Understanding the Voynich Manuscript #1 Tom, Dick and Harry explain a statistical method. The mysterious Voynich Manuscript. A simple analysis of a sufficiently large text can reveal much about the topic of that text, if the language is known. If the text, as in the case of the Voynich Manuscript, is written in an unknown script, then the same simple analytical method can point the way to the underlying language, or language group.
Wild WellsCaution: satire alert!The current slight mishap in the Gulf of Mexico is just another oil spill.So says BP and the media, and we all know we can trust them to be honest and ethical.The Gulf disaster is not an oil spill - it's a wild well. I hate weasel words1.
New Volcano Plume - New Partial Flight BanA significant ash plume from Iceland is headed to U.K. airspace.Precautionary flight bans affect Irish Republic, Northern Ireland and Scotland's Outer Hebrides.The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has informed Irish-based airlines that it will be imposing restriction on all flights in and out of Ireland from 0700hrs local until 1300hrs tomorrow, Tuesday, 4th May 2010 due to risk of ash ingestion in aircraft engines. Ireland falls within the predicted area of ash concentrations that exceed acceptable engine manufacturer tolerance levels.
Oil Spills And Troubled WatersThe ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has much of the anti-environmentalist bloggersphere ducking its collective head beneath the parapet. Suddenly, America is aware that offshore oil drilling has the potential to wipe out the livelihoods of entire coastal communities. Perhaps, now, proposals to drill for oil in the Arctic will be examined more closely, and the views of indigenous populations considered more adequately. If disaster mitigation in the Gulf is difficult, imagine how much more difficult it would be in Arctic waters.Latest news and updates
Arctic Tipping Points - #6: Are We There Yet?What might cause the Arctic sea ice to have a tipping point?Are we about to reach, or have we already reached a tipping point?This series is a follow-on to my 3-part series Arctic Ice 2010.
The Light Of ReasonThe greatest tool ever invented by kings and dictators was propaganda. Disinformation can help to win wars. In WW2 the German naval codes were broken at Bletchley. At about the same time, a new type of radar had been developed to detect surfaced submarines. The U-boats would run surfaced at night to re-charge their batteries. The code-breaking allowed allied aircraft to narrow down the search area so that the radar could be deployed more effectively. An aircraft guided to a search area by good intelligence could be further guided by its on-board radar. Once over the target the aircraft would switch on its high intensity Leigh light and illuminate the problem.
Interpreting Arctic Satellite Images And Data #2 - AnimationsNow that NASA's MODIS rapid response system is back online I am able to present some animations which I hope you will find interesting.This article is a continuation of Interpreting Arctic Satellite Images And Data.
Interpreting Arctic Satellite Images And DataScience writers and media reporters owe a duty of care to their readers: a duty to present facts undistorted by personal opinion or agenda.That duty of care extends not just to what is written, but to what is portrayed in graphs and images.A graphic produced for a specific science-oriented context can be as misleading if taken out of context as any cherry-picked data or quoted words.
Sermeq Kujalleq - Jakobshavn Isbrae RetreatThe Jakobshavn Isbrae, or Jakobshavn glacier, now becoming known by its local name - Sermeq Kujalleq - has been observed retreating since about 1851.Near the small town of Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn, Sermeq Kujalleq is the Northern hemisphere's largest glacier with an outlet to the sea. It drains about 6.5% of Greenland's ice sheet. The ice stream's contribution to sea level rise is about 0.06 millimeters - about 0.002 inches - per year, roughly 4% of the 20th century rate of sea level increase.
Arctic Tipping Points - #5: Where Warm Water Meets IceThe flows of meltwater and ocean currents in the Arctic make Niagara Falls look like a kitchen tap.
Arctic Tipping Points - #4: The Broken Bridges Of Nares
Arctic Tipping Points - #3: More About FeedbackThis series is a follow-on to my 3-part series Arctic Ice 2010. It begins with part #1: Background And Recent History. In Arctic Tipping Points - #2: Some Feedback Mechanisms I wrote:
Eyjafjallajökull, Gígjökull, Jökulhlaup, GosmökkurThe world is suddenly faced with the need to learn how to pronounce Islenska, the Icelandic language.With much of European airspace closed due to volcanic ash in the skies, people are most commonly asking how long it will last, and if it may get worse. Also, the media continues to confuse the issue with talk of an eruption under, variously, a glacier, an ice cap, an ice sheet.There is a world of difference between an ice sheet kilometers thick, and the Gígjökull glacier and the Eyjafjallajökull ice cap.
