Thursday, March 14, 2024

Atmospheric Rivers and Climate Change

 The recent floods in California resulted from atmospheric rivers. Readers may review this method of planetary water distribution in our recent post:  

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2024/02/appearing-and-disappearing-lakes.html 


Atmospheric rivers have become a popular meteorological topic du jour. It is unusual that such an important topic has not achieved more notoriety in the current lexicon of meteorology and climatology. The term atmospheric river was first used in 1994. The phenomenon has currently achieved a high level of awareness.  


Climate change is referenced many times in our current weather and climate conversation. Many ordinary phenomena are linked to or credited to climate change. The term is used repeatedly. The existence of atmospheric rivers is commonly linked to climate change. A variable scale of impact—AR 1 to AR 5 (dependent on amount of water vapor contained and duration of the phenomenon) reminds us of the scale of hurricane strength (Saffir-Simpson wind scale: category 1 to 5), or tornado intensity (Fujita scale: F1 to F4) also based on wind speeds. The scale of atmospheric rivers from 1-5 was first proposed in 2019.  


Because Earth’s climate has been in a state of ongoing change over many millennia, many analysts have insisted that climate change is mostly a natural occurrence. Fossil fuel consumption by humans has generated increased production of carbon dioxide emissions from the late 19th century to our current 21st century society. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (GHG) capable of generating more atmospheric warming than natural events. Climate change (1) is caused by natural factors, and (2) climate change is also caused by the collective impact of humanity whose population has increased eight-fold since the beginning of the 19th century. It is difficult to deny the importance of fossil fuel consumption. 


The recent publicity concerning atmospheric rivers has called attention to current serious flooding in California. The flooding has impacted agriculture in the Golden State, especially in the last several years since the atmospheric river phenomenon has intensified. The flooding has been a mixed blessing for California. Many reservoirs are currently refilling from previous drought conditions. Serious flooding in California impacts food prices across America. The Central California Valley contains only 1% of our nation’s farmland, but this region produces one-third of US vegetables and two-thirds of our nation’s fruits and nuts. The annual value of California’s agricultural products exceeds $50 billion; over $20 billion in agricultural products is exported to other countries. The valley produces more than 250 different agricultural products. It is also home to 6.5 million residents, many of whom are employed in farming.


Floods in the state of California are cyclical as are droughts. Long before old world explorers arrived in the new world, atmospheric rivers were pounding the North American west coast. Native Americans resided in the Central California Valley long before European explorers arrived. No doubt those Native Americans experienced mega-floods from atmospheric rivers in the years 212, 440, 603, 1029, c. 1300, 1418, 1605, 1750, 1810, and most recently—1861-62. Fertile sediments washing downstream from mountain ranges to the east supplied layer upon layer of fertile silt in the Santa Barbara Basin.  (USGS sediment research…..Wikipedia article.)  Several of these mega-floods were more intense than the 1861-62 series of atmospheric rivers which killed many Native American people and farm animals and devastated the Golden State economy.


The greatest historical west coast floods have occurred roughly every 200 years in the past two millennia. It is clear to modern researchers that atmospheric rivers have been a component of our climate system for thousands of years—long before climate change was given credit for amplifying them. We may be due for another mega-flooding event. California is due for “The Big One—“ a reference to a possible great earthquake such as occurred in 1906. But If we were to apply this term to an onslaught of atmospheric rivers, we may predict a flood of monumental proportions. Damage to California’s agriculture would be devastating.


The Creator has authored a planetary environment in which the entire climate system works for the ultimate benefit of human life. In the Book of Genesis God mandates humans to “have dominion.” Humanity must apply knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom in order to “have dominion.” (Genesis 1:28)  


       


  




 


 


 


     

  

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Dominion Wisdom

 In the first chapter of Genesis the concept of God granting dominion to humanity in terms of creation care is an important topic. Genesis 1 is a narrative of divine creation activity. It deals with science—the geologic history of Planet Earth and the history of life, including human life—the pinnacle of God’s creative activity. The chapter also deals with theology. God had redemption of humanity in mind before the creation event: I Corinthians 2:7—before time began; 2 Timothy 1:9—before the beginning of time; Titus 1:2—before the beginning of time; and Ephesians 1:4—before the creation of the world (All quotes from the NIV). Even human salvation is an act of divine creation.

