Blame it on the climate

We may soon have a new excuse for being late to an international event. Climate change is modifying the patterns of the jet stream. Strong winds in the upper atmosphere are intensifying. For eastbound flights, the resulting extra tailwinds will help to shorten the flights. Unfortunately, the penalty induced for westbound flights will add time to the flight. That will lead to more time for your round trip and additional fuel costs for the airlines.

The study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, looked at the effects of doubling the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, which will occur within the next few decades unless emissions are cut quickly.

The average jet-stream winds along the flight route between London’s Heathrow airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International airport are predicted to become 15 percent faster in winter, increasing from 77 to 89 km/hr (48 to 55 mph), with similar increases in the other seasons.

As a result, London-bound flights will become twice as likely to take under 5h 20m, implying that record-breaking crossing times will occur with increasing frequency in future. On the other hand, New York-bound flights will become twice as likely to take over 7h 00m, suggesting that delayed arrivals will become increasingly common.

The article goes on to point out why the airlines can't offset this effect efficiently:

Williams says airplanes can’t just fly faster to compensate because of another effect, air friction that builds up as the plane gets closer to breaking the sound barrier.

“Airplanes fly at about 550 miles per hour, or 75 percent speed of sound (767 miles per hour),” he said. “The closer they get to 80 percent, the fuel efficiency drops off a cliff and the airline has to put an afterburner, real gas guzzlers. That’s why they don’t go any faster.”

Here is the link to the full article:  Climate Change May Delay Flights : Discovery News 

Mr. Scott, full power to the deflector shields

Original post:  Dec 3, 2014

"Star Trek" envisioned a futuristic world in the 24th century that made incredible technological advancements. Streaking across the galaxy in starships that could fly faster than the speed of light, there were many innovations shown on screen that seemed to be fantastical. It turns out that some of them may actually be rooted in real science!

This article from Discovery news discusses a recent finding that Earth itself uses shielding to protect us from high energy particles. This invisible barrier helps keep "killer electrons" from bombarding the surface of the planet.

Now, in a new study published in the Nov. 27 issue of the journal Nature, Baker and his collaborators have discovered an oddity at the inner edge of these belts: There’s an invisible barrier blocking the high-energy electrons from making contact with our atmosphere.

“It’s almost like theses electrons are running into a glass wall in space,” said Baker in a UC press release. “Somewhat like the shields created by force fields on Star Trek that were used to repel alien weapons, we are seeing an invisible shield blocking these electrons. It’s an extremely puzzling phenomenon.”

At first, scientists assumed that it was magnetism. They soon realized that it had to be something else that they are still attempting to understand.

Now the researchers are focused on a cold cloud of electrically charged gas that is known to surround Earth, starting at an altitude of 600 miles. This cloud, known as the plasmasphere, extends thousands of miles into the Van Allen Belts and may have a dramatic interaction with the high-energy particles, thereby blocking them from dropping close to our atmosphere. High-energy electrons are stopped in their tracks at an “extremely sharp” boundary approximately 7,200 miles in altitude.

Here is a link to the full article:  Raise Shields! Star Trek-Like Barrier Protects Earth : Discovery News

It's not you, it's me

Original post:  Nov 11, 2014

Have you ever wondered why no one seems to know how special you are? Or that you have amazing, wonderful talents? If so, have you considered why this might be?

So many times, we're guilty of overlooking what is right in front of us. In this distracted world filled with all manner of spectacles fighting for our attention, we may sometimes miss the very things we are actually looking for.

We may often find ourselves wishing for someone to give us an opportunity to showcase our skills. If we could get that one big break, we might finally achieve that breakthrough we've been waiting for. Unfortunately for us, life isn't often like that. In order for us to shine, we're going to have to set up our own stage. It may be frightening. It may be outside of our comfort zone. It will certainly be difficult. Regardless of the challenge, it may be the only way for others to recognize the incredible gifts that you have to share.

We've been working to plan an extended leadership team meeting for Information Services. There is an incredible amount of talent within our organization. Part of our challenge is that we are so busy fighting the crisis of the day that we don't get a chance to witness the amazing work happening within our own department! One of the main goals of the event is to give due credit to the teams that have labored so diligently and performed so much over the past year.

It isn't every day that a new star is born. Perhaps it will happen before we know it!