Mila Zinkova’s research while affiliated with University of California, San Francisco and other places

In this article, we will investigate how space weather may have affected the navigation and communication of the Titanic in the run up to the disaster, and the subsequent rescue operation. The significant space weather event was in the form of a moderate to strong geomagnetic storm that observational evidence suggests was in effect in the North Atlantic at the time of the tragedy. The image shows technology and infrastructure affected by space weather events. (Credit: NASA.) image

Upper frame: Strong volcanic plume is rising from Sarychev volcano in the Kuril Islands on 12 June 2009. (Source: NASA). Lower frame: Weak volcanic plume Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging (MODIS) images of the eruption of Chaitén Volcano. The image was captured on 3 May 2008 at 1505 utc. image

This article (the third of four articles that look into the Titanic mirage theory) presents eyewitness accounts of the Titanic's distress rockets and the appearance of the stricken liner and compares them with the ways mirages manifest themselves. It is argued here that flickering lights and twinkling stars could have made the signals from Morse lamps undetectable. However, they do not indicate the certain presence of super refraction. The presence of a mirage cannot be ruled out; however, this investigation demonstrates that even if a mirage was present, it had no significant effect on any aspect of the tragedy.

Ocean currents played an important role in the Titanic disaster, bringing sea ice and icebergs to the area in which the collision occurred. The currents also could have affected the Californian's drift, making her move in a circular motion that was confusing for all who witnessed the tragedy, and they could have made it more difficult to establish communications between the vessels. However, the currents might have helped the rescue ship Carpathia to navigate directly to the Titanic's lifeboats, in spite of the fact that the Carpathia was given an incorrect SOS position. This article provides historical and up to date information on the subject of the currents in the area of the disaster and explains what role the currents might have played in some of the remaining Titanic‐related mysteries.

The Titanic saga has mystified people for more than a century. One of the most debated questions is why the iceberg was spotted too late to avoid the collision. A recent theory declares that the lookouts could not have seen the iceberg earlier because a mirage‐associated haze camouflaged it. Many Titanic researchers do not believe the haze was real. Lord Mersey, British Wreck Commissioner, said, I mean the evidence before and after the accident is that the sky was perfectly clear, and therefore if the evidence of the haze is to be accepted, it must have been some extraordinary natural phenomenon. This article (the second of four articles that look into the Titanic mirage theory) discusses the hazardous nature of icebergs, examines the testimonies of the Titanic’s lookouts and other eyewitnesses in regards to the haze, and offers some arguments regarding a few natural phenomena that could explain the origin of the haze. The article argues that the haze could very well have been real – and not due to some extraordinary phenomenon, nor a mirage, but rather due to a relatively common phenomenon known as ‘sea smoke’.

More than a century after the sinking of the Titanic, scientists and historians are still trying to understand what happened on that fateful night. New hypotheses, including the one that declares a Fata Morgana type mirage was involved in both the collision with the iceberg and the failed communications between the Titanic and the Californian, are being introduced on a regular basis. This article is the first in a four‐part series that examines the mirage theory of the Titanic disaster. In this part, a few ways in which a temperature inversion (which is required for a mirage to form) could have developed at the site of the disaster at the time of the collision and subsequent sinking are explored. A high‐pressure cell, an icy river of melt‐water and the Gulf Stream are all examined as factors that could have contributed to the formation of an inversion. It is demonstrated that the development of a steep temperature inversion at the wreck site, though rather unlikely, cannot be excluded completely.

It is a well‐known fact that sometimes a halo display heralds an approaching cyclone, but could a halo display be an indicator of the presence of wildfire smoke and poor air quality? This article presents a few examples of unusual solar halos that formed over altocumulus clouds and were probably associated with the smoke created by wildfires burning in California. The article also discusses why superstitions associated with relatively common ice halos have persisted for centuries.

Sunset mirages are often observed in coastal California. Cold ocean currents and warm air from inland create great conditions for temperature inversions, prerequisite required for producing mirages. Most sunset mirages seen in California are so called mock mirages. Inferior mirages are also common during winter time. On a rare occasions California sky watchers are treated by some special mirages that involve ducting, including Novaya Zemlya effect sunsets, blank strip sunsets and others.

From Aristotle to modern science, this article presents several accounts of ice halo displays in weather lore and answers questions such as Could a sighting of a halo be an omen of a shipwreck? Does a halo herald a hurricane? How are ice halos observed in Oklahoma connected to plankton from the Pacific Ocean? and others. The article also offers images and descriptions of a very rare odd‐radius solar halo display, observed in California on 23 February 2016, in which the Sun appeared to be surrounded by five concentric circles. Finally, the article analyses the meteorological conditions associated with this phenomenon, alongside those of other displays, and answers a question that has been asked for many thousands of years: can halo displays be used as indicators of the weather?