title: Pest (organism)

text: Pest ranges are heavily determined by climate. The most common example for the longest time has been rainfall: Although drought stress weakens crop disease resistance, drought also retards contagion and infection; and some variability in precipitation is universal. More recently climate change has been rapidly altering ranges, mostly by pushing them towards the poles (both North and South). From 1960-2013 ranges have shifted poleward by per year - albeit with significant differences between taxa. (Especially in the case of viruses and nematodes which show the opposite trend, toward the equator. This may be due to their lack of airborne dispersal, so their trend conforms with the trend of human-aided dispersal; or identification difficulties in the field.) In Europe, crop pests are expected to burgeon as the vertebrate predators which control them are expected to be suppressed by future climatic conditions.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Together pests and diseases cause up to 40% yield losses every year. The animal groups of the greatest importance as agricultural pests are (in order of economic importance) insects, mites, nematodes and gastropod molluscs.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Insects are responsible for two major forms of damage to crops. First, there is the direct injury they cause to the plants as they feed on the tissues; a reduction in leaf surface available for photosynthesis, distortion of growing shoots, a diminution of the plant's growth and vigour, and the wilting of shoots and branches caused by the insects' tunneling activities. Secondly there is the indirect damage, where the insects do little direct harm, but either transmit or allow entry of fungal, bacterial or viral infections. Although some insects are polyphagous, many are restricted to one specific crop, or group of crops. In many cases it is the larva that feeds on the plant, building up a nutritional store that will be used by the short-lived adult; sawfly and lepidopteran larvae feed mainly on the aerial portions of plants while beetle larvae tend to live underground, feeding on roots, or tunnel into the stem or under the bark. The true bugs, Hemiptera, have piercing and sucking mouthparts and live by sucking sap from plants. These include aphids, whiteflies and scale insects. Apart from weakening the plant, they encourage the growth of sooty mould on the honeydew the insects produce, which cuts out the light and reduces photosynthesis, stunting the plant's growth. They often transmit serious viral diseases between plants.


title: Pest (organism)

text: The mites that cause most trouble in the field are the spider mites. These are less than in diameter, can be very numerous, and thrive in hot, dry conditions. They mostly live on the underside of leaves and puncture the plant cells to feed, with some species forming webbing. They occur on nearly all important food crops and ornamental plants, both outdoors and under glass, and include some of the most economically important pests. Another important group of mites is the gall mites which affect a wide range of plants, several mite species being major pests causing substantial economic damage to crops. They can feed on the roots or the aerial parts of plants and transmit viruses. Some examples are the big bud mite that transmits the reversion virus of blackcurrants, the coconut mite which can devastate coconut production, and the cereal rust mite which transmits several grass and cereal viruses. Being exceedingly minute, many plant mites are spread by wind, although others use insects or other arthropods as a means to disperse.


title: Pest (organism)

text: The nematodes (eelworms) that attack plants are minute, often too small to be seen with the naked eye, but their presence is often apparent in the galls or "knots" they form in plant tissues. Vast numbers of nematodes are found in soil and attack roots, but others affect stems, buds, leaves, flowers and fruits. High infestations cause stunting, deformation and retardation of plant growth, and the nematodes can transmit viral diseases from one plant to another. When its populations are high, the potato cyst nematode can cause reductions of 80% in yield of susceptible potato varieties. The nematode eggs survive in the soil for many years, being stimulated to hatch by chemical cues produced by roots of susceptible plants.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Slugs and snails are terrestrial gastropod molluscs which typically chew leaves, stems, flowers, fruit and vegetable debris. Slugs and snails differ little from each other and both do considerable damage to plants. With novel crops being grown and with insect pests having been brought more under control by biological and other means, the damage done by molluscs becomes of greater significance. Terrestrial molluscs need moist environments; snails may be more noticeable because their shells provide protection from desiccation, while most slugs live in soil and only come out to feed at night. They devour seedlings, damage developing shoots and feed on salad crops and cabbages, and some species tunnel into potatoes and other tubers.


title: Pest (organism)

text: A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation; the term has no botanical significance. Often, weeds are simply those native plants that are adapted to grow in disturbed ground, the disturbance caused by ploughing and cultivation favouring them over other species. Any plant is a weed if it appears in a location where it is unwanted; Bermuda grass makes a good lawn plant under hot dry conditions but become a bad weed when it out-competes cultivated plants.


title: Pest (organism)

text: A different group of weeds consists of those that are invasive, introduced, often unintentionally, to habitats to which they are not native but in which they thrive. Without their original competitors, herbivores, and diseases, they may increase and become a serious nuisance. One such plant is purple loosestrife, a native of Europe and Asia where it occurs in ditches, wet meadows and marshes; introduced into North America, it has no natural enemies to keep it in check and has taken over vast tracts of wetlands to the exclusion of native species.


title: Pest (organism)

text: In forestry, pests may affect various parts of the tree, from its roots and trunk to the canopy far overhead. The accessibility of the part of the tree affected may make detection difficult, so that a pest problem may already be far advanced before it is first observed from the ground. The larch sawfly and spruce budworm are two insect pests prevalent in Alaska and aerial surveys can show which sections of forest are being defoliated in any given year so that appropriate remedial action can be taken.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Some pests may not be present on the tree all year round, either because of their life cycle or because they rotate between different host species at different times of the year. The larvae of wood-boring beetles may spend years excavating tunnels under the bark of trees, and only emerge into the open for brief periods as adults, to mate and disperse. The import and export of timber has inadvertently assisted some insect pests to establish themselves far from their country of origin. An insect may be of little importance in its native range, being kept under control by parasitoid wasps, predators, and the natural resistance of the host trees, but be a serious pest in a region into which it has been introduced. This is the case with the emerald ash borer, an insect native to north-eastern Asia, which, since its arrival in North America, has killed millions of ash trees.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Animals able to live in the dry conditions found in buildings include many arthropods such as beetles, cockroaches, moths, and mites. Another group, including termites, woodworm, longhorn beetles, and wood ants cause structural damage to buildings and furniture. The natural habitat of these is the decaying parts of trees. The deathwatch beetle infests the structural timbers of old buildings, mostly attacking hardwood, especially oak. The initial attack usually follows the entry of water into a building and the subsequent decay of damp timber. Furniture beetles mainly attack the sapwood of both hard and soft wood, only attacking the heartwood when it is modified by fungal decay. The presence of the beetles only becomes apparent when the larvae gnaw their way out, leaving small circular holes in the timber.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Carpet beetles and clothes moths cause non-structural damage to property such as clothing and carpets. It is the larvae that are destructive, feeding on wool, hair, fur, feathers and down. The moth larvae live where they feed, but the beetle larvae may hide behind skirting boards or in other similar locations between meals. They may be introduced to the home in any product containing animal fibres including upholstered furniture; the moths are feeble fliers but the carpet beetles may also enter houses through open windows. Furniture beetles, carpet beetles and clothes moths are also capable of creating great damage to museum exhibits, zoological and botanical collections, and other cultural heritage items. Constant vigilance is required to prevent an attack, and newly acquired items, and those that have been out on loan, may need quarantining before being added to the general collection.


title: Pest (organism)

text: There are over four thousand species of cockroach worldwide, but only four species are commonly regarded as pests, having adapted to live permanently in buildings. Considered to be a sign of unsanitary conditions, they feed on almost anything, reproduce rapidly and are difficult to eradicate. They can passively transport pathogenic microbes on their body surfaces, particularly in environments such as hospitals, and are linked with allergic reactions in humans.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Various insects attack dry food products, with flour beetles, the drugstore beetle, the sawtoothed grain beetle and the Indianmeal moth being found worldwide. The insects may be present in the warehouse or maybe introduced during shipping, in retail outlets, or in the home; they may enter packets through tiny cracks or may chew holes in the packaging. The longer a product is stored, the more likely it is to become contaminated, with the insects often originating from dry pet foods.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Some mites, too, infest foodstuffs and other stored products. Each substance has its own specific mite, and they multiply with great rapidity. One of the most damaging is the flour mite, which is found in grain and may become exceedingly abundant in poorly stored material. In time, predatory mites usually move in and control the flour mites.


title: Pest (organism)

text: The control of pests in crops is as old as civilisation. The earliest approach was mechanical, from ploughing to picking off insects by hand. Early methods included the use of sulphur compounds, before 2500 BC in Sumeria. In ancient China, insecticides derived from plants were in use by 1200 BC to treat seeds and to fumigate plants. Chinese agronomy recognised biological control by natural enemies of pests and the varying of planting time to reduce pests before the first century AD. The agricultural revolution in Europe saw the introduction of effective plant-based insecticides such as pyrethrum, derris, quassia, and tobacco extract. The phylloxera (a powdery mildew) damage to the wine industry in the 19th century resulted in the development of resistant varieties and grafting, and the accidental discovery of effective chemical pesticides, Bordeaux mixture (lime and copper sulphate) and Paris Green (an arsenic compound), both very widely used. Biological control also became established as an effective measure in the second half of the 19th century, starting with the vedalia beetle against cottony cushion scale. All these methods have been refined and developed since their discovery.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Forest pests inflict costly damage, but treating them is often unaffordable, given the relatively low value of forest products compared to agricultural crops. It is also generally impossible to eradicate forest pests, given the difficulty of examining entire trees, and the certainty that pesticides would damage many forest organisms other than the intended pests. Forest integrated pest management therefore aims to use a combination of prevention, cultural control measures, and direct control (such as pesticide use). Cultural measures include choosing appropriate species, keeping competing vegetation under control, ensuring a suitable stocking density, and minimizing injury and stress to trees.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Pest control in buildings can be approached in several ways, depending on the type of pest and the area affected. Methods include improving sanitation and garbage control, modifying the habitat, and using repellents, growth regulators, traps, baits and pesticides. For example, the pesticide Boron can be impregnated into the fibres of cellulose insulation to kill self-grooming insects such as ants and cockroaches. Clothes moths can be controlled with airtight containers for storage, periodic laundering of garments, trapping, freezing, heating and the use of chemicals. Traditional mothballs deter adult moths with strong-smelling naphthalene; modern ones use volatile repellents such as 1,4-Dichlorobenzene. Moth larvae can be killed with insecticides such as permethrin or pyrethroids. However, insecticides cannot safely be used in food storage areas; alternative treatments include freezing foods for four days at or baking for half an hour at to kill any insects present.


