March 15-16, 2009
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday afternoon:
Lihue, Kauai – 74
Honolulu, Oahu – 78
Kaneohe, Oahu – 78
Kahului, Maui – 73
Hilo, Hawaii – 77
Kailua-kona – 83
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon:
Kailua-kona – 80F
Molokai airport – 73
Haleakala Crater – 34 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 25 (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Sunday afternoon:
0.30 Kokee, Kauai
1.21 Ahuimanu Loop, Oahu
1.49 Molokai
0.12 Lanai
0.79 Kahoolawe
3.88 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.20 South Point, Big Island
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing low pressure systems located to the northwest and north, which will open up into a light wind producing trough over the islands through Tuesday. Our winds gradually shift from the current south, to light and variable during this time frame.
Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. Finally, here’s a looping IR satellite image, making viewable the clouds around the islands 24 hours a day. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.
Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.
Aloha Paragraphs
Rocky…along the south Maui coast
Photo Credit: flickr.com
A shower and wind producing low is giving way to a trough near Kauai…with the recent gusty Kona winds shifting to light and variable breezes. The low pressure center that moved by to our north this weekend, is opening up into an elongated trough of low pressure. Here’s a weather map so you can check out the location of that low pressure system to our NW. Conditions are becoming less and windy, and definitely more sunny. The NWS has pared back its notices across the marine environment Sunday evening. The only two left, which apply to the mountainous areas, are a wind advisory for the gusty winds atop the Haleakala Crater on Maui…and a high wind warning for the tall mountains on the Big Island. Winds will become light and variable, or lightly from the southeast during the first half of the upcoming work week, with trade winds returning Wednesday.
A rather abrupt clearing took place Sunday afternoon, as the low pressure system lost its influence on our islands. This low will be losing its influence further going into Monday. It will however leave a trailing trough of low pressure, keeping our air mass somewhat shower prone into the new week. We’ll stop seeing the gusty Kona winds however, which will be replaced with lighter breezes. These daytime breezes Monday, aided by the daytime heating of the islands…will spark afternoon cloudy periods. These convective cumulus clouds will most effectively gather over the mountains…leading to localized showers. As the trade winds return by mid-week, the emphasis for showers will migrate back over to the windward coasts and slopes.
We’re shifting out of the influence of the Kona low, and edging into a convective weather pattern…before ending up with the trade winds later this coming week. Our precipitation pattern has brought us showers the last several days, carried our way on the locally strong and gusty Kona winds. Here’s a satellite image, so you can see what’s left in terms of the clouds around the state. While we’re looking at these types of pictures, here’s a looping radar image, so you can keep track of where the showers are falling across the Aloha state overnight into Monday. There’s a large pool of showers to the southeast of the Big Island…which may move up over that Island.
It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last part of today’s narrative. What a big difference we saw in our weather this afternoon! The low pressure system finally let us off the hook, so to speak. I just got back from a nice sunny walk with my neighbors. They are so friendly, and wave their hands to almost anyone driving or walking by. I’m learning from them, as I’m not so naturally friendly. I like people, but often just keep my head down when a car drives by, rather than glancing at them and saying hi. At any rate, it’s so nice out there, that I want to get back out and enjoy the warm end of the day. I may come back later and give my final opinion of today’s weather, which was great! ~~~ Actually, before I forget to tell you, it was one of my favorite days up here in a long time! It was foggy, showery, with cool breezes. I just hung-out and looked out my windows like crazy, soaking in the adorable grayness. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sunny days too, it’s just that I’m often at work when these particularly winterized (tropically speaking) days happen…I miss many of them. Now then, I’m going out to see the sun, to listen to the wind chimes, to maybe practice being more friendly! ~~~ I’m about ready to bed down, get warm and read for a little while before dozing off. I just looked at the statistics for this website, according to the google adsense report, there have been 19,951 page impressions Sunday, and an incredible 424 clicks on the google ads for this website, wow! I want to thank all of you who are in support of my weather efforts here in the Hawaiian Islands, those numbers are as of 745pm Sunday evening. Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: With origins dating back over 4,000 years, green tea has long been a popular beverage in Asian culture, and is increasingly gaining popularity in the United States. And while ancient Chinese and Japanese medicine believed green tea consumption could cure disease and heal wounds, recent scientific studies are beginning to establish the potential health benefits of drinking green tea, especially in weight loss, heart health, and cancer prevention.
