Jupiter's Great Red Spot Is Shrinking 270
cjstaples noted a CNN story proclaiming that
Jupiter's signature red spot is shrinking. Over a 10 year study, the giant storm lost just over half a kilometer per day for a total loss of about 15%. Scientists know about shrinkage, right?
It's just shy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Global warming at fault?! (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Global warming at fault?! (Score:5, Interesting)
Storms are created by temperatures differences, which are in turn created by sunlight warming different areas at different rates. So yes, the same kinds of things will happen on Jupiter, if nothing else based on the temperature difference from the day to the night side. The real question is, why has the Red Spot been so stable for so long?
Think about it; surface features shouldn't effect warming rates since all solar radiation is absorbed long before it gets to the surface. Pockets of atmosphere will absorb heat at different rates, but those pockets aren't stationary. That leaves complex, self-correcting fluid dynamics or massive surface features that significantly change the wind patterns hundreds or thousands of miles up or something we just don't understand yet. All of which are pretty interesting.
Re:Global warming at fault?! (Score:5, Interesting)
You are overlooking one important energy source: Jupiter itself. Because of ongoing differentiation, Jupiter produces about twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun. Given this and the fact that this source is coming from below rather than above, it is likely the more important contribution to the dynamics of the atmosphere.
Re:meme tag stole my post (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:meme tag stole my post (Score:2, Interesting)
Corporations are merely a symptom of the problem, not the cause. Civilization at its very core has a flawed world-view. It perceives the environment as a collection of resources. The resources are to be extracted, used up, and wasted. (Don't give me that BS about recycling. We are still way off. But granted, it is a start.) There is nothing in the perception about balance with nature/environment. The environment is not something 'out there' to be saved. It is everything. The air you breathe, the water you drink. Even sitting at your desk you are still in the environment. You've just be separated from the living environment by the dead environment. (Concrete, metal and glass.) Living things were killed and remade into a buffer called the city. The goal of civilization is to make you fear wild, living nature so that you accept the comforts of the city and work hard to amass wealth for the masters. Resources are extracted from the country into the city and cause them to grow beyond the carrying capacity of the land. This is where the 'profit' comes from. A society living in balance with the land will fluctuate in population and enjoy good healthy food (when available). The Native Americans enjoyed a life like this, each tribe adapted to the many climates on the continent. Sure, they were no match for the well-armed civilized, but that doesn't make them wrong. One can hardly turn a profit if one is a circular reciprocity with the land, giving and taking equally. Profit only comes from theft. Lands are conquered (taken), and materials are extracted for (nearly) free. Don't believe me? Check out some of our laws on mining and forestry. You may be surprised to discover how much go-ahead the companies have on our public lands.
Of course all this taking has given us so much wonderful stuff, right? I am a total hypocrite for speaking like this on a global interactive network of computers.
Well, the problem comes when you've taken so much you can take no more. Have we forgotten the laws of thermal dynamics? I can't wait to work in the garbage mines of the future.