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Questions tagged [geophysics]

The study of the physical processes and properties of the planet Earth. Applicable to many subjects about Earth, such as its shape, its magnetic field, and ocean currents.

The study of the physical processes and properties of the planet Earth. Its subject matter includes

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How does uranium from supernovae explosions end up in mineral veins in a planet?

The reply to a question about nucleosynthesis, that heavier than iron elements are produced in supernovae explosions, raised for me the following question which I could not answer by googling. Partially because the search for planets and stars…
anna v
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Amount of thermal energy in the Earth?

Does anyone know the amount of thermal energy that the Earth's mantle and core possess? I don't mean the maximum limit of electrical power we could generate with geothermal plants, but rather: if you took the Earth and magically cooled it down so…
Sandra
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Would it be possible for geophysicists/geoengineers to develop an artificial way of trapping carbon in the ocean?

There's a mechanism by which the southern ocean sequesters carbon from the atmosphere. It happens when strong winds displace a large slab of surface water, accumulating in a specific region where the localised excess water in the surface layer gets…
ODP
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Why are continents wider at the north and tapering towards the south?

Why are the continents wider at the north and tapering towards the south?
Dws_kool
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Water from Icebergs

Thousands of icebergs are calved from polar regions annually, and melt in the oceans. George Mougin, an entrepreneurial engineer, aspires to tow multi-million ton icebergs to areas of the world lacking sufficient potable water. Simulations by…
Michael Luciuk
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How does the inner core relieve stress as the Earth's rotation slows?

One of the surprises for me in working out the answer to this question: Why is the Earth so fat? , is that the core is more elliptical than the surface, the extra ellipticity builds up gradually to about 10% (this is false, I miscalculated the…
Ron Maimon
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What sets the length scale of stratified rock formations?

Driving through areas of the American Southwest such as Utah and Arizona, you notice stratified rock formations everywhere. The grand canyon is the best known example. One striking thing is that the thickness (or height) of individual layers of rock…
BrianC
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what would be the maximum depth of tunnel?

Perhaps more of an engineering question, but with the subject recently in the news about hyperspeed maglev tunnels I'll chance it here. Say you set up a network of line of sight underground tunnels for your maglev transportation system operating…
Curious Rick
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Seismic science questions

We just (20mn ago) suffered from another strong aftershock (of the initial March 11th earthquake) in Japan. I have some questions related to seismic science. Why is there so much time between the initial quake and the following strong aftershocks…
Déjà vu
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Is the altitude of the surface of the ice at the south pole determined by barometric pressure?

In one section of his auto-biography, Alvarez: Adventures of a Physicist, Luis Alvarez describes a tour of Antarctica. This comment about a flight over the south pole caught my attention: The South Pole is located on level ice nine thousand feet…
nibot
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How much heat is transported from the interior to the surface in the form of hydration enthalpy?

Heat is transferred from the interior to the surface through several methods. One is simply the conduction of sensible heat through the crust - I would guess this accounts for most of it. But some is also transferred through another route: when…
Murtuza Vadharia
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Can different radioactive dating method produce vastly differing results on the same item?

After being questioned by a creationist, some of their given evidence seemed to be more poignant to me than it had previously done. notwithstanding carbon dating methods which are highly prone to contamination, the presupposition that other forms of…
Louis
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Average speed of seismic waves towards the center of Earth

I'm looking at an approximation of the average speed of seismic wave towards the center of Earth. The horizontal path of the waves that affects us directly is well documented, but there is not much about the vertical propagation of such waves. Of…
Déjà vu
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Geophysics with earth science

I am a communications engineering student. I am interested in doing a project on geophysics. The concept is for a hole-digging robot with a camera and sensors and wireless transmitter that is made of high mp alloys. It is intended to make a hole…
Navan Dev
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Is there a formula or method to calculate precisely the length of a tropical year at any given time?

I am aware of this formula, but it is very limited, as it is only an expression suitable for calculating the length of a tropical year in ephemeris days, between 8000 BC and 12000 AD.
ClassicEndingMusic
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