DataStreme ECS WEEK FOUR: 27 September-1 October 2010

ITEMS OF INTEREST

• Fall coloration-- In fact, some locales hold events in an effort to welcome tourists who come as "leaf peepers". The U.S. Department of Agriculture maintains a telephone hotline number and U.S. Forest Service Fall Color Hotline Web page containing fall foliage status updates for National Forests across the continental United States. Additional information is also available through the tourism bureaus of the various states; links to some of these state sites are available from this Forest Service web page.
• New storm surge page unveiled --
Officials with NOAA's National Hurricane Center recently unveiled a new web page for that provides information on Storm Surge. In addition to basic information on hurricane generated storm surge, this site contains reviews of ten notable storm surge events, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. A link to NOAA's Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH)Model is provided. [National Hurricane Center]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

• Eight years of sea surface temperatures monitored from space -- NASA scientists have assembled an animation that shows the global distribution of sea surface temperatures over an eight year span beginning in July 2002 and running through July 2010 as obtained from the MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Seasonal variations in the sea-surface temperature patterns can be detected, along with some variations of the years associated with the El Niño and La Niña events. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Never too early to think about snow --
Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have assembled an animation of images of the monthly global snow cover from data collected by the MODIS sensor on the agency's Terra satellite starting in February 2000 and running through August 2010. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Two-decades of deep water warming leads to global sea level rise --
Scientists from the University of Washington and Colorado State University and the United Kingdom's Met Office and the University of East Anglia recently reported that their analysis of measurements obtained from the deep ocean around the globe over the last two decades indicates an increase in deep water temperatures at depths below 3300 feet, which appears to contribute to sea level rises, especially in the Southern Oceans around Antarctica. [NOAA News]
• Space agency's ground-based sensor network is highlighted --
The Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), which is operated by NASA, is described in a feature article that states that this network of sun photometers represents one of the space agency’s most widely used sensor networks. The sun photometers, which were deployed to calibrate satellite measurements, measure the solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface and can be used to determine the aerosol concentrations around the globe caused by volcanoes, wildfires, dust storms and anthropogenic pollution. [NASA GSFC]
• Tiny satellite created by college students to study lightning --
Two student interns from the University of Maryland-College Park students and scientists at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center constructed a football sized satellite instrument that will be flown a future "Firefly" satellite to measure the Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes generated by lightning. [NASA GSFC]
• An All-Hazards Monitor --
This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes --
A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]

CLIMATE FORCING

• Emissions by UK shipping industry are unexpectedly high -- A recent study conducted by the United Kingdom's University of Manchester indicates that the UK shipping industry was producing approximately six times more carbon dioxide emissions than previously determined. [University of Manchester]
• Hurricanes affect the outer reaches of the atmosphere --
Scientists at National Center for Atmospheric Research’s High Altitude Observatory claim that hurricanes, often considered a tropospheric weather phenomenon, can exert an influence that extends into the ionosphere by generating vertically moving oscillations known as gravity waves, which in turn can initiate small-scale instabilities, called traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) that can interfere with the chemical composition or charge in the ionosphere. These ionospheric bubbles can affect GPS. [UCAR Magazine]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

• Weather and climate may aid in stinkbug invasion -- Agriculturists, entomologists and the general public have become aware of the massive stinkbug infestation in parts of the eastern United States that has started taking a severe toll on crops, most notably fruit trees. While the exact reason why this infestation has spread, some entomologists think that the combination of widespread snow cover last winter plus this past summer's heat may have be significant contributors to the problem. [Baltimore Sun]
• Coral bleaching in Caribbean may be imminent --
Citing above-average sea surface temperatures through this year to date, the NOAA Coral Reef Watch monitoring system recently warned that severe coral bleaching appears likely in the southern and southeastern Caribbean before the end of 2010. The NOAA Coral Reef Watch uses satellite coral bleaching monitoring. [NOAA News]

