B20: Wind, Water, Waves and Weather - 6 units
Mitchell Sams 
Tues. 1:00–2:30 p.m. - Oct. 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18, Dec. 2, 9  
Meadows Presbyterian Church - Limit: 50

Mitch Sams is an Emeritus Professor of Dermatology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as a back packer, mountain climber, boater, kayaker and weather “watcher.”

We will discuss how weather has affected the development of mankind and address many questions: Why the Portuguese man-of-war is our most ancient sailor; how the world was explored in the days of sail; the formation of cold and warm fronts; why  London is much warmer than Hudson Bay in the winter; how latitude and longitude are determined; what is El Nino and why and how it affects our weather in Virginia; doldrums, monsoons, adiabatic cooling and the horse latitudes; how ocean waves move and the effect of ocean currents on weather patterns; why hurricanes form and how they move; how  barrier islands form and how they migrate. And, thus, we gain an appreciation of the many natural phenomena that affect our daily lives.