You are browsing the archive for Atmospheric Science Archives - Page 4 of 12 - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal.
12 February 2011
Solar Dynamic Observatory Launch Leads to Atmospheric Optics Discovery!
One year ago today, the Solar Dynamics Observatory lifted off from Cape Canaveral. It was a beautiful day with some high cirrus clouds in the sky producing a commonly seen phenomenon called a sundog. They are caused by sunlight refracting off of hexagonal ice crystals that make up the cirrus clouds, and this one in particular was quite colorful. Hang on, here come the wild parts: First the shock waves …
26 January 2011
While The U.S. Shivered- Amazing Arctic Warmth
NASA released an image today that shows just how strong the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was in January. The warmth in the Canadian Arctic and parts of Greenland was amazing. (So was the snow in the Southeast USA!) Also, notice that extreme East Russia seems to have the highest anomalies. This is also typical of a strongly negative NAO. The negative phase of the NAO was …
24 January 2011
Is This Why Many TV Weathercasters are Skeptical of Climate Change?
There is a common myth on climate change that goes along the lines of “How can they possibly know what the climate will do in a hundred years, when they can’t even get the forecast for tomorrow right”. This seems to be shared among a lot of TV weather people as well, and I think it is one of the main reasons that so many are skeptical of climate change. …
22 January 2011
Another Deep South Snow and Northeast Blizzard? This time the NAO is innocent!
Here in the Eastern USA this winter will be remembered for many years if not generations. A white Christmas in North Alabama and Georgia is a less than once in a century event. The two East Coast blizzards the past 4 weeks have been amazing. Now, don’t shoot the messenger but another one MIGHT be brewing. We are in a different pattern now than the strongly negative NAO of a …
19 January 2011
Is The Sun White or Yellow?
Ask a meteorologist “why is the sky blue?” and they will (at least they should) quickly give you the proper answer. The basics are this: shorter wavelengths of blue light are scattered by the air molecules much more than longer wavelengths of red light. The blue light gets scattered across the sky and makes the sky look blue. The technical term is Rayleigh scattering.
12 January 2011
How Nuclear Weapon Treaties Led To The Discovery That Thunderstorms Produce Antimatter!
NASA released a really cool piece of science this week. The story starts with the nuclear arms reduction treaties signed in the 1960’s between the U.S. and Russia. This was back in the middle of the cold war, and neither side trusted the other. Probably for good reason. So how could we be sure the Russians were not testing nuclear weapons without us knowing about it? Easy. Nuclear fission produces …
2 January 2011
Let’s Hope 2011 is a Brighter Year for Science than 2010 Turned Out To Be
I write this blog because the natural world is amazing and I want to share what I find out with others. My background is in atmospheric science but I try to post frequently on any aspect of science that meets my definition of wild. It’s sad that so many people get caught up in these end of world myths like 2012. Even more are seduced by such laughable myths like …
29 December 2010
New York and London Shiver In The Snow; Put The Blame On the NAO!
Take a look at the image below. It shows the temperatures relative to normal over the Northern Hemisphere the first week of December. It’s from NASA, and based on data from the Aqua satellite. The cold in the Eastern USA and in Europe is offset by incredible warmth in Greenland. Any meteorologist worth his salt will immediately recognize this as a highly negative North Atlantic Oscillation. I wrote about the …
23 December 2010
Frost Flowers In Alabama
A couple of viewers sent me some pictures of strange ice formations today. They are very beautiful (and rather rare) specimens of what are called “FROST FLOWERS”. They form in areas where the ground is still warm but the air is quite cold. You usually see them after a sudden but intense cold snap. I’ve only seen them one time, but have been on the lookout for them ever since! …
11 December 2010
Why It’s Raining in Greenland & Eastern North America Is Going Into A Deep Freeze
If you live anywhere from the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast in America, you are about to get cold. Real cold. A major Arctic blast is on it’s way south. The leading edge of the cold air (The Arctic front) will reach South Florida by Sunday night. There will be tons of lake effect snow, and flurries as far south as Birmingham and Atlanta. In the meantime, way up north …
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.