Brazil 2010 Journal
11 October 2010
Today we begin our trip to Brazil where I will lecture at the State University of Ceara’ in Fortaleza and then at USP(University of Sao Paulo).
We began by walking from our house to the Hilton Hotel to catch the Greenline shuttle to DIA at 1200. Our flight out of DIA was delayed by 20 minutes which made our connection in Atlanta rather tight. We arrived 35 minutes from the scheduled departure. This meant we literally ran down the length of Terminal B where we caught the train to Terminal E. We arrived at the gate 20 minutes from departure. The over 8 hour flight went OK but it was rather cramped for such a long time. I slept off and on.
12 October(Tuesday)
We arrived in Brazilia on time where we went through customs and had about 3 hours to our connection flight. It took another 2 hours plus which meant it took us about 22 hours to get to Fortaleza. Both Vollie and I fell soundly asleep on that leg and when I woke I was totally disoriented and felt as if I were about 90 degrees off vertical for some reason when I woke up. My former student and local host Alex Costa was there to pick us up. Alex took us out for lunch as it was around 1ish
He dropped us off to our hotel which is about a block from the beach. After showering we took a walk at 1730 which turns out to be sunset. This was a big holiday so the beach area and bazaar, filled with vendors was quite busy. We walked over to the beach and found it totally trashed out and smelled of urin. Quite surprisingly it was fully cleaned up after a couple of days; the urin smell lingered.
The hotel provides free breakfast and the Uni provided me with free lunch and dinner passes at the hotel. These passes nearly covered our meals for the two of us as we often ate out with Alex and sometimes his kids and friends for dinner. Tuesday evening we ate at the hotel. Our passes provided access to the buffet so there is a tendency to eat too much. It was shrimp week so most of the dishes consisted of some form of shrimp. The dinner was accompanied by live music with a 50ish guy playing the guitar and singling Brazilian folks music.
13 October(Wednesday)
Before breakfast I took a jog along the sidewalk near the beach. I got to where these fishing boats called jungatas were located. These are flat-bottomed monohulls with wood mast and boom with a small jib. The sails are often quite colorful. There were also some larger tourist boats that looked like sailboats without sails(just lights in the rigging) and at least one trimaran that looked like a real sailboat.
I returned to have breakfast with Vollie and then Alex picked me up to take me to the Uni. He was supposed to pick me up at 0830 but was late which I learned is pretty normal for Alex. So I ended starting late for my first lecture. The plan is for me to lecture for roughly 2 hours each day; Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Except for the last one my lectures are the highlights of several chapters from “Storm and Cloud Dynamics, 2nd Edition, or my lecture PowerPoint slides from last Spring’s At712 at CSU. Today I lectured on cloud microphysics and its parameterization and then on marine stratocumuli including aerosol impacts on stratocumuli.
Alex dropped me off at the hotel and then Vollie and I had lunch at the hotel. The room we have is a kind of a suite with a bedroom, and great room composed of a kitchenette and living area with couch and two chairs and TV. It has a single in the wall AC in the bedroom so the living area tends to be on the warm side. The highlight of the room is a corner balcony which has a view of the bay between high-rise buildings. Our schedule consists of afternoon tea(wine) about sunset(5:30PM) with a bag of local cashews and recently a bit of cheese.
Vollie went out on her own walking along the beach, and some of the side streets near the hotel. She was a bit put off by the trashiness and dirty streets, as well as the many bodies of street people(looking quite dirty lying on the streets and grass near the beach).
She walked further than I jogged to where all the local boats are and where there were stalls where local fish are sold.
After an afternoon nap, I suggested we retrace her steps so I could take some pictures. Because it was quite warm, probably in the upper 80’s(32C) and of course quite humid, we strolled along and tried to keep to the shaded areas as much as possible. I really enjoy seeing and taking pictures of the fishing boats as well as the fisherman and families along that stretch of the beach. There were men playing board games none of which I recognized. At one point we watched a group of men hauling a jungata out of the water. They put down some boards and used two round logs to roll it along up the beach. It looked like a huge effort! Some pushed, others pulled, and others put down the logs and boards. I said to Vollie that I would have designed a winch system to do the pulling. We eventually ended up at the fish stalls which were mostly sold out but a few were in business, especially selling shrimp which is a hot item right now as there is a shrimp festival in town. At the end of the stretch were a few out door restaurants where locals were drinking huge bottles of beer and shrimp and fish. I really wouldn’t mind going back there to have a beer and shrimp but since we have free food at the hotel and this is a long walk it is unlikely we will do so.
