Atmosphere News

October 4, 2024

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Oct. 3, 2024 — For the first time, scientists have taken near-daily measurements of the Sun's global coronal magnetic field, a region of the Sun that has only been observed irregularly in the past. The resulting observations are providing valuable insights into ...

Most Tropical Lightning Storms Are Radioactive

Oct. 2, 2024 — Researchers have known for several decades that thunderstorms can act as miniature particle accelerators that produce antimatter, gamma rays and other nuclear phenomena. But they did not know how common the phenomenon was. In observations taken by a ...

Using Antimatter to Detect Nuclear Radiation

Oct. 1, 2024 — Discerning whether a nuclear reactor is being used to also create material for nuclear weapons is difficult, but capturing and analyzing antimatter particles has shown promise for monitoring what specific nuclear reactor operations are occurring, ...

Harvests, Wildfires, Epidemics: How the Jet Stream Has Shaped Extreme Weather in Europe for Centuries

Sep. 25, 2024 — Tree-ring data reveal that periodic shifts in strong winds high above the Earth's surface have driven opposite climates in different parts of Europe for the past 700 years and likely much longer, ...

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Atmospheric Methane Increase During Pandemic Due Primarily to Wetland Flooding

Sep. 24, 2024 — A new analysis of satellite data finds that the record surge in atmospheric methane emissions from 2020 to 2022 was driven by increased inundation ...

Abrupt Intensification of Northern Wildfires Due to Future Permafrost Thawing

Sep. 24, 2024 — Climate scientists and permafrost experts show that, according to new climate computer model simulations, global warming will accelerate permafrost ...

Atmospheric Blocking Slows Ocean-Driven Melting of Greenland's Largest Glacier Tongue

Sep. 24, 2024 — Northeast Greenland is home to the 79 N Glacier -- the country's largest floating glacier tongue, but also one seriously threatened by global ...

Explaining Dramatic Planet-Wide Changes After World's Last 'Snowball Earth' Event

Sep. 18, 2024 — Some of the most dramatic climatic events in our planet's history are 'Snowball Earth' events that happened hundreds of millions of years ago, when ...

Pollen Affects Cloud Formation and Precipitation Patterns

Sep. 17, 2024 — Pollen not only plays a role in allergies, but also influences the local weather. Especially in spring, when large amounts are released, it contributes to the formation of ice in clouds, which can ...

Beneath the Brushstrokes, Van Gogh's Sky Is Alive With Real-World Physics

Sep. 17, 2024 — Van Gogh's brushstrokes in 'The Starry Night' create an illusion of sky movement so convincing it led researchers to wonder how closely it aligns with the physics of real skies. Marine sciences and ...

EarthCARE's Lidar Shows Particles in the Atmosphere in Detail

Sep. 16, 2024 — The atmospheric lidar ATLID, the last of four instruments on board the EarthCARE satellite launched in May, has now been successfully put into operation. The mission is designed to measure clouds, ...

Exceptional Warm Air Intrusions and Omnipresent Aerosol Layers in the Stratosphere

Sep. 13, 2024 — Extremely clean air on the ground, warm air intrusions and sulphate aerosol at high altitudes -- a research project has gained new insights into ...

Ozone Pollution Reduces Tropical Forest Growth

Sep. 12, 2024 — Ozone gas is reducing the growth of tropical forests -- leaving an estimated 290 million tons of carbon uncaptured each year, new research ...

One of World's Fastest Ocean Currents Is Remarkably Stable, Study Finds

Sep. 11, 2024 — Scientists found that the strength of the Florida Current, the beginning of the Gulf Stream system and a key component of the global Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, has remained ...

Breakthrough Insights Into Carbon Dioxide Absorption Using Cement-Based Materials

Sep. 9, 2024 — Cement-based materials provide a potential solution for mitigating climate change by trapping and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide as minerals, via a process known as carbonation. Despite extensive ...

Just How Dangerous Is Great Salt Lake Dust? New Research Looks for Clues

Sep. 6, 2024 — Scientists determine sediments from the lake's growing exposed playa have elevated 'oxidative potential,' indicating greater risk to human health compared with sediments from other ...

Scientists Uncover Hidden Source of Snow Melt: Dark Brown Carbon

Sep. 4, 2024 — Researchers have quantified the effect of dark brown carbon on snow ...

