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  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.
This is a drawing showing another form of motions in a planets interior.
Click on image for full size

Motions in Uranus' Interior, part 2

Motions, or currents in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Uranus may be very different from the motions typical of the Earth's interior.

A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant planet is shown in this picture. Strong heat coming from within a planet can cause this kind of motion to take place.

The drawing shows that underneath the clouds of Uranus, layered cylinders of material may be in motion, rolling in different directions. It is thought that this pattern may be in operation because the tips of the cylinders may correspond to the striped pattern of clouds seen in the atmosphere.

It is not known which of these two kinds of motion, one typical of the earth, and one like this, prevails in the interior of Uranus.


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The Source of Heat from Within Uranus

In astromony, it is a usual procedure to calculate the luminosity of a star, and this calculation indicates the energy and the temperature of the star. When the luminosity of the outer planets was calculated,...more

Motions in Uranus' Interior

Motions in the interior of a planet help carry heat from the inside to the outside. The drawing to the left illustrates the kind of movements that happen in interior of a planet. Material rises from the...more

Motions in Uranus' Interior, part 2

Motions, or currents in the interior of a gas-giant planet such as Uranus may be very different from the motions typical of the Earth's interior. A second idea for the motions in the interior of a gas-giant...more

An Overview of Uranus' Atmospheric Evolution

Atmospheres of the giant planets have definitely evolved from their formation out of the primitive solar nebula. How much they have evolved remains to be seen, however. Because of their enormous gravity,...more

Diffusion in Uranus Atmosphere

The major gaseous constituent of the atmosphere is methane. At the uppermost reaches of the atmosphere, near the thermosphere, methane gas breaks apart due to the influence of energetic photons or charged...more

An Overview of Motions in Uranus' Atmosphere

Motions in the atmosphere include wind. The major winds in the Uranian atmosphere are the zonal winds which consist of westward flowing zones and eastward flowing belts. The other major means of motion...more

A Diagram of Uranus' Atmospheric Structure

This is the temperature profile of Uranus' entire atmosphere. The horizontal lines indicate the boundaries between the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere. ...more

Uranus' Ionosphere

The ionosphere of Uranus is a region of charged particles. Elevated temperatures can sometimes cause a molecule to become ionized, therefore, the ionosphere and thermosphere can overlap. ...more

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