Glaciers around the world are shrinking. Scientists blame global warming. (In fact, the melting of glaciers and reductions in the amount of frozen ground are used as evidence that the planet is warming.) Whatever the cause, it is inarguable that many glaciers are melting, dumping water downstream, sometimes with catastrophic results. Now a Vantage Pro2 is being installed on one of the harder-to-measure glaciers in the Himalayas: the Indian glacier Chota Shigri.

Chota Shigri lies in the Lahaul-Spiti Valley of the Himachal Pradesh at about 13,000 to 20,000 feet (4,000 to 6,000 meters), on the northern ridge of the Pir Panjal range. The 17-square-mile (45-square-kilometer) glacier feeds the Chandra River. It is one of thousands of glaciers in the Himalayas, most of which are too remote – geographically and politically – for scientists to monitor. While it is know that the Himalayas are the source of the seven largest rivers in Asia, little information is available about the volume of water glaciers receive from rain, snow, and underground water, and how much glaciers melt during monsoon season. The lack of information leads to inability to predict flooding during the monsoon season, as well as the extent of melting over the13,000 square miles (33,000 square kilometers) of glaciers. And in the long run, too much water from melting glaciers now means drought later. New technology in satellite imagery has helped scientists by allowing them to generate images of the glacier surfaces, but on-site, real time weather data is also needed.

The Vantage Pro2 on Chota Shigri will add data details that will help scientists and glacier climbers as well. More details about the new station are in an article in News Post India You can read more about glaciers and Chota Shigri by clicking these links :Indian Mountaineering Foundation, “Glaciers in Himachal Pradesh”, “Himalayan glacier melting observed from space” - PhysOrg.com , “Melting glaciers a flood threat” - Tribune India, “Millions face glacier catastrophe” - Observer Guardian , “Global warming threatens Roof of the World” - China View,, and “Glaciers Disappear in Before & After Photos” - LiveScience.com,

Weather Check Quiz Question 2: How many glacial siblings does Chota Shigri have in the Himalayas? (Click here for answers.)


Vantage Pros Lookin’ Pretty in Florida and Ohio

BJ Loveless of Melbourne Beach, Florida, took this pretty portrait of his Vantage Pro just as tropical storm Barry was ambling by. Barry started out as a tropical storm, but was downgraded to a tropical depression by the time it hit land on June 2, packing 35 mph (56 kph) winds. We have to say the stormy sky did make a nice backdrop to an already lovely scene!

Bill Price, of Perrysburg, Ohio, sent us another pretty shot of his Vantage Pro2 under a beautiful rainbow. Looks like there’s a pot of gold in your hot tub, Bill. Thanks!

Weather Station Looks Suspicious, Gets Blown Up

We just had to giggle a little when we read that a “suspicious looking box” found near Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, Virginia, was probed and then blown up by the Virginia State Police Bomb Squad. They must have felt relieved (and a little silly) when it was discovered that the box was part of a weather station, which an employee had made waterproof with putty and wires. Read the story in the Roanoke Times.

We know it wasn’t a Davis! Our complete system shelters don’t need putty or wire to be waterproof!

TECH TIPS :

Using Vantage Pro2 and WeatherLink to Measure Sunshine

Reader Jan Pool asked a good question that we think deserves to be a Tech Tip. “My hobby is gardening and I am interested in measuring sun hours. I see that the Vantage Pro2 Plus solar radiation data is calculated in W/m², percentage or sun(shine) hours. How are these readings are related to each other? The sun-sensor is continuously measuring, but what is the time interval that the WeatherLink program uses to update the data?”

[Note: Regular Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Pro don't come with a Solar Radiation Sensor. You can add one, however, if you don't have a Vantage Pro2 Plus!)

Our meteorologist Jason Karvelot explained that the term sunshine means light that is bright enough to exceed the background of diffuse sky light. In gardener’s terms, it’s enough to cause shadows on the ground. The World Meteorological Organization had to come up with a standard defintion of sunshine, in terms of W/m² (that stands for watts per square meter). Their recommendation is that such sunshine begins at a threshold of 120 W/m² of direct solar radiation. But what we see in our garden is a combination of direct solar radiation and diffuse radiation from scattering processes in the earth's atmosphere. Both direct and diffuse radiation combined is called global solar radiation. That's what our solar sensor measures when installed in the default (horizontal) postion.

The default threshold in WeatherLink of 100 W/m² is an educated guess of what the threshold would be when measuring direct plus diffuse solar radiation. Sunshine Duration (SD) can be expressed in terms of time, such as hours, during which the threshold was met or exceeded. It can also be expressed in terms of percentage of the maximum possible SD hours. It’s important in all data that the time period be noted (minutes, hours, days, years, decades, etc.)

The reference for this information is the Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation. The information is found in the section "Measurement of Sunshine Duration.”

