A new study by an NCAR researcher shows that small- to moderate-size volcanoes have helped slow down warming over the last decade, while industrial emissions of Sun-blocking sulfur dioxide over Asia have contributed relatively little to the slowdown.
A team of researchers, including NCAR scientist Carl Schmitt, are climbing high in the Peruvian Andes to assess the extent to which the white ice is being darkened by ash and other particulates that are emitted by nearby industrial operations. The dark particles can accelerate glacial melting, eventually threatening runoff that supplies water for millions of South American residents.
Much of the United States has felt winter’s bite this week, with fresh but frigid cold to the east and a weeks-long spell of stagnant, polluted chill to the west.
First in the queue for the NCAR-Wyoming Yellowstone system is a set of 11 computing-intensive projects tackling major problems in Earth and atmospheric science.
Scientists are analyzing results from a project that pulled together chemists, radar experts, cloud physicists, forecasters, pilots, and other specialists to investigate the evolution of thunderstorms.
After an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, on March 11, 2011, an unknown quantity of radioactive material was released into the surrounding air and sea.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide has been increasing fairly steadily for decades, but methane has accumulated at a more erratic pace. The increase virtually stalled for much of the last decade before resuming after 2007.
A team that includes NCAR scientists Anne Boynard and Alex Guenther has found that the rate at which plant canopies emit isoprene, a volatile organic compound, is influenced by circadian rhythms.
The HIPPO field project is enabling researchers to generate the first detailed 3-D mapping of the global distribution of gases and particles that affect Earth’s climate.
Hazy skies and fiery sunsets were noted across much of the central United States after the huge Wallow Fire developed in Arizona. But there’s also a quantitative way to track fire’s impact on the surrounding air.
New research focusing on the Houston area suggests that widespread urban development alters weather patterns in a way that can make it easier for pollutants to accumulate during warm summer weather instead of being blown out to sea.
The air in the vicinity of Earth’s biggest urban areas includes a wild variety of constituents emitted by cars, factories, trees, and much more. Tracking the fate of such air as it spreads outward is no simple task.
A group of five master’s and doctoral students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University broke new ground this semester as they learned from top researchers halfway across the United States.
A new study looks at how the anticipated recovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica and simultaneous increase in greenhouse gas concentrations will combine to affect weather and climate in the Southern Hemisphere.
New research indicates that a regional nuclear war would deplete Earth’s protective ozone layer so profoundly that levels of ultraviolet radiation across the world would exceed levels now considered extreme.
A team of scientists is tackling a scenario that is the stuff of Hollywood thrillers: What happens if a medium-sized asteroid strikes Earth? In particular, what if it crashes into the ocean? The question is not fanciful.
The wildfire that erupted in the foothills west of Boulder in September 2010 sent a thick plume of smoke right over NCAR’s chemistry labs. Even as their offices smelled of smoke, scientists took measurements from the roof.
In 1988, it was the spectre of Yellowstone National Park on fire. In 2003, it was the horror of thousands dying from heat in prosperous western Europe. The planet’s standout heat wave in 2010 plagued much of European Russia, including Moscow.
The difference between El Niño and La Niña can be a huge one for U.S. weather and for global climate. A strong El Niño can nudge global temperatures upward for up to a year.
