When the moon is high in the sky, it creates bulges in the planet's atmosphere that creates imperceptible changes in the amount of rain that falls below.
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Posted on 01/31/2016 3:46:13 PM PST by BenLurkin
When the moon is high in the sky, it creates bulges in the planet's atmosphere that creates imperceptible changes in the amount of rain that falls below.
New University of Washington research to be published in Geophysical Research Letters shows that the lunar forces affect the amount of rain - though very slightly.
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Kohyama was studying atmospheric waves when he noticed a slight oscillation in the air pressure. He and co-author John (Michael) Wallace, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences, spent two years tracking down the phenomenon.
Air pressure changes linked to the phases of the moon were first detected in 1847,and temperature in 1932, in ground-based observations. An earlier paper by the UW researchers used a global grid of data to confirm that air pressure on the surface definitely varies with the phases of the moon.
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Their new paper is the first to show that the moon's gravitational tug also puts a slight damper on the rain.
When the moon is overhead, its gravity causes Earth's atmosphere to bulge toward it, so the pressure or weight of the atmosphere on that side of the planet goes up. Higher pressure increases the temperature of air parcels below. Since warmer air can hold more moisture, the same air parcels are now farther from their moisture capacity.
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Kohyama and Wallace used 15 years of data collected by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite from 1998 to 2012 to show that the rain is indeed slightly lighter when the moon is high. The change is only about 1 percent of the total rainfall variation, though, so not enough to affect other aspects of the weather or for people to notice the difference.
(Excerpt) Read more at phys.org ...
As anyone who has spent years at sea knows ...
wow! /s
While I understand the theory, how do you measure “imperceptible”?
-While I understand the theory, how do you measure “imperceptible�-
That’s where I stopped reading. I just glanced down the comments to see who found that bit.
(8^D)
Yeah...we in the NW really are aware of this /s...rolling eyes
Change of moon; change of weather.
If the variation is measurable at one percent, I'd say it's actually pretty perceptible.
I don't think the reporter knows what that word means. If it's "imperceptible", how was it discovered?
BTW: The bulge of atmosphere is moving at 1000 mph...I doubt it really sticks around long enough to do anything. Tidal bulge is more relevent.
How much did this study cost the taxpayer?
When the moon is high in the sky, it creates bulges in the planet's atmosphere that creates imperceptible changes in the amount of rain that falls below.
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Well done: the way you chose ever so slightly smaller text. Almost imperceptibly smaller. However far more perceptible than that effect upon rainfall of you know what. Eh?
Democrats will use this as an excuse to raise taxes. Republicans will do nothing to stop them.
When it comes to discussion of rain, i wish everyone would just drop it!
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