March 21st, 2010
Check out this neat imagery from NASA:
NASA Image from March 2010
NASA Image from August 2009
From the NASA Earth Observatory Natural Hazards Feed:
“The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured these images of the Twin Cities region on March 17, 2010 (top), and August 5, 2009 (bottom). Both use a combination of infrared and visible light to increase the contrast between water and land. Vegetation appears bright green. Clouds appear sky blue. Water varies in color from electric blue to navy. Bare ground ranges in color from dark brown to tan.
Taken in different seasons—late winter and mid-summer—these images not only show different water levels in the Mississippi and other rivers, but also dramatically different amounts of vegetation. While much of the region is heavily vegetated in August 2009, river levels are low enough to make the water bodies nearly invisible. (Tree cover along the riverbanks may partly obscure the rivers.) In contrast, the image from March 2010 shows vegetation just beginning to emerge from winter’s chill. Differences in vegetation between August and March are especially visible in the west, in what appears to be a large patchwork of agricultural lands. Compared to the previous summer, the Mississippi and other rivers in the region appear swollen. Some of the electric-blue hues in water bodies away from the rivers might result from lingering ice. Springtime rains and snowmelt often conspire to raise water levels.”
Tags: flooding, imagery, local, minneapolis, Mississippi, NASA, science, St. Paul, water, Watershed, websites
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March 27th, 2009
Project BudBurst
Springtime always peaks my interest in phenology. Recently, I went to a local book seller and inquired if they sold phenology journals, the women at the book store asked if I had looked in the New Age section. Right away I knew her mistake, “Not Phrenology,” I said, “Phenology.”
Here is a list of phenology resources from people and organizations who definitely wouldn’t make the same mistake.
The Minnesota Conservation Volunteer has a great young naturalists article on Phenology, including a teachers guide.
Project BudBurst is “is a national field campaign for citizen scientists designed to engage the public in the collection of important climate change data based on the timing of leafing and flowering of trees and flowers. ”
The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service’s extensive phenology page.
John Latimer, of Grand Rapids, hosts an interesting phenology radio series with the MP3s available on his website.
Red Wing Nature Notes is group blog which holds true to its name.
And the Star Tribune reports that this week the first barge plowed upstream through the ice at Lake Pepin.
Tags: birding, blog, Environmental Education, local, Mississippi, naturalists, phenology, sustainable, websites
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January 6th, 2009
After reading my last post about the hydrokinetic turbine being installed at Lock and Dam 2 Mark Stover, the Vice President of Government and External Affairs at Hydro Green Energy emailed me. He sent some great materials to share:
An overview the Hastings Project (pdf)
An overview of Hydro Green Energy (pdf)
Hydro Green Energy and Green Jobs (pdf)
Also, there was an article about the turbine published in the Pioneer Press on Dec. 25th where the National Park Service expressed its concerns about the the ecological ramifications of the turbine.
Mark Stover’s response letter to the Pioneer Press (pdf).
I’m personally excited about the new hydrokinetics turbine. Some comments from Mark’s letter help me feel comfortable that ecological impacts are being considered:
Fish “grinds” can occur in conventional hydroelectric turbines when fish are exposed to narrow gaps between fixed and moving structures, typically between the blades and the unit that house the blades. Knowing this, Hydro Green Energy’s turbine was designed so that it has no gaps whatsoever. Therefore, fish grinding is entirely eliminated.
The flowing water downstream from Lock & Dam No. 2 spins the hydrokinetic turbine blades. The speed of the moving water in the hydrokinetic turbine, unlike a conventional hydroelectric turbine, moves at approximately the same speed as the rest of the water in the Mississippi River below the dam. Fish are not “sucked into” the device, and in fact, many fish will never enter the unit, another issue, however, that will be studied at the request of the NPS.
A fish mortality model designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and utilized by Hydro Green Energy shows an incredibly high survivability rating. And, while Hydro Green Energy has designed the slowest spinning turbine in the hydrokinetic power industry, it is committed to performing what will serve as the most thorough and precise scientific fish mortality study ever conducted on a hydrokinetic device since the Hastings project is the first commercial installation in U.S. history.
I’m also happy that the National Park Service (the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area) is so concerned about the health of fish, birds, and the public. It’s honorable that the organization is taking their directive to “preserve unimpaired” seriously. It also makes me feel comfortable knowing that the NPS’ knowledgeable passionate workforce will strive to protect our national river.
In the face of climatic and economic crisis, it seems wise to pursue innovative ways of developing green jobs and reducing carbon emissions. With all new endeavors comes risk through unknown variables: will the turbine effect migrating waterfowl? hurt native muscle populations? cause any other sort of problem? I fear that often these unknown risks prevent new ideas from being tried; instead of evaluating risk honestly and mitigating the risk responsibly, then taking an educated leap and potentially ending up with something grand.
Tags: energy, Mississippi, renewable, turbine
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December 17th, 2008
The Birdchick blog… a super popular blog about birding. The author is local so the photos and stories are spot-on relevant for us minnesotans.
The Upper Mississippi River Blog by Steve Johnson – timely, often pre-timely, info about the upper miss.
Do you have a local environmental blog you’d like to share? Send it my way and I’ll post it here.
Tags: birding, blog, local, Mississippi
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