'Rainforests'

'Weather in the Rainforest'

I have only witnessed rainforest weather while watching movies. The rain comes down so hard at times! While living here in Arizona, I feel like I would not mind that at times. We enjoy escaping the heat here in Yuma, Arizona and going to the Rainforest Cafe in Phoenix, Arizona!

What is a rainforest?


A rainforest is a dense, warm and wet jungle which has around 100 inches of rainfall every year. There is no dry season and rain falls nearly every day. 50% of the rainforest water comes from evaporation and the relative humidity is always high. The temperature in the rainforest is most likely to be hot and damp. The average temperature is 77 degrees F.



The rainforest is filled head to toe with lush green vegetation. Many trees in the rainforest have canopies on them, providing shade for the animals and plants. The canopies help shield the plants and animals from the scorching sunlight. The rainforests are very humid due to the warm sunlight, rain and the canopies shading over the plants keeps in the moisture.

The rainforest in the early morning

Where can you find a rainforest?

Rainforests can be found on every continent across the Earth, except Antarctica.

There is even an extinct rainforest in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Tropical rainforests are located in tropical regions, and temperate rainforests are found in higher latitude regions.

The major areas of tropical rainforests are in West Africa, South East Asia and South and Central America. The best known rain forests are found in tropical regions between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Can you name 10 different rainforests?

1. The Tongass National Forest located in Southeastern Alaska - largest intact coastal temperate rainforest in the world


2. The Hoh Rainforest inside Olympic National Park, Washington- famous moss covered rainforest

3. Amazonia, also called the Amazon Rainforest - located within nine nations in the Amazon Basin of South America (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana)

4. Lacandon jungle located in Chiapas, Mexico - Mexico's last remaining significant rainforest

5. Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica-This large reserve is one of the most outstanding wildlife sanctuaries in the Americas and includes eight distinct ecological zones

6. The Congo Rainforest - famous for its gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants as well as its native population of forest dwellers known as pygmies. Rainforests in the Congo are disappearing faster than forests anywhere else in the world

7. Daintree Rainforest located in North Queensland Australia - The area is home to the greatest concentration of plant species that are rare, or threatened with extinction, anywhere in the world

8. Kayan Mentarang National Park in Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia - contains the largest unbroken stretch of protected rainforest in Borneo

9. Sagano Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan-This bamboo forest is one of the most beautiful bamboo forest in Japan. In the 1870s when Edison was looking for a good bamboo as a material for his early light bulb, the governor of Kyoto recommended two sources of bamboo


10. Khao Sok National Park, Thailand - rainforest is 160 million years old and thought to be the oldest rainforest on Earth

rainforest waterfall

 Rainforests are disappearing every minute........so help take care of it!

Sandstorms

Oh no not a Sandstorm!

Those of us that live in Yuma, Arizona have all experienced some sort of sandstorm. I remember one day I looked in the sky and I thought I saw smoke from them burning the fields. It was not smoke! It was a sandstorm on its way. The sand in the sky is a site to see. That day I left for work and told someone to close the window in our kitchen. They forgot to close the window and when I got home there was sand everywhere in my kitchen! It was such a mess to clean up. I know now to close my windows myself!


What causes a sandstorm?


Sandstorms are caused by strong winds blowing over loose soil or sand. They pick up so much of that material that visibility is reduced. In desert regions at certain times of the year, sandstorms become more frequent. This happens because the strong heating of the air over the desert causes the lower atmosphere to become unstable. This instability mixes higher winds in the middle troposphere downward, producing stronger winds at the surface. I know some people refer to sandstorms as "dust storms".

Whoa!

Facts about sandstorms:

They can be seen as solid walls of sand that are up to 5,000 feet high.

Similar dust storms from wind borne particles can be found on the planet Mars.

In the United States of America, sandstorms are very rare due to the lack of large deserts, the development of proper agricultural techniques, and the common cloud cover, which will block out some of the sun's heat.

Deforestation, excessive cultivation of farmland, over-grazing and excessive use of water resources can cause sandstorms.

Special air filters can be installed in your car to prevent sand from getting into the engine.

In order to protect yourself from sandstorm you can wear protective goggles/suits.

In Kuwait, the month of April is known as 'sandstorm month'.

