Atmospheric Science News - SciTechDaily

How Sonic Technology Is Advancing Wind Detection on Mars

American Institute of Physics — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 07:21:06 +0000

Mars’s hostile environment presents significant challenges for measuring wind speeds, but new advancements are making it possible to collect more accurate data. Researchers have developed a novel sonic anemometric system using piezoelectric transducers, enabling faster and more precise measurements of Martian winds. This technology, which could measure up to 100 wind speeds per second, represents [...]

Revolutionizing Weather Forecasts: Scientists Decode the Rain Formation Bottleneck

National Center for Atmospheric Research — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 05:27:38 +0000

New findings have the potential to enhance computer models used for weather and climate prediction. For decades, scientists have sought to unravel the intricate and enigmatic sequence of events that allow tiny droplets in clouds to grow large enough to fall to the ground. Gaining a deeper understanding of this process, known as the “rain [...]

Volcanic Turnaround: How Hunga Tonga’s Eruption Contradicts Global Warming Expectations

Grant Hawkins, Texas A&M University — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 20:03:09 +0000

Widely thought to be responsible for Earth’s extreme warmth during the past two years, researchers say the Hunga Tonga eruption actually cooled the climate. Research by Texas A&M University explores the 2022 Hunga Tonga volcano eruption’s climate effects, discovering that it caused cooling rather than warming. This contradicts earlier beliefs and stresses the need for [...]

Moonlight Mysteries: How the Moon Helps Us Understand Earth’s Climate

Lindsey Doermann, NASA Earth Observatory — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 07:10:12 +0000

Fifty-five years after our giant leap, scientists continue to learn about both the Moon and Earth from our celestial neighbor. A recent ISS photo captures the Moon’s crescent and Earthshine, offering insights into Earth’s decreasing albedo and climate trends, highlighted by NASA’s CERES project. Since NASA first landed humans on the Moon during the 1969 [...]

Unlocking the Ozone Puzzle: Wildfire Smoke’s Surprising Impact

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 18:00:14 +0000

Research reveals that wildfires can significantly affect the stratosphere’s ozone layer by injecting aerosols that alter ozone levels through complex reactions, underlining the necessity for ongoing vigilance in climate change research. In a revelation that highlights the fragile balance of our planet’s atmosphere, scientists from China, Germany, and the USA have uncovered an unexpected link [...]

Webb Uncovers Unexpected Phenomena Above Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

European Space Agency (ESA) — Sun, 07 Jul 2024 10:27:29 +0000

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists observed the region above Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot to discover a range of previously unseen features. The region, previously believed to be unremarkable in nature, hosts a variety of intricate structures and activity. Recent observations by Webb’s NIRSpec revealed surprising details about Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, particularly above [...]

Unprecedented Recovery: Ozone Layer Heals Ahead of Schedule

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 06:24:39 +0000

Recent findings indicate significant reductions in hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), harmful to both the ozone layer and climate. This success, stemming from the Montreal Protocol, shows that global efforts to phase out these substances are effective, with reductions exceeding earlier predictions. A new study by an international team of researchers has revealed significant progress in the drive [...]

Planetary Boundary Layer Revealed: Satellites Illuminate Atmospheric Mysteries

Journal of Remote Sensing — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 02:01:28 +0000

New research has unraveled the complex dynamics of the planetary boundary layer, enhancing satellite detection of atmospheric pollutants and aiding environmental management and climate modeling efforts. A new study has provided groundbreaking insights into Earth’s planetary boundary layer (PBL), a crucial area that affects air quality and climate. By analyzing satellite data, researchers have explored [...]

The Great Oxidation Event: A 200-Million-Year Journey to Oxygenation

University of Utah — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 21:51:07 +0000

Earth’s “Great Oxidation Event” was spread over 200 million years, according to recent discoveries. New research highlights the Great Oxidation Event’s complexity, revealing that the rise of atmospheric and oceanic oxygen was a dynamic process lasting over 200 million years, influenced by geological and biological factors critical for life’s evolution. The Great Oxidation Event Around [...]

Webb Does the “Impossible” – Space Telescope Captures First Glimpse of an Exoplanet’s Interior

Roberto Molar Candanosa, Johns Hopkins University — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 02:46:37 +0000

James Webb Space Telescope data reveals WASP-107 b has significantly less methane than expected and a surprisingly large core, providing key insights into its atmospheric chemistry and internal dynamics. A surprisingly low amount of methane and a super-sized core hide within the cotton candy-like planet WASP-107 b. The revelations, based on data obtained by the [...]

40% Surge: Growing Nitrous Oxide Emissions Trigger Scientific Alarm

Boston College — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 22:01:53 +0000

Over four decades, nitrous oxide emissions have risen sharply, driven mainly by agriculture. Without technologies to remove it, the focus must shift to reducing emissions to meet the Paris Agreement targets. Recent increases in emissions heighten concerns over their impact on global warming and environmental health. Nitrous Oxide Emissions Between 1980 and 2020, emissions of [...]

Global Efforts Pay Off: Scientific Insights Into a Key Environmental Victory

University of Bristol — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

New research indicates a decline in hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in the atmosphere, confirming the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol in regulating substances that harm the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. Significant progress in reducing atmospheric concentrations of chemicals harmful to Earth’s ozone layer has been revealed by a new study. It confirms the success [...]

Interstellar Intruder: The Cosmic Event That Rewrote Earth’s Climate History

Boston University — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 09:00:18 +0000

New astrophysical research highlights a significant cosmic event two million years ago when the solar system passed through a dense interstellar cloud. This possibly altered Earth’s climate by exposing it to enhanced cosmic radiation, supported by increased isotopes found in geological records. Earth was a very different place around two million years ago, with our [...]

Jupiter’s Colossal Cyclones Driven by Earth-Like Atmospheric Processes

University of California - San Diego — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:00:59 +0000

An analysis of NASA satellite images of cyclones on Jupiter reveals that the storms are fueled by processes similar to those acting on Earth. New research reveals that the roiling storms at Jupiter’s polar regions are powered by processes known to physicists studying Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. The geophysical commonalities spanning the 452 million miles [...]

Webb Space Telescope Cracks Case of Puffy “Microwaved Marshmallow” Exoplanet

Space Telescope Science Institute — Tue, 21 May 2024 08:22:31 +0000

A surprising deficiency of methane suggests that tidal heating has puffed up the atmosphere of the warm gas giant WASP-107 b. Why is the warm gas-giant exoplanet WASP-107 b so, so puffy? With a moderate temperature and an ultra-low density on par with a microwaved marshmallow, it seems to defy standard theories of planet formation [...]

Cloudy With a Chance of Eclipse: NASA’s GLOBE Project Illuminates 2024’s Celestial Phenomenon

Adam Voiland, NASA Earth Observatory — Thu, 09 May 2024 17:31:38 +0000

NASA citizen scientists collected thousands of photographs and temperature readings that are being used to study the relationship between total solar eclipses and clouds. For many people who traveled long distances and faced epic traffic jams to reach the path of totality of the April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse, clouds loomed as the potential [...]

Chemical Culprit Identified: Scientists Discover Why “Earth’s Twin” Has Almost No Water

University of Colorado at Boulder — Thu, 09 May 2024 12:48:54 +0000

Researchers have discovered that Venus loses significantly more water than previously thought due to a process called “dissociative recombination,” where hydrogen atoms escape into space. Planetary scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered how Venus, Earth’s scalding and uninhabitable neighbor, became so dry. The new study fills in a big gap in what [...]

A New Frontier in Chemistry: Roaming Reactions Shatter Old Assumptions

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences — Tue, 07 May 2024 23:15:45 +0000

Scientists have observed so-called ‘roaming’ chemical reactions, those that at certain points move away from the lowest minimum energy ‘path of least resistance,’ in highly excited energy states for the first time. Chemical reactions are supposed to occur along their minimum energy paths. In recent years, so-called roaming reactions that stray far from this path [...]

Quantifying the “Carbon Gap” – Unmasking the Shortfalls in Global Climate Efforts

University of East Anglia — Fri, 03 May 2024 09:00:12 +0000

Insufficient carbon dioxide removal efforts jeopardize meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate goals, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced technologies and strategies. New research suggests that countries’ current plans to remove CO2 from the atmosphere will not be enough to comply with the 1.5 ºC warming limit set out under the Paris Agreement. Since 2010, the [...]

Peering Into the Heart of Clouds: NASA’s CloudSat Wraps a Revolutionary Journey

Sally Younger, Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 00:56:29 +0000

Over the course of nearly two decades, its powerful radar provided never-before-seen details of clouds and helped advance global weather and climate predictions. CloudSat, a NASA mission that peered into hurricanes, tallied global snowfall rates, and achieved other weather and climate firsts, has ended its operations. Originally proposed as a 22-month mission, the spacecraft was [...]

Unlocking Tomorrow’s Water Secrets Through Sci-Fi

Colorado State University — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 23:43:13 +0000

Through a blend of science and storytelling, new research delves into the future of water management amidst changing environmental dynamics. Human activity is changing the way water flows between the Earth and atmosphere in complex ways and with likely long-lasting consequences that are hard to picture. Land use change is altering where clouds form and [...]

Twilight of NASA’s AIM: The End of a 16-Year Odyssey Above Earth

Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 01:15:52 +0000

NASA’s AIM mission concluded after over a decade of groundbreaking research on Earth’s upper atmosphere, leaving behind a legacy of scientific discoveries and a wealth of data for future analysis. After 16 years of studying Earth’s highest clouds for the benefit of humanity – polar mesospheric clouds – from its orbit some 350 miles above [...]

The Carbon Dioxide Trail Leads MIT Scientists to Potential Alien Life

Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 01:56:37 +0000

A low carbon abundance in planetary atmospheres, which the James Webb Space Telescope can detect, could be a signature of habitability. Scientists at MIT, the University of Birmingham, and elsewhere say that astronomers’ best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence, rather than the presence, [...]

Beyond the Clouds: EarthCARE’s Revolutionary Approach to Climate Science

European Space Agency (ESA) — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 18:19:53 +0000

EarthCARE, the European Space Agency’s advanced satellite mission, is set to revolutionize our understanding of the climate system by exploring the interactions between clouds, aerosols, and radiation. Dedicated to delivering a wealth of new information on exactly how clouds and aerosols affect Earth’s climate, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has had the chance to show off prior [...]