Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Funnel - Waterspout Stage Three

Something I saw in Tioman in October 2003. Was on a speedboat enroute from Tekek to Salang when we spotted this in the far horizon. Picture below has been cropped and slightly enhanced to show the funnel more clearly. I believe it is not classified as a waterspout yet as explained in the following section below:




Cobbled from the internet
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex (usually appearing as a funnel-shaped cloud) that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a nonsupercell tornado over water.

Scientific work over the last 30 or so years has led to a more complicated picture with waterspouts differing in some ways from tornadoes over land, especially large ones.

Waterspouts and all the different kinds of tornadoes have a similar basic structure with air moving upward. At the ground or ocean surface, winds are rushing faster and faster as they swirl into the vortex and then upward. Often with both tornadoes and waterspouts, the vortex is seen coming down from the cloud, but not obviously touching the ground or ocean. Such vortices that don't seem to touch the ground are called "funnels" or "funnel clouds."

It's important to say "seems" not to touch because often, especially in the beginning, the vortex is invisible along part of its path. We begin to see the vortex when its lower air pressure cools the air enough to condense water vapor in the air into tiny water droplets.

How a waterspout forms
The first sign, which can be seen from the air but usually not from a boat, is the formation of a dark spot on the ocean. Smoke flares dropped in these areas show the air is moving in a circle and upward. Many dark spots die out without progressing any further. But some begin to take on a spiral pattern of dark and lighter water.

At the second stage someone on a boat at the surface would probably feel the wind shift and maybe increase. Also, if you looked upward, you might see a funnel coming from a cloud overhead or off to one side.

People on boats will see the third stage.
Even though it might be invisible, a vortex is reaching the ocean surface from the cloud. When the wind speeds reach around 40 mph, the wind begins to kick up spray in a circular pattern -- the spray vortex. At this time you might see the funnel pointing down from the cloud toward the ring.
The fourth, or mature, stage is when the funnel reaches all the way from the cloud to the ocean. You can usually see through the funnel - it's really a thin cloud of tiny water droplets.
During this stage, small waves are being kicked up and the spout leaves a bubbly wake behind as it moves across the ocean. These tiny bubbles could be carbon dioxide and other gases that are dissolved in the water that are caused to effervesce by the low air pressure in the spout's center - like a bottle of soda that's just opened.
In the fifth, and final stage, the spray vortex weakens and the funnel becomes shorter and maybe more tapered. It often twists around and the bottom of the waterspout may move out from under the cloud.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Whoa.. That's Close Enough!

Backing my car into a parking lot that has a MPV who's front has protruded one foot into my intended bay. One millimeter (no exaggeration) was all that seperated my car's bum-bum from his/her MPV.


They should have special bays for overly big vehicles and offset with some smaller bays specially for Kancils, Kelisa, Kenari and the SMART cars.

Friday, June 09, 2006

The "Da Maybank" Code

Depends on which angle you are looking from this is graffiti or art. The workers had tried to scrub it off but to no avail. The 'artist' had made sure his/her work was not so easily disposed of.

Rainbow Indoors!

Sometimes it does not take water droplets to produce a rainbow. This one was a complete circle formed inside my office... a halo with colours of the rainbow.

Can you guess what formed it?

Monday, June 05, 2006

Chilling, Not Harrowing - The Blurs

Some of the better attempts, but still blur, at capturing the metallic green damselfly in flight.


The colour on the wings are so striking and beautiful.

Chilling, Not Harrowing - Voyeurs

No exception in the insect kingdom, the female always complains of headaches...



Wouldn't you get a headache if you get it like this?

Chilling, Not Harrowing - The Damsels & The Dragon

This is one dragonfly colour that I have not shot before.


Stalking and getting painful elbows pays off ...


The colours are so beautiful..






Sunday, June 04, 2006

Chilling, not Harrowing - The Plants

For LH.


Nice flower... not orchid.


Bonus of a bee on the flower.


'Smiley-faced' pitcher.

Chilling, not Harrowing - The Butterflies

A pair of Rajah Brooke's Birdwing frolicking at ground level.


A long shot, literally.


Can't remember the name for this butterfly.


I have forgotten what this is called also.


This one is 'big bum-bum uma small wings'..


This is the Great Mormon casting its shadow.

Chilling, not Harrowing - The Sights

Magic crystal ball?
A dew drop (inverted) showing the hoards of cityfolk entering the jungle.


Spider decorating its web for deepavalli celebrations?


No, this Labrador Retriever is not part of the jungle denizen but is too cute to resist shooting a picture of it swimming across the river.


Shake 'em dry baby!

Orchid lah

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Another 'Cacat' Camera Shot

Here's one from Aquaria... no not a fish picture but of an Atlas Moth. Not sure why they had moths & butterfly exhibit there but most of the poor winged creatures were in a bad shape.