Questions tagged [environment]
For questions about an environment or aspects of it such as geographical, atmospheric or climate.
2
votes
3answers
61 views
Plausability of Purple Oceans
Alright, so I've been meaning to write out a planet with golden/yellow fields and a violet / purple ocean.
What I was thinking about is having the water of this world is so clean and nourishing that ...
13
votes
4answers
276 views
Can a liquid sand ocean exist naturally?
I'm talking about this sort of liquid sand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My4RA5I0FKs
"Desert-as-sea-analog" is present in many media, but often they lean heavily into fantasy, and it seems not ...
2
votes
3answers
116 views
Atmosphere that makes people wear masks for breathing
(I'm new here, so I apologize in advance if I do something wrong)
TL;DR of what I'm looking for:
A substance (natural or artificial) that...
can be suspended in an atmosphere
is harmful to breathe,...
24
votes
19answers
6k views
The logistics of corpse disposal
A pair of fearless killers, thousands of years old, guard a path to what is believed to be heaven. Of course, all towns in the area have different ritual and traditions where either their criminals or ...
3
votes
7answers
654 views
What items from the Roman-age tech-level could be used to deter all creatures from entering a small area?
Please assume the following:
There is a item on the ground and I want nothing but bare earth touching it.
I cannot move the item myself.
The item is impervious to fire.
I cannot afford to guard ...
1
vote
0answers
156 views
Tsar Bomba Red Forest [closed]
Since 1986, a thousand square miles of eastern Europe is off-limits to average people. That is because of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Ironically, the fact that people aren't allowed in the ...
33
votes
14answers
6k views
Is there a hypothetical scenario that would make Earth uninhabitable for humans, but not for (the majority of) other animals?
I'm trying to think of a scientifically plausible reason for humanity to be forced to abandon earth that would leave animals and plants largely untouched. Is there any natural disaster that would have ...
4
votes
2answers
104 views
Planetary tidal locking causing asymetrical water distribution
Imagine a planet of roughly the same size as Earth with the same amount of land, the same atmosphere and the same proportion of water (other planetary parameters may vary from Earth like) that has ...
5
votes
2answers
140 views
Would a More Extreme Icing of Antarctica Create an Extinction Event?
55 million years ago, the world was literally a jungle. It was so warm that plants like the bald cypress and the dawn redwood have been found at Ellesmere Island, right inside the Arctic Circle. ...
26
votes
5answers
4k views
Plausibility of Mushroom Buildings
How plausible would buildings made inside of, or made using, giant mushrooms be?
Copyright Raphael Lacoste 2018
A staple of the fantasy genre, mushrooms have commonly been seen as magical and ...
31
votes
12answers
10k views
In the late 1940’s to early 1950’s what technology was available that could melt a LOT of ice?
In my story I’ve devised lore where Greenland becomes a US territory, and they begin populating the region. It initially just served as the hub for numerous military bases and airbases, but eventually ...
11
votes
3answers
324 views
Are these climate zones somewhat realistic?
I have been slowly losing my mind trying to build a somewhat realistic climate map for a fantasy world I'm building for my book. A geographer I am not... I modeled the climate zones and such after ...
-3
votes
3answers
123 views
Earth like planet with two moon like satellites
I was thinking about this world with different ancient factions on war. The war caused both of them and most life on the planet to die, I was thinking about one of the moons getting shattered as a ...
11
votes
3answers
333 views
Dredging in a fantasy setting
So, I am setting up a world for a DND campaign in which, through a magical accident in the past, the face of the globe is covered in ocean, all except for a few tiny islands where the highest mountain ...
6
votes
2answers
174 views
Can enough CO2 be captured, in order to reduce global warming, to reduce oxygen levels to suffocating levels?
In a comment to a recent question, it was pointed out that Biosphere II failed in part because too much CO2 was absorbed by the concrete, leaving insufficient oxygen in available CO2 to be released by ...
6
votes
1answer
131 views
What tree type grows into the most dense forests?
"Tree" is (apparently) not a very well defined term as far as scientific classifications are concerned, so I'll put my own restrictions on it for this question:
Typical healthy adult specimens must ...
