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.
The Oldest Arctic IceThe oldest non-glacial ice in the northern hemisphere is a small remnant of the former Ellesmere Ice Shelf which began forming about 5500 years ago. That remnant is breaking up. Where the ice shelf has vanished the fjords are free of perennial ice for the first time in 3000 to 5500 years. It seems likely that very soon the oldest non-glacial ice will be a mere 5 years old, or less.
Arctic Ice April 2011The Nares ice bridge is still blocking the strait. My forecast of breakup on April 07 ± 3 days was wrong. A forecast is only as good as the assumptions it is based on. My forecast was based on valid assumptions, but I missed something vital: the 'plug' in the ice bridge isn't just consolidated ice: it is homogenous ice. It is likely also that it is less salty than ordinary first year sea ice. That would mean that the ice bridge is much stronger than average.
A Brief History Of Climate Science"One of the lesser-known branches of climatology is historical climatology, the study of past climates from historical records of instrumental observations and weather descriptions, ..."Vicky Slonosky
Sahara Dust In European SkiesThe skies over southern England were hazy on Friday April 08 2011. In the evening the usual colors of sunset were absent. A muddy grey-brown haze could be seen along the horizon. That haze was caused by dust from the Sahara.Dust from Sahara over Biscay, the English Channel and IrelandDust cloud from Sahara off the coast of Portugal
Nares Ice Bridge BreakupThe ice bridge in Nares Strait at the Kane Basin outlet to Baffin Bay has begun to break up.There was a plug of consolidated ice solidly wedged across the channel. Consolidated ice is very strong in compression, but weak in tension, as I have noted in other articles, such as Bridges That Build Themselves. From that article:
Relic Finds Reveal Zulu War Cover-UpPaleontologists searching for fossils in a remote area of South Africa were astonished to find spent bullets and cartridge case remnants in an area not previously known as a battle site. A chemical analysis of the cases and traces of propellant identified the items as being from the time of Britain's wars with the Zulus and the Boers. Investigators seeking further information about the previously unrecorded presence of British soldiers in the area have found papers in British Government archives which show that a third battle was fought after Isandlwana and
An Arctic Decade 2001 - 2011For thousands of years the Arctic has been covered in perennial ice with seasonal changes at the margins and some natural variation, seen as losses and recoveries of extent.For hundreds of years observers have noted that seasonal and local variations at the margins can leave some relatively small regions ice free one year, and solidly iced up in other years.
Fram Jam Floe FlowsLying between Greenland and Spitsbergen, Fram Strait is the major export path through which ice is lost from the main Arctic sea ice pack.Ice floes flowing through Fram Strait sometimes flow freely and at other times jam together, choking the Strait and slowing down the rate of ice export.In this article I attempt to show how studying the behavior of sea ice as a material which exists in many forms can lead to a better understanding of the dynamics of Arctic sea ice export.Location of Fram StraitGranules and aggregates
RMS Titanic - Lessons From HistoryTitanic 100 FestivalBelfast's most famous creation, Titanic, will be commemorated in an extended annual festival from 31 March - 31 May 2011, which will include key dates of the ship's build.http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/It is unlikely that anybody involved in the design, construction and operation of RMS Titanic ever claimed that she was unsinkable. But the rumor persists that the claim was made.
Arctic Ice March 2011 Update #2The melt season of 2010 ended with a low extent and with little ice older than two years. There are strong indications that the winter of 2010 - 2011 did not compact and thicken the sea ice as much as would normally be expected.Arctic sea ice extent averaged over December 2010 was 12.00 million square kilometers (4.63 million square miles). This is the lowest December ice extent recorded in satellite observations from 1979 to 2010, 270,000 square kilometers (104,000 square miles) below the previous record low of 12.27 million square kilometers (4.74 million square miles) set in 2006 and 1.35 million square kilometers (521,000 square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average. ...
Reading The CryosphereA picture is worth a thousand words - but only if you can speak the language.When examining satellite images of the cryosphere it helps to know something of the mechanisms which can create the effects seen. The skills needed in interpreting these images can be developed by looking at Google Earth or Wikimapia images without any annotations. Check the history of an area and then go relic hunting. Alternatively, look at some satellite images, find something odd and then try to guess what it is. In general, form follows function. For example, banks of earth in grids or rings not known to be prehistoric indicate that a site was probably once connected with pyrotechnic activities.
How The Media Has Hurt The Japanese PeopleFirst and foremost I have a personal message for the 180 or so heroes who have been working in shifts around the clock to save their nation from a worse disaster than the one that Japan has already suffered.To the Heroes of Fukushima: May you each be most correctly and sincerely honored - not just by by your own nation, but by the whole world. You have risked your lives to save others. You are morally remarkable people who have actively taken part in serving our global society. Through your diligence and perseverance you have become public role models. You each deserve at least these three medals of honor:
