In my blog post last month, I mentioned the likelihood of having a very active Atlantic tropical season, especially because the ocean surface temperatures are so warm. But despite an early start to the season with the first three named storms (including Beryl, the earliest ever category 5 storm in the Atlantic Ocean), it’s been quiet for the last few weeks. The ocean temperatures continue to be very warm. What is preventing the development of tropical storms in such a warm environment?… Continue reading this article “Dust in the wind”
Month: July 2024
The nitty gritty on movement of chemicals in plants, part 2
My social media administrator (aka cat herder extraordinaire) reminded me recently that I’d written a post on xylem function and promised to follow up the next month with a post on how phloem works. Well, that was about 18 months ago. Guess I better keep my promise.
Do read the linked post if you don’t remember why “xylem sucks.” In contrast to xylem, functional phloem is an interconnected series of living cells with cell membranes. The presence of a membrane means the plant can regulate what goes in and out of the phloem, and the direction of phloem flow is determined by the relative concentrations of dissolved substances in the water – most importantly sugars derived from photosynthesis.… Continue reading this article “The nitty gritty on movement of chemicals in plants, part 2”