Seattle Weather Links
Mostly for outdoor photography reference by myself:
- NWS Seattle
- Pacific NorthWest MM5 Weather Forecasts (neato technical detail)
April 20, 2008
March 21, 2008
Rejection of Continental Drift
“When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.” — Clarke's First Law
The Rejection of Continental Drift examines the early 20th century reaction and rejection of Continental Drift by American Scientists. Excellent detail and discussion of the late 19th and early 20th century Geologists, their science, and philosophy. The book traces development in American thought—avoid grand theories, gather data, consider multiple hypothesis—from the earlier Vulcanist-Neptunist row, how the mathematically convenient Pratt isostasy model quickly became canon, and the endless debates where the two sides accepted only what their model supported, and ignored or explained away evidence to the contrary. Defenders of continental drift even resorted to the phrase “E pur si muove” as their arguments were rejected!
February 23, 2008
Das Blinken Lighten
A nifty visual illusion. That is all.
January 24, 2008
Guide to Dating
Hot springs microbes hold key to dating sedimentary rocks, researchers say.
“So one of the fingerprints of calcium carbonate deposition that will tell us for sure if there were microbes present at the time it formed is the rate at which it formed,” Fouke said. “And, within the environmental and ecological context of the rock being studied, we can now use chemistry to fingerprint the precipitation rate.”
In a second paper, to appear in the Journal of Sedimentary Research, Fouke and colleagues show how the calcium carbonate record in a spring’s primary flow path can be used to reconstruct the pH, temperature and flux of ancient hot springs environments. The researchers also show how patterns in calcium carbonate crystallization can be used to differentiate signatures of life from those caused by environmental change.
Technorati Tags: geology
January 05, 2008
What Rocks Know
Earthquake 'Memory' Could Spur Aftershocks. This is neat:
Much to their surprise, the earthquake machine revealed that when sound waves were applied for a short period just before the quake, they could induce smaller quakes, or, in some instances, delay the occurrence of the next major one. The sound waves seemed to affect earthquake behavior for as many as 10 earthquake events after they were applied.
More surprising still, the team found that the granular beads could store a "memory" even after the system had undergone a quake and the beads had rearranged themselves.
"The memory part is the most puzzling," Johnson said, "because during an earthquake there is so much energy being released and the event is so violent that you have to wonder, why doesn't the system reset itself?"
Technorati Tags: geology
January 04, 2008
EPA--
The EPA voted for the cars, and against humanity. For a consistent 50 state rule, the EPA rejected the higher bar requested by California against smog and toxic releases. This pollution is known to cause asthma, allergies, and blood clots that lead to heart attack and stroke. These medical issues—the costs of treatment aside—cause needless suffering for those affected by the pollution.
2008-01-04 update: a new study links increases in carbon dioxide emissions to increased mortality rates.
Again: congratulations, EPA.
December 09, 2007
Golden Gardens Waterfall
A previous post mused as to the cause of the recent sinkhole/slide in Golden Gardens. Upon inspection, and listening to the stories from people milling about—there a constant flow of people, dogs, and bicyclists—a primary cause was more likely water flowing over the roadway. This water could have washed away enough of the downhill slope to undercut the road and cause catastrophic failure.
The failure area shows three distinct regions: a central pit, a Northern cliff, and a Southern slope failure. The central pit is strikingly vertical, and stands over a level bed of sand. This reminds me of a waterfall collection pool. The Northern edge evidences a steep, near vertical slope, presumably from water spilling off the road, though does not cut as deep as the central pit. The Southern edge, in contrast, has a much milder slope, where the soil and roadway has slumped alongside and back into the central pit. Downhill, the car is jammed into a narrow funnel, and further on debris spread out over a level area. This area has a channel gouged through it.
The car? The story in circulation: apparently, due to large amounts of water on the road, the driver stopped the car and walked back uphill for help. When the driver returned, the car had been washed away.
December 04, 2007
Dino Mummy Raarrrr!
