SpaceMika

This week Melbourne, Australia had an intense, sudden storm, with huge hailstones (up to 10cm diameter observed) and enough rain to flood the downtown core. Although rare, this is not a unique event for Melbourne.

The cold southern oceans have what is called “infinite fetch” — because the ocean surrounding Antarctica is clear of any protruding landmasses, wind can drive waves higher and higher and higher without interrupting coastlines. This means you can get some nasty storms in the few places where land does start peeking into the flow — New Zealand, Tasmania and southern Australia, Cape Horn… — you can get some very nasty storms.

Melbourne is partly sheltered by Tasmania, by the shallow waters of the intervening continental shelf, and by the warm, large Port Philip Bay, but when a strong cold front comes in from the ocean and tangles with the hot, dry air from the interior, severe storms are born. (See pages 45-69 of The Cloudspotter’s Guide for more details on how cumulonimbus form — he writes such an elegant, beautiful description, I can’t hope to improve on it.) This means that sudden severe storms are not uncommon, with particularly severe events occurring approximately once a generation (the last flash flood in Melbourne was in 1972).

If you sliced open a hailstone, you’d see layers of ice, like coloured candy layers of a jawbreaker. A hailstone forms by being tossed up and down in the updrafts and downdrafts of convection within a storm, each trip adding a layer of ice and growing the hailstone. The larger a hailstone is, the more times it’s made the journey — the lemon-sized stones in Melbourne were tossed around quite a bit before pelting the city.

Last year, I celebrated by knitting in the sun and cheering on a rubber ducky.

‘Tis the season to be talky! I’m giving another talk next week — a guest lecture on Australian Coastal geomorphology.

I’ll be talking about the processes that create coastal landforms, and showing lots of pretty pictures of examples from the Australian coastline. Considering fewer than 25 of the 65 enrolled students regularly attend lecture, guest audience members are completely welcome.

The talk is Friday, November 27th, noon until 1pm, in CHEM 300 (UBC campus).

I finally found the Australia answer to the Canadian quarantine advertisement. The 30-second tv ad isn’t online yet as far as I can tell, and isn’t nearly as cute, but the animated bug is fairly adorable.

Canberra is the capital of Australia, a little city carved out as its own semi-state, an Australian Capital Territory of similar concept but larger ground area than DC. The city is fully planned, which makes it hilarious that it’s so hard to get around if you’re a tourist. The city plan is a large triangle with circle-radial roads off each point, and each arm is a significant walk. The students get around by cycling; the city is almost perfectly flat and has broad roads with low traffic, so it’s an ideal solution.

When prowling the city today, I got hopelessly lost and accidentally found myself repeatedly. I don’t think I managed to get into the parliamentary triangle, but if I did I certainly didn’t recognize it.

Australia National University

The university campus (ANU) is beautiful. The smell of fall is in the air, and the hordes of students bustling between classes and cramming for exams makes me feel at home. I strayed into the New and Fancy Architecture section of campus, and sorely regretted my lack of camera. Some of my favourites are the Australian Phenomics Facility, Hedley Bull Centre (where I tried to hassle my hostess while she worked, but failed because I couldn’t see her hiding behind the coffee machine), and some fancy half-ball of a building that I’m not finding photos of at the moment.

There are many ducks, but this is my duck. Marvin the Rubber Duckie has a long history of selfless service in the name of science. In January 1992, he was swept overboard during a storm and his eventual recovery helped scientists map ocean currents. Thrilled by being part of something bigger than himself, Marvin volunteered as a duckie in tracking glacier outwash. After all that cold and ice, he decided to warm up with a vacation in the sun & headed down under. Relaxing on the beaches, he saw the amazing job being done by the Lifesavers (seriously, those folks are amazing) and asked what he could do to help. And that’s how Marvin ended up in the Great Australian Duck Race.

I adopted Marvin, duckie #26746. I hope his vast experience with currents will serve him well, and that hot weather isn’t too much for him.

