Massive Lightning Near Space Shuttle Endeavour

>The space shuttle Endeavour is seen on launch pad 39a as a storm passes by prior to the rollback of the Rotating Service Structure (RSS), Thursday, April 28, 2011, at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. During the 14-day mission, Endeavour and the STS-134 crew will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) and spare parts including two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for Dextre. Launch is targeted for Friday, April 29 at 3:47 p.m. EDT. Photo credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

via Space Shuttle Endeavour (201104280022HQ) | Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

>The Mystery of an Ancient Global Warming Recovery

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The Earth may be able to recover from rising carbon dioxide emissions faster than previously thought, according to evidence from a prehistoric event analyzed by a Purdue University-led team.

When faced with high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and rising temperatures 56 million years ago, the Earth increased its ability to pull carbon from the air. This led to a recovery that was quicker than anticipated by many models of the carbon cycle – though still on the order of tens of thousands of years, said Gabriel Bowen, the associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences who led the study.

“We found that more than half of the added carbon dioxide was pulled from the atmosphere within 30,000 to 40,000 years, which is one-third of the time span previously thought,” said Bowen, who also is a member of the Purdue Climate Change Research Center. “We still don’t know exactly where this carbon went, but the evidence suggests it was a much more dynamic response than traditional models represent.”

… Plants prefer carbon-12 during photosynthesis, and when they accelerate their uptake of carbon dioxide it shifts the carbon isotope ratio in the atmosphere. This shift is then reflected in the carbon isotopes present in rock minerals formed by reactions involving atmospheric carbon dioxide, Bowen said.

“The rate of the carbon isotope change in rock minerals tells us how rapidly the carbon dioxide was pulled from the atmosphere,” he said. “We can see the fluxes of carbon dioxide in to and out of the atmosphere. At the beginning of the event we see a shift indicating that a lot of organic-derived carbon dioxide had been added to the atmosphere, and at the end of the event we see a shift indicating that a lot of carbon dioxide was taken up as organic carbon and thus removed from the atmosphere.”

A paper detailing the team’s National Science Foundation-funded work was published in Nature Geoscience.

via The Mystery of an Ancient Global Warming Recovery.

>YouTube – How the 2011 Japan tsunami happened

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YouTube – How the 2011 Japan tsunami happened.

>Tornado closes Lambert-St Louis airport

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The US airport of Lambert-St Louis has been closed indefinitely after a tornado ripped through its main terminal.

The storm tore off a large section of the terminal’s roof, shattering windows and sending debris flying.

Several people were being treated for minor injuries.

The storm, one of a series to pass through central and eastern Missouri, also flattened homes in the area, felled trees and tore down power lines.

Lambert-St Louis airport said all flights were cancelled pending full safety assessments, and a clean-up was under way.

“We have all hands on deck here,” said Mayor Francis Slay, speaking at the airport.

‘Grown men crying’

St Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch, who was at the airport as the storm approached, said people watching the tornado suddenly had to scramble for safety.

“About the time we came into the building, the doors blew off,” he said.

“Literally 10 seconds later, it was over. It’s amazing to me more people weren’t hurt.”

Dianna Merrill, who was waiting for a flight to New York, said she had been looking out of the window hoping her delayed flight would arrive.

“Glass was blowing everywhere. The ceiling was falling… the wind was blowing debris all over the place,” she said.

“It was like being in a horror movie. Grown men were crying. It was horrible.”

via BBC News – Tornado closes Lambert-St Louis airport.

>Ozone hole has dried Australia, scientists find

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The Antarctic ozone hole is about one-third to blame for Australia’s recent series of droughts, scientists say.

Writing in the journal Science, they conclude that the hole has shifted wind and rainfall patterns right across the Southern Hemisphere, even the tropics.

Their climate models suggest the effect has been notably strong over Australia.

Many parts of the country have seen drought in recent years, with cities forced to invest in technologies such as desalination, and farms closing.

The scientists behind the new study – led from Columbia University in New York – added the ozone hole into standard climate models to investigate how it might have affected winds and rains.

“The ozone hole results in a southward shift of the high-latitude circulation – and the whole tropical circulation shifts southwards too,” explained Columbia’s Sarah Kang.

Of particular interest was the southward migration of the Southern Hemisphere jet stream.

