• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • Articles
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Archives for algorithm

algorithm

Coastlines and Climate Change | Earth Wise

August 16, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Scientists predict how climate change will affect coastlines

Climate change poses a fundamental threat to life on earth and has already left observable effects on the planet.  For example, glaciers have shrunk, oceans have warmed, heatwaves have become more intense, and plant and animal ranges have shifted. 

As a result of the changing climate, coastal communities around the world are confronting the increasing threats posed by a combination of extreme storms and the predicted acceleration of sea level rise. 

Scientists from the University of Plymouth in England have developed a simple algorithm-based model to predict how coastlines could be affected by climate change.  This model allows coastal communities to identify the actions they need to take in order to adapt to their changing environment.

The Forecasting Coastal Evolution (or ForCE)  model has the potential to be a game-changer because it allows adaptations in the shoreline to be predicted over timescales of anything from days to decades. As a result, the model is capable of predicting both the short-term impact of extreme storms as well as predicting the longer-term impact of rising seas.   

The ForCE model relies on past and present beach measurements and data showing the physical properties of the coast.  It also considers other key factors like tidal, surge, and global sea-level rise data to assess how beaches might be impacted by climate change.  Beach sediments form the frontline defense against coastal erosion and flooding, and are key in preventing damage to valuable coastal infrastructure.

According to the study, which was recently published in the journal Coastal Evolution, the ForCE model predictions have shown to be more than 80% accurate in current tests in South West England.

**********

Web Links

New model accurately predicts how coasts will be impacted by storms and sea-level rise

Photo, posted April 17, 2016, courtesy of Nicolas Henderson via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Predicting Lightning Strikes

November 19, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Lightning is one of the most unpredictable phenomena in nature.  Approximately 100 lightning bolts strike earth’s surface every second, and each lightning bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity.  Lightning regularly kills both people and animals and sets homes and forests on fire.  It’s also been known to ground airplanes. 

Researchers at EPFL – a research institute and university in Switzerland – have developed a novel way to predict where and when lightning will strike.  The system relies on a combination of standard data from weather stations and artificial intelligence to predict lightning strikes to the nearest 10 to 30 minutes and within a radius of less than 20 miles.  The simple and inexpensive system was outlined in a research paper recently published in Climate and Atmospheric Science, a Nature partner journal.   

According to researchers, the current systems for predicting lightning strikes are slow, expensive, and complex, relying on external data acquired by satellite and radar.  The new inexpensive system from EPFL uses real time data that can be obtained from any weather station, meaning it can cover remote regions that are out of radar and satellite range and where communication networks are lacking.  The quick predictions from the system allow alerts to be issued before a storm has even formed. 

The system uses a machine-learning algorithm that’s been trained to recognize conditions that lead to lightning.  The researchers took into account atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed, among other things.  After training the algorithm, the system was able to predict lightning strikes accurately nearly 80% of the time.

This system is a simple way to predict a complex phenomenon. 

**********

Web Links

Using AI to predict where and when lightning will strike

Photo, posted December 14, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Harsh Winters

July 15, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In recent years, there have been some unusually harsh winters in North America and Central Europe. This past January, the Midwestern US experienced extreme cold temperatures. We have all become familiar with the term ‘polar vortex’ and its role in sending cold air to middle latitudes and it is generally agreed that unusual behavior by the jet stream is the primary cause of the extreme winter weather.

For years, climate researchers around the world have been investigating the question as to whether the increasingly common wandering of the jet stream is a product of climate change or is a random phenomenon associated with natural variations in the climate system.

The jet stream is a powerful band of westerly winds over the middle latitudes that push major weather systems from west to east.  These days, the jet stream is increasingly faltering.  Instead of blowing along a straight course parallel to the equator, it sweeps across the Northern Hemisphere in massive waves, producing unusual intrusions of Arctic air into the middle latitudes.

Atmospheric researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany have now developed a climate model that can accurately predict the frequently observed winding course of the jet stream.  The breakthrough combines their global climate model with a new machine learning algorithm on ozone chemistry.  Using their new combined model, they can now show that the jet stream’s wavelike course in winter and subsequent extreme weather outbreaks are the direct result of climate change.  The changes in the jet stream are to a great extent caused by the decline in Arctic sea ice, according to the results of the investigations.  The results are not surprising but there is now a detailed model to support the hypothesis.

**********

Web Links

A warming Arctic produces weather extremes in our latitudes

Photo, posted January 11, 2011, courtesy of Carl Wycoff via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Ebola And Bats

August 29, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.66/22d.937.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/EW-08-29-16-Ebola-and-Bats.mp3

Filoviruses have devastating effects on people and primates, as evidenced by the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. For nearly 40 years, preventing spillovers has been hampered by an inability to pinpoint which wildlife species harbor and spread the viruses.

[Read more…] about Ebola And Bats

Primary Sidebar

Recent Episodes

  • Trouble For The Outer Banks | Earth Wise
  • Progress On Artificial Photosynthesis | Earth Wise
  • Environmental DNA | Earth Wise
  • Alaskan Wildfires | Earth Wise
  • Mangrove Forests And Climate Change | Earth Wise

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)

Copyright © 2022 ·

  • Home
  • About Earth Wise
  • Where to Listen
  • Articles