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

    x

    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

    x

    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

    x

    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.

Hot off the Press

 03/11/11 Massive 9.0 Magnitude Earthquake and Tsunami Hit Japan

 08/19/10 Marine Scientists, Students Find Widespread Floating Plastic Debris in North Atlantic Ocean

 08/18/10 Deadly Tonga Earthquake Revealed as Three Big Quakes

 08/18/10 New Computer Model Advances Climate Change Research

 08/12/10 Extended Period of Lower Solar Activity Linked to Changes in Sun's Conveyor Belt

 08/11/10 Oldest Earth Mantle Reservoir Discovered

 08/02/10 Triggers of Volcanic Eruptions in Oregon's Mount Hood Investigated

 07/17/10 Gulf Oil Spill: Mississippi River Hydrology May Help Reduce Oil Onshore

 07/08/10 New Findings Indicate Sediment Composition Affected the Strength of Sumatran Earthquake

 07/01/10 A Star Is Born... But How?

 06/17/10 Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Efforts Miss the Mark

 06/14/10 Mysterious Clouds Produced When Aircraft Inadvertently Cause Rain or Snow

 05/16/10 Unprecedented Warming in East Africa's Lake Tanganyika

 05/13/10 Silver Tells a Story of Early Earth: Water Here Since Planet's Very Early Days

 04/30/10 Pollution Speeds up Snow Melt in Europe and Asia

 04/29/10 Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico

 04/25/10 Soil Microbes Produce Less Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Than Expected With Global Warming

 04/23/10 Even in the Desert, Plants Feel the Heat of Global Warming

 04/22/10 Scientists Study "Glaciovolcanoes," Mountains of Fire and Ice

 04/15/10 “Missing” Heat May Affect Future Climate Change

 04/08/10 Geologists Uncover Major Ancient Human Ancestor in South Africa

 04/02/10 Dust-on-Snow: On Spring Winds, Something Wicked Thus Way Comes

 03/29/10 Climate Helped Bring Angkor to Its Knees

 03/25/10 Pollution from Asia Circles Globe at Stratospheric Heights

 03/17/10 Prescribed Burns May Help Reduce U.S. Carbon Footprint

 03/04/10 Revisiting Chicxulub

 03/04/10 Methane Releases from Arctic Shelf May Be Much Larger and Faster Than Anticipated

 03/04/10 Scientists Find Signs of “Snowball Earth” Amidst Early Animal Evolution

 02/27/10 Massive Earthquake Shakes Chile

 02/25/10 Forest Tree Species Diversity Depends on Individual Variation

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

Shop Windows to the Universe

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.

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