A record collapse of the Earth's upper atmosphere occurred in 2009-09

A new article published by our friend, Robert Felix, (www.IceAgeNow.com), talks about a big contraction of the Earth's upper atmosphere. Here's is the feature that's listed below.

"An upper layer of the earth's atmosphere, the 'THERMOSPHERE,' recently experienced an unexpectedly large 'COLLAPSE,' NASA an-nounced in mid July.

The collapse happened during the deep solar minimum of 2008-2009. Researchers had expected the contraction, because the thermosphere always cools and contracts when solar activity is low. In this case, however, the magnitude of the collapse was two to three times greater than low solar activity could explain by itself.

"This is the biggest contraction of the thermosphere in at least 43 years," says John Emmert of the Naval Research Lab, lead author of a paper in the June 19th issue of the Geophysical Research Letters. "It's a Space Age record."

"Something is going on that we do not understand," says Emmert.

The thermosphere, which ranges in altitude from 90 km to 600-plus km, is where solar radiation makes its first contact with our planet. The thermosphere intercepts extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photons from the sun before they can reach the ground. When solar activity is high, solar EUV warms the thermosphere, causing it to puff up. When solar activity is low, the opposite happens, it contracts.

Is this sort of, perhaps, an admission that solar forces - not humans - are responsible for heating and cooling our planet? This climatologist says "YES."

Lately, solar activity has been very low. In 2008 and 2009, the sun plunged into a century-class solar minimum. Sunspots were scarce, solar flares almost non-existent, and solar EUV radiation was at a low ebb. Researchers immediately turned their attention to the thermosphere to see what would happen.

Emmert discovered that the thermospheric collapse of 2008-2009 was not only bigger than any previous collapse, but also bigger than the sun alone could explain. Maybe a new 'Little Ice Age' had already begun? See the added article on the dead penguins.

One possible explanation is carbon dioxide (CO2). When carbon dioxide gets into the thermosphere, it acts as a coolant, shedding heat via infrared radiation. It is widely-known that CO2 levels have been increasing in Earth's atmosphere. Extra CO2 in the thermosphere could have magnified the cooling action of solar minimum.

CO2 not only warms, but also acts as a coolant. Even when we take CO2 into account using our best understanding of how it operates as a coolant, we cannot fully explain the thermosphere's collapse," says Emmert.

The 'Solar Minimum' may be coming to an end, EUV radiation is on the rise, and the thermosphere is puffing up again. Exactly how the recovery proceeds could unravel the contributions of solar vs. terrestrial sources.

"We will continue to monitor the situation," says Emmert.

A HARSH WINTER LEADS TO HUNDREDS OF DEAD PENGUINS ON BRAZIL'S BEACHES

Hundreds of penguins have starved to death and are washing up on Brazil's beaches. At least 500 dead birds have been found recently in Sao Paulo State.

These birds are mostly Magellan penguins that were forced far to the north in search of fish, krill and squid that have suddenly vanished in the much colder than normal waters south to Antarctica.

WHEAT PRICES SOAR ON RUSSIAN WEATHER WOES

This July, wheat prices in Chicago rose nearly $2 a bushel, their biggest monthly gain since 1973.

Russian grain exports in 2011 may be cut more than 30 percent due to the worst summer drought east of the Ural Mountains and along the Black Sea in decades. Temperatures in places have reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).

As I've predicted for many months now, I see THE WORST GLOBAL FOOD SHORTAGES ON RECORD developing by late 2011 and early 2012. (Maybe the Mayans will be right after all!)

I'll have more details later.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND

LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

Since the record .57 inches of rain on July 2, only a scant .05 inches of moisture was gauged at my station on Player Drive during the following four-week span ending Friday, July 30. The monthly total was a below-normal .62 inches.

July turned out to be my long-predicted hot and dry month with several 'Sholeh Days' above 90 degrees. On Monday, July 26, the latest hot spell peaked at a toasty 95 degrees in town following a 94-degree reading on Sunday, July 25.

Following a few scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms at the start of August in the region, I see more 90-degree plus temperatures returning to North Idaho and the surrounding Inland Empire.

It's still possible that we'll see one or two afternoons in mid August soar to near the century mark, especially in those areas that are away from the cooling bodies of water like Lake Coeur d'Alene and Hayden Lake. We've already seen triple-digit readings this summer in the normally hotter areas from Lewiston westward to Walla Walla and Hanford, Wash., where it was 103 degrees on July 26.

Most of the heavier showers in August will stay to the east of us into the higher mountains along the Idaho and Montana border. I'm hoping that Whitefish is nice this weekend. I'm going to attend my son Brian's 30th high school reunion as his guest. Not too many sons invite their 68-year-old fathers to such an event. I'm looking forward to spending some bonding time with Brian. He lives in Phoenix and hasn't been up here in two years.

Longer term, the weather prospects for this year's edition of the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo in late August still look good. I see afternoon highs mostly in the 80s with only the slight chance of a scattered shower or thunderstorm, mostly in the late afternoon or early evening hours.

September looks dry and warm until late in the period when the showers should return along with cooler temperatures into early to mid October. The chances of early frosts and freezes in the sheltered areas north and east of town will likewise increase.

As Randy Mann and I have said recently, a new colder 'La Nina' sea-surface temperature event could mean a 'bearcat' of a winter on 2010-11 with lots of snow. Stay tuned.

SPECIAL NOTE: Randy will be teaching two very interesting Physical Geography courses at North Idaho College for the fall semester that begins on Aug. 23. Topics will feature the study of the Earth's structure and seasons, weather, volcanoes, earthquakes and more. The classes are available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:00 to 11:50 a.m. and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 8:50 p.m. Only a few seats are left for each course.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. E-mail sfharris@roadrunner.com