Occasional musings on meteorology and other bits of Earth science
It is innovative learning week again, so, as in previous years, I joined the meteorological walk up Arthur’s seat. Here we are, measuring the temperature and pressure at the summit trig point. The atmosphere was in hydrostatic equilibrium just as much as in 2014 and 2015: (see 2014 post for details). If anything, the points formContinue reading ILW: nice weather for a change
Along with nearly everyone else in Scotland, I saw the Great Nacreous Cloud Display of 2016 this morning and yesterday evening. Yesterday (Monday 1 Feb), I only saw the clouds briefly before the light faded. But this morning at sunrise the clouds were there again as I waited for the train Infuriatingly, the most dramaticContinue reading Nacreous Clouds
As I noted earlier in the year, we didn’t have a stellar summer. And the whole-season climate-integrating device confirms it: The grapes this year went directly from hard and green to sad and wrinkled, never becoming edible at all. The eating apples, on the other hand, have had a stellar year; how well they doContinue reading Apples and grapes
I was down in the Lake District at the weekend, just to the North of Broughton-in-Furness. Not on a field trip this time; I was there to meet up with my family and go for a walk. But that still meant encountering some weather and some rocks. The weather was pleasant, with high, thin, cloudContinue reading Hexagons
I was on the annual geophysics field course last week, so, as promised, here is what happened. This year, we were in the White Peak, the part of the Peak District near Tideswell, Derbyshire, and as in previous years, with staff and students from the universities of Münster and Paris Sud. The students were dividedContinue reading Cows, Halos, Gravity
I’m beginning to hear from a variety of sources the opinion expressed that this summer is particularly disappointing. Both farmers and beekeepers were grumbling loudly on the radio this morning, while ski lift operators were cheering about how long the skiing season had lasted. I knew already that bees were not having a good summerContinue reading The summer so far …
Academics get some time to think over the summer, and I have been busy thinking about a topic that forms part of a course that I taught for the first time this spring, and which I felt I had not got to the bottom of. I think it might make a good student research projectContinue reading Balance in science reporting
I spotted this nice display of noctilucent clouds last night. I have blogged about these clouds before; as I noted then I don’t observe them seriously, but I do keep an eye out for them. This year it has taken me until nearly the end of the season to see any. People sometimes give theContinue reading Noctilucent clouds: catching the end of the season
I spent yesterday afternoon at the University of Edinburgh’s graduation ceremony. I am in two minds about attending graduations. They are quite long, and you have to listen to a speech which you have heard several times before. But I think it is important to say goodbye to each year’s crop of geophysics graduates asContinue reading Leaving the nest
This year, the annual retreat for some of our staff and Ph.D students has been scheduled at a time when I can go to it. Which is nice, but it does mean that I have to work up a talk on whatever research I am managing to get done. And I was just scratching myContinue reading The eruption of Calbuco, and its stratospheric aftermath
