(Press-News.org) VIDEO:
This animation of rainfall gathered from Feb. 11-19, 2014, by NASA's TRMM satellite revealed that Tropical Cyclone Guito produced as much as 16.9 inches/430 mm of rainfall in the center...
Click here for more information.
Tropical Cyclone Guito has been a powerful rainmaker, and fortunately, data from NASA's TRMM satellite shows that the heaviest rainfall has occurred over the open waters of the Mozambique Channel and not over land.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite had a look at tropical cyclone Guito in the Mozambique Channel on February 18, 2014 at 1525 UTC/10:25 a.m. EST. The early evening (local time) view occurred only about three hours after Guito attained tropical storm intensity of 35 knots/40 mph/62 kph).
TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) had better coverage of Guito than the Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument whose swath was well to the south of the tropical cyclone's center of circulation. TRMM TMI revealed that Guito was producing rain at a rate of over 50mm/~ 2 inches per hour in the center of the Mozambique Channel and scattered light rain on Madagascar's western coast.
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. a rainfall anomaly analysis was made by comparing rainfall data compiled during the twelve year period from 2001-2012 to "near real-time" Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis data collected for the same period. That analysis showed that rainfall in the northern Mozambique Channel has been above normal for the past month.
These rainfall estimates were used to create a simulated 3-D perspective view with higher precipitation amounts appearing to be taller than lower amounts. The highest totals, with amounts in the Mozambique Channel greater than 430 mm/~16.9 inches.
On Feb. 20 at 0800 UTC/3:00 a.m. EST, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite showed that Cyclone Guito had moved farther south in the Mozambique Channel that the previous day. The MODIS image also showed that Guito's western fringes were brushing over Mozambique. In addition, multispectral satellite imagery showed that the strong convection associated with the low-level center of circulation had decreased.
At 0900 UTC/4:00 a.m. EST, Guito was in the southern Mozambique Channel near 25.3 south latitude and 38.6 east longitude. That puts Guito's center over 575 nautical miles from the Capital city of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Guito's maximum sustained winds were near 65 knots/74.5 mph/120.4 kph (hurricane-force). It was moving to the south at 13 knots/14.9 mph/24.0 kph.
Guito is heading southeast and out of the Mozambique Channel and into the open waters of the Southern Indian Ocean. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC noted that after 24 hours (by February 21 at 0900 UTC/4:00 a.m. EST), cooler sea surface temperatures and increasing vertical wind shear will take a toll on the tropical cyclone and start to weaken it.
JTWC forecasters expect by the second day that Guito will being transitioning into an extra-tropical storm, a process that will take another day over the open waters of the Southern Indian Ocean.
INFORMATION:
NASA's TRMM satellite saw extreme rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Guito
2014-02-20
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Dismantling pancreas cancer's armor
2014-02-20
SEATTLE – Pancreas cancer is notoriously impervious to treatment and resists both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It has also been thought to provide few targets for immune cells, allowing tumors to grow unchecked. But new research from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center shows that pancreas cancer "veils" itself from the immune system by recruiting specialized immune suppressor cells. The research team also found that removing these cells quickly triggers a spontaneous anti-tumor immune response.
The findings, published Feb. 20 in Gut, give hope for future immunotherapy ...
Clinical opinion published on use of maternal oxygen during labor
2014-02-20
When a fetal heartbeat pattern becomes irregular during labor, many practitioners give oxygen to the mother. But questions remain whether this oxygen supplementation benefits the fetus or may actually be potentially harmful.
A clinical opinion written by third year resident Maureen Hamel, MD, along with maternal-fetal medicine specialists Brenna Anderson, MD and Dwight Rouse, MD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, has been published in the January 10, 2014 ...
Human and dog brains both have dedicated 'voice areas'
2014-02-20
The first study to compare brain function between humans and any nonprimate animal shows that dogs have dedicated voice areas in their brains, just as people do. Dog brains, like those of people, are also sensitive to acoustic cues of emotion, according to a study in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on February 20.
