Cooking Up Life: How a Chemical Reaction Used by Chefs Helped Create Life on Earth
The Maillard reaction, known for its role in food browning, is also likely happening on the ocean floor, contributing to life on Earth by preserving…
Atmospheric Chemistry News
Underlying Assumptions of Air Quality Need To Be Redefined
The ozone levels near the surface in urban areas are lower than anticipated. The 40-meter monitoring tower at the Innsbruck Atmospheric Observatory, located near the…
Filling the Climate Change Data Gap: Amazon Rainforest Gases Affect the Earth’s Atmosphere
Findings may fill gap for climate change, atmospheric research beyond tropical regions. According to a new study by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL),…
How “Great” Was the Great Oxygenation Event? Enzyme “Family Tree” Reveals When Organisms First Started Using Oxygen
A look at enzyme evolution suggests life figured out how to use oxygen long before the main event. Around 2.5 billion years ago, our planet…
Chemists Warn: Toxic Air Pollutants From Fossil Fuels “Multiply” in Sunlight
When power stations burn coal, a class of compounds called Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, or PAHs, form part of the resulting air pollution. Researchers have found…
Ancient Lake Sediments Show That Recent Atlantic Ocean Warming Is Unprecedented in Nearly 3,000 Years
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Canadian research uses ancient lake sediments to extend climate record. Taking advantage of the unique properties of sediments from the bottom…
New Research Affirms Modern Sea-Level Rise Linked to Human Activities, Not to Changes in Earth’s Orbit
Surprising glacial and nearly ice-free periods in last 66 million years. New research by Rutgers scientists reaffirms that modern sea-level rise is linked to human…
Changes in Southern Hemisphere Winds Stopped by International Ozone Treaty
Study adds to evidence showing effectiveness of Montreal Protocol. Chemicals that deplete Earth’s protective ozone layer have also been triggering changes in Southern Hemisphere atmospheric…
Unexpectedly High Emissions of Ozone-Depleting Chemicals Found by Scientists
Recovering and safely destroying the sources of these chemicals could speed ozone recovery and reduce climate change. In 2016, scientists at MIT and elsewhere observed…
Extreme Atmospheric Chemistry: Barrels of Ancient Antarctic Air Aim to Track History of Rare Gas
Ancient air samples from one of Antarctica’s snowiest ice core sites may add a new molecule to the record of changes to Earth’s atmosphere over…
‘Are We Alone?’ 3D Climate Modeling Helps in Search for Life on Exoplanets
First study to combine 3D climate modeling with chemistry explores M dwarf planets. This study is the first to include 3D chemistry to understand how…
Surprising Secret Ingredients to Clean Up Environment: Liquid Metals
Liquid metal catalysts show great promise for capturing carbon and cleaning up pollutants, requiring so little energy they can even be created in the kitchen….
Actively Managed Forests in New Hampshire Are Rich in Carbon
A Dartmouth-led study examining carbon stocks in an actively managed mixed wood forest in New Hampshire finds that places with more trees have more carbon…
‘Earth’s Heartbeat’ – Do Animals Control Earth’s Oxygen Level?
For the first time, researchers have measured how the production of algae and the Earth’s oxygen level affect each other – what you might call…
Small Volcanoes Underestimated in Climate Models
A new study from MIT shows that the effects of smaller eruptions have been underestimated in climate models, revealing that relatively small volcanic eruptions can…
Cloud-Chamber Experiments Show How Martian Clouds Form
Using the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere facility in Germany, researchers were able to create clouds at the frigid temperatures typically found on…