Snow Crystal Pictures and Snow Science

We got a few inches of snow overnight, followed by some serious cold and wind here in Eastern North Dakota.  Temperatures topped out around 0 on Sunday and with the wind chills, it's in the -20 to -25 range.  Not the coldest it'll be this winter, but the the coldest thus far and cold enough to warrant a Wind Chill Warning Sunday night and Monday from the National Weather Service.
  
On weather related topics....One of my favorite blogs is the Updraft Blog by Minnesota Public Radio, which is about Minneapolis, MN, but has some really cool technical/science/weather stuff on a regular basis.  Recently they posted some cool pictures of snow crystals and a graph of how different snow crystals form at different temperatures and water/air saturation levels. 

The following images are from the awesome Updraft Blog, which got the images courtesy of Caltech and snowcrystals.com



It turns out different snow crystal types form at different temperature and humidity levels.


From the Updraft Blog:

The morphology diagram tells us a great deal about what kinds of snow crystals form under what conditions. For example, we see that thin plates and stars grow around -2 C (28 F), while columns and slender needles appear near -5 C (23 F). Plates and stars again form near -15 C (5 F), and a combination of plates and columns are made around -30 C (-22 F). 

Furthermore, we see from the diagram that snow crystals tend to form simpler shapes when the humidity (supersaturation) is low, while more complex shapes at higher humidities. The most extreme shapes -- long needles around -5C and large, thin plates around -15C -- form when the humidity is especially high.

Why snow crystal shapes change so much with temperature remains something of a scientific mystery. The growth depends on exactly how water vapor molecules are incorporated into the growing ice crystal, and the physics behind this is complex and not well understood. It is the subject of current research in my lab and elsewhere.

What's Happening in our Cornfields

Alycia here - Here is a very interesting NPR article/book review talking about the diversity of plant, animal, and insect life in different parts of the world, e.g., Cape Town, South Africa; Costa Rica; and Iowa. Basically, due to the pesticides that are sprayed on the cornfields, the plant and animal/insect life in an Iowa cornfield is virtually nonexistent - no bees, ants, birds, etc. A very sad and telling sign of how harmful these pesticides are.

NPR article: Cornstalks everywhere...

Radio Interview - Listen Now

As promised, here is the audio file of my radio interview on Pioneer 90.1 radio on Monday, November 26, 2012.  But since I can't upload just an audio file, I decided to add some pictures to the audio to make an interview/photo montage!

Northland Spotlight - November 26, 2012 Interview

If you prefer to just listen to the audio file, you can choose the option below which has no pictures.  It's the same audio in either version. 

Snowman blown up

It's been a slow time for odd news posted in the Grand Forks Herald. Luckily, with the colder weather, people seem to do stupider things and this gem was spotted in the Friday, Nov. 30th edition of the Herald.

Snowman destroyed in Bismarck explosion
By: Associated Press

BISMARCK — The heat was too much for a snowman in North Dakota.
Bismarck Police Sgt. Mark Buschena tells The Bismarck Tribune that the snowman was destroyed Wednesday in an explosion. Buschena says the police report does not say whether the snowman was made up of snow or a holiday decoration. There was no damage amount listed for the snowman.
A 47-year-old woman reported the exploding snowman when she called to tell authorities about an explosion outsider her home.
An officer who responded to the scene found black duct tape and pieces of sparklers in the yard and in the street.
Buschena says another neighbor reported seeing a white Chevrolet Suburban stop in front of the home and toss something from a window.
Buschena says there are no suspects.


Alycia's comments: I honestly don't know what to say about this. Why a poor defenseless snowman was targeted was beyond me. I like that they don't know whether it was a snow snowman or a holiday "plastic" snowman - wouldn't that be easy to figure out? And, I gotta say that people who drive white cars (we have a white Subaru) are obviously dangerous...