In Genesis 1, humanity was granted dominion (authority, influence, jurisdiction, or control) over many types of living things. In verses 2, 6, 7, 9, and 10, water was the focus of attention. Light energy had been created at the first instant of the creation event. However, light did not appear at Earth’s surface until “darkness…over the face of the deep” was dispelled. God established a permanent water cycle. Verses 6-7 describe accurately, but without much detail, the conditions necessary for a stable water cycle.


In just a few verses we are informed of the appearance of light on our planet’s surface, the reality of a stable water cycle, the appearance of swarms of living creatures on creation days five and six, and the creation of humans on day six. The Creator of All Things ultimately gives instructions to mankind to “have dominion” over the broad variety of creatures mentioned in the initial chapter.


Based on the importance of our “water world” planet, we might better understand the Creator’s mandate for human dominion. All life depends on water. Agricultural success depends on an adequate supply of water. Psalm 8:6-8 states “You have given him (man) dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” (ESV) These verses in the Book of Job 38:25-27 mirror the Genesis mandates for humanity to exercise dominion over Earth’s water resources: “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass?”


Humanity has fallen far short of wise dominion governing the water resources of Planet Earth. Many national jurisdictions are dismantling dams along streams and rivers. In the USA, there are 91,804 dams impounding water along national streams. Many dams are being dismantled because they generated significant environmental problems. Dams have been built ranging from a few feet to hundreds of feet in height. Dams were built for various beneficial purposes—flood control, irrigation, hydroelectric power, and recreation to name a few.


Knowledge of water control infrastructure reveals serious downsides to the presence of dams all over the world. There are over 800,000 dams on Earth, including 60,000 large dams, according to ResearchGate. Dams (1) change the course of rivers (2) block  spawning fish migration (3) trap sediments and waste (4) alter the habitat within impounded reservoirs (5) cause loss of water by evaporation (6) disrupt ecological networks such as food webs (7) impound large quantities of water, the source of some greenhouse gases such as methane and (8) reduce fertile silt on river flood plains.


In the early 19th century very few dams had been constructed across the US. Public works projects consisted mainly of canals. Projects involving dams were unusual or rare. Problems involving dams mentioned in the preceding paragraph were virtually non-existent. The pure waters of the Great Lakes and our historic water resources across the country were not plagued by building of thousands of dams which have frequently produced more problems than benefits.


The Great Lakes are symbols of ancient transformational miracles. Another transformational miracle is described in Genesis 1:7-8—the establishment of Earth’s water cycle. The last glacial episode on Earth ended about 12,000 years ago. The ice sheet bulldozed the basins of the Great Lakes before ir melted away. Present day precipitation accounts for current Great Lakes water fueled by Earth’s well-established water cycle. 

 

Ice Ages are transformational miracles from our Divine Creator. A well-established water cycle is a good example of a transformational miracle. Before the European settlers arrived, Native Americans had occupied the North American continent for thousands of years. Pollution of our water resources was not an issue. But with the rapid world population explosion from one billion souls to eight billion from 1800 to the present day, mankind struggles with water resources. In that light we may better understand the human dilemma concerning the building and removal of dams.


Modern societies must avoid going beyond the divine provisions of transformational miracles to modify the environment in a damaging manner. God’s mandate to exercise dominion wisdom is more clearly understood.


We link this 11-21-2017 post on transformational miracles:


https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2017/11/transformational-creation-miracles.htm


 


  




  




  

  

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Appearing and Disappearing Lakes

 Earth’s lakes are temporary planetary features. In the experience of many Earth residents, lakes appear to be permanent features on our landscape. Who can forget memorable lake house family vacations of our youth? Or swimming, boating, and camping adventures at the lake on a weekend family getaway? Meteorologically, some news reports during recent years may affirm that lakes are geologically temporary. Planet Earth is often described as a water world. How we manage our water resources  including how water is distributed to every section of the planet is linked to humanity’s wise dominion over all the earth.

Lake Tulare in the state of California is an example of the nature of lakes which alternately appear, disappear, and reappear. Its present size is 178 square miles. Beginning in late 2022 the state of California experienced a heavy onslaught of atmospheric rivers. This meteorological term was first proposed barely three decades ago. The phenomenon is a fascinating description initially described by MIT climate scientists. A NOAA article describes these features as “a flowing column of condensed water vapor in the atmosphere responsible for producing significant levels of rain and snow, especially in the western United States.”


