Neil Fox is precisely where he’d like to be in time and space.
The MU atmospheric science professor will be involved in collecting data on temperature changes during the much-hyped total eclipse of the sun on Monday, a phenomenon he predicted "will be like nothing you’ve ever seen." Being in Columbia is perfect, given that it lies directly in the path of totality and that NASA has its research eyes trained on mid-Missouri.
Equipped with "specialized meteorological equipment" and a grant from NASA, Fox has been tasked with collecting detailed temperature measurements before, during and after the eclipse, he said.
In collaboration with Shannon White, the state 4-H science youth development specialist, the data will be collected by 40 temperature sensors distributed to local residents within a specified geographic area. The volunteers are placing the sensors on fences or posts over their lawns several days before and after the eclipse.
White on Thursday put a post on the Missouri 4-H Facebook page soliciting volunteers to place the sensors in their yards and got a quick response.
The sensors, about the size of a quarter, are housed in a reflective shelter that protects them from direct sunlight but allows wind to pass through, Fox said.
"The sensor is actually recording the temperature," he said. "We’ll collect them, download that data and see how the temperature varied in time and space."
Fox and NASA hope to record how much colder it gets during the eclipse, as well as the variation in temperature as the phenomenon occurs.
"The temperature in different places will be very interesting," and "temperature change could generate local wind effects," Fox said.
Fox said his team also has other scientific questions it hopes to answer.
"The original scientific part we are trying to look at is observing the response of vegetation, plants and prairie areas to see if there is a change in how the plants respond and how that affects the atmosphere," he said.
Fox is working alongside Jeff Wood, who is directing the research looking at how much carbon dioxide the plants are releasing or using. The hypothesis is that they will temporarily stop photosynthesizing.
Fox said that during totality — the moment in which the moon will completely block the sun — it "will be like sunset happening rapidly." Fox expects plants will behave as if it were sundown, but expects that "different types of vegetation will respond differently."
Mid-Missouri will experience a relatively long period of totality, about 2 1/2 minutes, beginning at 1:12 p.m. on Monday. The sun will be completely blocked at what in astronomical terms is called solar noon, or the time of day in which the sun is highest in the sky. The reason for the discrepancy is due to daylight savings time, which the sun doesn't care about.
Fox said he wouldn’t be surprised to record an 8- to 10-degree change in temperature, even if it's cloudy. "If it is completely clear I’d expect large temperature changes," he added.
During past eclipses, temperatures dropped as much as 15 degrees. "I’ve seen papers and reports from previous eclipses that reported temperature changes that large, some even maybe a little larger than that," Fox said.
Most reports indicated smaller temperature changes, but Fox thinks there's potential for a large swing on Monday because the eclipse is occurring during a hot time of year and very close to midday.
"I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 10-degree drop," Fox said. "I mean it’s not impossible that we will see a 20-degree drop. But that all depends on many factors like how windy it is."
In addition to collecting data on temperature changes in Missouri, NASA is also asking people to help out by recording a phenomenon called shadow bands, in which light passing by the rugged edge of the moon creates wavy light streaks that move across the ground just before and after eclipse totality.
Fox plans to do some outreach in the form of seminars and perhaps webinars to let people know what his team finds. He also plans to publish the findings and implications of the research.
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