Topic: Weather/Weather

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πŸ”— Hair Ice

πŸ”— Fungi πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Weather/Weather

Hair ice, also known as ice wool or frost beard, is a type of ice that forms on dead wood and takes the shape of fine, silky hair. It is somewhat uncommon, and has been reported mostly at latitudes between 45–55Β Β°N in broadleaf forests. The meteorologist and discoverer of continental drift, Alfred Wegener, described hair ice on wet dead wood in 1918, assuming some specific fungi as the catalyst, a theory mostly confirmed by Gerhart Wagner and Christian MΓ€tzler in 2005. In 2015, the fungus Exidiopsis effusa was identified as key to the formation of hair ice.

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πŸ”— Saturn's Hexagon

πŸ”— Astronomy πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Astronomy/Solar System πŸ”— Weather/Weather πŸ”— Weather/Space weather

Saturn's hexagon is a persistent approximately hexagonal cloud pattern around the north pole of the planet Saturn, located at about 78Β°N. The sides of the hexagon are about 14,500Β km (9,000Β mi) long, which is about 2,000Β km (1,200Β mi) longer than the diameter of Earth. The hexagon may be a bit more than 29,000Β km (18,000Β mi) wide, may be 300Β km (190Β mi) high, and may be a jet stream made of atmospheric gases moving at 320Β km/h (200Β mph). It rotates with a period of 10h 39m 24s, the same period as Saturn's radio emissions from its interior. The hexagon does not shift in longitude like other clouds in the visible atmosphere.

Saturn's hexagon was discovered during the Voyager mission in 1981, and was later revisited by Cassini-Huygens in 2006. During the Cassini mission, the hexagon changed from a mostly blue color to more of a golden color. Saturn's south pole does not have a hexagon, as verified by Hubble observations. It does, however, have a vortex, and there is also a vortex inside the northern hexagon. Multiple hypotheses for the hexagonal cloud pattern have been developed.

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πŸ”— Carrington Event

πŸ”— Telecommunications πŸ”— Astronomy πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Astronomy/Solar System πŸ”— Weather/Weather πŸ”— Weather/Space weather

The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking from 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in multiple telegraph stations. The geomagnetic storm was most likely the result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun colliding with Earth's magnetosphere.

The geomagnetic storm was associated with a very bright solar flare on 1 September 1859. It was observed and recorded independently by British astronomers Richard Christopher Carrington and Richard Hodgsonβ€”the first records of a solar flare.

A geomagnetic storm of this magnitude occurring today would cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts, and damage due to extended outages of the electrical power grid.

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πŸ”— Light Pillar

πŸ”— Physics πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Weather/Weather

A light pillar is an atmospheric optical phenomenon in which a vertical beam of light appears to extend above and/or below a light source. The effect is created by the reflection of light from tiny ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere or that comprise high-altitude clouds (e.g. cirrostratus or cirrus clouds). If the light comes from the Sun (usually when it is near or even below the horizon), the phenomenon is called a sun pillar or solar pillar. Light pillars can also be caused by the Moon or terrestrial sources, such as streetlights and erupting volcanoes.

πŸ”— Fata Morgana

πŸ”— Physics πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Weather/Weather πŸ”— Weather/General meteorology

A Fata Morgana (Italian: [ˈfaːta morˈɑaːna]) is a complex form of superior mirage visible in a narrow band right above the horizon. The term Fata Morgana is the Italian translation of "Morgan the Fairy" (Morgan le Fay of Arthurian legend). These mirages are often seen in the Italian Strait of Messina, and were described as fairy castles in the air or false land conjured by her magic.

Fata Morgana mirages significantly distort the object or objects on which they are based, often such that the object is completely unrecognizable. A Fata Morgana may be seen on land or at sea, in polar regions, or in deserts. It may involve almost any kind of distant object, including boats, islands, and the coastline. Often, a Fata Morgana changes rapidly. The mirage comprises several inverted (upside down) and upright images stacked on top of one another. Fata Morgana mirages also show alternating compressed and stretched zones.

