Atmosphere

Scientists have discovered that an ultra-reactive chemical in Earth’s atmosphere lasts much longer than we previously believed. In fact, they believe that millions of tons of the chemical could linger in the atmosphere for several hours. This ultra-reactive chemical in the Earth’s atmosphere may be cause for concern Image source: studio023 / Adobe The chemicals in question are hydrotrioxides. The chemical is made up of a hydrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Perhaps the most concerning thing about how long…

NASA’s DAVINCI mission to Venus is scheduled for launch in 2029. A new paper details this upcoming journey, a daring mission that could shed new light on the scorching hot planet’s mysterious, and potentially habitable, past.Upon its arrival at the second planet from the Sun, the probe will plunge through Venus’ atmosphere, ingesting its gases for approximately one hour before landing on the planet’s surface, according to the paper published in The Planetary Science Journal. DAVINCI is designed to act as a flying…

An entirely new class of super-reactive chemical compounds, trioxides, has been discovered under atmospheric conditions.For the first time, an entirely new class of super-reactive chemical compounds has been found under atmospheric conditions. Scientists from the University of Copenhagen, in close collaboration with international colleagues, have documented the formation of so-called trioxides – an extremely oxidizing chemical compound that likely affects both human health and our global climate.Hydrogen peroxide is a…

Every lungful of air we suck down is mostly made up of nitrogen, with a generous helping of oxygen, and a dash of carbon dioxide. But dusting this atmospheric soup is a whole encyclopedia of different compounds and elements, some of which we can only speculate about.  One of those mysteries just came into focus, however. Chemists have shown that a reactive class of compounds called organic hydrotrioxides exists in the atmosphere, and while these chemicals last only briefly, they could have effects we don't know about.  …

Scientists have documented a worrying trend in the rainforests of Australia: Tree lifespans have halved in the last 35 years, and it appears to be due to the effects of climate change on the ecosystems.  With these forests acting as significant carbon sinks, the consequences for the planet could be devastating, creating a feedback loop that's both caused by global warming and which then contributes to it.The signs of the increased death rate go back to the 1980s, suggesting that Earth's natural systems have responded to…

As global warming continues its onward march there are key metrics scientists are watching closely to gauge the degree of change gripping our planet. The latest climate change report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shines the spotlight on some of these important markers, detailing a string of alarming new records set across 2021.The newly released State of the Climate report from the WMO follows similarly alarming publications from the world's top climate scientists to land this year, and continues to…

If you're up high, and you listen carefully on nights when the northern sky dances with blazing sheets of green light – Earth's spectacular aurora borealis – you might hear some ghostly sounds.  Almost imperceptible, the sounds had only been heard during the wildest aurora displays, described as rushing sounds, like a waterfall at a distance, or popping and crackling like faint static.New evidence, however, suggests that the sounds take place high up in the atmosphere even when we can't hear them – even, perhaps, when we…

An underwater volcano erupted in January near the Pacific nation of Tonga and sent massive pressure waves racing through Earth's atmosphere, where they lapped the planet several times.  The last volcano to generate such large ripples in the atmosphere was Krakatau in 1883, during one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in recorded history, a new study shows."This atmospheric wave event was unprecedented in the modern geophysical record," said first author Robin Matoza, an associate professor in the Department of…

As air pollution decreases in the western Northern Hemisphere, several new climate simulations suggest tropical cyclones in the Atlantic may increase. The forecast is troubling, though not necessarily a surprise.  When tiny aerosols like dust, soot, and sulfates are airborne, they create smog that can dim sunlight and cool Earth's atmosphere and surface.Broadly speaking, that's opposite to the impact of greenhouse gasses, which trap energy from the Sun in our atmosphere and warm our planet. Given the competing tug-of-war…

By Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research May 10, 2022A new research study describes how microplastic finds its way into the atmosphere and how it is subsequently transported.In a new study, an international team of researchers investigates the atmosphere as a relevant source of plastic pollution in our planet’s waters.According to estimates, by 2040 the level of plastic pollution could reach 80 million metric tons (176 billion pounds) per year. Plastic particles have now been detected in…