Current Events

  • Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather
    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong corr...Read more

    x

    Irish Chronicles Document Links Between Volcanoes and Weather

    A study of over 40,000 written entries in Irish Annals and ice core measurements shows a strong correlation between the occurrence of volcanic eruptions and extreme cold weather in Ireland over a 1200 year period. Data analyzed in this study cover the period from 431 to 1649, during which time up to 48 volcanic eruptions are identified in Greenland ice core records through deposition of volcanic sulfate in annual layers of ice. You can find the study (open access), published on 6 June 2013 in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, at http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/2/024035/article. Find out more about how volcanoes can influence climate.
  • EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US
    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, acco...Read more

    x

    EF-5 Tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma Widest Ever Recorded in US

    The EF-5 tornado that hit El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31st was the widest ever recorded in the US, according to the National Weather Service in Norman Oklahoma. The tornado, which remained on the ground for 40 minutes and reached 2.6 miles across (4.2 km), took the lives of 18 people including storm chasers Tim Samaras, Paul Samaras and Carl Young. For more information on the tornado, visit http://ow.ly/i/2hfDG.
  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

    x

    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.

Earth's Atmosphere

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) that surrounds Earth. High above the planet, the atmosphere becomes thinner until it gradually reaches space. It is divided into five layers. Most of the weather and clouds are found in the first layer.

The atmosphere is an important part of what makes Earth livable. It blocks some of the Sun's dangerous rays from reaching Earth. It traps heat, making Earth a comfortable temperature. And the oxygen within our atmosphere is essential for life.

Over the past century, greenhouse gases and other air pollutants released into the atmosphere have been causing big changes like global warming, ozone holes, and acid rain.

<a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/lenticular.html">Lenticular clouds</a> form on the downwind side of mountains. <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/wind.html">Wind</a> blows most types of clouds across the sky, but lenticular clouds seem to stay in one place. Air moves up and over a mountain, and at the point where the air goes past the mountaintop the lenticular cloud forms, and then the air <a href="/earth/Water/evaporation.html">evaporates</a> on the side farther away from the mountains.  This close up of lenticular clouds was taken at sunset on November 20, 2006 in Boulder, Colorado.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Roberta Johnson</em></small></p><a href="/earth/Atmosphere/NLC.html">Noctilucent</a> clouds are the highest clouds in the sky, but they are not associated with weather like the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/cloud_types.html">other clouds</a> we regularly see in the sky.  Noctilucent clouds form very high in the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html">atmosphere</a>, in the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/mesosphere.html">mesosphere</a>.  They are best seen from Earth at sunset. This image was taken on June 15, 2007, in Budapest, Hungary.  Normally seen from locations near the <a href="/earth/polar/polar.html">poles</a> of the Earth, in recent years they have also been seen at much lower-latitude locations.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of NASA/Veres Viktor</em></small></p><a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/stratocumulus.html">Stratocumulus clouds</a> belong to the <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/low_cloud.html">Low Cloud</a> (surface-2000m) group. These clouds are low, lumpy, and gray. Only light <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/precipitation.html">precipitation</a>, generally in the form of <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/precipitation/drizzle.html">drizzle</a>, occurs with stratocumulus clouds. To distinguish between a stratocumulus and an <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/clouds/altocumulus.html">altocumulus</a> cloud, point your hand toward the cloud. If the cloud is about the size of your fist, then it is stratocumulus.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Carlye Calvin/UCAR</em></small></p>Anti-crepuscular rays are beams of sunlight that appear to converge on a point opposite the sun. They are similar to crepuscular rays, but are seen opposite the sun in the sky. Anti-crepuscular rays are most frequently visible near sunrise or sunset. This photo of anti-crepuscular rays was taken at sunset in Boulder, Colorado. Crepuscular rays are usually much brighter than anti-crepuscular rays.<p><small><em> Image Courtesy of Carlye Calvin</em></small></p>On May 20, 2013, a massive EF5 <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tornado.html">tornado</a> hit Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities and lives. The tornado, on the ground for 40 minutes, took a path through a subdivision of homes, destroying block after block of homes, and hitting two elementary schools just as school was ending as well as a hospital. Hundreds of people were injured, and 24 were killed.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Ks0stm, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license</em></small></p>Does Earth science matter? The power outage experienced by residents in New York City on October 30th 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy demonstrates the interconnectedness of our society, and the power of the Earth system. Every person should have an understanding of how the Earth system works so they can live better lives, protect those they love, and make wise choices. Earth science education is critical!<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Hybirdd, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.</em></small></p>

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

Upcoming W2U Events
Join Today - Benefits,
No Ads!
Special Offers for Teachers
Member Benefits
Teacher Newsletter
Partnership Opportunities

Explore Earth's Atmosphere

Layers of the Atmosphere

The atmosphere is divided into five layers. It is thickest near the surface and thins out with ...Read more

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place. Most weather takes place ...Read more

Climate

Warm near the equator and cold at the poles, our planet is able to support a variety of living ...Read more

The Polar Atmosphere

Phenomena in the Polar Atmosphere There are some unique phenomena that happen in the atmosphere ...Read more

Atmospheric Optics

Have you ever seen clouds in the sky that looked different than "normal" clouds? Or have you ...Read more

Air Pollution

What do smog, acid rain, carbon monoxide, fossil fuel exhausts, and tropospheric ozone have ...Read more

Ozone Holes

The Ozone Hole is a major "thinning" of the ozone layer in Earth's atmosphere. It ...Read more

Modeling the Atmosphere

Clouds are an important part of Earth's weather and climate. Scientists use computer models ...Read more

Arts and Culture About Clouds, Weather, and Climate

Whether it is how an artist paints the shapes of clouds or how a poet describes a gloomy weather ...Read more

Atmosphere News

Read about current science, happenings and discoveries related to Earth's atmosphere! ...Read more

More about Earth's Atmosphere

Historical Events

6/25 Hermann Oberth,a Romanian and German physicist, was born on this date in 1894 Details
6/28 Maria Mitchell, an American astronomer, died on this date in 1889 Details
6/29 George Hale, an American astronomer, was born on this date in 1869 Details

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that the atmosphere gets thinner as you go up in altitude?

Do you know what famous horror novel was written during the "Year Without a Summer"?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Pleistocene
xPleistocene : The time period between about 10,000 years before present and about 1,650,000 years before present.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

More than One: Long-Reining Microbe Controlling Ocean Nitrogen Shares the Throne

Marine scientists long believed that a microbe called Trichodesmium, a member of a group called the cyanobacteria, reigned over the ocean's nitrogen budget. New research results reported on-line today...Read more

Shop Windows to the Universe

We now offer the Cool It! card game in our Science Store. Cool It! is the new card game from UCS that teaches kids about the choices we have when it comes to climate change.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation and NASA, our Founding Partners (the American Geophysical Union and American Geosciences Institute) as well as through Institutional, Contributing, and Affiliate Partners, individual memberships and generous donors. Thank you for your support! NASA AGU AGI NSF