Category Archives: Atmosphere

These sites are primarily relevant to our understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere.

“My Environment” Interactive Map

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If you are wondering how Richmond compares to other parts of the country in terms of water and energy usage, head to the “My Environment” tool on the EPA website. It allows users to search for cities nationwide, displays a map with local sources of air, water, and land pollution.  As geography students, this tool allows us to apply concepts we are learning about water, the atmosphere, and environmental processes to local spaces.  The icon for each source reveals the name and address of each potential source of pollutants:

The site also compares local energy production to local energy consumption in terms of coal,natural gas, petroleum, and other sources of energy. Both Virginia and my home state of North Carolina consume more petroleum than any other energy source. While according to the data NC only produces nuclear energy, VA produces coal, natural gas, nuclear, and renewable energy. Data contained on the page is time sensitive, and users can even find out the daily air quality at their location. On the day of this post, my hometown was experiencing the most air pollution from particulate matter, while Richmond’s air was most polluted by carbon monoxide.

The site also encourages community interaction, and contains a “My Community” link where users can report on positive changes being make for the environment. Though the Richmond page does not currently have any news showing, we already know from our geography class that the city of Richmond and the University of Richmond are sensitive to protecting our natural resources.

Auroras: How they work and how to see one!

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Aurora Borealis

 

Auroras are something I have always heard about, but I have never been sure of what they are exactly. We have all seen the pictures of the beautiful green, red, and blue lights in the sky, but I would bet that few of us have ever seen one in person. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website says that there is almost always at least a small aurora somewhere in the sky, but they are generally difficult to see. This is because they are most common in the far northern and southern latitudes. In the north, the best locations tend to be Canada, Alaska, Northern Greenland, Scandinavia, and Siberia for seeing auroras. Also, the best time to see an aurora is in the middle of winter between 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.

The northern and southern versions of auroras were first named in 1621 by a French Scientist named Pierre Cassendi. The northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, were named after the Roman goddess of dawn (Aurora) and the Roman god of the north wind (Boreas). The southern auroras are named Aurora Australis for “southern dawn.”

The formation of Auroras begins on the Sun 93 million miles away and ends 60 to 600 miles above Earth’s surface. The Sun sometimes emits highly charged protons and electrons. This solar wind then energizes protons and electrons within Earth’s magnetic field, which travel down magnetic field lines to Earth’s atmosphere near the poles. These charged particles then excite atmospheric gas atoms and molecules. As they relax back down to their normal state, the molecules and atoms release the energy as visible light, which we see as auroras.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps track of these solar storms that can lead to auroras. Strong storms can cause trouble with satellites, power grids, GPS signals, communication technology, and even astronaut safety. Luckily for us, it also means that they monitor where and when auroras occur on Earth. You can visit the Space Weather Prediction Center’s Aurora website to see the current auroras. If you happen to be far north and there is a strong storm, maybe you’ll get a chance to see one. I hope I do someday!

Aurora Australis

Global Warming Happening A lot Faster Than You Think

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http://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/world-track-11-degree-rise.html

This article talks about the prediction of scientists that the Earth’s average temperature will increase by 11 degrees farenheit by 2100. While all of us will be long gone by then, we will feel the changes gradually. The IEA, International Energy Agency, is responsible for this new prediction in global temperatures.

The IEA believes that human activity is responsible for this change with the burning of fossil fuels releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. They believe that unless we are able to curb our consumption of fossil fuels, the Earth is in store for a “spell catastrophe”. The use of electric powered machines and an increase in the reliance in other forms of renewable energy will enable us to avoid some of this 11 degree increase.

The author blames the Republican party for the inexistence of a global climate treaty. Because they vehemently deny global warming, the United States does not stand a united front against global warming. The United States, being a leading nation, has the power to influence smaller countries in acknowledging this problem. Unless the world is able to come together in order to solve global warming, we will witness drastic climate changes in the next 100 years.

Earthsky.org- Stay up to date on earth’s happenings **Comment and WIN an IPAD!!**

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The website, earthsky.com, is a great website to stay up-to date with science related content and articles. Based in Austin, Texas, the company began producing its content in 1991, and millions of people follow them today. Their promise is “to bring the ideas, strategies, and research results of scientists to people around the world, with the goal of illuminating pathways to a sustainable future.”

This website is a fast and easy way to get current news stories about what is going on. If you go to earthsky.org/earth, the blog focuses on earth-related articles, weather, etc. You could follow this website and become very knowledgable in the area.

For example, recent blogs include titles like “A look back at the Weather of November 2011”, “Declining oxygen levels might threaten ocean health”, Pine island Glacier has cracked and will spawn giant iceberg”, and “Severe storms target southeastern US”. As you can see, these articles relate directly towards physically geography and contain many of the things e have studied throughout the semester. By spending a few minutes each day and reading this blog, you will remain up-to-date with all of science news and happenings. Since we will no longer be hearing the “in the news” stories, this website can provide us with the information we seek. Stay involved easier by following @earthskyscience on twitter or Earthsky on facebook.

Check out the website and comment on some of your favorite articles. You can scroll around to lots of different areas, they all are very interesting. If you go to the FAQ section, it provides you with blogs about answered questions from science. Some blogs include things like “why do tree leaves turn red in fall?” and “does the sun rise due east and set due west in at the equinox?”

There is so much recent information on this website and I highly recommend it to anyone wishing to stay up-to date with what’s scientifically occurring around the world. Comment and Win an IPAD!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

** Restrictions may apply. No members of the ENVR 250 class can win the IPAD. In fact, nobody will win anything, except hopefully me when I get the most comments. Hopefully none of you are reading this part, but I had to put it in for legal issues**

 

Polar Bears are Dying. EVERY COMMENT SAVES 1,000 POLAR BEAR CUBS!

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Rapid loss of sea ice is leading a plummeting polar bear population. Why should we care?

1)    Polar Bears are at the top of the artic food chain.  If they become extinct then the food web will alter drastically.  Certain species, free of competition for food and/or no longer with a main predator, will flourish.  However, the environment, as a whole, will suffer.  Anthony Ives, a zoologist from the University of Wisconsin, has shown through experimentation that, in general, when a species becomes extinct, the community’s ability to tolerate environmental degradation lessens.

2)    So, the extinction of polar bears would prove bad for the overall artic biosphere.  Unfortunately, scientists estimate only 20,000 to 25,000 bears are currently living.  That number is expected to shrink to as low as 6,500 by 2050.

3)    And most importantly, polar bears are not only adorable but they manufacture 30% of the entire world’s supply of Coca-Cola.

Leading scientists hope that if the melting of sea ice is slowed significantly then the polar bear population will stabilize and even start to increase.  Unfortunately, slowing the melting of sea ice will require drastic measures.

Comment! What can be done to stop the melting of sea ice? How will dying polar bears affect the artic ecosystem? How much more efficient would polar bears be at manufacturing Coca-Cola products if they had opposable thumbs?

Milan’s Vertical Forest

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 By: Roy Gilb

 

Bosco Verticale

Milan, Italy is one of the most polluted cities in Europe. One radical idea to mitigate this problem is creating the “greenest” building possible. The Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) looks like something out of a futuristic movie and will easily be the greenest building in Milan upon completion. The architectural masterpiece was designed by Stefan Boeri Architects as part of their BioMilano initiative to convert about 60 abandoned farms around the city into a greenbelt of environmentally-friendly buildings. The Bosco Verticale will have a green façade on every side with dense forest systems planted on each floor. These forests will serve as a microclimate for the building filtering out the polluting dust particles from the city. The fully-functioning and living bio-canopy will also absorb CO2, moderate extreme temperatures, lower noise pollution, and oxygenate the air all without electricity. On top of all those perks, the building will provide (somewhat) natural aesthetic beauty that is so often absent from cityscapes, and lower the living or working costs for the occupants.

Architecture PlansProjects such as the Bosco Verticale provide hope for the polluted cities in the world and the green movement, especially if sufficient funding and support is provided. This short article is pertinent to our class discussions of the atmosphere and biosphere. More specifically, the building provides an excellent example of how plants regulate a variety of processes on Earth. 

http://www.greenmuze.com/nature/trees/4243-milans-vertical-forest.html

Discovery News – What Can You Discover?

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After browsing through several not-so-interesting geography websites, I stumbled upon the Discovery News site.  Associated with The Discovery Channel, this site immediately caught my eye with its incredible pictures and interesting headlines.  The site is conveniently divided into seven categories ranging between physical geography topics (Earth, Space, and Animals), more cultural geography (Human and History), and just random super cool stories (Tech & Gadgets, Adventure, and Autos).  The website is truly engaging because of its numerous videos, photo galleries, and vast array of exciting science articles.  Below are some of my favorite stories so far:  

1)      This incredible series of photographs explores the phenomenon of visual color warnings in plants and animals.  The story explains that certain colors, patterns, and visual characteristics can communicate danger. 

 2)      This video talks about a recent eruption of an underwater volcano.  It relates to the discussions we had about the lithosphere in class and the difficulty of predicting when volcanoes will erupt.  Scientists were however, successfully able to give an 8-year time frame in which the volcano would erupt.  Scientists said this site was easier to predict because the crust was thinner and there was a huge supply of magma.  The video also gives a cool look at the underwater site.

