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Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

Posted August 29, 2008 9:27 AM

From ESA Top News:

Oxygen is constantly leaking out of Earth's atmosphere and into space. Now, ESA's formation-flying quartet of satellites, Cluster, has discovered the physical mechanism that is driving the escape. It turns out that the Earth's own magnetic field is accelerating the oxygen away. The new work uses data collected by Cluster from 2001 to 2003. During this time, Cluster amassed information about beams of electrically charged oxygen atoms, known as ions, flowing outwards from the polar regions into space. Cluster also measured the strength and direction of the Earth's magnetic field whenever the beams were present. Hans Nilsson, Swedish Institute of Space Physics, headed a team of space scientists who analysed the data. They discovered that the oxygen ions were being accelerated by changes in the direction of the magnetic field. "It is a bit like a sling-shot effect," says Nilsson. Having all four Cluster spacecraft was essential to the analysis because it gave astronomers a way to measure the strength and direction of the magnetic field over a wide area. "Cluster allowed us to measure the gradient of the magnetic field and see how it was changing direction with time," says Nilsson.

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#1

Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 11:40 AM

Interesting........global deoxygenating........its getting stuffing in here, can someone open a window

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#3
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 1:34 PM

You laugh, but when you consider there is over a billion monitors and TV set, millions of pig pole transformers, and kiddie magnets on your refrigerator; all driving the oxygen off this planet.

Strangely, Washington, DC must be using some very powerful kiddie magnets because the Congress appears to have acute symptoms of hypoxia-legislation.

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#4
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 1:48 PM

yes your right, I'll take this seriously, until the next threat that comes along and knocks it out.

I'll sit and wring my hands saying someone should do something about this before it kills us all.

And all that hot air coming from congress guess it would have to be something other that oxygen.

uuhhm... Maybe I'll start a company that sells oxygen credits. $$$$

Would that help clear your conscious?

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#5
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 2:08 PM

I like the oxygen credits (Oxy-Dits)!

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#6
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 2:13 PM

Aaahh, my first customer. did I say that out loud?

How many would you like, There is only a limited supply mind you.

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#7
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 2:23 PM

How's my credit?

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#8
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 2:27 PM

I don't take credit, cash only and no returns.

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#11
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 3:30 PM

Cr@p. Then what are all these carbon credits worth that the government gave me?

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#12
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/30/2008 10:17 AM

Not to fear. We have a bigger problem, plus a solution. The bigger problem is that untold amounts of oxygen are being continuously tied up to form carbon dioxide. The oceans are saturated with it. The solution will be revealed as soon as someone finds the secret catalyst and process to revert carbon dioxide back into its component atoms and molecule. Nobel Prize anyone?

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#2

Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 12:32 PM

So you can use a compass to navigate to a given destination only to find yourself asphixiated before you complete the journey? This is an environmental crisis that makes global warming pale in comparision!

I say we need to stamp out this dangerous "Earth's magnetic field" thing right away. Throw the swtich on it, so to speak. We have GPS satelites now. We don't need this quaint tech anymore. And think how much energy we'd save! That ridiculous field probably wastes tons of energy that we could be pouring into our SUV gas tanks instead!

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#9

Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 2:54 PM

Leaking O2 - someone should patch the hole in the ozone layer.

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#10
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

08/29/2008 3:08 PM

hey, keep your good ideas to yourself, I'm trying to make a buck over here...

and besides O2 dits are twice the cost of O dits.

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#13
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

09/01/2008 11:24 AM

Then shouldn't O3dits be worth 1.5 times as much as O2dits?

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#14
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Re: Cluster Watches Earth's Leaky Atmosphere

09/02/2008 1:05 PM

your right.

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