Short Takes – 8-26-24

Unusual La Niña may be forming in the Atlantic: ‘almost unprecedented’. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Another big difference between Pacific and Atlantic La Niñas is the scope of their impacts. While a Pacific La Niña has global weather implications, including all around the U.S., “everything is a bit smaller” with an Atlantic La Niña, Tuchen explained. They don’t last as long and really only have regional weather impacts.”

Deadly mosquito virus has Mass. towns urging people to stay in at night. WashingtonPost.com article. Pull quote: ““We have not seen an outbreak of EEE [eastern equine encephalitis] for four years in Massachusetts,” Robbie Goldstein, the state’s department of public health commissioner, said in a statement. “We need to use all our available tools to reduce risk and protect our communities. We are asking everyone to do their part.””

Birth of a hurricane: What meteorologists look for as they hunt for early signs of a tropical cyclone forming. TheConversation.com article. Pull quote: “One of the primary tools meteorologists currently use to forecast the early formation of hurricanes is satellite imagery, which provides real-time data on cloud patterns, sea surface temperatures and other atmospheric conditions. For instance, the GOES satellites operated by NOAA help meteorologists track the development of hurricanes with unprecedented clarity. These satellites can capture images at multiple wavelengths, allowing forecasters to analyze various aspects of the storm, such as cloud formation, precipitation and lightning activity.”

Planet launches 1st Tanager-1 (Hyperspectral Satellite) + 36 SuperDoves with SpaceX. News.Satnews.com article. Pull quote: “In addition to Tanager-1, the Transporter-11 rocket delivered 36 SuperDoves to orbit to contribute to Planet’s flagship daily, global monitoring mission (please see www.planet.com/pulse/36-planet-superdoves-successfully-launch-on-spacexs-falcon-9-rocket/). PlanetScope data is used by hundreds of customers in defense and intelligence, civil government, and commercial markets to take informed action, and better contextualize events they’re seeing on the ground now. Planet’s daily scan and deep archive of data across the globe is unique within the industry and provides customers with a continuous and comprehensive view of their areas of interest. Further, the archive acts as a rich training ground for predictive machine-learning and advanced artificial-intelligence models, accelerating users’ ability to draw insights from the terabytes of data collected by Planet each day.”

Is the vulnerability disclosure process glitched? How CISOs are being left in the dark. CSOOnline.com article. Another informative article by Cynthia Brumfield. Pull quote: “Like the other experts, Childs emphasizes that another critical step in addressing disclosure process problems is for vendors to make it easier for researchers to report vulnerabilities. “Even if you don’t have a formal piece or you’re not overflowing with engineers, just make it easy to report bugs, and people will work with you.””

Ukraine’s Kursk offensive isn’t just a raid. It’s upending assumptions. WashingtonPost.com commentary (free). Pull quote: “Whatever happens in Kursk, the success the Ukrainians have so far enjoyed reveals that Russian red lines are not as menacing as President Joe Biden seems to imagine in setting sharp limitations on the use of U.S. weaponry against Russian territory. Far from going nuclear, Putin is trying to minimize the Ukrainian incursion by pretending it’s business as usual for the Kremlin. “It shows the final hollowness of all the nuclear threats that have been used for years to limit aid to Ukraine,” Phillips P. Obrien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, wrote last week on Substack.”

WHO unveils effort to fight mpox outbreak. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “As of Aug. 22, there have been a total of 3,326 confirmed and 17,979 suspected cases of mpox, along with 590 deaths from the disease across 12 African countries so far this year, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”