An oceanic basin is a vast, submerged area of the Earth's surface that is covered by ocean water. It is characterized by various geological features, including: 1. **Continental Margins**: The areas where the ocean meets the continents, which can include continental shelves, slopes, and rises. 2. **Mid-Ocean Ridges**: Underwater mountain ranges formed by tectonic activity, where new oceanic crust is created as magma rises from the mantle.
Radiation stress, in the context of oceanography and coastal engineering, refers to the force per unit area exerted by waves on the water column and seabed due to the momentum flux associated with wave energy. It is a critical concept for understanding how waves interact with coastal structures and the seabed, and for modeling sediment transport and beach erosion processes. In more detail, when waves propagate, they carry energy and momentum.
A Rossby wave is a type of wave that occurs in rotating fluids, such as the Earth's atmosphere and oceans, due to the Coriolis effect. These waves are significant in meteorology and oceanography because they play a crucial role in the motion of weather systems and ocean currents. In the atmosphere, Rossby waves are characterized by large-scale meanders in high-altitude winds, particularly in the westerlies, and are influenced by the planet's rotation.
The South Sandwich Trench is a deep oceanic trench located in the southern Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast of South America. It is the site where the South American Plate is being subducted beneath the Scotia Plate, making it a prominent feature of the Earth's tectonic activity. Key points about the South Sandwich Trench include: 1. **Geography**: The trench is situated near the South Sandwich Islands and extends approximately 1,550 kilometers (about 960 miles) in length.
A submarine landslide is a rapid downward movement of sediment or rock that occurs under the sea, typically along the continental shelf or slope. These landslides can be triggered by various factors, including: 1. **Seismic Activity**: Earthquakes can destabilize underwater slopes, causing the sediment or rock to slide. 2. **Sediment Loading**: Accumulation of sediment can increase the weight on underlying layers, leading to instability.
The Tasman Front is an oceanic boundary located in the Tasman Sea, which lies between Australia and New Zealand. This front is characterized by a sharp transition between colder, nutrient-rich waters and warmer, less productive waters. The front can often influence local marine ecosystems and weather patterns. The Tasman Front plays a significant role in the dispersal of marine species and can affect fisheries in the region.
The upper shoreface refers to a specific coastal geomorphological zone that is part of the broader shoreface system, which includes different sedimentary environments adjacent to the shoreline. The upper shoreface typically extends from the high tide line down to the lower shoreface, which lies below the wave base.
An ABX test, often used in audio testing and research, is a method for comparing two stimuli (typically audio samples) to determine if a listener can distinguish between them. In an ABX test, participants are presented with two different audio samples, labeled "A" and "B." They then hear a third sample, labeled "X," which is either identical to sample A or sample B. Participants must identify whether sample X is A or B.
The just-noticeable difference (JND), also known as the difference threshold or the minimal detectable difference, refers to the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected by a sensory system. It represents the minimum amount of change that a person can perceive between two stimuli. The concept of JND is rooted in psychophysics, a field of study that examines the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce.
A quantum state is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics that describes the state of a quantum system. It encapsulates all the information about the system and can be represented in several ways, such as: 1. **Wave Function**: In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, a quantum state can be represented by a wave function, usually denoted by the Greek letter psi (Ψ).
Thermophysics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of heat and temperature and their relationship with matter. It focuses on the principles and laws that govern thermal energy transfer, including conduction, convection, and radiation. Thermophysics explores how heat affects the physical properties of substances, such as phase changes, thermal expansion, and the behavior of materials at different temperatures.
In soil mechanics, a fractal is a concept that describes complex patterns or structures that exhibit self-similarity at different scales. This means that the characteristics of a system can be similar regardless of the scale at which you observe it. Fractals are often used to analyze and model the distribution of soil particles, pore spaces, and other elements within soil systems.
Marsh gas, also known as marsh gas or swamp gas, primarily refers to methane (CH₄), which is a colorless, odorless gas produced during the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in wetlands, marshes, and swamps. This process occurs in the absence of oxygen, typically by microbial action, and can also happen in other environments, such as landfills.
Preconsolidation pressure is a key concept in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. It refers to the maximum effective stress that a soil layer has been subjected to in the past, and it is an important factor in determining the compressibility and settlement behavior of soil. When soils undergo loading, they may experience changes in volume and structure. Preconsolidation pressure indicates the historical maximum pressure that the soil has experienced before a current loading condition.
Field capacity refers to the amount of soil moisture or water content that the soil can retain after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has decreased. It is a critical concept in agriculture, soil science, and hydrology because it indicates the maximum amount of water that the soil can hold against the force of gravity, making it available for plants.
Hydrus is a free and open-source software application designed for managing, organizing, and sharing large collections of media files, particularly images, videos, and their associated metadata. It is primarily used as a personal media management tool and is well-known in specific online communities, such as those focused on art, photography, and various types of fandoms. Key features of Hydrus include: 1. **Tagging System**: Users can assign tags to their media files for easier organization and retrieval.
Eisengarn, also known as iron wire, refers to a type of wire made from iron, commonly used in various applications due to its strength and durability. It's often used in construction, fencing, and industrial applications. In certain contexts, it might also refer to wire that is used for crafting or making tools and hardware. In some regions, Eisengarn may have specific uses in art or craft, where it can be shaped or manipulated for various creative projects.
The Southern Textile Exposition (STE) is an event focused on the textile industry, typically featuring a wide range of exhibitors and participants from various sectors within the textile and apparel manufacturing field. The exposition provides a platform for businesses to showcase their products, technologies, and innovations, as well as to network, share knowledge, and explore market trends. The Southern Textile Exposition is usually held in the southeastern United States, an area with a significant history and presence in textile manufacturing.
The Ekman layer refers to a layer in the ocean or atmosphere that is influenced by the Earth's rotation and characterized by a specific current profile due to the balance of forces acting on the water or air. It is named after the Swedish oceanographer Vagn Walfrid Ekman, who studied the effects of the Coriolis force on wind-driven currents.

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