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'''Unified Extensible Firmware Interface''' (or UEFI for short) is a new type of firmware that was initially designed by Intel (known as EFI then) mainly for its Itanium based systems. It introduces new ways of booting an OS that is distinct from the commonly used "MBR boot code" method followed for BIOS systems. It started as Intel's EFI in versions 1.x and then a group of companies called the UEFI Forum took over its development from which it was called Unified EFI starting with version 2.0 . As of 22 May 2010, UEFI Specification 2.3 is the most recent version.
'''Unified Extensible Firmware Interface''' (or UEFI for short) is a new type of firmware that was initially designed by Intel (known as EFI then) mainly for its Itanium based systems. It introduces new ways of booting an OS that is distinct from the commonly used "MBR boot code" method followed for BIOS systems. It started as Intel's EFI in versions 1.x and then a group of companies called the UEFI Forum took over its development from which it was called Unified EFI starting with version 2.0 . As of 22 May 2010, UEFI Specification 2.3 is the most recent version.
NoteUnless specified as EFI 1.x , EFI and UEFI terms are used interchangeably to denote UEFI 2.x firmware. Also unless stated explicitely, instructions are general and not Mac specific. Some of them may not work or may be different in Macs. Apple's EFI implementation is neither a EFI 1.x version nor UEFI 2.x version but both. This kind of firmware does not fall under any one UEFI Specification version it is not a standard firmware.
== Booting an OS using [[BIOS]] ==
== Booting an OS using [[BIOS]] ==
Revision as of 14:59, 3 October 2011
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Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (or UEFI for short) is a new type of firmware that was initially designed by Intel (known as EFI then) mainly for its Itanium based systems. It introduces new ways of booting an OS that is distinct from the commonly used "MBR boot code" method followed for BIOS systems. It started as Intel's EFI in versions 1.x and then a group of companies called the UEFI Forum took over its development from which it was called Unified EFI starting with version 2.0 . As of 22 May 2010, UEFI Specification 2.3 is the most recent version.
- 1 Booting an OS using BIOS
- 2 Booting an OS using UEFI
- 3 Linux Kernel Configuration for UEFI
- 4 Linux Bootloaders for UEFI
- 5 Detecting UEFI Firmware Arch
- 6 UEFI Shell
- 7 Creating a UEFI SYSTEM PARTITION in Linux
- 8 References
Booting an OS using BIOS
A BIOS or Basic Input-Output System is the very first program that is executed once the system is switched on. After all the hardware are initialized and the POST operation is completed, the BIOS executes the first boot code in the first device in the device booting list.
If the list starts with a CD/DVD drive, then the El-Torito entry in the CD/DVD is executed. This is how bootable CD/DVD works. If the list starts with a HDD, then BIOS executes the very first 440 bytes MBR boot code. The boot code then chainloads or bootstraps a much larger and complex bootloader which then loads the OS.
Basically, the BIOS does not know how to read a partition table or filesystem. All it does is initialize the hardware, then load and run the 440-byte boot code.
Multiboot on BIOS
Since very little can be achieved by a program which fits into the 440-byte boot code area, multi-booting using BIOS requires a multi-boot capable bootloader (multi-boot refers to booting multiple operating systems, not to booting a kernel in the Multiboot format specified by the GRUB developers). So usually a common bootloader like GRUB or GRUB2 or Syslinux or LILO would be loaded by the BIOS, and it would load an operating system by either chain-loading or directly loading the kernel.
Booting an OS using UEFI
UEFI firmware does not support booting through the above mentioned method which is the only way supported by BIOS. UEFI has support for reading both the partition table as well as understanding filesystems.
The commonly used UEFI firmwares support both MBR and GPT partition table. EFI in Apple-Intel Macs are known to support Apple Partition Map also apart from MBR and GPT. Most of the UEFI firmwares have support for accessing FAT12 (floppy disks) , FAT16 and FAT32 filesystems in HDD and ISO9660 (and UDF) in CD/DVDs. EFI in Apple-Intel Macs can access HFS/HFS+ filesystems also apart from the mentioned ones.
UEFI does not launch any boot code in the MBR whether it exists or not. Instead it uses a special partition in the partition table called "EFI SYSTEM PARTITION" in which files required to be launched by the firmware is stored. Each vendor can store its files under <EFI SYSTEM PARTITION>/EFI/<VENDOR NAME>/ folder and can use the firmware or its shell (UEFI shell) to launch the boot program. An EFI System Partition is usually formatted as FAT32.
Under UEFI, every program whether they are OS loaders or some utilities (like memory testing apps) or recovery tools outside the OS, should be a UEFI Application corresponding to the EFI firmware architecture. Most of the UEFI firmware in the market, including recent Apple Macs use x86_64 EFI firmware. Only some older macs use i386 EFI firmware while no non-Apple UEFI system is known to use i386 EFI firmware.
A x86_64 EFI firmware does not include support for launching 32-bit EFI apps unlike the 64-bit Linux and Windows which include such support. Therefore the bootloader must be compiled for that architecture correctly.
Multibooting on UEFI
Since each OS or vendor can maintain its own files within the EFI SYSTEM PARTITION without affecting the other, multi-booting using UEFI is just a matter of launching a different UEFI application corresponding to the particular OS's bootloader. This removes the need for relying on chainloading mechanisms of one bootloader to load another to switch OSes.
Linux Windows x86_64 UEFI-GPT Multiboot
Windows Vista (SP1+) and 7 pr 8 x86_64 versions support booting natively using UEFI firmware. But for this they need GPT partitioning of the disk used for UEFI booting. Windows x86_64 versions support either UEFI-GPT booting or BIOS-MBR booting. Windows 32-bit versions support only BIOS-MBR booting. Follow the instructions provided in the forum link given in the references sections as to how to do this. See http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;2581408 for more info.
This limitation does not exist in Linux Kernel but rather depends on the bootloader used. For the sake of Windows UEFI booting, the Linux bootloader used should also be installed in UEFI-GPT mode if booting from the same disk.
Linux Kernel Configuration for UEFI
In case of linux, kernel support for EFI is very important. The required kernel configurations for UEFI systems are :
Important UEFI related options -
CONFIG_EFI=y CONFIG_RELOCATABLE=y CONFIG_FB_EFI=y CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE=y
GUID Partition Table config option - important for UEFI
UEFI Runtime Services Support - 'efivars' kernel module - optional but 'm' recommended, since it can cause booting issues in some UEFI systems if compiled within the kernel itself. Required for the sake of efibootmgr utility.
CONFIG_EFI_VARS=m or y
Retrieved from http://kernel.org/doc/Documentation/x86/x86_64/uefi.txt .
Note 1: For Linux to access UEFI Runtime Services, the UEFI Firmware processor architecture and the Linux kernel processor architecture must match. This is independent of the bootloader used.
Note 2: If the UEFI Firmware arch and Linux Kernel arch are different, then the "noefi" kernel parameter must be used to avoid the kernel panic and boot successfully. The "noefi" option instructs the kernel not to access the UEFI Runtime Services.
Note 3: If you experience issues booting your UEFI system, such as rebooting or a black screen you may need to use Linux 3.0 or greater. Known systems this effects, all Dell laptops, all Apple after 2010, and some Lenovo, as well as some ASUS (E-350?). See 13 in references. This limitation does not exist in Linux Kernel 3.x versions.
Linux Bootloaders for UEFI
GRUB2 - Follow instructions in the GRUB2 wiki page link. For bzr development version try AUR package - Template:Package AUR.
GRUB-Legacy - Vanilla versions do not support UEFI, nor does Archlinux patched versions. Only Fedora's patched GRUB (efi-gpt patches from Intel) is known to support UEFI. grub-fedora git repo. AUR package - Template:Package AUR.
ELILO - LInux LOader for EFI - Still in development but at a slow pace. Config file similar to that of LILO. AUR package - Template:Package AUR.
EFILINUX - Reference Implementation of a x86_64 UEFI Linux Bootloader - Still in alpha phase. AUR package - Template:Package AUR.
Detecting UEFI Firmware Arch
If you have a non-mac UEFI system, then you have a x86_64 (aka 64-bit) UEFI 2.x firmware.
Some of the known x86_64 UEFI 2.x firmwares are Phoenix SecureCore Tiano, AMI Aptio, Insyde H2O.
Some of the known systems using these firmwares are Asus EZ Mode BIOS (in Sandy Bridge P67 and H67 motherboards), MSI ClickBIOS, HP EliteBooks, Sony Vaio Z series, many Intel Server and Desktop motherboards
Pre-2008 Macs mostly have i386-efi firmware while >=2008 Macs have mostly x86_64-efi. All macs capable of running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 64-bit Kernel have x86_64 EFI 1.x firmware.
To find out the arch of the efi firmware in a Mac, boot into Mac OS X and type the following command
ioreg -l -p IODeviceTree | grep firmware-abi
If the command returns EFI32 the it is i386 EFI 1.x firmware. If it returns EFI64 then it is x86_64 EFI 1.x firmware. Macs do not have UEFI 2.x firmware as Apple's efi implementation is not fully compliant with UEFI Specification.