6
votes
1answer
83 views
Effects of Red Dwarf CME (Flare) on Biological Life and Atmosphere
I have a planet circling an M-Class star (M3/M4). I'm trying to figure out what the effects of flaring on the planet's biosphere might be.
Background: As some of you may know, M-class stars are ...
4
votes
2answers
268 views
Life in the Northern Hemisphere if Beringia Never Drowned
When one hears the name "Beringia", we most often think the land bridge that formed as a result of a drop in sea levels during the Pleistocene, resulting in a connection between Alaska and Russia. But ...
0
votes
1answer
137 views
How would floating islands work? [duplicate]
Soaring among the clouds over an earth-like planet, islands... on which fortresses are built for strategic advantage, on which stations for the dragon air force are built, and which can be relatively ...
6
votes
5answers
280 views
Salty or fresh or brackish waters?
So this is a small map of all the continents on the small planet of Parsas Decem. As far as most of the rivers go, I’ve got it figured out. What I’m wondering is, can salt water flowing in from the ...
1
vote
3answers
150 views
How can a kid be so much better than trained adults at “Monster fighting” [closed]
The world is populated not with animals but with "monsters". "Monsters" appear randomly in particular places, and can be caught using specialized devices shaped like a ball. There are many different ...
4
votes
3answers
200 views
How large can a magical cold region be before it dramatically alters global climate?
In the setting I'm working on, I want to have a vast 'sea' of diamond dust that is sustained by some kind of chilling magic effect that's spread across the surface of the land.
Since magic is ...
2
votes
3answers
95 views
Shooting all flying creatures in fear of spying drones [closed]
Spying technology is getting more sophisticated. Drones as we know them are obsolete. Robots appearing as living creatures are becoming science fact. First, robotic birds, then robotic insects. They ...
11
votes
2answers
608 views
Life in permanent shadow
I've been experimenting with a fantasy world that is flat, with the sun fixed in place over the centre. The day-night cycle is provided by the sun dimming and then brightening again. Most of the rest ...
6
votes
5answers
619 views
If Earth's atmosphere were to be enclosed, what effects would what have?
A universe-destroying parasite is set loose, and basically earth is placed under magical quarantine. (Think of it like the world is wrapped in magical cellophane.) My question is, how would earth's ...
12
votes
11answers
4k views
At great altitude, what conditions are needed to support a human community?
In my part of this (Earth-like) world, there is a stable community of completely isolated pre-industrial humans, numbering perhaps 1,800.
They live at an altitude of (at least) 25,000 feet (7620 ...
3
votes
3answers
209 views
Can trees and plant life grow on rock?
So I’m creating a world where the ground is mainly made of different rocks and stone in most areas - soil is sparse.
Could trees and plant life grow on the stone ground if a water source is nearby? ...
-2
votes
6answers
229 views
200G to 1G environment
Let's say a human were to live most of his life in a 200 G environment but then suddenly enter a 1 g environment, What would be the effects to his body and will this give him the ability to carry ...
4
votes
2answers
64 views
Stellar and magnetic parameters for creating polar radiation hazards
I've got a generally earthlike planet, but my goal is to make radiation exposure in the polar regions a much larger hazard than it is on Earth, while not being an issue in other regions. Nothing ...
2
votes
2answers
142 views
What would happen to the Earth if it were suddenly transported to a completely empty void? [duplicate]
The entire planet Earth is suddenly teleported (never mind how for now) to a completely empty space. No sun, no moon, no stars or other planets. There's absolutely nothing out there and it appears ...
4
votes
2answers
150 views
How would plants evolve with longer days?
(First post on StackExchange, hello world!)
The project that I'm currently working on involves a Binary Planet system, both with life, although I'm only focusing on one. This planet has a climate ...
4
votes
2answers
186 views
How much heat would a 1km asteroid release into earth's atmosphere?
I am writing a theory for a game that is in an apocalypse. An asteroid is heading for earth and will crash into the earth regardless in this theory. It is 1km in size but due to the YORP effect it has ...
1
vote
4answers
210 views
What is the “fullest” the universe could be in terms of living space? [closed]
Lets take a civilization that has surpassed the type III on the Kardashev scale. It has the following assumptions:
It harnesses the energy of entire Galaxies,
its populace did not transcend. If you ...