Findings regarding a partially intact dino mummy:
“With the aid of a giant CT scanner provided by the Boeing Company, technology usually reserved for testing aircraft and spacecraft parts for NASA, the team also attempted to peer inside Dakota's preserved body and tail. The scan of the 3,600-kilogram body was of the one of the largest CT scans ever undertaken.”
Then, the dino mummy ran off with the qr/hero(?:ine)?/†, and, working for the Nazis—secretly as a double agent of the British Library—quested to find Agarttha and unmask the evil clone of Maitreya.
†Regex neatly sidestep the issue of the respective sexes (or lack thereof) of the mummy and protagonist and their respective orientations (or, again, lack thereof) and their respective feelings one way or the other and any discrimination—implied or inherit—in the above prose.
Vashon Till + Lawton Clay + Water = Landslide
Mudslide Spills Across Westlake Avenue, Golden Gardens sinkhole/slide, and other events. This is normal.
- The Lawton formation underlies the Vashon till. A grey clay, mostly impermeable to water.
- The Vashon till lies over the Lawton clay, and is permeable and porous coarse material.
- In the Winter, it rains in Seattle (shocking!). The storms of this and last year seem anecdotally worse, though I’ll defer to someone with more expertise.
- Water is soaked up by the Vashon till, but cannot breach the Lawton clay.
The simplistic infinite slope equation indicates that for a given hillside to remain stable under twice the water column the slope must be halved. (Or one can dump lots of concrete† to attempt to stabilize the slope.)
- Therefore, following heavy rain, slides and other problems are the norm.
The Golden Gardens sinkhole/slide looks interesting, as the various pictures indicate a combination of sinkhole (the pit the car is in) and slide (the channel heading downhill). Perhaps the dry soil of the road’s shadow were undercut by a deeper water flow? That would account for both features of the picture. Will have to swing by the park for a better view.
2007-12-08 Update: Visited site, took photos. Probably a waterfall and landslide, instead of a sinkhole.
† Mining for and production of cement creates greenhouse gasses, and thus is one of my three Cs of wanton overdevelopment: Concrete, Cars, and Condos.
November 10, 2007
Principles of Geology
The contention of the rival factions of the Vulcanists and Neptunists had been carried to such a height, that these names had become terms of reproach, and the two parties had been less occupied in searching for truth, than for such arguments as might strengthen their own cause, or serve to annoy their antagonists.— Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, Volume I, Page 71.
Or Republicans vs. Democrats, or vi vs. emacs, or other—innumerable—dualistic debates. A difficult read due to the archaic prose and sheer breadth of the text. Lyell’s dregs and sediments, as the wheelwright would have it, by necessity goes into great detail of the “causes now in operation” to establish uniformitarianism. Contrast this prose with the visual style in The Orphan Tsunami of 1700, replete with diagrams, photos, and prose. I find my eye wandering over these pages, absorbing information and relationships, a very different experience than Lyell.
October 29, 2007
Killer Cars III
United States oil import figures—13.15 million bbl/day (2004)—coupled with current oil prices—$92.79 at time of writing—mean the U.S. spends roughly $15,000 per second on oil, or about $1.25 billion annually. Despite this massive waste, the auto industry still fights against improved fuel economy standards.
Cars must be relegated from The American Way to a Necessary But Woefully Overused Evil. While the decision to drive a car may be individually rational, the combined effect of millions of drivers moving millions of miles daily is deadly:
| Global Warming | “The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide in 2005 exceeds by far the natural range over the last 650,000 years … as determined from ice cores. … The primary source of the increased atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial period results from fossil fuel use” — Source |
| Health Risks | “Microscopic Pollution May Trigger Heart Attacks/Strokes by Spurring Blood Clots” — Source Diesel pollution increases allergy risk in susceptible people — Source “Diesel Exhaust May Cause Asthma, Not Just Aggravate It” — Source |
| Injury & Death | Cars kill and maim millions annually. — Source |
| Ocean Acidification | “We [the Royal Society] recommend that action needs to be taken now to reduce global emissions of CO2 from human activities to the atmosphere to avoid the risk of irreversible damage from ocean acidification.” — Source |
Technorati Tags: CO2
September 22, 2007
Killer Cars II
Another air pollution study, another way for cars to kill:
Northwestern researchers have discovered that this microscopic air pollution—smaller than 10 microns or less than one-tenth of the diameter of a human hair—spurs hyperclotting of the blood.
