1
Sell Tech
The Battalion
Page 6A * Thursday, October 30,20
Aggies feeling the HEAT
By
Amelia Williamson
THE BATTALION
Since the beginning of time, lightning has
struck awe and fear into the hearts of humans.
When lightning flashes, not only does it light up
the sky, it also lights up the curiosity of a research
group in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences
at Texas A&M.
The atmospheric sciences department has stud
ied lightning patterns for years and discovered
there is an elevated flash density, the number of
lightning flashes that come to
ground per unit area, in Houston.
The city with the highest flash
density in the United States is
Tampa Bay, Fla. High areas of
lightning exist from Florida all
along the Gulf Coast, leading to an
exceedingly elevated flash density
over Houston. This gives Houston
the second highest flash density in
the United States, along with the
title of lightning capital of Texas.
The changes that humans are
making in the earth’s climate may
seem small now, but as time goes
by, drastic changes could occur,
Zhang said.
“This has become a global-
This has become
a global-wide issue
and we don't know
what the climate
will be 100 years
r ”
from now.
lightning occurs within the cloud and does not
touch ground. This type of lightning can be seen
striking from one part of a cloud to another or as
bright spots in clouds. During a thunderstorm,
there is about four times as much intra-cloud
lightning as cloud-to-ground lightning.
Flash density is measured by instruments that
are part of the lightning detection network in the
United States. There are approximately 1 15 light
ning sensors placed all across the country that
measure cloud-to-ground lightning by picking up
the electromagnetic energy produced by lightning,
according to Orville.
“You hear that (electromagnet
ic) energy if you have your radio
on during a thunderstorm and you
hear a burst of static,” Orville
explained. “That’s noise to you
and it might be annoying to you,
but it’s really information that is
picked up by these sensors ... and
is used to detennine the direction
from which the radiation came.”
If two sensors pick up the same
flash of lightning, the sensors can
pinpoint where the lightning hit
the ground using triangulation.
These sensors record approxi
mately 30 million flashes of light
ning that hit the ground in the
— Renyi Zhing
atmospheric sciences
associate professor
wide issue and we don’t know what the climate
will be 100 years from now,” Renyi Zhang, atmos
pheric sciences associate professor, said. “This
(project) has a very broad impact, scientifically.”
The research group’s project is called the
Houston Environmental Aerosol Thunderstorm
(HEAT) Project. The principle investigators are
Richard Orville, interim head of the atmos
pheric sciences department; John Nielsen-
Gammon, atmospheric sciences professor; Don
Collins, atmospheric sciences assistant profes
sor; and Zhang.
Two types of lightning occur during a thunder
storm: Cloud-to-ground lightning and intra-cloud
lightning. The type of lightning most often seen in
thunderstorms is cloud-to-ground lightning,
which occurs when lightning strikes the ground.
This is the type of lightning measured to find an
area’s flash density. Intra-cloud lightning is when
United States every year.
“We discovered the enhanced lightning activity
over Houston when we did student projects about
three years ago in a graduate course,” Orville said.
“The students actually discovered it, and we just
wrote it up — the students are co-authors with me
on this, so they actually have contributions in the
scientific literature based on the project that we
did in class.”
The HEAT Project was established to deter
mine the cause of the elevated flash density
over Houston.
One proposed reason is the vast amounts of
air pollution in the city, Orville said. When pol
lution is released in the air, aerosol particles
form and influence cloud formation in the
atmosphere. The small aerosol particles can
intercept sunlight and reflect it back into space,
therefore cooling the air and changing the
atmospheric conditions. Some scientists believe
Photo courtisy of Sttphin Phillips, mmosphlric sciences oradumisw
Researchers working with the HEAT project study
cloud-to-ground lightning such as the kind shown
above. This photograph was taken from one oil
researcher's windows in College Station.
these aerosoi particles can actually trigger
cloud formation.
