. SLIP 'N SLIDE You'd better down those steamed insects fast, because in a snap the sunny tropics may turn stormy and violent. Some tropical forests get soaked with up to 10 meters (400 inches) of rain in a year--nearly the height of a four-story building, says Bruce Albrecht, a meteorologist at the University of Miami This article is about the university in Coral Gables, Florida. For the university in Oxford, Ohio, see Miami University. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,[2] UM,[3] or just The U . That much rain can do more than drench drench 1. to give medicines in liquid form by mouth and forcing the animal to drink. See also drenching. 2. medicines given as a drench. your clothes. During heavy storms, bucketfuls of water work their way into Earth's surface, loosening soil particles. Then gravity (pull toward Earth's center) takes over. "The surface soil can begin to slide downhill," explains Gerald Wieczorek of the U.S. Geological Survey. Called a mudflow mudflow: see landslide. mudflow Flow of water that contains large amounts of suspended particles and silt. Mudflows usually occur on steep slopes where vegetation is too sparse to prevent rapid erosion, but they can also occur on gentle slopes under , the wet soil sweeps downhill and picks up everything in its path, including people, he says. CLOUD WATCH What can you do to keep from taking an unwanted mud bath? Watching for signs of rain will give you time to seek safety far from mudflow-prone slopes. Without the weather channel, you'll need to become your own meteorologist. "If you look for the development of certain clouds, you can predict an afternoon rainstorm," says Albrecht. What to watch for: When a thunderstorm thunderstorm, violent, local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by lightning, thunder, and heavy rain, often by strong gusts of wind, and sometimes by hail. is coming, bright, puffy fair-weather clouds will build up into a heaping tower. The cloud's Cool Whip color will turn a charcoal gray. These are known as cumulonimbus cumulonimbus: see cloud. , or thunderstorm, clouds. "The clouds get darker as they become thicker because sunlight can't penetrate them," explains Albrecht. If you suspect a coming storm, Wieczorek says: "You wouldn't want to be near the steep edge of a hillside." The steeper the slope, the less force (push or pull) it takes to unglue un·glue tr.v. un·glued, un·glu·ing, un·glues To separate by or as if by dissolving a glue or other adhesive. the surface soil and send it sliding downhill. Another place to avoid is a channel carved by erosion (wearing away of a substance) from a past mudflow. These areas are more likely to experience another muddy event, Wieczorek says. OFF COURSE Now that you've braved the elements, it's time to map a course back to your hut. Normally, the rising sun could tell you which way is east. But, Primack says, "It's very easy to get lost in [some] tropical forests, because they're hilly, so you can't see the sun for part of the day." And don't expect to find any landmarks dotting your path--according to Primack, everything around you looks like a mix of leaf green and tree-trunk brown. OPPOSITES ATTRACT How to navigate? "When I'm in a tropical forest, I always carry a compass [a device with a needle that points north]," says Primack. As the Earth spins around on its axis (imaginary line around which an object turns), an ocean of heated iron in the planet's core swirls around. This forms an electric current (flow of electrons)--and in turn creates a magnetic field. The field is like a giant magnet (substance that attracts iron and some other metals) jammed through Earth's center, with a north and south end. The ends of Earth's magnet tug at a compass needle. Since you don't have a compass handy, make your own navigating device: Remove the metal pin from a souvenir button, and rub it in one direction with a silk scarf. The friction between the scarf and the pin sparks an electric charge--turning the pin into a magnet. To figure out which way is north, float the needle on a blade of grass inside your water bottle. Since opposite poles attract, your needle will spin until it lines up with Earth's magnetic field--pointing in a north-south direction. SENDING SIGNALS Look--an airplane is flying overhead! Signaling for help could be a lifesaver. One option: Flash beams of light at the plane using the sun and something shiny. Your Beyonce CD should do the trick. Hold it up to the sun and peek through the hole. Now, maneuver it so sunlight reflects (bounces) off the mirror side of the CD toward the aircraft. Good thing you spied the plane. Now you can get back to the sun and fun of your tropical vacation! IT'S YOUR Choice 1 Why would you need a lot of food during a long hike in the jungle? A. So you don't get dehydrated de·hy·drate v. de·hy·drat·ed, de·hy·drat·ing, de·hy·drates v.tr. 1. To remove water from; make anhydrous. 