UEFI Shell
The UEFI Shell is a shell/terminal for the firmware which allows launching uefi applications which include uefi bootloaders. Apart from that, the shell can also be used to obtain various other information about the system or the firmware like memory map (memmap), running partitioning programs (diskpart), loading uefi drivers, editing text files (edit), hexedit etc. You can download a BSD licensed UEFI Shell from Intel's Tianocore EDK2 Sourceforge.net project.
x86_64 UEFI Shell - http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=EdkShellBinPkg/FullShell/X64/Shell_Full.efi;hb=HEAD
x86_64 UEFI Shell (Beta) - http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=ShellBinPkg/UefiShell/X64/Shell.efi;hb=HEAD
i386 UEFI Shell - http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=EdkShellBinPkg/FullShell/Ia32/Shell_Full.efi;hb=HEAD
i386 UEFI Shell (Beta) - http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=tianocore/edk2;a=blob_plain;f=ShellBinPkg/UefiShell/Ia32/Shell.efi;hb=HEAD
Few Asus and other AMI Aptio x86_64 UEFI firmware based motherboards (from Sandy Bridge onwards) provide an option called Launch EFI Shell from filesystem device . For those motherboards, download the x86_64 UEFI Shell and copy it to you EFI SYSTEM PARTITION as <EFI_SYSTEM_PARTITION>/shellx64.efi (mostly /boot/efi/shellx64.efi) .
Creating a UEFI SYSTEM PARTITION in Linux
For MBR partitioned disks :
Create a 200 MB FAT32 partition using GNU Parted/GParted. Change the type code of that partition to 0xEF using fdisk, cfdisk or sfdisk.
Create a 200 MB partition using fdisk with partition type 0xEF and format it as FAT32 using mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/<THAT_PARTITION>
For GPT partitioned disks :
Create a 200 MB FAT32 partition using GNU Parted/GParted. Set "boot" flag on for that partition.
Create a 200 MB partition using GPT fdisk (aka gdisk) with gdisk type code "EF00". Then format that partition as FAT32 using mkfs.vfat -F32 /dev/<THAT_PARTITION>
Note 1: Setting "boot" flag in parted in a MBR partition marks that partition as active, while the same "boot" flag in a GPT partition marks that partition as "EFI System Partition".
Note 2: Do not use fdisk, cfdisk or sfdisk to change the type codes in a GPT disk. Do not use GPT fdisk on a MBR disk, it will be automatically converted to GPT (without data loss, but with boot failure).
- Wikipedia's page on UEFI
- Wikipedia's page on EFI SYSTEM Partition
- Linux Kernel UEFI Documentation
- UEFI Forum - contains the official UEFI Specifications - GUID Partition Table is part of UEFI Specification
- Intel's Tianocore Project for Open-Source UEFI firmware which includes DuetPkg for direct BIOS based booting and OvmfPkg used in QEMU and Oracle VirtualBox
- Intel's page on EFI
- FGA: The EFI boot process
- Homepage of rEFIt
- Microsoft's Windows and GPT FAQ - Contains info on Windows UEFI booting also
- Convert Windows Vista SP1+ or 7 x86_64 boot from BIOS-MBR mode to UEFI-GPT mode without Reinstall
- Create a Linux BIOS+UEFI and Windows x64 BIOS+UEFI bootable USB drive
- Rod Smith - A BIOS to UEFI Transformation
- UEFI Boot problems on some newer machines(LKML)

subset: commoncrawl


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Monthly Global Tropical Cyclone Summary March 2005
[Summaries and Track Data] [Prepared by Gary Padgett]
MONTHLY GLOBAL TROPICAL CYCLONE SUMMARY MARCH, 2005 (For general comments about the nature of these summaries, as well as information on how to download the tabular cyclone track files, see the Author's Note at the end of this summary.) SPECIAL NOTE: Recently I received an e-mail from Sheldon Kusselson at SSD informing me of some links to add to the links section I recently began including in each summary. Additional tropical satellite imagery along with looping ability for composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the equator can be found at: (1) For the Eastern North Pacific: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-epac.html> (2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html> (A special thanks to Sheldon for sending me this information.) ************************************************************************* MARCH HIGHLIGHTS --> Long-lived Australian cyclone reaches Category 5 status three times and makes landfalls in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia --> First Northwest Pacific typhoon of 2005 forms and makes landfall in the Philippines --> One cyclone each in Southwest and Southeast Indian Ocean basins ************************************************************************* ***** Feature of the Month for March ***** WESTERN HEMISPHERE TROPICAL CYCLONE NAMES for 2005 Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea are assigned names by the Tropical Prediction Center/ National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. A separate alphabetical set of alternating male/female names is used each year with the name of the first tropical storm beginning with the letter "A". Names are repeated every six years. The names of hurricanes which cause a lot of damage and/or fatalities are usually retired from the list with another name of the same alphabetical rank and gender replacing it. Following the 2004 season, the names Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne were retired and have been replaced in the list for 2010 with Colin, Fiona, Igor and Julia, respectively. The highest number of tropical storms named in one season in the Atlantic was 19 during the very active 1995 season. The most active Atlantic tropical cyclone season on record was 1933, in which 21 storms were charted, but of course that season pre-dates the formal naming of tropical cyclones. The active 1969 season is credited with 17 tropical cyclones (plus one subtropical storm), but only 13 were actually named operationally. Several of the systems began as hybrid/subtropical storms and forecasters at the time were still debating how to classify this type of storm system, and so they remained unnamed. A few years later several tracks were added to the official Best Tracks database. Two of these unnamed storms were hurricanes, thus giving 1969 a total of 12 hurricanes--the current record for the Atlantic. The list of names for 2005 is the same one used during the active hurricane season of 1999 when twelve tropical cyclones were named. Floyd and Lenny were the destructive hurricanes of 1999, and those names have been replaced with Franklin and Lee in the list for 2005. TPC/NHC also has warning responsibility for the Eastern North Pacific Ocean from the west coast of Mexico out to longitude 140W. Six separate alphabetical sets of names are used for this basin in the same manner as in the Atlantic. Initially, the Eastern Pacific name sets contained only 21 names, omitting "Q" and "U" and ending with the letter "W", as in the Atlantic. When the active 1985 season threatened to exhaust the list, the names Xina, York and Zelda were drafted to accommodate any additional storms which might develop. (Hurricane Xina was named in late October, 1985.) The decision was made sometime in the latter 1980s to extend the list with these three names in odd-numbered years, and to add the names Xavier, Yolanda and Zeke in even-numbered years (to preserve the alternating gender scheme). During the Northeast Pacific's year of record activity in 1992, all 24 names were allotted to tropical cyclones forming east of 140W, ending with Tropical Storm Zeke in late October. Had more storms developed, they would have been named with the letters of the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, etc), which is also the backup plan for the Atlantic basin in case more than 21 tropical storms develop in a single season. The list for this year was last used in 1999 when only nine tropical cyclones were named, the last one being Irwin. The most active season to utilize this set of names was in 1987, when 18 cyclones were named, down through Selma. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center, located in Honolulu, has tropical cyclone warning responsibility for that portion of the North Pacific Ocean lying between longitudes 140W and 180. The majority of the tropical storms and hurricanes seen in that region are visitors from east of 140W, but on the average about one tropical storm forms in the Central Pacific each year, and when this happens, the storm is given a Hawaiian name. The list consists of four sets of twelve names each, using only the letters of the Hawaiian alphabet. All the names are used--the first storm to form in a given year is assigned the next available name on the list. No tropical cyclones were named by CPHC in 2003 or in 2004. The last storm to form in Central Pacific waters was Hurricane Huko in late October, 2002, so the next name to be assigned will be Ioke. Names for 2005 are (** indicates name has already been assigned): ATLANTIC EASTERN PACIFIC CENTRAL PACIFIC Arlene Lee Adrian Max Ioke Bret Maria Beatriz Norma Kika Cindy Nate Calvin Otis Lana Dennis Ophelia Dora Pilar Maka Emily Philippe Eugene Ramon Neki Franklin Rita Fernanda Selma Oleka Gert Stan Greg Todd Peni Harvey Tammy Hilary Veronica Ulia Irene Vince Irwin Wiley Wali Jose Wilma Jova Xina Ana Katrina Kenneth York Ela Lidia Zelda Halola 2004 SEASONAL STATISTICS FOR THE ATLANTIC AND NORTHEAST PACIFIC BASINS Following are monthly and seasonal tropical cyclone statistics for the 2004 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane seasons. The parameters are the ones used by Dr. Bill Gray and the Colorado State University forecast team and should be familiar to everyone. But if not, definitions for them may be found in the Monthly Feature section in the June, 2003, summary, available at the several websites listed near the end of this summary. The statistics for the Atlantic basin are based on the period 1950-2004, and those for the Northeast Pacific are based on the period 1971-2004. The NTC of 219 for the Atlantic is second only to the NTC of 220 for the 1950 season. However, the NTC of only 63 for the Northeast Pacific basin is one of the lowest on record. Only six seasons since 1971 have accumulated a lower NTC value. It should be noted that the data for the Northeast Pacific covers the entire basin from the Mexican coastline to longitude 180. Only one cyclone of 2004, Tropical Storm Estelle, carried gale-force winds west of 140W into the Central Pacific region. Included in the numbers for the Atlantic is Subtropical Storm Nicole. Operational naming of subtropical storms began in 2002, and Nicole is the first system so named not to have evolved into a tropical cyclone. Initially, the CSU forecast team included Nicole in their statistics for the 2004 season, but have since reversed that decision. For the time being I decided to leave Nicole in the mix since it adds only a trivial amount to the NTC. The Atlantic NTC of 85 for the month of August sets a new record for that month. Also, the eight named storms forming during the month is a new record for August dating back to 1851. Eight tropical cyclones made landfall in the United States, including five of hurricane intensity, and of these, three were of major hurricane intensity at landfall (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir/Simpson scale). Both the Leeward and Windward Islands, Puerto Rico, the island of Hispaniola, the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and western Cuba were also significantly impacted by the 2004 tropical cyclones. However, no tropical storms or hurricanes