Episode 344 (11-28-16): Winter Preparedness and Safety, featuring “Drive the Cold Winter Away” by Timothy Seaman

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:22)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-28-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 28, 2016.

MUSIC - ~12 sec

That music is part of “Drive the Cold Winter Away,” by Timothy Seaman of Williamsburg, Va., accompanied by Phillip Skeens.   It opens our annual episode on winter preparedness.

In 2016, winter comes to Virginia—astronomically—on December 21, whether you’re ready or not.  Here are some tips from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management for staying safe from winter’s hazardous roads, power outages, and fire hazards.

*Get road conditions from the Virginia 511 telephone system, Web site, or smartphone app.
*Have a battery-powered or hand-cranked radio, especially one with a NOAA Weather Radio band.
*Get fireplaces, wood stoves, and chimneys inspected and cleaned.
*Install a smoke detector in every bedroom and on every floor level, and check the batteries regularly.
*If you use space heaters, plug them into wall outlets, not into extension cords; keep heaters at least three feet from other objects; and don’t leave heaters unattended.
*Generators, camp stoves, and charcoal-burning devices should be used outdoors only.
*Use flashlights, not candles, during power outages.
*And make a family emergency plan that includes a meeting place if your family can’t return home; an out-of-town emergency contact; and at least a three-day emergency supply of food, water, and medications.

More information on preparing for severe winter weather and other emergencies is available online at vaemergency.gov.

Thanks to Timothy Seaman for permission to use this week’s music, and until next spring comes along to “Drive the Cold Winter Away,” here’s hoping that you can stay warm, dry, and safe.

MUSIC – ~21 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“Drive the Cold Winter Away” is a traditional tune performed by Timothy Seaman and Phillip Skeens on the 1998 album “Celebration of Centuries,” copyright by Timothy Seaman and Pine Wind Music, used with permission.  More information about Mr. Seaman’s music is available online http://timothyseaman.com/.  This music was previously featured in Episode 300, 1-25-16, on winter words.

IMAGES

Winter-weather preparedness poster from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/prepare-recover/threat/winter-weather/.

Icy tree limbs threatening to down power lines are a frequent winter concern in Virginia. Photo taken in Blacksburg, Va., January 25, 2015.

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT WINTER PREPAREDNESS AND SAFETY INFORMATION

Before A Winter Storm

The recommendations below are from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, “Nov. 29-Dec. 5 is Winter Preparedness Week,” 11/24/15, online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/winter/winter-preparedness-week.”

Get a kit.
Basic emergency supplies include the following:
*Three days’ food that doesn’t need refrigeration or electricity to prepare it;
*Three days’ water (a gallon per person per day);
*A battery-powered and/or hand-crank radio with extra batteries;
*For businesses and offices, bottled water, food bars, and a radio or TV to hear local information about whether or not it is safe to travel;
*A power pack for recharging cell phones and other mobile devices.

Make a plan.
Everyone needs an emergency plan:
*Decide who your out-of-town emergency contact will be;
*Where will you meet up with family members if you can’t return home?
*Get an emergency plan worksheet at http://www.vaemergency.gov/prepare-recover/make-emergency-plan/.

Stay informed.
Before, during and after a winter storm, you should do the following:
*Listen to local media for information and instructions from emergency officials;
*Be aware of winter storm watches and warnings and road conditions;
*Get where you need to go before the weather gets bad;
*Get road-condition information by calling 511 or checking www.511Virginia.org.

Download the Ready Virginia app, online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/prepare-recover/ready-virginia-mobile-app/.
The Free app for iPhone® and Android™ features the following:
*Location-specific weather watches and warnings issued by the National Weather Service;
*“I'm Safe!” notification that allows users to quickly send a text message to let family and friends know they are safe;
*A customizable family emergency plan that can be easily shared;
*A checklist for gathering emergency supplies.

During A Winter Storm

The recommendations below are from the National Weather Service, “What To Do If You're Caught in a Winter Storm,” online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winter/during.shtml.

Outside
*Find Shelter: Try to stay dry and cover all exposed body parts.
*When there is no shelter nearby: Build a lean-to, windbreak or snow cave for protection from the wind. Build a fire for heat and to attract attention. Place rocks around the fire to absorb and reflect heat.
*Melt Snow for Drinking Water: Eating unmelted snow will lower your body temperature.
*Exercise: From time to time, move arms, legs, fingers and toes vigorously to keep blood circulating and to keep warm.   Avoid overexertion such as shoveling heavy snow, pushing a car or walking in deep snow if you are not in good health.  The strain from the cold and the hard labor may cause a heart attack.  Sweating could lead to a chill and hypothermia.

