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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 Dione Rossiter.

From: Dione Rossiter
Iquique, Chile, November 6, 2008

My Unique Flight Experience

On November 1st I flew onboard the Twin Otter aircraft. This day was an incredibly interesting day to fly. Not only did we fly through a large stratocumulus cloud but we also flew through lots of smaller cumulus clouds. Cumulus clouds are not as common in this area because they usually form over warm water and land.

On this day, the cumulus clouds formed in their own layer below the stratocumulus cloud layer. Atmospheric scientists call this kind of boundary layer 'decoupled', meaning the layers are separate and may not be working together. All of the scientists are very excited to try to piece together how and why these clouds formed.

We noticed a few interesting things while flying through the cumulus clouds. For one, the instruments measured much more liquid water in the cumulus clouds than in the stratocumulus clouds. Also, there was much more turbulence while flying through the cumulus layer. Have you ever been on a plane ride? You might have noticed sometimes the ride gets really bumpy. This is because the air outside your plane is moving up and down and this movement is strong enough to push the plane around.

Besides flying through the stratocumulus layer and the cumulus layer, we also flew right between the two layers. This was one of the most beautiful sights I have seen during this field project and wanted to share it with you.

Postcards from the Field: Climate Science from the Southeast Pacific

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