struck the Mexican West Coast during 2004. ATLANTIC BASIN Month NS H IH NSD HD IHD NTC ------------------------------------------------------------------ Aug 8 5 3 32.00 14.75 5.5 85.15 Sep 4 3 3 52.25 29.75 16.75 123.26 Oct 2 1 0 5.75 0.50 0.00 8.32 Nov 1 0 0 1.50 0.00 0.00 2.00 Dec 0 0 0 1.50 0.00 0.00 0.49 Total 15 9 6 93.00 45.00 22.25 219 NORTHEAST PACIFIC BASIN Month NS H IH NSD HD IHD NTC ------------------------------------------------------------------ May 1 0 0 1.50 0.00 0.00 1.37 Jun 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Jul 3 2 1 11.50 3.25 0.50 15.92 Aug 4 1 0 9.75 1.50 0.00 8.97 Sep 2 3 2 18.00 9.25 5.25 34.56 Oct 2 0 0 1.25 0.00 0.00 2.34 Total 12 6 3 42.00 14.00 5.75 63 ************************************************************************* ACTIVITY BY BASINS ATLANTIC (ATL) - North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico Activity for March: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* NORTHEAST PACIFIC (NEP) - North Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 180 Activity for March: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* NORTHWEST PACIFIC (NWP) - North Pacific Ocean West of Longitude 180 Activity for March: 1 typhoon Sources of Information ---------------------- Most of the information presented below is based upon tropical cyclone warnings and significant tropical weather outlooks issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the U. S. Air Force and Navy (JTWC), located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I normally annotate track coordinates from some of the various Asian warning centers when their center positions differ from JTWC's by usually 40-50 nm or more. All references to sustained winds imply a 1-minute averaging period unless otherwise noted. Michael V. Padua of Naga City in the Philippines, owner of the Typhoon 2000 website, normally sends me cyclone tracks based upon warnings issued by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Also, Huang Chunliang of Fuzhou City, China, sends data taken from synoptic observations around the Northwest Pacific basin. A very special thanks to Michael and Chunliang for the assistance they so reliably provide. In the title line for each storm I have referenced all the cyclone names/numbers I have available: JTWC's depression number, the JMA-assigned name (if any), JMA's tropical storm numeric designator, and PAGASA's name for systems forming in or passing through their area of warning responsibility. Northwest Pacific Tropical Activity for March --------------------------------------------- A tropical storm or typhoon forms in the month of March on the average about every 2 or 3 years in the Northwest Pacific basin. A tropical storm (Butchoy--named by PAGASA) formed there in 2004, but the last March typhoon was Super Typhoon Mitag in 2002. The second tropical cyclone and first typhoon of 2005, Typhoon Roke, formed around mid-month and made landfall in the central Philippines (where it was known by the name Auring). A report on Typhoon Roke/Auring, authored by Kevin Boyle, follows. TYPHOON ROKE (TC-02W / STS 0502 / AURING) 13 - 19 March ------------------------------------------------ Roke: contributed by the United States, is a Chamorran male name A. Storm Origins ---------------- The first typhoon of the year, Roke, formed from a surface trough after only a month's hiatus in tropical cyclone activity in the Western North Pacific. It was also the first straight-runner of the year, moving quite briskly towards the west and across the Philippines before falling to pieces and dissipating in the South China Sea. The origins of Typhoon Roke can be traced from an area of deep convection that persisted for six hours near 4.5N/152.0E, and this was first mentioned in JTWC's STWO at 2300 UTC 11 March. Animated multi- spectral satellite imagery depicted a weak circulation associated with the thunderstorm activity and QuikScat data identified a weak circulation within a broad surface trough. Upper-level conditions were favourable for further development and a TCFA was issued for the organizing system at 12/2200 UTC, followed by the first warning at 13/0600 UTC which centred Tropical Depression 02W approximately 345 nm south-southeast of Andersen AB, Guam. B. Synoptic History ------------------- After a quiet 24 hours, Tropical Depression 02W was upgraded to tropical storm status at 0600 UTC 14 March and passed a little under 100 nm north of Yap between 14/1800 UTC and 15/0000 UTC. The system was named Roke by JMA at 15/0000 UTC after that agency upped their MSW to 35 kts. The storm had been only slowly intensifying up to this point, but more significant strengthening ensued during the 15th. Roke became a 65-kt typhoon at 15/1800 UTC, its developing eye centred approximately 700 nm east of Manila, Philippines. (PAGASA named the typhoon Auring at 15/1200 UTC after the tropical cyclone had entered their AOR.) Continuing westwards under the influence of the mid-level steering ridge, Roke maintained a MSW of 65 kts (its peak intensity) until it made landfall near Tacloban, Philippines, at 16/1800 UTC. Roke crossed the Philippine Archipelago as a strong 55-kt tropical storm and emerged back over water, passing just north of Palawan shortly after 17/1200 UTC. The tropical cyclone continued to weaken as it tracked westward into a pool of cold, dry air located in its path and was downgraded to a tropical depression at 17/1800 UTC, the time of the final warning issued by JTWC. JMA continued to monitor the dying system's progress as a 25-kt tropical depression across the South China Sea almost to the Vietnam coast, ending bulletin transmissions at 19/0600 UTC. NMCC estimated a peak intensity of 60 kts while the highest MSW estimated by the other Asian warning agencies bar HKO was 55 kts. HKO classified Roke as a 50-kt severe tropical storm. The lowest CP estimated by JMA was 980 mb. A graphic displaying the track of Typhoon Roke/Auring may be found at the following link: http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_WEST/2005_02W_BT.gif> C. Meteorological Observations ------------------------------ Huang Chunliang sent in one observation from the Philippines. Guiuan, Samar Island (WMO 98558, 11.0N/125.7E) recorded 139.8 mm of rainfall during the 24 hours ending at 17/0000 UTC. The center of Auring passed about 85 nm south of Naga City on Luzon on the 16th. Michael Padua reported that his weather station recorded a peak wind of 24.5 kts at 16/0650 UTC but with a minimum SLP of 1007.7 mb at 0645 UTC on the 17th. The maximum rainfall rate of 87.1 mm/hr occurred at 16/2327 UTC and the total measured rainfall for the 2-day period was 24 mm. Michael sent the following links whereby more observations can be accessed: http://www.typhoon2000.ph/data/downld02.txt> http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=ICAMARIN2> http://members2.boardhost.com/typhoon2000/msg/1436.html> D. Damage and Casualties ------------------------ According to press reports, eight persons were confirmed dead and 11 reported missing after Typhoon Roke scythed its way across the Philippines. Six of the casualties occurred when the commercial vessel MV Esperanza capsized in high winds near Ormoc City Pier. The NDCC indicated that 939 families or 4793 persons were displaced by Roke/Auring, and 1181 houses in Leyte and Eastern Samar were destroyed. E. How Strong Was Typhoon Roke? ------------------------------- There were some indications that the midget Typhoon Roke was substantially stronger than 65 kts. Following is an excerpt from an e-mail sent by Mark Lander: "I contend that Roke made it to 100 kts at about 0500 UTC March 16. I have appended the Aqua images and the corresponding VIS at that time. The eye was very well-defined, but very small. It only showed up in the 89 (GHz) channel and not the 36 (GHz)--I think because at the lower levels where the 36 (GHz) "sees", the eye diameter was too small--maybe 10 miles or less--then expanding outward to perhaps 15 miles or so at the top where the higher frequency channels could see it. Although in some of the before and after SSMI shots, it was apparent in both the 85 and 37 GHz channels. "As a midget tropical cyclone, changes in intensity can be very rapid (both ways). By the way, there is a later TRMM pass (16 MAR 1618 UTC) that shows that it still had a nice eye as it made landfall in the central Philippines. "I'm certain that the peak intensity was substantially higher than 65 kts!" (Report written by Kevin Boyle) ************************************************************************* NORTH INDIAN OCEAN (NIO) - Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea Activity for March: No tropical cyclones ************************************************************************* SOUTHWEST INDIAN OCEAN (SWI) - South Indian Ocean West of Longitude 90E Activity for March: 1 severe tropical storm Sources of Information ---------------------- The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for Southwest Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are the warnings issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre on La Reunion Island, part of Meteo France (MFR), and the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for the basin. However, tropical cyclones in this region are named by the Sub-regional Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centres in Mauritius and Madagascar with longitude 55E being the demarcation line between their respective areas of naming responsibility. The La Reunion centre only advises these agencies regarding the intensity of tropical systems. References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise stated. In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from MFR's coordinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings. Southwest Indian Ocean Tropical Activity for March -------------------------------------------------- Two numbered tropical disturbances formed in the South Indian Ocean west of 90E during the latter part of March. The first, Tropical Disturbance 16, strengthened into a severe tropical storm and was named Hennie. Hennie passed southward a short distance east of Mauritius and Reunion Island where heavy rainfall occurred. Tropical Disturbance 17 formed at the end of the month and in early April became Tropical Storm Isang. Isang will be covered in the April summary. A report on Severe Tropical Storm Hennie follows. SEVERE TROPICAL STORM HENNIE (MFR-16 / TC-24S) 21 - 29 March ------------------------------------------------ Hennie: contributed by Namibia A. Storm Origins ---------------- Following the flurry of weak tropical systems during February, the tropical Southwest Indian Ocean lay quiet until after the middle of March. On the 19th an area of convection formed approximately 465 nm west of Diego Garcia with deep convection beginning to consolidate around a possible developing LLCC. Outflow was increasing in all quadrants and the system lay within an environment of very favorable divergence aloft and increasing 850-mb vorticity. On 20 March animated infrared imagery revealed a broad area of convection around a possible LLCC with good poleward outflow. In addition, vertical shear was low. JTWC upgraded the development potential to 'fair' at 0200 UTC on 21 March as deep convection continued to increase in organization. MFR issued the first bulletin on Tropical Disturbance 16 at 21/0600, placing a weak 20-kt center approximately 600 nm west-southwest of Diego Garcia. JTWC issued a TCFA at 21/0900 UTC. Deep convection and