In Vehicles
If you must drive during a storm, take the following precautions:
*Slow down!  Even if the roads just look wet they could still be slick.  More than 6,000 fatalities occur on the roadways each year due to weather conditions.
*Make sure your vehicle is completely clear of ice or snow before starting the trip.  Flying snow from cars causes accidents.
*Let someone know where you are going and what route you will take. If something happens, this person will know where to start a search.
*Don't leave the house without the following: a fully charged mobile phone charger and an emergency supplies kit in your car.
*If you are driving and begin to skid, remain calm, ease your foot off the gas and turn your wheels in the direction you want the front of the car to go.  If you have an anti-lock braking system (ABS), apply steady pressure to the brake pedal.  Never pump the brakes on an ABS equipped vehicle.
*If you are having trouble seeing due to weather conditions, pull over to the side of the road and stop your car until visibility improves.  Turn off your lights and use your parking break when stopped so that another car won't mistakenly follow your tail/brake lights and end up hitting you.

If your car gets stuck during a storm:
*Stay in the vehicle! If you leave your vehicle, you will become disoriented quickly in wind-driven snow and cold.
*Run the motor about 10 minutes each hour for heat.  While running the motor, open the window a little for fresh air to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.  Clear snow from the exhaust pipe to avoid gas poisoning.
*Be visible to rescuers. Turn on the dome light at night when running the engine.  Tie a bright colored cloth, preferably red, to your antenna or door.  After snow stops falling, raise the hood to indicate you need help.

Inside
*Stay Inside.
*When using heat from a fire place, wood stove, space heater, etc., use fire safeguards and properly ventilate.
*If you have a gas furnace, make sure it is not blocked by a snowdrift as soon as it's safe to go out.  If you have an upstairs gas furnace which vents out the roof, you may need to turn off the upstairs unit until the snow melts off your roof.
If your heat goes out:
*Close off unneeded rooms to avoid wasting heat.
*Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors.
*Close blinds or curtains to keep in some heat.
*Eat and drink. Food provides the body with energy for producing its own heat.  Drinks lots of water and other non-caffeinated, non-alcholohic drinks to prevent dehydration.  Cold air is very dry.
*Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing.  Remove layers to avoid overheating, perspiration and subsequent chill.

SOURCES

Used in Audio

Deborah Byrd, “Everything you need to know: December solstice 2016,” EarthSky, online at http://earthsky.org/earth/everything-you-need-to-know-december-solstice.

CNN, “Solstice Fast Facts,” 6/23/16, online at http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/world/solstice-fast-facts/.

Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), “Winter Weather,” online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/stayinformed/winter; and “Winter Preparedness Week 2015,” online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/winter/winter-preparedness-week.  The VDEM’’s “Ready Virginia” program, online at http://www.vaemergency.gov/, is the Commonwealth’s central source of information on preparedness for all types of emergencies and disasters.

Virginia Department of Transportation, “Virginia Traffic Information,” http://www.511virginia.org/.

For More Information on Winter Weather Preparedness

American Red Cross, “Winter Storm Preparedness, at http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/winter-storm; or contact your local Red Cross chapter.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Snowstorms and Extreme Cold,” online at http://www.ready.gov/winter-weather.

National Weather Service, “Weather and Water Events Preparedness Calendar,” online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/severeweather/severewxcal.shtml.  This page lists events nationwide, by state.

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) “Weather Radio All Hazards” network, online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/.

U.S. Department of Energy, “Portable Heaters,” online at http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/portable-heaters.

Virginia Water Central News Grouper posts on weather, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/category/weather/.  The posts—mostly about Virginia, but in some cases about other areas—cover primarily severe-weather events, precipitation and drought, and tropical storms during the June-November Atlantic tropical storm season.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See specifically the “Weather/Natural Disasters” subject category.

Previous episodes on winter-weather preparedness are the following:
Episode 292, 11-30-15, “Winter is Coming” by The Steel Wheels Gives the Cue for Winter Preparedness and Safety in 2015-16.

Episode 253, 2-16-15, “Cold World” by Kat Mills, for Winter Preparedness and Safety, repeating 242 (12-1-14).

Episode 190, 12-2-13, Cold Winds Return and So Does Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Virginia.

Previous episodes on winter weather in general included the following:
Episode 300, 1-25-16, Winter Word Whirlwind.

Episode 249, 1/19/15, At the Freezing Point (on water’s properties at cold temperatures).

Episode 199, 2/3/14, Snow and Ice Follow Physics and Chemistry.

Episode 144 1/14/13, Ice on the Pond.

SOLS INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

The episode may help with Virginia’s 2013 Music Standards of Learning (SOLs) at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

This episode may also help with the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs:

Grades K-6 Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change Theme
2.7 – Weather and seasonal changes affecting plants and animals.
3.8 – Basic patterns and cycles in nature, including daily, seasonal, and lunar changes.

