What'sUpWithThatWatts, et al.

This is both my personal learning project and my contribution in the struggle to confront the ongoing Republican/ libertarian assault on rational science and constructive learning, as manifested in their malicious strategic Attacks on Science ~ A collection of articles, scientific resources, plus my own essays and indepth critique of various presentations from unidirectional-skeptics ~ Hopefully a resource for the busy, yet discerning, student who's concerned about the health of our Earth

Showing posts with label NASA Goddard. Show all posts

Thursday, February 18, 2016

{7} Our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine, visualized

Before I climb back into the mud pit, I want to share this installment of "Appreciating our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine. This time I feature four short videos produced by NASA Goddard that do a wonderful job of visualizing various facets of our planet's geophysical reality. Using state of the art computer graphics based on actual satellite observations they visualize how these varied components seamlessly integrate with each other to create the wonderful planet that we were born into… and the climate system we depend on for everything.

The first one is "Dynamic Earth" a 4.5 minute tour starting with our sun and finishing in our oceans, fascinating presentation, (as are all of these YouTube videos). Then, "The Ocean: A Driving Force for Weather and Climate" is a 6 minutes long grand tour of the oceans. Following that, the 3 minute "Aquarius: One Year Observing the Salty Seas - Ocean Salinity & Climate" presents the culmination of Aquarius Satellites first full year of data collection. Finishing with an excellent 6 minute review of "Earth's Water Cycle."

These visualizations are packed with satellite data and do a wonderfully job rendered our planet as a whole, set against the frigid void of space. This place we call home is special, nothing else like it in the universe, it's worth getting to know and love and protect.

NASA | Dynamic Earth

0:00 - Our Sun

0:30 - Solar winds

0:45 - Venus exposed to full force of solar wind

1:10 - Earth's geomagnetic field

1:50 - Atmosphere, circulation

2:05 - Solar heating, circulation

2:20 - Wind currents driving surface ocean currents

2:50 - Ocean 'river'

3:15 - {great subsurface current visualization}

3:45 - Tides, terrain, crosswinds, currents transferring heat

{Behold the components of our Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine}

NASA Goddard | Published on Jun 19, 2012 | 4:26 minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujBi9Ba8hqs

A study in miscommunication - increasing Antarctic ice extent (is no) mystery!

While culling through YouTube videos for a project, I came across a NASA Goddard video that presented a text book example of a well meaning, but overly cautious scientist whose's awkward wording and omissions leads to more confusion than clarity. It also highlighted one of my pet peeves - the lack of a coherent and memorable narrative to serve as a skeleton upon which to drape the many varied bits and pieces of information being presented.

(Well look at what I just discovered! Seems that fraudster and PR spinmeister Lord 1000Folly, Monckton's YouTube clone (who's been flooding YouTube with maliciously fabricated misrepresentations of climate science), also discovered this example of NASA's communication failings and does he have a field-day mocking scientists based on manipulating this very video's gross omissions: "NASA - The Mystery of Antarctic Cooling" (1/26/16) no I'm not linking to it. 2/17/16,1:45 PM)

A unifying concept, such as "Plate Tectonics" which created a real mental visualizing tool onto which the disparate bits and pieces of geologic knowledge fit seamlessly and became a comprehendible whole. Perhaps a concept along the lines of our "Global Heat and Moisture Distribution Engine" subtitled "It's The Atmospheric Insulation Silly."

In any event, this quote at 0:55 set me off. - Speaker: "The increase that we're seeing in the Antarctic ice extent is a little bit of a mystery…"

Poor phrasing indeed. Particularly since he never brought it back to explaining how scientists have been uncovering the various geophysical phenomena that have driven the increasing sea ice and solved the one time mystery.

Not confronting that meme and explaining why sea ice has been increasing, they reinforce what an unschooled person might assume and what the contrarian PR machine keeps feeding people. Why, I wonder? After all, it is a pretty clear and straightforward story.

I follow the short video in question by highlighting the pieces of information I'm familiar with; information that offers a coherent physical explanation for why all that extra sea ice has been forming, and why it's part and parcel of global warming's cascading consequences. Items that were unjustifiably omitted from the video but that could have been included. For supporting evidence I link to various splendid short videos and some articles that provide further details to this aspect of our climate engine.

NASA | The Arctic and the Antarctic Respond in Opposite Ways

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RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

{edited 12/11/2014}

I know there are too many typos, what can I say, eyes aren't what they were, I get rushed, and always did have a thing with transposing…{well, I also hated high school "english" classes... bad call that one.}. Doing the best I can with what I got. Embarrassing though it is, it's better than doing nothing. Besides, it's the issues and reasoning that we should be worrying about.

Though I'm in my own little world here, I'm also constantly learning and evolving and do get occasional feedback and when I reread stuff and find errors or omissions or garbage, I fix it. If it's major I'll acknowledge it with an 'edited' note, minor stuff I don't bother.

~ ~ ~

I hardly keep track of Anthony's latest antics (besides, with Sou on the job why bother - can't beat her insights). It's just me over here and I have more important things to do with my precious hours - still now that Anthony's luster has been wearing thin he's put his energy into discovering and honing new fresh faces to carry on the public show of the Republican/Libertarian strategic attack on science.

He seems to have transitioned into a ring-leader, perhaps mentor/coach would be better, producer? At least that's how Mr. Steele and his antics of the past year has gotten me to think about it. So in that regard this blog remains about WUWT's brand of thinking and logic and my struggle to understand the anatomy of the fraud they've perpetrated against mankind. {December 2014}

_____________________________

ok, now some recommended websites:

This blog was started in April 2013 and is written by an actual scientist so it has a refreshingly serious objective air to it, plus he does a good clear job of explaining complex issues.

And Then There's Physics.
~ ~ ~

Sou has some of the best {readability and detailed} examinations of Watt's antics I've seen - and she does have fun with certain characters.

She continues be the best at keeping up with Mr. Watts' and pals and their many deceptions.

The recent dirty tricks and attacks she is enduring are acknowledgment of how good she is at it.

http://blog.hotwhopper.com

~ ~ ~

Ben has been documenting Anthony's misdeeds longer than the rest of us.

http://wottsupwiththat.com

~ ~ ~

Tamino, an acknowledged statistical/mathematical expert of the highest order, at Open Mind also does an excellent job of holding Anthony’s feet to the fire with clearly explained facts and math. Check it out:
http://tamino.wordpress.com
~ ~ ~

And of course, there is the excellent, most up to date internet depository of climate studies and information for the non-expert public.

http://SkepticalScience.com

~ ~ ~

Then there's RealClimate.org the scientist's commentary site. Run by working climate scientists intended to help the interested public and journalists sort through the complexities of the climatology. They provide "quick response to developing stories and provide the context" that is too often missing from public media's depiction. {But, you better be serious and have some real science education/understanding under your belt if you want to keep up.}

http://realclimate.org

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I remember back in da day, good websites/blogs were few and far between. But over the past years that's been changing to the point that it's impossible to keep up with them all. Here's an incomplete, and long overdue addition to my above list: