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Huachuca Astronomy Club—Speakers
Glenn Minuth
Glenn Minuth speaks at the April 18, 2008 meeting of the Huachuca Astronomy Club.
Bio: Glenn Minuth is a Department of Army Civilian
employed at Fort Huachuca as a technical integrator for the Network Enterprise Technology Command.
During the past 26 years, his civil service assignments have been as a:
cartographer for the Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace and
Hydro-Topographic Centers, instructor of acquisition law and project
management in the National Defense University, and US Air Force
information management specialist.
His bachelors and graduate degrees are in geography with concentrations
in cartography, geomorphology, remote sensing, and geology. Others
areas of academic focus were biogeography (flora/fauna),
weather/climate, and pedology (soils). His graduate research focused in
the area of geomorphology and geology examining mound micro-relief
(Mima-type mounds) on volcanic mudflows in the central Sierra Nevada
foothills, California.
Glenn was an instructor in geography, geology, physical science, and
biology in the Life and Physical Science Department of American River
College , Sacramento for seven years. He was an instructor in geography
and geology for 10 years at Cochise College for credit and non-credit
programs. He now leads field trips and lectures for the City of Sierra
Vista Parks and Recreation Department in the areas of--military history,
ecology, weather/climate, geography, and geology.
He enjoys canoeing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing as a member of the
National Ski Patrol for 38 years performing winter mountain rescue work
and is a proficiency instructor in the areas of outdoor emergency care,
avalanche rescue, and toboggan handling.
His local academic interests in the greater southeastern Arizona area
involve geology (ancient (fossilized) coral reefs, metamorphic core
complexes, industrial copper mining, speleology (cave study), volcanic
terrains); regional agriculture; forest fire ecology; sky island
biogeography; monsoon season dynamics; and military history (such as the
Apache Campaign).
The Earth's Energy Budget: Introduction to Heat Fluxes
The following talk was given to the Huachuca Astronomy Club on Friday, April 18, 2008.
Synopsis: The surface of the Sun is so hot
(the temperature is 5500 °C) that it
gives off an amount of light equal to more than 6 million, 100-watt
light bulbs in every square meter. Why doesn't the Earth just keep get
hotter and hotter? To comprehend the Earth's complex patterns of
radiative heating we begin by exploring the relationship between Earth
and the Sun throughout the year, learn about the physical laws governing
energy transfer, develop the concept of a radiation balance, and explore
the implications of all these for the Earth as a whole. The "budget" is
an analogy between conservation of energy and household budgeting. The spatially and seasonally
varying elements of the Earth radiation budget are also investigated, and the energy balances on some other bodies in the solar
system are also considered.
The electromagnetic spectrum. (Click image for larger version.)
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