title: Pest (organism)

text: Pests have attracted human attention from the birth of civilisation. Plagues of locusts caused devastation in the ancient Middle East, and were recorded in tombs in Ancient Egypt from as early as 2470 BC, and in the Book of Exodus in the Bible, as taking place in Egypt around 1446 BC. Homer's "Iliad" mentions locusts taking to the wing to escape fire. Given the impact of agricultural pests on human lives, people have prayed for deliverance. For example, the 10th century Greek monk Tryphon of Constantinople is said to have prayed "Snails, earwigs and all other creatures, hurt not the vines, nor the land nor the fruit of the trees, nor the vegetables ... but depart into the wild mountains."


title: Pest (organism)

text: The 11th-century Old English medical text "Lacnunga" contained charms and spells to ward off or treat pests such as "wid smeogan wyrme", "penetrating worms", in this case requiring a charm to be sung, accompanied by covering the wound with spittle, pounded green centaury, and hot cow's urine.


title: Pest (organism)

text: The 20th century "prayer against pests" including the words "By Your power may these injurious animals be driven off so that they will do no harm to any one and will leave our fields and meadows unharmed" was printed in the 1956 "Rural Life Prayerbook".


title: DC Rebirth

text: DC Rebirth is a 2016 relaunch by the American comic book publisher DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic book titles. Using the end of The New 52 initiative in May 2016 as its launching point, DC Rebirth restored the DC Universe to a form much like that prior to the 2011 "Flashpoint" storyline while still incorporating numerous elements of The New 52, including its continuity. It also saw many of its titles move to a twice-monthly release schedule, along with being released at .


title: DC Rebirth

text: DC Comics ended the Rebirth branding in December 2017, opting to include everything under a larger "DC Universe" banner and naming. The continuity and repercussions established by Rebirth continues into the New Justice (2018–2021), Infinite Frontier (2021–2023), and Dawn of DC (2023) relaunchs.


title: DC Rebirth

text: In January 2016, DC Comics co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee tweeted an image of a blue curtain with the word "Rebirth" on it, teasing the event's release. The following month, DC announced its Rebirth initiative, a line-wide relaunch of its titles, to begin in June 2016. Beginning with an 80-page one-shot which was released on May 25, 2016, Rebirth returned "Action Comics" and "Detective Comics" to their previous numbering (#957 and #934, respectively). It also released all comic titles at the price of , multiple books shifted to a twice-monthly release schedule, a number of existing titles relaunched with new #1s, and several new titles were released.


title: DC Rebirth

text: Geoff Johns, president and CCO of DC Entertainment, described the 80-page one-shot as "re-laying the groundwork for DC's future while celebrating the past and present. It's not about throwing anything away. It's quite the opposite." On the initiative, which was described as a rebirth of the DC Universe, Johns called Rebirth more "in the same vein as "" and "". Some things alter and change, but it's more character-driven, and it's also more about revealing secrets and mysteries within the DC Universe about "Flashpoint" and The New 52 that are part of a bigger tapestry." The Rebirth initiative would reintroduce concepts from pre-"Flashpoint" continuity that The New 52 had done away with, and build "on everything that's been published since "Action Comics" #1 up thru The New 52." Lee said that Johns "came up with this brilliant story [for the "DC Universe: Rebirth Special"] that basically allows us to seat the New 52 within the continuity that preceded it. So it really synchronizes and harmonizes pre-52 with New 52 continuity".


title: DC Rebirth

text: Creative teams for the Rebirth titles, along with some art and storylines, were revealed at WonderCon 2016. Johns worked with each writing team and the editors for the titles to help refocus "on these characters, deconstructing them down to their core DNA and building out story arcs based on that DNA". Additionally, two titles part of the initial announcement in February, "Gotham Academy: Second Semester" and "Earth 2", were revealed to no longer be considered Rebirth titles, instead acting as continuations of their New 52 titles, "Gotham Academy" and "Earth 2: Society", respectively. Regarding the decision to focus on fewer titles, with some shipping twice-monthly, DiDio said, "What we did was eliminate some of the lower ranked titles, and we're trying to incorporate those ideas into the main books themselves, because we feel that makes the main books stronger" adding, "we look at things like... "Gotham by Midnight". And I loved Gotham by Midnight, but it never got the sampling that a "Batman" book would. But if we did that "Gotham by Midnight "story and integrated it into the "Batman" series that was shipping twice monthly, there was a better chance for people to see those characters, get excited by those characters, and more importantly, if we ever decided to thin them out, maybe we'd have a stronger audience and a better chance for series like that to succeed." DiDio also revealed that DC had breaks in the schedule "where we'll decide whether or not a double-ship is working" and potentially change it to monthly status. "We're going to be examining that on a regular basis," he added. "We're not going to keep book double-shipping if we don't think the demand is there."


title: DC Rebirth

text: Regarding the release of variant covers for titles, Lee said, "we're only using specialty variants with comic book shops and variant covers in judicious ways. We're not going to have a gazillion SKUs across the entire line. We find that, at that point, why publish a story inside at all, if you're just going to build a business based on variant covers. We're still using variant covers, but we're actually using one variant cover artist for each book. They sort of get tenure, as it were. And they're going to be responsible for being the alternate cover artist on that book. And we're only doing it on our top-selling books."


title: DC Rebirth

text: On May 27, 2016, DC announced that "DC Universe: Rebirth Special" #1 would receive a second printing. The re-release, being sold at , featured an update to Gary Frank's cover, better revealing the outstretched hand of Doctor Manhattan in the top right corner, as well as a square-bound format. Less than a week later, DC revealed the title would receive a third printing, again being released at with a square-bound format and a new cover from Frank. Additionally, the first wave of Rebirth one-shots – "Superman: Rebirth", "Batman: Rebirth", "Green Lanterns: Rebirth" and "Green Arrow: Rebirth" – also received second printings, with a recolored Rebirth banner to differentiate it from the original printing. A fourth printing featured a cover by Ethan Van Sciver depicting the scene where Wally West interrupts Batman in the Batcave, with the image of three Jokers on the Batcomputer. "DC Universe: Rebirth Special"s fifth printing, announced in August 2016, featured a new cover by Phil Jimenez that depicts Barry Allen and Wally West grabbing each other's hands.


title: DC Rebirth

text: In September 2016, DC announced the "Justice League vs. Suicide Squad" miniseries for release in December 2016 through January 2017, which would "reintroduce a supervillain that hasn't been seen for some time." Johns called the story in the miniseries "another building block to 'Rebirth’" that would "set the stage for ‘Rebirth’ Phase 2" with the reemergence of "a surprising team... and another piece of the puzzle of the future of the DC Universe, and the past, [coming] into focus." The second phase of Rebirth began in February 2017, with the launch of "Justice League of America", "Super Sons", and "Batwoman". In January 2017, DC announced the four-issue storyline "The Button" for release in April and May 2017. Taking place in issues 21 and 22 of "Batman" and "The Flash", the storyline continues plot elements from the "DC Universe: Rebirth Special" with Batman and Barry Allen investigating the mystery of the Comedian's smiley face button found in the Batcave. Shortly after, DC revealed that in April 2017, all of the monthly titles releasing at the time ("Batgirl", "Batgirl and the Birds of Prey", "Batman Beyond", "Batwoman", "Blue Beetle", "Cyborg", "The Hellblazer", "New Superman", "Red Hood and the Outlaws", "Super Sons", "Supergirl", "Superwoman", "Teen Titans", "Titans", and "Trinity"), would increase their price to , with "All-Star Batman" continuing to maintain its price. To account for the price increase, each physical copy came with a code to redeem a free digital copy of the title. DC also indicated that the semi-monthly titles would stay at the price point.


title: DC Rebirth

text: In May 2017, DC announced the miniseries "Doomsday Clock" for release in November 2017. Written by Johns with art by Frank, it continues the story presented in the "DC Universe: Rebirth Special" and "The Button" storyline focusing on Superman and Doctor Manhattan. Speaking on the project, Johns said, "It is "Watchmen" colliding with the DC Universe. It is the most personal and most epic, utterly mind-bending project I have ever worked on in my career. With Rebirth, I opened the door to Manhattan. Part of that was I loved the real-world influence "Watchmen" has. I put Manhattan out there, and always thought there was a Manhattan/Superman story to be told... at the core of it, there’s a being who has lost his humanity and distanced himself from it, and an alien who embodies humanity more than most humans. I love the idea that "Watchmen" influenced DC, but what would that look like in reverse? And it goes well beyond that." Johns indicated the miniseries would not be a sequel to "Watchmen" and would be a stand-alone story, with no tie-in material. Despite this, Johns noted "Doomsday Clock" " have an impact on the entire DC Universe. It will affect everything moving forward and everything that has come before. It will touch the thematic and literal essence of DC." Johns also noted that the miniseries would be set one year in the future of the DC Universe, so by the time the final issue releases, "the rest of the universe will have caught up to it — and the repercussions of the event will become known."


