International time use in geography
Answers
time zone geography?
A time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. Most adjacent time zones are exactly one hour apart, and by convention compute their local time as an offset from Greenwich Mean Time (see also UTC). Standard Time Zones of the World.
The annual fall occurrence of Daylight Saving Time and the return in spring to standard time brings with it the biannual confusion of what time zones and countries do what and how many hours people in different parts of the world are from each other.
The most well-known time zone is Greenwich Mean Time which is considered the standard by which all other time zones are based after. Greenwich Time was established because the world needed a prime meridian location by which to conduct navigation, shipping, trade, and more. The Greenwich Meridian became the prime meridian used to establish a baseline for time that could then be used for timekeeping and navigational purposes around the world.
Greenwich Mean Time was first set up in 1675 by the Royal Observatory. The organization established the set time to assist sailors and mariners in navigation while at sea, as the method of doing so had been perfected by that time. By using the time and a few other navigational instruments sailors could accurately predict their location without needing to have a visible landmass nearby. Different cities within England and around the world still kept their local times.
Prior to the establishment of the Greenwich Mean Time the time of day would be calculated with a sun dial using solar time. This time would be different for every location but gave an accurate representation of the local time depending on where exactly in the world the sundial was being used. Once mechanical clocks and watches began gaining in popularity during the early 19th century there continued to be an increase in time standardization.