... the healthy, rotund female sings... Still haven't seen November Tropical Cyclone predictions - still have time!
BB
Monday, November 24, 2008
IT AIN'T OVER UNTIL...
... the healthy, rotund female sings... Still haven't seen November Tropical Cyclone predictions - still have time!
BB
Sunday, November 23, 2008
SAY IT AINT SO WAPO, SAY IT AINT SO...
From the Washington Post
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2008/11/nbc_fires_twc_environmental_un.html
Staffing Cuts - on-air meteorologists
Dave Schwartz
Cheryl Lemke
Eboni Deon
Staff of "Forecast Earth"
"...always difficult to lose valued employees..."
"...doing our best to minimize the impact..."
"...committed to providing the highest quality content..."
No comments on pregnancy and Weather Channel employment though. Clearly the Weather Channel went above and beyond the call of duty when it came to keeping late-term pregnant woman on the air.
BB
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/2008/11/nbc_fires_twc_environmental_un.html
Staffing Cuts - on-air meteorologists
Dave Schwartz
Cheryl Lemke
Eboni Deon
Staff of "Forecast Earth"
"...always difficult to lose valued employees..."
"...doing our best to minimize the impact..."
"...committed to providing the highest quality content..."
No comments on pregnancy and Weather Channel employment though. Clearly the Weather Channel went above and beyond the call of duty when it came to keeping late-term pregnant woman on the air.
BB
Friday, November 21, 2008
IF BLOGS WERE AROUND WHEN WE WERE IN THE OOC
From CIMSS -
Just imagine the possibilities...
Interesting “O-shaped clouds” over the Eastern Pacific Ocean
Just imagine the possibilities...
WHERE IS HEATHER TESCH????
News article on the Drudge stated that layoffs are occurring at the Weather Channel. Which got me to thinking - since Marshall left, the morning crew was Heather, Nicole and some guy. Now I just see Nicole and some other guy. Not that I mind seeing Nicole a lot more at all - be thankful for small blessings - but now I'm worried about Heather.
So Heather, I know you are an avid reader of FWSAAB. Please contact us as soon as possible and let us know you are fine. PLEASE! If you have a chance, attach any photos or names of places that you frequent in Atlanta.
God Speed Weather Channel. You are now part of the NBC Universal Corporation....
BB
So Heather, I know you are an avid reader of FWSAAB. Please contact us as soon as possible and let us know you are fine. PLEASE! If you have a chance, attach any photos or names of places that you frequent in Atlanta.
God Speed Weather Channel. You are now part of the NBC Universal Corporation....
BB
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
LA Fires and a Nice Plankton Bloom
Gotta love MODIS.
LA Fire smoke, and a very nice circular plankton bloom off New Zealand.
-HLG
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Arctic Sea Ice Currently More Than 30% Above Normal
After hearing all summer about the sea ice being below average, now, in November 2008, it is 30 percent ABOVE normal. Where are all the screaming headlines about this development? - HLG
Arctic Sea Ice Sees 'Significant Increase' in Size Following 'Extreme Cold'
Thomas Lifson
The ultraliberal CBC reports a truth that is mighty inconvenient for Al Gore.
There's an upside to the extreme cold temperatures northern Canadians have endured in the last few weeks: scientists say it's been helping winter sea ice grow across the Arctic, where the ice shrank to record-low levels last year. Temperatures have stayed well in the -30s C and -40s C range since late January throughout the North, with the mercury dipping past -50 C in some areas. Satellite images are showing that the cold spell is helping the sea ice expand in coverage by about 2 million square kilometres, compared to the average winter coverage in the previous three years. "It's nice to know that the ice is recovering," Josefino Comiso, a senior research scientist with the Cryospheric Sciences Branch of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, told CBC News on Thursday. [...] Winter sea ice could keep expanding. The cold is also making the ice thicker in some areas, compared to recorded thicknesses last year, Lagnis added. "The ice is about 10 to 20 centimetres thicker than last year, so that's a significant increase," he said. If temperatures remain cold this winter, Langis said winter sea ice coverage will continue to expand.
Will somebody please tell all the schoolchildren frightened by nightmares of drowning polar bears that Al Gore unnecessarily scared them?
Arctic Sea Ice Sees 'Significant Increase' in Size Following 'Extreme Cold'
Thomas Lifson
The ultraliberal CBC reports a truth that is mighty inconvenient for Al Gore.
There's an upside to the extreme cold temperatures northern Canadians have endured in the last few weeks: scientists say it's been helping winter sea ice grow across the Arctic, where the ice shrank to record-low levels last year. Temperatures have stayed well in the -30s C and -40s C range since late January throughout the North, with the mercury dipping past -50 C in some areas. Satellite images are showing that the cold spell is helping the sea ice expand in coverage by about 2 million square kilometres, compared to the average winter coverage in the previous three years. "It's nice to know that the ice is recovering," Josefino Comiso, a senior research scientist with the Cryospheric Sciences Branch of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland, told CBC News on Thursday. [...] Winter sea ice could keep expanding. The cold is also making the ice thicker in some areas, compared to recorded thicknesses last year, Lagnis added. "The ice is about 10 to 20 centimetres thicker than last year, so that's a significant increase," he said. If temperatures remain cold this winter, Langis said winter sea ice coverage will continue to expand.
Will somebody please tell all the schoolchildren frightened by nightmares of drowning polar bears that Al Gore unnecessarily scared them?
Brown Cloud Over South Asia
The "Brown Clouds" of Asia have made climate-change news in the past few weeks. Finally there is asknowledgement that these large regional/continental scale persistent phenomenon are skewing the models. This is a nice image of the daily cloud over the Himalaya Front.
-HLG
More Bad "Global Warming" Science
Or is it a religion afterall?
How many global newservices picked up the stargling "record warm October" story? How many will print the retraction??? - HLG
One of the Global Warming Movement's Most Prominent Sources of Information Makes a Huge Blunder
Monday, November 17, 2008
In Hot Water
Last week, NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies — one of the four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures used by the United Nations — announced last month was the hottest October on record. That was because the institute's maps showed a 10-degree increase across parts of Russia.
But Christopher Booker at the Telegraph newspaper writes that when some climate change skeptics took a closer look at the numbers "they made an astonishing discovery."
He says the blogs Watts Up With That? and Climate Audit found "figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running."
That means October's supposedly record-breaking temperatures were in fact recorded in September and the institute promptly revised the figures. A spokesman says the error occurred because the Russian figures were obtained from an outside source. He said the Goddard Institute does not have the resources to exercise proper quality control over the data.
How many global newservices picked up the stargling "record warm October" story? How many will print the retraction??? - HLG
One of the Global Warming Movement's Most Prominent Sources of Information Makes a Huge Blunder
Monday, November 17, 2008
In Hot Water
Last week, NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies — one of the four bodies responsible for monitoring global temperatures used by the United Nations — announced last month was the hottest October on record. That was because the institute's maps showed a 10-degree increase across parts of Russia.
But Christopher Booker at the Telegraph newspaper writes that when some climate change skeptics took a closer look at the numbers "they made an astonishing discovery."
He says the blogs Watts Up With That? and Climate Audit found "figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running."
That means October's supposedly record-breaking temperatures were in fact recorded in September and the institute promptly revised the figures. A spokesman says the error occurred because the Russian figures were obtained from an outside source. He said the Goddard Institute does not have the resources to exercise proper quality control over the data.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Severe Weather Set-up in the Gulf South?
Srong low in the north central Gulf, and a vigorous jet streak behind it. Is there severe weather about to break out in the region?
HLG
HLG
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Amazing Remnant Low of "PALERMO"
Nearly a week after Palermo hit Cuba, crossed over, and then recrossed back as remnant low, you can still find it, now in the Gulf of Mexico!
HLG
BOB BRECK DARES TO QUESTION AL GORE!
(picture from Cape Town, South Africa - courtesy of BB)Quote from Bob Breck's Blog (say that three times fast) tonight -
"Could it be that Dr. Bill Gray's theory of increased hurricane activity is due to cycles in ocean currents and not due to GW? The FSU study seems to confirm Dr. Gray's theory."
Most blog readers believe Bob Breck made the comment to generate interest in his blog. Signs show that this ploy is not working. We shall see how AL G and HLG respond.
(... and i can't sleep...)
BB
Saturday, November 8, 2008
dang....
Unfortunately, I don't recall the November-only tropical forecast from CSU but I'm sure they would have nailed this major Cat 4 storm. The last time a Cat 4 hit this area was Hurricane Michelle in 2001, causing more damage that the Meech party of 1991 (which saw a supervisor taunted, underwear burned, furniture zarronized and husbands locked out of houses).
Paloma is only the 6th Cat 4 storm to form in November (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Category_4_Atlantic_hurricanes). When will the madness end?
BB
"PALOMA" Makes Category 4
Intensity models are once again too low.
Also, "PALOMA" quietly made history as the record, 5th major ("M" Storm) hurricane of the 2008 season.
I assume the three "M" storms that will have hit Cuba are also a record for landfalls.
-HLG
Also, "PALOMA" quietly made history as the record, 5th major ("M" Storm) hurricane of the 2008 season.
I assume the three "M" storms that will have hit Cuba are also a record for landfalls.
-HLG
Friday, November 7, 2008
Global Warming Running Amok in South Dakota
South Dakota Hit With 4 Feet of Snow
Thursday, November 06, 2008
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A wintry blast of punishing wind and close to 4 feet of snow in places pummeled the Northern Plains on Thursday, stranding unknown numbers of motorists for a day or more and knocking out power to thousands.
State officials said some people could be without power for days, but they had a simple message for anyone thinking of trying to drive in western South Dakota's blizzard: Don't.
"This is a dangerous storm," Gov. Mike Rounds told reporters in a telephone conference call Thursday evening. "Western South Dakota is basically under a no-travel advisory."
A long stretch of Interstate 90 was closed, and Rounds said most of the dozens of vehicles stranded along the stretch of highway had not been moved. Some have been stranded for more than 24 hours, he said, adding that search teams can't get to them because of zero visibility.
"We cannot see a thing in many areas where we're out actually searching for people," said Tom Dravland, state Public Safety secretary, who added that the top speed for some rescue crews was as little as a half-mile per hour.
Dravland said he did not know how many people are stranded. The Highway Patrol has responded to more than 400 calls for assistance, including 10 crashes. No fatalities were reported by late Thursday afternoon.
The storm already has dropped 45.7 inches of snow near Deadwood, in the northern Black Hills. Reports of 10 inches to 2 feet of snow were received from many West River counties. In some towns, residents reported drifts were blocking their doorways, and in the southwestern corner of the state, 20-foot snowdrifts were reported on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Dozens of schools, agencies, businesses and attractions, including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, were closed because of the weather, which included wind gusts higher than 50 mph.
The storm also closed Interstate 80 in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.
The snow started Wednesday afternoon and was moving east. Greg Harmon of the Sioux Falls National Weather Service office said winds should subside in the west early Friday and in the east later in the day.
The wind and heavy snow caused many power failures, but repair crews can't get to the downed lines because of the blizzard, Rounds said. More than 10,000 customers lost power at some point in Nebraska and South Dakota.
In North Dakota, parts of Dunn County received about 9 inches of snow, the Weather Service said.
"The wind is blowing so hard it's hard to tell how much snow we got," said Terry Sarlsland, street superintendent in Bowman, N.D. "We got 4-foot drifts in some places."
Sharon Gjermundson, a postmaster in Taylor, N.D., said that about a foot of snow kept her from punching in at work Thursday, and that she and her husband were worried about their livestock.
"We hope all the cattle are OK," she said.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A wintry blast of punishing wind and close to 4 feet of snow in places pummeled the Northern Plains on Thursday, stranding unknown numbers of motorists for a day or more and knocking out power to thousands.
State officials said some people could be without power for days, but they had a simple message for anyone thinking of trying to drive in western South Dakota's blizzard: Don't.
"This is a dangerous storm," Gov. Mike Rounds told reporters in a telephone conference call Thursday evening. "Western South Dakota is basically under a no-travel advisory."
A long stretch of Interstate 90 was closed, and Rounds said most of the dozens of vehicles stranded along the stretch of highway had not been moved. Some have been stranded for more than 24 hours, he said, adding that search teams can't get to them because of zero visibility.
"We cannot see a thing in many areas where we're out actually searching for people," said Tom Dravland, state Public Safety secretary, who added that the top speed for some rescue crews was as little as a half-mile per hour.
Dravland said he did not know how many people are stranded. The Highway Patrol has responded to more than 400 calls for assistance, including 10 crashes. No fatalities were reported by late Thursday afternoon.
The storm already has dropped 45.7 inches of snow near Deadwood, in the northern Black Hills. Reports of 10 inches to 2 feet of snow were received from many West River counties. In some towns, residents reported drifts were blocking their doorways, and in the southwestern corner of the state, 20-foot snowdrifts were reported on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Dozens of schools, agencies, businesses and attractions, including Mount Rushmore National Memorial, were closed because of the weather, which included wind gusts higher than 50 mph.
The storm also closed Interstate 80 in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.
The snow started Wednesday afternoon and was moving east. Greg Harmon of the Sioux Falls National Weather Service office said winds should subside in the west early Friday and in the east later in the day.
The wind and heavy snow caused many power failures, but repair crews can't get to the downed lines because of the blizzard, Rounds said. More than 10,000 customers lost power at some point in Nebraska and South Dakota.
In North Dakota, parts of Dunn County received about 9 inches of snow, the Weather Service said.
"The wind is blowing so hard it's hard to tell how much snow we got," said Terry Sarlsland, street superintendent in Bowman, N.D. "We got 4-foot drifts in some places."
Sharon Gjermundson, a postmaster in Taylor, N.D., said that about a foot of snow kept her from punching in at work Thursday, and that she and her husband were worried about their livestock.
"We hope all the cattle are OK," she said.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Three Strange Lows at Once
What an odd satellite image this morning.
Not unusual to have two major lows in Eastern North America, but today we have three note-worthy storms.
1) Large Pacific system over Central North America, brining a good deal of snow on the back-side.
2) Evolving Sub-tropical/Nor'Easter hybrid on the East Coast.
3) Finally, not to be forgotten an evolving hurricane in NW Caribbean, which appears to be the fourth storm for Cuba this year, still realing from food shortages from the previous three!
HELP AL, HELP!!!
HLG
Not unusual to have two major lows in Eastern North America, but today we have three note-worthy storms.
1) Large Pacific system over Central North America, brining a good deal of snow on the back-side.
2) Evolving Sub-tropical/Nor'Easter hybrid on the East Coast.
3) Finally, not to be forgotten an evolving hurricane in NW Caribbean, which appears to be the fourth storm for Cuba this year, still realing from food shortages from the previous three!
HELP AL, HELP!!!
HLG
Sad Day in Science (Fiction that is)
The great science-fiction genius, Michael Crichton (Author of Jurrasic Park, Andromeda Strain, The Sphere, etc) died unexpectedly of cancer today. He will be greatly missed by the lovers of great science-fiction and fact. Oddly enough the following story appeared on the same day, which means that we are that much closer to "Pleistocene Park", and maybe more, if we dare . . .
Cloned Mammoths Made More Likely by Frozen Mice
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
E-Mail Print Share:
AP
But cloned woolly mammoths just became more possible, thanks to Japanese researchers who announced Monday that they'd cloned dead mice that had been frozen for 16 years.
When animal tissue freezes, cell walls burst and the DNA inside the cell nuclei can be seriously damaged. Because of that, most scientists had assumed it'd be impossible to get any good DNA from the thousands of frozen mammoths thought to still lie in Siberian permafrost.
The Japanese team figured, however, that the high concentration of sugar in brain tissue might preserve DNA. So they ground up frozen mice brains, found some useful DNA and put it into unfertilized live mouse eggs.
The resulting embryos were used to create stem cells, which in turn made more embryos. At the end, 13 mice were born.
Cloning mammoths would probably be tougher, since the temperatures of the frozen carcasses have fluctuated a lot over tens of thousands of years. If good DNA could be found, donor eggs could be used from Asian elephants, close relatives of mammoths. (African elephants are more distantly related.)
GSL.
Cloned Mammoths Made More Likely by Frozen Mice
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
E-Mail Print Share:
AP
But cloned woolly mammoths just became more possible, thanks to Japanese researchers who announced Monday that they'd cloned dead mice that had been frozen for 16 years.
When animal tissue freezes, cell walls burst and the DNA inside the cell nuclei can be seriously damaged. Because of that, most scientists had assumed it'd be impossible to get any good DNA from the thousands of frozen mammoths thought to still lie in Siberian permafrost.
The Japanese team figured, however, that the high concentration of sugar in brain tissue might preserve DNA. So they ground up frozen mice brains, found some useful DNA and put it into unfertilized live mouse eggs.
The resulting embryos were used to create stem cells, which in turn made more embryos. At the end, 13 mice were born.
Cloning mammoths would probably be tougher, since the temperatures of the frozen carcasses have fluctuated a lot over tens of thousands of years. If good DNA could be found, donor eggs could be used from Asian elephants, close relatives of mammoths. (African elephants are more distantly related.)
GSL.
More solar and Earth atmosphere connections.
'Flux Transfer Event' Links Sun's, Earth's Magnetic Fields
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
By Jeanna Bryner
E-Mail Print Share:
NASA
An artist's concept shows a magnetic portal connecting Earth's magnetic field to the sun's.
Like giant, cosmic chutes between the Earth and sun, magnetic portals open up every eight minutes or so to connect our planet with its host star.
Once the portals open, loads of high-energy particles can travel the 93 million miles (150 million km) through the conduit during its brief opening, space scientists say.
Called a flux transfer event, or FTE, such cosmic connections not only exist but are possibly twice as common as anyone ever imagined, according to space scientists who attended the 2008 Plasma Workshop in Huntsville, Ala., last month.
"Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn't exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible," said David Sibeck, an astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center.
Dynamic bursts
Researchers have long known that the Earth and sun must be connected.
RelatedStories
Moon Might Preserve Alien Life in Dark Craters Hubble Telescope Photographs Cosmic 'Perfect 10' Nearby Solar System Looks a Lot Like Our Own NASA: Space Smells Like 'Steak and Metal' Infant Stars Caught in Act of Feeding For instance, particles from the sun are constantly whisked away via the solar wind and often follow magnetic field lines that connect the sun's atmosphere with terra firma.
The field lines allow particles to penetrate Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble that surrounds our planet.
"We used to think the connection was permanent and that solar wind could trickle into the near-Earth environment anytime the wind was active," Sibeck said. "We were wrong. The connections are not steady at all. They are often brief, bursty and very dynamic."
Several speakers at the workshop outlined the formation of a flux transfer event. One idea is that on the side of Earth facing the sun, our magnetic field presses against the sun's magnetic field.
About every eight minutes, the two fields briefly reconnect, forming a portal through which particles can flow. The portal takes the form of a magnetic cylinder about as wide as Earth.
Sibeck said to think of the FTE as a giant rolling pin that lies flat along the boundary between the Earth's and sun's magnetic fields. (He noted the rolling pin would have to be malleable so it could pierce through both magnetic fields while lying flat.)
"These FTEs kind of look like roller pins, and they form as little blob roller pins at the tip of the magnetosphere facing the sun," Sibeck told SPACE.com. "They can't decide which way they're going to slide around the Earth, so they grow there into big roller pins and then they take off and sort of spirally roll along [Earth's magnetosphere] like you're pounding out dough."
More than one FTE can form at once, he said, and they stay open for about 15 to 20 minutes.
More to learn
In order to measure such FTEs, spacecraft must not only catch them forming but also be on either end of the magnetic structures (either lengthwise or widthwise).
In fact, the European Space Agency's fleet of four Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS probes have flown through and surrounded these cylinders, measuring their dimensions and sensing the particles that shoot through, Sibeck said.
While these measurements have nailed down the width of an FTE, the length is still uncertain though one measurement put it at up to five Earth radii. One Earth radius is about 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers).
Astrophysicist Jimmy Raeder of the University of New Hampshire used those measurements to develop computer simulations of the portals. He found the cylindrical portals tend to form above Earth's equator and then in December, the FTEs would roll over the North Pole. In July, they roll over the South Pole.
Sibeck thinks the events occur twice as often as previously thought, proposing two types of flux transfer events — active and passive.
When the magnetic cylinders are active, they allow particles to flow through rather easily, forming important conduits of energy for Earth's magnetosphere, Sibeck said.
When passive, the cylinders have more resistance to transiting particles. The internal structure of a passive cylinder makes it tougher for particles and magnetic fields to flow through.
Sibeck has calculated the properties of passive FTEs and hopes he and his colleagues will hunt for signs of them in data collected with THEMIS and Cluster.
The space scientists at the workshop still want to figure out why the portals form every eight minutes and how magnetic fields inside the cylinders twist and coil.
Copyright © 2008 Imaginova Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
By Jeanna Bryner
E-Mail Print Share:
NASA
An artist's concept shows a magnetic portal connecting Earth's magnetic field to the sun's.
Like giant, cosmic chutes between the Earth and sun, magnetic portals open up every eight minutes or so to connect our planet with its host star.
Once the portals open, loads of high-energy particles can travel the 93 million miles (150 million km) through the conduit during its brief opening, space scientists say.
Called a flux transfer event, or FTE, such cosmic connections not only exist but are possibly twice as common as anyone ever imagined, according to space scientists who attended the 2008 Plasma Workshop in Huntsville, Ala., last month.
"Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn't exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible," said David Sibeck, an astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Space Center.
Dynamic bursts
Researchers have long known that the Earth and sun must be connected.
RelatedStories
Moon Might Preserve Alien Life in Dark Craters Hubble Telescope Photographs Cosmic 'Perfect 10' Nearby Solar System Looks a Lot Like Our Own NASA: Space Smells Like 'Steak and Metal' Infant Stars Caught in Act of Feeding For instance, particles from the sun are constantly whisked away via the solar wind and often follow magnetic field lines that connect the sun's atmosphere with terra firma.
The field lines allow particles to penetrate Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble that surrounds our planet.
"We used to think the connection was permanent and that solar wind could trickle into the near-Earth environment anytime the wind was active," Sibeck said. "We were wrong. The connections are not steady at all. They are often brief, bursty and very dynamic."
Several speakers at the workshop outlined the formation of a flux transfer event. One idea is that on the side of Earth facing the sun, our magnetic field presses against the sun's magnetic field.
About every eight minutes, the two fields briefly reconnect, forming a portal through which particles can flow. The portal takes the form of a magnetic cylinder about as wide as Earth.
Sibeck said to think of the FTE as a giant rolling pin that lies flat along the boundary between the Earth's and sun's magnetic fields. (He noted the rolling pin would have to be malleable so it could pierce through both magnetic fields while lying flat.)
"These FTEs kind of look like roller pins, and they form as little blob roller pins at the tip of the magnetosphere facing the sun," Sibeck told SPACE.com. "They can't decide which way they're going to slide around the Earth, so they grow there into big roller pins and then they take off and sort of spirally roll along [Earth's magnetosphere] like you're pounding out dough."
More than one FTE can form at once, he said, and they stay open for about 15 to 20 minutes.
More to learn
In order to measure such FTEs, spacecraft must not only catch them forming but also be on either end of the magnetic structures (either lengthwise or widthwise).
In fact, the European Space Agency's fleet of four Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS probes have flown through and surrounded these cylinders, measuring their dimensions and sensing the particles that shoot through, Sibeck said.
While these measurements have nailed down the width of an FTE, the length is still uncertain though one measurement put it at up to five Earth radii. One Earth radius is about 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers).
Astrophysicist Jimmy Raeder of the University of New Hampshire used those measurements to develop computer simulations of the portals. He found the cylindrical portals tend to form above Earth's equator and then in December, the FTEs would roll over the North Pole. In July, they roll over the South Pole.