The countdown is on mere minutes. Soon, I travel by land south across the border, the wing my way overseas, over the equator, and out of this increasingly-cold city and into the jungles and deserts of Australia. Booyeah!

The thesis is not as complete as I’d hoped, but in remarkably good form. The painstaking data collection is done, and only finishing the analysis remains. There are clear patterns, so I’m not terrified of finding nothing. I’ll be resuming work on it in January.

I cannot wait to spy out The Clouds of Magellan.

My countdown to complete the thesis is dictated by a plane ticket to Australia.  This is the one-pager on the formal reasons I want to hold onto my thesis and study abroad while I’m there. It’s looking better with a lot of feedback from Ar, Ryan, g-funk, and mum. It has now been submitted.

Prompt: A statement of purpose – One single space A4 page outlining why you wish to study at the University of Melbourne.

I wish to study at the University of Melbourne in order to broaden my geoscience experience. As of December 2008, I will have completed the requirements for my Masters of Science at the University of British Columbia. Studying abroad at will allow me to collaborate with researchers in the School of Earth Sciences and gain valuable field experience at the associated Victoria Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Studying abroad will also expose me to dramatically different landscapes and geologic processes than occur near my home institution.

My research focus is in fluid dynamics and disasters through the use of numerical models. In British Columbia, the obvious application is landslides. In Australia, however, the older, more stable landscape paired with limited precipitation provide less dramatic landslides. Therefore, I will have the opportunity to broaden and adapt my skills to different conditions and diversify my experience.

I am especially interested in University of Melbourne research investigating the thermal evolution of Australia, which would allow me to apply numerical modelling of fluid dynamics and heat over longer time-scales than I have used to date. It would be an honour to collaborate with Professor Matt Cupper in geomorphology with whom I could identify relic landslides. Professor Andrew Gleadow’s work in geologic hazards, erosion, and landscape evolution may benefit from the input of a landslide modeler, while Researcher Lynn Evans’ work in numerical modelling and information systems would give me the opportunity to practice these skills in a new context. I am also excited to work with current University of Melbourne graduate students such as Mark McLean; his work in 3D modelling and geophysics may be enriched by my experience.   The Victoria Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences and other departments at the University of Melbourne also offer tempting possibilities for interdisciplinary research collaborations, particularly in numerical modelling and in geohazards. Research collaborations will enhance the work of my collaborators by giving them access to my experience with numerical models and geohazards, while simultaneously giving me a broader platform to further develop my abilities.

I am particularly enthusiastic about the Victoria Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences short-course program. The diversity of topics offered is inspiring, and I was pleased to discover the emphasis on field skills and practical applications. I anticipate taking the field geophysics and geomorphology units and, depending on the courses offered, field skills or numerical modelling courses. I believe that incorporating this field component into my graduate program will fill a gap in my thesis, which does not presently include fieldwork, and result in a more comprehensive and robust degree.

The geosciences demand the ability to recognize and apply classroom learning to field observations. Australia is geologically vastly different than my home institution; its older weathered landscapes reveal the structures below. These formations are a sharp contrast to the young unstable slopes and twisted rocks of British Columbia. Experience with this markedly different landscape will enhance my understanding of geologic concepts, and lead to greater understanding of the diverse geologic processes that shape the planetary surface. Geoscience is a field with a research laboratory literally encompassing the planet, and any practitioner benefits immensely from thoroughly exploring the inherent diversity of that laboratory. While I am experienced with the metamorphic regime of plate collision, Australia would give me experience with older coastal geomorphology, stable tectonic terrain, aeolian transport, and many other concepts obscured in British Columbia.

I am confident that the University of Melbourne is a very good match for my specific interests. The programed I have outlined will promote research connections for future work, allow me to develop greater understanding of the relationship between diverse geologic processes, and further develop the practical skills necessary for the next stage of my career.