The Mighty Oceans

From NASA. Earth is the water planet. Although forty percent of Earth's population lives within or near coastal regions, the ocean impacts people everywhere. Most of Earth's water is stored in the ocean -- a driving force for weather and climate. The Earth's surface is warmed unevenly by the sun. 

Heat, a form of energy, helps drive ocean and atmospheric circulation. The ocean absorbs and stores more heat than the atmosphere. Both the atmosphere and ocean are moving; the atmosphere does this quickly, the ocean slowly. Multiple forces keep the global ocean conveyor belt or Thermohaline Circulation in perpetual motion. Below the surface, deeper currents are driven by differences in density. Mixing and upwelling in the ocean, transport nutrient rich waters to the ocean's surface. Nutrients sustain biological productivity in the ocean. 

Extreme variations in sea surface height and sea surface temperature effect ocean and atmospheric circulation. El Niño and La Niña occur when changing wind patterns displace warm and cool water in the equatorial Pacific. Both have global impacts. During either of these events the replacement of cold water by warm water leads to air temperature swings and changes in humidity. This alters weather patterns by steering storms and rainfall to new locations. Shifts in rainfall affect plant growth and areas impacted by drought. 

When heat is exchanged between the Ocean's surface to the atmosphere it influences climate. For example, heat and moisture carried by the Gulf Stream northward bring warmer temperatures and a moderate climate to Europe. An eddy is a circular moving body of water that spins off a main current. Eddies play a major role transporting heat and nutrients. Thunderstorms are a frequent occurrence in the tropics. Some of these may become organized into large rotating systems with strong winds, growing into tropical storms or hurricanes. 

Tropical ocean basins like the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico retain substantial heat making these regions favorable for rapid storm intensification. By extracting large amounts of heat from the ocean, storms can become massive and destructive hurricanes. 

A driving force for weather and climate, the ocean is essential to life on Earth. It is the primary storehouse of Earth's water. Without the ocean our planet would be uninhabitable. NASA satellites and their unique view from space are helping to unveil the vast and largely unexplored ocean.

Bruce Dickinson, Alice Cooper, Brian May And John Paul Jones All Appear At Sunflower Jam Charity Show. Oof!

Merlin at 11:23am September 17 2012

Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, Queen guitarist Brian May, Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones andAlice Cooper were some of the name to appear at a special charity event at the Royal Albert Hall in London last night (Sunday September 16).

All proceeds from the event went to a great cause in cancer support charity Sunflower Jam, founded by Jacky Paice, wife of Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice.

“Sunflower Jam is a great night out and a fabulous meeting of musical styles and personalities for a unique and very worthy cause,” says Bruce. We agree, and judging by the photos below, it looks like it was a massive success. Nice one!

[All photo credits go to Neil Lupin / neillupin.com]

Bruce Dickinson And Brian May. Obviously.

The gang on stage

Oh Alice you card

JPJ and the May

Smile!

Snow on Mars: NASA Spacecraft Spots 'Dry Ice' Snowflakes

Researchers have calculated that carbon dioxide snow particles on Mars are roughly the size of a human red blood cell. Martian snow is depicted in this artist's rendering as a mist or fog that eventually settles to the surface. CREDIT: NASA, Christine Daniloff/MIT News  View full size image

A spacecraft orbiting Mars has detected carbon dioxide snow falling on the Red Planet, making Mars the only body in the solar system known to host this weird weather phenomenon.

The snow on Mars fell from clouds around the planet's south pole during the Martian winter spanning 2006 and 2007, with scientists discovering it only after sifting through observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The Martian south pole hosts a frozen carbon dioxide — or "dry ice" — cap year-round, and the new discovery may help explain how it formed and persists, researchers said.

"These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds," lead author Paul Hayne, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement. "We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide — flakes of Martian air — and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface."

The find means Mars hosts two different kinds of snowfall. In 2008, NASA's Phoenix lander observed water-ice snow — the stuff we're familiar with here on Earth — falling near the Red Planet's north pole,. [7 Biggest Mysteries of Mars]

Hayne and his team studied data gathered by MRO's Mars Climate Sounder instrument during the Red Planet's southern winter in 2006-2007. This instrument measures brightness in nine different wavelengths of visible and infrared light, allowing scientists to learn key characteristics of the particles and gases in the Martian atmosphere, such as their sizes and concentrations.

The research team examined measurements the Mars Climate Sounder made while looking at clouds — including one behemoth 300 miles (500 kilometers) wide — from directly overhead, and from off to the side. These combined observations clearly revealed dry-ice snow falling through the Red Planet's skies, researchers said.

"One line of evidence for snow is that the carbon-dioxide ice particles in the clouds are large enough to fall to the ground during the lifespan of the clouds," said co-author David Kass, also of JPL. "Another comes from observations when the instrument is pointed toward the horizon, instead of down at the surface."

"The infrared spectra signature of the clouds viewed from this angle is clearly carbon-dioxide ice particles, and they extend to the surface," Kass added. "By observing this way, the Mars Climate Sounder is able to distinguish the particles in the atmosphere from the dry ice on the surface."

Observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have detected carbon-dioxide snow clouds on Mars and evidence of carbon-dioxide snow falling to the surface. Deposits of small particles of carbon-dioxide ice are formed by snowfall from carbon-dioxide clouds. This map shows the distribution of small-grain carbon-dioxide ice deposits formed by snowfall over the south polar cap of Mars. It is based on infrared measurements by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image released September 11, 2012.
CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

View full size image

Astronomers still aren't entirely sure how the dry ice sustaining Mars' south polar cap — the only place where frozen carbon dioxide exists year-round on the planet's surface — is deposited. It could come from snowfall, or the stuff may freeze out of the air at ground level, researchers said.

"The finding of snowfall could mean that the type of deposition — snow or frost — is somehow linked to the year-to-year preservation of the residual cap," Hayne said.

Dry ice requires temperatures of about minus 193 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 125 Celsius) to fall, reinforcing just how cold the Martian surface is.

The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research. Hayne performed the research while a postdoc at Caltech in Pasadena.

Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. 

Mars Myths & Misconceptions: Quiz

Flames & Fury: Anti-US rage sweeps Muslim world 'like wildfire'

Furious crowds attacking American embassies across the Islamic world are refusing to scale down the protests, which continue to claim lives.

In Egypt, demonstrators angry over a U.S.-made film mocking Islam, are in a stand-off with police for a fourth day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23QW3Qz1VGE&feature=g-u-u

KΑΤΑΡΑΧΤΗΣ

LOORRS 2012 Rnd 11&12 featuring the Monster Energy Off Road Race Team

LCAC On Beach During RIMPAC 2012

PACIFIC OCEAN (July 28, 2012) U.S. Navy Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) departs the well deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) and deploys U.S. Marines and equipment to the beach during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012. RIMPAC 2012 is the world's largest international maritime exercise, including twenty-two nations, more than 40 ships and submarines, and more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel, and provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2012 is the 23rd exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric T. Crosby/Released) 120728-N-SS993-002

Fashion Destination: Mediterranean Isles with Hofit Golan | FashionTV

TURKEY, GREECE - FashionTV is enjoying the summer in style, as beautiful ladies lounge on a yacht in the Mediterranean and hit up the islands near Turkey and Greece. Other destinations include a hotel in the resort area of Hisoranu and Marmaris, which doubles as a cruise ship and yacht port. FashionTV Presenter/Actress Hofit Golan and friend enjoy luxurious dinner and dancing at the Billionaire club as FashionTV plays on the screen. In Greece, Hofit Golan wears an I Love Fashion collection dress and she enjoys the good life, checking out the landmarks in the Greek islands and relaxing aboard a yacht. Would you expect anything less?