HUMAN BIOCLIMATOLOGY

• Health-sapping air pollution displayed on new global map -- Researchers from Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University recently created a global map of the distribution of fine airborne particulate matter that have diameters of 2.5 micrometers or less based upon total-column aerosol amount measurements from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA's Terra satellite and the MODIS on both NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites along with information about the vertical distribution of aerosols from a chemical transport computer model. The global map of these particulates, also identified as PM2.5, represents a five-year (2001-2006) average. The particulates are considered a health risk, contributing to millions of premature deaths each year. [NASA Earth Science News Team]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

• Desert dust appears to cut Colorado River flow -- A team of scientists, including those from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the US Geological Survey, the University of Washington, the University of Colorado and the National Snow and Ice Center, have found that snowmelt in the Upper Colorado River basin in the nation's Southwest has been occurring earlier than in European settlement days due to increased dust attributed to human activity across the region during the last 150 years. The team examined dust deposits on mountain snowpack and lake sediment cores to date the dust fall amounts and a hydrology model to simulate the basin's water budget. In addition to the earlier snowmelt and peak spring runoff, the runoff has diminished along with the amount of water available downstream. [NASA JPL]
• Wind may have parted the Red Sea in biblical account --
In a computer modeling study conducted at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, researchers have shown that winds, as noted in the Bible's book of Exodus, could have been capable of pushed the waters of the Red Sea in such a way as to permit a land bridge to appear and serve an escape route for Moses and the fleeing Israelites. Biblical accounts identify this event, that would have taken place at least 3000 years ago as a "parting the waters of the Red Sea. [UCAR/NCAR]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

• Six new regional climate science collaborations announced -- US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke recently announced that six new Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) awards had been made to clusters of multiple research institutions across the nation, each designed to work with planners, organizations and the public in their region to improve the nation’s ability to anticipate and adapt to climate variability and change. These six new RISA partnerships join five ongoing RISAs. [NOAA News]
• Locations for Interior Department's Climate Science Centers announced in the Southeast and Northwest regions --
Late last week, the US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the selected locations for his department's Southeast and Northwest regional Climate Science Centers. The locations were North Carolina State University in the Southeast and a consortium of three universities in the Northwest that are Oregon State University, University of Washington and the University of Idaho. The announcement also included the finalization of a cooperative agreement for the Alaska Climate Science Center, which opened at the start of the month in Anchorage. These three regional Climate Science Centers, along with five additional planned centers are designed to address current and future impacts of climate change on the nation's land, water, wildlife, cultural heritage and tribal resources. [US Department of Interior]
• Website for human dimensions of climate change --
An interagency effort within the US federal government that included NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, has resulted in a website called HD.gov (for HumanDimensions.gov) that provides users, such as natural resource managers, with information on the human dimensions on a variety of topics of interest such as climate change. [HD.gov]

COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY

• Comet-like appearance seen in planet Mercury -- Scientists from Boston University’s Center for Space Physics recently reported that their analysis of images made from NASA's STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) satellites viewing the outer atmosphere of the Sun have detected evidence of gas escaping Mercury, a planet that is generally considered not to have an atmosphere. The escaping gas gave the Mercury a comet-like "tail" when viewed toward the Sun. [EurekAlert!]
• Earthweek --
Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Climate and Architecture

Humans have been constructing houses and other buildings for thousands of years not only to protect themselves from the weather and other environmental factors, but also to create a comfortable indoor environment that would exhibit energy efficiency, especially in harsh climates. For centuries, natural or primitive housing reflected an adaptation to the climate of the locale and the availability of local building materials.

In order to maintain a tolerable level of comfort within a building, attention must be paid to thermal effects, ventilation, illumination and atmospheric humidity.

The indoor thermal state ultimately depends upon the building's energy budget involving incoming and outgoing radiation, latent and sensible heat loss and by interior heat sources or sinks. The indoor thermal level is mainly associated with the external energy load on the building. The external energy load on the building depends upon the latitude of the building, season of the year and time of day.

