Scientists have observed atmospheric particles forming where the stratosphere folds into the troposphere, a finding that may deepen understanding of precipitation and climate.
aerosols & particles
Cloud Brightening Could Have Unintended Effects in a Warming World
New research shows that though marine cloud brightening holds potential to temporarily reduce heat stress regionally, the technique has unpredictable and far-reaching outcomes.
Buffering by Ammonia Sustains Sulfate Aerosol Production
A new method for evaluating the role of multiphase buffering and acidification reactions on aerosol pH finds that the buffering effect sustains sulfate production from high pH-favored multiphase reactions.
Biogenic Sources Still Dominate Organic Carbon Aerosol in Europe
Scientists use radiocarbon measurements from Alpine ice to quantify present and past anthropogenic versus biogenic sources of organic carbon aerosols in the European atmosphere.
An Air Quality Model That Is Evolving with the Times
The pioneering Sulfur Transport and Deposition Model, initially designed to simulate atmospheric sulfur, continues to find new applications and value in environmental science and policymaking.
Air Pollution Has Masked Climate Change’s Influence on U.S. Rainfall
A study suggests that high levels of aerosol pollution have offset higher precipitation levels caused by a warming climate.
Planting Trees May Not Be as Good for the Climate as Previously Believed
The climate benefits of trees storing carbon dioxide is partially offset by dark forests’ absorption of more heat from the Sun, and compounds they release that slow the destruction of methane in the atmosphere.
Machine Learning Accelerates the Simulation of Dynamical Fields
Fourier neural operator solvers accurately emulate particle-resolved direct numerical simulations and significantly reduce the computational time by two orders of magnitude.
The Open Ocean, Aerosols, and Every Other Breath You Take
Phytoplankton and other marine plants produce half of Earth’s atmospheric oxygen and have big effects on food webs and climate. To do so, they rely on nutrients from the sky that are hard to quantify.
Challenges in Measuring Aerosol Cloud-Mediated Radiative Forcing
Satellites are required for the global measurement of aerosol cloud-mediated radiative forcing, but satellite retrievals of aerosols and cloud properties still have challenges to overcome.
