Meare Pool (also known as Ferlingmere , Ferran Mere or Meare fish pool ) was a lake in the Somerset Levels in South West England . Lake villages existed there in prehistoric times. During medieval times it was an important fishery, but following extensive drainage works it had disappeared from maps in the 18th century.
116-570: Meare Pool was formed by water ponding-up behind the raised peat bogs between the Wedmore and the Polden Hills , and core samples have shown that it is filled with at least 2 metres (6.6 ft) of detritus mud, especially in the Subatlantic climatic period (1st millennium BC). Meare Pool was located on low-lying levels just north of Meare . Its precise boundaries varied according to season, and, over
232-637: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on
348-564: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to
464-415: A distinction is made between lake mires or 'siltation-formed raised bogs' ( Verlandungshochmoore ) and 'mire-formed raised bogs' ( wurzelechte Hochmoore ). The former emerged in a secondary process after the silting up of lakes or oxbows (see illustration on the right in the sequence). At first, fens emerged under the influence of groundwater ( minerotrophy ). Oxygen deficiencies and high acidity in
580-515: A moist, balanced climate in which to grow. The quantity of precipitation has to be greater than the water losses through discharge and evaporation. In addition, the precipitation must be evenly spread through the year. Raised bogs in Europe have been developing for about 11,000 years, since the beginning of the Holocene and after the retreat of the last ice sheet . As far as their origins are concerned,
696-600: A natural boundary. To the north lies the Godney ridge. The eastern extent is harder to determine, and it may have gone as far as the site of the Glastonbury Lake Village. In prehistoric times there were two Meare Lake Villages situated within the lake, occupied at different times between 300 BCE and 100 CE, similar to the nearby Glastonbury Lake Village . The Meare villages were discovered in 1895 but excavation did not start until 1908. More recent studies have shown that
812-514: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of
928-765: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as
1044-457: A raised bog on neighbouring mineral soil. The formation of a typical raised bog is a very slow process, which lasts from centuries to a thousand years even in favourable, undisturbed conditions. Furthermore, there are a number of transitional and intermediate bogs , which in different ways combine characteristics of both raised bogs and fens. (See bog .) The main constituents of the peat are rootless peat mosses that grow slowly in height whilst at
1160-538: A result of freeze-thaw processes of the surrounding water. The low temperatures prevent full decomposition of the organic material. Polygonal bogs ( Polygonmoore ) are widespread on the Arctic and sub-Arctic plains of Siberia and North America and cover vast areas. They are associated with patterned peatland and ice wedges . A scanty layer of peat-forming vegetation can occur in the inner honeycomb-shaped areas of this frost pattern terrain ( cryoturbation ) and are fed during
1276-469: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of
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#17328524303801392-743: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,
1508-519: A two-front war, as it had in World War I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as
1624-457: Is a succession of raised bog types along the line of descent towards the ocean, from northwest to southeast. As a result of peat use, raised bogs have been harvested for peat and cultivated, apart from a few remnants (less than 10% of the original area). The largest contiguous raised bog in central Europe was the Bourtange Moor , which originally covered an area of about 2,300 km including
1740-411: Is low in salt. By contrast, mire-formed raised bogs are created directly on the mineral substrate of low-salt areas without having been initially formed as fens (see figure on the left in the sequence). They are formed either as a primary bog due to the erosion of previously dry mineral soils, for example due to clearing, climate change or infiltration, or as a secondary process as a result of the growth of
1856-459: Is not yet clear how these bogs have emerged as mosses are entirely absent here. Coastal bogs ( Planregenmoore ) or Atlantic bogs, as their names suggest, tend to form close to the sea. In addition, in regions covered by blanket bog, there are also lightly convex coastal bogs with low energy surface relief in level locations. The distribution of coastal bogs in Europe extends from Ireland to the east via South Norway to Southwest Sweden and north to
1972-428: Is strongly decomposed, and an overlying white peat layer which is less decomposed. This difference is a result of changes in the hydrology of the bog. The white peat grew more rapidly under humid conditions than the black peat. This is attributed to a climate change with high precipitation and low evaporation around 1000 to 500 BC. As a result, the peat moss growth grew locally and the black peat/white peat boundary layer
2088-613: The Amazon Basin . In these regions, bogs of all kinds and peat deposits of four million square kilometres have been formed, covering three percent of the Earth's surface. In the southern hemisphere low-mineral-rich bogs are rarely formed from peat mosses. Only in the Tierra del Fuego do peat moss raised bogs exist. The most peaty countries in the tropics are found in Southeast Asia. In many cases it
2204-588: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had
2320-586: The Annex 1 habitats : active raised bog, turlough (both priority habitats), degraded raised bog (capable of regeneration) and vegetation of depressions (rhynchosporion). These habitats are considered to be among the best examples in Ireland due to their relatively large size and the generally low levels of disturbance. In the Natura form compiled for the site active raised bog was given a rating of A (Excellent value) which emphasises