surface cloud lines were beginning to rotate around the LLCC, which was located underneath the near-equatorial ridge axis in an environment of low shear and favorable divergence. B. Synoptic History ------------------- JTWC's first warning on TC-24S came at 21/1800 UTC with the MSW estimated at 30 kts (1-min avg). The system was tracking southwestward at 10 kts and possessed strong dual outflow channels, indicating that rapid intensification was a possibility. MFR upped the winds to 30 kts at 22/0000 UTC, resulting in classification as a tropical depression. Six hours later Mauritius named the depression Hennie while it was located roughly 350 nm north-northeast of Mauritius, and at 1200 UTC MFR upgraded Hennie to tropical storm status with 35-kt winds. Hennie's motion, which had been steadily southwestward on the 22nd, began to slow and become south-southwesterly around 23/0000 UTC. By 1200 UTC the storm was moving due southward at 8 kts. Intensification was slow at first, but the storm strengthened some on the 23rd and reached its peak intensity of 55 kts at 0000 UTC on 24 March when it was centered only about 75 nm east-northeast of Mauritius. The minimum estimated CP was 980 hPa. Outflow was still good and vertical wind shear was low. Hennie maintained its peak MSW of 55 kts (per MFR) for 24 hours. (JTWC's peak 1-min avg MSW was 65 kts at 24/0600 UTC--in good agreement with MFR's assessment.) However, animated EIR water vapor imagery at this time revealed a decrease in poleward outflow and a weakening of the deep convection. Severe Tropical Storm Hennie's southward motion continued through 0600 UTC on 25 March, after which time the storm took a jog to the east- southeast. Beginning at 26/0000 UTC the system's track was generally southeastward with a few wiggles and wobbles. By late on the 25th Hennie had begun to enter an area of cold, dry air and increased vertical wind shear. The cloud pattern and LLCC were becoming elongated, indicating that the system was beginning the initial stages of extra- tropical transition. The LLCC had become fully-exposed to the northwest of the remaining deep convection by 26/1800 UTC, and by 27/0600 UTC the former tropical storm had completed its transformation into an extra- tropical cyclone about 425 nm southeast of Mauritius. The remnants of Hennie continued southeastward as a 45-kt gale center, being last reported about 775 nm southeast of Mauritius at 1200 UTC on 29 March. A graphic displaying the track of Severe Tropical Storm Hennie may be found at the following link: http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/INDIAN_SOUTHWEST/2005_16M_HENNIE_BT.gif> C. Meteorological Observations ------------------------------ On Reunion Island, a couple of locations had 24-hour rainfall amounts exceeding 150 mm in the 24 hours ending at 22/0500 UTC. One station near the volcano (altitude > 2000 m) recorded 397 mm during this period. Mauritius experienced heavy rainfalls from Tropical Storm Hennie. Following are some of the more significant 24-hour totals: Station Rainfall (mm) Date/Time (UTC) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sans-Souci 202.8 18/0000 - 19/0000 Grand-Bassin 126.0 18/0000 - 19/0000 Providence 91.6 18/0000 - 19/0000 Souillac 96.0 19/1200 - 20/1200 Fuel 101.0 20/0000 - 21/0000 The table below lists some 3-hour totals recorded between 0000 and 0300 UTC on 21 March: Station Rainfall (mm) ------------------------------------- Souillac 87.6 Bain Boeuf 50.8 Mon-Loisir Rouillard 45.6 Queen-Victoria 42.4 Plaisance 39.3 Palmar 37.0 Bain Boeuf recorded 110.8 mm of rain on 21 March, but the exact period during which this amount was recorded was not specified. (All the above rainfall data was sent by Patrick Hoareau--a special thanks to Patrick for forwarding the information to me.) D. Damage and Casualties ------------------------ No reports of casualties or significant damage resulting from Severe Tropical Storm Hennie have been received. (Report written by Gary Padgett with contributions by Patrick Hoareau) ************************************************************************* NORTHWEST AUSTRALIA/SOUTHEAST INDIAN OCEAN (AUW) - From 90E to 135E Activity for March: 2 severe tropical cyclones ** ** - one of these originated in the Coral Sea, east of 135E Sources of Information ---------------------- The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean tropical cyclones are the warnings and advices issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Perth, Western Australia, and Darwin, Northern Territory. References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise stated. In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Australian centres' coor- dinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings. Northwest Australia/Southeast Indian Ocean Tropical Activity for March ------------------------------------------ In contrast to March of 2004 when several tropical cyclones (Monty, Nicky, Fay and Oscar) stirred waters of the Southeast Indian Ocean, only one named cyclone formed there during March of 2005. Severe Tropical Cyclone Willy formed south of the Indonesian islands and moved slowly southwestward for several days, roughly paralleling the coastline of Western Australia. Willy became an impressive cyclone but its effects on Australia were minimal. A report on Tropical Cyclone Willy follows. However, there was a very significant visitor to the region. Severe Tropical Cyclone Ingrid orginated in the Coral Sea on the 5th and pursued a storied career as it traveled from its region of birth across the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland into the Gulf of Carpentaria, thence continuing west-northwestward and skimming the Top End coastline, causing great destruction to many towns and resorts on various islands off the Northern Territory coast. Finally, the small but intense cyclone turned southwestward, making landfall in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and wrecking the Faraway Bay resort. The report on Severe Tropical Cyclone Ingrid can be found in the next section of this summary covering Northeast Australia and the Coral Sea. SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE WILLY (TC-23S) 9 - 17 March ----------------------------- A. Storm Origins ---------------- The first tropical cyclone in the Southeast Indian Ocean in over a month began to take shape late in the first week of March. The daily Tropical Weather Outlook issued by BoM Perth on the 7th indicated that while there were no significant tropical LOWs, models were indicating that one might form in a day or so near 13S/115E and move southwest- ward, possibly developing. The Outlook on the 8th basically re-iterated this information. At 1800 UTC on 8 March JTWC issued a STWO which described an area of convection which had formed and persisted roughly 400 nm north of Port Hedland, Western Australia. Recent animated infrared imagery indicated an increase in deep convection, and a 08/1013 UTC QuikScat pass depicted a well-organized LLCC located in an environment of moderate vertical shear and moderate upper-level divergence. Perth initiated gale warnings on the LOW at 0100 UTC on the 9th in anticipation that the system would likely intensify into a tropical cyclone. The LOW was then centered approximately 450 nm north of Port Hedland and deep convection was increasing around the LLCC. JTWC upped the development potential to 'fair' at 09/0500 UTC and issued a TCFA at 1230 UTC. At this time animated multi-spectral satellite imagery revealed a rapidly developing system with a well-defined LLCC. Shortly thereafter, at 09/1600 UTC, Perth named the system Tropical Cyclone Willy with 35-kt winds, still located roughly 450 nm north of Port Hedland, although a little west of the 09/0100 UTC position. (At 1800 UTC JTWC issued their first warning on TC-23S, also with an intensity of 35 kts.) B. Synoptic History ------------------- For several days Tropical Cyclone Willy moved rather slowly along a west-southwesterly to southwesterly track off the coast of Western Australia as it was guided by a ridge lying to the southeast. The cyclone was located in a favorable environment with dual outflow channels and strengthened steadily, reaching severe tropical cyclone (i.e., hurricane) status with 65-kt winds by 2200 UTC on 10 March while located approximately 350 nm north-northwest of Onslow. Willy continued to intensify, reaching its peak intensity of 80 kts with an estimated minimum CP of 960 hPa around 2200 UTC on the 11th. The cyclone was then centered roughly 300 nm northwest of Onslow. The forward motion had slowed some by then as Willy had gotten caught in a weak steering environment between two upper-level ridges. However, by early on the 12th the storm was moving southwestward again at a faster pace. (JTWC's estimated peak 1-min avg MSW of 90 kts was in very good agreement with Perth's peak assessment, although JTWC had upped Willy's intensity to 90 kts at 11/0600 UTC, during which time Perth was reporting the 10-min avg MSW at around 70 to 75 kts.) Following its peak in intensity, Cyclone Willy's MSW levelled off and remained pegged at 75 kts for 24 hours. A fairly rapid decline in intensity ensued thereafter. Perth downgraded the system to below hurricane strength at 13/1000 UTC, and Willy was reduced to a tropical LOW with 30-kt winds at 1000 UTC on the 14th while located approximately 475 nm west-northwest of Carnarvon, Western Australia. During its weakening phase Willy turned to a westerly track in response to a low to mid-level ridge building equatorward of the system. The ex-Willy LOW continued to drift westward for two to three days well west of the Australian coastline, being mentioned for the last time on the 17th near 21S/102E. A graphic displaying the track of Severe Tropical Cyclone Willy may be found at the following link: http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/AUSTRALIA/2005_09U_23S_WILLY_BT.gif> C. Damage and Casualties ------------------------ No damage or casualties are known to have resulted from Severe Tropical Cyclone Willy. (Report written by Gary Padgett) ************************************************************************* NORTHEAST AUSTRALIA/CORAL SEA (AUE) - From 135E to 160E Activity for March: 1 severe tropical cyclone Sources of Information ---------------------- The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for Northeast Australia/Coral Sea tropical cyclones are the warnings and advices issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Brisbane, Queensland, and Darwin, Northern Territory, and on very infrequent occasions, by the centre at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise stated. In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Australian centres' coor- dinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings. Northeast Australia/Coral Sea Tropical Activity for March ----------------------------- One of the most remarkable tropical cyclones of recent years menaced northern Australia from the Cape York Peninsula all the way to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Severe Tropical Cyclone Ingrid reached Category 5 status (Australian scale) three times and brought a Category 4/5 impact to Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia--the only known cyclone to strike all three areas at such an intensity. In regard to its long trajectory, Ingrid was reminiscent of Tropical Cyclone Steve of February and March, 2000, which struck all three of the tropical areas and brought gales to South Australia