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1500 questions
14
votes
2 answers
Why don't cold fronts and other steep-gradient weather effects just dissipate?
Why don't cold fronts and other steep-gradient weather effects just dissipate? Why do they last so long? Why doesn't the heat dissipate toward the cooler region?
naught101
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14
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3 answers
How much distance does $0.001^\circ$ in latitude or longitude represent?
If I'm standing at a lat of 30.000$^\circ$ and a long of 30.000$^\circ$ and I move to a lat of 30.001$^\circ$ and a long 30.000$^\circ$, how far have I gone? Is there a relationship between decimal places and lat and long distances?
Mark Thornburg
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14
votes
1 answer
What is the force imposed by underwater currents?
I would like to calculate the force of an underwater current on a meter by meter plate (or any other unit that you may use to represent it) that is standing in front of the current.
How do I calculate it? What parameters do I need?
Someonation
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14
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3 answers
Why is Mauna Kea taller than the maximum height possible on Earth?
We can calculate the maximum possible height of the mountain on earth.
If the elastic limit of a typical rock is $3 \times 10^8\ \mathrm{N/m}$ and its mean density is $3 \times 10^3\ \mathrm{kg/m^3}$, then the breaking stress is…
Aneek
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14
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2 answers
Ice Coverage on the Laurentian Great Lakes
Currently (April 2014), the fraction of the Great Lakes covered by ice is more than ten times the median amount for this time of year, the median amount being indicated by the green line in the below graph and representing the 1980-2010 time period.…
DavePhD
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14
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1 answer
What are the impacts of sublimation on an annual mountain snowpack?
Massive amounts of freshwater rests atop the world's mountains in the form of ice, snow, permafrost, and glaciers. Many areas of the world rely upon the melting of snow and ice to recharge their rivers and reservoirs. But not all of that ice and…
DrewP84
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14
votes
3 answers
Will the ocean eventually erode all land?
It seems as if the 'lowest energy' state for the Earth is to not have any mountains and that given enough time, the oceans would erode all land. Essentially it's an argument like entropy. And I mean in the far future, once tectonic activity has…
Stuart
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14
votes
2 answers
What color is the Sahara desert, as seen from orbit?
In images of the Earth taken from spacecraft (or composite images thereof), the color rendering seems to be really inconsistent.
Examples
(Source: NASA,…
John
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14
votes
3 answers
Is continental drift caused by lava pushing the seabed apart?
My daughter has a writing assignment based on a handout about plate tectonics. One paragraph says:
Molten rock from the earth's mantle pushes up through the surface at the mid-Atlanic ridge. The rock cools and forms new sections of crust on the…
mattdm
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14
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2 answers
Characterizing earthquakes using accelerometer data
Is there a way to use accelerometer data to characterize earthquake intensity, e.g., on Richter scale?
Michael Rogers
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14
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2 answers
Earth's ocean basins
Was Earth's sea-floor always carved with the numerous geological features that we see today, or was it at some point flat and boring as Mars is today?
Lucian09474
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14
votes
5 answers
Why do greenhouse gases affect ocean temperature so much?
As I understand it, greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation from the sun. Much of that radiation would otherwise continue and be absorbed on the planet surface in the ocean or on land.
If CO2 increases are causing the oceans to warm, does that…
WolfRevokCats
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14
votes
2 answers
Software for sediment transport modeling
I am doing a paper about coastal processes and I was told that I should include a sediment transport modeling to further examine my geophysical findings. I was reading in the net and found that Delft3D Suite seems to be the best option, however I…
Gery
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14
votes
1 answer
What kinds of remote sensing required to observe methanogenic life on Titan?
Inspired by Chris McKay's Possibilities for methanogenic life in liquid methane on the surface of Titan. In the paper, the PI's found that the consumed acetylene, ethane, and other organic solids would produce enough energy for bacteria to live.…
Neo
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14
votes
4 answers
How much of earth's molecular oxygen in the atmosphere is due to plants?
I know plants form a critical part of the earth's biosphere, including molecular oxygen production. Molecular oxygen makes up ~20% of our atmosphere. How much of the earth's molecular oxygen in the atmosphere is due to plants? Is there a minimal…
Stan Shunpike
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