title: DC Rebirth

text: In October 2017, DC revealed that they would be discontinuing the Rebirth branding and logo from their titles in December 2017, releasing everything under a single umbrella title as the "DC Universe". Coincided with the release of the New Age of Heroes imprint, DiDio explained, "We want to make it clear that this is all the DC Universe... Rebirth pretty much the DCU now; while we're taking Rebirth off the books, we'll be following the direction that Rebirth established." Titles also received new trade dresses, with those "that tie in clearly to our larger DC Universe" having a "DCU logo on them" in addition to corner boxes with icons of the characters to help identify the family of titles; titles outside the DCU, such as "Injustice 2" and "DC Bombshells" would simply have the DC logo on them. DC planned to continue their dual cover release of titles as they have "seen a genuine interest in them, as they're well accepted by both fans and retailers".


title: DC Rebirth

text: With the release of "DC Universe: Rebirth Special", characters not seen during the New 52 line of DC Comics comic books, such as the first version of the character Wally West, Jackson Hyde and Ryan Choi, reappeared in the DC Comics line of comic books, while other characters, such as Ted Kord and Ray Palmer, were revised to be similar to their characters as they appeared prior to the "Flashpoint" storyline. Within the story, Wally states to Barry Allen that the cause of the alterations to "history" following the end of "Flashpoint" was an outside force (revealed to be Doctor Manhattan from the "Watchmen" universe) removing 10 years of history from the internal timeline of the comic books' stories (resulting in the younger age of heroes in the "New 52" storyline, the resurrections of several deceased characters, and the loss of legacy and previous relationships) rather than Barry's merging of several alternate timelines, as was previously presented in the "Flashpoint" story.


title: DC Rebirth

text: Nearly all characters had their designs revised. Some of those who are also featured in the DC Extended Universe (WarnerMedia's film franchise based on DC Comics characters) now more closely resemble their on-screen counterparts, such as Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman.


title: DC Rebirth

text: Another new character is the enigmatic "Mr. Oz", who is watching Earth, kidnapping characters such as Mister Mxyzptlk, Doomsday and Tim Drake, as he hinted they would play very important roles in the future, and insisted they must remain "off the field".


title: DC Rebirth

text: At the end of the "Superman Reborn" event in April 2017, a story in the comic book "Action Comics" presents Superman, alongside his wife Lois Lane and their son Jonathan Samuel Kent, merging the "timelines" of the DC Comics superhero line from before and after the "Flashpoint" event into a single fictional reality, resulting in further change to the internal timeline of the fictional world of DC Comics superheroes. Peter J. Tomasi said that "The events of "Action" #976 reset and reshape the entire Superman timeline. Where there had been two Superman, their realities have now been fused into one timeline with just one of them."


title: DC Rebirth

text: DC Comics representatives stated that the books will deal with the aftermath of Doctor Manhattan's actions by the end of the "Doomsday Clock" miniseries.


title: DC Rebirth

text: At WonderCon 2016, DC revealed the initial titles under four different "families", grouping similar characters or titles together.


title: DC Rebirth

text: These titles feature characters related to the Justice League, as well as the Green Lantern Corps and the Teen Titans.


title: DC Rebirth

text: A Rebirth issue for "Trinity" was also planned for release in August 2016, written by Francis Manapul with art by Manapul and Clay Mann, but it was never released.


title: DC Rebirth

text: The six-issue miniseries "Death of Hawkman", written by Marc Andreyko with art by Aaron Lopresti, does not feature the "Rebirth" banner on its cover, but is considered by Andreyko to be "'Rebirth' adjacent". Despite not having the "Rebirth" banner on its cover, the miniseries "Mister Miracle" was stated to be a part of the Rebirth continuity by writer Tom King.


title: DC Rebirth

text: By the end of August 2016, all Rebirth titles combined accounted for 12 million units shipped, with 11 issues exceeding 200,000 units shipped, over 60 issues exceeding 100,000 units shipped, and 21 issues having multiple printings.


title: DC Rebirth

text: Beginning in January 2017, television commercials aired on AMC, IFC, TBS, TNT, truTV, El Rey Network and Boomerang through February 2017. The commercials promoted the release of the first wave of collected editions, highlighting "Batman", "The Flash", "Green Arrow", "Justice League", "Suicide Squad", "Supergirl", "Superman", and "Wonder Woman", with three additional commercials promoting Rebirth as a whole. Additionally, DC "is also offering [comic] retailers co-op funds to help pay for ads on local markets, promoting Rebirth with a space for a store tag at the end of the commercial." In February 2017, DC partnered once again with National CineMedia to promote its comics and partner comic shops with pre-movie advertisements. Having worked with National CineMedia for ads during The New 52, DC created 15 and 30 second ads for Rebirth "that comic shops can have their contact info added into," with DC "offering a 50% reimbursement on these ads should a retailer buy them with National CineMedia."


title: University of Göttingen

text: The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded in 1734 by George II, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and starting classes in 1737, the Georgia Augusta was conceived to promote the ideals of the Enlightenment. It is the oldest university in the state of Lower Saxony and the largest in student enrollment, which stands at around 31,600.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Home to many noted figures, it represents one of Germany's historic and traditional institutions. According to an official exhibition held by the University of Göttingen in 2002, 44 Nobel Prize winners had been affiliated with the University of Göttingen as alumni, faculty members or researchers by that year alone.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The University of Göttingen was previously supported by the German Universities Excellence Initiative, holds memberships to the U15 Group of major German research universities and to the Coimbra Group of major European research universities. Furthermore, the university maintains strong connections with major research institutes based in Göttingen, such as those of the Max Planck Society and the Leibniz Association. With approximately 9 million media units, the Göttingen State and University Library ranks among the largest libraries in Germany.


title: University of Göttingen

text: In 1734, King George II of Great Britain, who was also Elector of Hanover, gave his Prime Minister in Hanover, Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen, the order to establish a university in Göttingen to propagate the ideas and values associated with the European Enlightenment.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Initially, the only new buildings constructed for the opening of the university were a riding hall and a fencing house, while courses were taught in the Paulinerkirche and associated Dominican monastery, or in the homes of professors. No university auditorium was built until well into the 19th century.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Throughout the remainder of the 18th century the University of Göttingen was in the top rank of German universities, with its free spirit and atmosphere of scientific exploration and research. Famously, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was the first to hold a professorship (1769–99) explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. By 1812, Göttingen had become an internationally acknowledged modern university with a library of more than 200,000 volumes.


title: University of Göttingen

text: In the first years of the University of Göttingen, it became known especially for its Faculty of Law. In the 18th century Johann Stephan Pütter, a scholar of public law at that time, taught jus publicum for half a century. The subject had attracted students such as Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich, later diplomat and Prime Minister of Austria, and Wilhelm von Humboldt, who later established the University of Berlin. In 1809 Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher best known for his work "The World as Will and Representation", became a student at the university, where he studied metaphysics and psychology under Gottlob Ernst Schulze, who advised him to concentrate on Plato and Kant. By the university's centenary in 1837, it was known as the "university of law," as the students enrolled by the faculty of law often made up more than half of the university's students. Göttingen became a Mecca for the study of public law in Germany.


title: University of Göttingen

text: During this time, the University of Göttingen achieved renown for its critical work on history as well. An Enlightenment institution, it produced the Göttingen School of History.


title: University of Göttingen

text: However, political disturbances, in which both professors and students were implicated, lowered the attendance to 860 in 1834. The expulsion in 1837 of the seven professors – the so-called "Die Göttinger Sieben" (the Germanist Wilhelm Eduard Albrecht (1800–1876), the historian Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann (1785–1860), the orientalist Georg Heinrich August Ewald (1803–1875), the historian Georg Gottfried Gervinus (1805–1875), the physicist Wilhelm Eduard Weber (1804–1891), and the philologist brothers Jakob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859)) – for protesting against the revocation by Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, of the liberal constitution of 1833 further reduced the prosperity of the university.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Otto von Bismarck, the main creator and the first Chancellor of the second German Empire, had also studied law in Göttingen in 1833: he lived in a tiny house on the "Wall," now known as "Bismarck Cottage". According to oral tradition, he lived there because his rowdiness had caused him to be banned from living within the city walls.


title: University of Göttingen

text: At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the University of Göttingen achieved its academic peak. Göttingen maintained a strong focus on natural science, especially mathematics. By 1900, David Hilbert and Felix Klein had attracted mathematicians from around the world to Göttingen, which made it a leading center of mathematics by the turn of the 20th century. Likewise, the Faculty of Theology in conjunction with other orientalists and ancient historians across the university became an international center for the study of religion and antiquity.


title: University of Göttingen

text: In 1903, its teaching staff numbered 121 and its students 1529. Ludwig Prandtl joined the university in 1904, and developed it into a leader in fluid mechanics and in aerodynamics over the next two decades. In 1925, Prandtl was appointed as the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Fluid Mechanics. He introduced the concept of boundary layer and founded mathematical aerodynamics by calculating air flow in the down wind direction. Many of Prandtl's students went on to make fundamental contributions to aerodynamics.


title: University of Göttingen

text: From 1921 to 1933, the physics theory group was led by Max Born, who, during this time, became one of the three discoverers of the non-relativistic theory of quantum mechanics. He may also have been the first to propose its probabilistic relationship with classical physics. It was one of the main centers of the development of modern physics.


title: University of Göttingen

text: During this time, the German language became an international academic language. A number of dissertations in the UK and the US had German titles. One might be considered having had a complete academic training only when one had studied in Germany. Thus, many American students were proud of having studied in Germany, and the University of Göttingen had profound impacts on the US. A number of American politicians, lawyers, historians and writers received their education from both Harvard and Göttingen. For example, Edward Everett, once Secretary of State and President of Harvard University, stayed in Göttingen for two years of study. George Ticknor spent two years studying classics in Göttingen. Even John Lothrop Motley, a diplomat and historian, had personal friendship with Otto von Bismarck during his two-year-long study in Göttingen. George Bancroft, a politician and historian, received his PhD from the University of Göttingen in 1820.


