This article appeared on page 2A of the Tampa Bay times newspzper on Friday, July 27, 2012. The article said: Strong summer storms that pump water high into the upper atmosphere pose a threat to the protective ozone layer over the United States, Harvard University researchers said Thursday in a study published online by the journal Science. They added that the risk of damage may increase as the climate warms. Ozone helps shield people, anomals and crops from damaging ultraviolet rays from the sun.
UNREAL, Where did these scientest go to school? Did they not learn that when anything reaches the upper atmosphere area that they presuures are so strong that NOTHING can penetrate through it. Water,gases or anything else. Put the blame where the blame belongs, the more than 1,000 staellite launches that will occur this year alone. Just in this month of July from the first through the 27th there have been 38 launches. 20 have been form the United States, 8 from China, 4 from Russia, 2 from India and the remaining 4 from other nations. These counties and their launches are the ones responsible for depleting the ozone layer, not stotms.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Friday, May 1, 2009
Antartic shelf losing more ice.
The above headline article appeared on page 4A of the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday, April 30, 2009. The article stated that massive ice chuncks are crumbling away from a shelf in the western Antartic Peninsula, researchers said Wednesday, warning that 1,300 square miles of ice -- an area larger than Rhode Island -- was in danger of breaking off in coming weeks. The Wilkins Ice Shelf had been stable for most of the last century but began retreating in the 1990s. Researchers believe it was held in place by an ice bridge linking Charcot Island to the Antartic mainland. But the 127-square mile bridge lost two large chunks last year and then shattered completely on April 5. "There is little doubt that these changes are the result of atmospheric warming," said David Vaughan of the British Antartic Survey.
Does this news surprise anyone? The size of the depleted ozone area in that Antartic region in 1990 was 6.5 million square miles. The current size of the ozone hole in that same area is now 16.7 million square miles, more than doubled. The falling away of Antartic ice shelves does not, in itself, raise sea levels, since the ice was already in the sea. But such ice usually holds back glaciers. Freed, the land ice often flows more quickly into the sea, adding to a rise in sea levels.
Does this news surprise anyone? The size of the depleted ozone area in that Antartic region in 1990 was 6.5 million square miles. The current size of the ozone hole in that same area is now 16.7 million square miles, more than doubled. The falling away of Antartic ice shelves does not, in itself, raise sea levels, since the ice was already in the sea. But such ice usually holds back glaciers. Freed, the land ice often flows more quickly into the sea, adding to a rise in sea levels.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Ozone loss disaster was avoided.
The above headline was printed on Friday, March 20, 2009 on page 3A of the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper from an Associated Press article: NASA credits the international cutback of CFC emissions. A NASA study about ozone-munching chemicals from aerosol sprays and refrigeration used a computer model to play a game of what-if. What if the world 22 years ago hadn't agreed to cut back on chlorofluorocarbons, which cause a seasonal ozone hole to form near the South Pole? NASA atmospheric scientest Paul Newman said the answer is a "bizarre world." By 2065, two-thirds of the protective ozone layer would have vanished and "the ozone hole covers the Earth." And CFC's, which are longlived potent greenhouse gases, would have pushed the world's temperature up 4 degrees.
Notice that nothing was mentioned that the current ozone hole is now listed at 16.5 million square miles versus what the reading was 22 years ago, 7.2 million square miles. That is an increase of 9.3 million square miles. NASA wants to blame the chemicals from areosol sprays and refrigeration as the culprits for depleating the ozone layer, when it is NASA and the other 45 Space Agencies that are depleating the ozone layer with their frequent launchings that are averaging a launch every 2.7 days.
Notice that nothing was mentioned that the current ozone hole is now listed at 16.5 million square miles versus what the reading was 22 years ago, 7.2 million square miles. That is an increase of 9.3 million square miles. NASA wants to blame the chemicals from areosol sprays and refrigeration as the culprits for depleating the ozone layer, when it is NASA and the other 45 Space Agencies that are depleating the ozone layer with their frequent launchings that are averaging a launch every 2.7 days.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Amid uncertainty, NASA plans for Ares 1-X test flights.
Story written for CBS News by William Harwood. As the incoming Obama administration considers whether to accelerate development of the Ares 1 rocket that will replace the space shuttle- or possibly change course and switch to a different system or even extend shuttle operations-NASA is pressing ahead with plans to launch a critical sub-orbital test flight to show off the new rocket and collect valuable engineering data."One test is worth a thousand opinions," said Jon Cowart, a ground systems manager at the Kennedy Space Center. "It's brand new, it's a long, thin rocket. We want to make sure we can guide this thing. Balance a broomstick on the end of your finger, you'll get some idea of what we're dealing with here."
Because the unmanned test rocket features a dummy upper stage and a less-powerful version of the shuttle-heritage solid fuel first stage intended for the eventual manned rocket. Space insiders and myself feel that the $330 million test flight is little more than an expensive show to see if they can balance a broomstick on the edge of their fingers. What is your opinion? Please comment.
Because the unmanned test rocket features a dummy upper stage and a less-powerful version of the shuttle-heritage solid fuel first stage intended for the eventual manned rocket. Space insiders and myself feel that the $330 million test flight is little more than an expensive show to see if they can balance a broomstick on the edge of their fingers. What is your opinion? Please comment.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
NASA to award $1 billion-plus contract for GOES weather satellite.
NASA next month will award a $1 billion contract for a GOES weather-observation constellation satellite to one of three aerospace companies. Boeing Co., Lockheed-Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. are locked in a pricing battle to build the next-generation GOES system. There are currently over 3,500 weather satellites in orbit, why do we need another unit that will cost $1 billion-plus. Why doesn't NASA use that amount of money into research finding an alternative fuel that will not deplete the ozone layer after every launch? How will another weather satellite help in predicting the weather? NASA and the other 45 countries that are launching some type of satellites every 3.7 days are the culprits that are causing the disastorus climate changes throughout this planet.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
2008 Sees Fifth Largest Ozone Hole
Total ozone image for September 12 2008. Credit NOAA November 3, 2008
The ozone hole over Antarctica, which fluctuates in response to temperature and sunlight, grew to the size of North America in a one-day maximum in September that was the fifth largest on record, since NOAA satellite records began in 1979.
Satellite total ozone observation from the Solar Backscatter Ultra Violet (SBUV/2) instrument.
NOAA scientists, who have monitored the ozone layer since 1962, have determined that this year’s ozone hole has passed its seasonal peak for 2008. Ozone data is available online.
The primary cause of the ozone hole is human-produced compounds called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which release ozone-destroying chlorine and bromine into the atmosphere. Earth’s protective ozone layer acts like a giant umbrella, blocking the sun’s ultraviolet-B rays. Though banned for the past 21 years to reduce their harmful build up, CFCs still take many decades to dissipate from the atmosphere.
According to NOAA scientists, colder than average temperatures in the stratosphere may have helped play a part in allowing the ozone hole to develop more fully this year.
“Weather is the most important factor in the fluctuation of the size of the ozone hole from year-to-year,” said Bryan Johnson, a scientist at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, which monitors ozone, ozone-depleting chemicals, and greenhouse gases around the globe. “How cold the stratosphere is and what the winds do determine how powerfully the chemicals can perform their dirty work.”
NASA satellites measured the maximum area of this year’s ozone hole at 10.5 million square miles and four miles deep, on Sept. 12. Balloon-borne sensors released from NOAA’s South Pole site showed the total column of atmospheric ozone dropped to its lowest count of 107 Dobson units on Sept. 28. Dobson units are a measure of total ozone in a vertical column of air.
South Pole ozonesonde measurements for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
South Pole ozonesonde measurements for 2006-2008. Credit NOAAIn 2006, record-breaking ozone loss occurred as ozone thickness plunged to 93 Dobson units on Oct. 9 and sprawled over 11.4 million square miles at its peak. Scientists blamed colder-than-usual temperatures in the stratosphere for its unusually large size. Last year’s ozone hole was average in size and depth.
Starting in May, as Antarctica moves into a period of 24-hour-a-day darkness, rotating winds the size of the continent create a vortex of cold, stable air centered near the South Pole that isolates CFCs over the continent. When spring sunshine returns in August, the sun’s ultraviolet light sets off a series of chemical reactions inside the vortex that consume the ozone. The colder and more isolated the air inside the vortex, the more destructive the chemistry. By late December the southern summer is in full swing, the vortex has crumbled, and the ozone has returned—until the process begins anew the following winter.
The 1987 Montreal Protocol and other regulations banning CFCs reversed the buildup of chlorine and bromine, first noticed in the 1980s.
South Pole ozonesonde measurements for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Credit: NOAA
South Pole ozonesonde measurements for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Images of ozone concentration from an animation showing the development of the ozone hole during 2008.
“These chemicals—and signs of their reduction—take several years to rise from the lower atmosphere into the stratosphere and then migrate to the poles,” said NOAA’s Craig Long, a research meteorologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “The chemicals also typically last 40 to 100 years in the atmosphere. For these reasons, stratospheric CFC levels have dropped only a few percent below their peak in the early 2000s.“
“The decline of these harmful substances to their pre-ozone hole levels in the Antarctic stratosphere will take decades,” said NOAA atmospheric chemist Stephen Montzka of the Earth System Research Laboratory. “We don’t expect a full recovery of Antarctic ozone until the second half of the century.”
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
Relevant Web Sites
* South Pole Baseline Observatory
* South Pole Ozone Hole Data
* Climate Prediction Center SBUV Analyses
* NASA Ozone Hole Watch
U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Earth System Research Laboratory
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/news/2008/ozonehole.html
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South Pole ozonesonde measurements for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Images of ozone concentration from an animation showing the development of the ozone hole during 2008.
“These chemicals—and signs of their reduction—take several years to rise from the lower atmosphere into the stratosphere and then migrate to the poles,” said NOAA’s Craig Long, a research meteorologist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “The chemicals also typically last 40 to 100 years in the atmosphere. For these reasons, stratospheric CFC levels have dropped only a few percent below their peak in the early 2000s.“
“The decline of these harmful substances to their pre-ozone hole levels in the Antarctic stratosphere will take decades,” said NOAA atmospheric chemist Stephen Montzka of the Earth System Research Laboratory. “We don’t expect a full recovery of Antarctic ozone until the second half of the century.”
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.
Relevant Web Sites
* South Pole Baseline Observatory
* South Pole Ozone Hole Data
* Climate Prediction Center SBUV Analyses
* NASA Ozone Hole Watch
U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Earth System Research Laboratory
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/news/2008/ozonehole.html
Privacy Policy Accessibility Disclaimer USA.gov
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