Earth Science

There are two separate but related issues to consider in assessing severe weather alert systems. The first is the accuracy of the observations and forecasting of the weather, and the second is the effectiveness of disseminating that information to the…
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As fearsome as the high winds of a hurricane can be, the storm surge (or storm tide) often causes the most death and destruction. A storm surge is the above-normal rise in sea level produced by the storm and in…
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A hurricane is one type of a tropical storm that is a circulation of winds that form on the surface of a body of water accompanied by thunderstorms. There must be a surface temperature greater than 80 degrees, and a…
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A tropical storm is an “an intense thunderstorm, categorized by extremely low pressure and cyclonic wind rotation.” Many people confuse a tropical storm as being a collective name for the storms that develop as a result of a tropical storm…
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Baseball players, stock up on your wooden bats, especially those of the ash variety. In a few years, maple bats may be the only option you have. A bat factory in northwestern Pennsylvania has drawn up a three to five…
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The emerald ash borer beetle (EAB) migrated to North America in 2002. Since then this exotic, metallic-green beetle has been decimating ash trees throughout the United States and Canada. This beetle species is native to Asia and eastern Russia as…
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Corporate farming, at times known as agribusiness, has had a profound effect on not only the way we eat as human beings, but on the very concept as to how we look at the food. When we use the word…
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The majority of fresh water flowing from the taps in the US, and the rest of the world, is derived from groundwater. Wide, flat stretches of porous, sandy material that lie in layers under the ground, are called aquifers if…
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This oil spill in the Gulf has had me scratching my head for weeks on end as to what can I do to help. I cannot volunteer to go there as I am handicapped. It also takes 10 weeks just…
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How often has Scotland Experienced a White Christmas? Growing up for me, I could not imagine Christmas not being white. Waking up Christmas morning looking out the window to see the snow glimmering like fresh cut diamonds covering the ground…
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