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    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.
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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.
This is an image of the type-B aurora of Earth, also called the SAR ARC.
L. Frank from Dynamics Explorer

Uranus Aurora

Even though aurora have been seen in the atmosphere of Uranus (which is centered around the magnetic pole as it should be for type-A aurora) Uranus mostly has type-B aurora similar to the SAR ARC of Earth (shown here).

The rings of Uranus extend to 1.95 Ru, exactly where the plasmasphere is supposed to be, and sweep away much of the material there. Therefore there is only a small plasmasphere containing trapped particles, and a lot less plasma can be forced from the magnetosphere down into the atmosphere to create the aurora.

The type-A aurora probably comes from current systems which connect the moon Miranda to the magnetic pole of Uranus, however radio signals, which are thought to arise when the aurora is being created, are very weak at Uranus. This makes reconstruction of the processes which give rise to the aurora difficult.

Thus, from what little we know about the magnetosphere, much of the aurora of Uranus is thought to be created from the diffuse precipitation of particles into the atmosphere, very much like the formation of the terrestrial SAR ARC. These aurora are beautiful but much less dynamic than the type-A aurora found at the poles of the Earth or Jupiter.


Last modified May 7, 2009 by Randy Russell.

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