Thursday, March 29, 2012

Cayman Islands Dictionary Now Available

In the hopes of preserving Caymanian culture and heritage, The Cayman Islands Dictionary is now available in supermarkets and authorized retailers across the three islands. Particular interest lies in protecting Cayman's unique language and dialect. According to author Kevin Goring, the publication came about when he began collecting Caymanian words 12 years ago. The dictionary is part of a line of products he hopes will fuel cultural interest in promoting Cayman's culture, comprising over 1000 words used in the Cayman dialect. “I was in college at the time and simply became interested in learning more about my culture,’ he said. “I started researching words by interviewing my friends and family members, reading local books, and I even made several visits to the National Archive. After reviewing the massive collection of information that accumulated over several years, I decided that I should publish a dictionary. It’s just something that needed to be done, because the Cayman Islands are over 500 years old and we have never had our linguistic heritage documented for all to see.” He said that he hopes to expand Caymanology as a movement towards heightened cultural awareness and native pride.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Doppler Weather Radar Station in Cayman

With a CI $4.6 million European Commission grant, Cayman officials are hoping the new Doppler Weather Radar Station currently under construction in East End will be ready for the 2013 hurricane season. All information gathered, covering some 250 miles, will be available online in real time accessible to anyone. “At the moment the Cayman Islands uses satellite imagery, which requires interpretation of the data, but with the Doppler system Cayman will get accurate real-time information when storms or any other weather systems threaten or move through our area, so that residents can be better prepared,”said Fred Sambula, Director General of the Cayman Islands National Weather Service. This system is the final link that will connect radar stations in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. 

Doppler weather radar is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type. Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the intensity of the precipitation. Both types of data can be analyzed to determine the structure of storms and their potential to cause severe weather.