The findings suggest that voice areas evolved at least 100 million years ago, the age of the last common ancestor of humans and dogs, the researchers say. It also offers new insight into humans' unique connection with our best friends in the animal kingdom ...
Neuron-generating brain region could hold promise for neurodegenerative therapies
2014-02-20
Adult humans continuously produce new neurons in the striatum, a brain region involved in motor control and cognitive functions, and these neurons could play an important role in recovery from stroke and possibly finding new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, according to a study published by Cell Press February 20th in the journal Cell. To detect the birth of new neurons in the striatum, the authors used a method that measures carbon-14 found in human DNA as a result of above-ground nuclear testing more than half a century ago. The findings reveal a surprise finding ...
Researchers regenerate sound-sensing cells in the ears of mice with hearing damage
2014-02-20
One of the major causes of hearing loss in mammals is damage to the sound-sensing hair cells in the inner ear. For years, scientists have thought that these cells are not replaced once they're lost, but new research appearing online February 20 in the journal Stem Cell Reports reveals that supporting cells in the ear can turn into hair cells in newborn mice. If the findings can be applied to older animals, they may lead to ways to help stimulate cell replacement in adults and to the design of new treatment strategies for people suffering from deafness due to hair cell loss.
Whereas ...
Mauritius kestrels show long-term legacy of man-made habitat change
2014-02-20
The widespread loss of forest to sugarcane fields on the island of Mauritius has forced kestrels living there to survive by speeding up their life histories, according to a report published online on February 20 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology. By getting an earlier start, the birds are managing to have just as many offspring, even though they die sooner.
Those changes to the kestrels' life history are apparently driven entirely by their early life experiences, the researchers say.
"This adaptive, plastic response is a testament to how resilient this species ...
CHOP researcher co-leads study finding genes that affect blood pressure
2014-02-20
A large international study analyzing genes in tens of thousands of individuals has discovered 11 new genetic signals associated with blood pressure levels. Ten of those signals are in or very near genes encoding proteins that appear to be likely targets for drugs already in existence or in development.
"The fact that most of these new gene signals are 'druggable' targets offers the possibility of expedited pharmaceutical development of therapeutics for high blood pressure, a serious risk factor for cardiovascular diseases," said geneticist Brendan J. Keating, D. Phil., ...
Molecular 'cocktail' transforms skin cells into beating heart cells
2014-02-20
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—February 20, 2014—The power of regenerative medicine appears to have turned science fiction into scientific reality—by allowing scientists to transform skin cells into cells that closely resemble beating heart cells. However, the methods required are complex, and the transformation is often incomplete. But now, scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have devised a new method that allows for the more efficient—and, importantly, more complete—reprogramming of skin cells into cells that are virtually indistinguishable from heart muscle cells. These findings, ...
Scientists find resistance mechanism that could impact antibiotic drug development
2014-02-20
JUPITER, FL, February 20, 2014 – The use of antibiotics is often considered among the most important advances in the treatment of human disease. Unfortunately, though, bacteria are finding ways to make a comeback. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than two million people come down with antibiotic-resistant infections annually, and at least 23,000 die because their treatment can't stop the infection. In addition, the pipeline for new antibiotics has grown dangerously thin.
Now, a new study by scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research ...
Chemical chaperones have helped proteins do their jobs for billions of years
2014-02-20
ANN ARBOR—An ancient chemical, present for billions of years, appears to have helped proteins function properly since time immemorial.
Proteins are the body's workhorses, and like horses they often work in teams. There exists a modern day team of multiple chaperone proteins that help other proteins fold into the complex 3D shapes they must achieve to function. This is necessary to avert many serious diseases caused when proteins misbehave.
But what happened before this team of chaperones was formed? How did the primordial cells that were the ancestors of modern life ...