(Press-News.org) A tropical storm called Lua formed in the Indian Ocean off Australia's northwestern coast on March 13, 2012. NASA's TRMM satellite passed over Lua and observed moderate rainfall and strong towering thunderstorms within on March 13. By March 14, it was turning back toward Australia and storm warnings had been posted.
The area of Australia where Cyclone Lua is located is sparsely populated, but Lua caused the shutdown of over one quarter of the country's crude oil production.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite flew over that area on March 13, 2012 at 1622 UTC (12:22 p.m. EDT). A rainfall analysis was conducted at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. using TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments. It was overlaid on an enhanced infrared image from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS) and showed that rainfall intensity was mainly in the moderate range of 20 to 30 mm/hr (~0.8 to 1.2 inches/hr). The area covered by TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) did not include Lua's center of circulation but storm towers in feeder bands southwest and northeast of the storm reached to heights of almost 15 km (9.3 miles).
Lua is predicted to circle back toward the northwestern coast of Australia and attain minimal hurricane force winds on March 15, 2012.
On March 14 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Tropical Storm Lua's maximum sustained winds were near 50 knots (57.5 mph/92.6 kph). It was located about 425 nautical miles (489 miles/787 km) northwest of Port Hedland, Australia. It was centered near 15.6 South and 112.9 East. Lua is moving to the northeast near 5 knots (5.7 mph/9.3 kph) but is expected to turn to the southeast and head toward land.
Infrared satellite imagery shows that the strongest convection (rising air that forms thunderstorms that make up the cyclone) is consolidating and strengthening. There is also some drier air moving into the storm's center and easterly vertical wind shear has increased to around 20 knots (23 mph/37.0). Both of those factors are limiting the storm's ability to intensify more. The wind shear is forecast to weaken over the next day, allowing Cyclone Lua to strengthen before it makes landfall.
Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect the storm to reach peak wind speeds of up to 90 knots (103 mph/168 kph) before landfall and hold together inland as a tropical cyclone all the way to the Gibson Desert.
Currently, communities in Western Australia's Pilbara and Kimberley regions are on alert. Cyclone Lua has now prompted a Cyclone Watch from Cape Leveque to Mardie, Western Australia. According to the latest forecast from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Cyclone Lua is moving north, but will turn to the southeast and strengthen into a cyclone before making landfall north of Port Hedland on Friday, March 16.
INFORMATION:
NASA's TRMM satellite sees tropical storm Lua's rainfall
2012-03-15
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Silicon-carbon electrodes snap, swell, don't pop
2012-03-15
RICHLAND, Wash. -- A study that examines a new type of silicon-carbon nanocomposite electrode reveals details of how they function and how repeated use could wear them down. The study also provides clues to why this material performs better than silicon alone. With an electrical capacity five times higher than conventional lithium battery electrodes, silicon-carbon nanocomposite electrodes could lead to longer-lasting, cheaper rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles.
Published online in the journal Nano Letters last week, the study includes videos of the electrodes ...
A Troubling Confluence of Events is Affecting Sales and Marketing Executives in 2012
2012-03-15
The Kathy Freeman Company, a retained executive search firm focused exclusively on assignments within the investment industry, has concluded its latest proprietary research designed to identify current trends among senior sales and marketing executives.
Based on that research the firm has just published its most recent annual whitepaper: "Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?"
The trends identified in the paper can be leveraged by CEOs, their human resources partners, or line executives to design a more effective and relevant approach to retaining or attracting ...
New drug now available for actinic keratosis
2012-03-15
A new topical gel now available by prescription significantly decreases the amount of time needed to treat actinic keratosis, a skin condition that is a common precursor to skin cancer, according to a multi-center trial led by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The gel, called ingenol mebutate, is applied to the skin for just a few days, making it quicker and even more effective as current therapies require weeks to months to apply. The Phase III study results of the trial are published in the March 15, 2012 issue of the The New England Journal of Medicine.
Actinic ...
Some NHS trusts consistently outperform others on patient experience
2012-03-15
Some NHS trusts consistently outperform others on a range of measures of patient experience, finds research published online in BMJ Quality & Safety.
Furthermore, the top performers tend to be Foundation Trusts and teaching hospitals, the study shows.
Patient experience is one of the five domains for assessing NHS performance (NHS Outcomes Framework) and is recognised internationally as a key dimension of healthcare quality.
But it is one of the more difficult areas to measure because of the many contributory factors involved, say the authors.
The authors, from ...
Heavy rucksacks storing up back problems for many school-kids
2012-03-15
Significant numbers of teens regularly carry rucksacks for school which top 10 to 15 per cent of their body weight and risk back pain and other related disorders, finds research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
The problem is compounded by a predominantly sedentary lifestyle, say the researchers.
They assessed the back health of 1403 pupils between the ages of 12 and 17, drawn from 11 schools in one province in North Western Spain.
The teens were weighed twice - once without coats and other items likely to add weight, such as mobile phones, ...
Advice to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months may be 'unhelpful' and too idealistic
2012-03-15
Advising women to breastfeed exclusively for six months may be "unhelpful" and far too idealistic, suggests a qualitative study of new mothers, their partners, and close relatives, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Exclusive breastfeeding for six months is known to confer considerable health benefits for mother and baby, and many governments around the world endorse the World Health Organization recommendations to do so.
But more realistic, incremental, and achievable goals should be set instead, particularly in countries that have struggled to meet targets ...
Dietary cadmium may be linked with breast cancer risk
2012-03-15
PHILADELPHIA — Dietary cadmium, a toxic metal widely dispersed in the environment and found in many farm fertilizers, may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Cadmium occurs at low concentrations naturally, but scientists are concerned because contamination of farmland mainly due to atmospheric deposition and use of fertilizers leads to higher uptake in plants.
"Because of a high accumulation in agricultural crops, the main sources of dietary cadmium ...
Lung doctors expect respiratory diseases will worsen with global climate change
2012-03-15
Worldwide increases in the incidences of asthma, allergies, infectious and cardiovascular diseases will result from a variety of impacts of global climate change, including rising temperatures, worsening ozone levels in urban areas, the spread of desertification, and expansions of the ranges of communicable diseases as the planet heats up, the professional organization representing respiratory and airway physicians stated in a new position paper released today.
The paper is published online and in print in the Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society. The society ...
Food stamp customers buy more at farmers' markets when point-of-sale system is available
2012-03-15
Philadelphia, PA, March 15, 2012 – Record numbers of Americans are receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, as food stamps are now known, and many SNAP participants live in neighborhoods with little or no access to healthy food. A study conducted at the Clark Park Farmers' Market, in Philadelphia, PA, has found that making it easier for vendors to collect SNAP payments with electronic point-of-sale systems increased fresh produce sales to SNAP recipients by 38%. However, the costs associated with such systems may put them out of reach for farmers. ...
Higher European Union e-waste collection objective is unfeasible
2012-03-15
The forthcoming EU collection objective for discarded electrical equipment and energy saving lamps (e-waste) is only achievable if governments are prepared to introduce additional measures.
By 2021, all EU countries will need to collect 65 percent of the average weight of equipment and lamps which was sold annually the three previous years.
However, part of the e-waste is outside of the producers' reach, as this concerns legal or illegal exports, or because it has disappeared into the waste bin.
This conclusion was reached during an international e-waste conference ...