Researchers hope the study will help improve tornado warnings and forecasts

An international team of researchers are embarking on what has been described as the most ambitious tornado study in history.

An array of instruments will be deployed across the US Great Plains, where violent twisters are more common than anywhere else on the planet.

It is hoped that the data gathered will improve tornado warnings and forecasts.

More than 100 scientists will be involved in the study, which will continue until the middle of June.

“Tornadoes rank among the most destructive weather events on Earth,” said Dr David Dowell, one of the project’s principal investigators and a scientist for the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

“It is imperative that we learn more about how they develop and why some are so powerful.”

The study, Vortex2, will use a range of enhanced mobile radars and other weather-sensing equipment in order to build up a comprehensive picture of the zones where tornadoes develop.

Researchers say that rapidly changing contrasts in wind and temperatures in an area just a few miles across can spawn a tornado in a matter of minutes.

But, they added, only a small percentage of “supercell storms” generate twisters, and standard observing networks and radars struggle to pick up the atmospheric conditions that lead to the formation of a tornado.

On the road

The radar fleet for the field project includes 10 mobile radars, which will track winds and precipitation in the tornadoes and the surrounding area.

The radar fleet for the field project includes 10 mobile radars, which will track winds and precipitation in the tornadoes and the surrounding area.

The team will also be using more than 36 portable surface weather stations, weather balloons, and they hope to send an unmanned 12ft aircraft to the edge of severe storms to collect data.

The study area stretches from West Texas to south-west Minnesota, covering more than 900 miles (1,450km).

The researchers will not have a fixed base, spending the entire six weeks on the road following outbreaks of severe weather.

The project will build on the findings from the original Vortex study, which was conducted in 1994-95 and gathered data on supercells – long-lived thunderstorms that can spawn tornadoes.

The $12m (£8m) project is primarily funded by the US National Science Foundation, and will include researchers from Europe, Canada and Australia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/science_and_environment/10093808.stm

The more voles there are, the more eggs the birds can lay

The tawny owl population in a Northumberland beauty spot is booming as a result of the harsh winter, experts say.

The Forestry Commission say their growth at Kielder Forest is due to an increase in the number of voles, which the birds of prey feed on.

The large amount of snow which fell over the winter allowed voles to hide from prey and breed successfully.

The forest is currently home to 105 nesting pairs of tawny owls.

Martin Davidson, an ornithologist with the Forestry Commission, said: “With all the young voles available now, the tawny owls have cashed in on that and the population is doing really well.

“At Kielder we have 105 nesting pairs, with eggs. And excitingly, this year, we have four clutches of five eggs which is the most tawny owls ever lay.

Vole record

“This is undoubtedly linked to the number of voles. The more voles there are, the more eggs the birds can lay.

“In a good year like this the chicks have more voles than they can eat and in one box we found a record 49 voles waiting to be eaten and the chicks were already stuffed to the gunnels.”

A brood of tawny owl chicks, which were about 21 weeks old, have been ringed with identification tags as part of an ongoing research project at Kielder Forest.

Mr Davidson said: “We need to ring all the chicks to record whether it’s the same bird or a new bird using the territory.

“The only way we can do that is by using a ring on the leg as it’s a great way of identifying the bird.”

The Forestry Commission has been studying the birds for 30 years and there are almost 300 nesting boxes erected in the area.

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Ring of Fire

This new image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory’s Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) shows in great detail a solar prominence taken from a March 30, 2010 eruption. The twisting motion of the material is the most noticeable feature.

Launched on Feb. 11, 2010, SDO is the most advanced spacecraft ever designed to study the sun. During its five-year mission, it will examine the sun’s magnetic field and also provide a better understanding of the role the sun plays in Earth’s atmospheric chemistry and climate. Since launch, engineers have been conducting testing and verification of the spacecraft’s components. Now fully operational, SDO will provide images with clarity 10 times better than high-definition television and will return more comprehensive science data faster than any other solar observing spacecraft.

Image Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1650.html

A NEW beach safety warning has been issued after a car was engulfed by the sea on Burnham-on-Sea beach.

A family from Wolverhampton became stranded on the first night of their holiday when their car got stuck in soft sand and mud on Monday evening.

After stopping to use their jetski their Ford Mondeo estate’s wheels sank into the beach and the incoming tide engulfed it.

Burnham Coastguard and rescue charity BARB were called to the scene.

BARB’s tractor was used to pull the stricken vehicle out of the mud. The owners had scrambled free from the car.

BARB chairman Mark Newman said: “We would urge motorists to check the times and heights of tides.”

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Warning-car-engulfed-tide/article-2081065-detail/article.html

Gravel beaches protect low-lying coastal areas from flooding

Experts have been awarded £500,000 to research the impact storms have on gravel beaches in the UK.

Researchers at the University of Plymouth will use the grant to investigate the threat storms and sea levels pose to the beaches.

It is hoped the three-year project at Slapton Sands will enable a model to be made to predict future erosion.

Gravel beaches and barriers help protect low-lying coastal areas from flooding, and cliffs from wave erosion.

It is thought that the damage could increase due to rising sea levels and increased storms.

Professor Paul Russell said: “The insights gained from the experimental work will be used to develop a practical tool for predicting beach formation, flooding and breaching of gravel beaches and barriers.”

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People in Cambridge take advantage of the warm spring weather with a boat ride along the River Cam.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/uk_enl_1272376735/html/1.stm