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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.

   Image courtesy of Janine Goldstein

From: Janine Goldstein
Hornisgrinde, Germany, August 11, 2007

Visiting the DIAL

Today we drove to the top of Hornisgrinde to see the water vapor DIAL. Hornisgrinde is a mountain in the black forest. It stands 1.1 km (3,609 feet) above sea level, and about 1 km (3,281 feet) above the valley floor. The DIAL sits on top of Hornisgrinde where it can get a good view all around. DIAL stands for "Differential Absorption LIDAR", and LIDAR stands for "LIght Detection And Ranging". So this instrument works with lasers and mirrors. Most of the instrument is inside the truck in the picture, but you can see the biggest mirror on top of the truck, behind the scientist.

The DIAL measures water vapor - the amount of water suspended in the air. There is always some water in the air. We call that humidity. When the air feels really dry, the humidity is low, and when it gets muggy and you sweat more easily, the humidity is high. The scientists are interested in measuring pockets of increased humidity - the places where there is alot more water vapor so clouds are more likely to form. While the DIAL measures water vapor, the DOW's measure how the air is moving, and the two together should help the scientists figure out why clouds form where they do, and what causes them to turn into thunderstorms.

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