David R. Brooks, PhD

President Institute for Earth Science Research and Education 2686 Overhill Drive Eagleville, Pennsylvania 19403 USA Phone: 610-584-5619 E-mail: brooksdr@drexel.edu

Much of the work described on this site has been made possible by support from the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Click here for policy statements concerning this website.

Big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus (?) January 26, 2012. This big brown bat (we suppose it might be a little brown bat instead) is roosting under the eaves above our garage door. Its body is about 8 cm long and it probably weighs no more than about 15 gm (0.5 oz). It (assuming it's the same bat!) appeared several weeks ago, disappeared, and then reappeared this month. We have no idea why it is roosting alone in this very exposed location, or how it avoids freezing at night. Big brown bat populations are being decimated as a result of "white nose syndrome," but this bat's nose looks OK to us!

You can now use your PayPal account to purchase instruments from IESRE.

Notes from a Temperate Climate. A site dedicated to students, teachers, and my friends living in Thailand's tropical climate.

In light of recent controversy surrounding poor siting of many "official" weather stations around the country, this link to information about sites in Pennsylvania, with photos from 1983 and 2003, is very interesting: http://pasc.met.psu.edu/PA_Climatologist/cooptan/. Almost without exception, the quality of these sites is good and the surrounding environment has not changed significantly.

Hurricane Irene, August, 2011. This graph of barometric pressure taken from the weather station at a small airport near IESRE dramatically shows the passage of Irene through our area. The eye of this storm passed along the coast to the east of us, but the drop in pressure is still dramatic. We had some high winds and well over 6" of rain. There was some heavy flooding in low-lying areas and some tree damage, but we never lost power during this storm.