Routing in hydrology refers to the process of predicting the movement and timing of water as it flows through a watershed or a river system. It involves determining how water moves downstream from one point to another over time, considering the effects of various factors such as rainfall, runoff, topography, soil characteristics, land use, and channel properties.
Tillage erosion refers to the process of soil movement caused by agricultural tillage practices. It occurs when the soil is disturbed and moved from one location to another, typically downslope, due to the mechanical action of plowing, harrowing, or other forms of soil cultivation. This form of erosion can lead to the loss of topsoil and nutrients, which are critical for plant growth and agricultural productivity.
Integral energy typically refers to the total energy associated with a system or process, taking into account all forms of energy present and the various ways that energy can be stored and transferred. Though the term "integral energy" isn't widely used in scientific literature like other specific types of energy (such as kinetic, potential, thermal, etc.), it may appear in certain contexts, often emphasizing a holistic approach to energy analysis.
A Pedotransfer Function (PTF) is a statistical or empirical relationship that is used to predict soil properties from more readily available data. These functions serve as tools in soil science and agronomy to estimate various soil characteristics, such as water retention, hydraulic conductivity, permeability, or other physical and chemical properties, based on basic soil attributes like texture, bulk density, and organic matter content. PTFs are useful in situations where direct measurements of soil properties are expensive, time-consuming, or impractical.
Soil crust is a hardened layer that forms on the surface of soil, typically as a result of various environmental factors and processes. It can develop through mechanisms such as: 1. **Desiccation**: Soil can dry out due to evaporation, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, leading to the formation of cracks and a hardened surface.
A tensiometer is an instrument used in soil science to measure the tension or moisture potential of water in soil. It provides valuable information about soil water content and helps in understanding the water availability for plants. **How a Tensiometer Works:** 1. **Components**: A typical tensiometer consists of a sealed, water-filled tube with a porous ceramic or plastic tip at the bottom, connected to a manometer or pressure gauge.
Spinning in textiles refers to the process of transforming raw fibers into yarn, which is a long strand of fiber that can be used for weaving or knitting into fabric. The process of spinning involves several key steps: 1. **Preparation of Fiber**: Natural fibers (like cotton, wool, or flax) must be cleaned and carded to separate and align the fibers, whereas synthetic fibers typically come in a pre-processed state.
A Torricellian chamber is a scientific apparatus used to demonstrate the principles of atmospheric pressure and vacuum. It is named after the Italian scientist Evangelista Torricelli, who is best known for his work in hydrostatics and the invention of the barometer. The chamber typically consists of a sealed container that has a liquid (usually mercury) inside. When the container is inverted, the liquid does not fall completely out due to atmospheric pressure acting on the liquid's surface outside the chamber.
Atmospheric lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to measure various atmospheric properties. It operates by sending out a pulse of laser light into the atmosphere and measuring the time it takes for the light to be scattered back to the sensor. By analyzing the returned signal, atmospheric lidar can provide valuable information about the atmosphere's composition, structure, and dynamics.
An ice nucleus is a small particle that serves as a substrate for the formation of ice crystals in clouds and atmospheric conditions. These particles can be made of various materials, including biological particles (like pollen or bacteria), mineral dust, or synthetic materials. Ice nuclei play a critical role in cloud formation and precipitation processes by facilitating the freezing of supercooled water droplets in a cloud, which can lead to the development of snowflakes or ice crystals.
Biomagnetism is the study of the magnetic fields produced by living organisms and the effects of external magnetic fields on biological systems. This field of research encompasses two main aspects: 1. **Magnetic Fields in Living Organisms**: All living entities, including humans, generate weak magnetic fields due to the electrical activity of cells, particularly those involving ion movements in nerves and muscles. For example, the heart generates a magnetic field as a result of the rhythmic electrical impulses that control heartbeats.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive neurological procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. It is primarily used for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, particularly in the treatment of various mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and OCD, as well as neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease and stroke rehabilitation. The procedure involves placing a magnetic coil near the scalp, which generates short pulses of magnetic energy.
A microcosm, in the context of an experimental ecosystem, refers to a small, controlled environment that simulates the conditions of a larger ecosystem. Microcosms are often used in ecological and environmental research to study various ecological interactions and processes in a more manageable setting.
Archie's Law, formulated by the geophysicist Maurice Archie in 1942, is an important principle in petrophysics that describes the relationship between the electrical conductivity of a rock and its porosity and fluid saturation. Specifically, it provides a mathematical model to estimate the resistivity of saturated rocks based on their porosity and the resistivity of the pore fluids.
BedMachine Antarctica is a research project that aims to create a comprehensive and detailed map of the bedrock topography beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Utilizing a combination of radar, sonar, and satellite data, the project provides insights into the geological features that lie beneath the thick ice cover. The data generated by BedMachine is crucial for understanding ice dynamics, predicting ice sheet stability, and assessing how changes in ice mass may contribute to global sea level rise.
The Shale Gouge Ratio (SGR) is a geologic parameter used to evaluate the potential for faulting and the associated rock mechanics in petroleum reservoirs. It quantitatively assesses the influence of shale layers within a rock sequence on the stability and behavior of faults and fractures. The SGR is defined as the ratio of the amount of shale present in a fault zone compared to the total amount of rock (including both the shale and non-shale components) that is involved in the faulting process.
The term "marine layer" refers to a shallow, stable layer of cool, moist air that typically forms over the ocean and can often extend to the coastal land. This phenomenon is common in coastal regions, especially in places with a significant temperature difference between the ocean and the land. ### Key Characteristics of Marine Layer: 1. **Temperature Inversion**: A marine layer often occurs under a temperature inversion, where warmer air traps cooler air beneath it.
Telluric currents are natural electric currents that flow in the Earth, primarily in the conductive layers of the Earth's crust and mantle. These currents are generated by various factors, including atmospheric phenomena (like lightning strikes), solar activity (such as solar winds and geomagnetic storms), and natural variations in the Earth's magnetic field. Telluric currents can be influenced by the Earth's geology, including the composition and structure of rocks, as well as the presence of water and minerals that can conduct electricity.
Topographic Rossby waves are a specific type of wave that occurs in rotating fluids, such as the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, particularly in the presence of topographic features like mountains and ridges. These waves arise from the interaction between the Coriolis effect (which is due to the rotation of the Earth) and the topography of the landscape.

Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project

Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
We have two killer features:
  1. topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculus
    Articles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
    • a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
    • a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
    This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.
    Figure 1.
    Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page
    . View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivative
  2. local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:
    This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
    Figure 2.
    You can publish local OurBigBook lightweight markup files to either https://OurBigBook.com or as a static website
    .
    Figure 3.
    Visual Studio Code extension installation
    .
    Figure 4.
    Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation
    .
    Figure 5.
    Web editor
    . You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.
    Video 3.
    Edit locally and publish demo
    . Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.
    Video 4.
    OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo
    . Source.
  3. https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook-media/master/feature/x/hilbert-space-arrow.png
  4. Infinitely deep tables of contents:
    Figure 6.
    Dynamic article tree with infinitely deep table of contents
    .
    Descendant pages can also show up as toplevel e.g.: ourbigbook.com/cirosantilli/chordate-subclade
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact