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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.

High-energy Electrons at Earth Orbit - Baseline Data for One Year

High Energy Electrons at Earth Orbit - One Year Average

This plot shows the averaged intensities of 30-1100 keV (1 keV=1000 electron volts) electrons at Low-Earth Orbit altitudes using the last year of observations by NOAA/TIROS. Click here to see current data for energetic electron levels at Low-Earth Orbit today.

The red region of enhanced radiation over South America at the center of the map is called the South Atlantic Anomaly. This has been referred to as the Sargasso sea of satellite navigation. This perilous region, reaching a peak just off the coast of Brazil, results because the Earth's magnetic core is shifted from the center of the planet by about 500 kilometers. Because of this shift, the magnetic field is weaker over South America. Trapped radiation belt particles penetrate much deeper in the atmosphere here (within a few hundred kilometers of the surface) intersecting the paths of satellites in low-earth orbit, burying themselves in sensitive electronics and disrupting the onboard computers. Narrow yellow bands that stretch across the map at mid-latitudes (in the northern hemisphere, across the middle of the U.S. and, in the southern hemisphere, skimming the bottom of the South Atlantic Anamoly) are high-energy electrons from the outer radiation belts. They are separated by a narrow white region from thicker brighter yellow bands at higher latitude. These highest-latitude (brightest yellow) bands are electrons associated with the auroral oval.

Last modified September 1, 2010 by Randy Russell.

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