3)      In relation to Matthew Sturm’s article about the changes in tree distribution as a result of climate change, this article discusses the movement of seaweed as a result of global warming.  Scientists believe that a profound amount of Australian seaweed is actually moving south in order to find cooler environments. 

Seaweed provides an important habitat and food source for many underwater animals. Image by © Jeffrey L. Rotman/CORBIS

 4)      Last but not least, you can even take a look at the “Be as Manly as Bear Grylles Guide” because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love Bear Grylles?

Share which stories catch your eye!

“The Green Pope?” Religion and Science?

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/27/pope-climate-change-conference-durban_n_1115016.html?ref=green

The pope and climate change? The church and the global climate? Religion and science? Are these all really coming together here??? You better believe it. Here we have an article talking about Pope Benedict XVI and his hopeful influence on the UN Climate Change Conference which starts today November 28, 2011! Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting to see what they can salvage from the wreckage of the Kyoto Protocol. That 1997 agreement aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from rich countries to an average of 5 percent below the levels they emitted in 1990.

 

A link is provided below to the actual conference website,

http://unfccc.int/meetings/durban_nov_2011/meeting/6245.php

 

The logo for the COP17 meetings in South Africa

The Pope’s greatest concern seems to be the poor and the future, “I hope that all members of the international community can agree on a responsible, credible and supportive response to this worrisome and complex phenomenon, keeping in mind the needs of the poorest populations and of future generations,” the pope said.

This has not been posted for any reasons of specific religion. This is simply to look at a rarely seen connection between religion and science that I saw as interesting and worth reading. The Huffington Post  provides many more articles and even videos and picture slides that deal with climate change and news and are worthy of looking into as well, while on the website.

 

 

 

 

 

BBC Science and Environment

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For years BBC news was the easiest and fastest source of world news for me. I usually use the Russian version of the website thought, which is slightly different. Recently, I discovered the Science and environment section on the BBC website.

EU climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard

This website is informative as a well as interactive. It has in the news story of the day. For example today  the main article on the page was Climate summit faces big emitters’ stalling tactics, it discussed the efforts of cutting GHG emissions by the nations. It showed that the debate about which countries should do what still continues even after the Kyoto protocol. According to the article developing countries will certainly target rich governments such as Japan, Canada and Russia over their refusal to commit to new emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol, whose current targets expire at the end of next year. However, the article states that another main topic of the summit will be financial aid to the developing countries through Green Climate Fund, although it is not clear yet who exactly will provide the estimated funding of $10 billion dollars for the developing countries to reduce their GHG emissions. Developing countries say the public coffers of industrialized nations should be the main source, whereas industrialized world believes that private sector must be the primary source. At the end of the article the website provides links to previous articles related to the topic such as why did Copenhagen fail? I find that very useful, especially while starting doing research.

The main webpage of BBC science and environment has other unrelated stories below the main article, concerning different aspects of biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. It also provides links to articles/ blogs by BBC experts on different topics. For example, I found one on marine reserves in Australia called Australia plans huge marine reserve in Coral Sea. The plan is to have fishing commercial and recreational allowed being only in some areas of the reserve, which at its closest point would start 60km (37 miles) from the coast and it extends out to 1,100km to protect the coral reefs.

The website also has great video and audio resources to keep the reader interested and save time. Videos and audios have related articles or text version below in case anyone was interested in keeping written record. Here is a video of an unusual formation beneath the ocean called Icicle of death.

Nasa’s Climatological Website

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Well, hello there gang!

If you ever happen to be looking for information or topics on large scale climate issues then look no further than Nasa’s climatological website. As soon as you visit the site’s homepage you see a wealth of information on a variety of climate issues. How about arctic sea ice levels? Yep, they have that. Carbon Dioxide information? Of course. Sea levels and global temperatures? You bet. How about land ice, do they do land ice? Most definitely.

There are also tabs on the homepage related to key indicators like carbon dioxide concentration, evidence like sea level rising, causes like greenhouse gases, effects like weather intensification, and uncertainties like the effects of solar output on Earth.  The tabs for each of these climatological phenomena are easily accessible in the event that any skeptics visit the site at any point. If you ever need to make an argument for the existence of climate change, this website is a fantastic place to start your research for such an arguement.

Perhaps the most persuasive and fascinating aspect of Nasa’s climate website is the wide selection they have of satellite imagery obtained by one of their three Earth orbiting satellites (called “Grace,” “AIRS,” and “Jason-1”) like this:

Of the images on the website, Nasa also has a wide array of photographs taken from people in the field like this:

Whether you’re doing research in order to debate against a climate change skeptic, for school, or for your own personal interest, Nasa’s climate website ought to be your first stop!