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

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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.

Oscar Peralta

I studied Chemical Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. After that, I realized that fluids flowing in a pipe was not as interesting as studying bigger things, like oceans, mountains, clouds, and the Earth itself.

So I studied then Earth Sciences at the same University. During my master degree I focused on carbon particles in the atmosphere, where do they come from, what are they doing, are they watching us? Too many questions and just a few answers. So, I began my doctorate studies to study the flying part of particles, that is the organic composition.

MILAGRO project is important to the people in Mexico City, if we want to play soccer and see the ball in clear days with no particles and no health damages, we have to learn how to eliminate them from the air. During this project I'm going to be on the guided visits to the research sites and reporting from the field any news from scientists and the atmosphere.

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Our online store includes fun classroom activities for you and your students. Issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist are also full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science!

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Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit

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David Greenberg

Hi, my name is David Greenberg and I'm the Director of Technology for the Mohawk Trail Regional School District in western Massachusetts. I've been helping teachers use computers in their classrooms for...more

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...more

Robert Long

Hi everyone! Throughout high school and college, my main interest was in the weather while my favorite science course was chemistry. I combined the two in graduate school when I entered the Meteorology...more

Dr. Dara Salcedo

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Introduction to Milagro

MILAGRO stands for Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations. What that really means is that a team of researchers from around the world is in Mexico City to study the atmosphere there....more

Megacities

Mexico City, where the field campaign MILAGRO takes place, is a "megacity." A megacity is defined as having 10 million or more inhabitants. The 21st century is definitely shaping up to be the Urban Century....more

Milagro Campaign - For Kids!

Atmosphere And Clouds Word Search Air Quality Word Search (Printable) -- And the Answer Key Air Quality Word Scramble Greener Machine – Cars: How You And Others Can Make A Difference! Interactive Game...more

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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