title: University of Göttingen

text: In the 1930s, the university became a focal point for the Nazi crackdown on "Jewish physics", as represented by the work of Albert Einstein. In what was later called the "great purge" of 1933, academics including Max Born, Victor Goldschmidt, James Franck, Eugene Wigner, Leó Szilárd, Edward Teller, Edmund Landau, Emmy Noether, and Richard Courant were expelled or fled. Most of them fled Nazi Germany for places like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Following the great purge, in 1934 David Hilbert, by then a symbol of German mathematics, was dining with Bernhard Rust, the Nazi minister of education. Rust asked, “How is mathematics at Göttingen, now that it is free from the Jewish influence?” Hilbert replied, “There is no mathematics in Göttingen anymore.”


title: University of Göttingen

text: After World War II, the University of Göttingen was the first university in the western Zones to be re-opened under British control in 1945.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The central university complex with the Central Library and "Mensa" (student refectory/dining hall) is located right next to the inner city and comprises the faculties for Theology, Social sciences, Law, Economics/Business Administration and Linguistics. The departments of Ancient History, Classics, various languages, Psychology and Philosophy are nearby. Located to the south of the city is the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science with its main building, the Mathematisches Institut, on the same street as the German Aerospace Center and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation. In other parts of the city are the departments of Anthropology and Educational Sciences as well as the Medical Faculty with its associated hospitals.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Just north of the city a new scientific center has been built in which most of the natural sciences (chemistry, biology, plant pathology, agronomy, forestry, geology, physics, computer science) are now located, including the GZMB. Other institutes are set around the inner city.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Closely linked with the university is the Göttingen State and University Library (German: Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, or SUB Göttingen). With around 9 million media units and precious manuscripts, the library is designed for Göttingen University as well as the central library for the German State of Lower Saxony (with its central catalogue) and for the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, founded as the 'Royal Society for Sciences'.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The university maintains three botanical gardens: the Alter Botanischer Garten der Universität Göttingen, the Neuer Botanischer Garten der Universität Göttingen, and the Forstbotanischer Garten und Pflanzengeographisches Arboretum der Universität Göttingen.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Today the university consists of 13 faculties and around 31,600 students are enrolled. More than 400 professors and 4,000 academic staff work at the university, assisted by a technical and administrative staff of over 7,000. The post-war expansion of the university led to the establishment of a new, modern "university quarter" in the north of the city. The architecture of the old university can still be seen in the Auditorium Maximum (1826/1865) and the Great Hall (1835/1837) at Wilhelmsplatz.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The University of Göttingen encompasses 13 faculties and a total of 36 additional centers and institutes (including associated centers and institutes but excluding institutes or departments within the faculties themselves).


title: University of Göttingen

text: Within the framework of the 2006–07 German Universities Excellence Initiative, it won funding for its future concept "Tradition, Innovation, Autonomy," its graduate school "Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences," and its research cluster "Microscopy at the Nanometer Range." In the 2012 Excellence Initiative, Göttingen succeeded in obtaining funds for its graduate school "Neurosciences and Molecular Biosciences" and its research cluster "Microscopy at the Nanometer Range", but failed in its bid for future concept financing. In September 2018, Göttingen succeeded in gaining funds only for its research cluster "Multiscale Bioimaging", and failed in the other applications. Consequently, Göttingen would no longer be eligible for the fourth round of future concept financing across the country in 2019.


title: University of Göttingen

text: As of 2002, the University of Göttingen was associated with 44 Nobel laureates according to an official count released by the University of Göttingen in that year. By this number alone, the University of Göttingen ranked among global top 15. The most recent Nobel laureates associated with the university are Klaus Hasselmann (Nobel Prize in Physics, 2021), Stefan Hell (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2014), and Thomas C. Südhof (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2013). Klaus Hasselmann received his PhD in physics from the University of Göttingen in 1957. Stefan Hell has been a lecturer (in Privatdozent capacity) at the University of Göttingen since 2004 and the director of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in the Göttingen Campus since 2002. Thomas Südhof, currently a professor at Stanford University, worked on his doctoral thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in the lab of British biochemist Victor P. Whittaker and received his PhD in medical science from the University of Göttingen in 1982.


title: University of Göttingen

text: As of 2021, four out of sixteen in-office Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court (; abbreviated: ""), Germany's supreme constitutional court, are affiliated with the University of Göttingen: two of them (Andreas Paulus & Christine Langenfeld) are, currently, professors at the Faculty of Law of the University of Göttingen, while two others (Ines Härtel & Henning Radtke) obtained their PhD in law (Dr.iur) from the University of Göttingen. Also in 2021, Georg Nolte, a former professor of public international law at the University of Göttingen, took office as Judge of the International Court of Justice on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany.


title: University of Göttingen

text: However, Göttingen has declined overall in other international rankings in recent years. For example, in the Shanghai Ranking (ARWU) of 2018, it was ranked 99th, while in 2004 it was ranked 79th. More surprisingly, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Göttingen was previously ranked 43rd in 2011, but was ranked only 123rd in 2019.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Within the Göttingen Campus the university is organizationally and personally interlinked with the following independent and semi-independent institutions:


title: University of Göttingen

text: As Germany is a member of the European Union, university students have the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus Programme. The university also has exchange programs and partnerships with reputable universities outside Europe such as University of Technology Sydney in Australia, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Fudan University in China, Tokyo University in Japan and the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The university organizes summer courses for international and local students. One of the courses are in Data Science, a two-week summer school. It aims at advanced MA- and beginning PhD students from any discipline who are interested in learning about the many facets of data science.


title: University of Göttingen

text: In a series of lectures, the participants will be introduced to the field of data science from different vantage points. Practical sessions will allow students to apply different theories and methods in practice, both individually and in teams. The Social Program includes different events such as sightseeing tours, hiking trips or a joint barbecue. The summer school 2019 took place at the historic Alte Mensa building.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The most famous tradition of the university is that PhD students who have just passed their "Rigorosum" (oral doctoral examination) or dissertation defense sit in a wagon – decorated with flowers and balloons and accompanied by relatives and friends, drive around the inner city and arrive at the Marktplatz – the central square where the old town hall and the Gänseliesel statue are located. The "newly born doctor" shall climb up to the statue of Gänseliesel (a poor princess in an old fairy tale who was compelled to keep geese by a wicked woman and later regained her identity), kiss the Gänseliesel and give bouquets to her.


title: University of Göttingen

text: There is an old saying about life in Göttingen, still inscribed in Latin nowadays on the wall of the entrance to the Ratskeller (the restaurant located in the basement of the old town hall): ("There is no life outside Göttingen. Even if it is life, it is no life like here").


title: University of Göttingen

text: The university offers eight snack shops and six "Mensas" serving lunch at low prices for the students. One "Mensa" also provides dinner for students.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Notable people that have studied or taught at Georg-August University include the American banker J. P. Morgan, the seismologist Beno Gutenberg, the endocrinologist Hakaru Hashimoto, who studied there before World War I, and several notable Nobel laureates like Max Planck and Werner Heisenberg. Heinrich Heine, the famous German poet, studied law and was awarded the degree of Dr.iur. Anthropologist Marlina Flassy earned her doctorate there, before becoming the first woman and indigenous Papuan to be appointed Dean at Cenderawasih University.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Jürgen Habermas, a German philosopher and sociologist, pursued his study here in Göttingen. Later, Richard von Weizsäcker, the former President of Germany, earned his Dr.Jur. here. Gerhard Schröder, the former Chancellor of Germany, also graduated from the school of law in Göttingen.


title: University of Göttingen

text: Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich, later diplomat and Prime Minister of Austria, and Wilhelm von Humboldt, who later established the University of Berlin, Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher. The Brothers Grimm had taught here and compiled the first German Dictionary. In the 19th century, Gustav von Hugo and Rudolf von Jhering, a jurist who created the theory of culpa in contrahendo and wrote "Battle for Right", taught here and maintained the reputation of the faculty of law, as well as Otto von Bismarck, the main creator and the first Chancellor of the second German Empire.


title: University of Göttingen

text: The German inventor of the jet engine, Pabst von Ohain, also studied aerodynamics under Ludwig Prandtl. Edmund Husserl, the philosopher and known as the father of phenomenology, taught here. Max Weber, the sociologist studied here for one term. Carl Friedrich Gauss taught here in the 19th century. Bernhard Riemann, Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet and a number of significant mathematicians made their contributions to mathematics here. Professor Gunther Heinrich von Berg, Doctor of Law taught at the University 1794 to 1800 and later entered politics.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago (), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeastern Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group. They are distributed over a maritime area of around , with a land area of approximately . The name "Paracel" is of Portuguese origin, and appears on 16th-century Portuguese maps. The archipelago is approximately equidistant from the coastlines of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Vietnam, and approximately one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines. The archipelago includes Dragon Hole, the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world. Turtles and seabirds are native to the islands, which have a hot and humid climate, abundant rainfall and frequent typhoons. The archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and a seabed with potential, but as yet unexplored, oil and gas reserves.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The colonial government of French Indochina set up telecommunication and weather stations on Pattle Island in the Crescent Group and Woody Island ('Boisée' in French) in the Amphitrite Group in the 1930s, which they regularly supplied until 1945. Imperial Japan established a military presence on the Paracel Islands during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and Japanese troops lived alongside French troops on Woody Island throughout much of the war. After the end of the war, in 1946, the Republic of China sent naval expeditions to the South China Sea and established a garrison on Woody Island. Later, in January 1947, French and Vietnamese forces landed on Pattle Island in the Crescent Group. By 1955, South Vietnam had taken possession of the Crescent Group. In 1956, the PRC took control of and established a permanent presence on Woody Island, which by then was only seasonally inhabited by fishermen from Hainan. After the Battle of the Paracel Islands in January 1974, the PRC expelled the South Vietnamese from the Crescent Group and took full control of the Paracels. South Vietnam's claim to the islands was inherited by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has ruled all of Vietnam since 1975.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The ownership of the islands remains hotly contested. China, Vietnam, and Taiwan all claim "de jure" sovereignty, although the PRC has "de facto" control of the islands. In July 2012, China (PRC) established Sansha, Hainan Province, as administering the area. In February 2017, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported 20 outposts of the PRC built on reclaimed land in the Paracels, three of which have small harbors capable of berthing naval and commercial ships.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Amphitrite group was named after the French frigate "Amphitrite", which observed the islands while carrying a Jesuit mission to Canton in 1698–1700.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Lying in the northeast of the Paracel Islands at , the group consists of low, narrow islands with sand cays and enclosed shallow lagoons connected by reefs of rock. It is about northwest of Lincoln Island. The group approximately forms an ellipse with a north–south axis of .


