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This proposal is now in the Beta phase — example questions are locked!

88 Example Questions

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up vote 5 down vote
What factors determine whether clouds have a local heating or a local cooling effect?
added by gerrit Jan 15 '13 at 22:35
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up vote 2 down vote
How is the difference between clouds and precipitation defined? By size, vertical velocity, or differently?
added by gerrit Oct 16 '12 at 21:35
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up vote 2 down vote
Why are hydrocarbon plays given local names, while era, system, series, stage are all global?
added by FossilizedCarlos Dec 11 '12 at 9:33
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up vote 2 down vote
What effect does the Earth's rotation have on the transport of energy through the atmosphere?
added by Shane Hunt Jun 5 '13 at 21:45
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up vote 2 down vote
What causes a volcano to erupt?
added by Cody Guldner Jun 7 '13 at 14:28
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How are Richter Scale magnitudes calculated?
added by Damien Jun 15 '13 at 13:24
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up vote 1 down vote
Did the uplifting of the Himalaya Mountains contribute to the Ice Ages?
added by InquilineKea Dec 3 '12 at 23:19
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up vote 1 down vote
What are some examples of boundary markers?
added by FossilizedCarlos Dec 11 '12 at 9:32
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up vote 1 down vote
Why are the highest mountains of the Tibetan Plateau near its edge?
added by a different ben Dec 19 '12 at 4:14
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up vote 1 down vote
How long does something have to be in the ground for it to be considered a fossil?
added by Cody Guldner Jun 7 '13 at 14:29
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up vote 1 down vote
What relation is there between the volume of ejected volcanic material and local and global temperature drop?
added by Damien Jun 7 '13 at 21:07
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up vote 1 down vote
How is a volcanic eruption's VEI (volcanic explosivity index) calculated?
added by Damien Jun 15 '13 at 13:25
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up vote 1 down vote
Can I assume that wind is always distributed by a weibull distribution?
added by eliavs Jul 30 '13 at 13:46
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up vote 1 down vote
What is the difference between actual, potential and reference evapotranspiration?
added by Tomas Aug 9 '13 at 20:44
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up vote 0 down vote
What is a red tide and what impact does it have on the plants and fish?
added by Richard Nov 10 '11 at 18:18
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This is a biology or ecology related question, not geoscience. – naught101 Feb 7 '12 at 5:37
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its related to oceanography though. – Xitcod13 Oct 15 '12 at 23:34
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...and there's some overlap with the geosciences. The geosphere is constantly interacting with the biosphere, and those interactions are recorded. For example, prehistoric red tides ARE recorded - including approx. 1Ma of dominant dinoflagellates post-K/T. It is a fuzzy boundary for the Geoscience proposal. Perhaps we should define on topic as "prehistoric ecosystems, and contemporary ecosystems with a goal of understanding the past"? – winwaed Oct 22 '12 at 13:57
@winwaed Ok, yes, there is potentially a good question here in a biogeosciences sense, but "plants and fish" is a little too specific. A question about the impact of red tides on ecosystems or ocean chemistry or something would be better. – naught101 Nov 1 '12 at 0:39
@naught101 Oceanography is included in the topic. Oceanography include biological oceanography. If you don't want biological oceanography question please redefine the proposal. – aberration Jul 15 '13 at 2:59
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Why is the Intertropical Convergence Zone asymmetric between the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere?
added by InquilineKea Dec 3 '12 at 23:17
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Why does the Tibetan Plateau only rise so high (average elevation above sea level is about 5 km), and not higher?
added by a different ben Dec 19 '12 at 3:45
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What effect will have continental drift on timezones in future (16 My)?
added by Jan Tojnar Dec 20 '12 at 2:08
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Where can I find indepth technical documentation on the MODIS image sensor with specific reference to the bowtie effect on this sensor.
added by Ries Jan 14 '13 at 18:26
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Geomagnetic secular variation: is there a Holocene reference stack (‘master curve’) for southern Europe, as there is for the UK?
added by Pont Mar 20 '13 at 10:45
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In freely propagating internal gravity waves why is the fluid motion perpendicular to the direction of energy propagation?
added by Isopycnal Oscillation Apr 2 '13 at 22:29
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Why do earthquakes happen near fault lines? Can they happen in an area that isn't near a fault?
added by Cody Guldner Jun 7 '13 at 14:27
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What gives a rock its "hardness?"
added by Cody Guldner Jun 7 '13 at 14:28
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What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?
added by Cody Guldner Jun 7 '13 at 14:28
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What geological processes can cause local biases in the fossil record, e.g. when comparing diversity or occurances in different areas?
added by fileunderwater Jun 7 '13 at 14:34
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How are the dynamics of intraplate and plate-boundary earthquakes different?
added by Damien Jun 8 '13 at 11:11
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Does the climate play any role in tectonic dynamics?
added by Damien Jun 14 '13 at 7:15
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This is an excellent question, with (I find) a delightfully surprising answer. – naught101 Jun 26 '13 at 12:52
up vote 0 down vote
What is the geological period of birth of the river Ganges ?
added by Sébastien Palcoux Jun 30 '13 at 8:54
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Is significant liquid groundwater known to exist beneath permafrost areas? I'm specifically interested in the case at Ross Island, Antarctica.
added by foobarbecue Jul 12 '13 at 17:03
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Why do severe storm clouds sometimes look green?
added by JustinY Jul 17 '13 at 0:48
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This should belong to meteorology, but the actual reason is not known. it is postulated, that the particles in the cloud, with sun behind them, scatters more blue for mei scattering, and more red with rayleigh scattering. therefore, the light that gets passed through the cloud is mainly green, making it green. Nonetheless problem is, both type scatters some green light, so confusion remains. – Sean Aug 7 '13 at 12:44
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Could there ever be a magnitude 10 earthquake?
added by Joe Kington Jul 17 '13 at 2:31
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How do I seperate the terrestrial emitted and solar reflected components for a 3.7µm channel (such as AVHRR channel 3B)?
added by gerrit Jul 24 '13 at 16:06
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Is the water table a function of the quantity, and quality of soil at that place?
added by Everyone Jul 31 '13 at 6:55
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up vote 0 down vote
What atmospheric circumstances produce ball lightning?
added by e-sushi Aug 3 '13 at 3:36
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What is the maximum depth to find an enclosed gas reservoir?
added by e-sushi Aug 3 '13 at 3:37
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What happens to water trying to evaporate near the planet's core?
added by e-sushi Aug 3 '13 at 3:39
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Water near the planet#s core will have a hard time to evaporate. The temperature is in the order of 6k Kelvin. Using the approximate equation here : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapour_pressure_of_water we get vapor pressure is in the order of e^20 mm Hg. The pressure in earths core is 3*1M*760 mmHg, which is larger than the vapor pressure. So water will not evaporate. – Sean Aug 7 '13 at 12:39
@Sean Thanks for the answer... too bad this isn't in Beta yet so I can accept the answer. ;) – e-sushi Aug 7 '13 at 16:22
up vote 0 down vote
How much influence does the movement of the inner core have on the crust's stability?
added by e-sushi Aug 3 '13 at 3:41
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What data formats are commonly used in the study of marine meteorological data?
added by e-sushi Aug 3 '13 at 3:42
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Systematic bias in NCDC GSOD climate dataset?
added by Tomas Aug 9 '13 at 12:45
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actual question from practice, currently asked here: opendata.stackexchange.com/questions/981/… – Tomas Aug 9 '13 at 12:45
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How does Penman equation for calculating evapotranspiration work?
added by Tomas Aug 9 '13 at 20:43
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