6
votes
3answers
149 views
Technology to produce food without land, what will happen with the land next?
Let's say we have the technology to produce all of the human food in factories without the need for land (i.e. Solarfood, Memphis Meats). Right now, there is about 50% of all habitable land use for ...
11
votes
12answers
3k views
Why would life energy be poisonous for the environment?
Mana is the life energy of the soul that is bestowed by nature. Everything is born with a certain amount, with humans containing the most. When something dies, it's body naturally decays and supplies ...
1
vote
1answer
144 views
Are there chemical elements deadly to mushrooms but not to humans?
Are there any chemical elements dangerous to fungus/mushrooms that wouldn't threaten the human species.
The chemical elements I'm looking for would be in the periodic table of elements.
It doesn't ...
6
votes
4answers
323 views
Cave/Subterranean Lighting
I have a cave that is ravine like and stretches approximately one kilometer down into the Earth. Let's assume that the cave has a clear, crystalline roof allowing some light in.
Is there any sort of ...
6
votes
3answers
157 views
How to have people and big bugs at the same time
There's been a few questions about making big bugs before and the consensus in they can't get much bigger than 3ft or so (which in reality is still huge). Catch is, you need quite a bit of extra ...
3
votes
2answers
150 views
Climate checking my map
So I've decided to come here to see how my map would be effected by climate.
Notes: The planet has a 10° axial tilt, it's a little smaller then earth, and has earth like conditions.
So my questions ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
Could humans wreck the world enough to tilt its axis? [duplicate]
Some Context
My story idea is in the likes of Pacific Rim. If you didn't watch it, it's about a crack in the sea that spawns giant monsters called Kaiju, who really like to chew on buildings.
...
0
votes
4answers
163 views
How can a radioactive planet kill most fetuses in utero, but not give everyone cancer?
My setting takes place on a planet that has a very high level of radiation because of reasons unknown to the population. This factor or group of factors are not man-made, but due to some change in ...
-10
votes
2answers
262 views
What would happen if a woman astronaut didn’t wear/took off her helmet/spacesuit while on the moon/mars? [closed]
In this story, Mars is totally inhabited by women
Would she die from lack of oxygen/suffocation or lack of pressure/boiling fluids?
0
votes
3answers
175 views
What amount of heat would be necessary to evaporate the oceans? Can his heat threshold be reached if there were no ozone layer? [closed]
The problem in my fictional future Earth was: almost the entire ozone layer disappeared due to a massive release of CFCs in the atmosphere. I was trying to calculate if this would lead to the oceans ...
1
vote
2answers
426 views
When two continents crash against each other, mountains arise, right? [closed]
In the background of my world it happens that two continents crash against each other. Now that I've done some research, do I correctly understand that this would create a mountain range? Or did I get ...
2
votes
10answers
430 views
why would performing nature magic be safer in groups of people? [closed]
A Tham field is the background magical radiation field that exists throughout the universe. Nature magic involves accessing this field in order to produce effects in the real world. A user does this ...
0
votes
1answer
169 views
Life in a gas torus around a neutron star
Larry Niven wrote a novel called The Integral Trees, which was followed by a sequel The Smoke Ring. This is Wikipedia's synopsis of the setting:
The story occurs around the fictional neutron star ...
4
votes
2answers
110 views
How can a tree be used to conduct electricity?
A network is classified as two or more connected devices that share information. In this world, the inhabitants use a system of trees that operate similarly to super-computers. These trees collect and ...
3
votes
6answers
206 views
Can I have a glacier on a tidally-locked shallow-sea planet?
I have a planet that is tidally locked to its sun.
The ocean is shallow (a few hundred meters) and was artificially created in the past by harvesting the system's Oort cloud or outer-system ice ...
4
votes
1answer
148 views
Lake World and Water Salinity
I have an idea for a world where land prevails over water and what waters there are are largely relegated to scattered lakes of varying sizes. Some of these lakes would be mega lakes, the size of the ...
5
votes
6answers
467 views
How to prevent large groups of animals from destroying my land? [closed]
I've created a world that is filled with beings and creatures that are very specific that can be easily separated and recognized. In this world there are seven (7) basic types of lifeforms (not ...
