Atmospheric

Low-Volatility Organic Compounds: How Forests Can Effect Clouds And Climate

According to a new global-scale projection, terrestrial vegetation emits several million tons of extremely low-volatility organic compounds (ELVOCs) per year to the atmosphere, which affect cloud seeds via formation of low-volatility vapors. These oxidatio ...

Article - News Staff - May 26 2015 - 9:53am

Typhoons Up To 14 Percent Stronger Under Moderate Climate Change

Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated large portions of the Philippines in November 2013, killed at least 6,300 people. It set records for the strongest storm ever at landfall and for the highest sustained wind speed over one minute ever, hitting 194 miles per ...

Article - News Staff - May 29 2015 - 7:09pm

Ancient El Niños And Bunny Booms

In the fickle, unpredictable system that is our climate, it looks like El Niño, which was already said to have came and gone with a whimper months ago by climate scientists, may finally be arriving. When it happens, we may know by bunny breeding. At times ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 8 2015 - 12:00pm

How Atmospheric Rivers Form

 If you want to blame something for an overcast day, it's safe to go with the tropics. Water vapor originating from the Earth's tropics is transported to mid-latitudes on long filaments of flowing air that intermittently travel across the world& ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 9 2015 - 2:14pm

Changing Climate Prompts Boreal Forest Shift

With warming summer temperatures across Alaska, white spruce tree growth in Interior Alaska has declined to record low levels, while the same species in Western Alaska is growing better than ever measured before. The findings are the result of a study led ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 18 2015 - 3:13pm

Controlling The Path Of Lightning

We can use lightning rods to increase the probability of it striking at a specific location but its exact path remains unpredictable. Perhaps not for long. At a smaller scale, discharges between two electrodes behave in the same manner, streaking through ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 23 2015 - 5:25pm

How Jet Contrails Affect Surface Temperatures

High in the sky where the cirrus ice crystal clouds form, jet contrails draw their crisscross patterns. Now researchers have found that these elevated ice cloud trails can influence temperatures on the ground and affect local climate.   For contrails to f ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 22 2015 - 2:34pm

Large Volcanic Eruptions Linked To Climate Variability Since Roman Times

It is well established that volcanic eruptions contribute to climate variability but quantifying those impacts has proven challenging due to inconsistencies in historic atmospheric data observed in ice cores and corresponding temperature variations seen in ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 8 2015 - 1:21pm

New Ice Age Is Coming, By 2030, Says Analysis

The arrival of intense cold similar to what some call the "Little Ice Age" of the late 17th century and early 18th century, is expected in the years 2030 to 2040, according to a presentation during the National Astronomy Meeting in Wales. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 17 2015 - 4:23am

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From African Rivers

Researchers have completed a large-scale research project conducted over a five-year period on the African continent to compile the first greenhouse gas budget of African rivers. Covering 12 rivers spread across the entire continent of Africa, the study sh ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 21 2015 - 5:50am