Doughnut-Shaped Region Found Inside Earth's Core Deepens Understanding of Planet's Magnetic Field

Aug. 30, 2024 — A doughnut-shaped region thousands of kilometers beneath our feet within Earth's liquid core has been discovered, providing new clues about the dynamics of our planet's magnetic ...

Researchers Reveal the Causes for Greenland's Abnormal Warming

Aug. 27, 2024 — The climate factors revealed in a new study shed light on Greenland's climate and can help predict the future development of Greenland's ice ...

What Microscopic Fossilized Shells Tell Us About Ancient Climate Change

Aug. 26, 2024 — By analyzing foram shells recovered in drill cores, study led by geologists links rapid climate change that led to thermal maxima 50 million years ago to rising CO2 ...

Scientists Propose Guidelines for Solar Geoengineering Research

Aug. 23, 2024 — To guide future research into solar geoengineering, an international group of scientists is making specific recommendations for evaluating proposals in order to identify the most feasible and ...

Preservation of Organic Carbon in the Ocean Floor

Aug. 19, 2024 — The preservation of organic carbon in marine sediments has long been a key question remaining unclear in understanding the long-term carbon cycling on Earth. Recently, scientists have gained new ...

Scientists Discover Phenomenon Impacting Earth's Radiation Belts

Aug. 16, 2024 — Two scientists discovered a new type of 'whistler,' an electromagnetic wave that carries a substantial amount of lightning energy to the Earth's ...

New Research Shows Unprecedented Atmospheric Changes During May's Geomagnetic Superstorm

Aug. 16, 2024 — On May 11, a gorgeous aurora surprised stargazers across the southern United States. That same weekend, a tractor guided by GPS missed its mark. What do the visibility of the northern lights have in ...

Ships Now Spew Less Sulfur, but Warming Has Sped Up

Aug. 12, 2024 — New findings document fewer ship tracks, reduced cloud cover, and boosted warming after ship emissions regulations took effect in ...

Scientists Find a Human 'Fingerprint' in the Upper Troposphere's Increasing Ozone

Aug. 2, 2024 — Scientists confirmed that much of ozone's increase in the upper troposphere is likely due to humans. A team detected a clear signal of human influence on upper tropospheric ozone trends in a ...

Born to Modulate: Researchers Reveal Origins of Climate-Controlling Particles

Aug. 2, 2024 — Aerosol particles imbue climate models with uncertainty. New work reveals where in the world and under what conditions new particles are ...

New Study Disputes Hunga Tonga Volcano's Role in 2023-24 Global Warm-Up

July 26, 2024 — New research is exploring the climate impact of the 2022 Hunga Tonga volcano eruption and challenging existing assumptions about its effects in the ...

Climate Change Will Bring More Turbulence to Flights in the Northern Hemisphere, Study Finds

July 25, 2024 — A type of invisible, unpredictable air turbulence is expected to occur more frequently in the Northern Hemisphere as the climate warms. Known as clear air turbulence, the phenomenon also increased in ...

Nitrogen Emissions Have a Net Cooling Effect: But Researchers Warn Against a Climate Solution

July 25, 2024 — An international team of researchers has found that nitrogen emissions from fertilizers and fossil fuels have a net cooling effect on the climate. But they warn increasing atmospheric nitrogen has ...

Solar Absorption by Black Carbon in Fire Clouds Quantified

July 25, 2024 — Aerosol scientists quantify the extent of light absorption by black carbon in fire clouds to better model climate impacts of extreme wildfire ...

Trees Reveal Climate Surprise -- Bark Removes Methane from the Atmosphere

July 24, 2024 — Tree bark surfaces play an important role in removing methane gas from the ...

New Dawn for Space Storm Alerts Could Help Shield Earth's Tech

July 19, 2024 — Space storms could soon be forecasted with greater accuracy than ever before thanks to a big leap forward in our understanding of exactly when a violent solar eruption may hit Earth. Scientists say ...

Weather Experts Discover New Effect of Storm -- In a Teacup

July 16, 2024 — A new study reveals that Storm Ciaran cut an invisible path of mayhem across southern Britain last autumn, destroying any possibility that 20 million people could have a proper cup of tea at ...