In terms of the impact of more well-known climate phenomena such as hurricanes, blizzards, or droughts, atmospheric rivers have the potential to alter physical conditions of entire geographic regions. Readers could agree that the appearance of a large lake where lush farmland existed for decades fits this description. Lake Tulare in California earns many headlines. California’s recent deluge of atmospheric rivers is stealing headlines away from more familiar meteorological events.


In the early 19th century Tulare Lake existed in California as the largest lake west of the Mississippi River. The decades long drought was unusual. In 1861, Californians were praying for relief from a two decades-long drought. The answer came with a vengeance. Thousands of humans and farm animals perished in a 43-day surge of rain. It was an early example of the atmospheric river phenomenon. Sixty-six inches of rain fell in Los Angeles—four times the normal amount. Muddy water formed for miles across California’s central valley. California residents spent much of the late 19th century trying to get rid of a natural feature which had existed for thousands of years.


Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow regions in the atmosphere, like rivers in the sky. Rivers in the sky imagery is appropriate. These rivers transport huge amounts of water  from tropical regions.  The typical atmospheric river carries an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Exceptionally strong atmospheric rivers can transport up to 15 times that amount. They release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow. 


Practices of European explorers and California settlers have not always been characterized by wise “creation care.” The large size of Lake Tulare supplied plentiful food for native Americans populating the area for the past several thousand years. Native Americans have been threatened not only by settlers who wanted to remove the native peoples from their homeland, but also by government actions to drain Lake Tulare in the late 19th century in order to harvest its agricultural bounty. 


The Creator assigned significant authority to humanity to manage our planetary home with wisdom. There are many dimensions to the authority and dominion God transferred to humanity. The dominion extended to management of water and mineral resources, wildlife, and humanity itself. Our focus in this post primarily relates to water resources, but humanity’s authority and dominion is clearly broad-based. 


A familiar Bible passage in the Book of Genesis uses the term dominion in relation to how humanity should manage fish, birds, livestock, andall the earth….” (Genesis 1:27). Dominion is a term Bible commentators have attempted to define. With respect to how humanity should exercise care for God’s creation, we discovered a relevant comment on having dominion over all the earth: “Cruel exploitation is NOT condoned while careful use without abuse is permitted and expected.” (Quote from Biblical Hermeneutics — Stack Exchange) This includes the magnificent water resources by which life is sustained on our “water world planet.”



  











    










  

 


  

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Re-wind of Total Solar Eclipse

  In August 2017 I was privileged to fulfill a life-long bucket list goal of observing a total solar eclipse. The rare event took place a full day’s drive from our home in far Northwest Illinois. The exact date and time of the rare astronomical event in Carbondale, IL had been publicized for several years. We had faith that the weather would cooperate to provide us with ideal conditions on the day of the eclipse. Plans were made to overnight in Springfield IL, halfway between our home and the eclipse venue. Weather in Carbondale was ideal on August 21, 2017.

A total solar eclipse is an event few Earth residents ever witness. Successful observation depends on one’s location in the moon’s umbra. Since the Sun is much larger than the moon, straight line sun rays pass the edge of the lunar body and converge on a very small area on our planet. Observers in a high-altitude airplane would observe a small circular shadow moving across the surface of the earth. Its movement across Earth’s surface is linked to movements of a rotating and revolving  Earth and a revolving moon. Depending on the exact configuration of the Sun, Moon, and Earth on the day of a total solar eclipse, the shadow races across Earth’s surface at 1100 mph or more. Residents outside the umbra see a partial solar eclipse.


On 4/8/2024 North America will be treated to another outstanding total solar eclipse. The narrow path of totality will travel southwest to northeast across the Eastern US from Mexico to Canada. The 2017 event traced a generally west to east swath across the lower 48 US states. The path of totality was 71 miles wide in 2017 but projected to be 122 miles wide in 2024. The two paths of totality cross in the vicinity of Carbondale IL. Residents in this small area will be able to view totality twice in less than seven years. One writer calculated there is less than one chance in 40,000 that any one location could view totality twice in such a short time interval. The timeline for viewing a total solar eclipse is considerably less. On average, the figure is about 375 years. A partial solar eclipse is not particularly rare. Partial solar eclipses can be viewed thousands of miles away from the path of totality. These solar eclipses are more common but far less spectacular than a total solar eclipse.    


