February 21-22, 2009
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday afternoon:
Lihue, Kauai – 74
Honolulu, Oahu – 79
Kaneohe, Oahu – 76
Kahului, Maui – 75
Hilo, Hawaii – 74
Kailua-kona – 80
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 5 p.m. Saturday evening:
Kailua-kona – 78F
Lihue, Kauai – 70
Haleakala Crater – missing (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 30 (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 Saturday afternoon:
0.06 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
0.11 Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
0.02 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
1.41 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.35 Glenwood, Big Island
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a strong 1036 millibar high pressure system located far to the north of the islands, with low pressure cells positioned to the NE…which will cause breezy NE to ENE winds both Saturday and Sunday, although lighter than the last several days.
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
Near perfect Kalalau Valley…on Kauai
Photo Credit: flickr.com
The trade winds will continue, although be lighter for the next several days…then becoming more blustery later in the new week ahead. The recent northeasterly breezes will be shifting to a more typical east-notheast direction, and slowing down some in the process. These more classic trade winds will bring somewhat warmer air with them over the next couple days. Looking ahead into the new week, we see a very strong high pressure system moving into the area north of Hawaii by mid-week…triggering blustery trade winds over the following days.
The recent sun dimming and filtering high and middle level clouds are now gone…finally! Meanwhile, the clouds being carried our way on the trade wind flow, will bring low cloudiness over the windward sides as well. There won’t be all that many showers falling though, as the overlying atmosphere remains quite dry and stable. The leeward sides, which have been short on warm sunshine lately, should finally begin to warm up some Sunday and Monday.
~~~ Friday evening I saw the new film called He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), starring a whole host of famous actors, perhaps the most well known, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Aniston. I’m not usually attracted to these kinds of films, which is being billed as a comedy about relationships and married life. You folks that are regular readers of this narrative page, know the kinds of films that I’m more drawn to.
I’m trying to branch out a little though, wanting to try something that’s a little off my beaten path for a change. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised at my impression of this film, which turned out to be positive. It was a long film, lasting 2 1/2 hours, and I enjoyed the whole thing. It was fun to see all the beautiful ladies, and all the handsome men playing with each others hearts. I was actually touched several times, with the emotions that the director was able to coax from my own heart. I’ll feel more inclined to take in a few films like this one in the future. Here’s a trailer, so you can get a sneak peek if you’re interested.
~~~ It’s Saturday evening, and I’m getting this page updated later than usual. I did a deep cleaning of my weather tower this afternoon, and when I got done, after putting the vacuum cleaner on my keyboard…it wouldn’t work. So, after scrambling quite a bit in trying to get the wireless keyboard working again, finally had to hook up a wired keyboard. This fixed things up, and I’m finally able to get to work again. Oh well, these sorts of things happen sometimes. At any rate, the sun is well done, I mean well down, in the western horizon, as I’m typing out these words. The main thing today was the clearing of the high and middle level clouds, which left mostly sunny skies behind this afternoon, which still exist here in upcountry Maui, as it’s almost dark outside. I can see some clouds over on the windward side, but that isn’t unusual with the trade winds blowing. I’ll be back again Sunday morning, and likely reporting fairly normal trade wind weather through the beginning of the new work week, before the stronger trade winds start up again around Wednesday. I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be reading from! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: On Sunday, nominated movie stars will show up at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre hoping to walk away clutching one of those glowing statuettes. But there’s more to that golden guy than meets the eye. When they pick up their trophies, the winning celebs are toting around 8.5 pounds of metal. Oscar is 13.5 inches (34 centimeters) tall. The Oscar statuettes, officially dubbed the Academy Award of Merit, have a 24-karat gold plating on their surface. Beneath the gold, the statuette’s interior is a metal mixture called Britannium, also called Britannia metal. It is an alloy of tin (93 percent), antimony (5 percent), and copper (2 percent).
