Disaster Accident Reference Libraries
There are several types of cumulus clouds. Some are only 3,000ft above the ground while others are found above 20,000ft. They range in size from small to very large and have a wide aspect on impacting the weather. Cumulus- These clouds are generally found 3,000ft above the ground and white in color. They are formed by warm air rising from the surface and saturating in the upper levels. These...
The Annals of Emergency Medicine is the official journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). It is a peer-reviewed medical journal founded in 1968 and published by Elsevier on behalf of the ACEP. The journal publishes original research, clinical reports, opinion, and educational information related to the practice, teaching, and research of emergency medicine. In addition...
Chalice Corals, are a family of stony corals in the Pectiniidae family. Members of this family are mostly colonial but at least one species, Echinomorpha nishihirai, is solitary. These corals are endemic to the Indian and Pacific oceans. Pectiniids have a number of different forms but are basically streamlined and smooth. Polyps are large and brightly colored and resemble those of members...
Siderastreidae is a family of colonial, reef building stony corals. Members of this family include symbiotic algae in their tissues which help provide their energy requirements. The World Register of Marine Species lists 7 genera within this family: Anomastraea, Coscinaraea, Craterastrea, Horastrea, Psammocora, Pseudosiderastrea, and Siderastrea. Corals in this family vary in form and...
Horn corals, known as Rugosa or Tetracoralla, are an extinct order of coral that were abundant during the Middle Ordovician to Late Permian stages. They were known as horn corals because of a unique horn-shaped chamber with a wrinkled (rugose) wall. These mostly solitary corals often reached lengths of nearly 40 inches. However, some species could form large colonies. Rugose corals...
Nephtheidae is a family of soft corals known as carnation corals, tree corals or colt soft corals. These corals are very striking and show a wide range of rich colors including red, pink, yellow and purple. These corals are mainly tree-like in that they branch out and have little knobs on the end of their rubbery branches. Another name given these animals are broccoli corals, due to the...
Rice Coral, (Montipora capitata), also known as Pore Coral, is a species of stony coral in the Acroporidae family. It is found in the tropical north and central areas of the Pacific Ocean at depths down to 66 feet. It is common in the waters near Hawaii, especially where the sea is turbulent. This is a reef-building species that forms colonies. As it matures, it develops tree-like branches....
Tabulata is a family of extinct tabulate corals. These corals lived entirely during the Paleozoic era, being found from the Ordovician to the Permian stages. There are about 300 known genera of tabulate corals, of which Aulopora, Favosites, Halysites, Heliolites, Pleurodictyum, Sarcinula and Syringopora are the most common in the fossil record. These corals were mostly found in the shallow...
Astrocoeniidae is a family of stony corals endemic to the waters around Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. Their habitats are steep slopes where strong currents rise from below, in crevices and below overhangs. These are reef-building colonial corals containing an algae known as zooxanthallae. These algae typically encrust corals up to 20 inches in diameter. On reef slopes, where...
Alcyoniidae is a family of leathery corals that occur globally in temperate and tropical seas. These reef dwellers are often found in wave-exposed areas of reef crests, less turbid waters in lagoons, on steep slopes, under overhangs, and at depths of 100 feet and deeper. A colony of leathery coral is stiff, hard, and inflexible. It is composed of tiny polyps projecting from a shared...