2436-618: The Black Forest the Wildseemoor has been protected and, in the Vosges on le Tanet , north of the Col de la Schlucht a large area has been protected. The Alpine Foreland , which was formed by ice-age glaciation, is also rich in peatland. The Wurzacher Ried (Haidgauer Regenmoorschild) is considered the largest and best preserved raised bog in central Europe. Other raised bogs and peatland areas include
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#17328524303802552-662: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of
2668-704: The Federsee , the High Fens on the Germano-Belgian border, the Ewiges Meer near Aurich and the Lengener Meer near Wiesmoor. In 2003, Estonia exported 3.6 million m³ of peat for west European garden use, more than 60% of the state production. In Lithuania 60% of the usable peat area has been prepared for extraction or is already exhausted. Lough Lurgeen Bog and Glenamaddy Turlough Bog contains very good examples of
2784-566: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into
2900-765: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and
3016-567: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled
3132-537: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,
3248-682: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to
3364-574: The Lofoten . In North America there are coastal bogs in the area of the Great Lakes (especially in Minnesota and Ontario ). Coastal bogs are also fed exclusively by rain. In the less oceanically influenced climatic regions of North-West Europe (lower precipitation), raised bogs take on the classical lens shape and are called plateau bogs or plateau raised bogs ( Plateauregenmoore ). They grow more strongly in
3480-649: The Lower River Axe . In the later years of the 12th century the Abbey diverted the Brue to flow westwards, perhaps largely through natural channels, from Meare Pool to join the river Parrett. Further reclamation was carried out in stages between about 1620 and 1740, with the "new Cutts" (or Decoy Rhyne) being built about 1660. The rivers Sheppey and Hartlake were canalised into the River James Wear and Division Rhyne sometime in
3596-693: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against
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3712-677: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as
3828-581: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that
3944-580: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact
4060-689: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed
4176-682: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with
4292-568: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded
4408-506: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which
4524-401: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and
4640-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and
4756-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting
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4872-402: The great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with the latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II
4988-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered
5104-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent
5220-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack
5336-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27 May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,
5452-400: The Dean and Chapter of Wells Cathedral . Glastonbury Abbey required fish on Fridays , fast days and during Lent . As many as 5000 eels were landed in a typical year. There were also three fishponds which would have allowed fish to have been bred or stored. In early times the Meare Pool collected the waters of the rivers Brue and Sheppey , and discharged in a northerly direction into
5568-612: The Dutch portion, but only small sections remain. The largest remaining raised bog in northern Europe is the 76 km Lille Vildmose . Other large raised bogs are the Teufelsmoor northeast of Bremen, the Vehnemoor (exhausted) and the Esterweger Dose (formerly about 80 km , exhausted) between Oldenburg and Papenburg. The raised bogs of the Central Uplands of the Harz , Solling , Thuringian Forest ( Großer Beerberg , Schneekopf - Teufelsbad, Fichtenkopf, Saukopf), Giant Mountains , Ore Mountains , Fichtel and Rhön ( Black Moor , Red Moor ) are, by contrast, comparatively small. In
5684-405: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and
5800-410: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed
5916-426: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6 October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of
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#17328524303806032-450: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured
6148-452: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged
6264-413: The Scandinavian hills, central Finland, Karelia and north Siberia. In North America, Alaska is the main location for string bogs, thanks to its cold continental climate. Frost action plays an important role in these bogs. On the ridges or hummocks, ground ice is found until early summer. Palsa bogs ( Palsamoore or Palsenmoore ) are found on the margins of the Arctic permafrost soils ( tundra ). Here
6380-423: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to
6496-421: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and
6612-418: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed
6728-575: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued
6844-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking
6960-424: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced
7076-489: The United Kingdom attacked on 3 July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in
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#17328524303807192-401: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14 June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which
7308-473: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in
7424-434: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with
