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Monthly Archives: November 2017
How are the National Weather Service and Wisconsin connected?
The roots of our National Weather Service have a distinctive Wisconsin flavor. Professor Increase A. Lapham, a University of Wisconsin professor at the time of the founding of the university, was the first official Smithsonian Institution weather observer in Milwaukee … Continue reading
Who is Increase Lapham?
Many consider Increase Lapham to be one of Wisconsin’s greatest scientists. Though never formally educated, Lapham demonstrated an early talent for topographical sketching and became an engineer and surveyor of canals in the 1830s. He was born in Palmyra, New … Continue reading
Why do bridges ice before the road?
Living in a cold climate, we are used to seeing signs that say “bridge freezes before road.” The fundamental reason is that a bridge hangs above the ground, while the roadway rests on the ground. Water on a road or … Continue reading
What’s happening with the ozone hole?
Encouraging news arrived this week regarding the size of the Southern Hemisphere ozone hole. NASA reported that this year’s ozone hole (which peaked on Sept. 11 at 7.6 million square kilometers) was the smallest since 1988, just years after the problem was first identified.
Though a number of factors contribute to the annual size of the ozone hole, it is beyond doubt that the leading factor is the reduction of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), industrial chemicals long used for refrigeration among other things. Continue reading
