Saturday, March 8, 2008
Food Crisis Will Take Hold Before Climate Change, Warns Chief Scientist
· Pressures from population growth and affluence
· ‘Profoundly stupid’ to cut down forests for biofuels
by James Randerson
SOURCE:http://www.commondreams.org
· ‘Profoundly stupid’ to cut down forests for biofuels
by James Randerson
SOURCE:http://www.commondreams.org
Friday, March 7, 2008
Space Station Ready for New Robot
A massive robot and Japan's first room in space are set for delivery to the International Space Station (ISS) next week aboard NASA's space shuttle Endeavour.
Canada's two-armed robot, named Dextre for its nimble capabilities, should give astronauts a break from basic repair and maintenance tasks outside of the growing space station. The Japanese Logistics Pressurized (JLP) Module marks the first of three components for that nation's massive Kibo science lab.
"This flight will be a monumental flight for Japan," said Tetsuro Yokoyama, operations project deputy manager for Kibo, during a press briefing at Johnson Space Center this week. "We are very close to a long-awaited moment."
The seven-astronaut STS-123 space shuttle crew, led by commander Dominic Gorie, is slated to launch at 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT) on March 11 aboard Endeavour. The crew aims to install Japan's new orbital room in a temporary position on March 14, then begin Dextre's assembly on March 15.
full story
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full story
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Thursday, March 6, 2008
Anticyclones
The United Kingdom Environmental Change Network
Anticyclones (High Pressure)
Areas of sinking air which result in high pressure are called anticyclones. The opposite to an anticyclone is the cyclone or depression.
High pressure systems have low pressure gradients (ie the air pressure doesn't change rapidly). This means that the winds are gentle. As the air sinks, it warms up, leading to warm and dry weather.
Anticyclones are much larger than depressions and can lead to many days or weeks of settled and calm weather. Anticyclones often block the path of depressions, either slowing down the bad weather, or forcing it round the outside of the high pressure system. They are then called 'Blocking Highs'.
As air descends, air pressure increases. When air hits the ground, it has to go somewhere. The earth's rotation makes the air change direction. In the Northern Hemisphere the air is pushed clockwise. In the Southern Hemisphere the air is pushed anticlockwise. This can be seen in the diagram below.
Air Direction in High and Low Pressure Systems
http://www.itl.net/education/online/weather/high.html
Weather conditions can vary between summer and winter anticyclones. Do you want to look at summer or winter anticyclones?
Lunar eclipse may shed light on climate change
The Moon's brightness during last month's eclipse shows Earth's atmosphere contains little volcanic dust, which can affect the climate
Click Here
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