Аннотация: An army of miniature satellites and the miniature doses of information on the Uttarakhand incident (February 7, 2021). A brief review.
An army of miniature satellites and the miniature doses of information on the Uttarakhand incident (February 7, 2021). A brief review.
Scientific American has published material on the Uttarakhand incident (February 7, 2021). 'Miniature Satellites Reveal Cause of Deadly Uttarakhand Flood That Devastated Dams. The disaster draws attention to the controversial hydropower projects in the Himalayas". By Kelso Harper on February 12, 2021.
(Kelso Harper is a multimedia science journalist. She has a degree in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing a Masters of Science at MIT.)
In our work "[MMVI.] On the issue of the incident in India (in Uttarakhand) on February 7, 2021. A note." (February 12, 2021), we raised a number of questions:
1. What is the height of the wave (of the catastrophic flow)?
2. How long (in time) was the disaster? When approximately did the catastrophic flow begin and when did it approximately end?
3. What is the distance traveled by the catastrophic flow?
4. What was its speed?
5. What is the trajectory of the catastrophic flow?
What caught our attention in the work by Kelso Harper?
First, the mention of "an army of more than 130 miniature 'cube' satellites, launched over the past six years by San Francisco-based private company Planet Labs" immediately attracts attention. "
Secondly, the "wall of ... water" is mentioned. Logically, it turns out that the wave took place, and it was a fairly high wave. What was its height (altitude)?
Third, in the material we find the information: "The deluge also wiped out five bridges, some of which ran 40 feet above typical river levels."
As is known in romantic novels about skilled analysts who unravel big secrets, an example is used of calculating the size of the enemy army based on indirect references to the volume of tea supplied to the troops.
"Since the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959, one foot is defined as 0.3048 meters exactly" (Wikipedia).
1 foot - 0.3048 m.
40 feet - 12.192 m (0.3048 * 40 = 12.192).
So, there was a wave, and in some cases its height was at least 12 meters. (These are tentative conclusions, since the "mechanism" of the destruction is not clear).
If we do not have information about the supply of tea, then at least we can add to the information piggy bank the hypothetical conclusions about the appearance of the wave and its height (at least 12 meters - in some cases).
It would seem that this is the interesting information. However, after the reading several publications about the incident in Uttarakhand (February 7, 2021), I have never come across this information in a clear, distinct form.
In general, on specific issues, information about the incident comes as if in miniature portions.
Fourth, the material published by Scientific American contains an interesting detail that I have not seen in a distinct, obvious form in other publications ...
"The Indian Supreme Court recognized the risks of hydropower projects in the high mountains after an even bigger flood struck Uttarakhand in 2013, killing thousands of people and damaging 10 hydroelectric dams. The court indefinitely prohibited permits for new hydropower projects in the region, citing the danger the dams can put people in. It also noted the dams' potential contributions to additional landslides and floods, as blasting mountainsides and clearing trees for dam infrastructure can make the landscape more unstable.
Yet the projects continued. 'The country is energy-hungry,' Haritashya says. 'These hydroelectric power dams are not going to be stopped.'"
(It seems that someone is worried about the problem of a massive clearing trees on the Lake Baikal? ..).
Fifth, in the text of the material published by Scientific American, there is an interesting phrase: "... the flood's magnitude was far greater than would be expected in such a case."
A curious, even slightly mysterious, phrase ...
We have not yet got a coherent picture of this big flood.
Summation.
A supposed conclusions about the appearance of the wave and its height (at least 12 meters - in some cases) have been added to the information piggy bank.
Scientific American has published excellent material on February 12, 2021, which complements the picture of the Uttarakhand incident (February 7, 2021).
[MCMXСIX. Two years - after the solution of the Bureya problem. A historical essay. - 8 February 2021.
MMVI. On the issue of the incident in India (in Uttarakhand) on February 7, 2021. A note. - February 12, 2021.].
February 16, 2021 06:46
Translation from Russian into English: February 16, 2021 14:20.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Армия миниатюрных спутников и миниатюрные дозы информации об инциденте в Уттаракханде (7 февраля 2021). Краткая рецензия'.