Grades K-6 Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems Theme
2.6 – identification of common storms and other weather phenomena.
4.6 – weather conditions, phenomena, and measurements.
6.6 – properties of air and structure of Earth’s atmosphere; including weather topics.

Grades K-6 Matter Theme
6.6 – Properties of air (including pressure, temperature, and humidity) and structure/dynamics of earth’s atmosphere.

Earth Science Course
ES.12 – weather and climate.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

Civics and Economics Course
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.10 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Government Course
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs, which become effective in the 2017-18 school year:

Civics and Economics Course
CE.7 – government at the state level.
CE.8 – government at the local level.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.18 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Government Course
GOVT.8 – state and local government organization and powers.
GOVT.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Episode 343 (11-21-16): Wild Turkey and Water

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (3:34)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-18-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 21, 2016.

This week, we re-do an episode from November 2012 featuring a Thanksgiving-sound mystery.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds, and see if you know what this familiar call has to do with water.

SOUNDS - ~15 sec

You’ve been listening to a Wild Turkey call, and if you guessed that a full-grown domestic turkey may drink 1 to 2 gallons of water per week, you’re a poultry expert!  But we’ve used the call of this non-aquatic bird to make the point that all birds need water.   In fact, birds are largely water; studies have measured birds’ body mass at 60 to 70 percent water.  Birds get water from obvious sources like ponds and streams but also from less obvious places, such as dew and the water contained in birds’ food.  In addition, birds conserve water in several ways.  First, like mammals, birds use their skin covering, behavior, and internal anatomy to reduce the water used to maintain a constant body temperature.  Second, like reptiles, birds excrete nitrogen waste in uric acid, a substance that requires little water.  And third, again like most reptiles, birds use a shell to maintain a watery environment for eggs laid on land or other relatively dry surfaces.

While the role of water is obvious for ducks, shorebirds, and other aquatic bird species, managing this fundamental substance is essential for all of our feathered friends.

Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use this week’s sounds, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.  And we close with some original music inspired by Wild Turkeys, “Turkey Tune,” composed for Virginia Water Radio by Torrin Hallett, a student at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio.  Happy Thanksgiving!

MUSIC - ~24 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This episode is a slightly revised repeat of Episode 137 (11-19-12), which has been archived.

The sounds of the Wild Turkey were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.

Thanks to Dr. Dean Stauffer of the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources and Environment for his help with this episode.

“Turkey Tune” is copyright 2016 by Torrin Hallett, used with permission.  In 2016-17, Torrin is a fourth-year student at Oberlin College and Conservatory in Oberlin, Ohio, majoring in horn performance, music composition, and math major.  More information about Torrin is available at his Web site, http://www.torrinjhallett.com/.  Thanks very much to Torrin for composing the piece especially for Virginia Water Radio.

PHOTOS

Male Wild Turkeys in Ohio during fall in 2001. Photo by Steve Maslowski, made available for public use the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, accessed 11-21-16.

Wild Turkey at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts, May 31, 2011. Photo by Matt Poole, made available for public use the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, accessed 11-21-16.

SOURCES

Used in Audio

H. I. Ellis and J. R. Jehl, Jr., “Total Body Water and Body Composition in Phalaropes and Other Birds,” Physiological Zoology, Vol. 64, No. 4 (1991), pages 973-984.

Richard W. Hill, Comparative Physiology of Animals: An Environmental Approach, Harper and Row, New York, N.Y., 1976.

National Research Council, Nutritional Requirements of Poultry: 9th Ed., National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 1994, page 16; available online at https://www.nap.edu/catalog/2114/nutrient-requirements-of-poultry-ninth-revised-edition-1994. (Table 1.1, “Water Consumption by Turkeys and Chickens,” notes that a “large white turkey female” at 20 weeks consumes an estimated 7040 ml water per week, or about 1.9 gallons [1 gallon = 3.785 liters]; this can vary considerably due to temperature, salt intake, etc.).

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ (VDGIF) “Wild Turkey Information” Web page http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/turkey/, and the VDGIF’s “Fish and Wildlife Information Service” Web page at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information+By+Name&vUT=Visitor.

Joel Carl Welty, The Life of Birds, 2nd Ed., W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, Penn., 1975.

For More Information about Birds

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology, “All About Birds,” online at http://www.allaboutbirds.org.

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and American Ornithologists’ Union, “Birds of North America Online,” online at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna (subscription required).

Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society, “eBird” Web site at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/.  Here you can find locations of species observations made by contributors, and you can sign up to contribute your own observations.

Virginia Society of Ornithology, online at http://www.virginiabirds.net.  The Society is non-profit organization dedicated to the study, conservation, and enjoyment of birds in the Commonwealth.

