Black Carbon Aerosols in Beijing, China Become “Slim”
Black carbon (BC) is the product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass. By strongly absorbing solar radiation, BC can heat the atmosphere,…
Atmospheric Science
Better Understanding of Earth’s Atmospheric Chemistry From Studying Mars
Long-term studies of ozone and water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars could lead to better understanding of atmospheric chemistry for the Earth. A new…
How a Sudden Stratospheric Warming Event Over Antarctica Affected the Northern Hemisphere
Research from MIT Haystack Observatory finds a stratospheric warming event over Antarctica linked to anomalies in near-Earth space above North America and Europe. Weather is…
Space-Based Infrared Imaging Reveals the Nighttime Weather on Venus
Little is known about the weather at night on Venus as the absence of sunlight makes imaging difficult. Now, researchers have devised a way to…
Greater Impact Than a Million Cars: Unrecognized Threat to Global Soil Carbon by a Widespread Invasive Species
By uprooting carbon trapped in soil, wild pigs are releasing around 4.9 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually across the globe, the equivalent of…
Plastic Planet: Tracking Pervasive Microplastics Through the Atmosphere and Across the Globe
Really big systems, like ocean currents and weather, work on really big scales. And so too does your plastic waste, according to new research from…
NASA’s Juno spacecraft Detects Jupiter’s Highest-Energy Ions
Trapped ions discovered at midlatitudes can have energies exceeding 100 megaelectron volts per nucleon. Their detection adds to our understanding of the powerful radiation environment…
New Research Shows Just 25 Mega-Cities Produce 52% of the World’s Urban Greenhouse Gas Emissions
New research published by the open access publisher Frontiers inventories greenhouse gas emissions of 167 globally distributed cities. The study shows that just 25 mega-cities…
Last Ice-Covered Parts of Summertime Arctic Ocean – a Refuge for Polar Bears, Seals, Walruses – Vulnerable to Climate Change
In a rapidly changing Arctic, one area might serve as a refuge – a place that could continue to harbor ice-dependent species when conditions in…
Early Earth Was Bombarded by Barrage of City-Sized Asteroids – Perhaps 10x More Huge Impactors Than Thought
Scientists know that the Earth was bombarded by huge impactors in distant time, but a new analysis suggests that the number of these impacts may…
Isotopes From Cave Stalactites Show More Intense and Frequent Thunderstorms Linked to Global Climate Variability
Using isotopes from Texas cave stalactites, scientists in Texas A&M’s College Of Geosciences studied thunderstorm changes in the Southern Great Plains. Large thunderstorms in the…
Laser “Comb” Systems Now Measure All Primary Greenhouse Gases in the Air
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have upgraded their laser frequency-comb instrument to simultaneously measure three airborne greenhouse gases — nitrous…
NASA Satellites Find Upper Atmosphere Cooling and Contracting Due to Climate Change
The sky isn’t falling, but scientists have found that parts of the upper atmosphere are gradually contracting in response to rising human-made greenhouse gas emissions….
“Agricomb” Measures Gas Emissions From … Cows
After the optical frequency comb made its debut as a ruler for light, spinoffs followed, including the astrocomb to measure starlight and a radar-like comb…
Complex Metal Catalysts Used for Environmental Sustainability Found to Degrade and Become Less Effective
New research is showing that some tiny catalysts being considered for industrial-scaled environmental remediation efforts may be unstable during operation. Chemists from the University of…
Earth’s Radiation Budget Is Out of Balance – Doubled During 14-Year Period
The atmosphere is changing, trapping more heat from the Sun. The ocean plays a significant role in the balance. Researchers have found that Earth’s energy…
Electric Blue Streaks: High, Dry, and Rare in the Sky
Noctilucent clouds form so high in the atmosphere that they continue to reflect sunlight hours after sunset, creating a shimmering nighttime spectacle. Clouds illuminated during…
Rising Greenhouse Gases Pose Climate Change Threat to Arctic Ozone Layer
New study shows climate change is increasing ozone depletion over the Arctic. There is a race going on high in the atmosphere above the Arctic,…
