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1500 questions
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What is this spaceship-shaped cloud?
This tweet from the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Spanish account show a striking photo of a round, flat, "space-ship-shaped" cloud in an otherwise completely clear sky. The stars are out so I assume this is at night, possibly with a Moon.
Could…
uhoh
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Will the oceans swallow all of the land?
I am wondering why, since the oceans could feasibly hold all of the dry land, they in fact do not. For example, the Mariana Trench drops to -10.9km, while Mount Everest only reaches to +8.8km. Further, the oceans cover 71% of the surface. This…
Him
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Is there a "submerged object" in Australia that causes a magnetic deviation of 20 degrees?
This answer quotes this blogpost as an example of a magnetic anomaly:
Basalt formation, “Mt. Jim”, in remote north-east Victoria, Australia, has a magnetic anomaly -20 degree magnetic compass variation - caused by a massive, yet unknown, submerged…
uhoh
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Why do rivers sometimes travel down the opposite side of the mountains from where the rain happens?
My teacher explained that when wind coming from the ocean gets blocked by a mountain it makes rain on one side of the mountain, like in the image below. This rain leads to the creation of rivers.
(found on Google Images to be on numerous websites,…
MrDi
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Is volume of air increasing as CO2 levels increase?
CO2 levels are increasing, they have crossed 400 ppm, which means that of every million gas molecules in the air, 400 are of CO2.
It has been increasing. Does that mean the total volume of air in the atmosphere is increasing or that some other gas…
Ram Keswani
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How much does sea level rise due to sediment deposition?
There has been a lot of noise in the news in the last few days because Congressman Mo Brooks from Alabama claimed that erosion played a role in rising sea levels. Quoting from Science magazine:
Brooks then said that erosion plays a significant role…
Floris
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A rough picture about the ground-level ammonia (NH3)
Ammonia is the only alkaline gas in the atmosphere. It is one of the key features to control the acidity of aerosols and the formation of ammonium salts.
In the environment of $NH_3$-rich and $NH_3$-poor, the formation pathway of the secondary…
Han Zhengzu
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Any other fumarolic ice caves in the literature?
I study the fumarolic ice caves of Erebus Volcano, and am looking for published research on similar sorts of caves. My criteria for a "fumarolic ice cave" are that it must be:
A gas-filled void space in a snowpack large enough to fit humans
Present…
foobarbecue
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How to run earth system, land surface and climate models?
I am interested in earth system models, land surface models and climate prediction models. I found a lot of online information on different models, including CIMP5, and the Earth System Modeling Framework. I also found a lot of articles using these…
mace
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What are the sunniest places on Earth? (including oceans)
This question did arise when thinking on offshore solar power plants, what's their potential, and how efficient would they be compared with land based counterparts.
Recently, it is becoming more common to hear about offshore floating power plants,…
Pedro
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On the light difference between morning and afternoon
It is long time that I am looking for what physical reason(s) explains this observation:
the sun ambient light between sunrise and midday is crispy, somehow whiter than that of the afternoon hours. In other words it is like that morning outdoor…
Alchimista
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Why is the Earth's shadow blue?
After every sunset, once the sun is gone, I always enjoy seen the belt of venus rising in the other side, followed by the Earth's shadow.
This is a picture I took (you will find better ones online). The Pinkish-purple band on top is the Belt of…
Camilo Rada
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Which geological processes will destroy plastic?
The geological record at the end of the Anthropocene will undoubtedly contain large volumes of plastic. However, some geological processes will completely destroy plastic (e.g. magmatic or chemical processes). I assume that sedimentary rocks will…
f.thorpe
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Can the Bering Sea Rule be used to predict the weather?
Recently, a colleague explained that the recent cold spell in the eastern United States could have been predicted using the Bering Sea Rule. The idea is that 17-21 days after a storm appears in the Bering Sea, a storm will appear in the United…
arkaia
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Natural spiral pattern of grass - what could cause this?
During a nature walk inside an old abandoned quarry I stumbled upon strange spirals that appear to be naturally formed.
What could cause this spiral formation? Is it a known phenomena?
To clarify , the images are from the same place , but made…
Alexander
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