and possibly even Victoria and Tasmania in its extratropical stages. A report on Tropical Cyclone Ingrid written by Simon Clarke follows. SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE INGRID (TC-22P) 5 - 19 March -------------------------------------------------- A. Introduction --------------- Tropical Cyclone Ingrid was certainly a cyclone for the record books: the only cyclone known to have delivered a Category 4 or 5 (Australian scale) impact in all three tropical regions of Australia (Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia). In doing so, the cyclone travelled in excess of 2500 km (1360 nm), reminiscent of fellow "long traveller" Tropical Cyclone Steve in February/March, 2000. A preliminary report on Severe Tropical Cyclone Ingrid, authored by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is also available on-line at the following URL: http://www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/tc_ingrid/index.shtml> B. Storm Origins ---------------- A mildly active monsoon trough became re-established to the north of the Australian continent in early March, and by 3 March an area of low pressure gradually consolidated to the northeast of Cape Wessel, Northern Territory, and commenced movement toward the east-southeast. The developing tropical LOW crossed the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula, moving into the far northwestern Coral Sea. By 05/0500 UTC it was near 11.9S/145.0E (approximately 100 nm east of Cape Greenville, Queensland) and moving eastward at 10 kts. The LOW was located in a favorable environment for further development consisting of low vertical wind shear and favorable diffluence aloft. The LOW was sustained by such conditions for much of its life as a cyclone and in addition, when it was over water, the SSTs were generally about 30 C. C. Synoptic History ------------------- The LOW was upgraded to cyclone status and named Ingrid at 06/0200 UTC near 12.7S/148.0E, or approximately 250 nm east of Lockhart River, Queensland, as gales wrapped around the LLCC. The cyclone intensified at a rapid rate and slowed its forward momentum as a high pressure ridge built to the south across the Coral Sea. In a little over 24 hours, Ingrid was a severe 'midget' tropical cyclone located 220 nm east-northeast of Cooktown with gales extending little more than 30 nm from the centre and hurricane force winds of up to 75 kts confined to near its centre. Soon afterward Ingrid recurved to the southwest and commenced movement toward the far northern Queensland tropical coast in response to the strengthening of a mid-level ridge located to the south of the system. The first Tropical Cyclone Advice was issued at 07/0600 UTC for the far northern tropical coast of Queensland. However, Ingrid continued to recurve and was directed on a general west-northwesterly path at 4 kts towards the Northern Cape York Peninsula, a direction that the cyclone would follow for the following six days. The first of Ingrid's three periods of Category 5 intensity was achieved in the northwestern Coral Sea. At 14.0S/147.9E, or approximately 180 nm east-northeast of Cooktown, Ingrid reached an estimated CP of 930 hPa and possessed maximum 10-min avg winds of 115 kts near the centre. (Note: Despite some estimations at the time of a CP as low at 908 hPa, it should be noted that BoM Brisbane varies their assessments based on the size of the system. For midget cyclones [or near midget cyclones like Ingrid], they use a higher CP for a given intensity. Jeff Callaghan from Brisbane BoM notes that Cyclone Ada [Whitsunday Islands, 1970] had a measured CP of 960 hPa, but caused Category 4 damage, and Cyclone Tracy [Darwin, 1974] had a high CP of 952 hPa, also causing Category 4/5 level damage.) In satellite imagery, Ingrid developed a very symmetrical eye with an impressive but tight outflow pattern (see Link 1 in Section F of this report). However, the cyclone weakened on its approach to northern Cape York (to 970 hPa with maximum gusts of 103 kts) due to unfavourable wind shear and a weakening in poleward outflow due to the passing of a mid-latitude trough, but re-strengthened slightly just prior to landfall at 13.2S/143.5E, or 15 nm south of Old Lockhart River Mission and 30 nm south-southeast of New Lockhart River. At this time, Ingrid was a compact 955 hPa cyclone with destructive winds extending out 30 nm from the centre and very destructive gusts of up to 130 kts extending out only 10 nm from the centre. The cyclone continued to track across Cape York Peninsula on a westerly track at 8-12 kts, gradually weakening, but maintaining cyclone status prior to crossing back to sea in the Gulf of Carpentaria near Aurukun (13.3S/141.8E) at 10/0900 UTC. Ingrid had maintained a fairly well-intact structure while crossing land and quickly re-intensified as it moved west-northwestward over the very warm waters of the Gulf. By 11/0600 UTC, Ingrid had crossed into the Northern Territory's AOR and had regained hurricane intensity (see Link 2). The cyclone maintained a path to the west-northwest at 10 kts, passing approximately 15 nm north of Nhulunbuy (Gove) at 11/1800 UTC where wind gusts reached 60 kts. The cyclone was tracked by the Nhulunbuy (Gove) radar which depicted a compact cyclone with a tightening wind core, signifying intensification. The cyclone brushed the northeastern tip of the Northern Territory at Cape Wilberforce and continued on a general west-northwesterly path, crossing through the southern part of the Wessel Island chain and approximately 25 nm north of Elcho Island at 12/0000 UTC. Ingrid regained Category 5 status at about this time (CP of 938 hPa and peak 10-min avg winds of 110 kts) and maintained an oscillating west-northwestward path at 10 kts parallel to and approximately 30-40 nm off the Arnhem coastline. Ingrid maintained a very compact destructive core with hurricane force winds extending out little more than 10 nm from the centre and gales out to 60 nm. As such, the very destructive core was for the most part maintained offshore. Radar imagery indicated a very small and intense system with an eye diameter near 5 nm: cloud tops surrounding the eye were estimated at -76 C to -80 C. The cyclone turned to the west as it approached Coburg Peninsula and reached its second major peak in intensity of 925 hPa and 10-min avg winds of 120 kts. Ingrid passed to the south of the southern tip of Croker Island at 12/1800 UTC before moving over Coburg Peninsula at 13/0000 UTC. The cyclone weakened due to interaction with land and unfavorable shear with the eye disappearing momentarily from satellite and radar imagery. The cyclone maintained a 5-kt westward path over the northern part of the Tiwi Islands, passing firstly over Melville Island as a Category 3 (950 hPa, maximum 10-min avg winds 90 kts) cyclone. The cyclone eventually moved out into the Timor Sea at 13/1800 UTC from Bathurst Island as an 80-kt cyclone. Once again the cyclone commenced the process of re-strengthening as it moved clear of the Tiwi Islands and in response to favourable upper-level outflow conditions in all directions and high SSTs. Satellite imagery and the Darwin radar depicted an intensifying cyclone with deep convection increasing around the eyewall. Ingrid continued to be a very compact cyclone as it moved initially to the west-southwest and then on a southwesterly path at 7 kts in response to a weakening in the middle-level ridge to the south. The main jet stream moving to the southeast of the system across into Queensland further enhanced the intensification process as Ingrid regained Category 5 status at 15/0000 UTC (CP of 935 hPa, maximum 10-min avg winds of 110 kts): an intensity that was maintained until landfall. At 15/1200 UTC, Ingrid made its final landfall, crossing the north Kimberley coast about 30 nm northeast of Kalumburu and 115 nm northwest of Wyndham. The Wyndham radar depicted the compact core of Ingrid making landfall at Faraway Bay. The cyclone maintained a southwesterly course overland, slowing to 3 kts before recurving to the east-southeast around the upper-level ridge to the south. As expected for a small system, the cyclone weakened fairly rapidly over the rugged terrain of the north Kimberley region and was finally downgraded at 16/2100 UTC (near Kununurra, Western Australia) as it moved at 6 kts back into the Northern Territory as a rain depression. (Note: JTWC's estimated 1-min avg MSW values for Ingrid's three "peaks" in intensity agreed very well with the 10-min avg MSW estimates from the Australian TCWCs. At the first "peak" on 7-8 March, Brisbane estimated 115 kts while JTWC's 1-min avg MSW was 130 kts. At the second and maximum "peak" on 12 March, Darwin estimated 120 kts while JTWC's 1-min avg MSW was 135 kts. At the third and final "peak" on 15 March, Darwin's MSW was 110 kts while JTWC's 1-min avg MSW was 130 kts.) A graphic displaying the track of Severe Tropical Cyclone Ingrid may be found at the following link: http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/AUSTRALIA/2005_08U_22P_INGRID_BT.gif> D. Meteorological Observations ------------------------------ Ingrid was a compact but intense cyclone. It should be noted that observations are hardly ever taken in the strongest part of any cyclone. However, the preliminary BoM Report at the following URL provides the most salient observations recorded with the cyclone and also provides further links to wind and pressure charts: http://www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/tc_ingrid/index.shtml> Another interim report is also available from the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency providing useful material on Ingrid's storm tide at the following link: http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/publications?id=1584> For the purposes of this report, it is not intended to reproduce any further data here. However of interest, BoM reported that anemometer cups became bent at McCluer Island, and at Cape Don anemometer cups blew off in the middle of the event (and apparently they still have not been found). Huang Chunliang sent the following 24-hourly rainfall observations taken in association with Ingrid: Only daily amounts >= 100 mm listed: GOVE AIRPORT (WMO94150 12.28S 136.82E) 198.4 mm [11/00-12/00Z] NARAWILLI (-------- 12.00S 135.57E) 123.6 mm [12/00-13/00Z] MILINGIMBI (WMO94140 12.12S 134.90E) 120.0 mm [12/00-13/00Z] MANINGRIDA (WMO94142 12.05S 134.22E) 154.8 mm [12/00-13/00Z] WARMUN (WMO94213 17.02S 128.22E) 135.8 mm [16/00-17/00Z] E. Preliminary Damage Reports ----------------------------- Cyclone Ingrid was not only a significant weather event, but also a major media event, particularly in areas along its path. The significant attention paid to the cyclone by the communities contributed to the fact that no significant injuries were reported in Australia and is a testament to the warning system in place to deal with the cyclone. Ingrid was a small but very intense cyclone. Communities beyond a 50 nm radius of the track were hardly affected. Furthermore, whereas some significant rainfall totals were recorded, total amounts were generally not as remarkable as those reported after some other larger but less intense cyclones in the past (particularly over Cape York Peninsula). However, five lives were lost in the Coral Sea near Kerema in Papua New Guinea as a boat capsized in the large swells generated by Ingrid. The following is a preliminary snapshot of the effects of Ingrid on communities in the cyclone's path, collated from various sources: (1) Cape York Peninsula, Queensland ----------------------------------- Ingrid was not a great rain producer over the Cape and damage was confined to a relatively narrow swathe close to the coastal crossing near Bombart Point. The police officer at Lockhart River (very close to the QLD coastal crossing) reported from an aerial surveillance that the area affected by the cyclone core had been "totally and utterly cleared" of trees. The leaves had been stripped and the dismembered trunks had been pushed over near the base. Channel 7 showed footage of a 30-nm wide swathe of tree damage and a house demolished near the beach. The police officer also reported that there was evidence of water inundation 10-15 km inland, and that he thought it was salt water inundation (noting that there wasn't a lot of rain with Ingrid). The EPA report (see Link 3) reported an estimated peak water level of 4.0 metres above Australian Height Datum (AHD) near Voaden Point (at the southern end of the Lockhart River Aboriginal Reserve). Furthermore in the officer's opinion, had Ingrid gone over the town, it would have destroyed everything. The police officer at Iron Range recorded a storm surge of 1 metre at the time of landfall. This location is 30 km north-northwest of the point where the centre crossed the coast. The people of Lockhart River (population approximately 400) were placed in the town's stronger buildings shortly prior to landfall. There were no reports of injury as a result of the Cape York crossing. The cyclone forced Qantas to cancel two flights from Cairns to far northern destinations: a midday service to Horn Island in Torres Strait was cancelled at midday and a separate flight to Weipa was also cancelled during the afternoon. It was estimated that (AUS) $2 million worth of damage was caused in Queensland from Ingrid, with the Cook Shire Council estimating that damage of up to $1 million had occurred to shire roads and the Douglas Shire reporting up to $300,000 of road damage. (2) Top End, Northern Territory ------------------------------- Nhulunbuy - In the town of approximately 4000 people, about 250 people sheltered in the town's main cyclone shelter near the hospital as the main destructive core passed just to the north of the township. Arafura Pearls reported suffering more than $1 million damage to its pearling fleet, with seven vessels lost or missing and a 27-metre vessel that had run aground in Nhulunbuy harbour was damaged. The company reported that none of the crew or staff was injured in the cyclone. Oenpelli - The Acting Police Sergeant reported that power was out at Goulburn Island, but no major damage had been reported from the cyclone. "A lot of trees down around the town and a fair bit of rubbish blown about," he said. "Some minor damage to signs and so forth but it doesn't appear that the roofs have been taken off houses and so forth." Croker Island - The Minjilang Community Council on Croker Island said it could take years to recover from the devastation of Ingrid. Extensive damage was reported to the town of 200 people, including the school being unroofed, damage to half the community's 60 houses and many steel power poles felled or bent out of shape. The town was left with no running water and only enough food for two days. Jarbu fishing lodge was reported as being obliterated and most buildings were extensively damaged, including the teachers' accommodation. A local said "I would doubt if there's a single tree left in town that's standing." Survivors reported that they could not believe that no one was killed or injured and this was attributed to the community heeding the warnings and acting responsibly. Cobourg Peninsula - A number of the buildings at Cape Don lost roofs. Tree damage on the Cobourg Peninsula included extensive defoliation of the forest (see video footage at the end of Link 4). Tiwi Islands - The picturesque Tiwi Islands were described as resembling a war zone after Cyclone Ingrid unfurled her full wrath on the island's tiny communities. Tiwi islanders began to emerge from emergency shelters on Monday afternoon, after enduring a terrifying 24 hours as the eye of the destructive cyclone passed directly overhead. At least two houses were ripped apart, and 'flying' trees damaged several other homes as gales pummeled the two Tiwi islands on Sunday night. Cyclone Ingrid was reported as causing serious damage to the Tiwi Island community of Nguiu, knocking over trees and cutting communications to the community. Nguiu essential services coordinator reported that there were "quite a large number of big mahogany trees over--one onto a house, one has fallen into the store here and also lifted up the telecommunications cables out of the ground which ran nearby." The power had been turned off because the high voltage cables were clashing together. "Down along the beach there's been a number of trees uprooted and the water is up to the road at the beach." Residents of Milikapiti, the northern-most community on Melville Island, spent the night in the Milikapiti Recreation Centre and told of hearing clattering objects and wind howling in all directions as they took shelter from the cyclone. It was reported that "there were sounds of logs and metal hitting the side of the hall and it was a terrifying ordeal. Plus the rain came in and it was very scary for the old people." While almost none of the trees in town survived, there was little damage to buildings. Milikapiti's housing manager said that he could not understand how this could be: given the size of the objects he saw flying through the air. "A lot of big sections of trees went past us. It (the wind) had no trouble in picking them up," he said. Roofing was blown from Milikapiti's school. Along with Milikapiti, the small communities of Ranku and Pirlangimpi were without functioning sewerage services, according to police reports. Communities at Snake Bay and Garden Point on Melville Island were also affected by widespread tree damage. The Northern Territory Government estimated that Ingrid may have caused about (AUS) $5 million damage to Croker and the Tiwi Islands. Darwin - The city was advised to prepare for the cyclone and warned of $5000 fines for people failing to act. Schools were also closed in preparation and some flights were cancelled, including an Air Garuda flight from Denpasar, leaving tourists stranded. Heavy rain squalls with winds gusts up to 41 kts were recorded at Lee Point on the outskirts of Darwin. Despite this and all the preparations, Ingrid left Darwin unscathed. (3) Kimberley Coast, Western Australia -------------------------------------- Faraway Bay - The remote resort of Faraway Bay, which had previously withstood Category 3 cyclones with no damage, was reported as being wrecked by Ingrid. Two staff members sheltered in a sea container while Ingrid passed directly overhead and escaped unharmed. At the time of report writing the future of Faraway Bay resort remains uncertain. The storm tide accompanying the cyclone was reported as depositing boats about 100 metres inland and several metres above the usual high tide mark. Kalumbaru - Ingrid had weakened a little by the time it reached Kalumburu (population approximately 400) which was spared the worst. While the cyclone brought down trees and power lines, and disrupted essential services like water, there was no severe damage. However flooding was extensive in the Kimberley region as the adjacent King Edward River became a massive swollen torrent. Floodwaters cut the Great Northern Highway near Kununurra and isolated some properties. At one point, the State Emergency Service had concerns for two tourists and a local man believed to be at an eco-tourism retreat called Alligator Camp at the mouth of the Drysdale River. However, all three missing people were found safe and well. At the time of writing an estimate of damage from the Western Australian Government was not available. F. Links -------- Link 1: ======= Satellite Imagery of Ingrid in the Northern Coral Sea http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=12751> Link 2: ======= http://www.met-office.gov.uk/sec2/sec2cyclone/tcimages/shem04_5/willy_ingrid1103.gif> Link 3: ======= Queensland Environmental Protection Agency Interim Report on Ingrid: http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/publications?id=1584> Link 4: ======= Video footage (large in size) of the cyclone passing by Cape Don, Northern Territory is available at: http://met.psu.edu/~evans/2005-TC-Ingrid/> Additional Links: ================= Further photographs, reports and a basic plot of Ingrid's track can be found at the following sites: http://www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/tc_ingrid/index.shtml> http://www.drdisk.com.hk/ingrid.htm> http://www.australianweathernews.com/> TRMM Imagery is available at: http://www.drdisk.com.hk/images/Cat_5_MI_Sig_Ingrid_Mar_2005.jpg> Further satellite pictures can be found at: http://www.osei.noaa.gov/Events/Tropical/S_Pacific/> http://www.osei.noaa.gov/Events/Tropical/IndOcean/> ABC News report as Ingrid passes to the north of Darwin: http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200503/1322440.htm?nt> Cyclone chaser report from Geoff Mackley at: http://www.rambocam.com/archive/ingrid.html> Damage photographs, near the Argyle Diamond Village: http://www.pbase.com/simonb/tc_ingrid> (Report written by Simon Clarke) ************************************************************************* SOUTH PACIFIC (SPA) - South Pacific Ocean East of Longitude 160E Activity for March: 1 tropical depression 1 tropical cyclone of gale intensity Sources of Information ---------------------- The primary sources of tracking and intensity information for South Pacific tropical cyclones are the warnings and advisories issued by the Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres at Nadi, Fiji (for waters north of latitude 25S), and Wellington, New Zealand (for waters south of latitude 25S). References to sustained winds imply a 10-minute averaging period unless otherwise stated. In the companion tropical cyclone tracks file, I occasionally annotate positions from warnings issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) of the U. S. Air Force and Navy, located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when they differ from the Southern Hemisphere centres' coordinates by usually 40-50 nm or more. The JTWC warnings are also the source of the 1-minute average maximum sustained wind values included in the tracks file. Additionally, information describing details of satellite imagery and atmospheric circulation features included in the narratives is often gleaned from the JTWC warnings. South Pacific Tropical Activity for March ----------------------------------------- As the month of March opened, intense Tropical Cyclone Percy was moving southward well east of Samoa. Percy reached its peak intensity of 125 kts early on the 2nd about 200 nm northwest of Palmerston Island and thereafter began to steadily weaken as it moved into higher latitudes. The complete report on Cyclone Percy can be found in the February summary. Except for two weak systems which formed in the wake of Percy, the month of March was quiet throughout the South Pacific--in stark contrast to the month of February when four very intense tropical cyclones traversed South Pacific waters east of the International Date- line. A tropical disturbance which formed in late February was numbered as Tropical Depression 12F on 1 March northeast of Fiji. This system spent the next few days drifting