In tropical latitudes and during midday hours in summer, the sun's path across the local sky increases the solar radiation incident upon the roof and walls of the building. In polar latitudes, or during the winter or the amount of available sunlight is significantly lower, with the loss of infrared radiation causing a net cooling from the building. Changes in the color of the roof and the outer walls can affect the amount of incoming sunlight absorbed. Building orientation and the effective use of overhangs can also affect the amount of sunlight absorbed. Furthermore, the amount of insulation, often related to the thickness of the walls, reduces the conduction of heat into or out of the building. Thick adobe walls have been used effectively in the Southwest to moderate indoor temperature. These walls reduce the heat flow into the building during the daytime and in summer and out from the building at night or during winter.

The size and placement of windows also affects the energy balance. Large windows on the side of the building facing the sun's path tend to permit large amounts of sunlight to penetrate into the building. However, large windows on the side facing away from the sun can cause for heat loss due to conduction, as many types of windowpanes are not energy efficient.

Effective landscaping can reduce energy demands upon a dwelling: Deciduous trees planted on the south and west sides of the home provide cooling shade during the summer, keeping sunlight from entering the windows. These trees will lose their foliage in fall and allow the sun to shine through in winter, and warm south facing rooms. Evergreen trees or dense shrubbery on the north side can serve as a windbreak, which reduce the cold northerly winds from striking the house in winter.

Energy losses from buildings during the upcoming winter in northern latitudes can be seen readily by how quickly snow melts from roofs and by how big the icicles form. Heat losses from buildings occur with larger negative energy budgets, which are reflected also in higher heating bills during the winter season. However, the heating bills also depend upon the severity of the winter season that can be ascertained from the number of accumulated heating degree-day units. Check this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth for how you can monitor the number of heating degree-day units to date in your state for this coming heating season.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.

1. The thicker the outdoor walls, the [(greater),(less)] the heat flow into or out of a building.
2. Planting [(evergreen),(deciduous)] vegetation on the south side of a home in New England will help reduce winter heating and summer cooling bills.

Historical Events:

• 27 September 1816...A black frost over most of New England kills unripened corn in the north resulting in a year of famine. (David Ludlum) 
• 27-28 September 1953...The strongest wind gust ever recorded during a hurricane was 175 mph at Chetumal, Mexico. (The Weather Doctor)
• 28 September 1893...Albuquerque, NM was soaked with 2.25 inches of rain, enough to establish a 24-hour record for that city. (The Weather Channel)
• 28 September 1986...Torrential rains and floods were responsible for South Africa's worst natural disaster in Natal. As much as 35 in. of rain fell between the 25^th and 29^th to the northeast of Empangen, resulting in 317 deaths and 163 people missing. Topsoil from some farms was completely washed away leaving only bedrock. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 30 September 1992...Fairbanks, AK averaged a frigid 31.7 degrees for the month, 13.2 degrees below normal and a record. Beginning on the 9^th, a record low was set for every day of the month. The temperature plunged to 3 degrees on the 30^th, the lowest ever for September. Snowfall for the month totaled 24.4 inches, more than three times the previous record. The snows never melted. Plant foliage still green, was frozen into place and week long power outages occurred as whole trees bent over onto power lines in the heavy wet snow. (Intellicast)
• 1 October 2006...Wichita, KS recorded its hottest October day ever on the 1st with a 97-degree high temperature. (The Weather Doctor)
• 2 October 1858...The only tropical cyclone known to produce hurricane-force (estimated) winds on the California coast hit near San Diego, CA. Damage to property is considerable. (The Weather Doctor)
• 2 October 1980...The temperature at Blue Canyon, CA soared to 88 degrees, an October record for that location. (The Weather Channel)
• 3 October 1912...The longest dry spell of record in the U.S. commenced as Bagdad, CA went 767 days without rain, ending on 9 November 1914. (David Ludlum)

Return to DataStreme Earth Climate Systems website

Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2010, The American Meteorological Society.