It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything, mostly because I haven't really felt like sitting down and actually thinking of things to write. For the past two weeks, I've been savoring what little time is left of my stay down here in Oak Ridge and trying to make as many memories as possible.
The work load has been light, considering the air quality down here in East Tennessee is the best that its been for years. I've simply been working on my final presentation and paper, and getting everything in order for the final week in Silver Spring, MD.
The upcoming weekend will be my last down here in East Tennessee, and I'm looking forward to see what it brings. That's all for now, I really have no motivation to write anything at this time.
Don't worry though, I have a few closing posts up my sleeve still!
I can't embed this video, but all you have to do is click on the link and it will bring you right to youtube.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Countdown
Somehow, six weeks have come and gone and only three remain. I arrived in Oak Ridge on May 22nd and that seems just like yesterday. Although I am more than excited to go home, there is also a touch of sadness when I think about all of the people I've met that will suddenly be 600 plus miles away. Many of these people have become great friends, even in such a short period of time.
But then I think of home, Penn State, and all of the amazing people back there that are waiting for my return (I hope!).
This isn't quite the right time to be preparing for goodbyes, considering three weeks still remain. There will be plenty of time for that at the very end. But I know that those three weeks will fly by and at this time on July 24th, I will be on the highway, heading home. And as soon as I cross that Oak Ridge line, "with 10 miles behind me, and 10,000 more to go", I know that I will be leaving behind a lot of great memories.
But then I think of home, Penn State, and all of the amazing people back there that are waiting for my return (I hope!).
This isn't quite the right time to be preparing for goodbyes, considering three weeks still remain. There will be plenty of time for that at the very end. But I know that those three weeks will fly by and at this time on July 24th, I will be on the highway, heading home. And as soon as I cross that Oak Ridge line, "with 10 miles behind me, and 10,000 more to go", I know that I will be leaving behind a lot of great memories.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Blowin in the Wind
During the past week, it has become evident that PM2.5 concentrations are significantly influenced by local meteorological conditions. This isn't a very ingenious comment, considering EVERYTHING suspended in the atmosphere is influenced by meteorological conditions. With this in mind, I guess it's still neat to prove that everything is right with the world and science is still behaving as it should.
So, lets provide example number 1. Late last week, after my return from Gulfport, I noticed these two distinct spikes in PM2.5 concentrations that occurred overnight (Figure 1).
Figure 1: PM2.5 concentrations
These brief increases are almost a full order of magnitude greater than the expected trend set earlier in the day. Clearly, a plume of something was advected (meteorology lingo for blown with the wind) over the instrument causing the higher readings. Had this been a poisonous gas (such as chlorine) the impacts on human life would have been huge. This plume, however, is still something that I would not want to be breathing in. Taking a look at wind data from this time, it is clear that a wind shift played a signifcant role in these higher readings. Figure 2 shows recorded 10 meter wind directions during this time.
Figure 2: Wind direction
At approximately 23:00, the wind changed direction from 50 degrees (from the NE) to 250 degrees (from the WSW). This change in wind direction lines up perfectly with the increased PM2.5 concentrations. This simple example provides clear evidence that small, microscale changes in the environment can produce significant changes in atmospheric pollutants.
The previous example was from a calm night, so your next question should be: What happens during an extremly unstable period, such as during the passage of a thunderstorm? No worries, I have diligently analyzed that situation also!
On the afternoon of June 28th, multiple thunderstorms passed through the area and provided some interesting data. Figure 3 below shows the changes in temperature and wind speed as the thunderstorms moved by.
Figure 3: Temperature and Wind Speed during the passage of thunderstorms.
The thunderstorm passages can be clearly seen when looking at the temperature data because of the sudden drops. When thunderstorms pass, they are accompanied by a pool of cold air that is immediately felt at the onset. Of course, wind speed is bound to increase during the thunderstorm, and this is also evident in the above figure.
So, what do you think the PM2.5 concentrations looked like during this time? The answer lies below!
Clearly, during the two main thunderstorm passages (at 13:30 and 17:30) PM concentrations fell dramatically. Thunderstorms get their energy by sucking air from the entire boundary layer (the lowest kilometer of the atmosphere) and using this air as fuel. Therefore, any pollutants at the surface are immediately taken into the thunderstorm and advected elsewhere/dissolved in precipiation.
