March 5, 2007
6:00 PM
The 9PM satellite is missing from the loop today. There is an odd 'hot air bubble' over what appears the '3 Mile Blue Ice.' It moves from the location of 12 Noon clockwise to 6PM. It is above zero in temperature. The Antarctica Jet Stream (click on) is dominating it's movement. There is little intrusion on the Jet Stream today by winds (click on).
The 'heat bubble' shows up in this satellite view at 6:00 on the face of a clock. It is 'pointing' toward 5:00 o'clock from that primary location. The 'heat bubble' shows up on satellite at times that are not sequential which leads me to believe this is a 'constant' heat event over at least 180 degrees of the continent's Blue Ice if not 360 degrees. It hasn't dissipated any during it's traverse. It appears 'starkly' at 12 o'clock at 12 PM, at 2 o'clock at 6 AM and then at 6 o'clock at 6 PM. It never manifests over WAIS (West Antarctica Ice Sheet.)
It is curious. I've not noted that event before. My best guess is that the heat is actually stable and not moving so much as settled over the Blue Ice and possibly WAIS. The satellite projects it as moving when in fact cooler air manifests interrupting the continental detection of the heat. It would make sense if this cooler air were at ground level moving aloft especially over WAIS where the sublimination of the ice happens more quickly over the ocean waters/ice sheets. This is just my theory and the continent in this condition bears watching. Perhaps I'll revisit it tomorrow.
The coldest station (click on) is Vostok, atop the Blue Ice with it's drilling platform to the terrestrial lake below. It is -59 degrees Celcius with humidity of 27% humidity. There is a couple of ways of looking at humidity in Antarctica. Sometimes it is brought on by melting with higher humidities but it sometimes is due to storms. It rains and snows in Antarctica. All these conditions are dependant of course on temperature.
Noted, Vostok is higher in temperature than last week with winds at 14 mph/22 km/h. All this data from Vostok was at 12 AM VOST (Vostok time).
The 'temperate' areas are abating in number. The warmest station is King Sejong with a temperature of 2 degrees Celcius, humidity of 55% with winds of 18 mph/30 km/h at the reporting time of 6PM GMT.
The highest winds are in the vacinity of 28/29 mph, about 49 km/h. They are at far lower elevations than the observed phenomena and are primarily temperate such as Rothera Point which is on the Peninsula. The Peninsula is hot. The winds involved with this 'heat' are slower. The higher winds are a result of quickly changing temperatures and the winds are a result. The slower winds in the area of heat described is more troubling. It reflects a more 'consistent' weather condition that 'tracts' with the jet stream. It's a worry. If the wind remains constant and the 'heat event' continues to exist even if intermittently that will be stronger evidence of a serious heat intrusion on Antarctica that is seeking resolve. The curiosity is why it doesn't resolve and dissipate. Why the consistent nature? There are no wind events necessarily delivering this to the 3 mile ice. I don't note any wind 'blasting' the 3 mile Blue Ice.
Definately tomorrow before the 'zoo review.' The satellite doesn't have anything THAT wrong with it's reporting. The 'heat event' appears on there separate images. It's there. Tomorrow then.
