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1500 questions
11
votes
1 answer
Why are there no CO2 snowfalls on Earth?
The CO2 phase diagram shows that at atmospheric pressure and about -78 °C temperature CO2 becomes solid:
Wikipedia confirms this:
At 1 atmosphere (near mean sea level pressure), the gas deposits directly to a solid at temperatures below $−78.5\…
Anixx
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11
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2 answers
What's it like inside a natural gas cavern on Earth?
I suppose natural gas underground caverns on Earth have substantial volume and gas is in gaseous form there.
As such I wonder how it would look like inside such cavern (with artificial light of course). Will one see a rocky sky at big distance?
What…
Anixx
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11
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2 answers
What ice phenomenon are we seeing in this video?
I don't know what this YouTube video shows, but it appears to be half glacier and half "the blob." It almost appears to be "growing" although I assume it's being pushed somehow.
Can someone tell me what this is called, what causes it, and how common…
user1833028
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11
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Oscillations in the Keeling curve?
I'm having a slightly difficult time understanding the Keeling curve, pictured here:
I understand that carbon dioxide (ppm) is increasing with respect to time, but why is there an oscillation between the summer months and winter months? I have two…
Shan
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11
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4 answers
Are there any other earthquake magnitude scales other than Richter's?
There are sometimes confusion about the magnitude of Earthquakes. What scales, other than Richter's, are used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake?
Is there a scale where magnitude 9.0 is regarded as small and 13-14 regarded as strong?
Ivan
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11
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1 answer
The youngest and oldest source rock for hydrocarbons in economic quantities
Most famous and productive source rocks for hydrocarbons are Paleozoic or Mesozoic, but there are also examples from the Neogene. Time is needed for the rock to reach the right depth and temperature for hydrocarbon generation. Younger formations are…
user2821
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11
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4 answers
Why do we recycle paper?
Recycling metal and some plastics makes complete sense to me. Why bury something in a landfill that you'll have to find and dig up more of later. What I don't get is why we recycle paper products, especially those created with plant matter.
My…
Harrison Pickett
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11
votes
4 answers
What woud happen to me if I touched the aurora?
The Aurora Borealis (commonly known as the northern lights) is a mesmerizing and captivating sight to behold, so beautiful that I just want to touch it and feel it. Should I? Could it harm me?
user6760
11
votes
1 answer
What causes the 'calm before the storm'?
The old adage "The calm before the storm" certainly has an observational scientific meaning to it -- something that many (including myself) have experienced -- that on a hot summer's day, when a change in the weather starts rolling in, humidity…
user889
11
votes
3 answers
How does Antarctica stay frozen?
Antarctica receives heat from the Sun every day, so how does it stay frozen?
I have some thoughts about the answer but I'm unsure of whether it is correct; I hope people here can clarify.
My idea: the heat that Antarctica receives from the Sun is…
wtoh
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11
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1 answer
Why do most opal deposits occur in Australia?
According to the Wikipedia page about opals, this hydrated amorphous silica based gemstone is most commonly found in Australia, with according to the page, over 90% from Australia.
Opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia (source: Wikipedia)
What…
user889
11
votes
2 answers
What impact on climate did 2011 earthquake and tsunami have?
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami was one of the biggest in modern history; the earthquake even moved Earth's axis for a very small, but measurable bit. The four years since then is not enough for hard climate data, but enough to have some…
Pavel V.
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11
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Is a San Andreas volcano possible?
This question is, in part, inspired from the 1997 Hollywood movie Volcano, where a fictional volcano erupted out of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
The San Andreas Fault is a transform fault plate boundary (see image below):
Image from the…
user889
11
votes
1 answer
Why do tropical cyclones around Australia have erratic paths?
According to the Australia Bureau of Meterology:
Research has shown that cyclones in the Australian region exhibit more
erratic paths than cyclones in other parts of the world. A tropical
cyclone can last for a few days or up to two or three…
haresfur
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11
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1 answer
Minimum flow duration curves
It is common to prepare flow duration curves from a set of daily river flow data, but does it make sense to build a flow duration curve from a set of monthly minimum flow data? I searched on internet, but the key word "minimum flow duration curve"…
user28034
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