Naming the Red Sea
The sea was called the Arabian Gulf in most European sources up to the 20th century. This was derived from older Greek sources. Herodotus, Straban and Ptolemy all called the waterway Arabicus Sinus, while reserving the term Sea of Erythrias (Red Sea) for the waters around the southern Arabian Peninsula, now known as the Indian Ocean. The name of the sea does not indicate the color of the water. It may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-colored Cyanobacteria Trichodesmium Erythraeum near the water surface. Some suggest that it refers to the mineral-rich red mountains nearby which are called Harei Edom. Edom, meaning ruddy complexion, is also an alternative Hebrew name for the red-faced biblical character Esau (brother of Jacob), and the nation descended from him, the Edomites, which in turn provides yet another possible origin for Red Sea. There is also speculation that the name Red Sea came from a mistranslation of what should have been the Reed Sea in the Biblical story of the Exodus. One hypothesis is the name comes from the Himarites, a local group whose own name means red. Another theory favored by some modern scholars is the name red refers to the direction south, the same way the Black Sea's name may refer to north. The basis of this theory is that some Asiatic languages used color words to refer to points on the compass.
Explorations Speaker Series
At 11:00 am in the Queen’s Lounge, join Explorations Speaker Dr. Pat Abbott as he presents Volcanoes – Some Erupt Peacefully, Others Explosively. Different types of tectonic-plate edges host different styles of volcanic eruptions. Magmas vary in composition, and thus in explosiveness. We will put these factors together to understand volcanoes. Then we will look at volcano examples near our cruise – Vesuvius, Etna, Stromboli, Vulcan and more. At 2:00 pm in the Queen’s Lounge, Dr. Simon Mitton presents a non-technical description of the Sun as a star. How old is the Sun? Where does it get its energy? What is solar weather? Find out about sunspots, climate change and the aurora. Discover some of the phenomena you might see in the forthcoming Eclipse: the corona and solar prominences
posted by Hills @ 8:24 AM
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