As we walked back we observed a number of ferrel cats, dogs, and “people”. It was amusing to observe a mother cat with a number of kittens playing with each other and attempting to attack the pidgeons. We noted the absence of sea birds including pelicans and sea gulls, We have no idea what is up.
In the evening Alex picked us up and took us to a restaurant in an upscale shopping mall area. The restaurant was outside with palm trees, fountains, and winding stream-like water features. The food was quite upscale too. I have been having fish for most part trying to keep my carbohydrate intake down. They had live music with a band playing Beetles covers.
14 October(Thursday)
Vollie joined me on my 0530 jog at sunrise. It is pretty darn warm even at that time of day. It reminds me of Miami in the summer months. Well Vollie really can’t jog so she race-walks along until she falls behind and then races to catch up with me. We headed in the opposite direction along the beach from my previous jog and our walks. It is interesting to see how many people are out and about walking, jogging, and running at sunrise. It is a bit like Tucson in Sabeno Canyon where the locals come out at sunrise to do their exercises. Even part of the street is closed off to vehicles with cones along the beach area. Some walk or jog alone, others in groups sometimes with the same colored jerseys, then there are those playing volleyball, and even a group doing aerobics to loud music.
After a breakfast consisting of a lot of fruits, maybe an omelette or fried egg, Alex arranged to have a driver pick me up. Alex had requested to have him be there at 0800 but he was there before I got to brush my teeth at 0745. At the Uni I gave my next two lectures, one on aerosol impacts on stratocu, the 2nd on cumulus dynamics including aerosol impacts, and introductions to cumulonimbus dynamics. After that Alex took me through his routine(as the day before) of picking up his daughter at his ex-wife’s, dropping her off at school, and picking up his son at the same school. His daughter, Barbara, goes in the afternoons and son, Artur, from 0715 until just after noon. Then he dropped me off at the hotel where I had lunch with Vollie and then a brief nap.
That evening Alex picked us up and we went to an area noted for its cultural activities including art shops and music venues. He brought his kids along. There were a number of old buildings of the 16th and 17th century vintage with large outdoor eating areas as one finds in many places in Europe. We were joined by another faculty member and his girlfriend for dinner. Alex’s kids were good sports but they really got tired by the end of the evening, with Artur falling fast asleep at the table. Both Vollie and I had fish with curry sauce and bananas mixed in. It was very good and quite different from anything we had had before. But we should have ordered just one serving to share as it was way too much food. We guy in his thirties played the guitar and sang lively music, some apparently Brazilian folks music and others US covers sung in Portugues.
15 October(Friday)
Vollie joined me again for the 0530 jog although it slipped to 0550 as both of us had a hard time getting going. We did a shorter run than usual as neither of us felt very energetic.
We returned to have breakfast and as we walked out of the eating area there was the Uni car there waiting for us at 0730. We rushed upstairs to brush our teeth and since Vollie wanted to see the campus she came along. The driver dropped us off but I found out it was the wrong place! Remember neither of us can speak Portugues. After some communication issues it turns out the driver had dropped us off on the other side of the same building which is a mirror image of where I had been going in. So eventually I made my way to the lecture hall.
I lectured on thunderstorm dynamics and mesoscale convective systems emphasizing cold-pool dynamics. I finished with a lecture on aerosol impacts on deep convection where cold-pool dynamics play a crucial role.
After that Alex picked up the kids and we had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. Then he took us to FUNCEME which is a federal institute concerned with atmospheric and hydrological studies. They actually produce seasonal forecasts using ensembles including RAMS predictions!
Alex then dropped us off at the hotel where we had lunch and took a nap. Then at sunset we had afternoon tea(wine nuts, and cheese) on the balcony before going to dinner at the hotel. The same guy played some of the same music plus a few additional songs. For the weekend we are going to some beaches some distance away from town.
October 16(Saturday)
At 0530 I took a jog by myself as Vollie wasn’t up for it. Then we had breakfast at the hotel and went downstairs to meet Alex at 0800. We got a call that it would be 0900 and by about 0915 he arrived. His son Artur joined us but not his daughter Barbara. We headed SE down the coast with the aim of over-nighting at a coastal beach village. A feature of this area is that it cannot be developed with high rises and it is designed for local family owned businesses.
Along the way we stopped after driving through a village called Cascavel, with a farmers market in full operation. We finally made it to the beach where there were a couple of small restaurants. There was a lagoon with a few fishing boats, and several people flying kite/boards. A woman was quite good and sped back and forth across the bay. A guy was a novice and spent a lot of time in the water, especially when attempting turns. It was a picturesque place with working boats, and clean looking water in the little bay.
A little after 1300 we arrived at the village of Canto Verde. Driving toward the place we drove through sand dunes some encroaching on the road. We arrived at the home where the family was having dinner. We were then taken in the back yard where there was a brick fence enclosed cluster of units each with a stone deck. Our unit consisted of a great room with double and single beds, a fridge, and a bathroom. It was all neat and clean. Outside was a small(very small) swimming pool which Artur enjoyed. Also there was a green Bermuda grass lawn that was well fertilized with horse manure.
After dropping off our stuff we walked to another building next to the beach that was a restaurant(also owned by the same family). There we sat outside on a porch overviewing the ocean and had a great lunch of fish(like a tuna salad mix), salad, shrimp, and beer for the adults. Right in front of us were several jangadas with colorful sails with advertisements on them. Moored a few hundred feet off shore were a couple of catamarans used to take tourists out. Fishermen were unloading their catch of the day right in front of us, Winds were blowing at 15 to 20kts so the open ocean was frothy with whitecaps and a pretty good surf onto the beach.
After lunch Artur played in the pool while Alex played lifeguard and Vollie and I took a long walk on the beach. There must have nearly 100 jangadas along the beach with some quite large and others not much bigger than a Sunfish. Eventually we ran out of jangadas and could view unobstructed beach with no one on it as far as we could see.
On the way back we counted 7 man-of-war jelly fish along the surf edge. These look similar to the ones we used to see in Florida except they are purple instead of blue.
After our return we hung out on our porch and I set up the hammock and helped Vollie into it as it was quite high off the ground. Vollie took a brief swim in the pool. The sun plunged below the horizon by 5:30PM. Then Artur and Alex joined us and we played a game of Monopoly with the cards in Portugues. Seven year old Artur read the cards Vollie and I drew and Alex informed us what we had to do. At 8:00PM we terminated the game owing to our dinner reservations at the beach hotel. We totalled up each of our net worths and to his glee no one was even close to Artur.
We had dinner at the family-owned restaurant by the beach. It consisted of a moderate sized whole fish, at least 3 lobsters(crayfish) cut down the middle, salad, and a bottle of wine I had purchased at Fortaleza. The food was excellent and it was quite a treat sitting out there where it was pitch black outside.
We went to bed without the AC on and left the window wide open to allow the breeze to flow through the room. It was quite pleasant and both of us slept soundly through the night without even a sheet on us.
October 17(Sunday)
I awoke about 0515AM just in time to see the sun clearing the horizon. I jogged along the hard sand beach at low tide southwestward toward a large wind farm. I nearly got to them and did come to another small village. Those wind mills are so large that after running nearly 30minutes they still were a few miles away.
We then had breakfast at the family run restaurant which consisted of fruit, fried eggs, large buns, and tapioca cakes, that resembled rice cakes. Drinks served included coffee, passion fruit juice, and cashew juice. The cashew juice comes from the orange-size fruit of a cashew tree where the nuts hang at the bottom of the fruit. After breakfast Vollie and I took a walk and Alex and Artur played in the swimming pool. Before we left Alex and Artur played in the surf about 0.5 mile from the hotel.
At 1100 we headed back towards Fortaleza. We stopped at a beach town called Barra Nova which was quite crowed; a virtual zoo compared to quiet Canto Verde. Besides the beaches and surf the area is noted by these colorful sand features carved by water flowing during the rainy season. They resembled a bit the slot canyons in Southeast Utah but were quite a bit wider. We took a guided tour through them. I was really feeling the mid-day heat and felt quite sluggish walking down and up the winding hill sides.
After a lunch in a neighboring town away from the crowded beach area and headed back to Fortaleza. I suspect that this weekend at the sleepy little fishing village operated by locally-owned families will be the highlight of the trip.
That evening we took our vouchers downstairs at the hotel to have supper. It seems this is a holiday for the restaurant staff as there were none of the array of salads and prepared meals. We ordered some pasta with onions, peppers, and shrimp plus a grilled bit of fish. It actually was OK.
I will mention a few things I notice about Fortaleza. First of all there are hardly any old cars on the streets. Most are only a few years old. The exception being a few pickups like vintage Toyota Landcruiser pickups, one was a crew cab! I asked Alex if there was some attempt by the government to get old cars off the streets and he said no. It appears to be in response to a vigorous economy. I see the same thing with motorcycles, with most being quite new and mostly Hondas of about 150cc. The cars for the most part are small Fiats, Hondas, Toyotas, Citroens, VWs, etc. The use of small cars probably reflects there being easier to get around in heavy traffic and their fuel economy as I figured the price of gas is about $6/gallon. Out in the countryside an hour or so away the more usual mix of newer cars and older rustbuckets are the norm as well as a mix of old motorcycles and newer ones but the weight still favors newer vehicles. The beach towns are overrun with dune buggies powered by old VW chassis.
The other thing that stands out that I have noticed in Brazil before is how well black and white races intermingle. It is rare to see a racially separate group hanging out together; instead blacks and whites are intermingled and there are many multiracial couples. Likewise, at the university there is a healthy mix of black and white both on the faculty and students.
October 18(Monday)
Up at 0530, I took my morning jog. First, walking out the hotel there was a large light pole that had been knocked down by a small car. We both heard it but I thought it was construction as I didn’t hear all the sirens that you would have heard in Fort Collins.
I felt rather sluggish this morning as it seemed a bit more humid and there were puddles about as it had rained a bit. This is the dry season so any rain at all is unusual. Rain here begins in the March through June time frame when the ITCZ passes over the area.
I was picked up at 0900 and dropped off at Alex’s office once the driver figured out where it was. I tried to go online with my computer but neither wireless nor a direct wire link would work. I then attended a presentation by one of Alex’s MS students who had performed some radiative convective equilibrium(RCE) over Tropical western Pacific during TOGA COARE. He used RAMS in 2D with 1km grid spacing over a 1000km domain. He performed a detailed budget of microphysics variations but the basic radiation and rainfall dynamics were questionable.
That evening Vollie and I had dinner at the hotel using our vouchers. Alex had invited us to go out with him but since his grandmother was quite ill in the hospital we suggested that it would be better if he didn’t have to take us out as well.
October 19(Tuesday)
After a morning jog and breakfast we were picked up at the hotel and brought to Alex’s office. We hung out there for an hour or so and then Alex attempted to show us his new house that he was buying. Unfortunately, Alex got lost in the neighborhood so he couldn’t find the exact place but we did get to see what the condo-like units looked like.
Alex dropped us off at the airport where we checked in for Sao Paulo. Unfortunately our flight was cancelled. They scheduled us for a flight 1.5 hours later but with a different airline. Since Maria Silva Dias planned on picking us up at the Sao Paulo airport I had to figure out a way to contact her. I told the airline my problem and they let me use a full to call Alex who then contacted Maria.
After the 3.5 hour flight(Brazil is a large country!) we arrived about 1.5 hours later than planned but Maria got the message and picked us up. She dropped us off at our hotel which is a fancy downtown type of hotel.
October 20(Wednesday)
I took a brief jog along the streets which gave me some familiarity with the immediate area. It is generally an upscale neighborhood with lots of small restaurants that look pretty nice. The streets seem a bit cleaner than in Fortaleza as well. We are in the heart of a very large city with over 10 million people in the city center and over 20 million including suburbs.
Maria picked up Vollie and I about 0930 after she drove nearly an hour in the heavy traffic. The drive to the University of Sau Paulo(USP) took about 20 minutes in heavy traffic. I estimate the distance to the actual atmospheric science building as being over 4 miles with at least a mile of that winding around on campus. The campus is huge with very nice grounds and being spring, lots of flowering trees and shrubs. Maria set me up in and office and we tried to get my computer connected to their wireless but it wouldn’t work. We also tried the hard line but it seems my jack receptor is busted. So again I must use someone else’s computer which is a real pain to download files as I must use my flash drive.
At 1030 I began my first 1-hour lecture which was on cloud microphysics parameterization in cloud and storm models. I am going through the same sequence here that I did in Fortaleza but in 1 hour blocks instead of 2. Then a group of us went to lunch on campus which was a nice stroll through the grounds and the food selections were fine.
I worked for a couple of hours after that and decided to take a taxi back to the hotel. It costs about $15 US! Things are a lot more expensive here. For example I bought a 4L jug of water in Fortaleza which costs $4 US and the same size jug here costs $6! The price of wine is very high and our share of a group meal that evening costs almost $100US with wine!
Back at the hotel I took a brief nap and then Vollie and I walked in the area and found a nice large park. Again there were many flowers in bloom including day lilies, and trees like jacarandas.
At 7:30PM Maria picked us up and took us to an Italian restaurant. We were joined with a group of faculty from USP about 12 of us in all. The place had a lot of character with wine bottles along the wall and live music. This time a guitarist, accordion player, and violin. At first they were playing Viennese music but eventually broke into classic Italian songs. The food was excellent and Vollie and I shared spaghetti with seafood. It was a lot of food!
October 21(Thursday)
At 0620 I jogged to and around the park. The distance to and from the park is about the same as that around the park. It is cool but I can do it in my shorts and short sleeve shirt. The high yesterday was quite pleasant in the low to mid 70’s.
I gave my second lecture on stratocumulus clouds including aerosol impacts. Again I had a good discussion afterwards. Then off to lunch and to the bank and cash a travel expense check with Maria’s help. It is warmer today, I guess in the upper 70’s.
After some science discussions with several faculty members I took a taxi back to the hotel. The driver programmed in a GPS which got us there a shorter route which resulted in a lower charge of about $12 US but I forgot to get a receipt so will probably have to eat that. When I got out I thanked the driver and patted the GPS and thanked it too!
Vollie and I took a walk in the neighborhood of the hotel and shopped for some wine to take with us this weekend as we are going to Pedro and Maria’s family farm. We found a nice wine shop and picked up a couple bottles. That evening we were on our own so we found a Japanese Sushi restaurant and had a very nice meal.
October 22(Friday)
After a jog down to the park around it and back we had breakfast and packed to check out of the hotel. At the desk I was faced with a long line which took 20 minutes to check out. Maria picked us up and I gave a lecture on cumulus clouds and the impacts of aerosol on their cloud radiative properties. While I lectured Vollie walked about campus and up the hill into a rain forest on campus. A biometeorologist told me there is more biodiversity on that hillside than in all of Great Britain.
Right after my talk we hopped in Maria’s pickup and headed to the farm. It is about a 3 hour drive with the majority being on high speed expressways. These are toll roads but Maria had an electronic auto-paying device. About 1.5h out we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant which it typical of Brazilian culture. There was a large salad bar in the middle and after we sat down there was this continuous stream of waiters offering meats on a skewer that would be sliced off onto your plate. I didn’t partake of that but they also offered two kinds of frilled fish which I did find quite good.
On the road again and after a while the 4 line road reduced to two lane. We stopped at a village where Maria bought some fertilizer. Finally we arrived at the village of about 8000 people that was nearest to the farm. This is quite a beautiful village with a church and plaza out in front. The cobblestone streets are lined with flowering flamboyant trees and the buildings are either wide or brightly colored. After passing through town we got on a winding single lane gravel road that went up and down through farmland. Eventually we arrived at the farmhouse. This is a complex of many buildings with the main house with tile roofs built around 1940. Some of the other buildings were constructed in the 20’s. They have a swimming pool that overlooked a hillside with a pond below. We were put in a private building near the main house which was like a combined recreation hall with pool and ping pong tables and two bedrooms and a bath. The whole area surrounding the house has lots of trees many are flowering like flamboyant(both red and yellow), bougainvillea bushes, and one large pine-like tree whose name I have forgotten. Birds are abundant and quite noisy including parakeets, egrits, and blue, green and yellow, orange, and other birds I have no idea what they are. It is quite humid with temperatures in the mid-80’s.
We met Maria’s extended family including son, wife and two year old grandson, her daughter with 6 month old grand daughter. This farm has been in the family since the 1920’s in fact there is a bust of Pedro’s great grandfather in the park in town.
We all went out for dinner at a brightly blue painted restaurant in town and that specializes in Talapia fish. This is an area known for its Tilapia fish farms. The mean consisted of deep fried Tilapia in a variety of forms all breaded and deep fried, including cheese/fish sticks, fish looking like fried clams, fish looking like hush puppies, and the only non-fish item was French fries. In the middle of the table was a tall, clear, circular column with a beer tap, filled with chilled beer. We went through two of those things. It was all quite fun.
We returned via the winding gravel road and by 0930PM were sound asleep with the window open only to be pestered by the occasional mosquito.
October 23(Saturday)
I planned to run along the gravel roads before breakfast but it was overcast and raining steadily. I had heard thunder during the night. It is still quite warm, probably in the low 70’s.
After a breakfast consisting of locally grown fruits and toast and tea I decided to jog as it was only drizzling lightly. I ran along the road and then diverted along a semi-road and cow path where I could over look the river that was running swiftly after the rain. I ran without a shirt on which is a real luxury as it is always too cold when it rains in Colorado.
Then we had a nice lunch out on the porch consisting of salads and veges and a fish kind of stew with potatoes. It was all quite good. I then took a nap. After that Maria took us on a walking tour of the farm. We went over hill and dale through coffee and mango trees with scattered plantings of bananas and papayas. They attempt to operate the farm as an organic farm but had to draw the line with the ants which can devastate the mango crops. They have found nothing that works with the ferocious ants. As we walked along we saw a number of eagles, toucans, and other birds. There was a hill near their fields which was covered with dense large trees. She said there are small deer in there as well as monkeys.
Overcast and light drizzle continued off and on for the day but not enough to warrant an umbrella or raincoat(too warm anyway for that!). When we returned I sat down in a chair and had a beer and was immediately accosted by the black cat which has taken a liking to me and jumps on my lap as soon as I sit down.
That evening we had a light meal.
October 24(Sunday)
We woke to clear conditions which means it will be a lot warmer. I took a jog along the gravel road almost to town and took some pictures from a hillside overlooking the town.
We then had breakfast of locally grown fruit including mangos we picked yesterday.
Vollie was interested in seeing the river so we walked down past the pond and past a couple of horses and a heard of cattle. Near the river I spied two iguanas crossing the road. Vollie didn’t see either one as you have to be looking at the right moment to see them. We enjoyed seeing and hearing all the birds which hung out along the stream.
I feel quite lazy in this hot humid air and really attempt to hang out in the shade as the sun is beastly.
I am beginning to realize I am feeling the early symptoms of a cold coming on, slight soar throat and runny nose. It looks like my compromised immune system is catching up to me on this trip.
We had lunch at a neighboring farm where the family of Maria’s daughters boyfriend lives. This place has a garden that would rival many cities botanical gardens with lots of flowering plants including many flavors of orchids. The lunch was quite a big affair with a Brazilian typical dish consisting of pork, beans and rice which I did not eat. Vollie said it was quite good. Most of the people did not speak English but the boyfriends father spoke English well. He is a TV producer of public television and specializes in science related programs. We are definitely rubbing shoulders with the upper crust of Brazil. Many of the people live and work in Sao Paulo but have farms that have often been in the family for generations.
After lunch we hit the road for the 3 hour plus drive back too Sau Paulo. That evening we had dinner at a pizza place which was like an outside garden.
October 25(Monday)
I felt good enough to take a morning jog even though I still sneezed a lot and felt uncomfortable over my eyes.
I gave a lecture on thunderstorms and mesoscale convective systems in which I introduced concepts that provide background to tomorrows final lecture on aerosol impacts on thunderstorms and tropical cyclones. As long as I kept drinking water I could proceed with my lecture.
After lunch and a brief discussion on science issues I took a taxi back to the hotel where I took a nap attempting to recuperate from the cold.
That evening we had dinner at a little corner restaurant/bar where we had fish immersed in a cream sauce with spinach. We have had a lot of spinach and other green stuff I don’t know for sure what it is a lot here. We bought a Brazilian Cabernet made by Almaden which was quite good. The Almaden label looks the same as the CA Almaden so I presume they are a related company.
October 26(Tuesday)
I didn’t feel good enough to run as I felt very lethargic. I have bee OD’ing on vitamin C, and Prolive tablets trying to fight this cold.
My lecture on aerosol impacts on deep convective clouds was well received with lots of discussion at the end. The theme was that aerosols modify the dynamics of clouds, sometimes increasing rainfall and cold-pools, but the ultimate impacts on rainfall and storm intensity is hard to predict as it depends on the interaction of cold-pools and mesoscale and storm-scale circulations, which is by no means simple.
After lunch Vollie and I took a walk through the rainforest on campus and I had brief science discussions. Then a little after 3PM Maria took us to the airport early so she wouldn’t be stuck in traffic getting home. Our flight was a 9:55PM. We had a light dinner at a Japanese restaurant where we had sushi for the 2nd time in Brazil.
Our flight to Atlanta was uneventful arriving early about 0530. My cold symptoms seem to be abating but now Vollie is beginning to feel the cold symptoms.
October 27(Wednesday)
It is good being back in the USA where I can check my e-mail with my Verizon wireless card and check for cell phone messages.
Oh, and today is my 70ith birthday—Ugh!