Earth Science

Those of you who have been kind enough to take an interest in my posts may have noticed that I am acutely aware of the limitations of renewable energy projects. In the past, however, I was quite a champion of these and in some ways maybe I still am. For example, wind energy would be better harnessed by the blade hub driving a crankshaft connected to an air compressor rather than a generator, particularly in an offshore application, where wave energy could be stored by the same means in submerged air tanks. This source of compressed air could be tapped at will to drive a turbine and render the power stored as dispatchable as hydroelectricity, helping the grid meet…

neweconomics.org states we have 100 months until we are doomed. So has the timetable been revised or what?

I'd like to use UV light to detect tungsten minerals (Scheelite, Wolframite) in rock samples. What UV light should I use?

Main infrared atmospheric window is between 8 - 14 um . So that's the region of spectrum where the atmosphere is transparent.That's why our Earth cools down a little bit. Does it mean that the major band of emissivity of most of earth's matter is in the region of the window ( 8-14 um )

Volcanic Eruptions Cause Global Cooling: Man Made Pollution Has a Very Small Effect Global temperatures over time are dependent on major volcanic eruptions and not on man made pollution as the global warming crowd claims. Volcanic eruptions have caused some heating, but the main effects have been global cooling. There are many examples of global cooling, some of which are described in the following paragraphs. (Reference 1,2) Approximately 74,000 years ago there was an eruption of a volcano in Java named Toba. This eruption is described by volcanists as “Humongous.” The eruption killed almost all humans on earth at that time. This is not a theory but is we…

Yesterday watching "Hacking the Universe:Why We Left Earth", I noticed the guy comparing different skulls and relating periods of rapid climate change were coinciding to increases in cranial capacity. I confess it seems superficially plausible and would like to get your responses. Thanks in advance!

Yes, long suffering colleagues, Harold is at it again, with another carbon sequestration scheme. Some years back the NASA spacecraft "Clementine" determined that water ice has been located at the poles of the Moon. Using statite technology it should be relatively simple to illuminate such areas with reflected sunlight, inducing a wobble to approximate the 24 hour diurnal cycle. With water and light, the only remaining requirement for photosynthesis is carbon dioxide, more specifically carbon, since we can save on mass transportation costs by using lunar oxygen, abundant in the lunar rocks. It is likely that facilities for the extraction of this oxygen will be of h…

Today i got to know about "ocean borders"(which i read was -'a boundary in between indian ocean and atlantic ocean') , are they real ?? i searched about it on internet but got nothing useful . there are some videos too on the internet that shows the boundaries (between blue and brown water) , so i think it is real , but how that can happen , why there is a boundary ? please give some reasonable scientific explanations ..

im attempting to make a flashlight prototype that is extremely bright and have come up with all the other components needed however i am missing the backing for the filament to adaquately reflect the light without melting. if you know of a substance i could try i would very appreciative.

So, this may seem like a weird topic, but I have a reason for it. Does anyone know what atmospheric rivers would have been like during the last ice age (or glacial period, to use the technical term)? Particularly around 70,000 - 45,000 years ago. I'm working on a theory, and I want to know if atmospheric rivers could play a role. Would they have been in different locations? Would they be stronger or weaker? Would they be the same as they are now? For instance, could you have an atmospheric river forming over australia? Or the middle east? or east africa? china maybe? Meteorology really isn't my area of expertise, but its important to my theory. I would appreciate hel…

I seem to recall a prophecy by some AGW guys back in '08 that forecast the apocalypse in 100 months, is that still true? I am working on my bucket list just in case and it would be nice to know how to budget my time and funds. I want to say the countdown started in April but it could have been August. Eat, drink, and be merry!

Through many years sitting and staring up at the night sky over the ocean and the desert, I possibly may have discovered a phenomenon, that surprisingly, cannot be found on the internet in any form. During the entire night at both locations, where the air is full of salt/sand particles, I believe that winds constantly grinding these particles in air cause micro explosions, which in turn looks like barely visible bursts of light at night, like flashes of lightning without a streak of said lightning. It happens usually every night, throughout the night, just barely noticeable, but once it is noticed, it starts to become very annoying. These flashes of light occur even when …

