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.

    Courtesy of Sue Tolley

From: David Greenberg
Veracruz, March 18, 2006

Jetstream 31 Science Goals

The plane in the foreground is a Jetstream 31 (J31). It is flown under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It is one of a number of planes specially outfitted to make scientific measurements of the atmosphere. The J31 will focus on measuring the properties and radiative effects of aerosols, water vapor, clouds and surfaces, as a means of better understanding their impacts on climate and advancing spaceborne and airborne measurement science.

In addition, the J31 is a tool for measuring solar energy and how that energy is affected by the atmosphere and the Earth's surfaces. Since solar energy drives the Earth's climate, the J31 suite of measurements helps show how changing atmospheric and surface properties can change the climate.

The J31 flies with a complement of extremely specialized monitoring equipment, including the Ames Airborne Tracking Sun-photometer (AATS), the Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR), the Research Scanning Polarimeter and the Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR) to name a few.

You can find a description of the aircraft used in the Milagro campaign here.

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Become a nitrogen atom in the nitrogen cycle in our Traveling Nitrogen Classroom Activity Kit/Game. See all our games, activity kits and classroom activities.

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