Tropical Upper Atmosphere 'Fingerprint' of Global Warming

The pulse of the QBO has weakened substantially at some altitudes over the last six decades, according to a new study by scientists at theInternational Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii atManoa, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The decline in thestrength of the QBO is consistent with computer model projections of how the upper atmosphere responds to global warming induced by increased greenhouse gas concentrations. The study appears in the May 23, 2013, online issue of Nature . "This is the first demonstration of a systematiclong-term trend in the observed QBO record," says co-author Kevin Hamilton and Director of the IPRC. "We see a similar trend in computer models of the global atmosphere when they simulate the last century using the historical changes of greenhouse gases. So this change in upper atmospheric behavior can be considered part of the "fingerprint" of theexpected global warming signal in the climate system." The global atmospheric circulation is characterized byair slowly rising in the tropics into the upper atmosphere and sinking at higher latitudes. While this circulationis so slow that a blob of air may take decades to travel tothe upper atmosphere, it impacts the chemical composition of the global atmosphere because many chemical properties are very different in the lower and upper atmosphere layers. Although computer models used to project climate changes from increasing greenhouse gas concentrations consistently simulate an increasing upwardairflow in the tropics with global warming, this flow cannot be directly observed. "We demonstrated that the mean upward-air motion suppresses the strength of the QBO winds in the models and thus interpret our observed weakened QBO trend as confirmation that the mean upward velocity in the tropics has indeed been increasing," notes Hamilton. Hamilton provides an exampleof why the upward airflow is so significant: "The manufacture of ozone-destroying chemicals such as the freon compounds used in the past in spray cans and in refrigerators has been largely banned for over 20 years. These chemicals, however, remain in the atmosphere for many decades. They are slowly flushed out of the lower atmosphere into the upper atmosphere where they are destroyed. Stronger mean upward airflow transports these chemicals more quickly into the upper atmosphere, and the ozone layer will recover more quickly to its natural state before the introduction of man-made freon compounds."

GPS data could improve tsunami early warnings

The researchers say that GPS technology could provide vital extra minutes before a tsunami strikes Scientists say they have found a way to provide faster and more accurate early warning systems for tsunamis. A German team says GPS satellite-based positioning could
offer detailed information about the events within minutes of an earthquake occurring. They believe the technology could have improved alerts issued when the devastating tsunami hit Japan in 2011. The study is published in Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences . When an underwater earthquake happens, with the power to generate a tsunami, every second counts. The shifting tectonic platescan generate giant walls ofwater that can travel towards land in minutes, giving little time to put evacuation plans into action. Precise measurements Existing early warning systems use seismological data, measuring the wavesof energy that are generated as the earth moves and shakes. You can predict thetsunami and see how high a wave could be expected, with some accuracy Dr Andreas Hoechner, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences But in the vital first stagesof an earthquake, this is not always reliable. Now a team from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences says that satellite navigation technology could help. GPS sensors placed around the coastlines of vulnerable countries could make highly precise measurements of how underwater tremors shift the ground. Lead researcher Dr Andreas Hoechner explained: "In case of a subduction earthquake, one plate slips under another plate. "It is measured in terms of relative displacement. Thisdeformation is mostly above the source, but the coastal area is also deformed and this can be picked up by GPS." He said that this information could be used to reconstruct the source of the earthquake and calculate its magnitude. "Then you can then predictthe tsunami and see how high a wave could be expected, with some accuracy." This process would take a matter of minutes, which would allow alerts to be issued extremely quickly. Disseminate warnings In the case of the 2011 tsunami that killed 16,000 people in Japan, the technology could have made a significant difference. Although the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning three minutes after the earthquake hit, it underestimated the scale of the event. It suggested that the quake was 7.9 magnitude; it was actually 30 times more powerful. By looking at data collectedby GPS stations in Japan - which at the time were not used to measure earthquakes - the researchers calculated that this would have provided an accurate estimate of the magnitude within three minutes. A number of countries are now installing GPS networks, including Chile and the US. But Dr Hoechner said that as well as having accuratealert systems, well thought-out evacuation plans were also essential. He said: "One point is to have the technology to realise what the earthquake is and where tsunami will be. But it is at least as important is to disseminate the warning. "You have to have the infrastructure to transmit this information to the population, and the population has to be readyto know what to do."

