TheSnowpit.com News Blog

In this issue:

• Windmill-based remote weather stations track snowmelt
• Ancient ecosystem creates red ice in Antarctica
• Bead avalanche size can be predicted from system disorder

We'll start out with a new type of weather station in Maine: an off-the-grid windmill and a bucket. No, really. These snowmelt measuring weather stations can go far off the grid because they are both solar and wind powered -- getting a distinct winter-time advantage from the fact that when the sun is hiding, the wind may be accompanying the clouds.

Then, it's one thing to find a self-contained ecosystem behind glass and sponsored by the government, but yet another to find it naturally and blatantly spilling out in red glory from an antarctic ice shelf. The microbes involved in the odd color of the ice floe live in very cold salty water and munch on iron and sulfur -- much like conditions would be for living on the moon Europa.

Finally, remember the theory link between snow avalanches and self-organized criticality (i.e. sandpile avalanches?) Well, a new bit of research shows that the size of bead avalanches can be predicted by the disorder in the system (pile) prior to the avalanche occurring. Their measure of disorder was the 'space factor', or space between the 4 mm steel beads, and piles included up to 55,000 beads at a time.

Beads, windmills, and red ice. Whatever will July bring?