Sandstorms that come from Northern Africa and drift across Europe are called 'Sahara Sand Storms'.

Dust Bowl 1930

Problems caused by sandstorms:

A devastating sandstorm known as The Dust Bowl of the 1930s lasted about a decade. Its primary area of impact was on the southern Plains. The agricultural devastation helped to lengthen the Depression whose effects were felt worldwide.

Sandstorms can interfere with travel, and sometimes obliterates entire roads, and dry, flat regions, such as parts of the western United Sates.

Sand storms can cause hacking coughs, and the sand and dust have also been known to be capable of carrying 'infectious diseases'. Sand particles, unlike dust ones, will clog air passages, and cause the person who breathes them in to choke. Dust particles may simply cause an allergic reaction!




http://library.thinkquest.org/

*Blizzards*

*Woah! Bizzards*

While growing up in beautiful Montana I experienced many blizzards. I have driven in blizzards and let me tell you that was scary. You can only see a few feet in front of you during a blizzard. Let me also tell you that businesses don't always close just because there is a blizzard. I remember one day there was a blizzard and I still had to go to work. On the way to work I rear ended a car while breaking. It was icy! It wasn't that hard, but I did hit that car. The driver of the car I hit, didn't even care. He continued on as if nothing happened. I guess in Montana some just get used to that. Wow that sure does make me miss Montana! lol :)

This is what it looks like driving in a blizzard!

Here are some facts about blizzards-

 Blizzards happen when a low temperatures 20°F or lower are combined with winds that are at least 35 mph or greater.

There is also sufficient falling and/or blowing snow in the air that reduces visibility to 1/4 mile or less for a duration of at least 3 hours.

Severe blizzards have temperatures near or below 10°F, winds exceeding 45 mph, and visibility reduced by snow to near zero.


Storm systems powerful enough to cause blizzards usually form when the jet stream dips far to the south, allowing cold air from the North to clash with warm air from the South.


Colder and drier polar air brings atmospheric temperatures cold enough for the development of snow, sleet, or freezing rain.

After seeing this picture, I still miss Montana!

Where you can find blizzards-

The Rockies (beautiful Montana), Dakotas, Gulf of Mexico into Canada and parts of Minnesota are vulnerable to blizzards.


In the southern central Great Plains, rapidly intensifying low pressure systems moving out of the Rocky Mountains can cause heavy snows and strong winds to the north, while to the south and east are thunderstorms and rain.

http://www.weather.com/

Southern Lights aka Aurora Australis

Did you know there's not only Northern Lights, but also Southern Lights!!!

     While living in Fort Wainwright, Alaska I had the chance to witness the Northern Lights. Locals there would talk about the Northern Lights. They had asked me if I knew there was also Southern Lights. I didn't know the Southern Lights existed. The Southern Lights do exist and they are beautiful just like the Northern Lights!

     If you read my last blog, then you know that Aurora results from the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetic field. The Aurora Australis is caused by plasma particles from the sun that enter the atmosphere. Collisions between electrically charged particles and Earth's magnetic field ionize oxygen and nitrogen atoms, releasing light.

     Here is something new...an auroral storm can produce one trillion watts of electricity with a current of one million amps.

Aurora Australis over New Zealand

     Southern Lights are more common near the equinoxes, but this does not mean you can not see the aurora at other times. You can witness the Southern Lights at the South Pole/Polar latitudes from March to September; the rest of year the South Pole experiences 24 hours of sunlight. You can enjoy a beautiful show on a clear cold night.

     Some colors are the same and some differ from the Northern Lights. Blue and purplish-red light comes from ionized nitrogen molecules, green from oxygen molecules. Other colors include pale green and pink. The Southern Lights most common shapes are spiral curtains, arcs or streamers.        

    So if you do plan to travel and witness the auroras, be ready for show that lasts several hours!

Beautiful picture of the Southern Lights

     The Aurora Australis or Southern Lights are mesmerizing, dynamic displays of light that appear in the Antarctic skies in winter. They are, in effect, nature's light show; visual poetry penned from the quantum leaps of atmospheric gases. As those who have witnessed the Aurora can attest, few sights can equal the magic and mystery of these luminous sheets of color undulating in the frigid air of the Antarctic winter.   

http://www.antarcticconnection.com