WeatherLink updates the real-time data every 50 to 60 seconds. The data in the archived records represents the period between archive records. This is user-selectable from one minute to two hours.

Weather Check Quiz Question 3: How do you know if your garden area is sunny, shady, or somewhere in between? (Click here for answers.)

WEATHER 101:

Incredible Shrinking Earth

We came across an interesting article about the size of the earth, and how this measurement affects climate data. It seems the earth is a little smaller than we thought. According to German researchers at the University of Bonn, the diameter of the earth is 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) smaller than the last measurement made five years ago. It may not seem like much, but it matters when you are measuring changes in sea level using satellites.

"They must be accurate to the millimeter. If the ground stations tracking the satellites are not accurate to the millimeter, then the satellites cannot be accurate either."

What’s the final number? You can round off the earth’s diameter (not its circumference!) at 7,926.3812 miles (12,756.274 kilometers). To read the story, click here.

Weather Check Quiz Question 4: If the earth is 7,926.3812 miles in diameter at its “waistline,” are we safe to assume that it is 7,926.3812 measured the other way (pole to pole)? (Click here for answers.)

MAILBAG:

Blue Moon Boo-Boo Blues,

Joe Niederhofer has a calendar, and he knows how to use it! He noticed that in our last issue we quoted Jan Null who said that a Blue Moon in May only worked for us here in the west, because “it occurs at 2:04 GMT June 1st, which is May 30th at 7:04 PM PDT in California.”

Says Joe: “Huh?” which we took to mean, “What happened to May 31?”

Well, nobody likes Thursdays, Joe. They just get in the way of Friday. (Good catch on the boo-boo.)

Weather Monitor II Takes a Beating, Keeps Spinning

Tim Allspach, of New Orleans, Louisiana, wrote us a note that made us smile, though we did try to hide that grin from our Vantage Pro2.

“This communication is a testimonial to my satisfaction with the quality and durability of the Weather Monitor II I purchased about five years ago. It continued to function perfectly after two hurricanes in 2005 (Cindy & Katrina). In February 2007, when a tornado hit my block, it recorded a 121 mph (195 kph) wind speed which helped the National Weather Service verify the tornado at F-2. It continues to function perfectly.”

Those little dudes love a good, windy storm, Tim. But we hope your Weather Monitor II is bored this storm season -- New Orleans has had enough storms!

YOU'RE BRILLIANT!:

Question 1: One billion. And growing. That’s 15% of us. Almost three times as many don’t have consistent enough water to supply basic sanitation. (Source.) (Here's a cool website shows the world’s population growing as you watch.) (Back to stories.)

Question 2: About 14,999. They cover about 13,000 square miles (34,000 square kilometers). (Source.) (Back to stories.)

Question 3: You can do it “by observing the actual hours of sun a particular spot receives during the prime growing season. Note the time that the area starts receiving full sun, and then note when the shadows come back.” “Full Sun” means more than six hours per day of sunshine. “Full Shade” is two or fewer hours. “Part Sun” is four to six hours, “Part Shade” is two to four hours. This is according to Andreas T. Greens’ garden website. (Back to stories.)

Question 4: No we are not safe to assume that! The earth has a little bulge (who doesn’t?) around the equator, so it is a bit wider than it is tall, by about 25 miles (41 km). (Back to stories.)

Question 5: According to the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign’s “WW2010” website, “the path of a hurricane greatly depends upon the wind belt in which it is located. A hurricane originating in the eastern tropical Atlantic, for example, is driven westward by easterly trade winds in the tropics. Eventually, these storms turn northwestward around the subtropical high and migrate into higher latitudes. As a result, the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast of the United States are at risk to experience one or more hurricanes each year.” (Back to stories.)

WHO YOU GONNA CALL?

Davis!
Each month after the E-News goes out, we receive messages back. Sometimes the messages are in response to a story we shared; other times they are a request for help of some kind. We read all the emails, answer those we can, and pass the rest on to the appropriate departments.We think you should know, though, that if you're interested in the fastest possible reply, news@davisnet.com may not be the best place to send your message. Questions about how things work should be addressed to tech support directly at support@davisnet.com. For general information about the products contact sales@davisnet.com. To request a catalog, you’ll find links for catalog requests on our web site at http://www.davisnet.com/contact/catalog.asp. Please continue to send your comments, weather URL's, and story suggestions to news@davisnet.com. We look forward to getting your comments and any responses you have to the E-News. Member participation is what keeps the E-News alive and kicking.

Well, that’s it for this edition. You’ll be hearing from us again next month!


Vantage Pro2, Vantage Pro2 Plus, Vantage Pro, Vantage Pro Plus, Weather Monitor, Weather Wizard, WeatherLink, Weather Envoy, and Perception are trademarks of Davis Instruments Corp.

If you would like to receive the Weather Club e-newsletter via email every month, sign up now.