These high-altitude winds are key to determining weather patterns, in both hemispheres. Much of the cold weather felt in the UK over the last couple of winters, for example, was caused by blocking of the Northern Hemisphere stream.

The Columbia team found that overall, the ozone hole has resulted in rainfall moving south along with the winds.

But there are regional differences, particularly concerning Australia.

“In terms of the average for that zone, [the ozone hole drives] about a 10% change – but for Australia, it’s about 35%,” Dr Kang told BBC News.

Their modelling indicated that global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions was also a factor…

via BBC News – Ozone hole has dried Australia, scientists find.

>Underwater Microphone Captures Honshu, Japan Earthquake

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YouTube – Underwater Microphone Captures Honshu, Japan Earthquake.

>Humans may owe life to pumice

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Pumice, the rock used remove dry skin from feet, could have been responsible for the birth of life on Earth, scientists have claimed.

It is commonly known for its ability to remove dry skin from feet, but pumice stone may have had a far more important role in our lives than we realise.

Scientists claim the rock, which is produced as volcanic gases bubble through lava as it solidifies, may have been responsible for the birth of life on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago.

In a surprising new theory for how life evolved our planet, palaeobiologists believe the tiny pores in the volcanic rock provided the perfect environment for the first living cells to develop.

They say they have found evidence that the essential cocktail of chemicals that make up all organisms on Earth can accumulated inside the pumice pores while other chemicals commonly found there could have kick started biological reactions in the presence of ultraviolet light.

Pumice is also well known for its ability to float and massive rafts of the rock have washed up on shorelines around the world decades after major volcanic eruptions.

via Humans may owe more than smooth feet to pumice, claim scientists – Telegraph.

>Cesium-137 forecast shows high altitude radiation cloud concentrate over western US on April 12

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YouTube – Cesium-137 forecast shows high altitude radiation cloud concentrate over western US on April 12.

The orientation of the globe is strange. The US is on the upper left and it is almost upside down. See it now?

>Ancient stone markers warned of tsunamis in Japan

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Modern sea walls failed to protect coastal towns from Japan’s destructive tsunami last month. But in the hamlet of Aneyoshi, a single centuries-old tablet saved the day.

“High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants,” the stone slab reads. “Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.”

It was advice the dozen or so households of Aneyoshi heeded, and their homes emerged unscathed from a disaster that flattened low-lying communities elsewhere and killed thousands along Japan’s northeastern shore.

Hundreds of such markers dot the coastline, some more than 600 years old. Collectively they form a crude warning system for Japan, whose long coasts along major fault lines have made it a repeated target of earthquakes and tsunamis over the centuries.

The markers don’t all indicate where it’s safe to build. Some simply stand — or stood, washed away by the tsunami — as daily reminders of the risk. “If an earthquake comes, beware of tsunamis,” reads one. In the bustle of modern life, many forgot.

More than 12,000 have been confirmed dead and officials fear the death toll could rise to 25,000 from the March 11 disaster. More than 100,000 are still sheltering in schools and other buildings, almost a month later. A few lucky individuals may move into the first completed units of temporary housing this weekend. …

via Ancient stone markers warned of tsunamis – CBS News.

>Gardening: What to plant in April (Northern California)

>I’m getting into gardening. Growing some of your own food is great. Today, April 10th, 2011, is a nice day and I’ve got my beds weeded and ready for planting, but what to plant? Here are a few guides:

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

September: Plant marjoram, oregano, peppermint, rosemary, thyme. (Herbs can actually be planted all year in most climates.)

… April … Plant:• Basil seedlings (Plant in batches every two weeks through August)

• Chiles (seedlings; through May)

• Corn (seed―plant in batches every two weeks through August)

• Cucumbers (seedlings)

• Edamame (seeds; plant in batches every two weeks through May)

• Hops (through May)

• Lemongrass, Melons (seeds; seedlings in May),

• Squash (seeds; seedlings in May)

• Tomatoes (seedlings; through May)

• Zucchini (seeds)

via Our planting calendar – Sunset.com.

Today I planted 3 kinds of tomato, chilies, and pepper seedlings plus seeds for watermelon, corn, edamame, zucchini, pumpkin, and sunflowers. Total cost (including the new shovel, $55.)