generally southeastward, becoming Tropical Cyclone Rae on the 5th while located west of Rarotonga. A report on Rae written by Simon Clarke follows. Another LOW which formed in late February south of Guadalcanal was classified as Tropical Depression 13F on 2 March just northwest of Fiji. TD-13F remained weak as it drifted near Fiji, dissipating near the Dateline on the 4th. A track was included for TD-13F in the companion cyclone tracks file. A graphic displaying the track of short-lived Tropical Depression 13F may be found at the following link: http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_FIJI/2005_13F_TD_BT.gif> TROPICAL CYCLONE RAE (TD-12F / TC-21P) 27 February - 8 March ----------------------------------------- A. Storm Origins ---------------- Tropical Cyclone Rae was the eighth tropical cyclone to form in the Southwest Pacific for the 2004/2005 season and the last cyclone in the string of five storms in a four-week period that brought wild weather stretching from Fiji through to the Cook Islands. However, unlike the earlier cyclones in the sequence, Rae was a short-lived storm that barely reached cyclone status, appearing to be merely a cyclonic wave left in the wake of its intense predecessor, Percy. The initial easterly-moving depression (TD-12F) can be traced back to near 11.5S/178.5E at 28/2100 UTC. At this time, convection remained detached from the centre with active convection evident only in the northern and eastern quadrants. At the time, SSTs were around 30 C and TD-12F remained under an upper-level (250-hPa) outflow with relatively weak environmental shear. However, early development appeared to be suppressed partly due to the proximity of Tropical Cyclone Percy to the east. It was not until 04/1815 UTC that convective organization rapidly improved with the development of a spiralling band pattern. Despite vertical shear and diurnal influences suppressing development, TD-12F was steered by the monsoon westerlies to the south-southeast at 10 kts into an area of reduced vertical wind shear relative to the system and a region of good outflow to the north, enhanced by the jet entrance region to the south. B. Synoptic History ------------------- At 05/2100 UTC TD-12F was upgraded to cyclone status by RSMC Nadi and named Rae as convection erupted close to the LCCC and gales encircled in all quadrants. At the time of naming, Rae was located near 21.0S/164.5W, or approximately 200 nm west-southwest of Rarotonga and moving to the south-southeast at 13 kts. This path was maintained for the rest of Rae's short life. Peak intensity of 990 hPa and 10-min avg winds of 40 kts was briefly attained shortly after naming. Soon thereafter weakening commenced as Rae began to run into the subtropical ridge located to the southeast. At 06/1200 UTC Rae was located near 23.9S/161.4W, or approximately 180 nm south of Mangaia, and was downgraded from cyclone status by RSMC Nadi as major convection became detached from the centre and lay on the southern side of the LLCC. Strong shear from the mid-latitude westerlies and dry air entrainment from the south rapidly weakened Rae into an extratropical system. However, gales were maintained between the stalling ex-cyclone and the high pressure ridge to the south due to the increased gradient for a couple of days to come. A graphic displaying the track of Tropical Cyclone Rae may be found at the following link: http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/database/tc_besttracks_graphics/PACIFIC_FIJI/2005_12F_21P_RAE_BT.gif> C. Damage and Casualties ------------------------ Prior to intensifying into a cyclone, the Australian-Pacific Centre for Emergency and Disaster Information reported that TD-12F brought flooding rains to parts of Fiji and Samoa. Flooding in Fiji in the Suva and Nausori area of Viti Levu was reported as causing several landslides and displacing several people. Following upgrading to cyclone status, Rae maintained a path over open ocean with no reports of casualties. However, Rae contributed to the difficulties of life associated with a prolonged period of wet and windy conditions through a broad swath of the central/eastern South Pacific that was initiated a month earlier by Tropical Cyclone Meena. (Report written by Simon Clarke) ************************************************************************* SPECIAL FEATURE - SOURCES OF TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION The purpose of this section is to list some websites where many and varied types of tropical cyclone information are archived. Many readers will know about these already, but for the benefit of those who don't, I wanted to include them. (1) Aircraft Reconnaissance Information --------------------------------------- Various types of messages from reconnaissance aircraft may be retrieved from the following FTP site: ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/recon/> Information regarding how to interpret the coded reconnaissance messages may be found at the following URL: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml> Links are also included to websites with further information about the U. S. Air Force 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the NOAA Air- craft Operations Center. (2) Archived Advisories ----------------------- All the advisory products (public advisories, forecast/advisories, strike probabilities, discussions, various graphics) issued by TPC/NHC are archived on TPC's website. For the current year (using 2004 as an example), the archived products can be found at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/index.shtml> Links to tropical products archives for earlier years are available at the following URL: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml> JTWC warnings for past storms are archived on the NRL Monterry website: http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html> On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left corner of the screen. I am not aware at the moment of any other TCWC which archives all its tropical cyclone warning/advisory products for public access, but if I learn of any, I will add them to this list. (3) Satellite Imagery --------------------- Satellite images of tropical cyclones in various sensor bands are available on the NRL Monterrey and University of Wisconsin websites, courtesy of Jeff Hawkins and Chris Velden and their associates. The links are: http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html> http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/tropic.html> On the NRL site, the link to past years can be found in the upper left corner of the screen. For the CIMSS site, a link to data archives is located in the lower left portion of the screen. Additional tropical satellite imagery, along with looping ability for composite microwave imagery for the Western Hemisphere north of the equator, can be found at: (1) For the Eastern North Pacific: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-epac.html> (2) For the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html> I'm sure there are other sites with available imagery available, and as I learn of them, I will add the links to this list. ************************************************************************* EXTRA FEATURE In order to shorten the amount of typing in preparing the narrative material, I have been in the habit of freely using abbreviations and acronyms. I have tried to define most of these with the first usage in a given summary, but I may have missed one now and then. Most of these are probably understood by a majority of readers but perhaps a few aren't clear to some. To remedy this I developed a Glossary of Abbreviations and Acronyms which I first included in the August, 1998 summary. I don't normally include the Glossary in most months in order to help keep them from being too long. If anyone would like to receive a copy of the Glossary, please e-mail me and I'll be happy to send them a copy. ************************************************************************* AUTHOR'S NOTE: This summary should be considered a very preliminary overview of the tropical cyclones that occur in each month. The cyclone tracks (provided separately) will generally be based upon operational warnings issued by the various tropical cyclone warning centers. The information contained therein may differ somewhat from the tracking and intensity information obtained from a "best-track" file which is based on a detailed post-seasonal analysis of all available data. Information on where to find official "best-track" files from the various warning centers will be passed along from time to time. The track files are not being sent via e-mail. They can be retrieved from the archive sites listed below. (Note: I do have a limited e-mail distribution list for the track files. If anyone wishes to receive these via e-mail, please send me a message.) Both the summaries and the track files are standard text files created in DOS editor. Download to disk and use a viewer such as Notepad or DOS editor to view the files. The first summary in this series covered the month of October, 1997. Back issues can be obtained from the following websites (courtesy of Michael Bath, Michael V. Padua, Michael Pitt, Chris Landsea, and John Diebolt): http://australiasevereweather.com/cyclones/> http://www.typhoon2000.ph> http://mpittweather.com> ftp://ftp.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/pub/landsea/padgett/> http://www.tropicalcyclone2005.com/> Another website where much information about tropical cyclones may be found is the website for the UK Meteorological Office. Their site contains a lot of statistical information about tropical cyclones globally on a monthly basis. The URL is: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/tropicalcyclone> TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORTS AVAILABLE JTWC now has available on its website the Annual Tropical Cyclone Report (ATCR) for 2004 (2003-2004 season for the Southern Hemisphere). ATCRs for earlier years are available also. The URL is: http://220.127.116.11/jtwc.html> Also, TPC/NHC has available on its webpage nice "technicolor" tracking charts for the 2004 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific tropical cyclones; also, storm reports for all the 2004 Atlantic and Eastern North Pacific cyclones are now available, as well as track charts and reports on storms from earlier years. The URL is: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov> A special thanks to Michael Bath of McLeans Ridges, New South Wales, Australia, for assisting me with proofreading the summaries. PREPARED BY Gary Padgett E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 334-222-5327 Kevin Boyle (Eastern Atlantic, Western Northwest Pacific, South China Sea) E-mail: [email protected] John Wallace (Assistance with Eastern North Pacific) E-mail: [email protected] Huang Chunliang (Assistance with Western Northwest Pacific, South China Sea) E-mail: [email protected] Simon Clarke (Northeast Australia/Coral Sea, South Pacific) E-mail: [email protected] ************************************************************************* *************************************************************************
Document: summ0503.htm
Updated: 17th May, 2005
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Tech Researcher Uncovering Secrets of Ancient Eruptions and the Atmosphere, Aug. 21, 2008
By Thomas Guengerich
Right: Nelia Dunbar explains the finer details of her electron microprobe laboratory at New Mexico Tech.