The risk of dying from a heart attack or ischemic stroke jumps a whopping 30 percent with each additional 10 micrograms of pollution.
The doctors also warned that heart attacks and strokes occur at relatively low levels of particulate matter pollution. “We haven’t found a safe level yet,” Mutlu said. He hopes the study helps encourages the EPA and local regulators to reduce the limits on particulate matter levels.
July 28, 2007
Killer Cars
More evidence motor vehicles kill in more ways than one!
“Published in the July 26 edition of the online journal Genome Biology, the findings are the first to explain how fine particles in air pollution conspire with artery-clogging fats to switch on the genes that cause blood vessel inflammation and lead to cardiovascular disease.”
Technorati Tags: CO2
April 05, 2007
Particulate Harm
U.S. Supreme Court rules E.P.A. must regulate greenhouse gases, in spite of excellent counter arguments by Chief Justice Roberts:
“Under the [Clean Air] Act’s clear terms, EPA can avoid promulgating regulations only if it determines that greenhouse gases do not contribute to climate change or if it provides some reasonable explanation as to why it cannot or will not exercise its discretion to determine whether they do. It has refused to do so, offering instead a laundry list of reasons not to regulate… These policy judgments have nothing to do with whether greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change and do not amount to a reasoned justification for declining to form a scientific judgment.”
“Petitioners’ difficulty in demonstrating causation and redressability is not surprising given the evident mis-match between the source of their alleged injury—catastrophic global warming—and the narrow subject matter of the Clean Air Act provision at issue in this suit. The mismatch suggests that petitioners’ true goal for this litigation may be more symbolic than anything else.” — Roberts, C. J., dissenting.
Source: Supreme Court Ruling No. 05–1120.
Scalia quotes the dated 2001 report on global warming in dissention. The recent 2007 summary for policy makers from the IPCC strengthens the linkage: “Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely (90% confidence) due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.”
I welcome the ruling, given that the executive office appears busy suppressing climate research, as part of their “comprehensive approach” to greenhouse gas emissions.
Technorati Tags: CO2
March 16, 2007
Phthalates & Thermopylae
Phthalates make not for Spartans, as evidenced by the faux hoplites who wade into battle without the required armor (unless the wrestling loincloth grants full body protection) or tactics (well, beyond the first charge).
March 12, 2007
Supervolcanos, Titanium, and You
Trace titanium allows temperature tracking of quartz crystallization in the Long Valley Caldera eruption.
January 09, 2007
Obscure Reference
$ A g64 g64 Segmentation fault
October 09, 2006
Strange Earthquake
Earthquake, or something else? No significant nearby historical seismicity, and depth pretty much at ground level. Brushing off Geodynamics and my rusty math skills yields an explosion of around 51T. This calculation pretty accurate when used against the seismic events resulting from the nuclear tests in Pakistan. To verify my numbers, energy (E) in Joules given by: log10E = 1.44M + 5.24 where M is the magnitude (4.2 in this case). From there, calculate Kilojoules, then work out the volume of TNT by the arms control definition.
October 08, 2006
Character 2647
Browsing through the Unicode character charts recently, and ran across the ♇ character for Pluto. How should Unicode address the diminished status of Pluto? Maybe make the character a dwarf character? Just wondering.
Technorati Tags: characters
October 04, 2006
Novarupta® Aerosol Spray
September 07, 2006
Magma Crystallizes Hotter
New trigger found for volcanic eruptions - the more magma crystallizes, the hotter it gets. Meanwhile, Mt. St. Helens spews away. For great background information on Washington State geology, consider Roadside Geology of Washington.
Much still unknown in Geology, with major changes (and arguments over) in thinking since the beginning of the science. Great Geological Controversies provides an excellent background on the various controversies.