Sibeck thinks the events occur twice as often as previously thought, proposing two types of flux transfer events — active and passive.
When the magnetic cylinders are active, they allow particles to flow through rather easily, forming important conduits of energy for Earth's magnetosphere, Sibeck said.
When passive, the cylinders have more resistance to transiting particles. The internal structure of a passive cylinder makes it tougher for particles and magnetic fields to flow through.
Sibeck has calculated the properties of passive FTEs and hopes he and his colleagues will hunt for signs of them in data collected with THEMIS and Cluster.
The space scientists at the workshop still want to figure out why the portals form every eight minutes and how magnetic fields inside the cylinders twist and coil.
Copyright © 2008 Imaginova Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
More excitement in the Friendly Skies (Please don't drink and fly)
Flight Diverted After Crew Restrains Unruly Passenger With Tape
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
E-Mail Print Share:
RALEIGH, North Carolina — An airline crew used duct tape to keep a passenger in her seat because they say she became unruly, fighting flight attendants and grabbing other passengers, forcing the flight to land in North Carolina.
Maria Esther Castillo is due in court Thursday, charged with resisting arrest and interfering with the operations of a flight crew aboard United Airlines Flight 645, from Puerto Rico to Chicago.
Castillo, 45, struck a flight attendant on the buttocks with the back of her hand during Saturday's flight, FBI Special Agent Peter Carricato said in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. She also stood and fell onto the head of a blind passenger and later started pulling the person's hair, the complaint stated.
Ankle cuffs kept slipping off Castillo, so the flight crew and two passengers were forced to use duct tape to keep her in her seat, the complaint states.
She calmed as the pilot diverted the flight to Charlotte-Douglass International Airport, but became disruptive again when authorities boarded the plane to remove her, authorities said.
Carricato states that a passenger saw Castillo having drinks in an airport bar before boarding. She bought another drink on the plane. Flight attendants stopped serving her alcohol because of her behavior, the complaint states.
RelatedStories
Fellow Flyers Duct-Tape Drunk to His Seat After He Allegedly Attacked a Flight Attendant FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson on Wednesday declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
A message left for Castillo's attorney, Julia Mimms, was not immediately returned.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
E-Mail Print Share:
RALEIGH, North Carolina — An airline crew used duct tape to keep a passenger in her seat because they say she became unruly, fighting flight attendants and grabbing other passengers, forcing the flight to land in North Carolina.
Maria Esther Castillo is due in court Thursday, charged with resisting arrest and interfering with the operations of a flight crew aboard United Airlines Flight 645, from Puerto Rico to Chicago.
Castillo, 45, struck a flight attendant on the buttocks with the back of her hand during Saturday's flight, FBI Special Agent Peter Carricato said in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. She also stood and fell onto the head of a blind passenger and later started pulling the person's hair, the complaint stated.
Ankle cuffs kept slipping off Castillo, so the flight crew and two passengers were forced to use duct tape to keep her in her seat, the complaint states.
She calmed as the pilot diverted the flight to Charlotte-Douglass International Airport, but became disruptive again when authorities boarded the plane to remove her, authorities said.
Carricato states that a passenger saw Castillo having drinks in an airport bar before boarding. She bought another drink on the plane. Flight attendants stopped serving her alcohol because of her behavior, the complaint states.
RelatedStories
Fellow Flyers Duct-Tape Drunk to His Seat After He Allegedly Attacked a Flight Attendant FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson on Wednesday declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
A message left for Castillo's attorney, Julia Mimms, was not immediately returned.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Happy (Belated) Birthday to Hot Lava Geographer
I think the other Wx Studs and the Babe should join me in wishing our good friend and colleague HLG a Happy Belated Birthday (Nov. 3rd). We look forward to seeing you when you return stateside in December. Many happy returns.
KF
KF
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The luckiest man in the world is retiring today. How could a guy leave a pair like Mitchell and Tesch? Who will they choose to be the meat between the loaves of bread? On this important Election Day - these questions need to be answered.
Marshall... Marshall... Marshall... I can't tell you how jealous I have been of you all these years. Be safe and have an enjoyable retirement. You've been blessed.
BB
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)