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3 answers

Sea Level Rise due to Climate Change

I've been trying to make sense of the argument surrounding sea level rise and not getting very far. Those who claim that Sea Level Rise is insignificant generally assert that we have been unable to statistically link rising Greenhouse Gas levels…
Kronimiciad
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9
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7 answers

Does organic decay release the same CO2 as burning?

Does a fallen tree left to decay release essentially all of its stored carbon as $\small\mathsf{CO_2}$ to the atmosphere? Or is the carbon uptaken by termites and bacteria, preventing its release to the atmosphere?
Grumdrig
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Is oxygen spread equally on Earth's surface?

We know that oxygen comes from trees and plants (photosynthesis), so in the jungle where there are a lot of trees you would expect more oxygen than in the desert where there are no trees. Walking in the desert is tough, but is that also due to there…
Marijn
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How much is Iceland/Norway/Western Europe warmed up by the Meriodional Overturning Circulation?

A shutdown in the circulation was associated with the Younger Dryas stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze, so I'm curious how much warmer Western Europe is due to the MOC, and how much heat (in Joules) the MOC actually releases into the…
InquilineKea
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Why are some theories as to the cause of glacation less popular among the scientific community?

There are a few theories as to the causes of glaciation. There's the Milankovitch Theory, which says that there are cyclical changes in Earth's orbit and in the tilt of Earth's axis that occur over thousands of years and cause climate changes. Some…
user464
9
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2 answers

Is the Arctic sea ice volume increasing?

According to the graph below, Arctic sea ice volume has been decreasing from 1979-2012: Though this graph from the ESA’s CryoSat satellite show that the volume of Arctic sea ice increased 50% from 2012 to 2013: What is the explanation for the…
blunders
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6 answers

Any historical examples of destructive climate warming?

Summation: Local cooling climate changes, since the last ice age seem relatively common and all seem to cause significant harm to human population. But I can't find instances of the reverse, warming climate changes that caused harm. If anything, the…
TechZen
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1 answer

What? Northern lights are *not* simply caused by energetic charged particles from the sun?

Reading the article Northern Lights: The traditional explanation for the aurora borealis is wrong, physicist says I was surprised to find out that the simple, standard explanation for the production of aurora that I have always read and cited (and…
uhoh
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Why should dynamical downscaling of meteorological data be made incrementally?

When downscaling meteorological data by using limited area models, many support forums recommended you to downscale incrementally in small steps. For example let's assume that your input data is on a 27x27 km resolution and you need data on 1x1 km…
metnix
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Is there a seasonal difference in the average cloud floor?

It always looks like clouds are so much higher in the sky (altitude) in the summer than in the winter. Is that true? If not, is there some sort of optical illusion? If so, why is that? I live in Iowa, so I don't know if this is a phenomenon that…
viggity
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7 answers

Does a mountain top have higher gravity than a nearby sea-level surface?

Regardless the latitude and centrifugial 'force' is the gravity on mountains higher or lower than at sealevel? Gravity is depending on the radius to the centre and the mass. Now if you are on a mountain you are further from centre but it looks like…
Marijn
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9
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1 answer

Why does air subside in the Eye - the lowest pressure area of a tropical cyclone?

A low pressure area is associated with rising air while a high pressure area is associated with subsiding air. The best explanation I could come up with is either the cyclone is an exception or the above associations are not an absolute rule in the…
jysh
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NCEP reanalysis model levels

ECMWF Model Levels The above link describes the coefficients used to define the ECMWF model levels in pressure in order to compute geopotential height. Is there a similar data for NCEP reanalysis model or is the data already on pressure levels in…
user1066
9
votes
1 answer

What is the relationship between Ekman transport and Ekman pumping?

Ekman transport is the integrated horizontal flow in the boundary layer resulting from the balance between frictional forces (at the surface or bottom) and Coriolis. Meanwhile, Ekman pumping is a vertical motion at the base of the boundary layer…
arkaia
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9
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How big a risk is Mount Vesuvius for the local population?

How much of a risk does Mount Vesuvius pose for the population of the surrounding area?