Earth Science

There is no general agreement on the definition of an “oil plume”. Some scientists, the media and the public understand the term to mean a body of oil that is on, or under the surface of the water or is…
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Despite all the doom and gloom scenarios being played out in the news and on the internet, BP does have a way to plug the Deepwater Horizon gusher that makes sense and can realistically work. The fix is not immediate…
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Forest fires only help forest ecosystems that have evolved in areas prone to thunderstorms and therefore fire starting bolts of lightning. Forest ecosystems that have developed in other areas have had no reason to develop coping mechanisms for wildfires and…
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There are numerous kinds of inclusions that can be found in colored gems. Some inclusions are always found in certain gems and other inclusions are never found in others. This can help with identifying a gem. The next described flaws…
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A forest is best thought of as a constant dynamic balance. Old trees are brought down by windstorms, creating open spaces of partial sunlight where young seedlings can take root. Small, shade-tolerant seedlings grow into adult, sun-loving tree canopies. Leaf…
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The Chicago Electric dual drum rotary tumbler is a product manufactured for and sold by Harbor Freight Tools.  Often derided for “cheap” tools imported from China, certain products are simple enough for this company to be an ideal source.  The…
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I was always a spectator rather than a participant when it came to science fairs in school.  My only memory of actively contributing to anything that resembled a science project came in the 7th grade.  What attracted me I suspect…
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Determining the distance of a thunderstorm is relatively easy to do if you know some simple information (and of course math), this is just a basic guess of how far the storm is, as there are many factors that could…
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Life on Earth depends on water, especially fresh water, and without it we would not be here. Groundwater is an essential reservoir of fresh usable water that we can tap into when rain or surface water are not plentiful enough….
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Wind power has a couple of fundamental flaws that must be overcome before it can become a major source of renewable power in the Western World. The first is that it is not a constant source of energy. If the…
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