Video: Gravity Makes Earth Look Like Lumpy Ball of Play-Doh

Video: Gravity Makes Earth Look Like Lumpy Ball of Play-Doh

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...arth-look.html

By taking more than 70 million observations during its first 2 years in
orbit, a limousine-length satellite has given scientists their most
detailed map yet of Earth's gravitational field. The lumpiness of that
geoid—the theoretical surface that a planet-wide ocean would take if
there were no tides or currents—betrays the irregularity of the planet's
mass distribution, including concentrations of mass such as mountain
ranges and ice sheets. Yellows and reds mark areas of higher-than-normal
gravitational strength; blue shades are lower than normal.

See:
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...arth-look.html

On Apr 2, 3:19*pm, Sam Wormley wrote:
Video: Gravity Makes Earth Look Like Lumpy Ball of Play-Doh

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...vity-makes-ear...

By taking more than 70 million observations during its first 2 years in
orbit, a limousine-length satellite has given scientists their most
detailed map yet of Earth's gravitational field. The lumpiness of that
geoid—the theoretical surface that a planet-wide ocean would take if
there were no tides or currents—betrays the irregularity of the planet's
mass distribution, including concentrations of mass such as mountain
ranges and ice sheets. Yellows and reds mark areas of higher-than-normal
gravitational strength; blue shades are lower than normal.

See:http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...vity-makes-ear....

Ah,the Mid Atlantic Ridge and the orientation of the Ridge parallel
with the rotational traits of the Earth,even GOCE data may be useful
in determining why specific areas around the polar regions.

Forget play-do and lumpiness,the Earth has a huge spherical deviation
of 26 miles across polar and equatorial diameters and while it will
continue to exist as a speculative issue,evidence from astronomy using
exposed viscous compositions will demonstrate that the processes which
maintain a spherical deviation also provide the mechanism for crustal
evolution and motion,not as a certainty but with the highest
probability of success.

Not bad,no great leap to mesh the fluid dynamics of a rotating Earth
with crustal geodynamics long before these useful satellites came
along,great engineering and technological achievement but doesn't come
close to a good interpreter.

oriel36 wrote:

On Apr 2, 3:19 pm, Sam Wormley wrote:
Video: Gravity Makes Earth Look Like Lumpy Ball of Play-Doh

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...vity-makes-ear...

By taking more than 70 million observations during its first 2 years in
orbit, a limousine-length satellite has given scientists their most
detailed map yet of Earth's gravitational field. The lumpiness of that
geoid—the theoretical surface that a planet-wide ocean would take if
there were no tides or currents—betrays the irregularity of the planet's
mass distribution, including concentrations of mass such as mountain
ranges and ice sheets. Yellows and reds mark areas of higher-than-normal
gravitational strength; blue shades are lower than normal.

See:http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...vity-makes-ear...

Ah,the Mid Atlantic Ridge and the orientation of the Ridge parallel
with the rotational traits of the Earth,even GOCE data may be useful
in determining why specific areas around the polar regions.

Forget play-do and lumpiness,the Earth has a huge spherical deviation
of 26 miles across polar and equatorial diameters and while it will
continue to exist as a speculative issue,evidence from astronomy using
exposed viscous compositions will demonstrate that the processes which
maintain a spherical deviation also provide the mechanism for crustal
evolution and motion,not as a certainty but with the highest
probability of success.

Not bad,no great leap to mesh the fluid dynamics of a rotating Earth
with crustal geodynamics long before these useful satellites came
along,great engineering and technological achievement but doesn't come
close to a good interpreter.

Are you recovering from aphsia?

On Apr 2, 3:19*pm, Sam Wormley wrote:
Video: Gravity Makes Earth Look Like Lumpy Ball of Play-Doh

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...vity-makes-ear...

By taking more than 70 million observations during its first 2 years in
orbit, a limousine-length satellite has given scientists their most
detailed map yet of Earth's gravitational field. The lumpiness of that
geoid—the theoretical surface that a planet-wide ocean would take if
there were no tides or currents—betrays the irregularity of the planet's
mass distribution, including concentrations of mass such as mountain
ranges and ice sheets. Yellows and reds mark areas of higher-than-normal
gravitational strength; blue shades are lower than normal.

See:http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...vity-makes-ear....

While the symmetrical generation of crust off the Mid Atlantic Ridge
provides the main evidence of differential rotation,it was the
Equatorial Romanche fracture zone which is so amazing in indicating
that rotational fluid dynamics has the highest probability of being
the main mechanism for tectonic activity but moreso in indicating the
details of why the planet deviates from a perfect sphere -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanche_Trench

In short,for purposes of spherical deviation of the planet,the
Romanche zone provides evidence via crustal signatures whereas direct
observational evidence of rotating celestial bodies with exposed
viscous compositions and specifically observed differential rotation
has more traction in providing a link between fluid interior and
fractured crust.

For all the trumpeting of this GOCE satellite,the normal imaging
satellites provides the most productive data which requires human
interpretation when allied with astronomical observations of the
characteristics of rotating bodies hence empiricists are not inclined
to see the forest from the trees.When I started exploring the links
between fluid dynamics and crustal motion by taking a wider view and
especially linking the planet's spherical deviation (equatorial bulge
is a serious misnomer) with tectonics there was nobody doing it and
what emerged from the empiricist side since then is the usual hideous
monster like this 'lumpy' Earth.I prefer working with this gorgeous
object that is our home -

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedst...lo11/earth.jpg

So,it is nice to see that in explaining the Earth's spherical
deviation it also includes crustal dynamics or visa versa and it is
such a nice thing to balance speculation and interpretation by using
an astronomical background of fluid dynamics,something which hasn't
been done for such a long time.

What I wouldn't give to work on planetary dynamics with people who are
now just beginning to use animation effectively -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxFaz...eature=related

Maybe there are creative and original people out there who somehow
know that it is time to move on or at least be decisive when there is
so many tools to use and data to explore.When I see what can be done
with the global feature of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the high
probability of rotational dynamics pales in comparison to what people
can do with the orbital behavior of the Earth in isolating it from
daily rotation in order to adjust the explanation for the seasons.

The rational of keeping things front and center would hardly register
with people intent on ignoring these things but science at its most
competitive best does not wait for people to die in order to accept a
productive avenue on its own self-serving terms as what happened to
Alfred Wegener or because it offends some ideological cul-de-sac like
'convection cells',the test of the vibrancy of science is how it
adjusts and adapts to new tools and images.