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  • 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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

Judy Lloyd

I am a professor at SUNY Old Westbury, a small public college located 30 miles from New York City. I have been teaching chemistry here for over 25 years, and have an active research program involving undergraduate students. Those of us who work at small colleges wear many hats, and I am also the chair of Adolescence Education, one of Old Westbury’s fastest growing programs. I did my undergraduate studies in chemistry at SUNY / Binghamton and my graduate work in radiation chemistry at Ohio State University. I returned to the NY area for a postdoc at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), where I am still a guest researcher during the summers. My husband is also a chemistry professor and we have one grown child who has chosen not to be a chemist.

I am interested in the fast reactions that generate pollution in the atmosphere. These are reactions that involve sunlight and naturally occurring substances such as water vapor and ozone, as well as substances emitted by human activities, such as NOx and hydrocarbons. I work closely with scientists at BNL to develop methods of detecting hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and to interpret our field observations. Although there are only a few of these molecules in every billion molecules of air, they play an important role in making smog. We will be measuring peroxides in Pachuca, Mexico, and aboard the Department of Energy Gulfstream Research Aircraft, during March 2006. We hope these measurements will help us to understand how smog forms and how to minimize its effects on the earth.

Last modified February 9, 2006

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