Times Zones Affect Summer Travel

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zones, each containing 15 degrees of lon- ever, it was not until Magellan’s crew re- gitude. turned from their circumnavigation of the Geography The fi rst 15-degree time zone centers on earth in 1552 that evidence materialized of In The the Prime Meridian (0 degrees longitude). an impending problem with recordkeep- Each successive time zone, east and west, ing. The ships’ logs were one day behind. News™ centers on the next 15 degrees of longi- This occurred because the ships had sailed tude, or 0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and so on. westward around the earth. During the High noon moves westward as the earth three-year long voyage and while travel- rotates west to east relative to the sun. As ling the same direction that high noon Neal Lineback high noon passes over the central merid- moves, the ships “lost” a day. and Mandy Lineback Gritzner ian of a time zone, the entire zone (7.5 de- The solution to the lost day was solved grees east and west of the central meridi- by creating the International Date Line, an) experiences noon at the same moment. conveniently located on the 180th meridian TIMES ZONES Although most of the world adopted stan- in the middle of the Pacifi c Ocean. New dard time zones, some adjustments were dates on the calendar begin at the Inter- AFFECT SUMMER necessary. For example, when a state or national Date Line. For example, while it city was divided into two different time may be 2:45 p.m. Sunday immediately to TRAVEL zones, the boundaries between the time the east of the date line, it will be Monday Summer vacation often involves travel zones were often arbitrarily moved to cre- at 2:45 p.m. to the west. across multiple time zones by aircraft or ate one time zone. Scientifi c evidence shows that cross- motor vehicle. As families cross domes- The United States, including the west- ing time zones is stressful to the human tic and even international time zones, the ern states of Alaska and Hawaii, has six body. Airline crewmembers and passen- time change can temporarily affect sleep time zones. From east to west, they are gers who often cross many time zones can patterns and moods, even causing irrita- based on the central meridians of 75, 90, suffer problems as serious as short-term bility, stomach problems and decreased 105, 120, 135 and 150 degrees west longi- psychiatric disturbances and disruption of mental acuity. tude. These time zones have geographic menstrual cycles in women according to a Until 1884, most of the world used its names: Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountain, Reuters article. own local time. Clocks were set based Pacifi c (or West Coast), Alaskan and Ha- Disorientation, fatigue and sleepless- on high noon, the time when the sun ap- waiian time zones. ness associated with crossing time zones is peared highest in the sky each day. As a Because the U.S. Eastern Time Zone is called jet lag. The condition is more severe result, two towns located just a few miles centered on 75 degrees west, or fi ve time for older travelers and those crossing more apart had lo- than three cal times that World Time Zones time zones. were a few 18 Furthermore, minutes apart. 14 ©2010 the direc- Local time tion of travel 15 16 was adequate 19 can affect jet 17 19 until the rail- 21 lag—fl ights to road and the +0.5 the east cause hrs telegraph +0.5 more jet lag emerged. hrs than fl ights Printing un- to the west in derstandable most people. train sched- While ules based + 0.5 there is no on local time hrs cure for jet at every stop lag, travelers was impos- Geography in the News 8/6/10 Tory Smith can attempt sible. to adjust the 24 1 2 3489101112135 6 7 14 15 16 17 18 19 2021 22 23 24 1 Because body’s clock of increasing by trying to problems with Sources: GITN #229, “World Time Zones,” November 4, 1992; and http://www.abc.net.au/science/ stay alert and local time, an news/stories/2007/1887185.htm in the sun international during the congress was assembled in 1884 to estab- zones west of the Prime Meridian, the day when they arrive at their destination lish standard world time zones. The world time in Washington, D.C., is fi ve hours and waiting until nightfall to sleep. Happy is divided into 360 degrees of longitude, earlier than the time in London (Green- traveling! 180 degrees west and 180 degrees east of wich Time). In other words, if a business And that is Geography in the News™. Au- the Prime Meridian, which passes through call must be made from Washington to gust 6, 2010. #1053. Greenwich, England. Longitude lines, or London during working hours, it must be Co-authors are Neal Lineback, Appalachian meridians, are imaginary lines extending made before noon, or it will not reach Lon- State University Professor Emeritus of from pole to pole and measuring distances don before 5 p.m. there. Geography, and Geographer Mandy Lineback east and west. Since each day has 24 hours, The ancient Greek and Roman scholars Gritzner. University News Director Jane the congress divided the earth into 24 time understood earth-sun relationships. How- Nicholson serves as technical editor.