http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/atmosphere/ Earth's atmosphere. Learn about threats to air quality, the latest scientific research in atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric physics and more. en-us Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:05:01 EDT Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/atmosphere/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821163903.htm Air circulates above the Earth in four distinct cells, with two either side of the equator, say researchers. A new observational study describes how air rises and falls in the atmosphere above the Earth's surface, creating the world's weather. This process of atmospheric circulation creates weather patterns and influences the climate of the planet. It is important to understand these processes in order to predict weather events, and to improve and test climate models. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080821163903.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814163554.htm Using a novel theoretical approach, researchers from NASA and other institutions have identified the common thread that determines how aerosols from human activity, like the particles from burning of vegetation and forests, influence cloud cover and ultimately affect climate. The study improves researchers' ability to predict whether aerosols will increase or decrease cloud cover. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814163554.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080817223432.htm A previously unrecognized group of air pollutants could have effects remarkably similar to harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, according to a new report. Inhaling those pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette, the researchers added, noting that the study could help explain why nonsmokers develop tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080817223432.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812213935.htm Researchers have discovered an unusual molecule that is essential to the atmosphere's ability to break down pollutants, especially the compounds that cause acid rain. It's the unusual chemistry facilitated by this molecule, however, that will attract the most attention from scientists. A technical paper describing the molecule is published this week in a special edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080812213935.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144244.htm Researchers say brown carbons -- a nanoscale atmospheric aerosol species -- are being overlooked when scientists put together computer models for climate studies. They have developed a new technique to precisely determine optical properties of brown carbon nanoparticles over the entire visible light, ultraviolet and infrared spectrums. The method promises to provide more accurate prediction of climate change, including global warming. Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080807144244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808104927.htm Flying downwind from Chinese mainland, unmanned aerial vehicles will measure emissions of soot and other forms of black carbon during China's "great shutdown." Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808104927.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804123147.htm A revised outlook for the Arctic 2008 summer sea ice minimum shows ice extent will be below the 2005 level but not likely to beat the 2007 record. DAMOCLES will dispatch eleven research missions into the Arctic this autumn to better understand the future of the sea ice. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804123147.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801094258.htm Aeroecology is the emerging discipline for studying how airborne organisms -- birds, bats, arthropods and microbes -- depend on the support of the lower atmosphere that is closest to the Earth's surface. Called the aerosphere, it influences the daily and seasonal movements, development traits, such as size and shape, and evolution of behavioral, sensory, metabolic and respiratory functions of airborne organisms. Understanding how they respond to altered landscapes and atmospheric conditions can also help mitigate adverse effects. Sun, 03 Aug 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801094258.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725094041.htm For scientists looking at climate change, a large area of uncertainty has to do with the effects of airborne particles -- such as carbon-laden soot -- but new technology is now helping researchers unveil secrets about the life cycles of atmospheric aerosols. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080725094041.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724220104.htm The Arctic may get some temporary relief from global warming if the annual North American wildfire season intensifies, according to a new study. Smoke transported to the Arctic from northern forest fires may cool the surface for several weeks to months at a time, according to the most detailed analysis yet of how smoke influences the Arctic climate relative to the amount of snow and ice cover. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080724220104.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722154116.htm As the world watches China prepare for the Olympic Games, one researcher has his eye on less visible matters -- the particles in Beijing's air that millions breathe every day, and that many more will be breathing when they descend on the city this summer. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080722154116.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717224333.htm Global warming is mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities; however, current climatic variations may be affected "around 15% or 20%" by solar activity," according to one researcher. In the past, the sun was the main external agent affecting climate change on Earth, together with the effects of volcanic explosions and internal factors such as ocean currents. The role of the sun in the Earth's climatic variations "is not inconsiderable," but the researcher pointed out that over the last 40 years solar activity has not increased, and has in fact remained constant or even diminished, which is why it is difficult to attribute a significant global warming effect to it. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717224333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080709113704.htm The ice cover in the Arctic Ocean at the end of summer 2008 will lie, with almost 100 per cent probability, below that of the year 2005 -- the year with the second lowest sea ice extent ever measured. Chances of an equally low value as in 2007 lie around eight per cent. Climate scientists come to this conclusion in a recent model calculation. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080709113704.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708162456.htm A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708162456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625110823.htm When rain settles the atmosphere and brings air pollutants to the ground, it can have a lasting effect on ecosystems, sometimes hundreds of miles away. All ecosystems receive some atmospheric inputs, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. The plant and animal life dominant to that region thrives because it has adapted to a particular rate of those nutrients. When the nutrient load changes, it can change the competitive ability of a species and allow different ones to thrive where they once were not competitive. The effects extend from major animal life such as deer down to the smallest bacteria. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625110823.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140656.htm Large amounts of ozone are being destroyed in the lower atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The significance is that ozone in the lower atmosphere acts as a greenhouse gas and its destruction also leads to the removal of the third most abundant greenhouse gas -- methane. It should lead to improved climate predictions. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625140656.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080619142112.htm Information gleaned from a Greenland ice core by an international science team shows that two huge Northern Hemisphere temperature spikes prior to the close of the last ice age some 11,500 years ago were tied to fundamental shifts in atmospheric circulation. Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080619142112.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612201754.htm As the summer fire season heats up, NASA aircraft are set to follow the trail of smoke plumes from some of Earth's northernmost forest fires, examining their contribution to arctic pollution and implications for climate change. Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612201754.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612141015.htm The closing of the ozone hole, which is projected to occur sometime in the second half of the 21st century, may significantly affect climate change in the Southern Hemisphere, and therefore, the global climate, according to a new article in Science. Fri, 13 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612141015.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612100859.htm Scientists are deploying an advanced research aircraft to study a region of the atmosphere that influences climate change by affecting the amount of solar heat that reaches Earth's surface. Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080612100859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611080132.htm You can't always trust your GPS gadget. As scientists have long known, perplexing electrical activity in the upper atmospheric zone called the ionosphere can tamper with signals from GPS satellites. Now, new research and monitoring systems are clarifying what happens to disruptive clouds of electrons and other electrically charged particles, known as ions, in the ionosphere. The work may lead to regional predictions of reduced GPS reliability and accuracy. Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080611080132.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080604145543.htm Charged particles within the Earth's radiation belts travel in spiral trajectories along geomagnetic field lines. The strength of the magnetic field increases as the particles approach the Earth; because charge flows perpendicular to magnetic field lines, the component of the particles' velocity parallel to the magnetic field decreases. Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080604145543.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080530154103.htm NASA scientists have uncovered new details about how plasma from superstorms interact with Earth's magnetosphere. Sat, 31 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080530154103.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080530144943.htm Yale University scientists may have resolved a controversial glitch in models of global warming: A key part of the atmosphere didn't seem to be warming as expected. Computer models and basic principles predict atmospheric temperatures should rise slightly faster than, not lag, increases in surface temperatures. Also, the models predict the fastest warming should occur at the Tropics at an altitude between eight and 12 kilometers. However, temperature readings taken from weather balloons and satellites have, according to most analysts, shown little if any warming there compared to the surface. Fri, 30 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080530144943.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527155519.htm As fossil fuel emissions continue to climb, reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth would definitely have a cooling effect on surface temperatures. Wed, 28 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527155519.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514143344.htm Exactly how airborne particulates harm our lungs still puzzles epidemiologists, physicians, environmental scientists, and policy makers. Now California Institute of Technology researchers have found that they act by impairing the lungs' natural defenses against ozone. Thu, 15 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514143344.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513171430.htm Exposure to coarse particulate matter air pollution such as from agricultural activities, windblown dust and mechanical grinding is not statistically significantly associated with emergency hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among Medicare patients This is the largest US nationwide study on the acute health effects of coarse particle pollution. Coarse particles are airborne pollutants that fall between 2.5 and 10 microns in diameter. Thu, 15 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513171430.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics finds that a much hotter climate could shut down the Earth's plate tectonics. While human-induced climate change couldn't generate the needed heat, volcanic activity or changes in the sun's luminosity could. The research, in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, may help explain why Venus swelters beneath a thick blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Tue, 13 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512135102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513171422.htm A $34 million solar instrument package to be built by the University of Colorado at Boulder, considered a crucial tool to help monitor global climate change, has been restored to a US government satellite mission slated for launch in 2013. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513171422.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512124408.htm Satellites taking atmospheric measurements might now be able to see blue skies as clearly as optimists do. Researchers have found a way to reduce cloud-induced glare when satellites measure blue skies on cloudy days, by as much as ten-fold in some cases. The result might lead to more accurate estimates of the amount of sunlight penetrating the atmosphere. Because clouds represent one of the largest areas of uncertainty, eventually this could lead to improved climate models. Mon, 12 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512124408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507132855.htm Computer analyses of global climate have consistently overstated warming in Antarctica, new research concludes. The study can help scientists improve computer models and determine if Earth's southernmost continent will warm significantly this century, a major research question because of Antarctica's potential impact on global sea-level rise. Thu, 08 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080507132855.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506100329.htm Using sophisticated unmanned aircraft, research scientists hope to assess Southern California's potential for climate change and better understand the sources of air pollution. Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506100329.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506105139.htm Fallow agricultural land and steppe-formation processes are evidently capable of having a much greater effect on global air quality than was previously assumed. This is the conclusion drawn by researchers after examining a dust cloud that formed over parched fields in southern Ukraine and led to extremely high concentrations of particulate matter in Central Europe. On March 24, 2007, the dust cloud spread across Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic to Germany. Thu, 08 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506105139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103036.htm Scientists have helped to identify that the presence of large amounts of seaweed in coastal areas can influence the climate. A new international study has found that large brown seaweeds, when under stress, release large quantities of inorganic iodine into the coastal atmosphere, where it may contribute to cloud formation. Wed, 07 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080503071646.htm Free radical pollution in the air could be a cause of asthma. Chemists have discovered that the atmospheric nitrate radical irreversibly damages amino acids, which are the building blocks for proteins in the human body. This, they suggest, could be a cause of some respiratory diseases. Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080503071646.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505120702.htm The asteroid presumed to have wiped out the dinosaurs struck the Earth with such force that carbon deep in the Earth's crust liquefied, rocketed skyward, and formed tiny airborne beads that blanketed the planet, say scientists from the US, UK, Italy, and New Zealand in this month's Geology. Mon, 05 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505120702.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425123355.htm Some light in Earth's aurora glow is polarized -- a state not thought possible for the aurora, new observations indicate. The findings may improve understanding of Earth's upper atmosphere, its magnetic field, and the energies of particles from the Sun. If detected also in the atmospheres of the other planets, such polarization may help map the Sun's extended magnetic field, researchers say. Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425123355.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140407.htm A much-discussed idea to offset global warming by injecting sulfates into the stratosphere would drastically affect the ozone layer. A new study warns that such an approach might delay recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by decades and cause significant ozone loss over the Arctic. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140407.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424113454.htm A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could modify climate change in the southern hemisphere and even amplify Antarctic warming, according to scientists. While Earth's average surface temperatures have been increasing, the interior of Antarctica has exhibited a unique cooling trend during the austral summer and fall caused by ozone depletion, they said. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424113454.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416153558.htm The Earth's jet streams are shifting -- possibly in response to global warming. Scientists have determined that over a 23-year span from 1979 to 2001 the jet streams in both hemispheres have risen in altitude and shifted toward the poles. The jet stream in the northern hemisphere has also weakened. These changes fit the predictions of global warming models and have implications for the frequency and intensity of future storms, including hurricanes. Storm paths in North America are likely to shift northward as a result of the jet stream changes. Hurricanes, whose development tends to be inhibited by jet streams, may become more powerful and more frequent as the jet streams move away from the sub-tropical zones where hurricanes are born. Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416153558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408163231.htm Air pollution in the world's busiest ports and shipping regions may be markedly worse than previously suspected, according to a new study showing that industrial and shipping pollution is exacerbated when it combines with sunshine and salty sea air. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408163231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407132120.htm Scientists are now flying through springtime Arctic pollution to find out why the region is warming -- and summertime sea ice is melting -- faster than predicted. Some 35 NOAA researchers are gathering with government and university colleagues in Fairbanks, Alaska, to conduct the study. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407132120.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407172710.htm A limited nuclear weapons exchange between Pakistan and India using their current arsenals could create a near-global ozone hole, triggering human health problems and wreaking environmental havoc for at least a decade, according to a new study. Mid-latitude ozone decreases would approach 40 percent and last for years, impacting human health and ecosystems. Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080407172710.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402084336.htm Using state-of-the-art supercomputers climate scientists have performed a 400-year high-resolution global ocean-atmosphere simulation with results that are more similar to actual observations of surface winds and sea surface temperatures. Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402084336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401165017.htm This month, NASA begins the most extensive field campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the Arctic's lower atmosphere. The mission is poised to help scientists identify how air pollution contributes to climate changes in the Arctic. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401165017.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401200451.htm The sands of the desert are an important and forgotten storehouse of carbon dioxide taken from the world's atmosphere. Sands like those in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana are full of cyanobacteria. These drought resistant bacteria can fix atmospheric carbon dioxide, and together they add significant quantities of organic matter to the nutrient deficient sands. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401200451.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150032.htm Chemists have discovered that a chemical reaction in the atmosphere above major cities long assumed to be unimportant in urban air pollution is in fact a significant contributor to urban ozone -- the main component of smog. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080323210225.htm Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates. soot and other forms of black carbon could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides carbon dioxide. The researchers also noted, however, that mitigation would have immediate societal benefits in addition to the long term effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080323210225.htm