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1500 questions
13
votes
4 answers
Is there a correlation between hot springs and earthquakes?
Is there a correlation between how many hot springs an area has, and how frequent or severe the area's earthquakes are?
Andrew Grimm
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13
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1 answer
Converting glacier volume to mass: what ice density to use?
The density of ice is 0.9167 g/cm3 at 0 °C (under atmospheric pressure).
I know of two factors that may influence this (are there more?)
Pressure
The glaciology faq (Common Questions and Myths about Glaciers) at the Alaska Science Center of the …
Jan Doggen
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13
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1 answer
How are critical loads of nitrogen deposition on eco-regions determined?
Natural habitats have a "critical load" threshold in regards to deposition of nitrogen compounds (both wet and dry deposition). The critical load is calculated in kg N / hectare and is specific to local ecoregion type. I've heard that critical…
f.thorpe
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13
votes
2 answers
Is Antarctic sea ice at record levels?
Every time I read a news article about Antarctic ice extent, I don't seem to have a clear answer as to what the deal is. If I look at the February sea ice extent from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), I get no trend that I can see:
.
If…
arkaia
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13
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1 answer
Did global warming cause the extreme cold 2013-14 winter in North America?
There have been some claims made (example) that global warming had something to do with why the 2013-2014 winter was so cold in the Midwest area of America.
If this is true then how did global warming make the winter so cold? Shouldn't it make the…
tux
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13
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1 answer
Dry atmospheric temperature profile (dry adiabatic vs. isothermal)
I'm trying to understand why there are differing predictions of the atmospheric temperature profile. It is well established that the dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) is:
$$
\frac{\mathrm{d}T}{\mathrm{d}z} = -\frac{g}{c_p} \approx -9.8\…
peter
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13
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2 answers
Why does the shoreline sometimes recede prior to a Tsunami?
It is well known among regular beach goers that a sudden shoreline drawback is often a warning sign for an impending Tsunami. My understanding of Tsunamis is they they form as a result of the seafloor abruptly changing, causing a local vertical…
Kenshin
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13
votes
1 answer
Phase changes deep in planetary interiors and their implications for surface tectonics
Earth's core mantle boundary represents a phase change from a solid (though convecting) mantle to a liquid Iron/Nickel core. This dramatic transition is likely the origin of the D" boundary, as well as thermodynamic perturbations and deep mineral…
Neo
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13
votes
2 answers
Does anyone know of a comprehensive listing of geostationary weather satellites?
Periods of operation at longitude--current as well as historical. The historical list on Wikipedia is incomplete. Is there a single site with status of operational satellites (real-time) or do you have to go to every operator you can think of?
kwknowles
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13
votes
1 answer
Active rifting in Antarctica?
The West Antarctic Rift exists between the Trans-Antarctic Mountains and Marie Byrd Land (see map below for reference)
Image source: NASA
The rift system is believed to be like the East African Rift, consisting of several interconnected rifts, many…
user889
13
votes
0 answers
Oceanic-atmospheric coupling between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean basins
The two great basins - Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean have their respective oscillations: Indian Ocean Dipole and El Nino Southern oscillation that affect the climate of the regions as well as the world at large. Is there any scientific agreement…
user1066
13
votes
1 answer
What is caesium-137 used for in fracking?
Caesium-137 is used in the fracking process. What is it used for?
naught101
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13
votes
2 answers
Forecasting oceanic rogue waves
A rogue wave is, according to NOAA, "a large, unexpected and dangerous" oceanic wave. These are also known as 'killer' or 'freak' waves and have been a part of folklore of the past and observation of the present - such as in the rather terrifying…
user889
13
votes
1 answer
Why is ocean surface velocity around 3% of wind velocity?
Many introductory level textbooks suggest that, as a rule of thumb, the velocity of the ocean surface is around 3% the wind velocity at 10 meters above the sea surface.
For instance, Ocean Circulation by the Open University Press, page 39:…
arkaia
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13
votes
1 answer
What is the definition of a continent?
Is there a scientific definition of a continent? Is there an academic reference for such a definition? There's a tendency to correlate with tectonic plates, but of course lots of plates don't have continents.
I keep running across "by convention"…
sloopie72
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