Aggregator

A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets reveals that atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on Mars, particularly at high altitudes. Phys.Org reports: The study applied methods developed to explore Earth's atmosphere to quantitatively estimate the influence of gravity waves on Mars' planetary circulation. [...] "On Earth, large-scale atmospheric waves caused by the planet's rotation, known as Rossby waves, are the primary influence on the way air circulates in the stratosphere, or the lower part of the middle atmosphere. But our study shows that on Mars, gravity waves (GWs) have a dominant effect at the mid and high latitudes of the middle atmosphere," said Professor Kaoru Sato from the Department of Earth and Planetary Science. "Rossby waves are large-scale atmospheric waves, or resolved waves, whereas GWs are unresolved waves, meaning they are too fine to be directly measured or modeled and must be estimated by more indirect means." Not to be confused with gravitational waves from massive stellar bodies, GWs are an atmospheric phenomenon when a packet of air rises and falls due to variations in buoyancy. That oscillating motion is what gives rise to GWs. Due to the small-scale nature of them and the limitations of observational data, researchers have previously found it challenging to quantify their significance in the Martian atmosphere. So Sato and her team turned to the Ensemble Mars Atmosphere Reanalysis System (EMARS) dataset, produced by a range of space-based observations over many years, to analyze seasonal variations up there. "We found something interesting, that GWs facilitate the rapid vertical transfer of angular momentum, significantly influencing the meridional, or north-south, in the middle atmosphere circulations on Mars," said graduate student Anzu Asumi. "It's interesting because it more closely resembles the behavior seen in Earth's mesosphere rather than in our stratosphere. This suggests existing Martian atmospheric circulation models may need to be refined to better incorporate these wave effects, potentially improving future climate and weather simulations."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

If you ever doubted that a picture is worth a thousand words, then may I refer you to the recent photographs of McFly singer Danny Jones.

Blake Lively's protective order in her legal battle against Justin Baldoni will not prevent the public from eventually gaining access to their private affairs.

Elon Musk-owned Tesla has sent an unsigned letter to Donald Trump 's top trade representative warning that the company could be harmed by the president's tariff war.

While Aimee, 31, has previously starred in Sex Education and nabbed roles in BBC and Netflix series, her stint on the smash hit HBO show has seen her garner global attention.

I'm not entirely sure I understand the first item today, but maybe you can help. I pulled a couple of older items from the backlog to round out this timely theme.

Rudi A. reported this Errord, chortling "Time flies when you're having fun, but it goes back when you're walking along the IJ river!" Is the point here that the walking time is quoted as 77 minutes total, but the overall travel time is less than that? I must say I don't recommend swimming the Ij in March, Rudi.

 

I had to go back quite a while for this submission from faithful reader Adam R., who chimed "I found a new type of datetime handling failure in this timestamp of 12:8 PM when checking my past payments at my medical provider." I hope he's still with us.

 

Literary critic Jay commented "Going back in time to be able to update your work after it gets published but before everyone else in your same space time fabric gets to see your mistakes, that's privilege." This kind of error is usually an artifact of Daylight Saving Time, but it's a day too late.

 

Lucky Luke H. can take his time with this deal. "The board is proud to approve a 20% discount for the next 8 millenia," he crowed.

 

At nearly the other end of the entire modern era, Carlos found himself with a nostalgic device. "Excel crashed. When it came back, it did so showing this update banner." Some programmer confused "restore state" with the English Restoration. Not that state, bub.

 

[Advertisement] Picking up NuGet is easy. Getting good at it takes time. Download our guide to learn the best practice of NuGet for the Enterprise.

George Clooney and his wife Amal will be hosting a lavish fundraiser in Italy's Lake Como this August.

Vice President JD Vance defended the strength of the American economy on Thursday, even as President Donald Trump's tariffs continue rocking the stock market.

American Airlines passengers were forced to evacuate after their plane caught on fire at the Denver Airport on Thursday

An Australian relationship expert has revealed a lesser-known trick which she claims makes you instantly more attractive.

Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt's forthcoming book details the great lengths co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita went to ensure Trump had a successful debate.

Upcoming closures from March 14 to 16 on the M25 and Dartford Crossing may affect some drivers across Essex this weekend.

Small museums across the country are facing an increasingly uncertain future as visitor numbers drop and running costs soar.

Parents are calling for a lollipop person outside a primary school as pickup time chaos is a “disaster waiting to happen”.

Upcoming closures from March 14 to 16 on the M25 and Dartford Crossing may affect some drivers across Essex this weekend.

Trump celebrated the $100billion investment from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company during a surprise White House ceremony earlier this month.

Rideshare companies said it isn’t happening. Lawmakers aren’t convinced

India’s government has ordered an investigation into whether Uber and local ride-share champion charge Ola customers more if they use iPhones.…

Veteran of Oracle vs Google Java trial fumes over 'gimmicks' and 'sham' arguments

A federal judge has ordered six US government agencies to immediately rehire employees fired this year by the Trump administration.…

Ghost Adventures host Aaron Goodwin filed for divorce from wife Victoria Goodwin after investigators said she tried to have him killed.

It'll take a few days, give or take your situation

Google has told The Register it's beginning to roll out a fix for Chromecast devices that were crippled by an expired security certificate authority. We're assured this deployment will take place over the next few days.…