Xeno-canto Foundation Web site at http://www.xeno-canto.org/.  The site provides bird songs from around the world.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). Please see specifically the “Birds” subject category.

STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

The episode may help with Virginia 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

This episode may also help with the following Virginia’s 2010 Science Standards of Learning (SOLs):

Grades K-6 Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change Theme
3.9 – Water cycle, including sources of water, energy driving water cycle, water essential for living things, and water limitations and conservation.

Grades K-6 Earth Resources Theme
4.9 - Va. natural resources, including watersheds, water resources, and organisms.

Grades K-6 Life Processes Theme
K.7 – basic needs and processes of plants and animals.
1.5 - animals’ basic needs and distinguishing characteristics.
3.4 - behavioral and physiological adaptations.

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
5.5 - cell structures and functions, organism classification, and organism traits.

Life Science Course
LS. 4 - organisms’ classification based on features.
LS.9 - adaptations for particular ecosystems’ biotic and abiotic factors, including characteristics of land, marine, and freshwater environments.

Biology Course
BIO.8 - dynamic equilibria and interactions within populations, communities, and ecosystems; including nutrient cycling, succession, effects of natural events and human activities, and analysis of the flora, fauna, and microorganisms of Virginia ecosystems.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Episode 342 (11-14-16): Tornado Research through Virtual Reality at Virginia Tech's "Cube"

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:15)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-11-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 14, 2016.

This week, we explore how virtual-reality technology is being applied to research into tornadoes. We start with an audio creation that’s being used in public presentations of that technology. Have a listen for about 30 seconds.

SOUNDS - ~32 sec

You’ve been listening to part of “Tornado,” a creation of Dr. Ico Bukvic, of Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts. Using a recording of the April 3, 1974, tornado in Guin, Alabama, Dr. Bukvic created, as he stated it, “an artistic rendering of a tornado.” The resulting audio has been used to accompany visualizations of tornado data in Virginia Tech’s high-technology theater known as “The Cube.” For an introduction to The Cube and its use in severe-weather research, have a listen for about two minutes to part of a Cube tour on October 27, 2016. The speakers are tour leader Zach Duer, of Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology; and tour participant Kathryn Prociv, a meteorologist and producer with The Weather Channel in Atlanta.

GUEST VOICES – 2 min./10 sec

Zach Duer - We’re in a room called The Cube. In this room, we have put a whole bunch of technology to do research and artistic work as well. We have 148 channels of sound in here. We also have 24 motion-capture cameras. The motion-capture cameras use infrared light to see things. And so these little balls—these little markers—are highly reflective in the infrared spectrum. So the cameras track these, and if you put these onto a virtual reality [VR] headset, it knows where you are and where you’re looking, so you can just walk through a space naturally and see it in VR.

So right now, we are in the middle of a tornado—our perspective is in the middle of a tornado. This is the tornado in Goshen, Wyoming, from, I believe, it was 2003. With this tornado, they have amazing data. So they were able to get Doppler radar on trucks, and they put them at 90 degrees to an ongoing storm. This isn’t a simulation—this is real data. We’re using these little particles to represent wind—the little dots, blue and green and red. And they’re just moving through the tornado like they would.

The purpose for this [use of The Cube for viewing data] is to have more theories about tornadogenesis.

Kathryn Prociv – For research applications, why is this important? We’ve never modelled wind flow like this before. And when you see it at such a fine scale, you can see terrain interactions, you know, how did the terrain impact the strength of the storm [and] the development? Temperature is important; wind speed is important; and this gives us a way to actually see both of those variables in a space that we’ve never seen.

Zach mentioned the El Reno tornado [May 31, 2013, in El Reno, Oklahoma]. That was a storm where several storm chasers were unfortunately killed. And what will make that research important in this space is that we can stand where those meteorologists were caught and see why were they caught there, why was the storm behaving like that, and how did they get caught off-guard. And so that type of research is potentially life-saving for the future.

END GUEST VOICES

Thanks to Ico Bukvic, Zach Duer, and Kathryn Prociv for permission to use this week’s sounds and voices, and we close with a few more seconds of “Tornado.”

SOUND - ~17 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of “Cripple Creek” to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“Tornado” was created by Dr. Ico Bukvic, associate professor of Computer Music in Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts; used with permission. The piece was based on a short recording made during the April 3, 1974, tornado in Guin, Alabama; the recording was provided to Dr. Bukvic by Jim Metzner, producer of “Pulse of the Planet” (online at http://www.pulseplanet.com/). For more information on “Tornado,” please see Dr. Bukvic’ article, “Tornado Simulation,” July 10, 2015, online at http://ico.bukvic.net/main/tornado-simulation/.

The tour of Virginia Tech’s Cube was conducted on October 27, 2016, by Zach Duer, an Immersive Environment Specialist at the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT) at Virginia Tech. A longer recording (7 min./21 sec) made during the tour is available at this link.

