Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 04/15/2017 Cyclonic storms command awe with their destructive power and sprawling size, but there is still much to learn about how they form. This entry in the acclaimed Scientists in the Field series takes readers to the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, where a team of meteorologists, physicists, and engineers attempts to better understand the nature of hurricanes, both for the sake of scientific knowledge and for improved storm predictions to keep people safe. Flanked by tragic accounts of Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, and the Bhola cyclone, Cherrix relates the 2014 HS3 (Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel) mission to fly a drone above Tropical Storm Edouard to collect detailed data about hurricane formation. Hurricane anatomy and scientific explanations are punctuated by profiles of HS3 team members, who include pilots who remotely fly the equipment-laden Global Hawk drone. Occasionally complex scientific concepts are relayed too succinctly and lack clarity, but the team’s mission unfolds in such a gripping fashion that readers will be hooked. This book will be particularly eye-opening to those with an interest in severe weather. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 05/01/2017 Gr 4–7—Opening with a tragic anecdote about a Staten Island family displaced and disrupted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the narrative quickly shifts to its central topic, the physics of hurricane formation and the research being done at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, located on the eastern shore of Virginia. Though the story is occasionally unfocused, the bulk of the text outlines efforts to improve understanding of a hurricane's early stages using data gathered by a Global Hawk drone, a demonstration aircraft retired from the U.S. Air Force. Personal profiles of many of the scientists detail training and interests and offer a window into the life of a researcher. Much information is provided about the aircraft's instrumentation, the work of the meteorologists on the ground, and the slow-paced "office work" of operating the drone from a computer at the Virginia facility. Edifying sidebars examine tangential topics such as the ecology of nearby Chincoteague Island, the backgrounds of NASA meteorologists, and the different flight patterns of the drone. A closing chapter gives overviews of other cyclonic storms in recent history and suggests implications for the research in a broader context. The volume is abundantly illustrated with photos of the research facility, the equipment, and the people who use and maintain it, as well as with numerous maps, charts, and other graphics. VERDICT Well researched and engagingly written, this is an occasionally fascinating entry on hurricane prediction for middle schoolers. Robust science collections should consider.—Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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