TA DA!
The amazing effects of local weather conditions on the dispersion/advection of atmospheric particles!
In the wise words of Bob Dylan, "The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind."
So, lets provide example number 1. Late last week, after my return from Gulfport, I noticed these two distinct spikes in PM2.5 concentrations that occurred overnight (Figure 1).
Figure 1: PM2.5 concentrations
These brief increases are almost a full order of magnitude greater than the expected trend set earlier in the day. Clearly, a plume of something was advected (meteorology lingo for blown with the wind) over the instrument causing the higher readings. Had this been a poisonous gas (such as chlorine) the impacts on human life would have been huge. This plume, however, is still something that I would not want to be breathing in. Taking a look at wind data from this time, it is clear that a wind shift played a signifcant role in these higher readings. Figure 2 shows recorded 10 meter wind directions during this time.
Figure 2: Wind direction
At approximately 23:00, the wind changed direction from 50 degrees (from the NE) to 250 degrees (from the WSW). This change in wind direction lines up perfectly with the increased PM2.5 concentrations. This simple example provides clear evidence that small, microscale changes in the environment can produce significant changes in atmospheric pollutants.
The previous example was from a calm night, so your next question should be: What happens during an extremly unstable period, such as during the passage of a thunderstorm? No worries, I have diligently analyzed that situation also!
On the afternoon of June 28th, multiple thunderstorms passed through the area and provided some interesting data. Figure 3 below shows the changes in temperature and wind speed as the thunderstorms moved by.
Figure 3: Temperature and Wind Speed during the passage of thunderstorms.
The thunderstorm passages can be clearly seen when looking at the temperature data because of the sudden drops. When thunderstorms pass, they are accompanied by a pool of cold air that is immediately felt at the onset. Of course, wind speed is bound to increase during the thunderstorm, and this is also evident in the above figure.
So, what do you think the PM2.5 concentrations looked like during this time? The answer lies below!
Clearly, during the two main thunderstorm passages (at 13:30 and 17:30) PM concentrations fell dramatically. Thunderstorms get their energy by sucking air from the entire boundary layer (the lowest kilometer of the atmosphere) and using this air as fuel. Therefore, any pollutants at the surface are immediately taken into the thunderstorm and advected elsewhere/dissolved in precipiation.
TA DA!
The amazing effects of local weather conditions on the dispersion/advection of atmospheric particles!
In the wise words of Bob Dylan, "The answer, my friend, is blowin in the wind."
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Oh Simpsons...How Right you Were!
If you have a spare twenty minutes to sit down and watch this Simpsons episode, I urge you to do so. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. The episode deals with Bart's trip to Knoxville TN, and Oak Ridge even makes an appearance.
When you click play, an add will pop up on another tab. Simply close this tab, come back to the blog page and click play again. And the episode should load.
Enjoy!
When you click play, an add will pop up on another tab. Simply close this tab, come back to the blog page and click play again. And the episode should load.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Goodbye Biloxi
After two weeks in Biloxi, we finally finished the project and headed home to Oak Ridge late last night. We ended up staying over in Birmingham (almost the half way point of the trip) and left early this morning finally arriving in Oak Ridge a little after noon.
Over the past week, I have failed to keep up with this blog simply because of the boring nature of the work. Since I promised to show the oh so exciting nature of balloon launches, here it goes.
The balloon is inflated with helium and is automatically shut off when the balloon acquires a certain buoyancy. We then tie the balloon. We then tie the tied balloon to the instrument package (called a radiosonde). We then let go of the balloon. We watch the balloon. We sit and wait for the next launch in another 1 hour and 45 minutes.
I know...exciting stuff.
Although the field work may be boring, the data is extremely interesting to a meteorologist. The radiosonde allows us to create a vertical profile of temperature, wind speed/direction, and moisture. Of course, these variables are extremely important in the world of atmospheric science. It was pretty neat to be able to see real time data being sent in as the balloon rose through cloud base and into the upper atmosphere. Data was being plotted on a skew-T, which looks something like this. I won't bother explaining it, but you can visit this site if you are really interested in what you are looking at.
Eventually the balloon will pop somewhere around 70,000 ft (this varies). Because of the low pressures aloft, the balloon will expand almost to the size of a two story house. After it pops, the radiosonde will fall back to the ground on a parachute and most likely be lost forever. The National Weather Service puts a mailing address on their instruments asking for them to be returned, but the return rate is extremely low.
So from Monday through Friday, this was pretty much all that was done. Over the weekend, however, we had a whole bunch of work to do with the meteorological towers that we put up during the first week. At first, we thought the towers were only going to be a two week set-up, but some of the sites were interested in keeping them up for another few months. So we had to make a few adjustments to the towers to be able to make them withstand the longer stay.
15 concrete blocks were added to each leg to help the tower hold up against hurricane force winds (current estimates are that the tower will stand up against 90 mph). A trench had to be dug (with a machine of course) in order to bury the electrical line. A lightning protection system was also set up with a copper rod extending 3 feet above the tower and coiled copper wire running down the tower and 100 feet horizontally away from the tower underground. Here are some pictures of the trench.
For the lightning grounding system, we poured Bentonite into the trench below and on top of the copper wire to provide a greater surface area for electricity to flow. Bentonite holds water really well (cat litter uses the same stuff apparently), so this also helps in directing the flow of electricity.
That pretty much sums up the last week in Gulfport/Biloxi. Now its time to get some rest and try to regain some energy. I leave you with the one and only...Jimmy Buffett.
Over the past week, I have failed to keep up with this blog simply because of the boring nature of the work. Since I promised to show the oh so exciting nature of balloon launches, here it goes.
The balloon is inflated with helium and is automatically shut off when the balloon acquires a certain buoyancy. We then tie the balloon. We then tie the tied balloon to the instrument package (called a radiosonde). We then let go of the balloon. We watch the balloon. We sit and wait for the next launch in another 1 hour and 45 minutes.
I know...exciting stuff.
Although the field work may be boring, the data is extremely interesting to a meteorologist. The radiosonde allows us to create a vertical profile of temperature, wind speed/direction, and moisture. Of course, these variables are extremely important in the world of atmospheric science. It was pretty neat to be able to see real time data being sent in as the balloon rose through cloud base and into the upper atmosphere. Data was being plotted on a skew-T, which looks something like this. I won't bother explaining it, but you can visit this site if you are really interested in what you are looking at.
Eventually the balloon will pop somewhere around 70,000 ft (this varies). Because of the low pressures aloft, the balloon will expand almost to the size of a two story house. After it pops, the radiosonde will fall back to the ground on a parachute and most likely be lost forever. The National Weather Service puts a mailing address on their instruments asking for them to be returned, but the return rate is extremely low.
So from Monday through Friday, this was pretty much all that was done. Over the weekend, however, we had a whole bunch of work to do with the meteorological towers that we put up during the first week. At first, we thought the towers were only going to be a two week set-up, but some of the sites were interested in keeping them up for another few months. So we had to make a few adjustments to the towers to be able to make them withstand the longer stay.
15 concrete blocks were added to each leg to help the tower hold up against hurricane force winds (current estimates are that the tower will stand up against 90 mph). A trench had to be dug (with a machine of course) in order to bury the electrical line. A lightning protection system was also set up with a copper rod extending 3 feet above the tower and coiled copper wire running down the tower and 100 feet horizontally away from the tower underground. Here are some pictures of the trench.
For the lightning grounding system, we poured Bentonite into the trench below and on top of the copper wire to provide a greater surface area for electricity to flow. Bentonite holds water really well (cat litter uses the same stuff apparently), so this also helps in directing the flow of electricity.
That pretty much sums up the last week in Gulfport/Biloxi. Now its time to get some rest and try to regain some energy. I leave you with the one and only...Jimmy Buffett.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
What Time is it Again?
Like I expected, this week has not been very tough at all. We've been launching radiosondes every two hours, and that is pretty much it. It really only takes 15 minutes to prepare the balloon, and then 1 hour and 45 minutes of sitting around and watching it. I really haven't had time to post any new entries because of the somewhat long hours and a few trips to the casino. I'll probably post a few pictures of the launches tomorrow, but I'm not promising anything.
So far this week, the high temperatures have been in the mid to high 90's with dewpoints in the high 60's. The rest of the research team that came down this week for the balloon launches have been complaining about how unbearable the heat is. The other two guys and I that came down last week just laugh when we hear this. Compared to the work we put in last week with temperatures in the 90's, this week is child's play.
