ACD scientists Bill Randel and Helen Worden spoke on radio station KGNU with Beth Bartel, host of "How On Earth", about how volcanoes can be used to trace atmospheric currents, and how Beijing's 2008 Olympic efforts to reduce pollution helped reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The episode aired on Tuesday morning, July 31 2012, and you can listen to it online at KGNU. The NCAR segment begins with Bill at 11:30 minutes into the recording, and Helen is introduced at 20:40.
Sulfur dioxide from the Nabro volcano in Eritrea was lofted into the lower stratosphere by deep convection and the circulation associated with the Asian summer monsoon. This finding demonstrates that to affect climate, volcanic eruptions need not be strong enough to inject sulfur directly into the stratosphere.
As spring rolls toward summer, more thunderstorms are expected to build on the plains, shooting lightning bolts into the air and shaking up the mix of gases in the atmosphere. ACD researchers Mary Barth and Chris Cantrell hope to better understand how storms churn up the upper troposphere. ACD and EOL staff are bound for Salina, Kansas, where they will use three instrument-laden research aircraft to better understand the role of thunderstorms. This field campaign is dubbed DC3 (Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry). More at the Boulder Daily Camera... More at NASA Earth Observatory...
Everyone could see the black cloud that forms over Cairo, but nobody knew its source. Not until former ACD doctoral candidate Heba Marey did some scientific sleuthing and solved the mystery. The source of the cloud turned out to be illegal burning of rice husks, done at night when farmers are less likely to get caught. Marey used NASA's Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) to trace the path of the smoke plumes. More at NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)...
The mean circulation of the tropical lower stratosphere is characterized by upwelling, which transports air masses across the tropopause into the lower stratosphere. This is part of the global overturning Brewer-Dobson circulation. However, this upwelling circulation is weak and cannot be measured directly, but is inferred from diagnostic calculations or observed tracer transport.
Accurate NOx emissions are essential for air pollution quantification and mitigation. Combustion processes in the transportation, industrial, and residential sector and emissions from power plants are the dominant anthropogenic sources of NOx. In addition to contributing to the formation of ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution, high levels of NOx are linked with a number of adverse effects on the respiratory system.
A proposed method for geo-engineering climate involves the injection of sulfur into the tropical stratosphere. The resulting enhanced global stratospheric aerosol burden would reflect and scatter sunlight, reducing the Earth’s surface temperature and ultraviolet (UV) radiation intensity. Chemical reactions on the surface of aerosol particles would enhance heterogeneous reactions and alter the ozone abundance, which would change surface UV radiation.
The NCAR CESM system is facilitating the investigation of the interactions among different components of the earth-atmospheric system. One of the available atmospheric models is WACCM, which was specifically developed to simulate interactions between chemistry and climate across all levels of the atmosphere. WACCM simulations are particularly valuable in exploring the impact of middle atmosphere dynamics and chemistry on the climate system.
The High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) instrument provides measurements of temperature, trace constituents and aerosols from the middle troposphere to the mesosphere. HIRDLS water vapor will be available for the first time in the soon to be released Version 7. Shown are zonal mean comparisons with MLS v3.3 and profile comparisons with a balloon-borne Cryogenic Frost-point Hygrometer (CFH). The precision is ~10%, and the bias is about 10% in the stratosphere and is typically 10-20% in the UTLS.
"Waste heat" alters circulation patterns, has near-negligible effect on global temperaturesThe "waste heat" generated by everyday activities in metropolitan areas alters atmospheric circulation patterns, warming or cooling temperatures across a large region.
Among most rapidly warming regions on Earth West Antarctica is experiencing nearly twice as much warming as previously thought.
Prototype system updates every three hoursThe new system provides 8-hour forecasts of potentially dangerous atmospheric conditions over remote ocean regions
New computer model takes a page from weather forecasting to predict regional peaks in influenza outbreaks By predicting the timing and severity of flu outbreaks, the new system can eventually help society better prepare for them.
Potential breakthrough to narrow the range of expected global warmingThe new study may provide a breakthrough as scientists try to narrow the range of projections of future global warming.
The NESL Lab Annual Report for 2012 has been published online is available for your viewing. NESL continued to build on an exceptionally strong record of scientific leadership and accomplishment, as it fulfilled its mission to advance understanding of weather, climate, atmospheric composition and processes; provide facility support to the wider community; and apply the results to benefit society. (February 5)
A scientific paper by Thomas Karl, Peter Harley, Louisa Emmons, Brenda Thornton, Alex Guenther, Chhandak Basu, Andrew Turnipseed, and Kolby Jardine has won the 2012 NCAR Award for Outstanding Publication. The paper was published in 2010: Efficient atmospheric cleansing of oxidized organic trace gases by vegetation; Science 330, 816-819. The research shows that deciduous plants absorb far more pollution than previously thought. (December 19)
An early drawing by I.M. Pei of his concept for the Mesa Laboratory.