Another reason for the increased number of
cloud-to-ground flashes in Houston could be the
heat island effect, Orville said. One of the major
sources of ground heat in Houston is the city’s
population of nearly two million. These people
move around and drive cars daily, producing large
amounts of heat. The petroleum refinery industry
in the Houston-Galveston area also produces a lot
of ground heat and moisture. The city contains
many roads, but not much vegetation, adding to the
ground heat there. Plants use photosynthesis to
turn sunlight into energy. Roads, on the other hand.
absorb the sunlight, making the ground ter
“In cities, you have a lot of roads, parkineli
and roofs, so there’s not much vegetation tops
up some of the heat,” Zhang said. “So, if)t
look at a map of the temperature profile, the til
is like a heat island - it is wanner than the a
rounding areas.”
All of this heat and moisture is added
atmosphere, which leads to increased cloud
thunderstorms and in turn, more lightning.
The complex, coastline may also playact
the elevated lightning patterns in Houston.'!*
See HEAT on page/
then
Gam
the
activ
aero:
incre
affec
this \
earth
II
H
Set tl
othei
show
tion:
tine i
pie,”
Shop
disec
Tex a
Galv
that
V
iSi
Visit any one of our three convenient locations
and stock up on all your favorites!
Full line deli featuring Boar's Head, Pharmacies,
In-Store Banking, Fresh Seafood, Floral Department,
Nature's Market. Kegs available only at the S.W. Pkwy. location.
Check out the new Low Carb section!
WE ACCEPT AGGIE BUCKS!
Lottery • Money Orders • Secure Touch and Pay » Open 24 Hours
Keystone 30 pk. 12 oz. cans.
Limit 2. Thurs, Fri., Sat., Sun. - Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 1, 2
l4oqer
$Q 99
Party Snacks
SO 99
■ ea.
$-f 99 ^
Fresh
16oz. Avomex Guacamole
16oz. 7 Layer Bean Dip
ea.
16oz. bag Golden Stream $ r 99
v\,,
: NEWi-
Yogurt Covered Pretzels
ea.
Enjoy the juicy taste
of Bose Pears
1 Lb. bag
California Pistachios
$
99 0
w^/Lb.
Ready to eat! Fresh
Apple & Cheese Tray
2 99
■ ea.
2 *7
Family Pack, Beef Loin Tail for
Fajitas si 99
v\ t
/Lb.
Mission Fajita 12ct. Flour Tortillas
99
Save 40(£
with card
"V/
2 liter bottles, selected varieties "7 7$
Coca Cola Classic or Dr. Pepper / /
Limit 6 total with Plus card
Buy One, Get One
12 oz. pkg. meat only
Decker or Rath Hot Dogs
9.8 to 11.5 oz. frozen
Totino’s Party Pizza
5 ,., $ 5
2104 S. Texas Ave, Bryan
779-9257
2412 Tx. Ave S., College Station 3535 Longmire, College Station
693.9974 485-8773
Prices, Items and offers effective Wed., Oct. 29 thru Tues., Nov. 4, 2003. So that all of our customers can take advantage of our outstanding prices, we reserve the right to limit quantities. None sold to dealers, restaurants or other resale establishments
'Where applicable, $10 additional purchase excludes alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, pharmacy, booth services, fuel or other items excluded by law. All prices good with Kroger Plus Card. Copyright 2003. KROGER TEXAS L.P.
cat ti
of a
trans
0
studi
staou
hood
role
hum:
the \
chiel
B
Kopl
U.S.
Coni
still i
the v
R
vulni
to S
anim
cine:
T
appe
joun
arate
infec
Konj
resid
year.
C
Pets
anirr
able
How
so v
jumf
ety c
d.m
dista
this i
ous 1
T
kille
unkr
Peof
virus
■nfec
Ir
terec
into
year,
badg
mart
borii
•deni
T
takei
mon
oegu
Dr. I
rep r(