Thanks to Dr. Bukvic, Mr. Duer, and Kathryn Prociv for their help with this episode.

IMAGES
 



Still images from weather-data visualizations by Virginia Tech’s Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (VT ICAT).  Upper: windfields during a 2003 tornado in Goshen, Wyoming.  Middle and lower: reflectivity during the May 31, 2013, tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma. I mages courtesy of Zach Duer, VT ICAT.

SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Associated Press, Horror still vivid in town hard-hit by 1974 tornado, as published by Tuscaloosa [Ala.] News, 4/3/04.

Susan Bland, The future of sound begins in the Cube, Virginia Tech News, 5/19/17.

Ben Brumfield, “Moore, Oklahoma, looks back on tornado that killed 24 one year ago,” CNN, 5/20/14, online at http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/us/oklahoma-moore-tornado-anniversary/.

Ico Bukvic, “Tornado Simulation,” July 10, 2015, online at http://ico.bukvic.net/main/tornado-simulation/.

Lynn Davis, Re-creating a tornado in 3-D provides a more effective way to study storms, Virginia Tech News, 2/9/15.

Jon Erdman, “Moore, Oklahoma, Tornado 3 Years Later: What Turned It Violent?” The Weather Channel, 5/19/16, online at https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/moore-oklahoma-tornado-2013-research. [E-5 tornado, May 20, 2013.

Brian Howard, “Look Inside Largest Tornado Ever With New Tool,” National Geographic, 12/4/15, online at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/151204-tornado-environment-display-el-reno-samaras-storm-science/, (on May 31, 2013, tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma).

Mark Prater, Guin tornado survivors recall 1974 storm (Part One), WIAT TV – Birmingham, 4/24/14.

Kristina Pydynowski, “El Reno: Widest Tornado on Record Remembered Two Years Later,” ACCU Weather, 6/1/15, online at http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/el-reno-widest-tornado-on-reco/47939108.

Tornado History Project, online at http://www.tornadohistoryproject.com. (This site allows users to search for information on U.S. tornadoes since 1950.)

Virginia Tech Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), “The Cube,” online at https://www.icat.vt.edu/content/cube-0.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the “Weather” category.

The following episodes focus particularly on severe weather and its impacts.

Floods: Episode 86 – 10/31/11 (Historic-record water level marker dedication at New River); Episode 192 – 12/16/13 (Nelson County in 1969); Episode 272 – 6/29/15 (Madison County in 1995); Episode 328 – 8/8/16 (flash flooding).

Storm surge: Episode 134 – 10/29/12; Episode 337 – 10/10/16.

Tornado preparedness: Episode 256 – 3/9/15.

Tropical Storms: Episode 134 – 10/29/12 (Hurricane Sandy); Episode 317 - 5/23/16 (annual season-preview episode); Episode 330 - 8/22/16 (mid-season outlook); Episode 337 – 10/10/16 (Hurricane Matthew).

Weather warnings: Episode 106 – 4/9/12.

STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

This episode may help with the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs:

Grades K-6 Scientific Investigation, Reasoning, and Logic Theme
SOLs for gathering and analyzing data for appropriate ages, possibly 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, and 6.1.

Grades K-6 Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems Theme
4.6 – weather conditions, phenomena, and measurements.

Grades K-6 Matter Theme
6.6 – properties of air (including pressure, temperature, and humidity) and structure/dynamics of earth’s atmosphere.

Physical Science Course
PS.1 – understanding scientific reasoning, logic, and the nature of science.

Earth Science Course
ES.2 - understanding scientific reasoning, logic, and the nature of science.
ES.12 – weather and climate.

Physics Course
PH.2 – analyzing and interpreting data.
PH.3 – nature and practice of science.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 and 2015 Social Studies SOL:

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Episode 341 (11-7-16): For Veterans Day 2016 – The U.S. Air Force, Including 100 Years on Virginia’s Coast

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:13)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-4-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of November 7, 2016.

SOUND – ~ 11 sec

This week, that sound of a World War II-era plane during Military Appreciation Day at the Virginia Tech football game on September 17, 2016, opens our focus on the U.S. Air Force, in honor of Veterans Day on November 11.  Have a listen for about 30 seconds to that service’s familiar anthem, played by the Air Force Band.

MUSIC - ~ 31 sec

The U.S. Air Force became a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on September 18, 1947, but perhaps its earliest historical roots were the use of balloons during the Civil War.  In 1892, the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps organized a permanent balloon section.   That evolved into an Aeronautical Division in 1907, the Army Air Service in 1918, the Army Air Corps in 1926, and the Army Air Forces in 1941, the last precursor to today’s Air Force.