Hi everyone! My first post ! I hope I'm here right, here's my question: I live in a very dry and hot region of Costa Rica. It rains around 1800mm(around 70,86 in) per year. My property is around 1800 square meters with an elevation of I would say maybe 10 degrees. The house is on the top of the hill. In the dry season, which takes almost up to 6 months, it rains almost never, causing the grass, plants and trees to dry. In the rainy season it can happen that it rains a lot in one day causing some sort of flooding. So I was wandering if I could harvest the rainwater during the rainy season by making some sort of rectangular hole that covers the whole wide at the end…

I can only think that what I am working on is beyond the moderators of this forum to understand. My threads being locked by moderators such as yourself with no explanation does discourage innovation and invention. Am I to blame if a scientist does not understand that an increase in angular momentum also allows for an increase in the excitement of that body ? Very well accepted. It was a Russian who proved this in the 1950's. He used a body in space and a craft losing it's momentum. Proven to be true. If a satellite is slowing, a near pass to a celestial body will allow it to increases it's velocity which also increases it's kinetic potential. This is because the c…

Not sure if this is known but CO2 in levels up to 330 ppm allow for an Ice Age every 40,000 years. Below 300 ppm, once every 100,000 years. What is not known is how much a planet warms before an Ice Age starts. edited to add; Claude Lorius used ice core samples going back 400,000 years when he became concerned about CO2 levels in the 1960's. I am pursuing a project which if successful, I may have the opportunity to have tests done that will either support what I believe or will show that I am wrong. @swansont, I did mention in my thread CO2 that it may be possible for fluctuating vacuum to allow CO2 to be converted. Can you show me the forum rule that s…

Most of us are aware of the devastating Earth Quake which has hit Nepal on 25th Apr 2015. It is because of the Plate Tectonic Movements and the Indian Sub-Continent pushing below the Asian Plate we can expect a Major Earth Quake and Similar Disaster every 60 to 70 years , the last one having occurred in 1934 or so. What Science can do about such Disasters ? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> FYI : What is an earthquake? http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi…

There is talk of slow rotational movement of earths core ! Is this a clock slowly ticking over millions of years . So that magnetic (North Pole - South Pole ), reversal is controlled from within , rather than without? Possibly caused by crystallisation of molten iron to solid iron? Modern research and speculation is considering the dual nature of the core as it crystallises and produces two very long rotational time periods , may trigger the reversal mechanism . Or be the clock underlying the mechanism. Ref :- link http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05s3gyv#auto Mike

So, this is a question that has been bugging me since I saw the first movie. Is Captain America's shield possible? I Understand that the actually metal that his shield is made out of, is made up. But is there a metal that is almost indestructible AND lightweight? Or would it have to be "created" by science?

Have you ever wondered where the universe is exactly? Check out this video:D link removed

Anyone woken by the quake last night? Woke me up... similar to the one a few years back (2008 or earlier?).. didn't last as long but seemed a little more vigorous. (Probably depends upon the individuals location). News shows some minor damage to properties. This is the second I have experienced here... It is obvious why there are so many at fault lines, but I wonder what the mechanism is for a quake in the middle of a tectonic plate. I could look it up later, but thought I'd ask if anyone knew here of the top of their heads.

Here is a link to BBC and private spectacular pictures of the very recent Volcano in Chile . 23rd April 2015 Link :- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-32425370 . The pictures of the electrical discharges from and within the dust cloud are ' awesome ' It is also worth following the internal link , within the article , to another recent eruption in Chile . This mountain chain in South America. And the others, in Indonesia to quote " are the most active , powerful" in the entire Globe ! Mike

I have been pondering for some time about hydrogen loss on planet earth. I've read a little about jean's escape and how helium and hydrogen can leave earth's atmosphere through said mechanism. my quandary has to do with hydrogen synthesis, be it electrolytic or otherwise. let's say hypothetically that we as a civilization never developed fossil fuels, but instead focused on hydrogen production/ sequestration in subterranean porous rocks for storage. if these processes were to have gone on at a global level for 200 years or more, what effect might that have had on the environment?

Through various media outlets there appears to be a lot of damage to the pacifics eco-system. Are there any on-going studies to marine life including phytoplankton affected by the on-going leakage of radio-active materials?

I haven't been able to find anything on this recently, nor have I heard the noise. Anybody care to discuss this and looking back at it did we have more geological activity? I hadn't heard about it until just now. http://www.sott.net/article/240863-Strange-Sounds-in-Sky-Explained-by-Scientists

Hello all, Could anyone explain how to estimate the age of rocks (I have to age Granite if that helps). Thanks