You are browsing the archive for May 2010 - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal.
31 May 2010
The Oil Approaches
The oil gets closer. One report has it less than 17 miles off of Dauphin Island Al. The model guidance is all showing a south to SW flow at the surface and this will push the oil in a NE direction. NOAA’s ocean current models are similar. See the previous post for more on the oil and related info. Samantha Joy is a scientist with the Univ. of Georgia who …
30 May 2010
Oil Approaching Alabama and Other Bad News
Word has it that the oil slick is now just 17 miles off the sugar white sandy beaches of Dauphin Island, Alabama. The ocean currents push the oil and the winds push the ocean. It looks like the oil will be getting very close to the Alabama Coast in the next day or two. In the summer a large high pressure cell develops off the East Coast of America. Meteorologists …
29 May 2010
My Lord! You Hath No Clothes!
Heard of Christopher Monckton? He inherited the title of LORD, so you may have heard the name Lord Monckton. He travels around the world with a very slick slide show telling everyone who will listen that climate change is a big hoax and that all the worlds scientific bodies have it all wrong. He has no background at all in any field of science and despite having the seal of …
The Oil Slick in IR- Courtesy The CBS
Satellite images do not see the oil slick in the Gulf very well. IF the sun angle is just right you can see some of it, and it’s huge. The CBS tonight showed a different view. The oily water is slightly cooler than the regular Gulf water. The oil slick shows up well in the Infrared spectrum. This comes as there is growing evidence the attempt to stop the oil …
28 May 2010
Hurricanes and The Oil Slick
I have had a TON of questions about the impact of a Gulf hurricane on the oil slick. The short answer to this is nobody really knows. NOAA has a short document out that covers the questions and what little IS known. Good science here: More soon…
27 May 2010
The Daily Mail Continues It's Record Of NEVER Getting a Story On Science Right
The MAIL calls this a shelf cloud. IT’s NOT. It’s a Cumulonimbus capillatus. Note to the MAIL: You have one of the World’s top experts on clouds. Pick up a copy of the CLOUD BOOK by Richard Hamblyn. It’s published by the MET OFFICE. Oh, and here is a shelf cloud: All you had to do was ask somebody who knew something about clouds… The soap box is now free….
Possible HYPERACTIVE Hurricane Season- NOAA
In my last post I gave some of the reasons I thought we would see a very active hurricane season. Here is what the NOAA folks think. They released their forecast for the 2010 season today. As I expected it looks like it will be a mean year. Possibly one of the all time most active years. Here are NOAA’s numbers: An 85% chance of an above normal season. A …
26 May 2010
Open Season On Hurricanes (and they may be in a fighting mood.)
Hurricane season begins June 1st and NOAA’s hurricane experts will release their 2010 season forecast Friday 28 May. It’s not much of a secret among meteorologists what it will be. Likely BAD. Forecasting the number of hurricanes we will see each year is a very tricky project. There is some skill but changes in the sea surface temperatures and in the upper level wind shear during the summer months make …
25 May 2010
Satellite Pass Monday Gets Great View of Oil Spill- HUGE
The oil is as far west as Destin, Florida now but still off shore except in Louisiana. There is some good news. The winds in the gulf will be northerly for a few days and that should keep the oil from Alabama and Mississippi. For now. Keep in mind you are just seeing the thickest oil. It’s actually covering an even larger area than is visible from orbit. The astronauts …
23 May 2010
Amazing NASA Video Shows How Thin The Air Around Earth Is
Some amazing video from NASA today. It was from a camera on the solid rocket booster during the launch of Atlantis last week. I think the second clip here is the best. Watch the clock and notice how quickly the sky changes from the bright blue of a spring day in Florida to the black of space. Less than two minutes. The layer of air surrounding our planet is frightfully …
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.