. | . |
Earth's rotation is helping mix the water in Italy's Lake Garda by Brooks Hays Washington (UPI) Jun 5, 2019 The rotation of the Earth is encouraging the mixing of water in Italy's picturesque Lake Garda, according to the findings of a new study. Ventilation and water mixing are essential for lake ecosystems. New research, published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, suggests the rotation of the Earth aids water mixing in long, narrow lakes like Lake Garda. Scientists in the Netherlands and Italy worked together to develop a series of sophisticated hydrodynamic models. The simulations of water movement in Lake Garda revealed a unique interaction between local wind patterns and the planet's rotational forces. In the spring and early summer, as ice melts and sinks to the bottom, and as the top layers of the lake are warmed more quickly, lakes become thermally stratified, preventing the even distribution of oxygen and nutrients. Winds and waves fuel mixing, which helps distribute the nutrients and oxygen that underpin freshwater food chains. "According to our study, when the wind blows along Lake Garda's main axis, the Earth's rotation causes a secondary circulation which displaces the water laterally, from one coast to the other," Marina Amadori, an environmental engineer and researcher at the University of Trento in Italy, said in a news release. The phenomenon creates a temperature difference between Lake Garda's eastern and western shores, which encourages the water column to turn over. "In detail, in the case of Foehn winds, cold water surfaces along the eastern side of the lake, upwelling, and warmer water moves down along the western side, downwelling," said Sebastiano Piccolroaz, researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. "Between February and April in particular, when the lake water temperature is at its lowest, the vertical movement can reach even the bottom of the lake, that is at a depth of 350m. We did not expect to observe in Lake Garda an event that is typical of the coastal areas of oceans and large lakes," he said.
A rose inspires smart way to collect and purify water Austin TX (SPX) Jun 03, 2019 The rose may be one of the most iconic symbols of the fragility of love in popular culture, but now the flower could hold more than just symbolic value. A new device for collecting and purifying water, developed at The University of Texas at Austin, was inspired by a rose and, while more engineered than enchanted, is a dramatic improvement on current methods. Each flower-like structure costs less than 2 cents and can produce more than half a gallon of water per hour per square meter. A team led by ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |