Weather Tidbits

With my great thanks to our partners, Earth Gauge , a few weather tidbits.

Frogs and Vernal Ponds

Animals like frogs and turtles are waiting out winter by submerging or freezing. As spring temperatures rise and their prey becomes active, reptiles and amphibians will make use of small pools ofmelt water called vernal ponds. These temporary pools are the breeding grounds and also the feeding grounds for many animals. As the spring season progresses, the water will evaporate or seep into the thawed soil. Those animals that used the vernal pond will have moved on to their adult or summer habitat.

Viewer Tip: Because these ponds fill from melt water, whatever substances were mixed with the snow and ice will enter the pond. This can have an impact on the health and development of sensitive animals like frogs. Remember that everything you put on your sidewalk, lawn or car goes somewhere. Minimize the use of salt, solvents, fertilizers and pesticides, especially during the spring thaw.  And listen for the sounds of frogs singing the way into spring!

This information is provided by Great Lakes Aquarium. Learn more at www.glaquarium.org .

Volcanoes

Volcanoes are openings in the Earth’s crust that allow magma and gases to erupt into the surrounding atmosphere. Large volcanic eruptions, particularly eruptions in the tropics like Mt. Pinatubo, which blew in 1991, have noticeable effects on global temperature.

Trivia Question: Following periods of frequent volcanic eruptions, what does Earth’s climate tend to do? 

a)            It warms.

b)            It cools.

c)            It doesn’t change.

The correct answer is b. Periods over the past 1,500 years when volcanic eruptions were frequent – especially powerful eruptions in the tropics – tend to be periods when cooling is observed, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Strong eruptions from tropical volcanoes such as Pinatubo, Tambora and Krakatau in Indonesia, and Cosigüina in Nicaragua, can load large amounts of sulfur into the stratosphere, which blocks sunlight leading to cooling. The same loading of sulfur dioxide and other particles into the stratosphere also makes sunsets more intense!

Heat Records

Over the past week, much of the U.S. felt an early arrival of springtime temperatures. Over the 7 day period from March 9-15, 2012 2,441 heat records fell across the country. Nine hundred and ninety nine of those were nighttime high temperatures, and an amazing 1,803 were daytime high temperatures. The relative location and frequency of the record-breaking temperatures are shown in this image, where red colors indicate daytime records and yellows indicate nighttime records. In co-occurring locations, the daytime heat records frequency is shown.