Tomorrow is the last day of balloon launches for the Jackson State team, but the ATDD will continue launches through the weekend. At this point, we should be making our way back to Oak Ridge by Monday.
I'll post a review of this past week tomorrow, but trust me, it's not very thrilling/exciting work.
A common theme of this week, however, has been our inability to give the right time. ATDD works in some dumb time system that just confuses everybody. Life would be made so much easier if we just used Zulu time (like every other meteorological institution). In addition, we're in another time zone and some people don't reset their watches, so they constantly forget to subtract the hour from eastern time. Therefore, this song is dedicated to time, and how stupid it is.
So far this week, the high temperatures have been in the mid to high 90's with dewpoints in the high 60's. The rest of the research team that came down this week for the balloon launches have been complaining about how unbearable the heat is. The other two guys and I that came down last week just laugh when we hear this. Compared to the work we put in last week with temperatures in the 90's, this week is child's play.
Tomorrow is the last day of balloon launches for the Jackson State team, but the ATDD will continue launches through the weekend. At this point, we should be making our way back to Oak Ridge by Monday.
I'll post a review of this past week tomorrow, but trust me, it's not very thrilling/exciting work.
A common theme of this week, however, has been our inability to give the right time. ATDD works in some dumb time system that just confuses everybody. Life would be made so much easier if we just used Zulu time (like every other meteorological institution). In addition, we're in another time zone and some people don't reset their watches, so they constantly forget to subtract the hour from eastern time. Therefore, this song is dedicated to time, and how stupid it is.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
A Day of Recollection
Today was a light day as far as actual work goes. We really only put in half a day going to the different sites and making sure everything was functioning as it should. Everything needs to be working properly by Tuesday, when the actual experiment begins. The rest of the research team will arrive Monday.
All of the hard work on this trip is pretty much done by this point. The rest of the time here in Gulfport simply involves launching weather balloons every two hours.
When I think back about all of the events of the past week, I realize that I have learned quite a lot.
For one, this field installment has reinforced the idea that the last thing I want to do for a job is sit behind a computer every day. By actually being out in the field, the days have flown by and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. Even though the hours are sometimes long and tedious, its all worth it in the end. Therefore, it seems safe to say that when it comes time for job searching, I will be looking for a job that involves a good mix of field study combined with some data analyzation on the computer.
Secondly, I learned how to change a flat tire! Even though it wasn't difficult at all, it was still good experience...and I got to experience it twice (we had another blow out down here in Gulfport).
Finally, I learned that laughter is the cure of all ills, even when things start going wrong. When we were on the side of a highway in the middle of Alabama during the middle of the night, dead tired, with a flat tire, we never stopped laughing. By keeping a positive attitude , it is possible to get through even the most difficult situation.
With week 1/3 complete, I'm looking forward to a nice little break before we start the next phase. I'm also hoping to visit the casino tonight, but we'll see.
I had a hard time finding a theme song for this post, but I think this will work pretty well.
All of the hard work on this trip is pretty much done by this point. The rest of the time here in Gulfport simply involves launching weather balloons every two hours.
When I think back about all of the events of the past week, I realize that I have learned quite a lot.
For one, this field installment has reinforced the idea that the last thing I want to do for a job is sit behind a computer every day. By actually being out in the field, the days have flown by and I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. Even though the hours are sometimes long and tedious, its all worth it in the end. Therefore, it seems safe to say that when it comes time for job searching, I will be looking for a job that involves a good mix of field study combined with some data analyzation on the computer.
Secondly, I learned how to change a flat tire! Even though it wasn't difficult at all, it was still good experience...and I got to experience it twice (we had another blow out down here in Gulfport).
Finally, I learned that laughter is the cure of all ills, even when things start going wrong. When we were on the side of a highway in the middle of Alabama during the middle of the night, dead tired, with a flat tire, we never stopped laughing. By keeping a positive attitude , it is possible to get through even the most difficult situation.
With week 1/3 complete, I'm looking forward to a nice little break before we start the next phase. I'm also hoping to visit the casino tonight, but we'll see.
I had a hard time finding a theme song for this post, but I think this will work pretty well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)