tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87020266459156228942024-02-20T08:50:39.828-08:00Miami Metro WeatherSpice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comBlogger970125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-65355605548598633022015-02-19T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-19T04:03:00.121-08:00Top weather conditions that amplify Lake Erie algal blooms revealed Of the many weather-related factors that contribute to harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie, a new study has identified one as most important: the wind.Over a 10-year period in Lake Erie, wind speed contributed more consistently to HABs than sunshine or even precipitation, researchers at The Ohio State University and their colleagues found.The ongoing study is unusual, in that researchers Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-13293297403241725772015-02-18T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-18T04:03:00.604-08:00Giant atmospheric rivers add mass to Antarctica's ice sheet Extreme weather phenomena called atmospheric rivers were behind intense snowstorms recorded in 2009 and 2011 in East Antarctica. The resulting snow accumulation partly offset recent ice loss from the Antarctic ice sheet, report researchers from KU Leuven.Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow water vapour plumes stretching thousands of kilometres across the sky over vast ocean areas. They are Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-4500635126714592212015-02-17T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-17T04:03:00.096-08:00Atmospheric rivers, cloud-creating aerosol particles, and california reservoirs In the midst of the California rainy season, scientists are embarking on a field campaign designed to improve the understanding of the natural and human-caused phenomena that determine when and how the state gets its precipitation. They will do so by studying atmospheric rivers, meteorological events that include the famous rainmaker known as the Pineapple Express.CalWater 2015 is an interagencySpice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-6600315900018317802015-02-16T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-16T04:03:00.046-08:00Sudden jump in a storm's lightning might warn a supercell is forming A sudden jump in the number of lightning strikes inside a garden-variety thunderstorm might soon give forecasters a new tool for predicting severe weather and issuing timely warnings, according to research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).The sudden increase in lightning is one sign a normal storm is rapidly evolving into a supercell, with a large rotating updraft -- or Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-71659340702443740082015-02-15T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-15T04:03:00.044-08:00Hurricane sandy increased incidents of heart attacks, stroke in hardest hit New Jersey counties Heart attacks and strokes are more likely to occur during extreme weather and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. Researchers at the Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have found evidence that Hurricane Sandy, commonly referred to as a superstorm, had a significant effect on cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction (Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-48157674232744473732015-02-14T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-14T04:03:00.236-08:00Average temperature in Finland has risen by more than two degrees Over the past 166 years, the average temperature in Finland has risen by more than two degrees. During the observation period, the average increase was 0.14 degrees per decade, which is nearly twice as much as the global average.According to a recent University of Eastern Finland and Finnish Meteorological Institute study, the rise in the temperature has been especially fast over the past 40 Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-65280706810699085522015-02-13T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-13T04:03:00.452-08:00Even in restored forests, extreme weather strongly influences wildfire's impacts The 2013 Rim Fire, the largest wildland fire ever recorded in the Sierra Nevada region, is still fresh in the minds of Californians, as is the urgent need to bring forests back to a more resilient condition. Land managers are using fire as a tool to mimic past fire conditions, restore fire-dependent forests, and reduce fuels in an effort to lessen the potential for large, high-intensity fires, Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-79951057221015696732015-02-12T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-12T04:03:00.664-08:00When it comes to variations in crop yield, climate has a big say What impact will future climate change have on food supply? That depends in part on the extent to which variations in crop yield are attributable to variations in climate. A new report from researchers at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment has found that climate variability historically accounts for one-third of yield variability for maize, rice, wheat and soybeans Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-25958963939662262062015-02-11T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-11T04:03:00.552-08:00Electromagnetic waves linked to particle fallout in Earth's atmosphere, new study finds In a new study that sheds light on space weather's impact on Earth, Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues show for the first time that plasma waves buffeting the planet's radiation belts are responsible for scattering charged particles into the atmosphere.The study is the most detailed analysis so far of the link between these waves and the fallout of electrons from the planet's radiation Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-38084507366204997392015-02-10T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-10T04:03:00.331-08:00In the mood to trade? Weather may influence institutional investors' stock decisions Weather changes may affect how institutional investors decide on stock plays, according to a new study by a team of finance researchers. Their findings suggest sunny skies put professional investors more in a mood to buy, while cloudy conditions tend to discourage stock purchases.The researchers conclude that cloudier days increase the perception that individual stocks and the Dow Jones Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-12463140420840169882015-02-09T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-09T04:03:00.210-08:00NASA satellite set to get the dirt on Earth's soil moisture A new NASA satellite that will peer into the topmost layer of Earth's soils to measure the hidden waters that influence our weather and climate is in final preparations for a Jan. 29 dawn launch from California.The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission will take the pulse of a key measure of our water planet: how freshwater cycles over Earth's land surfaces in the form of soil moisture. Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-2102026036524311642015-02-08T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-08T04:03:00.366-08:00Glacier beds can get slipperier at higher sliding speeds As a glacier's sliding speed increases, the bed beneath the glacier can grow slipperier, according to laboratory experiments conducted by Iowa State University glaciologists.They say including this effect in efforts to calculate future increases in glacier speeds could improve predictions of ice volume lost to the oceans and the rate of sea-level rise.The glaciologists -- Lucas Zoet, a Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-19023152039179342362015-02-07T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-07T04:03:00.166-08:00Improving forecasts for rain-on-snow flooding Many of the worst West Coast winter floods pack a double punch. Heavy rains and melting snow wash down the mountains together to breach riverbanks, wash out roads and flood buildings.These events are unpredictable and difficult to forecast. Yet they will become more common as the planet warms and more winter precipitation falls as rain rather than snow.University of Washington mountain hydrologySpice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-48371659743740025452015-02-06T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-06T04:03:00.124-08:00Deep Space Climate Observatory to provide 'EPIC' views of Earth NASA has contributed two Earth science instruments for NOAA's space weather observing satellite called the Deep Space Climate Observatory or DSCOVR, set to launch in January 2015. One of the instruments called EPIC or Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera will image the Earth in one picture, something that hasn't been done before from a satellite. EPIC will also provide valuable atmospheric Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-4799609479576438072015-02-05T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-05T04:03:00.447-08:00Temperature anomalies are warming faster than Earth's average, study finds It's widely known that Earth's average temperature has been rising. But research by an Indiana University geographer and colleagues finds that spatial patterns of extreme temperature anomalies -- readings well above or below the mean -- are warming even faster than the overall average.And trends in extreme heat and cold are important, said Scott M. Robeson, professor of geography in the College Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-81995611240198303102015-02-04T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-04T04:03:00.255-08:00New insights into predicting future droughts in California: Natural cycles, sea surface temperatures found to be main drivers in ongoing event According to a new NOAA-sponsored study, natural oceanic and atmospheric patterns are the primary drivers behind California's ongoing drought. A high pressure ridge off the West Coast (typical of historic droughts) prevailed for three winters, blocking important wet season storms, with ocean surface temperature patterns making such a ridge much more likely. Typically, the winter season in Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-70251559118739958412015-02-03T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-03T04:03:00.673-08:00Hurricane-forecast satellites will keep close eyes on the tropics A set of eight hurricane-forecast satellites being developed at the University of Michigan is expected to give deep insights into how and where storms suddenly intensify--a little-understood process that's becoming more crucial to figure out as the climate changes, U-M researchers say.The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System is scheduled to launch in fall 2016. At the American Geophysical Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-70956752643383067522015-02-02T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-02T04:03:00.908-08:00Small volcanic eruptions partly explain 'warming hiatus' The "warming hiatus" that has occurred over the last 15 years has been caused in part by small volcanic eruptions.Scientists have long known that volcanoes cool the atmosphere because of the sulfur dioxide that is expelled during eruptions. Droplets of sulfuric acid that form when the gas combines with oxygen in the upper atmosphere can persist for many months, reflecting sunlight away from Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-48193562769946794452015-02-01T04:03:00.000-08:002015-02-01T04:03:00.286-08:00Muddy forests, shorter winters present challenges for loggers Stable, frozen ground has long been recognized a logger's friend, capable of supporting equipment and trucks in marshy or soggy forests. Now, a comprehensive look at weather from 1948 onward shows that the logger's friend is melting.The study, published in the current issue of the Journal of Environmental Management, finds that the period of frozen ground has declined by an average of two or Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-51760708911597982062015-01-31T04:03:00.000-08:002015-01-31T04:03:00.680-08:00The legend of the Kamikaze typhoons In the late 13th century, Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, launched one of the world's largest armada of its time in an attempt to conquer Japan. Early narratives describe the decimation and dispersal of these fleets by the "Kamikaze" of CE 1274 and CE 1281 -- a pair of intense typhoons divinely sent to protect Japan from invasion.These historical accounts are prone to exaggeration, and Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-16106776119242555982015-01-30T04:03:00.000-08:002015-01-30T04:03:00.463-08:00Summer no sweat for Aussies but winter freeze fatal Australians are more likely to die during unseasonably cold winters than hotter than average summers, QUT research has found.Across the country severe winters that are colder and drier than normal are a far bigger risk to health than sweltering summers that are hotter than average.QUT Associate Professor Adrian Barnett, a statistician with the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation and Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-49073304118479489642015-01-29T04:03:00.000-08:002015-01-29T04:03:00.334-08:00Birds sensed severe storms and fled before tornado outbreak Golden-winged warblers apparently knew in advance that a storm that would spawn 84 confirmed tornadoes and kill at least 35 people last spring was coming, according to a report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 18. The birds left the scene well before devastating supercell storms blew in.The discovery was made quite by accident while researchers were testing whether the Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-37137063517850180792015-01-28T04:03:00.000-08:002015-01-28T04:03:00.347-08:00NASA, NOAA find 2014 warmest year in modern record The year 2014 ranks as Earth's warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists.The 10 warmest years in the instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now occurred since 2000. This trend continues a long-term warming of the planet, according to an analysis of surface temperature measurements by Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-70711805080550226312015-01-27T04:03:00.000-08:002015-01-27T04:03:00.283-08:00Global warming's influence on extreme weather Understanding the cause-and-effect relationship between global warming and record-breaking weather requires asking precisely the right questions.Extreme climate and weather events such as record high temperatures, intense downpours and severe storm surges are becoming more common in many parts of the world. But because high-quality weather records go back only about 100 years, most scientists Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702026645915622894.post-25783151155906538042015-01-26T04:03:00.000-08:002015-01-26T04:04:05.582-08:00NASA's Fermi Mission brings deeper focus to thunderstorm gamma rays Each day, thunderstorms around the world produce about a thousand quick bursts of gamma rays, some of the highest-energy light naturally found on Earth. By merging records of events seen by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope with data from ground-based radar and lightning detectors, scientists have completed the most detailed analysis to date of the types of thunderstorms involved."Spice It Uphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11672298092671528850noreply@blogger.com