Science Daily January 30, 2019 An international team of researchers (UK, Germany, Russia) developed a new method rooted in complex system theory to study high-resolution satellite data of rainfall. By breaking the globe into a grid, the team could see where events occurred and determine how ‘synchronous’ they were. The results from this ‘complex network’ model, analysed using their understanding of the motion of the atmosphere, revealed a possible mechanism for how the events were connected. The research could help better predict when and where extreme rainfall events will occur around the world. The insights can be used to test […]
Category Archives: Climatology
A century and half of reconstructed ocean warming offers clues for the future
Science Daily January 7, 2019 Most of the excess energy stored in the climate system due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions has been taken up by the oceans, leading to thermal expansion and sea-level rise. Accurate estimates of past ocean heat content is critical for understanding the future anthropogenic warming An international team of researchers (UK, USA) has succeeded in reconstructing ocean temperature change from 1871 to 2017. This work offers an answer to an important gap in knowledge of ocean warming and help predict future patterns of warming and sea level rise…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Forecasters may be looking in wrong place when predicting tornadoes
Science Daily December 21, 2018 Researchers at Ohio University demonstrated that tornadoes form at the ground and move up rapidly, contrary to the long-held hypothesis that most tornadoes form at cloud level and descend to touch the earth. They coupled visual and near-surface radar observations from the El Reno 2013 case enabled them to analyze the tornadogenesis process. The findings indicate that a tornado-strength vortex can be active on the ground for a minute or more before the deeper tornadic column forms and is picked up by conventional radar. However, tornado warnings are issued based on radar readings that pick-up […]
Six feet under, a new approach to global warming
Science Daily November 26, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Washington State University, UC Santa Barbara) measured carbon held by reactive minerals across a broad range of climates. Carbon retained by reactive minerals was found to contribute between 3 and 72% of organic carbon found in mineral soil, depending on mean annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. They estimate globally ~600 Gt of soil carbon is retained by reactive minerals, with most occurring in wet forested biomes. For many biomes, the fraction of organic carbon retained by reactive minerals is responsive to slight shifts in effective moisture, suggesting high sensitivity […]
China Air Pollution fight is the current biggest global environmental effort
Next Big Future November 2, 2018 Over the next five-years China is implementing emission controls of diesel trucks that are cleaner than the level 6 European standard. There will be European level 6 standard by 2020 for China’s trucks. China is replacing a million heavy duty diesel trucks, almost 20 percent of the national fleet, with ones that burn cleaner fuel by 2020. This will cost China $2.8 billion annually by 2030 but it will return $57 billion in health and other benefits. Each $1 it costs China, it returns $21 and tens of thousands of lives are saved every […]
Searching for clues on extreme climate change
Science Daily September 18, 2018 An international team of researchers (Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Czech Republic) combined classic tree-ring width measurements with chemical (stable isotope) analyses of carbon and oxygen in tree-rings to reconstruct climate variables. This resulted in novel insights into the hydrological variability and atmospheric circulation changes during an abrupt climate change event. Studying the fossil pines in a French river valley the scientists proved that it was not a change in mean temperatures that was problematic, but rather the environmental stress presumably leading to the tree die off. This stress was caused by the accumulation of extreme weather […]
The EU Is Developing New Aviation Concepts to Reduce CO2 Emissions
MIT Technology Review September 16, 2018 The EU-funded ULTIMATE project (Ultra-Low (E)mission Technology Innovations (f)or Mid-century Aircraft Turbine Engines) seeks to transform today’s ideas into the engines of the future by combining technologies not currently seen in the aviation sector. The 2018 Farnborough International Airshow featured eight concepts to give people a peek at what’s in the works. It is also looking at a plan called Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) calls on airlines to keep CO2 emissions at 2020 levels. CORSIA applies to all EU countries from 2021-2035…read more.
Swarms of low-resource sensors to probe the ionosphere
Phys.org May 1, 2018 There are fundamental questions about energy and disturbances in plasmas that require measurements at many points in time to understand. NASA is sponsoring a team developing a new type of payload to collect ionospheric plasma data at multiple points near a suborbital main payload. These low-resource, easily reproducible payloads—called Bobs—were developed for the NASA Isinglass auroral sounding rocket mission. Each payload carries two thermal ion sensors (retarding potential analyzers) as well as a small commercial inertial measurement unit like that found in a handheld video game controller… read more.
Scientists accurately model the action of aerosols on clouds
Science Daily March 8, 2018 The action of aerosols is an important element of research on climate change, as they partially counteract the heating action of greenhouse gases. Using the K computer, researchers in Japan combined a model that simulates the entire global weather over a year taking into account the vertical processes inside clouds, accurately modelling the microphysics of clouds, giving a more accurate picture of how clouds and aerosols behave in the real world. The explicit representation of cloud microphysics in global scale modelling reduces the uncertainty of climate prediction… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE