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Verse:Qu: Difference between revisions
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== Weather and climate == | == Weather and climate == | ||
[[File:Qu_Coreolis_Atmosphere.png|300px|thumb|right|Fig. 5. The Coriolis forces on rising and falling air masses create horizontal vortices.]]Due to the rotation of the tubes, there are strong horizontal Coriolis forces whose effects can be seen in observing whether patterns and when any object falls from a great height. Falling objects, including rain and cold masses of air, lack the rotational velocity of parts of the tube further from the centre. From the perspective of someone standing within the tube, falling objects appear to be drawn backwards relative to this movement as they fall. This backwards direction is called ''vo'' in Iliaqu and can be translated as 'south' as it is 90° to the right of the direction of dawn light. | |||
Rising masses of warm air retain the momentum they received from the rotation of the outer parts of the tube as they enter higher (more inner) parts of the tube, causing their apparent path to curve 'forwards'. This forward direction is called ''guo'' in Iliaqu and can be translated as 'north' as it is 90° to the left of the dawn light. | |||
The coreolis forces working on falling and rising masses of air have an interesting effect on the atmosphere within tubes, as seen in figure 5. Thermals rising from the ground do not give rise to puffy cumulus clouds but rather horizontal rolls of cloud which extend lengthways across the tube while rising. Falling rain likewise tends to spawn horizontal vortices which slowly move downwards (outwards) while interacting in complex ways with nearby updrafts. | |||
Virtually all of the tubes of Qu have a warm, humid climate Most tubes have a pronounced wet season, in which masses of water are expelled from the ukana as mist, typically heralded by a dramatic light-show from the ''ukana'' in the late afternoon which seems to mimic the lightning display of a tropical thunderstorm. The 'lightning' display is, however, completely silent and somewhat more extravagant, with dramatic flashes and changes in direction of light, causing various parts of the tube to be brightly illuminated while others are in darkness, as though spotlights are cast on the ground. The mist ejected by the ''ukana'' billows and swirls in the near-weightlessness of the central atmosphere, trapped by the tight swirling of the coreolis effect. When the ''ukana'' is surrounded by dense cloud, fog or rain, its whole length is visible as a bar of light in the sky and the flashes of the 'lighting show' can look a little like a straight bolt of lightning through the sky. As ''ukana'' continues to expel mist, the atmosphere around it becomes overloaded. The mist swirls in tight eddies and collides, builds into larger and larger droplets which gradually whirl their way down in rolling, swirling cylinders of cloud that strike the surface of the tube as heavy downpours. Even in the ‘dry’ season, the constant high humidity creates natural showers and frequent fog and the ''ukana'' augments this natural water cycle with ejections of mist, which mostly occur during the night. Quite notable at night time are the billowing clouds that seem to erupt from the openings near the hub of the end walls of the tubes. These result from the warm breeze coming through the passageways from the neighbouring tubes in their daylight phase. | |||
== Geography == | |||
The inner surfaces of the majority of the known tubes of Qu are hilly and cloaked in dense tropical rainforest. Some tubes are dominated by water, either fresh or salty. Many of these water-dominated tubes have a number of islands and coral reefs abound. | |||
Even among the mostly forested tubes, numerous rivers, streams and riverlets carve their way across the landscapes through deep ravines, over waterfalls and into lakes. There are believed to be outlets through which this lake water is recovered to appear in the ukana’s downpours. | |||