Some 30 years ago I heard Iben Browning speak about climate and the weather. He described a situation where if pipes were put under extreme internal steam pressure, and someone came by every hour hitting the pipes hard with a hammer, that person was sure to be there when the pipes exploded.
The tides have that kind of an impact on the tectonic plates surrounding the earth that are under continuous stress from the earth's internal movements. These tides are highest when the sun, moon and earth are in a line. It is at these times that earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely to occur especially after long periods of time when the stress builds but is not released.
Last night and early this morning on BBC4 the programme "Order out of Chaos," the 2nd of five programmes in the series "Wonders of the Solar System," featured a comparison between Iceland where the Atlantic continental tectonic plate runs and a moon of the planet Saturn.
The Saturn moon was seen spewing out an ice cloud thousands of kilometres into space from time to time from its south polar region. The theory behind this explosion is that tidal forces acting on this moon by surrounding gravitation produced the heat which led to the massive explosions of this ice into space which then formed a ring made up of ice around Saturn.
Comparing Iceland's geothermal character depicted geysers exploding periodically in Iceland as background to this discussion. This past week we have seen a similar explosion of a volcano on Iceland coming up through 200 metres of ice creating ice crystals in the atmosphere along with rock debris and all else that goes with a volcanic dust cloud's eruption we call ash.
This was quite a stunning comparison with what was happening in frozen space and here on earth that reflected the same force elements at work: tides based upon the gravitational attraction of nearby massive bodies especially when they are aligned for maximum force effect.
In the past couple weeks I've sent two Emails to the BBC's Weather Show (broadcast on the BBC News Channel quarterly) with respect to this phenomenon as it relates to history which was a theme of their last quarterly broadcast in early April 2010.
Iben Browning has written two key books: "Climate and the Affairs of Men" with Nels Winkless III and "Past and Future History: A Planner's Guide" with his daughter Evelyn M Gariss. Each of these goes into great detail about tidal action, earthquakes and volcanoes along with much else as these and other factors relate to climate, weather and the history of civilisation as we know it.
Iben Browning made me aware of these factors in terms of climate and weather three decades ago, and I've always kept them in mind during this period as events which can occur that will alter human activity to a significant degree. I believe that what happened and continues to happen in Iceland is one of these events.
I have not seen this general awareness expressed over these decades in terms of what can happen with respect to these huge events. We all see the devastation that occurs with serious earthquakes lately in Haiti, Chile, China and elsewhere. We in the western world tend to look down upon these poor people who do not have adequate earthquake construction while we go to their aid in these major disasters.
Our arrogances however subtly hidden has now come back to expose western Europe as vulnerable to these huge forces of nature as well from the closing of the airspace throughout this region from the ice and rock dust ash which came out of the Iceland volcano and blew across Scandinavia and western Europe that continues without any sign of its abating.
Everyone is just as vulnerable everywhere to these huge forces of nature which we ignore because they do not happened for hundreds of years but are sure to come back and repeat themselves as they always do. As a result, we are not prepared for them whether it be building construction in lesser developed nations or the mere fact of volcanic ash coating the moving parts of our highly industrialised world to bring it to a halt.
The great problem is that those in government who are supposed to be taking care of these possible occurrences are off on their greed and glory trips helping to create toxic debt as one example which destroys the workings of the financial system as a man made catastrophe while nature acts normally to produce events that are catastrophic to human civilisation. Nature's big. Man isn't.
There are government failures in two ways here both of which have hit last week at the same time coincident with the political debate in the UK for the forthcoming national election. Toxic debt could have been completely avoided, and toxic ash could have been subject to greater awareness as a potential hazard for the industrial machine and human being as well. Now we will see how this plays out when no one planned for it.
1. Email Thursday last 15.04.2010, concerning the forces at work behind the toxic ash.
From: "Gary D Chance"
To: "BBC Weather Show"
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 4:42 PM
Subject: Aren't you people lucky? Here it is all wrapped up into an event that will give you mounds of material about which to give us your wise views.
