Current Events

  • 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 Wiesje Bryan.

From: Wiesje Mooiweer Bryan
Arica, Chile, November 4, 2008

Communication

Communication is an integral part of large scale science projects like VOCALS. It started years ago between people from the various institutions involved, via long distance phone calls and many, many emails.

Now that we are in the field, communication is still key. In one of his earlier postcards, Dr. Robert Wood already wrote about the Center of Operations. That is where scientists plan the aircraft missions, report about the status of the other observational platforms (the other aircraft and the ships), take an initial look at all the data collected, and discuss the data with other groups.

Communication also happens on a smaller scale: in the aircraft itself during the research flights. Since the C-130 is a very noisy plane, we all wear these headsets through which we are able to communicate with each other and with the flight scientist who sits in the cockpit with the pilots.

Each scientist on board the aircraft operates a different type of instrument. These instruments look at different aspects of our atmosphere: the size, chemical composition and amount of the particles present; the concentrations of various gases and the number of water droplets; and, on a larger scale, the shape and altitude of the clouds we are flying through. Via the headsets people can then communicate with each other if their instrument is reporting something special. In turn, the other scientists will then take a closer look at their instruments to check if their instrument is indeed also reporting any interesting observations. If it is, this is where the early excitement about the science starts! Sometimes, even the most serious scientist will become like a kid in a candy store when it comes to what they are seeing in and around those clouds! This makes our job very fun.

Also, with the modern invention of the Internet, we are not only capable of communicating with you and telling you about the science of our atmosphere; we are also able to easily communicate with our families back home. These field projects last for several weeks, which means we are all away from our homes and families for quite some time! It is a sacrifice you make for science, but I therefore do think that our families also deserve some of the credit for staying behind and supporting us!

Postcards from the Field: Climate Science from the Southeast Pacific

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