ESRI Map of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

ESRI has produced a map that displays carbon dioxide emissions from 1960 to 2008. The map is dynamic in that it allows the user to pick the year, or consecutive years, to display in addition to having the ability to "play" the map as an animated timeline. Another cool feature of the map is that it has two sets of symbology; the map displays countries' total emissions as a color and relative emissions are represented by dots. For more information, including how the map was made, visit ESRI's Map Story Profile.

La Niña and the Droughts

Towards the end of August, speculation began that La Niña was at work again causing extended droughts in both the Southwest US and East Africa. Last week, the verdict came in from NOAA: La Niña is back.

“'This means drought is likely to continue in the drought-stricken states of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico,' said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center. 'La Niña also often brings colder winters to the Pacific Northwest and the northern Plains, and warmer temperatures to the southern states.'"


This Voice of America article explains the consequences in regard to East Africa.

"Wassila Thiaw studies Africa for the Climate Prediction Center at the National Weather Service in the United States. With a La Niña, Mr. Thiaw says the easterly winds that are supposed to bring moisture into East Africa are reduced." 
"Starting late last year, rains that were supposed to fall over Somalia, southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya failed. That part of the Horn of Africa has a second rainy season from March through May. Mr. Thiaw says that one failed, too, but for different reasons."

Consequently, it seems that the conditions in areas being affected by extended drought, like the Southwest US and East Africa, will not improve in the near future. 

La Niña is only one phase of a climate pattern known as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The video below, from the NOAA Environmental Visualizations Labratory, shows 22 years of sea surface temperature. The ENSO pattern can be notably seen on the west coast of South America near Peru.

Aftermath of Irene, Next up: Tropical Storm Katia

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene came through the east coast this weekend, killing at least 38 and leaving an estimated 3.3 million people without electricity. Connecticut's eastern half of the state has been especially affected by power outages, which can be seen on Connecticut Light & Power's map of power outages. For information on the federal government's response to Irene, check out this National Oceanic Service website. Next up? Tropical Storm Katia is projected to strengthen to a major hurricane Sunday morning in the Caribbean.

Update: Hurricane Irene Approaches US Coast

A time-lapse of Hurricane Irene from the GOES-east satellite (see more from NOAA Visualizations)

On the same day a 5.9 magnitude earthquake shook the eastern seaboard, Hurricane Irene is gaining strength. It is expected to hit the US mainland this weekend.

Irene's projected path as of Tuesday 5 PM.

Irene was expected to reach Category 3 sometime today, and some forecasts have Irene as reaching Category 4 before making landfall. We, here in Connecticut, are projected to feel the effects sometime on Sunday.

Warming Ocean Leading to Less California Coast Fog

A recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel discusses the declining fog on the California coast. Throughout the second half of the 20th Century, scientist have found that the fog, which is so critical for the region's vegetation, has been affected by warming ocean temperatures. Researchers are quoted in the article as saying:

• "Redwood forests and other plants are so dependent on fog and fog is declining; this spells an uncertain future for redwood trees and redwood forest ecosystems."
• "The Central coast has such rich diversity of local endemic plants -- more so than anywhere in California. A decrease in fog could shift the vegetation in general and we could lose these species."
• "Fog formation is very much dependent on warm air interacting with the cold ocean. If you warm up the ocean surface, the contrast between the atmosphere and sea surface temperature goes down."

To see the beautiful landscape which the fog enables, check out this cool time lapse of the fog around the Santa Ynez Mountains near Santa Barbara, CA!