7540-425: The air. They thus represent a special type of bog , hydrologically , ecologically and in terms of their development history, in which the growth of peat mosses over centuries or millennia plays a decisive role. They also differ in character from blanket bogs which are much thinner and occur in wetter, cloudier climatic zones. Raised bogs are very threatened by peat cutting and pollution by mineral salts from
7656-434: The bog 'floor'. Here fresh organic substances (peat formation horizon) are created by the growth and dying of plant elements. The "catotelm" (Greek: kato = below) is the underlying water-saturated part with less biological activity. This layer is counted as a geological subsoil due to the small earth-forming processes that are still going on and is known as the peat preservation horizon ( Torferhaltungshorizont ). In raised bogs,
7772-405: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding
7888-422: The central area of these bogs, there are always large kolks. In northern Russia and western Siberia, kermis frequently occur in giant complexes where the bogs have grown into one another. Kermis are also found in Finland in the central and northern boreal forest zone. String bogs or aapa fens ( Aapamoore or Strangmoore ) are typically found on the northern fringes of the distribution area for raised bogs, in
8004-433: The centre than at the margins. This results in the centre of the bog bulging, hence the name "raised bog". This bulging can be several metres high. As a result, the perimeter of the bog is more or less inclined, and is known as the rand . The sloping bog sides of larger bogs are traversed by drainage channels or soaks ( Rüllen ) through which excess water is discharged. Other characteristic structures of these raised bogs are
8120-509: The classical, lens-shaped bogs of northwest Germany . The bogs are not influenced by mineral-rich groundwater or surface water, but are fed exclusively by precipitation — mainly rainwater, hence their alternative German designation of Regenmoor or "rain-fed bog". Thus the latter refers to all bogs, not just those that are arched or only slightly arched, but which nevertheless are characterized by an extreme mineral salt deficiency and other resulting ecological properties. A living raised bog needs
8236-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it
8352-548: The confluence of the Decoy Rhyne and Whitelake River . 51°10′45″N 2°46′52″W / 51.17917°N 2.78111°W / 51.17917; -2.78111 Raised bog Raised bogs , also called ombrotrophic bogs , are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens , are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombrotrophy ) and from mineral salts introduced from
8468-433: The constantly moist substrate inhibited the decomposition of dead plant parts and led to peat formation. Thus the raised bog rises very slowly above the groundwater level, hence its name. As the resulting peat slowly rises above the influence of mineral salts in the groundwater, it reaches a point where the development of the raised bog begins to change in nature; that is, the bog now becomes fed solely by rainwater, which
8584-515: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of
8700-739: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of
8816-683: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied
8932-508: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming
9048-429: The entire system is very important from both a hydrological and ecological perspective. A region of peatland extends from Alaska in the west to the coast of the Atlantic in the east, and is comparable in size to that of West Siberia. A zone of domed raised bogs adjoins the zones of palsa bogs and string fens. In the direction of descent towards the ocean, blanket bogs occur east of Hudson Bay. These are superseded towards
9164-617: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until
9280-563: The flat, treeless raised bog core with its characteristic microrelief of shallow wet depressions or flarks ( Schlenken ) alternating with hummocks ( Bülten ) of drier peat moss. Larger accumulations of water in the middle of the bogs are called kolks or bog ponds (of humic acid -rich water); the wet area on the outer margins is known as a moat or lagg . Genuine ombrotrophic bogs on the North German Plain are usually sharply divided into two layers: an underlying black peat layer, which
9396-843: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing
9512-453: The importance of the site. Raised bog habitats are now very rare in Europe and it has recently been estimated that the Republic of Ireland contains 50% of the relatively intact oceanic raised bog systems in Europe. The site contains the second largest area of intact raised bog surface in Ireland. The combination of raised bog, oligotrophic lake and turlough habitats is unique in Ireland and thus
9628-512: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of
9744-550: The kermi bog type. They represent probably the most important type of raised bog on earth. The Vasyugan Swamp in this region, is the largest bog system on earth and covers more than 50,000 km (19,000 sq mi). It is estimated to contain over 14 billion tonnes of peat deposits. The largest central European raised bog areas are the southern North Sea coastal area and the Alpine Foreland . As in North America there
9860-403: The late 1730s. Early drainage work was carried out in the later years of the 12th century, with the responsibility for maintaining all the watercourses between Glastonbury and the sea being placed on named individuals among whom were Ralph de Sancta Barbara of Brentmarsh. Drainage of the surrounding area by monks of Glastonbury Abbey had reduced the size of the lake to 500 acres (200 ha) at
9976-405: The longer term, as efforts were made to drain the area. Early 16th-century surveys variously describe it as being up to a mile and a half wide and having a circumference of between 2.5 and 5 miles. The south end was bordered by the high ground that the village of Meare is built upon. The pond would have extended no further west than the current Westhay to Wedmore road, where a shelf of rock formed
10092-477: The margins of lowland bogs i.e. fens , or transition into them. Kermi bogs ( Kermimoore, Schildhochmoore, Strangmoore or Blankenmoore ) or kermi raised bogs have only a slightly domed shape. The surface of the bog rises steadily from the broad lagg zone. Kermis have ridge-shaped hummocks of peat moss, that are aligned with the contours of the bog. The flarks or elongated depressions are generally tub-shaped and hardly distinguishable externally from kolks . In
10208-497: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with
10324-571: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of
10440-583: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at
10556-693: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,
10672-478: The ridges of the string bogs can grow into hummocks several metres high. Like string bogs, the so-called palsas frequently lie within peatlands fed by mineral soil water. Some are surrounded by water-filled, ditch-like hollows. Peat formation is limited; these bogs are peat deposits from warmer, interglacial periods and did not experience frost heaving of their inner core of ice until the climate became colder. These ice lenses increase in size from year to year as
10788-407: The same time the lower layer becomes peat as the air is excluded. Depending on the geographical location, various species of peat moss are involved in making a raised bog. The growth rate of the peat layer is only about a millimetre per year. Growing bogs can be divided into two layers. The ' acrotelm ' ( Greek : akros = highest; telma = bog) is the upper part and includes the vegetation layer and
10904-400: The short summers with sufficient moisture, because the meltwater is prevented from draining away by the raised polygonal margins. The peat layers can attain a thickness of 0.3 to 1 m (1.0–3.3 ft). The west Siberian raised bog area covers 700,000 km (270,000 sq mi). The large bogs have domes in the centre up to 10 m (33 ft) high. They are predominantly of
11020-458: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in
11136-494: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed
11252-575: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,
11368-498: The sub-polar zone, north of the 66th latitude in the northern hemisphere. Here, raised bogs only occur as islands within wetlands supplied by mineral soil water. On level ground these islands are irregularly distributed; on hillsides they form ridges parallel to the contours and at right angles to line of slope. The ridges separate boggy hollows of mineral soil known by the Finnish word, rimpis . The main distribution area for string bogs are
11484-465: The surrounding land (due to agriculture and industry ). The last great raised bog regions are found in western Siberia and Canada . The term raised bog derives from the fact that this type of bog rises in height over time as a result of peat formation. They are like sponges of peat moss, full of water, that form a more or less dome shape in the landscape. In Germany, the term Hochmoor ( lit. ' high bog ' ) strictly refers only to
11600-413: The temperature. In addition, the relief of the terrain has an influence on the water discharge behaviour and thus the shape of a raised bog. This results in geographical limitations to the formation of raised bogs. Favourable conditions for the development of raised bogs are found mainly in North America ( Canada and Alaska ), Northern Europe and Western Siberia , South America , Southeast Asia and in
11716-587: The time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries . Meare Pool had disappeared from maps by 1749. Current Ordnance Survey maps show Meare Pool as a placename in an area with spot heights of 4m. The 14th-century fish house has been designated as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument and is now in the care of English Heritage . In the Second World War a pillbox was located at Meare Pool at
11832-623: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as
11948-412: The upper peat layer is called white peat, since it consists of largely undecomposed light brown peat mosses. The lower layer is black peat, which is already well humified and has a black-brown colour with still recognizable plant remains. The formation of raised bogs is dependent on the climate, that is to say the amount of precipitation and rate of evaporation, which in turn are decisively determined by
12064-601: The villages were formed by laying dried clay over the Sphagnum Moss of the bog. The pool at that time was at least 2 miles (3.2 km) long by 1 mile (1.6 km) wide. In the Domesday book of 1086 the village of Meare is recorded as supporting "10 fishermen and 3 fisheries paying 20 pence". At the time of the Dissolution in 1540, Meare Pool was said to contain a great abundance of pike , tench , roach and eels . In 1638 it
12180-504: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising
12296-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which
12412-469: The west by plateau bogs in the area of the large lakes and, eventually, by kermi bogs. Second World War Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all
12528-503: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to
12644-687: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed
12760-614: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to
12876-427: Was formed, although this did not develop simultaneously in all raised bogs. Raised bogs also occur in precipitation-rich upland regions at the montane and, more rarely, alpine levels (i.e. above the tree line ). As a result of the sloping terrain, they often have a characteristic, asymmetric or non-concentric appearance. Mountain or upland bogs may be topographically divided into: All these bog types may occur on
12992-499: Was owned by William Freake, who described it as "lately a fish pool". In the 14th century a Fish House was built at Meare for the chief fisherman of the Abbot of Glastonbury that was also used for salting and preparing fish. It is the only surviving monastic fishery building in England. The importance of this industry is illustrated by a series of acrimonious disputes between Glastonbury and
13108-452: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign
13224-761: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with
13340-651: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed
13456-581: Was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in
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