A study recently published in the Journal of Periodontology, uncovered yet another benefit of green tea consumption. Researchers found that routine intake of green tea may also help promote healthy teeth and gums. The study analyzed the periodontal health of 940 men, and found that those who regularly drank green tea had superior periodontal health than subjects that consumed less green tea.
"It has been long speculated that green tea possesses a host of health benefits," said study author Dr. Yoshihiro Shimazaki of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. "And since many of us enjoy green tea on a regular basis, my colleagues and I were eager to investigate the impact of green tea consumption on periodontal health, especially considering the escalating emphasis on the connection between periodontal health and overall health."
Male participants aged 49 through 59 were examined on three indicators of periodontal disease: periodontal pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) of gum tissue, and bleeding on probing (BOP) of the gum tissue. Researchers observed that for every one cup of green tea consumed per day, there was a decrease in all three indicators, therefore signifying a lower instance of periodontal disease in those subjects who regularly drank green tea.
Green tea’s ability to help reduce symptoms of periodontal disease may be due to the presence of the antioxidant catechin. Previous research has demonstrated antioxidants’ ability to reduce inflammation in the body, and the indicators of periodontal disease measured in this study, PD, CAL and BOP, suggest the existence of an inflammatory response to periodontal bacteria in the mouth.
By interfering with the body’s inflammatory response to periodontal bacteria, green tea may actually help promote periodontal health, and ward off further disease. Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth, and has been associated with the progression of other diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Interesting2: An analysis of the engineering and economics for a solar water-heating system shows it to have a payback period of just two years, according to researchers in India. They report, in the International Journal of Global Energy Issues, on the success of the 1000-liter system operating at a university hostel. The current focus in the developed world is on advanced technological approaches to alternative energy sources, such as photovoltaic cells for solar power and harnessing wind and wave with elaborate systems to generate electricity.
However, the cost of such systems may be prohibitive for some applications in the developing world. They also often ignore the fact that a mundane process such as heating water might best be carried out using direct heat from the sun rather than including a waste energy-conversion step.
Vivek Khambalkar, Sharashchandra Gadge, and Dhiraj S. Karale at the Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University, in Maharashtra, India, explain how they have evaluated the various costs and benefits involved in solar hot-water production. They have compared solar hot-water production per liter with electrical energy approaches and found that solar heating is 57 percent of the internal rate of return.
"Solar energy is the only renewable energy source that has wide range of uses with commercial viability. Solar energy provide water heating, air heating and electricity through various modes of applications. The use of solar energy for thermal purposes is the most cost-effective way of utilizing the resource. A solar water heating system satisfies the need of warm water," the researchers explain.
Importantly, the payback time for the initial investment in equipment and installation is just two years. This compares very well to a photovoltaic system used for electricity generation if it were only being used to heat water. Photovoltaics have a payback period of several at least a decade and sometimes double that.
Interesting3: A new University of Florida study could help resolve a long-standing debate in shark paleontology: From which line of species did the modern great white shark evolve? For the last 150 years, some paleontologists have concluded the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, is a smaller relative of the line that produced Carcharodon megalodon, the largest carnivorous fish known.
Other paleontologists disagree, arguing the great white shark evolved instead from the broad-toothed mako shark. The second group contends megalodon, which grew to a length of 60 feet, should have its genus name switched to Carcharocles to reflect its different ancestry.
The study in the March 12 issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology falls squarely into the mako camp. It concludes megalodon and modern white sharks are much more distantly related than paleontologists initially believed.
