Atmospheric

Britain's Air Pollution- It's Not Dust

Britain's Air Pollution- It's Not Dust Having read in today's news that smog affecting much of England is caused by dust from the Sahara I decided to implement the incredibly scientific Mark 1 eyeball test.  I went out on my bike with a cam ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Apr 2 2014 - 4:04pm

We Can't Identify The Climate Uncertainty Monster Much Less Kill It- And That Should Worry You

Scientific uncertainly prevents definitive solutions (beyond putting a stop to the world and leaving poor people to a future with no food, water or air conditioning) but the stance that the issue is settled, even when solutions may not be effective, also ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 5 2014 - 8:22pm

Arid Areas Absorb More Atmospheric Carbon Than Previously Known

Arid areas are among the biggest (non-ocean) ecosystems we have and it turns out they take up higher levels of carbon as levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. The findings give scientists a better idea of the earth's "carbon budge ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 6 2014 - 4:34pm

Air Quality Researchers Forget To Account For Laboratory Chamber Walls

Vapor losses to the walls of laboratory chambers haven't been properly factored in, according to a new PNAS paper, and that has caused researchers to underestimate the formation of secondary organic aerosol in the atmosphere. It also brings up a lot o ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 7 2014 - 2:37pm

Greenland Ice Cores Show US Clean Air Act Reduced Acid Rain

The rise and fall of acid rain is a global experiment whose results are preserved in the geologic record and in Greenland ice sheet samples, which discovered a link between air acidity and how nitrogen is preserved in layers of snow, University of Washing ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 11 2014 - 9:21am

Pollution Ghettos? Study Finds Minority Neighborhoods Have Worse Air Than White Ones

A study by has determined that, on average nationally, minorities are exposed to 38 percent higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) outdoor air pollution compared to white people. Nitrogen dioxide comes from sources like vehicle exhaust and power plants. B ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 15 2014 - 4:00pm

Two ChancesThat Global Warming Is Due To Natural Factors: Fat And Slim

An analysis of temperature data since 1500 A.D. all but rules out the possibility that global warming in the industrial era is a natural fluctuation of climate, according to a paper in Climate Dynamics. ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 11 2014 - 12:26pm

Persistent Organic Pollutant- Slow Degradation Of The Arctic And Antarctic

Global warming may be a topic of debate and arguments about measurements and models, but some things are measurable right now, like environmental pollutants.  Although persistent environmental pollutants are released worldwide, the Arctic and Antarctic re ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 14 2014 - 10:13am

The Ozone Hole In The Arctic That Never Happened

Since the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, scientists, policymakers, and the public have wondered whether we might someday see a similarly extreme depletion of ozone over the Arctic. A new MIT study finds it isn't a big worry. In the 30 years o ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 16 2014 - 12:53am

Winter Weather: Warm West, Cold East: Is Part Of A 4,000-Year Pattern

Last winter's curvy jet stream pattern brought mild temperatures to western North America and harsh cold to the East and it may have seemed exceptional in the era of 24-hour news, but it's been happening that way for about 4,000 years, according ...

Article - News Staff - Apr 16 2014 - 8:31am