title: Paracel Islands

text: The northern section of the group comprises West Sand, Tree Island and the Qilian Yu sub-group (The "Seven Sisters": North Island, Middle Island, South Island, North Sand, Middle Sand, South Sand and two small "sands".) The center of the group consists of Woody Island and Rocky Island, approximately south of the southern tip of the eastern extremity of the northern section. The southwest corner of the group is occupied by the Iltis Bank.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The largest island of the Paracels, Woody Island (which has an area of ), has over 1,000 residents including fishermen and their families, military personnel and civilian administrators.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Lying about southwest of the Amphitrite group, at , the Crescent group consists of islands and reefs that form a crescent-like structure from west to east, enclosing a deep central lagoon. The group measures east-west and north–south. All of the islands in the group support vegetation except on their small cays.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The islands are named after former senior figures in the British East India Company (EIC). Three were members of the EIC's 'Select Committee' in Canton: James Drummond, Thomas Pattle and John William Roberts. Jonathan Duncan was Governor in Council of Bombay, and William Taylor Money was Superintendent of the Bombay Marine.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Money Island lies at the southwest extremity of the group, and has some small cays on the southern side. The Chinese name for Money Island, Jin Yin Dao, is simply the translation of the English name.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Northeast of this are Robert Island (also named Round Island) and Pattle Island, separated from each other by a wide deep channel. A weather station was built on Pattle Island (by the French) in 1932, and a lighthouse and radio station in 1937.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Observation Bank, also named Silver Islet, and the Lesser Silver Islet, are the northernmost of the group and contain a small cay.


title: Paracel Islands

text: At the eastern side of the group lies a long boomerang shaped reef with Stone Islet at its north end and Drummond Island at its south end. Near the centre of the reef is Dragon Hole the deepest known sinkhole in the world.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Duncan Islands (), consisting of Duncan Island and Palm Island, lie approximately west of Drummond Island and about east of Antelope Reef. Kuangzai Shazhou (Little Basket) lies about halfway between Palm Island and Antelope Reef.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Taking as the center of the Paracel Islands, then the Amphitrite Group is ENE, and the Crescent Group is West.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Vietnamese call the islands Hoang Sa, (黃沙 or Yellow Sands), and this name is found in historic Vietnamese documents dating back to 1483, included "An Nam quốc họa đồ" which was published in 1490. In the modern language system it is written as Hoàng Sa or Cát Vàng. They all have the same meaning — the Yellow Sands or the Yellow Sandbank. Before the early 19th century, the present-day Spratly Islands were treated as features of Hoàng Sa. It was not until the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng (1820–1841) that the Spratlys were distinctly delineated and officially named Vạn Lý Trường Sa (萬里長沙), the Ten-thousand League-long Sandbank. Another plausible explanation for "Hoàng Sa" is the following one. According to the old fishermen who lived on the islands, especially the main group "Crescent Islands"(in viêtnamese Nguyệt thiềm) the naming designation came from its baptismal name was given by the first Nguyễn dynasty's emperor Gia Long(1762-1820), born Ánh Nguyễn, 14 years after his coronation in 1802, set foot on these islands in person in 1816, figured his arrival as a bird of prey (namely an Eagle) which alighted the soil, "Alighting Eagle" more precisely, and not yellow sand as thought so far. I have acknowledged by chance this amazing discovery while joining my close relative appointed Commander-in-Chief of the south-viêtnamese Navy first Tactical Coastal Zone in charge of waters including the Paracel Islands, during one of his routine naval service expeditions. I have afterwards shared this story either with my relative, Capt Nguyễn văn Thông or with his expedition's crewmen. We saw again those fishermen who belonged to the third or fourth generation of ancestors who met Gia Long emperor, and were guided to visit all the ancient spots Gia Long came around. Capt Thông awarded us to don't release this information for security because his task was to defend the islands, not to investigate or prospect anyway. Since it was always kept secret. Accordingly, the designation name given by Gia Long was a Chữ Nôm language (our national language, Chữ Quốc ngữ), not transcribed from Chinese language (differently, Spratly Islands, or Quần đảo Trường Sa is Chinese language). Subsequently, under French occupation's rule, on February 22, 1869, Gustave Ohier decided to impose to all the French Indochina's citizens the use of Chữ Quốc ngữ as the official language, and formalized afterwards by Louis Charles Georges Jules Lafont, on April 06th,1878 by his decree 82, with some modifications as the insertion of roman characters to become the today viêtnamese language. So, if we use Quần đảo Hoàng Sa ("Huang sha" according to Chinese spelling, renamed "Zhong sha" or "Xi sha" after occupation) Chữ Quốc ngữ to write in Cinese, its transcription is impossible and couldn't figure on Chinese maps,on the contrary, the transcription of Hoàng Saas meaned "yellow sand", is totally available!.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Chinese name Xisha (), literally "western sands" or "shoals", is a name adopted in the 20th century to distinguish it from the "eastern sands" (Pratas; also Tungsha/Dongsha), the "southern sands" (the Nansha or Spratlys), and the "central sands" (the Zhongsha or Macclesfield Bank). Prior to that, there had been no consistent designation of these islands in early Chinese sources, with names such as "Changsha", "Shitang", "Shichuang" and others being used for Paracel and Spratly inconsistently. In the 14th century Song Dynasty work "Zhu fan zhi" by Zhao Rugua, the names "Qianli Changsha" (,   "Thousand mile-Long Sands") and "Wanli Shichuang" (  "Ten-thousand mile-Rock Bed") were given, interpreted by some to refer to Paracel and Spratly respectively, but opinions differed. The Yuan dynasty work "Daoyi Zhilüe" by Wang Dayuan considers that "Shitang" (石塘) to be the same as "Wanli Shitang" (,  "Ten-thousand mile-Rock Embankment"), which starts from Chaozhou and extends to Borneo, west to Côn Sơn Island off Vietnam and down as far as Java. The "History of Yuan" uses the terms "Qizhouyang" (七洲洋, "The Ocean of Seven Islands") and "Wanli Shitang", which are taken to mean Paracel and Spratly respectively. In the Mao Kun map from the Zheng He's voyage of the early 15th century, groups of islands were named as "Shitang" (石塘), "Wansheng Shitangyu" (萬生石塘嶼), and "Shixing Shitang" (石星石塘), with "Shitang" (sometimes including "Wansheng Shitangyu") being taken by some to mean Paracel. Another Ming text, "Haiyu" (On the Sea), uses "Wanli Shitang" to refer to Paracel and "Wanli Changsha" for Spratly.


title: Paracel Islands

text: During the Qing dynasty, a set of maps refer to Paracel as "Qizhouyang" ("Shitang" became Spratly, and "Changsha" became Zhongsha), while a book "Hai Lu" (Illustrations of the Sea) refers to Paracel as "Changsha" and Spratly as "Shitang". A sea chart prepared in the Daoguang era, "Yiban Lu" (Particular Illustrations) by Zheng Guangzu, uses Xisha to refer to Paracel. Xisha became the standard name used in China in the 20th century, and was used in 20th century maps published by the Republic of China, for example in 1935, and the 1947 11-dash line map which claimed Paracel and Spratly as its territories.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The name 'Paracel' is found in the first Portuguese maps of the region. The Portuguese, whose vessels frequented the South China Sea as early as at the beginning of the 16th century, were the first to refer to these islands as 'Ilhas do Pracel' in the 16th century. Regarding the likely origin of the term "Paracel", the word is a variant of the more common form "pracel" or "parcel", from the , which was used by the Portuguese and Spanish navigators to designate shallow sandy seas or submerged banks, such as "Placer de los Roques".


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Portuguese were later followed by the Dutch, the English, the Spanish, and the French in the waters of the island group. On the "Map of the coast of Tonquin and Cochinchina", made in 1747 by Pierre d'Hondt, the dangerous band of rugged rocks was labeled "Le Paracel", a French phonetic notation. Because of their location on an important seaborne route the Paracel Islands drew much attention from navigators and hydrographers in the Age of Exploration. Disputes in the area since the Second World War have again drawn attention to the islands.


title: Paracel Islands

text: On the "Map of Europe, Africa and Asia" published in 1598 by Cornelis Claesz, an unnamed band of rocks and sandbanks are shown near the present-day location of the Paracel and Spratly Islands. About two decades later, the names Pracel and Costa de Pracel (Coast of Pracel) appeared on the "Chart of Asia and eight city maps" published in 1617 by Willem Jansz Blaeu, a Dutch map maker. The coast belonged to the Kingdom of Cauchi China.