Deaf Dog Myths Dispelled

As proud owners of three deaf dogs Alycia and I have become accidental advocates for informing others about the wonders of adopting a deaf dog.  This wasn't a deliberate or conscious choice by any means.  If you had told me 10 years ago that I would live with three deaf dogs and try to become an ambassador for helping to spread the word about how awesome they are, I would have laughed at the ridiculousness of such a statement.

But being de facto ambassadors for deaf dogs has become a unique and fun role for both Alycia and I as we gently and kindly explain (to often disbelieving people) that our dogs happen to be unable to hear.  Many people are initially incredulous and say things like "Really?!?!", and "Are you sure?", and then "Really?" again.  After their initial surprise there usually follows some questions about what deaf dogs are like, and unfortunately these questions often involve some repetition of some of dis-proven myths about deaf dogs.  

There are some great websites out there that go into greater detail about the incorrect and harmful myths about deaf dogs - among them DDEAF and D2Care stand out, and are both terrific and informative websites that help to dispel the myths of deaf dogs. But today, with personal testimony and video evidence, I will personally dispel a few of the most common deaf dog myths.

Myth #1:  Deaf dogs are harder to train/not as smart as hearing dogs.

Radio Interview - Monday, November 26, 2012

If you happen to be sitting by a computer this Monday at 3pm Central (1pm Pacific), you can tune in to a radio interview with yours truly.  My new employer, Northland Community and Technical College, has a radio station and I've agreed to the interviewed on Monday morning, and then they'll air the interview at 3 pm.  I assume the large gap of time between the interview and airing time is to bleep out all the salty language I'm certain to use.

Even if you're not available to listen live, I've been promised an mp3 audio file of the interview, which I will promptly post to the fabulous Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes website for all of my awesome readers.  Here's the website for the radio station if you want to listen in live on Monday afternoon. 

Pioneer 90.1 Radio Northland.

If you do listen in (either live or in the mpeg I promise to post later), you're sure to learn many new and wondrous things about yours truly, such as: my actual name, what I do for a living, what I've done in the past, and how I came to North Dakota.  It could be entertaining.

Stephen Cave - Who killed Knut?

Very interesting article about Knut the Polar Bear, his untimely death while in captivity, and the paradox of zoos.

"Rather than raising awareness, zoos might be hindering us from recognising the reality. We humans are not the Ark; we are the flood."

Stephen Cave - Who killed Knut?

Updates from the Homestead

There have been a few things happening around the Deaf Dogs and Benevolent Gnomes homestead, nothing significant, but since I've been remiss in updating everyone lately, it's probably time to catch you up (and make a few excuses for my lack of bloggering recently) with what's been happening. 

Last weekend saw some measurable snow here in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  Not a lot, only 2-3 inches, but it was followed by some very cold temperatures that allowed the snow to stay on the ground.  So we went from Fall to Winter very quickly, with 50 degree Fall days to ice crusted sidewalks in a few days.  Bummer.  

We've also been visited again by our Pileated Woodpecker friend.  We snapped some pictures and posted them in the recent Pileated Woodpecker post, but haven't been able to snap a good photo of the woodpeckers subsequent visits.  That's OK though, it was just fun to watch the woodpecker frolic around the front yard.

The big reason for my lack of blogging has been a recent knee injury.  It's been a rough month with two cortisone shots (shoulder, knee), two X-Rays (shoulder, knee), and an MRI (knee), and the bottom line is that I'm barely able to walk up stairs or around the block without severe discomfort/pain.  The preliminary diagnosis is a torn meniscus or floating body in the knee, and some other "rough cartilage".  I've got an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon next week to read the MRI and discuss a more specific diagnosis and options.

I'm always hesitant to reveal personal issues for fear of turning this noble blog into a "woe is me" missive, but this immobilization has been tough for me.  I've not only had to stop playing basketball and volleyball (I play 4-5 days a week) but also modify my Pilates routine (this is easy since my instructor is awesome) and pretty much suspend any and all physical activity.  This totally makes sense since walking upstairs to go to the bathroom or 50 yards from my office to a classroom is very difficult, but it's been hard to grapple with no exercise in my life.  We'll keep you updated with our prognosis and let you know what happens.