It’s known for its smooth texture and silvery appearance. Though this mixture of metals has been the standard for the shiny trophies for several decades, it hasn’t always been the composition of choice. The statuettes presented at the first Academy awards ceremonies, a private dinner on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, were gold-plated solid bronze. During World War II, when metals and other materials were scarce, the Oscars were made of plaster. After the war, the plaster statues were then turned in for the normal gold-plated versions, according to the U. S. Geological Survey. Since the first Academy awards banquet, 2,701 statuettes have been presented. New statuettes are cast each January, then molded, polished and buffed by workers at R.S. Owens & Company, which has made the awards since 1982.
Interesting2: Some outdoor naturescapes are enjoying a little extra sparkle – with assistance from old beer bottles and other recyclables. Bits of repurposed glass, in jewel-like nuggets, provide a decorative accent at the base of hedges, potted greens and other types of landscaping. The product, formed by grinding various types of recycled glass, is sold at some landscape shops around the nation, and also via online retailers. In Austin, Texas, the solid waste department gives the stuff away for free. Depending on the supplier, the glass pebbles are available in an assortment of hues. Also, the product, sometimes referred to as "glass mulch," is tumbled to round out sharp edges.
ASG Glass in Utah produces landscape glass in a wide variety of individual colors and blends. Some are the natural color of the bottle or window being recycled, others feature added pigment, according to ASG Glass president Berkeley Booth. The array of colors allows gardeners flexibility for customized designs. A football team ordered a truckload of green and white glass, which probably will be used as a team logo, Booth said. He also noted that often, blue hues (such as the Caribbean mix, featuring soft sea tones and clear pieces) are used to form a faux stream or pond that winds along a portion of the landscape.
At a flower show, someone created a diamond design with pink glass, and an art center in Arizona created a striking look for cactus planters by lining each one with a different color of glass. The price for the ASG Glass products depends on the color and quantity. The 25-pound bags, for example, are between $20 and $108. Usually, about seven pounds of glass is needed per square foot. Online supplier is EnvrioGLAS, in Plano, Texas touts another environmental benefit of the recycled product.
"Glass mulch does not absorb water like wood mulch, so the water goes where it is intended – into the plants – and even less water is used." Most of its products are sold in 50-pound bags for around $35. Charlie Nardozzi, senior horticulturist for the National Garden Association in Vermont, said he regards the product as primarily a decorative feature. Unlike organic mulch, glass doesn’t break down and fertilize the soil. He said he’s not sure if it offers other mulch functions, such as keeping the soil cool and moist. It does, however, offer an interesting aesthetic value.
Interesting3: About half of the oil in the ocean bubbles up naturally from the seafloor, with Earth giving it up freely like it was of no value. Likewise, NASA satellites collect thousands of images and 1.5 terrabytes of data every year, but some of it gets passed over because no one thinks there is a use for it. Scientists recently found black gold bubbling up from an otherwise undistinguished mass of ocean imagery. Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanographer at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, and colleagues from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth (UMass), found that they could detect oil seeping naturally from the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico by examining streaks amid the reflected sunlight on the ocean’s surface.
Most researchers usually discard such "sun glint" data as if they were over-exposed photos from a camera. "Significant sun glint is sometimes thought of as trash, particularly when you are looking for biomass and chlorophyll," said Hu. "But in this case, we found treasure." The new technique could provide a more timely and cost-effective means to survey the ocean for oil seeps, to monitor oil slicks, and to differentiate human-induced spills from seeps. Oil decreases the roughness of the ocean surface. Depending on the angles of the camera and of the light reflection, oil creates contrasting swaths that can show up in airborne images as either lighter or darker than the surrounding waters.
Interesting4: While the nation as a whole gained freshwater wetlands from 1998 to 2004, a new report by NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documents a continuing loss of coastal wetlands in the eastern United States. The new report, Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Coastal Watersheds of the Eastern United States, shows a loss of 59,000 acres each year in the coastal watersheds of the Great Lakes, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico from 1998 to 2004. “This report shows the nation’s need to expand the effort to conserve and rebuild valuable coastal wetlands,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “Coastal wetlands are nurseries for important commercial and recreational fish and are vital to many threatened and endangered species.
They also provide natural protection to coastal communities from the most damaging effects of hurricanes and storm surges.” One reason wetland loss is concentrated in coastal watersheds is that with large numbers of people living here – more than half of the nation’s population lives in coastal counties in densities five times greater than inland counties – the building of roads, homes and businesses have accelerated wetlands loss, particularly along the Gulf of Mexico. Wetland restoration is also more difficult in coastal areas where land values are high and factors such as storms and large expanses of soft muddy ground hamper restoration efforts.
Interesting5: Space scientists from the University of Leicester are keeping a close eye on a ‘green comet’ fast approaching the Earth – reaching its nearest point to us on February 24. Comet Lulin will streak by the earth within 38 million miles – 160 times farther than the moon -and is expected to be visible to the naked eye. Discovered only a year ago, the comet gains its green colour from poisonous cyanogen and diatomic carbon gases in its atmosphere. This will be the comet’s first visit to the Earth’s inner solar system- and will enable the team from the University of Leicester to gain valuable insights into the comet.
They are using NASA’s Swift satellite to monitor Comet Lulin as it closes on Earth. The spacecraft has recorded simultaneous ultraviolet and X-ray images of a comet. “Swift is the ideal spacecraft with which to observe this comet”, said Jenny Carter, a scientist working with Dr Andrew Read at the University of Leicester, UK. “We alerted the Swift team that the comet might be visible” said Dr Read “and they quickly responded to take images using both the X-ray (XRT) and Ultraviolet/Optical Telescopes (UVOT) on-board.”
Dr Julian Osborne, leader of the Swift project at Leicester, said ‘The wonderful ease of scheduling of Swift and its joint UV and X-ray capability make Swift the observatory of choice for observations like these.’ Carter added: “It is important to carry out these observations as they give us clues about the origin of comets and the solar system". As the University of Leicester has played a major role in developing Swift’s X-Ray Telescope and is an important centre for the study of high-energy emission from objects within our Solar System, it is an ideal place for this study to be carried out.
A comet is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. These "dirty snowballs" cast off gas and dust whenever they venture near the sun. Comet Lulin, which is formally known as C/2007 N3, was discovered last year by astronomers at Taiwan’s Lulin Observatory.
Interesting6: Think of it as a galactic garbage dump. With a recent satellite collision still fresh on minds, participants at a meeting in the Austrian capital this week are discussing ways to deal with space debris — junk that is clogging up the Earth’s orbit. Some suggest a cosmic cleanup is the way to go. Others say time, energy and funds are better spent on minimizing the likelihood of future crashes by improving information sharing. The informal discussions on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space arose from concern about the Feb. 10 collision of a derelict Russian spacecraft and a working U.S. Iridium commercial satellite.
The incident, which is still under investigation, generated space junk that could circle the Earth and threaten other satellites for the next 10,000 years; it added to the already worrying amount of debris surrounding the planet. Nicholas L. Johnson, NASA’s chief scientist for orbital debris, said about 19,000 objects are present in Earth’s low and high orbit — including about 900 satellites, but much of it is just plain junk. He estimated that included in the 19,000 count are about a thousand objects larger than 4 inches that were created by last week’s satellite collision, in addition to many smaller ones. He predicted that if more junk accumulates, the likelihood of similar collisions — currently very rare — will increase by 2050.
To Johnson, the "true solution" in the long run is to go get the junk — or push it away to a higher altitude before it has time to crash into anything. "Today’s environment is all right but the environment is going to get worse, therefore I need to start thinking about the future and how can I clean up sometime in the future," he said. Johnson is the co-lead of an International Academy of Astronautics study that is exploring ways of extracting space debris from the Earth’s orbit. Some of the suggestions sound pretty spaced out.
One proposes attaching balloons to pieces of debris to increase their atmospheric drag and bring them back to Earth faster. Another, said Johnson, foresees attaching a 10-mile (16-kilometer) electrodynamic tether to debris that would generate a current, which then could be controlled from the ground enabling technicians to bring it down. Many scientists are skeptical about the possibility of a cleanup.
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