🔬 Science 4d ago · David Hambling

Weatherwatch: how cat’s paws helped point sailors in the right direction

The Guardian Environment
Climate change, wildlife, and environmental policy
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Weatherwatch: how cat’s paws helped point sailors in the right direction
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Surface ripples known as cat’s paws, caused by turbulence cascade, show where wind is – and were once seen as luckyOn a windy day, the surface of a lake is not a continuous pattern of ripples but instead marked with patches of disturbance, as though a giant cat were patting the water. These surface patterns, known as cat’s paws, are caused by turbulent airflow in the atmosphere.Wind is caused by changing pressure at different spots on Earth’s surface but does not simply rush in a single mass fro

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