Read the Fine Print

Land on the Run

Abstract:: Students learn about landslides, discovering that there are different types of landslides that occur at different speeds from very slow to very quick. All landslides are the result of gravity, friction and the materials involved. Both natural and human-made factors contribute to landslides. Students learn what makes landslides dangerous and what engineers are doing to prevent and avoid landslides.

No Strings Attached

NASA Satellite Reveals Heavy Rainfall Patterns in California

Abstract:: The collision of a flow of moisture from Hawaii known as a "Pineapple Express" and a persistent low pressure system are wreaking havoc on California weather. This movie shows rain accumulation in San Diego from Jan. 6 through Jan. 11 based on data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)-based Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis. The accumulation is shown in colors ranging from green (less than 50 mm of rain) through red (200 mm or more). The TRMM satellite, using the worlds only space-borne rain radar and other microwave instruments, measures rainfall over the ocean. In this case instruments were able to reveal rainfall structure resulting from storms "riding" the actual Pineapple Express extending toward Hawaii, which is beyond the range of conventional land-based National Weather Service radars. In early 1995, a Pineapple Express hit California, contributing to a season of winter storms that killed 27 people and did $3 billion in damages and costs. A Pineapple Express in mid-October 2003 wreaked havoc from south of Seattle to north of Vancouver Island. Flooding forced more than 3,000 people from their homes.