My Science School

Dating back nearly 50 million years, the Hyrcanian Forests of Iran run some 850 km along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. The ancient forests are known for their floristic biodiversity and rich ecosystems due to the ideal climatic conditions in the area. Apart from their flora, the forests are home to nearly 60 mammal and 180 bird species, including the endangered Persian leopard.

The forests, which were on UNESCO’s tentative World Heritage List since 2007, now become Iran's second natural site and the 24th site inscribed in UNESCO's world heritage list. Its biological diversity is of economic and social value. In fact, 44% of the vascular plants known in Iran are found in the Hyrcanian region, which only covers 7% of the country. Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, welcomed the measure calling it a supportive move towards saving Iran's natural resources. 

 

Picture Credit : Google

Situated in Cheshire, United Kingdom, the Jodrell Bank Observatory is owned by the University of Manchester, the Observatory opened in 1945 and has been at the forefront of astronomical research for decades. It is the home of the Lovell Telescope, which is the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world. The telescope weighs 3.200 tonnes!

The observatory tracked United States and Russian crafts during the space race and pioneered radio astronomy, using radio waves instead of visible light to understand the universe.

The observatory becomes the 32nd UNESCO World Heritage Site in the UK and joins the prestigious list alongside international sites such as Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal.

 

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Consisting of an aqueduct, water towers, canals, ornate fountains and hundreds of bridges, the 800-year old water management system of the city of Augsburg Germany, was listed as a World Heritage Site 2019. The 2000-year old city’s water system has evolved in successive phases since the 14th Century and has provided clean drinking water and sanitation to the area since the Middle Ages. The city’s engineers were forerunners in damming and redirecting river water from the Lech, Wertach and Singold streams.

The water flowed through hollowed pine logs connected with metal casts to ornamental fountains in the city, including the Mercury and Hercules fountains.

It also entered the city's butchers house, the Stadtmetzg, where the flowing water helped to cool the meat and dispose of the waste.

Later water power was used for industry, with water wheels driving mills and pumping stations as Augsburg became an early centre of textile and paper production.

With the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the city saw the creation of the first large hydroelectric power plant, at nearby Wolfzahnau.

One of the waterways, the Ice Canal, was designed to keep free floating ice from entering the city, and in 1970 became the world's first artificially created whitewater canoe course, used for the 1972 Olympics.

 

Picture Credit : Google