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  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

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    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

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    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

    Image courtesy of S.E. Walker

From: Sally Walker
Explorers Cove to Commonwealth Glacier Delta, December 3, 2008

Ending the Field Season: Mapping the Distribution of Fossil Scallops

After spending almost three months in nature’s most silent and frozen landscape, nothing was more startling that the sound of gurgling water.  At first I did not recognize the sound, so used to the Antarctic silence I had forgotten sounds that we take for granted back in our busy lives at warmer latitudes. But right in front of me was a river of water, flowing down from the Commonwealth Glacier and forming braided stream deposits along its way.  The Sun is now higher up in the sky and it is warmer than when I first arrived.  The Dry Valleys were not so dry anymore!

To make a map of where fossil scallops are found, I walked for eight hours from our camp to the delta of the Commonwealth Glacier, noting the locations of scallops in the terraces along the way.  I saw more than just the scallops out there. I saw a mummified Weddell seal pup, freeze-dried and eyeless.  And here and there, the spindly legs of sea spiders emerged from the sediments, as if stretching their long, dead limbs in celebration of the warm summer that has finally arrived.  

I was starting to miss the smell of the rich soil I was so used to back home. Here, no smells existed.  What will a flower smell like when I get back home? I wondered.  While I worked, hunched over the fossils, my intuition told me I was not alone.  Turning around, I spied a Skua eyeing my bright yellow field notebook!  I managed to shoo him or her away. Undeterred, the Skua returned with friends, several of which tried to take my fossil-preparing paintbrush and my metric ruler.  

I enjoyed my last field day in Antarctica that bright evening and said farewell to the beautiful Taylor Valley that had been my Antarctic home for several months. The next day, Shawn, Steve, Cecil, and I packed up the camp and lab supplies for our return to McMurdo.  I must sign off for now, and until next year, take care!

Glaciers and the Simple Life in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys, Exploratorium Ice Stories

Landforms in the Dry Valleys

Postcards from the Field: Polar Fossil Mysteries

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