Virginia’s Hampton Roads area and its waters are a significant part of the Air Force’s past and its present.   In 1916, when the federal government was seeking to purchase open, flat land near water for its first aviation research and testing facility, it chose 1650 acres of forest, wetlands, and agricultural land between the branches of Back River, a Chesapeake Bay tributary in what was then Virginia’s Elizabeth City County, now adjacent to the City of Hampton.  Starting in 1917, the Army Air Service and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics—the predecessor of NASA—constructed Langley Air Field; 100 years later, the facility is Langley Air Force Base, occupying over 3100 acres between Hampton and NASA’s Langley Research Center.  Since 2010, Langley Air Force Base has been part of a joint base with the Army’s Fort Eustis in Newport News, and together the facilities support between 15 and 20,000 active-duty personnel and civilian workers.

Thanks to Air Force veterans and current personnel everywhere for the service and sacrifices, past, present, and future. We close with another few seconds of the Air Force song.

MUSIC - ~ 18 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show.   In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“The U.S. Air Force” (instrumental), informally known as “The Air Force Song,” was taken from the United States Air Force Band Web site, online at http://www.usafband.af.mil/recordings/.   The Web site states that the Air Force makes this and other recordings available to the public for certain purposes, including educational activities.

PHOTOS

Three historical photos from Virginia’s Langley Field, then Langley Air Force Base.  Upper: Observation balloon over Langley Field in 1925. Middle: Runways at Langley Field in 1941. Lower: Rescue boat tested in the Chesapeake Bay off Langley Air Force Base in 1953. All photos taken from Langley Air Force Base/633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs, “A Century of Airpower/Langley History,” online at http://www.airpoweroverhamptonroads.com/langley-history (photos on that Web site are available for public use, according to that office, 11/7/16).

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT THE AIR FORCE SONG

Following is a short history of the U.S. Air Force’s official song, quoted from MSgt. Peter D. Forman, “History of the U.S. Air Force Song,” 1/29/07, online at http://www.hill.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/397525/history-of-the-us-air-force-song.

“In 1938, Liberty magazine sponsored a contest for a spirited, enduring musical composition to become the official Army Air Corps song. Of 757 scores submitted, the one composed by Robert MacArthur Crawford (1899-1961) was selected by a committee of Air Force wives.  The song (informally known as "The Air Force Song" but now formally titled "The U.S. Air Force") was officially introduced at the Cleveland Air Races on September 2, 1939.  Fittingly, Crawford sang in its first public performance.”

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Shay Barnhart, Corps of Cadets homecoming to feature military flyovers, Virginia Tech News, 9/14/16.

Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, “Economic Impact of the Department of Defense in Hampton Roads—DRAFT,” October 2013, online (as PDF) at http://www.hrpdcva.gov/uploads/docs/Economic%20Impact%20of%20the%20DoD%20in%20Hampton%20Roads-%20DRAFT.pdf.

Joint Base Langley-Fort Eustis, “Langley,” online at http://www.jble.af.mil/Units/Air-Force.

Langley Air Force Base, “A Century of Airpower,” online at http://www.airpoweroverhamptonroads.com/100-years-of-langley-1. [2016 is 100th anniversary of purchase of land for Langley Air Force Base in Hampton Roads.

Library of Virginia, “Elizabeth City County,” online at https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/local/locality.asp?CountyID=VA077.

MARCOA Publishing Company, “My Base Guide/Joint Base Langley-Eustis/Employment & Economy,” online at http://www.mybaseguide.com/joint_bases/46-418/joint_base_langley_eustis_employment_economy.

Military.com, “Air Force History,” online at http://www.military.com/air-force-birthday/air-force-history.html.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “NASA Langley Research Center 1917-2017,” online at http://www.nasa.gov/specials/nasalangley100/.

U.S. Air Force, online at https://www.airforce.com/; “Base Locations,” online at https://www.airforce.com/lifestyle/locations; “History,” online at https://www.airforce.com/mission/history; “Vision,” online at https://www.airforce.com/mission/vision.

U.S. Air Force Historical Support Division, “Evolution of the Department of the Air Force,” 5/4/11, online at http://www.afhso.af.mil/afhistory/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15236.

For More Information about the U.S. Air Force and Its History

Air Force Radio News, accessed at the audio link of the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS), online at https://www.dvidshub.net/audio/45189/air-force-radio-news-06-october-2016. 

Historical Office/Office of the Secretary of Defense, http://history.defense.gov/refs_mhl.shtml.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).

Previous Veterans Day episodes on branches of the military are the following:
Episode 187, 11/11/13 - all branches;
Episode 239, 11/10/14 - U.S. Coast Guard;
Episode 289, 11/9/15 - U.S. Navy.

STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

This episode may help with the following Virginia 2010 Science SOLs:

Grades K-6 Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems Theme
6.8 – organization of solar system and interaction of bodies, including gravity, lunar phases, tides, space exploration.

Earth Science Course
ES.3 – characteristics of Earth and the solar system (including sun-Earth-moon relationships, tides, and history of space exploration).

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

Grades K-6 Civics Theme
3.11 – basic principles that form basis of republican government, including recognizing that Veterans Day and Memorial Day honor people who have served the country.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.10 – knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.8 – economic, social, and political transformation of the United States after World War II, including role of U.S. military.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.4 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.13 – U.S. foreign policy since World War II, including the role of the military.

Government Course
GOVT. 12 – role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs, which become effective in the 2017-18 school year:

Grades K-6 Civics Theme
2.5 – why U.S. citizens celebrate major holidays, including Veterans Day.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.1 – impact of geographic features on people, places, and events in Virginia history.
VS.9 – how national events affected Virginia and its citizens.

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.8 – economic, social, and political transformation of the United States and the world after World War II, , including role of U.S. military.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.4 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.13 – U.S. foreign policy since World War II, including the role of the military.

Government Course
GOVT. 12 – role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.

Episode 340 (11-2-16): Ancient Waters, Modern Water Issues, and U.S. National Elections

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:55)

Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.

All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 11-1-16.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week leading up to Election Day, November 8, 2016.

MUSIC – ~ 8 sec

This pre-election week, music by a Blacksburg- and Roanoke-based band sets an ancient stage for some observations on water’s potential place in voters’ decisions.  Have a listen for about 30 seconds.

MUSIC - ~34 sec

You’ve been listening to part of “Waters of Babylon,” performed by No Strings Attached, on the 1999 album, “In the Vinyl Tradition Volume II,” from Enessay Music.  The tune and its title trace back to Don McLean and Lee Hays on the 1971 album, “American Pie”; then to an 18th-century song by Philip Hayes; and finally to the Bible’s Psalm 137.  That psalm was a lament by Jews exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem about 2600 years ago.   At the time, Babylon was the principal city of Mesopotamia, a region centered in the area of modern-day Iraq in the fertile floodplain between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

Throughout human history, water has been at the center of civilizations and human interactions. In the 21st Century, water remains a focal point in international affairs.  According to the United Nations’ Global Water Forum, “Water security has become a central feature of the global policy agenda” and “a source of conflict not only within countries but across international boundaries.”  As a recent example, some observers believe drought in Syria—part of which is in the Euphrates River basin—was one factor increasing unrest that eventually became the country’s current civil war.  Oregon State University’s Water Conflict Management program notes that the world has 286 river basins crossing international borders, as well as shared groundwater aquifers, generating a range of transboundary water issues.  And the United States has big impacts on several global issues related to water—climate, energy, food, public health, and biodiversity.

Add that all together, and water’s clearly on the agenda in U.S. leadership choices.  In fact, when Scientific American asked 20 science questions of the four U.S. presidential candidates on the ballot nationwide in 2016, at least eight of the questions were about water explicitly or about issues directly tied to water, nationally or globally.

U.S. elections at all levels have implications for water policy and management, from federal water-quality laws to local drought-management ordinances. But in national elections, U.S. citizens’ choices can also have implications for waters far beyond our shores. That makes water one more reason to use your citizen voice and vote, however and for whomever you choose.

Thanks to No Strings Attached for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Waters of Babylon.”

MUSIC - ~15 sec

SHIP’S BELL

For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“In the Vinyl Tradition Volume II,” containing “Waters of Babylon,” is copyright 1999 by No Strings Attached and Enessay Music, used with permission.  More information about No Strings Attached is available from their Web site, http://enessay.com/.  The No Strings Attached piece was based on "Babylon" by Don McLean and Lee Hays on the 1971 album, "American Pie," from United Artists Records.  According to various sources, that recording was in turn based on a song (or canon) written by Philip Hayes in 1786 that put to music Psalm 137 of the Bible's Old Testament.

PHOTO

Ruins of Babylon’s Ishtar Gate, photographed in Iraq in 1932.  Public domain photo from the Library of Congress’ Matson (G. Eric and Edith) Photograph Collection, accessed online at https://www.loc.gov/collections/g-eric-and-edith-matson-photographs/.   For information on the Ishtar Gate, please see Ancient History Encyclopedia, “Ishtar Gate,” online at http://www.ancient.eu/Ishtar_Gate/.

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE

The word “mesopotamia” is from Greek meaning “between rivers.” Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, “History of Mesopotamia, online at https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia.

The four U.S. presidential candidates participating in Scientific American's survey of 20 science questions (published in September 2016; see citation of Christine Gorman below in Sources) were Hillary Clinton, Democratic Party nominee; Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party nominee; Jill Stein, Green Party nominee; and Donald Trump, Republican Party nominee.

If you’d like to investigate areas and issues of water in international relations, have a look at the list of projects (as of October 2016) at the “Research and Projects” Web page of the Oregon State University Institute for Water and Watersheds/Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, online at http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/research/index.html. The project titles are listed and hyperlinked below:

*Transboundary Cooperation in the International Columbia River Basin;
*Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme--River Basins Component;
*Mechanisms of Cooperation for States' Construction of Large-Scale Water Infrastructure Projects in Transboundary River Basins;
*U.S. Western Water Institutional Solutions Project;
*Human Security Dimensions of Dam Development in the Nile and Mekong River Basins;
*Integrative Dam Assessment Modeling (IDAM);
*Case Studies--Water Conflict Resolution;
*Basins at Risk;
*Indigenous Water Conflict Resolution Methods;
*Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters;
*Regional Water Governance Benchmarking Project (ReWaB);
*Mapping the Resilience of International River Basins to Future Climate Change-Induced Water Variability.

SOURCES USED IN AUDIO AND FOR MORE INFORMATION

Sources for Babylon and “Waters of Babylon”

Ancient History Encyclopedia, “Babylon,” online at http://www.ancient.eu/babylon/; “Mesopotamia,” online at http://www.ancient.eu/Mesopotamia/; and “Nebuchadnezzar II,” online at http://www.ancient.eu/Nebuchadnezzar_II/.

Bible History Online, “The Babylonian Captivity with Map,” online at http://www.bible-history.com/map_babylonian_captivity/map_of_the_deportation_of_judah_treatment_of_the_jews_in_babylon.html.

The Bird Sings Web site, “Waters of Babylon,” online at http://thebirdsings.com/babylon/.

Encyclopedia Britannica, “Babylon,” online at https://www.britannica.com/place/Babylon-ancient-city-Mesopotamia-Asia.; and “History of Mesopotamia,: online at https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia.

Free Republic Web site, “By the Waters of Babylon,” online at http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3381872/posts.

Joan Oates, Babylon, Thames and Hudson Ltd., London, 1979.

Don McLean Online, “American Pie,” online at http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=261.

MetroLyrics, “Don McLean Lyrics/Babylon Lyrics,” online at http://www.metrolyrics.com/babylon-lyrics-don-mclean.html#/ixzz4ODeE26Ea.

Stratfor, “Mesopotamian Vitality Falls to Turkey,” 1/5/15, online at https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/mesopotamian-vitality-falls-turkey.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Psalm 137,” online at http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/137.

Sources for Water in International Relations

Henry Fountain, Researchers Link Syrian Conflict to a Drought Made Worse by Climate Change, New York Times, 3/2/15.

Christine Gorman, “What Do the Presidential Candidates Know about Science?” Scientific American, 9/13/16, online at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-do-the-presidential-candidates-know-about-science/.

Oregon State University Institute for Water and Watersheds/Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, “Research and Projects,” online at http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/research/index.html,

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)/Global Water Forum, “International Water Politics,” online at http://www.globalwaterforum.org/resources/education/international-water-politics/.

Terje Tvedt, Graham Chapman, and Roar Hagen, eds., A History of Water Series II/Volume 3: Water, Geopolitics and the New World Order, I.B. Tauris, London/New York, 2010.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the “History” or “Overall Importance of Water” categories.

Another episode on a worldwide water topic is World Water Needs, Episode 122, 8-6-12.

STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) INFORMATION FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS

The episode may also help with Virginia 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

This episode may also help with the following Virginia’s 2010 Science SOLs:

Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; and water monitoring.

Life Science Course
LS. 10 - changes over time in ecosystems, communities, and populations, and factors affecting those changes, including climate changes and catastrophic disturbances.
LS.11 - relationships between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Earth Science Course
ES.6 – renewable vs. non-renewable resources (including energy resources).
ES.10 – ocean processes, interactions, and policies affecting coastal zones, including Chesapeake Bay.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2008 Social Studies SOLs:

Civics and Economics Course
CE.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.3 - how regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.
WG.6 - past and present trends in human migration and cultural interaction as influenced by social, economic, political, and environmental factors.
WG.7 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.
WG.10 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.13 – U.S. foreign policy since World War II, including the role of the military.

Government Course
GOVT.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT. 12 – role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.

The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs, which become effective in the 2017-18 school year:

Civics and Economics Course
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 - how selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.3 - how regional landscapes reflect the physical environment and the cultural characteristics of their inhabitants.
WG.4 - types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.
WG.15 - migration and cultural diffusion, including effects of environmental factors.
WG.18 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.13 – U.S. foreign policy since World War II, including the role of the military.

Government Course
GOVT.9 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT. 12 – role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.