Can we say that this one could be seen coming?
Earthquakes and volcanoes go together triggered at times of extreme stress by tidal action around the globe when tides are the highest.
We've had two devastating earthquakes in China (one just now) and in Haiti and Chile as well as other places that have made the news such as the Solomon Islands recently. Japan has had its share of earthquakes recently too in the news.
These earthquakes have been devastating because extreme stress has been released for powerful earthquakes.
One would expect volcanic activity at the same time.
We can't predict these, but we can observe the effects of the accumulating events especially the volcanic ash in the atmosphere.
If the Iceland volcano goes on as it has been, these particles will block the sun making our weather cooler and perhaps we might see a climate change to colder summers this year and next. The effect could last for a decade or more. Who knows?
The question is about other volcanoes around the world, and what they are doing? Are they contributing to the volcanic ash in the atmosphere circling the globe?
When Mt Tambora blew in 1815 with the most massive eruption in 1630 years, it led to the "Year Without a Summer." It was proceeded by several lesser but significant volcanoes each leaving ash in the upper atmosphere.
The last time this Iceland volcano erupted significantly was in 1821 which went on for a couple years into 1823 continuously spewing ash upwards.
I think it's significant to see this grouping of volcanoes erupting over a decade from 1811 to 1821 just as it is now significant to see these earthquakes and this Iceland volcano occurring in a short space of time.
Levels of stress are reaching breaking points, and tides are acting as stress releasers when they are at their highest points.
I see by my little electronic device that there is now a new moon. Maybe you can work out the tidal impact at this time from the alignment of the Sun, Moon (new and full) and Earth which might have contributed to the eruption of this volcano in Iceland which had been erupting since last December with a significant eruption about a month ago.
Aren't you lucky to be meteorologists living during this time when all these natural events are occurring with this spectacular event the risk of which can be anticipated although the events themselves cannot be predicted?
The aftermath effect on the weather and climate can be anticipated and predicted by the amount of collective ash that gets thrown up into the atmosphere and circles the globe.
Brrrrrrr. Maybe we'll have snow in June.
Perhaps global warming will be hidden for a time by volcanic activity then roar back in a most devastating manner when nothing can be done to stop it.
Gary
2. Email Friday, 02.04.2010, re the overall historical impact from huge events intertwined with tidal and other forces on the planet earth
From: "Gary D Chance"
To: "BBC Weather Show"
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 3:54 PM
Subject: The Weather Show. The Weather Show. Long live the fabulous Weather Show. "Hootus Climaticus Maximus"
Consider the movement of the earth's magnetic dipole and non-dipole as they trace the path of civilisation from Persian/Egyptian to Greece, Rome, Western Europe and North America. Where are they now, and where are they heading?
What impact has the earth's magnetism had on the weather and history itself? Could climate/weather be the single most significant factor in determining the course of human events?
Ah, this leads me back to Iben Browning once again who got me onto this subject c 1980.
Sadly, Iben Browning is now gone as is the Fraser Publishing Company for his books, but the ideas still stimulate. Consider his book written with his daughter Evelyn M Gariss "Past and Future History: A Planner's Guide."
I went looking for a picture of "Hootus Climaticus Maximus" to show you what I thought would produce a smile and discovered that this book has some copies available at Alibris.
While I don't think you will rush to buy a copy, I do consider it chock-a-block full with historical information over the centuries and millenniums that relate to weather, climate and the history of human civilisation. You might want to have a glance.
"Hootus Climatus Maximus" is this great drawing by Emilie "Rainbow" Tourain in 1980 evidently done especially for Iben Browning et al and this book. It shows this marvellous owl ravaged by years of earning wisdom gripping a pencil while perched on charts and maps. You have to see it.
The historical information here is fascinating bringing together many factors of influence impacting climate and the weather. His thinking approach is well worth noting, but his predictions are like any other and fall wide of the mark from time to time.
[snipped irrelevant bits]
Gary