title: Paracel Islands

text: In fact, the name of Paracel came from Paracelsus, a Swiss doctor (1493 - 1541) and alchemist. Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769 - 1832) who was a French navigator, native of Brittany, in northwestern France, being a part


title: Paracel Islands

text: of soldiers recruited by Pierre Pigneau de Behaine (1741 - 1799), a catholic missionary, who came first in Viêtnam in 1765 and settled at Hà tiên, a viêtnamese southwestern border province close to Cambodia (Cambodge) and


title: Paracel Islands

text: prepared viêtnamese pupils for priesthood while his seminary was destroyed by the neighbors siamese (now Thailand) and was forced to flee to Pondichery in India. He was made titular of bishop of Adran in 1770, then returned to Viêtnam to help Gia Long (1762 - 1820) fighting against the Tây sơn regime. He was given the nickname of "Cha Cả" (eldest father) by the viêtnamese. He took part in sending the Gia Long's heir, Cảnh, to France as hostage, to solicit the military assistance of Louis XVI(Bourbon dynasty) during 1783 - 1789, and proclaimed inherited heir of the throne but died of smallpox at the age of 21 (1780 - 1801), 19 years before his father's death. About the Paracel Islands, since the 15th of Gia Long's reign (1802 - 1820), he already paid the most interests for this site and executed personally his official visit to the archipelago in 1816. The royal decree of the 19th of Minh Mạng's reign (successor of Gia Long) successively on June 21, 1838, and July 19, 1838, related the royal writ (order) to send subordinates prospecting and taking the measurements of Paracel Islands. The Bảo Đại's decree of 13rd reigning year on March 30, 1938, proclaimed Paracel Islands submitted to the Thừa Thiên (Huế) province. In 1954, at the 1954 Geneva Conference, Japan agreed to renounce all ownership over Quần đảo Hoàng Sa and


title: Paracel Islands

text: Quần đảo Trường Sa as negotiated with Taipei during the Peace Treaty of April 29, 1952,UNTS 1838, subsequently, their sovereignty harked back to the Republic of Viêtnam (or South Viêtnam), sustained by the United States. At


title: Paracel Islands

text: the time of sino-south viêtnamese war's breakout on January 19, 1974, despite the south viêtnamese foreign ministry, in person of Vương Văn Bắc's claims his protest over Chinese aggression through the United Nations,


title: Paracel Islands

text: but, unfortunately, neither ROC nor PRC were yet members of this organization, the claims had been revoked.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Under the Champakingdom, 192 AD - 1832, while being annexed by Minh Mạng of Nguyên dynasty, Champa laid along the coastal viêtnamese region, from northern Quảng Bình province to southern Bình thuận province. So, during many


title: Paracel Islands

text: centuries, the Paracel should belong to Champa's sovereignty. The first designation of Champa was Lâm Ấp (Lin Yi), which physically existed after many millennium of Sa Huỳnh civilization, thanks to the excavation in this


title: Paracel Islands

text: region at Đức Phổ (Quảng Ngãi province) of ancient "jars' graves" dated since almost 3,000 years ago. The custom of burying the dead bodies into jars is also widespread in South East Asia as Philippines Palawan, Thailand


title: Paracel Islands

text: Ban Chiang, Ban Nadi, Kam Luang...Besides, among Champan ancient famous patrimony, one may cite Mỹ Sơn which herites Sa Huỳnh Ceramic's Art. Unlike other regional countries' religious beliefs, the Chams don't


title: Paracel Islands

text: practise the worship of Allah, Buddha, or the Christ, their religious creeds are Hinduism which believes in Brahma, Civa, Vishnu their God' trinity, before adopting Islam and Matriarchy. Formerly, Champa was also the native birthplace of many viêtnamese politicians, as well northerner revolutionaries like Phạm Văn Đồng whose hometown is Quảng Ngãi, Võ Nguyên Giáp, hometown Quảng Bình, as southerners like Ngô Đình Diệm, hometown Quảng Bình too, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, hometown Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm, Ninh thuận province. Champa also abundes of ores' deposits such as Coal mines in Nông Sơn, Quảng Nam province, mineral water source at Vĩnh Hảo, Bình thuận province...even offers many tourism' sites, the most famous may be Po Nagar, which practises the worship of Po Yang Ina Nagar, regarded as the Mother of Cham people, in Ninh thuận province. During the Vietnam War, the ancient Champa was used by the north Vietnamese to build a secret trail long, in the mountainous region of Trường sơn (Annamite Range), at an elevation of , close to the Laos and Cambodian borders, shortly after the signature of the 1954 Geneva Conference on July 20, 1954, to infiltrate materials and troops into the south Vietnamese territory, violating subsequently the so-called Geneva Accords.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The islands were first scientifically surveyed by Daniel Ross of the British East India Company in 1808. The names of Duncan, Drummond, Money, Pattle and Roberts islands were all chosen in honor of senior figures in the East India Company.


title: Paracel Islands

text: China has historically had a presence in the islands and, as of 2016, was engaged in major infrastructure development to support its territorial claims over the archipelago, and as a result there has been, and continues to be, a lot of construction activity. In recent years Woody Island has acquired an upgraded airport, an upgraded sea port, and a city hall. There is a post office, hospital and a school on Woody Island.


title: Paracel Islands

text: There is limited supply of fresh water on the islands. In 2012, it was reported that China (PRC) planned to build a solar-energy-powered desalination plant on the islands. In 2016, it was reported that the first desalination plant was activated. This reduces the occupant's reliance on water supply coming in barrels by boat.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Both wind and solar powered facilities exist, but most of the electricity is supplied by diesel generators. This led to considerations by the Chinese government to use floating nuclear power plants. It was reported in October 2020 that an experimental wave power generator was installed off Woody Island.


title: Paracel Islands

text: On land, in August 2020, Millennium Energy Viêtnam Co., Ltd, a member of Millennium Petroleum Corporation announced plans to develop a 600 ha, US$15 billion LNG project in the south Vân Phong area of the Khánh Hòa province, i.e. Nha Trang, near by Cam Ranh, with capacity of 9,600 MW, project which include a dock warehouse system, may be terminals, to provide gas to the power plant as well as distribute LNG in South-East Asia, supplied presumably by the offshore gas deposit along the coast of Quảng Nam province, discovered by ExxonMobil in October 2011, at 200 nautical miles (roughly 370 km), amid the area disputed by China (PRC), surrounded the Paracel


title: Paracel Islands

text: Islands, in Chinese maritime border sovereignty claimed by Beijing (refer to "Battle of the Paracel Islands"). Trung Nam Group also announced in early April 2021, a wind power 900 ha complex US$174 million with capacity of 423 GW/h/year, directly connected to the country's grid through Tháp Chàm 220 kV transformer station.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Chinese postal zip code of the island is 572000, and the telephone area code is +86 (898). There is cellphone reception on the island.


title: Paracel Islands

text: There is an airport on Woody Island with a long runway, which can handle take-offs and landings of Boeing-737s or planes of similar size. Flight services operate on the Haikou – Xisha route. There are three main roads on Woody Island as well as an long cement causeway that connects Woody Island and Rocky Island. Extensive port facilities have been constructed on Duncan Island.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Paracel Islands' geographical and ecological traits are often likened as "China's Maldives", however, controversial conflicts between environment conservation and human activities including military operations, developments, and tourism on Paracel Islands have become public concerns in recent years. Local ecosystem include endangered fish such as whale sharks, oceanic birds, marine mammals (at least historically) such as blue whales, fin whales, and Chinese white dolphins, and marine reptile species such as critically endangered green sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles, and Leatherback sea turtles; however, direct damaging of the ecosystem by military group and tourists has been documented. Governmental actions to cease illegal tourism are ongoing.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The islands have been open for tourists since 1997. Chinese tourists can take a 20-hour ferry to the Islands, paying up to US$2,000 for a 5-day cruise, and are placed on a long waitlist before being accepted. The BBC article states that "Chinese tourism has strong political implications, as the Chinese tourists are being used as 'foot soldiers of China' by Beijing to further China's territorial claims there". The video also states "Vietnam is considered unlikely to send military vessels to stop them".


title: Paracel Islands

text: There are two museums on Woody Island; a Naval Museum and a Maritime Museum. In April 2012, the Vice-Mayor and officials from the Haikou Municipal Government made several announcements about developing new docking facilities and hotels within the Crescent Group - on Duncan and Drummond Islands specifically. Promotion of the naturally unspoilt reef system was cited as the driver for new tourism potential with other such reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, now placed under threat of extinction due to human activities. However, according to "The China Post", this was denied by a PRC Government official in April 2012, due to sensitivities surrounding the islands.


title: Paracel Islands

text: After the 1884–1885 Sino-French War, in an international context, France officially gained control of Annam and Tonkin as protectorates and fully established French colonial rule in Vietnam by signing a number of treaties with the Chinese and Vietnamese governments including Tientsin Accord, Treaty of Huế (1884) and Treaty of Tientsin (1885). Article 2 of the Treaty of Tientsin (1885) forced China to stop any claims to suzerainty all over Vietnam. Therefore, the French also took over the control of the Paracel Islands which were under the Nguyễn dynasty's administration, still nominally ruled Annam at the time.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Between 1881 and 1883 the German navy surveyed the islands continuously for three months each year without seeking the permission of either France or China. No protest was issued by either government and the German government published the results of the survey in 1885. In 1932, France nonetheless formally claimed both the Paracel and Spratly Islands. China and Japan both protested. In 1933, France seized the Paracels and Spratlys, announced their annexation, formally included them in French Indochina, and built a couple of weather stations on them, but did not disturb the numerous Chinese fishermen it found there. In 1941, the Japanese Empire made the Paracel and Spratly islands part of Taiwan, then under its rule.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Paracels and Spratlys were handed over to the Republic of China control after the 1945 surrender of Japan, since the Allied powers had assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area. At the end of the war (Asian-Pacific Region), Nationalist China formally retook the Paracels, Spratlys, and other islands in the South China Sea in October and November 1946. In the Geneva accord of 1954 Japan formally renounced all of its claims to, inter alia, the South China Sea islands that it had occupied during World War II. After WW2 ended, the Republic of China was the "most active claimant". The Republic of China then garrisoned Woody Island in the Paracels in 1946 and posted Chinese flags and markers on it; France tried, but failed, to make them leave Woody island. The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims. In December 1947, the Republic of China drew up a map showing its eleven-dotted line U shaped claim to the entire South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel Islands as Chinese territory.


