New Horizons Prepares to Search for Clouds in Pluto’s Atmosphere
Using the high-resolution LORRI imager and the Ralph color image on the New Horizons Spacecraft, NASA scientists hope to reveal Pluto’s secrets. If Pluto has…
Atmospheric Science News
Scientists Propose Possible Mechanism for Saturn’s Polar Cyclones
Atmospheric scientists from MIT have developed a simple model that may predict cyclone activity on other planets. For the last decade, astronomers have observed curious…
Plasma Irregularities in the Polar Ionosphere Can Distort GPS Signals
New research from scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and at the University of New Brunswick looks at irregularities in the ionosphere, comparing turbulence in…
MIT Study Shows Rainfall Releases Aerosols on Impact
MIT scientists use high-speed cameras to show that when a raindrop hits a surface it traps tiny air bubbles at the point of contact and…
Tropical Forests May Be Absorbing More Carbon Dioxide Than Previously Thought
A newly published study from NASA scientists shows that tropical forests, like the one pictured above, absorb more atmospheric carbon dioxide than boreal forests. A…
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…
Smoke from Wildfires and Forest Emissions Explain Why the Pliocene Was So Hot
Using sophisticated Earth system modeling, new research from Yale University reveals that the release of forest emissions and smoke from wildfires 3 million years ago…
A Third Radiation Belt Temporarily Appears in Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
In a new study, scientists from the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences explain the temporary appearance and dissipation of a third radiation belt…
Mysterious Cold Layer Discovered in the Atmosphere of Venus
Based on a new analysis of compiled data from ESA’s Venus Express, scientists have uncovered a very chilly layer high in Venus’s atmosphere with temperatures…
Study Examines How Global Warming Will Affect Tropical Rainfall
A new study from scientists at MIT uses model simulations and observations to estimate how global warming will affect extreme precipitation, finding that with every…
Diseased Trees May Be a Significant Source of Methane That Causes Climate Change
Scientists believe diseased trees may be a significant source of methane that causes climate change, finding concentrations of methane that were as high as 80,000…
Meteor Smoke Detected in Noctilucent Clouds
First noticed in 1885, noctilucent clouds have left researchers with many unanswered questions and now that scientists working on NASA’s AIM mission have detected bits…
Visual Evidence That Atmospheric Particles Can Undergo Liquid–Liquid Phase Separations
Data from a newly published study provides visual evidence that atmospheric particles separate into distinct chemical compositions during their life cycle and may play a…
Newly Discovered Connection Between Climate Change & Ozone Layer Could Impact Health
Published in the journal Science, a new study from Harvard researchers suggests that a newly discovered connection between climate change and depletion of the ozone…
The First ‘Bottom-Up’ Estimates of China’s CO2 Emissions
A newly published study gives the first “bottom-up” estimates of China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for 2005 – 2009, combining the results of Chinese field…
Melting Arctic Ice May Lead to Severe Weather Changes
A newly published study from Cornell University scientists suggests that the melting of Arctic sea ice due to climate change can lead to increased odds…
Tiny “Spherules” Record Precise Information About Asteroid Impacts on Earth
A new method for extracting precise information from tiny “spherules” embedded in layers of rock has allowed researchers to record precise information about asteroids impacting…
Friction on Raindrops Dissipates Almost as Much Atmospheric Energy as Turbulence
A new study published in the journal Science states that rainfall soothes the atmosphere, almost as much as turbulence. They calculated that a substantial portion…