The optical phenomenon occurs because rays of light bend when they pass through air layers of different temperatures in a steep thermal inversion where an atmospheric duct has formed. In calm weather, a layer of significantly warmer air may rest over colder dense air, forming an atmospheric duct that acts like a refracting lens, producing a series of both inverted and erect images. A Fata Morgana requires a duct to be present; thermal inversion alone is not enough to produce this kind of mirage. While a thermal inversion often takes place without there being an atmospheric duct, an atmospheric duct cannot exist without there first being a thermal inversion.

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πŸ”— Mediterranean tropical like Storm Daniel

πŸ”— Disaster management πŸ”— Africa πŸ”— Greece πŸ”— Turkey πŸ”— Bulgaria πŸ”— Africa/Libya πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Weather/Non-tropical storms πŸ”— Weather/Floods πŸ”— Weather/Weather πŸ”— Africa/Egypt πŸ”— Weather/Tropical cyclones

Storm Daniel, also known as Cyclone Daniel, was the deadliest Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone ever recorded as well as the deadliest weather event during 2023. It caused catastrophic damage in Libya and also affected parts of southeastern Europe. Forming as a low-pressure system around 4Β September 2023, the storm affected Greece, Bulgaria and also Turkey with extensive flooding. The storm then organized as a Mediterranean Low and was designated as Storm Daniel, in which it soon acquired quasi-tropical characteristics (TLC) and moved toward the coast of Libya, where it caused catastrophic flooding before degenerating into a remnant low. The storm was the result of an Omega block, as a high-pressure zone became sandwiched between two zones of low pressure, the isobars shaping a Greek letter Ξ©.

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πŸ”— Miyake event – estimated to be every 400–2400 years

πŸ”— Astronomy πŸ”— Geology πŸ”— Weather πŸ”— Astronomy/Solar System πŸ”— Weather/Weather πŸ”— Weather/Space weather

A Miyake event is an observed sharp enhancement of the production of cosmogenic isotopes by cosmic rays. It can be marked by a spike in the concentration of radioactive carbon isotope 14
C
in tree rings, as well as 10
Be
and 36
Cl
in ice cores, which are all independently dated. At present, five significant events are known (7176 BCE, 5259 BCE, 660 BCE, 774 CE, 993 CE) for which the spike in 14
C
is quite remarkable, i.e. above 1% rise over a period of 2 years, and four more events (12,350Β BCE, 5410 BCE, 1052 CE, 1279 CE) need independent confirmation. It is not known how often Miyake events occur, but from the available data it is estimated to be every 400–2400 years.

There is strong evidence that Miyake events are caused by extreme solar particle events and they are likely related to super-flares discovered on solar-like stars. Although Miyake events are based on extreme year-to-year rises of 14
C
concentration, the duration of the periods over which the 14
C
levels increase or stay at high levels is longer than one year. However, a universal cause and origin of all the events is not yet established in science, and some of the events may be caused by other phenomena coming from outer space (such as a gamma-ray burst).

A recently reported sharp spike in 14
C
that occurred between 12,350 and 12,349Β BCE, may represent the largest known Miyake event. This event was identified during a study conducted by an international team of researchers who measured radiocarbon levels in ancient trees recovered from the eroded banks of the Drouzet River, near Gap, France, in the Southern French Alps. According to the initial study the new event is roughly twice the size of the Ξ”14
C
increase for more recent 774Β CE and 993Β CE events, but the strength of the corresponding solar storm is not yet assessed. However, the newly discovered 12,350 BCE event has not yet been independently confirmed in wood from other regions, nor it is reliably supported by a clear corresponding spike in other isotopes (such as Beryllium-10) that are usually used in combination for absolute radiometric dating.

A Miyake event occurring in modern conditions might have significant impacts on global technological infrastructure such as satellites, telecommunications, and power grids.