Climate Summary in the August Bugle

I published a summary of climate science in The Bugle, an local paper published by Knight Publishing:

• The Bugle

In the summary, I provided my blog address for anyone wishing to comment. Comments and criticism are welcome here.

Climbing over Graffiti

This is a personal post for friends who can't view the videos I posted on Facebook, but not so personal that I can't share for anyone. I like to rock climb, and I keep in shape in a nearby canyon that two years ago looked nearly pristine. Within the past two years there has been a increase in graffiti, such that I've been expecting some of my favorite climbs to become slicked up by layers of paint. This finally happened last weekend, so as personal therapy, I tried to dramatize the change in adhesion and therefore the tangible damage to me from someone's vandalism.

However, though I'm confident the new paint on my critical foothold will make it more slippery, and therefore, the climb more hazardous, it's hard to train one's body to not compensate for the increased hazard. So here was my first attempt to illustrate the increased risk of falling:

That was too easy. This day's temperature and humidity made for optimal adhesion between my climbing shoe and foothold. Plus, my instincts for preservation were strong.

Here's my second attempt:

But I think I over-acted, and I was afraid to simulate a genuine fall.

After two more tries I think my dramatization shows would would happen to me on a less than ideal day:

And last, a bit of climbing on a clean rock.

jg

Illustrations for Seal of Approval, a Article about Bio-Logging

I've had the pleasure of contributing a few more illustrations to an article on Skeptical Science. I've shared the illustrations here, but recommend the article: Seal of Approval: How Marine Mammals Provide Important Climate Data.

A summary of advances in the use of animals to carry sensors.

A summary of the data collection cycle of an ARGO ocean sensor.

A summary of the how seals contributed to our understanding of the collapse 

of an Antarctic ice shelf.

jg

Solar observation must be done in the sun, no exceptions

It was a hot, sunny day yesterday. Whimsically, I checked for sunspots with my Sun Spotter telescope. I had checked within the past week, so I wasn't expecting anything. However, a constellation of sunspots demanded my attention, so I set up the equipment for this photo.

I would have tried higher power magnification, but my equipment was getting hot to the touch.

The previous night I took my yearly light pollution monitoring photo. I try to capture the Milky Way from my backyard to verify that I can still do it and that protecting the night sky is still worthwhile in my community. My methods are inexact because I've switched from slide film to digital over the years, and I'm always dealing with variations in seeing conditions.

This time of year at 3:00am, the Milky Way rises straight up from the west and crosses the sky. This photo is a composite of two images from the morning of July 5.

This night was a bit humid, so the viewing was compromised by visible wispy clouds. I also tweaked the photos to enhance contrast. Directly overhead, I could see the Milky Way through Cygnus:

 However, once I turn northeast, the sky is heavily polluted:

The southwest, west, and overhead is our "Wildomar Window" and still worth protecting.

jg