Solar and lunar eclipses occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are in line. Solar eclipses occur only at new moon phase; lunar eclipses occur only at full moon. Total lunar eclipses are not especially rare because half of earth residents can view a lunar eclipse when the moon passes into the relatively huge shadow of the earth. The moon is totally eclipsed for up to two hours.


In contrast, a total solar eclipse is visible to observers on Earth for only a few seconds to seven minutes. The 2017 total solar eclipse observed by your blog author lasted two minutes and 37 seconds. The total solar eclipse of 2024 will supply four minutes and eight seconds of totality in Carbondale IL. Thousands of people will converge on that city on April 8 as will many millions of people in cities to the northeast where totality occurs. The 122-mile-wide shadow does not linger over one location very long as it races over earth’s surface at 1100 mph.


Following is a link to our blog post of 8/23/2017 where we recounted our total eclipse experience in Carbondale, IL. The post describes many details of our experience of awe and worship:


https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2017/08/eclipse-everest-experience.html


Many Scripture verses call attention to signs in the Moon, Earth, and Sun—generally, a physical darkening. There have been many solar and lunar eclipses since these words of Scripture were penned. Numerically, there have been well over 2000 of each. Most eclipses are unusual and spectacular. But a quotation from GotQuestions is appropriate: “Trying to calculate the timing of end-times events based on astronomical phenomena is not something the Bible calls us to do.” See Matthew 24, especially culminating with verse 36: “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” 


We prefer to highlight the “wonderful repeating clockwork of the God-authored Solar System,” a statement we infer from many articles on astronomy. As we research many statistics on dates, times, and locations of past and future eclipse events, we are overwhelmed by the mathematical expertise of many contemporary astronomers and their ability to communicate knowledge to ordinary laypeople.    

     


 





  


  


 

  


 

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Planet Earth: Governed by Cycles

 Cycles are a defining characteristic of all living things. We introduce this post by reminding readers that there is no persuasive evidence that any type of life exists anywhere else in this enormous universe. Given the truth of this statement, we devote this post to one of the defining characteristics of life on Earth—the existence of ubiquitous cycles. 

Our last post highlighted solstices and equinoxes, cyclical astronomical phenomena which allow for changing seasons and create ideal agricultural conditions. These unique conditions are life-friendly. For instance, recurring cyclical seasonal changes together with the well-known water cycle and numerous chemical cycles support the lives of billions of individual humans and millions of animal and plant species. Sustaining miracles described in Genesis Chapter 1 supply hundreds of environmental conditions designed by The Creator of All Things. Cycles are vitally important for our planetary operating system. 

Cycles are sequences of repeating events recurring multiple times in the same order. Cyclical events rule our daily lives even when we are not aware of them. We cite a few examples of cycles by categories:


Physical  Science: energy cycles, chemical cycles


Biological Science: life cycles, agricultural cycles, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, oxygen cycle, water cycle


Earth Science: astronomy cycles, climate cycles, geological cycles, rock cycles


Without numerous interrelated and interlocking cyclical events the planet as we know it could not function. Knowledge of cyclical events in the natural world is an invaluable apologetic for the existence of the omniscient Creator of All Things, the Divine Designer of our intricately designed planetary home. An interesting phrase is “biogeochemical cycle” which describes interrelationships of many different types of cycles operating on our planetary home. Brittanica defines the term as “any of the natural pathways by which the essential elements of living matter are circulated.” The term is “a contraction of the biological, geological, and chemical aspects of each cycle. Elements within the biogeochemical cycles flow in various forms from the nonliving (abiotic) components of the biosphere to the living (biotic) components and back. 


Human life and the lives of at least 8.7 million animal and plant species known on Earth depend on the operation of multiple cycles. Modern agriculture depends on a number of chemical cycles—the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the oxygen cycle, and the water cycle, to name only a few. Below, we recycle several posts from our 2012 archive. The cycle concept is highlighted in each post:


https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/01/jobs-water-cycle-tutorial.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/03/oxygen-for-ages.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/03/nitrogen-renewal.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/03/carbon-sequence.html

https://jasscience.blogspot.com/2012/03/cycles-by-design.html