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...energy transfer and explores some of the key processes that occur. It goes on to show how these complex systems can be affected by external influences and harmed by the activities of humans. This material forms part of The Open University course S396 Ecosystems... Ecosystems: living communities A short introduction to this album What is an ecosystem? How the definition of...

...Solar System, it is important that we do not accidentally contaminate untouched and unspoilt extraterrestrial environments in any way. This is especially true when searching for evidence of life. This article explores the concept of ‘Planetary Protection’ and why it is critical for the future of space exploration...Why do we need to protect the planetary bodies? The...

...energy from the wind to the water through wind stress. Wind stress has the Greek symbol τ (tau) and is proportional to the square of the wind speed, W: τ = cW2 where c is the constant of proportionality. So if the wind speed increases from 1 m s−1 to 4 m s−1 then wind stress will increase by a factor of 16. This large jump in the wind stress happens because when the...