Socioenvironmental Quizz

Which one of the two sculptures pictured below weighs more?

1. Moai at Rano Raraku, Easter Island. The largest unfinished sculpture would have stood about 21m (69 ft) tall.

2. Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture “L’homme qui marche I” [Walking Man I] is 1.83m (6 ft) tall. Photo Credit: Sotheby’s

HINT: YOUR gut feeling is probably right, but WHY?

Click HERE for Answer !

US Northeast Snow Records Broken

2010 Year One of the Extremes?

In Winter Officially Starts Today! posted on December 20, 2009, Fire-Earth Warned ‘The Heaviest Blanket of Snow in 100 Years Covered Most of the Northeast US Yesterday’ would be

A Dry Run for Climate Chaos Heading Our Way

So far the Moderators’ prediction has proved 100 percent correct!

As the federal offices in the capital remained shut for a fourth day, public transport reduced by up to 95 percent of the services in Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, on Thursday, and as thousands of flights canceled throughout the Northeast and many highways closed, due to blizzard conditions, new snow records were set in the area.

• The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that Wednesday’s blizzard had set a new record of 110cm (54.9 inches) in Washington breaking the capital’s 110-year-old record (54.5 inches set in 1898-99).
• Baltimore broke its all-time seasonal record with 183cm (72 inches).
• Philadelphia’s 2009-10 snowfall record of 179cm (70.5 inches) has so far surpassed its previous all-time record of the 65.5-inch total set in 1995-96  winter.

Meanwhile Maryland Governor Martin O’Mally declared a state of emergency, keeping government offices closed in the state.

FIRE-EARTH Forecast for the rest of 2010 (assuming there would be an end to the winter):

Expect soaring temperatures throughout North America and most of Europe. Prepare for primordial, swampy weather!

And this is just Year One for the weather extremes caused by climatic chaos that is heading our way!

• For a weather briefing by NWS click here.
  

Related Links:

• Snow covers 70 pct of the U.S.
• 6 feet of snow blankets the Alps
• 2010 Disaster Calender – January
• The Storms Attack on California
• California: Powerful new storm sails ashore
• Transitory Impact of AO is the ‘Good News’
• December Snowstorm Only a Cat 3 on NESIS Scale
• United Kingdom of Ice
• State of Emergency in Oklahoma, S. Dakota, Texas
• ‘Humongous’ storm spreads across the US
• You Don’t Bring A Gun To A Snowball Fight!
• Winter Officially Starts Today!
• Deadly Winter Storm Paralyzes United States

Introducing Tropical Cyclone Fifteen

Tropical Cyclone Fifteen (TC 15 P) is now the second active system in the South Pacific

FIFTEEN shows early signs it could develop into a major cyclone (hurricane)in the next 48 to 60 hours

Tropical Cyclone FIFTEEN. IR Satellite Image. Source: UW-CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

Cyclone FIFTEEN Details

• Date/Time: 11 February 2010 –  06:00 UTC
• Position:  Near 12.2ºS, 167.1ºW
• Sustained Movement: 75  degrees
  
• Forward speed: 13 km/hr (~ 7 kt)
• Tropical Cyclone FIFTEEN has been tracking  ENE over the past 6 hours.
  

Current Wind Distribution:

• Maximum Sustained winds: 75km (40 kt)
• Maximum Gusts:  ~ 95 km/hr (~ 50 kt)
• FIFTEEN is currently an active Tropical Cyclone
  

Wave Height and Location:

• Maximum significant wave height: ~ 3.3m (10 ft)
  
• Location: FIFTEEN was located about 425 km (~ 230 NM) NNE of Pago-Pago
• The system is expected to make a sharp turn heading in the WSW  direction (225 degrees) within the next 12 hours, JTWC said.
  
• Sources: CIMSS, JTWC and Others

NOAA East Pacific Floater 1 GOES Satellite Imagery ================
Cyclone FIFTEEN (TC 15P)
Visible  Image – Java – Flash
IR AVN  Image – Java – Flash
IR Shortwave  Image – Java – Flash
IR Dvorak*  Image – Java – Flash
IR Unenhanced  Image – Java – Flash
IR JSL  Image – Java – Flash
IR RGB  Image – Java – Flash
IR Funktop  Image – Java – Flash
IR Rainbow  Image – Java – Flash
Water Vapor  Image – Java – Flash

Cyclone PAT (TC 14P) Update 3 (11 Feb)

Cyclone Pat Pummels Cook Islands

One of the strongest cyclones to hit the area in 20 years: Authorities

PAT struck the luxury holiday destination of Aitutaki causing major damage last night local time, prompting the government to declare an emergency on the island.

Prime Minister of Cook Islands Jim Marura’i has also declared a state of emergency for the main island of Rarotonga.

The cyclone “smashed houses, trees and power lines as it cut a swath through the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, officials said Thursday, AP reported.

NASA image of Aitutaki. Click image to enlarge.

Damage at the “luxury Cook Islands holiday destination of Aitutaki.” Photo courtesy of Mike Henry in Aitutaki, via 3 News NZ.

Cyclone PAT has damaged about 90 percent of the houses on the low-lying coral atoll of Aitutak with a population of 2,000 people, said Inspector Teri Pati of the National Disaster Management Center on Rarotonga, AP reported.

“A lot of houses have been damaged, trees were uprooted, and the road has been blocked by fallen trees and debris, no power to the island, the communication is down, but they trying at the moment to get the communication back on,” he was quoted by other sources as saying.

Fiji Meteorological Service said the cyclone has weakened in intensity. However, it warned of  heavy rains, destructive winds and high tides.

“There is a lot of wind damage – homes with their roofs taken off,” Moana Motekaa of Cook Islands News said, 3News reported.

“Thirty percent of homes in the villages of Arutanga through to Amuri have either had their roofs damaged or ripped off. At least 10 homes have ‘imploded’ – the houses have been completely flattened. Even the cyclone shelter in Arutanga has had its roof blown off.

“The airport terminal at Aitutaki has been extensively damaged,” said the report.

TC PAT Details

• Time/Date: 11 February 2010 –  03:00 UTC
• Position:  Near 20ºS, 161ºW [UNCERTAIN]
  
• Sustained Movement: 200  degrees [UNCERTAIN]
• Forward speed: 15 km/hr (~ 8 kt)

Current Wind Distribution:

• Maximum Sustained winds: 110 km (~ 60 kt)
• Maximum Gusts:  ~ 140 km/hr (~ 75 kt)
• Cyclone PAT is rapidly weakening
  

Wave Height and Location:

• Maximum significant wave height: ~ 6m (18 ft) (?)
  
• Location: PAT was located about 185 km (~ 100 NM) north of Rarotonga
  
• Sources: CIMSS, JTWC and Others

Cyclone PAT. VIS/IR Sat image- UW-CIMSS. Click image to enhance.

Animation (NOAA) GOES Imagery

• Visible  Image – Java – Flash
• IR AVN  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Shortwave  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Dvorak*  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Unenhanced  Image – Java – Flash
• IR JSL  Image – Java – Flash
• IR RGB  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Funktop  Image – Java – Flash
• IR Rainbow  Image – Java – Flash
• Water Vapor  Image – Java – Flash

Related Links:

• Cyclone PAT (TC 14P) Update 2 (10 Feb)
• Cyclone PAT (TC 14P) Update 1 (10 Feb)
• Cyclone PAT Revving Up in S Pacific