DataStreme ECS WEEK FOUR: 26-30 September 2011

• 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.
• Contract to construct National Water Center is awarded --NOAA officials announced this past week that a contract has been awarded to a Texas company to build a new NOAA National Water Center on the campus of the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa that will improve river and flood forecasting. Some of NOAA's capabilities in water resource research and water supply forecasting will be integrated in the new center that will cost over $18 million. [NOAA News]
• A sign of a busy Atlantic hurricane season -- Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center provided a glimpse of the relatively active hurricane season that has been occurring in the North Atlantic with a GOES-13 satellite image made on Sunday 8 September 2011 showing four tropical systems (Hurricane Katia and Tropical Storms Lee, Maria and Nate). [NASA GSFC]

• Assessing the historic drought across southern Plains -- A feature produced by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) describes the magnitude of the historic drought and heat wave that has been occurring across Texas and Oklahoma for much of this year. The Texas State Climatologist along with several researchers from the National Drought Mitigation Center, NOAA and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory has considered how this current drought compares with previous droughts and if it signals a change in climate. [NCAR/UCAR Currents]

• First global map of ocean salinity generated from new satellite -- Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently released a global map of the ocean salinity of the ocean surface from data collected over a nearly 18 day span by the new NASA Aquarius instrument onboard the Aquarius/SAC-D (Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas) observatory spacecraft. These surface salinity variations represent a key component in the Earth's climate, since they affect the global water cycle and influence the oceanic circulation. [NASA JPL]
• Indian Ocean probed for clues to worldwide weather patterns -- A six-month field campaign named DYNAMO or Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation will commence in October that is designed to help improve long-range weather forecasts and seasonal outlooks, as well as to further refine global climate computer models. An international team of researchers will participate in DYNAMO, using aircraft, ships, moored buoys and radar to study weather disturbances known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation that move eastward across the equatorial Indian Ocean. [NCAR/UCAR]
• El Niño and annual cycle in tropical Pacific are beating in unison -- Researchers at the University of Hawaii report that two climate modes dominate the temperature variability in the eastern equatorial Pacific, with the rhythmic El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the annual cycle in the temperatures appearing to be synchronized. [University of Hawaii] (NOTE: This link is to a pdf file. See below)
• 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]

• Global warming can be masked for decade-long periods by deep oceans -- A new analysis led by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and based on computer simulations of global climate indicates that deep ocean layers at depths below 1000 feet may absorb sufficient heat at times to create a hiatus in the rate of global warming for periods as long as a decade, even during a longer period with a trend for increased temperatures. [NCAR/UCAR]

• Northwest Passage opens for whales -- A team of researchers from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources reported that the bowhead whales they tagged with satellite tags are now migrating through the unfrozen Northwest Passage in the Arctic. Because of the near record low expanse of sea ice, these whales have found an easy route in their travels from Greenland to the North Pacific. [BBC News]

• Successful seasonal forecasts made for fate of Arctic sea ice -- Researchers at the University of Washington and at National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed a seasonal forecast model that they ran on NCAR's Community Climate System Model to successfully simulate the current rate of Arctic sea ice decline. The researchers found that measurements of ice thickness and area made in September could provide a good estimate for minimal ice expanse during the following summer season of July through September. [University of Washington News]

• Mystery still shrouds origin of dinosaur-killing asteroid -- Scientists associated with NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission recently reported that data collected by this spacecraft indicate the Baptistina family of asteroids believed by many to have been responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs (approximately 65 million years ago) appears not likely to be the culprit. However, an asteroid colliding with Earth still may have caused the change in climate that killed the dinosaurs. [NASA JPL]

• Future mitigation efforts examined as Earth's acidity rises -- A joint study, "Acidification of Earth: An Assessment across Mechanisms and Scales," by the US Geological Survey and the University of Virginia has found that human use of the Earth's natural resources has made the planet's oceans, freshwater and soils more acidic as chemical oxidation processes involved with burning of fossil fuels, the smelting of metal ores and the use of nitrogen fertilizers generate acids in the environment. A series of world maps was developed to examine the global impact of acidification and which could be used to help in mitigation efforts. [USGS Newsroom]
• 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]
• 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.

• 26 September 1963...San Diego, CA reached an all-time record high of 111 degrees. Los Angeles hit 109 degrees. (David Ludlum)
• 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)

Return to DataStreme Earth Climate Systems website

Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2011, The American Meteorological Society.