Sentences with phrase «nitrogen ice layer»

The team computed the Rayleigh number for the nitrogen ice layer, a mathematical term associated with the level of buoyancy - driven flow, or convection, and found it to be more than 10,000 times greater than the critical value needed for the onset of convection.

Not exact matches

The jumbled - up rubble at the base of the ice mountains helps confirm team members» theories that the mountains are, in fact, giant icebergs that have moved around on more plastic layers of nitrogen ice below.

The results of both calculations suggest a far deeper layer of nitrogen ice than the minimum 500 meters needed for convection to occur, he said.

They also looked at whether craters made by the comets hitting the surface could excavate enough nitrogen — but that would require a very deep layer of nitrogen ice at the surface, which is not proven.

Using computer models, New Horizons team members have been able to determine the depth of the layer of solid nitrogen ice within Pluto's distinctive «heart» feature — a large plain informally known as Sputnik Planum — and how fast that ice is flowing.

To reconstruct the past evolution of the Cosgrove Ice Shelf, Minzoni and her team examined multiple characteristics of the core sediments, including grain size and layering, carbon and nitrogen levels, and species of diatoms and foraminifera.