NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS, BEHAVING STRANGELY

SpaceWeather.com ^ | 1MAR2015 | Staff Writer

[Jack Hydrazine]

The southern season for noctilucent clouds (NLCs) has come to an end. NASA's AIM spacecraft observed the last wisps of electric-blue over Antarctica on Feb. 20, 2015. The end of the season was no surprise: The polar clouds always subside in late summer. Looking back over the entire season, however, reveals something unexpected. In an 8-year plot of Antarctic noctilucent cloud frequencies, the 2014-2015 season is clearly different from the rest:



These data come from the AIM spacecraft, which was launched in 2007 to monitor NLCs from Earth orbit. The curves show the abundance ("frequency") of the clouds vs. time for 120 days around every southern summer solstice for the past 8 years.

"This past season was not like the others," notes Cora Randall, a member of the AIM science team and the chair of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado. "The clouds were much more variable, and there was an enormous decrease in cloud frequency 15 to 25 days after the summer solstice. That's when the clouds are usually most abundant."

What does this mean? Previous research shows that NLCs are a sensitive indicator of long-range teleconnections in Earth's atmosphere, which link weather and climate across hemispheres. The strange behavior of noctilucent clouds in 2014-2015 could be a sign of previously unknown linkages. "Preliminary indications are that it is indeed due to inter-hemispheric teleconnections," says Randall. "We're still analyzing the data, so stay tuned."

Now attention turns to the northern hemisphere, where the season for NLCs typically begins in May. Will the northern season ahead be as strangely variable as the southern season, just concluded? Says Randall, "I can't wait to find out."

[Jack Hydrazine]

This is posted right now on their main page with no link to it under a separate page.

[Jack Hydrazine]

More on noctilucent clouds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctilucent_cloud

[Jack Hydrazine]

[Texas Eagle]

Reminds me of when I was a child in first grade. My first girlfriend and I would skip school and lie on the grass looking up at the sky and she would say, "That noctilucent cloud looks like a bunny". And I would say, "If I squint, that IVb Whirl next to those Locunosus Holes reminds me of a horse."

Those were the days. Thanks for bringing back those memories.

[Blueflag]

Clear evidence of man-caused climate change that will kill us all, initiated by the effects of two terms of Bush Policies and the follow-on do nothing Republican House.

[TexasGator]

Noctilucent ... not seen durung daytime

[CrazyIvan]

I’ve looked at clouds that way.

[spokeshave]

....could it be that there are less sunspots.....?

[BenLurkin]

“Preliminary indications are that it is indeed due to inter-hemispheric teleconnections,”

Sorry. Not buying it.

[OldNukeDaddy]

Do they actually have more than 8 years of data to make the claim that the most recent year is “strange”?

[Fresh Wind]

Chemtrails. Definitely chemtrails.

[Fungi]

Could not resist commenting on this one Mr. Hydazine. “Preliminary indications are that it is indeed due to inter-hemispheric teleconnections,”

“Preliminary,” huh? Looks like this guy had a long dose of monomethyl hydrazine.

[InterceptPoint]

Clear evidence of man-caused climate change that will kill us all, initiated by the effects of two terms of Bush Policies and the follow-on do nothing Republican House.
++++
You got it. That See-Oh-Too is wicked stuff. All 400 Parts Per Million of it. God help us if it should reach 500 parts. And we should be thankful that the remaining 999,600 parts are harmless.

[spokeshave]

“Preliminary indications are that it is indeed due to inter-hemispheric teleconnections

Figures...since with less sunspots the upper ionized layers (Van Allen etc) are weaker....so long distance radio transmissions are not possible...i.e. the radio transmissions between north and south hemispheres are de-coupled...leading to the events observed......(forward my Nobel Prize money to FR support....thanks in advance)

[Texas Eagle]

School started early back in those days. You’re probably too young to remember. Plus, sometimes we’d wear sunglasses.

[Fungi]

Is it spokes have or spoke shave?

[Jack Hydrazine]

He’s been breathing deeply!

[TADSLOS]

[Jack Hydrazine]

If only he had gone for the UDMH instead of the MMH!

[Starstruck]

Clearly indicative of a polar shift. I’m tying everything down and attaching myself to the ceiling.