title: Paracel Islands

text: After the communists gained control of China in 1949, they occupied Woody Island, the main island of the Amphitrite group and the only island that was occupied at the time. Pattle Island in the Crescent group, on the other hand, was taken by French Indochina and then controlled by South Vietnam following independence in 1956. Tensions over the islands have continued to rise unceasingly since then.


title: Paracel Islands

text: The Paracel islands are claimed by both China and Vietnam and the majority of those islands lie within 200 NM of both China's and Vietnam's geographic baselines under the Law of the Sea.


title: Paracel Islands

text: There are some Chinese cultural relics in the Paracel islands dating from the Tang and Song eras, and there is some evidence of Chinese habitation on the islands during these periods. According to the "Wujing Zongyao", a book published in the Northern Song dynasty in 1044, the Song government then included the Islands in the patrol areas of the Navy of the Court.


title: Paracel Islands

text: In 1279, the Yuan dynasty emperor sent the high-level official and astronomer, Guo Shoujing, to the South China Sea to survey and measure the islands and the surrounding sea area. Guo's base of survey was claimed by China to be located in the Paracel Islands, although this is considered unlikely by many Chinese scholars. His activities were recorded in the "Yuan Shi", or History of Yuan. According to the "Yuan Shi", the South China Sea islands were within the boundary of the Yuan dynasty. Maps published in the Yuan era invariably included the "Changsha" (the Paracels) and the "Shitang" (the Spratlys) within the domain of Yuan.


title: Paracel Islands

text: Relevant local annals and other historic materials of the Ming (1368–1644) and the Qing (1644–1912) dynasties continued to make reference to the South China Sea islands as China's territory. The Qiongzhou Prefecture (the highest administrative authority in Hainan), exercised jurisdiction over the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.


title: Paracel Islands

text: In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually sojourned on the Paracel and Spratly Islands for part of the year. For three months each year between 1881 and 1884, the German Imperial Navy sent two boats (the ship "Freya" and the warship "Iltis") to study and map the Paracel Islands without either seeking the permission of or incurring protest by the Chinese government. This mission was finished without any problems and the German Admiralty published the results in 1885 in a document called "Die Paracel-Inseln" (The Paracel Islands).


title: Paracel Islands

text: In 1909, Zhang Renjun (), the Viceroy of Liangguang, ordered Guangdong Fleet Admiral Li Zhun () to sail to the Paracel Islands. In June, with over 170 sailors in three warships named "Fubo" (), "Guangjin" () and "Shenhang" (), he inspected 15 islands, erected stone tablets engraved with each island's name, raised China's flag and fired cannons to declare the islands "sacred territory of China", which France did not protest. In 1910, the Qing government decided to invite Chinese merchants to contract for the administration of the development affairs of the South China Sea islands, and demanded that officials shall provide protection and maintenance in order to highlight Chinese territory and protect its titles and interests.


title: Paracel Islands

text: After the fall of the Qing dynasty, the new Government of Guangdong Province decided to place the Paracel Islands under the jurisdiction of the Ya Xian County of Hainan Prefecture in 1911. The Southern Military Government in 1921 reaffirmed the 1911 decision. China continued to exercise authority over the South China Sea islands by such means as granting licenses or contracts to private Chinese merchants for the development and exploitation of guano and other resources on those islands and protesting against foreign nations' claims, occupations, and other activities. For example, in May 1928, the Guangdong provincial government sent a naval vessel, the "Hai-jui" (), with an investigation team organized by the provincial government and Sun Yat-Sen University to investigate and survey the islets, after which the investigation team produced a detailed Report of Surveys on the Paracel Islands.


title: Paracel Islands

text: On July27, 1932, the Chinese Foreign Ministry instructed the Chinese Envoy to France to lodge a diplomatic protest to the French Foreign Ministry and to deny France's claims to the Paracel Islands. On November 30 of the same year, Zhu Zhaoshen, a high-level inspection official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, issued public correspondence Number 66 to the French Consul in Guangzhou, reiterating that "it is absolutely beyond doubt that the Xisha [Paracel] Islands fall within the boundary of China". Despite repeated Chinese protests, French troops, who had colonized French Indochina in the 19th century, invaded and occupied the Paracel Islands on July 3, 1938. This took place shortly after the breakout of the Second Sino-Japanese War, when the armed forces of China and Japan were busy elsewhere. Three days later, on July 6, the Japanese Foreign Ministry also issued a declaration in protest of the French occupation


title: Paracel Islands

text: During the Second World War, the Japanese expelled the French troops and took over the islands in spite of the 1938 declarations. The Spratlys and the Paracels were conquered by Japan in 1939. Japan administered the Spratlys via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction. The Paracels and Spratlys were handed over to Republic of China control after the 1945 surrender of Japan, since the Allied powers had assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area. At the end of the war (Asian-Pacific Region), Nationalist China formally retook the Paracels, Spratlys and other islands in the South China Sea in October and November 1946. In the Geneva accord of 1954 Japan formally renounced all of its claims to, "inter alia", the South China Sea islands which it had occupied during the World War II. After WW2 ended, the Republic of China was the "most active claimant". The Republic of China then garrisoned Woody Island in the Paracels in 1946 and posted Chinese flags and markers on it; France tried, but failed, to make them leave Woody island. The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims. In December 1947, the Republic of China drew up a map showing its eleven-dotted line U shaped claim to the entire South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel Islands as Chinese territory.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural season in 1998. The stadium is also used for college football, and from December 2008 to December 2017 was the home of the St. Petersburg Bowl, an annual postseason bowl game. The venue is currently the only non-retractable domed stadium in Major League Baseball, making it the only year-round indoor venue in MLB. Tropicana Field is the smallest MLB stadium by seating capacity when obstructed-view rows in the uppermost sections are covered with tarps as they are for most Rays games.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Tropicana Field opened in 1990 and was originally known as the Florida Suncoast Dome. In 1993, the Tampa Bay Lightning moved to the facility and its name was changed to the ThunderDome until the team moved to their new home in downtown Tampa in 1996. In October 1996, Tropicana Products, a fruit juice company then based in nearby Bradenton, signed a 30-year naming rights deal.


title: Tropicana Field

text: After Tampa was awarded the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 1970s, St. Petersburg decided it wanted a share of the professional sports scene in Tampa Bay. City officials decided early on that the city would attempt to attract Major League Baseball. Possible designs for a baseball park or multi-purpose stadium were proposed as early as 1983. One such design, in the same location where Tropicana Field would ultimately be built, called for an open-air stadium with a circus tent-like covering. It took several design cues from Kauffman Stadium, including fountains beyond the outfield wall.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Ultimately, city officials decided that a stadium with a fixed permanent dome was necessary for a prospective major league team to be viable in the area, due to its hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms. Ballpark construction began in 1986 in the hope that it would lure a Major League Baseball team to the facility.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The stadium, built originally as the Florida Suncoast Dome, was first used in an attempt to entice the Chicago White Sox to relocate if a new ballpark was not built to replace the aging Comiskey Park. The governments of Chicago and Illinois eventually agreed to build a New Comiskey Park in 1989.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The stadium was finished in 1990. It hosted the 1990 Davis Cup Finals that autumn, as well as several rock concerts, but still had no tenants. The venue helped make St. Petersburg a finalist in the MLB expansion for 1993, but it lost out to Miami and Denver. There were rumors of the Seattle Mariners moving in the early part of the 1990s, and the San Francisco Giants came close to moving to the area, with Tampa Bay investors announcing their purchase of the team and its relocation in a press conference in 1992. However, the sale and move were blocked by National League owners, who voted against the deal in November 1992 under pressure from San Francisco officials and the then-owner of the Florida Marlins, Blockbuster Video Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga. A local boycott of Blockbuster Video stores occurred for several years thereafter.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The Suncoast Dome finally got a regular tenant in 1991, when the Arena Football League's Tampa Bay Storm made their debut. Two years later, the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning made the stadium their home for three seasons. In the process, the Suncoast Dome was renamed the ThunderDome. Because of the large capacity of what was basically a park built for baseball, several NHL and AFL attendance records were set during the Lightning and Storm's tenures there.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Finally, in 1995, the ThunderDome received a baseball team when MLB expanded to the Tampa Bay area. Changes were made to the stadium and its naming rights were sold to Tropicana Products, who renamed it Tropicana Field in 1996. The completion of what is now Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa permitted "The Trop" to be vacated for preparation for its intended purpose, as the Lightning and Storm moved into that facility. A US$70 million renovation then took place—to upgrade a stadium that had cost $130 million to complete only eight years earlier. Ebbets Field was the model for the renovations, which included a replica of the famous rotunda that greeted Dodger fans for many years. The first regular season baseball game took place at the park on March 31, 1998, when the Devil Rays faced the Detroit Tigers, losing 11–6. Luis Gonzalez of the Tigers hit the first home run at the stadium during the game, and Wade Boggs hit the first Devil Rays home run later in the game. Boggs would also hit a home run for his 3,000th hit at Tropicana Field in 1999.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Although Tropicana was purchased by PepsiCo in 1998, PepsiCo did not elect to make any changes to Tropicana's naming rights, as the Tropicana brand is popular among the local fanbase.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The park was initially built with an AstroTurf surface, but it was replaced in 2000 by softer FieldTurf. A new version of FieldTurf, FieldTurf Duo, was installed prior to the 2007 season. It has always featured a traditional "full dirt" infield, instead of the "sliding pits" design that was common during the 1970s and 1980s, making it the first artificial turf field with a full dirt infield since Busch Stadium II in 1976. Since Tropicana Field does not need to convert between baseball and football, sliding pits, designed to save re-configuration time, were unnecessary. The only other artificial turf field in MLB, Rogers Centre in Toronto, converted to the full dirt infield after the departure of the Toronto Argonauts to BMO Field. Tropicana has hosted football games, but never during baseball season. On August 6, 2007, the AstroTurf warning track was replaced by brown-colored stone filled FieldTurf Duo.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Tropicana Field underwent a further $25 million facelift prior to the 2006 season. Another $10 million in improvements were added during the season. In 2006, the Devil Rays added a live Cownose ray tank to Tropicana Field. The tank is located just behind the center field wall, in clear view of the play on the field. People can go up to the tank to touch the creatures. Further improvements prior to the 2007 offseason, in addition to the new FieldTurf, include additional family features in the right field area, the creation of a new premium club, and several new video boards including a new Daktronics LED main video board that is four times larger than the original video board. The 2007 renovation also added built-in HDTV capabilities to the ballpark, with Fox Sports Florida and WXPX airing at least a quarter of the schedule in HD in 2007 and accommodating the new video board's 16x9 aspect ratio.