SOCORRO, N.M., Aug. 21, 2008 – New Mexico Tech researcher Nelia Dunbar is uncovering ancient secrets about global climate by studying the chemical composition of volcanic ash in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
Dunbar, a geochemist and lab director at New Mexico Tech, presented her findings at an Antarctic Earth Science meeting in Santa Barbara in August 2007, and again at a Geochemical Society meeting in Vancouver in early July 2008. Along with fellow researchers at New Mexico Tech and the University of Maine, Dunbar is using her laboratory sleuthing skills to find the record of volcanic eruptions in ice that preserves a record of fluctuations in global temperatures as far back as 100,000 years ago.
From November 2007 to January 2008 – that's summer in Antarctica –an army of scientists, engineers, technicians and students extracted a cylinder of ice from the 11,000-foot-thick ice sheet. The ice core is like a living record of precipitation, volcanic eruptions, greenhouse gases and other naturally-occurring atmospheric particles.
Left: Nelia Dunbar points out the graphic interface software that makes the electron microprobe very user-friendly.
Dunbar's specialty is volcanology. She is using her knowledge of volcanic activity and processes and her laboratory acumen to help the nation's community of geologists and geophysicists deduce a broad picture of Earth's climatic movements over the eons.
"We're looking at specific layers of dust from specific volcanic eruptions," Dunbar said. "This ice core contains a frozen record of the earth's atmospheric history."
The ice core is expected to be the first section of an 11,000-foot column of ice detailing 100,000 years of Earth's climate history. So far, the first core of 1,800 feet has been drilled and transported to the National Ice Core facility in Denver.
The top section of ice can be visually broken down to year-by-year layers going back about 40,000 years. Below the first few hundred feet, however, the ice is too compressed to visually count the layers. At that point, other methods must be used to determine the age of the ice. One of the methods is to identify volcanic ash layers using an electron microprobe to identify the chemical profile of ash.
One main reason for drilling the ice core is to examine the history of atmospheric carbon-dioxide content and global temperatures over the last 100,000 years.
"The ice core contains a beautiful, detailed climate record," Dunbar said. "But we need to know when changes in the climate happened. The volcanic record helps us to understand the chronology of the core."
Right: Tech researchers – and husband-and-wife team – Nelia Dunbar and Bill McIntosh huddle in an ice cave on Antarctica.
New Mexico Tech researchers Matt Heizler and Bill McIntosh have built a state-of-the-art Argon Geochronology Lab, and one of the specialties of the lab is to date volcanic rocks,– by vaporizing the rocks with a laser beam.
When volcanic rocks are formed, many contain crystals that are made, in part, of the element potassium. Over time, the potassium decays to an isotope of argon at a known rate. By vaporizing the crystals and releasing the argon, McIntosh can analyze the argon to determine a rock's age. From a similar sample, Dunbar can determine the chemical composition of rocks associated with specific eruptions because each volcanic eruption has its own chemical signature.
The new WAIS ice core contains ash particles that are far too small and sparse to be dated in the Argon Lab. However, the chemical composition of the ash particles can be measured, and can be matched to ashes sampled found near the source volcanoes, where the deposits are thick and can be dated in the New Mexico Tech Argon Lab. Only Dunbar's lab sleuthing can truly determine the chemical composition – and, hence, the age – of the deeply buried layers of volcanic ash in the ice. From ash pieces as small as 10 microns (1/100th of a millimeter) found in the ice core, she can determine the chemical composition of the ash, then associate that composition with a known, dated, volcanic eruption in West Antarctica.
"It's a puzzle and that's why a lot of science is intriguing," Dunbar said. "We gather information, put it together and figure out something that you can't observe directly. By putting together the pieces of the puzzle that we find in this ice core, we can learn about ancient occurrences."
Nelia Dunbar talks on the radio while surveying a blue ice sheet on Antarctica.
Dunbar said the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide is one of the best spots on the planet to recover ancient ice containing trapped air bubbles – samples of the Earth's atmosphere as old as 100,000 years.
Finding good places to sample volcanic ash near a source volcano in West Antarctica can be challenging, because of the thick ice cover over most of the area. However, at certain locations on the ice sheet, ancient deposits of volcanic ash have been lifted to the surface by natural flows. In the summit crater of an extinct West Antarctic volcano, Mount Moulton, Dunbar and colleagues located and sampled a section of such ice.
"It's the Rosetta Stone of volcanic ash," she said. "We found a blue ice field on Mount Moulton where the ice has captured evidence of 40 separate and distinct eruptions of a nearby active volcano, Mount Berlin."
Using the New Mexico Tech argon lab, McIntosh has dated a number of well-preserved crystals.
Scientists at the University of Maine are slowly, painstakingly dismantling and analyzing the ice core. When they find a layer of ash, they preserve a piece for Dunbar.
"This ice is very precious," Dunbar said. "They can't give me a huge section. They take a little portion of ice from that horizon of the core, melt it, filter it and send me the filter paper which has trapped the volcanic ash."
Dunbar can then remove the ash and place it in an epoxy disk about 1-inch across. She then polishes the disk, which can be placed in the electron microprobe.
That device works like a microscope, but uses electrons instead of light. A microprobe can determine the chemical composition of a 1 micron spot on a sample – a feat no other instrument can do. The electron microprobe also can show spatial resolution of chemical variability on a sample surface.
In 1996 New Mexico Tech became the first university in the nation to install a Cameca SX-100 electron microprobe. The $400,000 instrument – which costs about $750,000 today – is now a staple of research universities. The device functions as both a microscope and a mass spectrometer, providing an image of tiny objects and determining the objects' chemical composition.
Dunbar needs at least six ash fragments from one layer to get a good chemical fingerprint. She prefers to analyze up to 30 fragments to minimize the possibility of natural contamination.
"We want a good, homogeneous, population of ash to look at the chemical composition," Dunbar said. "If you find a single, random ash shard from South America, you would get the wrong impression. This shard might have been blown in by wind, rather than being brought by the volcanic eruption. Some eruptions have a very simple chemical composition, while others have a range. We can look at a chemical analysis and say it's homogenous or we might find a sample that's chemically variable."
Dunbar is using her laboratory wizardry to help the scientific community expand its understanding of the past.
Scientists from more than 30 universities and government agencies around the nation are studying different aspects of the WAIS ice core – natural dust, biological materials, carbon-dioxide levels, methane levels and many other aspects.
"Each investigator offers information on a different aspect of the core," Dunbar said. "You put it all together and you get a very complete picture of what Earth's climate was doing. … No one person can do all that. That's why it's so multi-faceted."
Together, they are putting together a large puzzle. In October, they will all convene in Denver to share their preliminary findings at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide Ice Project.
"Scientists get together and share papers. There's a huge amount of discussion. It's exciting because we're presenting data that is hot off the presses," she said.
While other ice cores from Greenland have been used to develop longer records of Earth's atmosphere, the record from Dunbar's expedition will allow a more detailed study of the interaction of previous increases in greenhouse gases and climate change. Eventually, this information will improve computer models that are used to predict how the current high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by human activity might influence future climate, she said.


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Tower of Ecthelion
This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate.
|Tower of Ecthelion
|General Information
|Minas Tirith
|White Tower
|By Ardamir. (Help; more articles)
The Tower of Ecthelion, also known as the White Tower, was a tall white tower atop Minas Tirith which contained the the throne of the King of Gondor and a secret room housing a palantír. Although a tower had graced the highest point of Minas Tirith since ancient times, it was rebuilt by Steward Ecthelion I some three centuries before the War of the Ring, and so gained his name.
The Tower of Ecthelion was 50 fathoms (300 feet) tall. The plain white standard of the Stewards of Gondor flew from its pinnacle. The Tower stood in the center of the Citadel on the seventh level of the city. In front of the Tower was the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree of Gondor grew. In the Tower Hall was the throne of the King of Gondor upon a dais, and at the foot the dais on the lowest step was a black chair where the Steward of Gondor sat. There was a chamber high in the Tower and above it in the summit there was a secret room where the palantir of Minas Anor.
The White Tower was first built by King Calimehtar in 1900 in order to house the palantír. In 2698, the Tower was repaired and rebuilt by the Steward Ecthelion I, for whom the Tower came to be named.
On March 9, 3019, Peregrin Took got his first glimpse of the Tower of Ecthelion as he rode with Gandalf to Minas Tirith:
Then Pippin cried aloud, for the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost wall, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals; and white banners broke and fluttered from the battlements in the morning breeze, and high and far he heard a clear ringing as of silver trumpets.
After the War of the Ring on May 1, the standard of the Stewards of Gondor was raised for the last time. That day Aragorn was crowned King and when he entered the Citadel, the standard of the Kings of Gondor bearing the Tree and the Stars was unfurled on the pinnacle of the Tower of Ecthelion.
Also called the White Tower. It was renamed the Tower of Ecthelion after the Steward Ecthelion I who rebuilt it. Also called the Tower of Denethor during the reign of Denethor II.
- The Two Towers: "The Departure of Boromir," p. 19; "The Palantir," p. 206
- The Return of the King: "Minas Tirith (chapter)," p. 23-26 and passim; "The Muster of Rohan," p. 73; "The Siege of Gondor," p. 91-92, 94-95, 97, 98-99; "The Pyre of Denethor," p. 129, 131, 132-33; "The Steward and the King," 244, 246
- Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings: "The Tale of Years," p. 367, 369


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SIZZIX-Bigz BIGkick/Big Shot Die by Tim Holtz Alterations. A Bigz die cleanly cuts thick materials including cardstock, chipboard, fabric, foam, magnets, leather, metallic foils, paper, and much more! Its wider size offers you more design options. Measuring 5-1/2×6 inches.
Bigz dies will cut thick materials including cardstock, fabric, foam, magnets, leather, foil and sandpaper (in limited use). Compatible with BIGkick, Big Shot, Big Shot Pro and Vagabond machines with appropriate pads.
For use with the BIGkick and Big Shot machines (not included).
Design: Sewing Room. Designer: Tim Holtz.


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