Oklahoma tornado: Mayor of Moore pushes for shelter law

Glenn Lewis said he would propose an ordinance requiring a reinforced shelter to be built in everynew home. Volunteers are now engaged in a recovery mission - delivering supplies and helping people find accommodation. The White House says thatPresident Barack Obama will travel to Moore on Sunday. The Oklahoma medical examiner's office said 23 of the 24 victims had now been identified and that 10of them were children. Disaster centres Mr Lewis said he would propose the ordinance in the next few days and wasconfident it would pass thesix-member city council. The houses are broken (and the cars, and the school, and the street signs), but the people are not. The law would require a storm shelter or safe roomin all single- and multi-family homes and could be in place in a few months. "We'll try to get it passed as soon as I can," Mr Lewis told CNN. An underground safe roomcan cost several thousanddollars. More than 100 schools in Oklahoma had been provided with state-funded safe rooms. But Plaza Towers Elementary - where sevenof the children killed in the tornado died - and one other school hit by the storm, Briarwood Elementary, did not. The tornado ripped the roof off Plaza Towers Elementary and knocked down walls as students and teachers cowered in hallways and bathrooms. The tornado, which the National Weather Service (NWS) listed as an EF-5 - the most powerful type on the Fujita scale - destroyed entire blocks of Moore, an Oklahoma City suburb of 56,000 people. The twister packed winds of at least 200mph (320km/h). Mr Lewis said he did not expect the death toll of 24 to rise. Some 237 people were known to have been injured. US media reaction "One day at a time" is the headline in the Oklahoman online, over a banner aerial picture of the rubble ofdevastated homes. When Moore gets hit"we kick back" it quotes defiant residents as saying asthey pick up the pieces. Oklahoma City's Journal Record shows Governor Mary Fallin flying in a helicopter over the devastation in Moore to illustrate its report that the state legislature proposed providing $45m (£30m)from the Rainy Day Fund for relief efforts. Local news channel KFOR-TV reports theheart-rending story ofa single father who searched all night for his daughter only to find she had been killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School. Further afield, the New York Times carries a front-page picture gallery showingresidents reacting to the destruction. It goeson to describe the minutes before the tornado struck in PlazaTowers - a teacher huddling pupils into theshelter of a bathroom as the sirens wailed. In an opinion piece, USA Today suggeststhat, while forecasts and sirens undoubtedly saved many lives, more reinforced shelters should be built. Oklahoma tornado:Zoomable image On Wednesday, the Oklahoma medical examiner's office said that all the children who died had now been identified - they ranged in age from four months to nine years. Medical examiner's spokesman Amy Elliott saidofficials were still trying to contact the relatives of eight of the victims. Hundreds of volunteer workers and federal officials have fanned out across the suburb to deliver food and other supplies to residents whose homes had been swept away. Disaster centres have been set up and help given to people to assess what they have lost and what their immediate needsare. Jerry Lojka, a spokesman for the Oklahoma emergency services, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that search-and-rescue dog teams would continue their work"to be sure nothing is overlooked", but he added: "There's going to be more of a transition to recovery." Craig Fugate, of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), told MSNBC: "Right now it's about getting people a place to stay thathave lost their homes. So we're going to start going neighbourhood to neighbourhood and talking to people and seeing what they're going to need." Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitanohas arrived in Moore to monitor the assistance being provided to first responders. At a press conference she urged people in need to register with Fema so that they could get assistance. Ms Napolitano said Fema would be in Moore long after the television cameras had left. Residents are to be allowed back to what remains of their homes from 15:00 local time (21:00GMT) on Wednesday. One resident, Curtis Carver, was waiting for the go-ahead to return. He told Agence France-Presse: "It was my home, my kids' home. Now it's gone. There's nothing left. It's a pile of sticks... and they're keeping me away." Tornado's cost The NWS said the twister'spath was 17 miles (27km) long and 1.3 miles wide andit battered Moore for about45 minutes on Monday afternoon. Residents were given 16 minutes' warning before the tornado touched down - officials said such advisories were usually issued eight to 10 minutes ahead of a twister. Oklahoma insurance assessors have put the estimate of the damage caused at more than $2bn (£1.31bn).

TROPICAL MONSOON NATURAL VEGETATION

The natural vegetation of tropical monsoon lands depends on the amount of summer rainfall. The monsoon lands with three distinct seasons, cold, hot and rainy, exert great influence on the appearance of the vegetation. Trees have to be fairly tolerant of local physical and climatic conditions to survive. They grow rapidly in the rainy season, shed their leaves during the hot dry season and remain comparatively inactive in the cool season. Trees are normally deciduous since they shed their leaves during hot dry season tn withstand excessive transpiration. The overall vegetation varies from dense tropical evergreen vegetation to thorny scrubland, due to differences in precipitation in different parts of the monsoon lands. Where the rainfall is heavy, e.g. Southern Burma, peninsular India, northern Australia and coastal regions with a tropical marine climate, the resultant vegetation is forest. The forests are more open and less luxuriant than the equatorial forest with far fewer species. The less dense forest allows more sunlight to reach the ground, resulting in denser undergrowth. Bamboo thickets which predominate in regions of intermediate rainfall often grow to great heights.

THE TROPICAL MARINE CLIMATE

This type of climate is exprience along the eastern coasts of tropical lands, receiving steady rainfall from the Trade Winds all the time. The rainfall is both orographic, where the moist trades meet upland masses as in eastern Brazil, and convectional, due to intense heating during the day and in summer. Its tendency is towards a summer maximum as in monsoon lands, but without any distinct dry period. There is no month without any rainfall. The range of temperature is typical of the tropical latitudes with a maximum of 28 'C (82 'F) in January and a minimum of 21 'C (70 'F) in July - a range of 6.6 'C (12 'F) for the year. Due to the steady influence of the trades, the Tropical Marine Climate is more favourable for habitation, but it is prone to severe tropical cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons.