R. C. Sutcliffe had been invited to write his book,Weather and Climate, by W. W. Norton & Company as part of their Advancement of Science Series.  This series aimed to inform the intelligent reader about new developments in science and their relevance to everyday life. (From dustcover)  It was published in 1966 and has become my reference for the history of this very young science.

Scientists have identified a way in which the effects of Antarctic melting can be enhanced. Their new satellite observations of the Dotson Ice Shelf show its losses, far from being even, are actually focused on a long, narrow sector.

Dr. Ryan Maue here reports via Twitter that although the Atlantic hurricane season “is going gangbusters,” the Pacific is, in fact, seeing “one of quietest Typhoon seasons on record.”

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted a potential sand-producing region that could be feeding the red planet’s stunning expanse of dunes.

In a breathtaking new image, the space agency has revealed a look at the sloping sediments near the boundary of Mars’ Southern highlands and Northern lowlands.

Wind turbines are the most visible symbols of the quest for renewable electricity generation. And yet, although they exploit the wind, which is as free and as green as energy can be, the machines themselves are pure embodiments of fossil fuels.

Winter started early this year. The first blizzard of the season in Montana broke a snow record with 30 inches during the first week of October, barely a few weeks into fall. In my state of Colorado too, with 11 inches of snow in Grand Mesa. Prompting the local CBS affiliate to proclaim, “The snow season is off to a big start in western Colorado!”

Image copyright: GETTY IMAGES

Think the Nobel prize for economics has nothing to do with you? In some years that may well be true. But this year’s award has gone to Richard Thaler who, in his book Nudge, was one of the first to outline how tiny prompts can alter our behaviour.

The upper reaches of the sun’s atmosphere are thousands of times hotter than its surface, and a new study offers a possible reason for that intense heat: countless explosions from the sun, each too small for scientists to detect.

From the world of science – as opposed to grant-troughing junk science – two more studies confirming that the man-made global warming scare is a myth.

What a hurricane season! It started very early with Arlene in April but the real action held off until the last week of August when Hurricane Harvey flooded Texas and Louisiana. Harvey was the first hurricane to make landfall in Texas since Ike in 2008 and the first Category 4 hurricane in Texas since Carla in 1961.

UK scientists will lead an international expedition to the huge new iceberg that recently calved in the Antarctic. A-68, which covers an area of almost 6,000 sq km, broke away in July.

Figure 1.) Image of Pine Island Glacier area including surrounding known to be actively heat flowing geological features; Hudson Mountains Volcanic Region, Mount Takahe Volcanic Region, and fault down-dropped valleys. (individual volcanoes as red circles, down-dropped fault valleys outlined in black).

Temperature measurement stations have been installed at various locations across the globe. The number of temperature monitoring stations is decreasing and many areas across the globe do not have any temperature monitoring stations. Consequently, average surface temperature is an unreliable metric for assessing global temperature trends.

The argument about some inherent order to things is pretty convincing and, by extension, some Force which brings about Order in the Universe. The mathematical treatise by Rod Danz is a useful guide.