"I think that this specimen will clarify things," said lead author Dana Ehret, a vertebrate paleontology graduate student at the Florida Museum of Natural History located on the UF campus. "When we only have isolated teeth to describe, it’s very hard to come to a definitive conclusion."
The study is based on a remarkably well preserved 4- to 5-million-year-old fossil from Peru of an early white shark species: a complete jaw with 222 teeth intact and 45 vertebrae. Most ancient shark species are known only from isolated teeth. Based on tooth size and analysis of growth rings within the vertebrae, the shark was about 20 years old and 17 to 18 feet long, a size in the range of modern white sharks.
Having the teeth in place allows researchers to see important distinguishing characteristics that help determine a fossil’s genus and species, such as whether a tooth curves toward the outside of the jaw or its midline, Ehret said. He believes the fossil belongs to a white shark species closely related to Isurus hastalis, a broad-toothed mako shark that probably grew to 27 feet long and lived 9 million to 10 million years ago.
Interesting4: Dust blown off the continents and deposited in the open ocean is an important source of nutrients for marine phytoplankton, the tiny algae that are the foundation of the ocean food web. But new findings show that some sources of dust also carry toxic elements that can kill marine phytoplankton. Researchers discovered the toxic effects during a study of how phytoplankton respond to atmospheric aerosols deposited in the northern Red Sea.
The results will be published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) the week of March 9, 2009. "This is the first time that toxicity from atmospheric aerosols has been reported for the ocean system," said first author Adina Paytan, an associate researcher in the Insitute of Marine Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"Oceanographers have always thought of dust deposition as good for phytoplankton, because it provides nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron. But we know air pollution has negative effects on the terrestrial side, and we need to think about the effects of pollutants that may be deposited in the oceans," she said.
Paytan and her coworkers collected aerosols on filters, incubated the samples with seawater, and observed the responses of phytoplankton. They found that the results depended on the wind direction. Aerosols collected from air masses originating over Europe stimulated phytoplankton growth, whereas aerosols from air originating over Africa, which carried dust from the Sahara Desert, had the opposite effect.
Aerosols from both sources supplied key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, but the Sahara sources also contained high concentrations of copper. "When we added the Sahara dust, the phytoplankton died within 24 hours," Paytan said. "We found that copper was really high in those samples, so we suspected that copper was causing the toxicity."
Interesting5: A new dating method has found that "Peking Man" is around 200,000 years older than previously thought, suggesting he somehow adapted to the cold of a mild glacial period. A dating method developed by a Purdue University researcher allowed a more accurate determination of the age of the Zhoukoudian, China, site of remains of Homo erectus, commonly known as "Peking Man." The site was found to be 680,000-780,000 years old.
Earlier estimates put the age at 230,000-500,000 years old. Darryl Granger, the Purdue professor of earth and atmospheric sciences who developed the dating method, co-led the study with Guanjun Shen of China’s Nanjing Normal University. They analyzed four stone tools and six sediment samples from the site.
"This was the first dating of this kind to be used in an early hominid site in China," Granger said. "Many of the existing data methods rely on the availability of volcanic rock, which the Zhoukoudian site does not have. This method provides a new tool to provide insight into places where dating was previously limited."
Susan C. Antón, associate professor in the Center for the Study of Human Origins at New York University said this discovery indicates "Peking Man" was somehow behaviorally able to cope with the cold environment. "There is evidence that Homo erectus had physically adapted to the cold, but they probably also had to be doing something in terms of behavior to handle the cold of a glacial period in northern China," she said.
"There isn’t good evidence of fire or any kind of skins or clothing, but evidence of such things doesn’t last long and wouldn’t be recorded particularly well in the archeological record. It doesn’t mean they didn’t have them, but we don’t have a definitive answer."Homo erectus is considered to be the ancestor species to humans and the first species that left Africa and moved into Asia. The "Peking Man" site, discovered in the late 1920s, was among the first found for Homo erectus and shaped the thoughts on the age and behavior of the species, Antón said.
Interesting6: Almost 800 years after farmers in the village of Gouda in Holland first brought a creamy new cheese to market, scientists in Germany say they have cracked the secret of Gouda’s good taste. They have identified the key protein subunits, or peptides, responsible for the complex, long-lasting flavor of the popular cheese. That discovery could lead to development of more flavorful cheeses and other dairy products.
Their study is in the current issue of ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. Thomas Hofmann, Simone Toelstede and Andreas Dunkel note that the scientists have tried for years to pinpoint the natural molecules responsible for the long-lasting taste and wonderful texture of Gouda cheese.
It develops during the aging or ripening stage, with aged Gouda more full and complex, with longer-lasting flavor, than the younger version. Cheese lovers prize this characteristic taste, known as the "kokumi sensation." The scientists solved the age-old mystery by applying a molecular sensory science approach.
It combined mass spectroscopy and other high-tech analytical instruments and sophisticated sensory tools to identify six gamma-glutamyl peptides that appear to be mainly responsible for the kokumi sensation in Gouda. This knowledge could be used to enhance the flavor of dairy products by technological means, the researchers say.
Interesting7: The advent of modern appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators had a profound impact on 20th Century society, according to a new Université de Montréal study. Plug-in conveniences transformed women’s lives and enabled them to enter the workforce, says Professor Emanuela Cardia, from the Department of Economics. Within a short time-span, household technology became accessible to the majority.
In the late 1910s, a refrigerator sold for $1,600 and 26 years later such appliances could be purchased for $170. Access to electric stoves, washing machines and vacuum cleaners was also generalized. "These innovations changed the lives of women," says Professor Cardia.
"Although it wasn’t a revolution per se, the arrival of this technology in households had an important impact on the workforce and the economy." Professor Cardia based her research on more than 3,000 censuses conducted between 1940 and 1950, from thousands of American households, across urban and rural areas.
"We calculated that women who loaded their stove with coal saved 30 minutes everyday with an electric stove," says Cardia. "The result is that women flooded the workforce. In 1900, five percent of married women had jobs. In 1980, that number jumped to 51 percent." In 1913, the vacuum cleaner became available, in 1916 it was the washing machine, in 1918 it was the refrigerator, in 1947 the freezer, and in 1973 the microwave was on the market.
All of these technologies had an impact on home life, but none had a stronger impact than running water. "We often forget that running water is a century-old innovation in North America, and it is even more recent in Europe. Of all innovations, it’s the one with the most important impact," says Cardia.
In 1890, 25 percent of American households had running water and eight percent had electricity. In 1950, 83 percent had running water and 94% had electricity. According to Cardia, in 1900, a woman spent 58 hours per week on household chores. In 1975, it was 18 hours.
Interesting8: The moon has been hiding the scars of its violent, asteroid-filled past. Most surveys of lunar impact craters have used photos, but Herbert Frey of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, wanted to know if there were any old craters buried beneath younger ones. So he studied elevation mapping data from the Clementine mission in the 1990s. He also used simulations to identify impact signatures, such as a roughly circular crater with a thin crust and a thicker rim.
This approach uncovered 150 craters more than 300 kilometers wide instead of 45. Frey is now trying to work out the age of the newly found craters. If they are the same age as the others, this would support the idea that asteroids bombarded the inner solar system for a particularly intense period about 4 billion years ago. Some researchers think that life may have existed before this bombardment, but if so, its survival now seems less likely, says Andrew Valley of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
"The probability that early primitive life, if it existed, could find refuge, even in sediments beneath the ocean would be reduced," he says. Other researchers, however, disagree, arguing that life could have survived the barrage of impacts deep underground. Frey, who will present the work at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Woodlands, Texas, later this month, expects more subtle features to be discovered when the Asian lunar probes release further data and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launches in May.
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