2. To preserve by removing water from (vegetables, for example). . B. You store more calories when you sweat. C. Your body's metabolic rate would increase. D. Jungle animals steal food. 2 Why do clouds look darker before a storm? A. They get thicker and the sun can't penetrate them. B. Dirt particles collect inside. C. They're higher in the sky and harder to see. D. They are thinner. 3 The rocks in a steam pit A. help keep the food from getting muddy. B. trap heat and transfer it to the water to make steam. C. hold in water to keep the food moist. D. get so hot that they char the cooking food. 4 All of the following are true about a mudflow, EXCEPT: A. It takes less force to sweep soils down a steep hillside. B. Heavy rainfall can trigger a mudflow. C. A mudflow can carve a channel in the soil. D. Mudflows never happen In the same place twice. ANSWER 1. c 2. a 3. b 4. d Cross-Curricular Connection: Health/Math: Research how physical activity increases your metabolic rate. Then, calculate the number of extra calories you'd need for a half-day hike through a hilly tropical area. Make a list of some possible food items that would be important to bring with you on this trek. For information to help you calculate the extra calories, visit this Tufts University Web site: http://nutrition.tufts.edu/news/matters/2001-11-19.html Critical Thinking: Tropical forests teem teem 1 v. teemed, teem·ing, teems v.intr. 1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms. 2. with plants and animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal, comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley.[1] They are signed to Secret City Records. . What causes such high biodiversity in the tropics? Here's a helpful Web site to find out: www.szgdocent.org/ff/f-rain1.htm Did You Know? * Clouds are made up of water droplets. When the droplets get big enough, rain falls. Since cumulonimbus clouds can build into heaping towers high in the atmosphere, instead of water droplets, these clouds can be made of pure ice crystals. But that doesn't mean an ice shower. Meteorologist Bruce Albrecht of the University of Miami explains: When the ice crystals fall in tropical latitudes, the warm climate heats the ice crystals to form rain. * Insects can contain more protein than the same weight of steak. Whereas a steak is about 15 percent protein, many insects are made of 50 percent protein, says Gary Hevel of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History For the museum in Manhattan, see . This article is about the museum in Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see National Museum of Natural History (disambiguation). The National Museum of Natural History . CORRECTION: According to Tim Smith, outdoor guide for Jack Mountain Bushcraft and Guide Service, insects would only taste like salty potato chips if fried. If they were steamed, like in the article, the insects would be gooey See GUI. and mushy mush·y adj. mush·i·er, mush·i·est 1. Resembling mush in consistency; soft. 2. Informal a. Excessively sentimental. See Synonyms at sentimental. b. . Resources For a fun and in-depth guide to outdoor survival, read The Complete Wilderness Training Book by Hugh McManners, DK Publishing, Inc., 1994. Check out this Web site to find out more about different types of clouds--even how much these rainmakers weigh: www.usatoday.com/weather/wcloud0.htm Visit the University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky, also referred to as UK, is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. Department of Entomology's Web site to learn more about bug eating: www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/ythfacts/entyouth.htm CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING Directions: Match the word(s) in the left column with the correct phrase in the right column.
-- 1. fire a. how fast your body uses energy
to function
-- 2. reflects b. wearing away of a substance
-- 3. heliograph c. chemical reaction between oxygen
and fuel
-- 4. biodiversity d. number of different plants and
animals
-- 5. mudflow e. flow of electrons
-- 6. erosion f. wet soil sweeping down a slope
-- 7. metabolic rate g. vapor formed from heated water
-- 8. cumulonimbus h. bounces
-- 9. electric current i. device for sending messages by using
sunlight
-- 10. steam j. type of thunderstorm cloud
ANSWERS 1. c 2. h 3. i 4. d 5. f 6. b 7. a 8. j 9. e 10. g |
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