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1500 questions
10
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3 answers
Movement of the Prime/Greenwich Meridian
The line on the ground at the Greenwich Observatory is itself on a tectonic plate that is moving, so is the prime meridian still 0 degrees, 0 minutes, 0 seconds?
If not - what are the implications (if any)? For example, if my GPS says I am 100 km…
GorillaGram
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1 answer
What makes a nuclear winter so extreme and destructive?
This may be a sort of, pertinent to the times, and disturbing question, inspired by the difficulties surrounding North Korea and the situation with it and nuclear weapons.
I've heard of this idea of "nuclear winter" that can result from a nuclear…
The_Sympathizer
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10
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3 answers
Does this paper, using neural nets, prove industrialization is irrelevant to global warming?
Recently, a paper was published by Abbot and Morahasy (2017) - see specifically Fig. 2. The thesis of the paper is to train an artificial neural network (ANN) on the temperature time series for pre-industrial ages. Then do forecasting with the ANN…
DLV
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10
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3 answers
Why don't weather forecast models normally take solar eclipses into account?
Since there is a total solar eclipse somewhere almost every year, I would have thought it would be included as a standard option in weather forecast models. However, I've learned that is not really the case.
The moon does not normally affect…
f.thorpe
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10
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1 answer
What are the most similar Earth analogues to Mars' seasonally recurring slope linea?
Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) on Mars are suggested to be water that seasonally melts from underground ice and sublimates through the sand and dust to darken the surface. Slowly flowing downhill to form the lines.
I'm not sure it has been determined…
LocalFluff
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10
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4 answers
Considering how old the Antarctic ice cover is, why isn't it much thicker?
The Wikipedia article on the subject of the "Antarctic ice sheet" says that:
The icing of Antarctica began in the middle Eocene about 45.5 million
years ago and escalated during the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event
about 34 million years…
neo
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10
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4 answers
Why are CO2 sensors so expensive when CO sensors aren't?
Please excuse me if Earth Science is not the correct place to ask this question.
I read a New York Times article about increasing $\small\mathsf{CO_2}$ levels in the atmosphere: "Carbon in Atmosphere Is Rising, Even as Emissions Stabilize" (26 June…
hwmartin
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10
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2 answers
Who originated Taylor's axiom of lunar formation, and where?
I've been doing a bit of reading about the formation of the moon, and I've found multiple references (1, 2, 3) to something called Taylor's axiom, stated in link (3) above as:
The best models for lunar origin are the testable ones.
A few related…
senshin
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10
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1 answer
What is the primary cause of the "Norwester" winds that affect parts of India & Bangladesh?
I am primarily interested to know:
What is Norwester (localy called Kalboishaku as because in occurs during the Bengali Month Boishak which falls between Mid April to Mid May).
What causes Norwester.
Why does it occur during the month of April and…
Abhijit
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10
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2 answers
Why are frontal zones connected to low-pressure systems but not to high-pressure systems?
Frontal zones (e. g. a warm or a cold front) are connected to low-pressure systems. But why do high-pressure systems not have frontal zones?
Emily
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10
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1 answer
What's the geological period of the birth of the river Ganges?
Avatarana or Descent of the Ganges (extracted from Wikipedia):
"In late May or early June every year, Hindus celebrate the avatarana
or descent of the Ganges from heaven to earth."
There are several Hindu versions for the birth of the river…
Sebastien Palcoux
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10
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1 answer
What kind of minerals have no cleavage plane?
Why does quartz have no cleavage plane and halite does? What do I need to know about the specific mineral so that I can decide whether it has cleavage or not? I need some kind of rule.
Tamás
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1 answer
How are data from tiltmeters used to monitor volcanic activity?
I've just learned in this answer that tiltmeters (which I assume measure changes in tilt) are used near active volcanos. (Saw a mention in item 4. here also.)
What kind of geological (volcanological?) information can be learned from tilt data? Can…
uhoh
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10
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2 answers
ppmV versus μmol/mol for atmospheric CO2 - how to convert?
For a uniform mixture of ideal gases, I think that the concentration of a gas reported in parts per million by volume (ppmV) and micro-moles per mole (μmol/mol) would be the same.
When I see atmospheric CO2 discussed, I have seen both units used,…
uhoh
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2 answers
Do warnings verify better nearer radars?
As radar beams travel away from radars, they increase in elevation and widen. Have any studies attempted to quantify the rate at which warning skill (such as in FAR and POD) deteriorates as a function of radar distance? It would seem quite useful…
JeopardyTempest
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