title: Tropicana Field

text: On September 3, 2008, in a game between the Rays and the New York Yankees, Tropicana Field saw the first official use of instant replay in the history of Major League Baseball. The disputed play involved a home run hit above the left field foul pole by Yankee Alex Rodriguez. The ball was called a home run on the field, but was close enough that the umpires opted to view the replay to verify the call. Later, the Trop saw the first case of a call being overturned by instant replay, when a fly ball by Carlos Peña originally ruled a ground-rule double due to fan interference, was overturned and made a home run on September 19. The umpires determined that the fan in question, originally believed to have reached over the right field wall, did not reach over the wall.


title: Tropicana Field

text: In October 2008, Tropicana Field hosted its first ever baseball postseason games as the Rays met the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series, the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, and the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. It hosted the on-field trophy presentations for the Rays when they became the American League Champions on October 19, following Game 7 of the ALCS. Chase Utley hit the first ever World Series home run at Tropicana Field during the first inning of Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. The Rays ended up losing the game 3–2 and eventually the World Series to the Phillies 4 games to 1.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Since 2008, the top ⅓ of the upper deck seating has been tarped over, artificially reducing the stadium's capacity to 36,048 for the 2008 regular season. It was further reduced to 35,041 for the 2008 postseason, since the 300-level Party Deck had been reserved by Major League Baseball as an auxiliary press area. On October 14, 2008, the Rays announced that the upper deck tarps would be removed for the remainder of the postseason, starting with a Game 6 of the 2008 American League Championship Series. This increased the capacity of the stadium to nearly 41,000, depending on standing-room-only tickets sold.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The first no-hitter pitched at Tropicana Field took place on June 25, 2010, thrown by Edwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who had been a member of the Rays from 2006 to 2008.


title: Tropicana Field

text: About one month after Jackson's no-hitter on July 26, 2010, Tropicana Field was the site of the first no-hitter in Rays' history when pitcher Matt Garza achieved the feat. Garza faced the minimum 27 batters, as the only opponent to reach base (on a walk) was erased by a double play hit by the following batter.


title: Tropicana Field

text: On June 24, 2013, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, three Rays players – James Loney, Wil Myers, and Sam Fuld – hit consecutive home runs, a first at Tropicana Field.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Because of rioting in Baltimore, a series between the Rays and Baltimore Orioles in May 2015 was moved from Oriole Park at Camden Yards to Tropicana Field. The games were played with the Orioles serving as the home team and the Rays serving as the visiting team.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Due to severe flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, the Houston Astros played one "home" series at Tropicana Field in August 2017 against the Texas Rangers while the Rays were away on a previously scheduled road trip. This was only the fourth time games were moved to a neutral location due to weather. Coincidentally, in advance of Hurricane Irma arriving in the Tampa Bay area two weeks later, the Rays' home series against the New York Yankees was moved to Citi Field, the home stadium of the Yankees' crosstown rivals, the New York Mets.


title: Tropicana Field

text: In July 2018, a proposal was unveiled to replace the facility with Ybor Stadium. However, later that year at the MLB Winter Owners Meeting, it was announced by Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg that the Ybor stadium plan would not go forward. The current stadium lease between the Rays and the City of St. Petersburg runs through 2027. The city granted the Rays until December 31, 2018, to continue negotiations with Hillsborough County officials. Although MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has stated his support for "the ballpark effort and [his] desire to be [help] in assisting all parties in finding a way to keep the Rays in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area", he also went on to say that the Rays should "explore a path that is in the best interests of his Club and Major League Baseball".


title: Tropicana Field

text: In addition, the relocation announcement sparked a flurry of redevelopment proposals submitted to the City of St. Petersburg. There are proposals to eliminate the structure completely, but efforts have been made to include the public in the debate using several community meetings.


title: Tropicana Field

text: For the 2019 season, Tropicana Field closed its upper decks, as part of efforts and renovations to "create a more intimate, entertaining and appealing experience for our fans". This reduced the stadium's capacity to around 25,000–the lowest in the league. The team's average attendance in the 2018 season was only just over 14,000.


title: Tropicana Field

text: From December 2020 to April 2021, the stadium hosted the professional wrestling promotion WWE, broadcasting its shows from a behind closed doors set called the WWE ThunderDome. Due to the start of the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays season, the promotion relocated to Yuengling Center in Tampa.


title: Tropicana Field

text: On January 26, 2021, seven different proposals to redevelop the Tropicana Field site were unveiled, both with and without a new stadium.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The most recognizable exterior feature of Tropicana Field is the slanted roof. It was designed at an angle to reduce the interior volume in order to reduce cooling costs, and to better protect the stadium from hurricanes. The dome is supported by a tensegrity structure and is lit up with orange lights after the Rays win a home game. When the Minnesota Twins vacated the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome following the 2009 season and moved into Target Field in 2010, Tropicana Field became the only active Major League Baseball stadium with a fixed (i.e., not retractable) roof. The catwalks attached to the non-retractable roof have been rare but occasional obstructions in the way of batted balls.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The main rotunda, on the east end of the stadium, resembles the Ebbets Field rotunda on the interior. The walkway to the main entrance of the park featured, until the 2020 season, a long ceramic tile mosaic, made of 1,849,091 one-inch-square tiles. It was the largest outdoor tile mosaic in Florida, and the fifth-largest in the United States. It was sponsored by Florida Power Corporation, which is now a part of Duke Energy.


title: Tropicana Field

text: The primary 100-level concourse is at street level, with elevators, escalators and stairs separating the outfield and infield sections, since the ground is at different grades on either side. The 200-level loge box concourse is further separated, and is carpeted, as it includes the entrances to most of the luxury suites. The 300-level concourse is the highest of the concourses.


title: Tropicana Field

text: There are seven gate entrances/exits to Tropicana Field, numbered in a clockwise fashion. Gate 1 is the main entrance, known as the Rotunda, on the right-field side of the stadium. Gate 4 is a VIP-only entrance, while Gate 7 is for stadium and team personnel only.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Seating at Tropicana Field is arranged with odd sections on the third base side and even sections on the first base side. The hallway behind sections 133–149 is nicknamed "Left Field Street." The hallway behind sections 136–150 is nicknamed "Right Field Street." The 100-level seating wraps around the entire field with a 360° walkway. Behind the stadium's batter's eye is a center field common area, known as The Porch, which provides fans with open seating and standing room to watch games. The Porch, along with other facility improvements, was part of a multimillion-dollar renovation project that was completed before the start of the 2014 season. Loge boxes are featured along the infield of the 100-level from foul pole to foul pole. 200-level seating features 20 sections along the foul lines, broken by the press box behind home plate, with the luxury boxes directly behind and above them. 300-level seating wraps around the infield along the lines, and also features the "Party Deck", a small-capacity seating area above the left field outfield seats with separate concessions inside; initially sponsored by tbt*, the Party Deck has been sponsored by GTE Financial since the 2019 season. Rows are lettered starting closest to home plate and rise further away. Seats are numbered starting at the left side of the section.


title: Tropicana Field

text: There are a total of 70 luxury suites. 48 are accessible from the 200-level, while the other 15 are located on the 100-level.


title: Tropicana Field

text: There are a total of 2,776 club seats at Tropicana Field. The Dex Imaging Home Plate Club features its own entrance, recliner seats, and a premium buffet with in-seat service. The second club section, the Rays Club, is along the first-base side on the 100-level at the Loge Box level. It features its own premium buffet and premium seating.


title: Tropicana Field

text: MacDillville is a section located on the right field line, behind the Rays' bullpen. The section is reserved for the 24 tickets that the Rays provide to personnel returning from deployment, families of deployed personnel and staff assigned to MacDill Air Force Base.


title: Tropicana Field

text: Field-level party sections were installed in the corners in 2006. The left field party section is available for groups of 75-136 people and named "162 Landing", in reference to Evan Longoria's walk-off home run in the 162nd and final regular season game of the season that landed in that section, which clinched the American League wild card for the Rays. In 2017 the section was renamed after the Tampa sports bar, "Ducky's" that is featured in The Porch, and co-owned by Evan Longoria; the Ducky's branding was removed following the trade of Longoria to the San Francisco Giants before the 2018 season, and 162 Landing has been sponsored by Hard Rock Café since the 2018 season. The right field party section is the "Papa John's Bullpen Box" and is available for groups of 50–85. When the right field corner was sponsored by the fast food chain Checkers, tickets to the "Checkers Bullpen Cafe" included a free meal at the Checkers kiosk immediately adjacent to the section. As of 2008, both party sections feature all-you-can-eat buffets.


title: Tropicana Field

text: In 2008, the Rays also set aside a section of the press boxes on the right field side, named "Press Level Party Area", as an all-you-can-eat buffet section with typical ballpark fare. It is usually available for group parties of at least 35, but it is available for individual ticketing on select dates.


title: Tropicana Field

text: In 2019, the Rays introduced the Left Field Ledge, a party section above the section of the 360 walkway behind left field, offering tables for groups of eight and patio boxes for groups of 12 to 24.