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The geoid is often expressed as a geoid undulation or geoidal height above a given reference ellipsoid, which is a slightly flattened sphere whose equatorial bulge is caused by the planet's rotation. Generally the geoidal height rises where the Earth's material is locally more dense and exerts greater gravitational force than the surrounding areas.
For example, an intriguing problem in geobiology is the role of organisms in the global cycling of methane. Genetics has revealed that the methane monooxygenase gene (pmo) is used for oxidizing methane and is present in all aerobic methane-oxidizers, or methanotrophs. [46]
The geometrical separation between it and the reference ellipsoid is called the geoidal undulation, or more usually the geoid-ellipsoid separation, N. It varies globally between ±110 m. A reference ellipsoid, customarily chosen to be the same size (volume) as the geoid, is described by its semi-major axis (equatorial radius) a and flattening f.
It is then possible to compute the geoid height by subtracting the measured altitude from the ellipsoidal height. This allows direct measurement of the geoid, since the ocean surface closely follows the geoid. [3]: 64 The difference between the ocean surface and the actual geoid gives ocean surface topography.
Unsolved problems relating to the structure and function of non-human organs, processes and biomolecules include: Korarchaeota (archaea). The metabolic processes of this phylum of archaea are so far unclear. Glycogen body. The function of this structure in the spinal cord of birds is not known. Arthropod head problem. A long-standing zoological ...
the inverse geodesic problem or second geodesic problem, given A and B, determine s 12, α 1, and α 2. As can be seen from Fig. 1, these problems involve solving the triangle NAB given one angle, α 1 for the direct problem and λ 12 = λ 2 − λ 1 for the inverse problem, and its two adjacent sides.
This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms.It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions from sub-disciplines and related fields, see Glossary of cell biology, Glossary of genetics, Glossary of evolutionary biology, Glossary of ecology ...
Dynamic topography is the reason why the geoid is high over regions of low-density mantle. If the mantle were static, these low-density regions would be geoid lows. However, these low-density regions move upwards in a mobile, convecting mantle, elevating density interfaces such as the core-mantle boundary , 440 and 670 kilometer discontinuities ...