will japan's fall out make it to hawaii?

[Rob Tucker]

Taking a look at Pacific wind patterns it does not appear that there is any straight line of atmospheric flow from Japan to Hawaii.

www.atmos.washington.edu/2004Q4/101/lect13_overheads.pdf

If there is a serious radioactive leak into the atmosphere from Japan it would seem that the drift would be north and west toward Alaska and the PNW, not to Hawaii.

http://www.weather.com/maps/maptype/sate...mated.html

This is a simple film on the basics of atmospheric flow:

http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/coll.../page6.mov


I am not suggesting that there is no reason to be concerned. I do suggest that it is not an easy assumption that any potential radioactive drift will come to Hawaii. Japan is far to the Northeast of us.