The skies over U.S. cities are cloudier than their surrounding areas.
clouds
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Taking Cloud Microphysics Experiments to the Next Level
Experiments in a cloud chamber have provided valuable insights into microphysical processes and will get more realistic as the height of the chamber increases.
Posted inNews
Climate Models Aren’t Dusty Enough
Mineral dust aloft in the atmosphere has a cooling effect not accounted for in current climate models.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
How Kicked-Up Dust Forms Cirrus Clouds
Dust lifted into the air by cyclones provides anchor points for cloud-forming ice.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Examining Aerosol-Cloud-Climate Interactions at a Large Scale
A new numerical setup demonstrates that aerosols could affect clouds, and hence the radiation budget, thousands of kilometers from their location.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Scientists Can Now Map Lightning in 3D
A new approach enables meter-scale localization of lightning strikes. And it’s already illuminating the basic physics of the phenomenon.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A Theory of Squall Lines
About 50 years ago, vorticity thinking helped unveil basic properties of squall lines. Zhang now provides a closed theory, demystifying one of nature’s most important forms of convective organization.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
If There Is Phosphine on Venus, There Isn’t Much
New observations of the Venusian atmosphere collected from an airborne observatory showed no sign of the potential biosignature gas, casting additional doubt on a previous report of its detection.
Posted inNews
Salt Spray May Stifle Lightning over the Sea
New research suggests that sea-salt aerosols seed large raindrops that starve clouds of water needed to make lightning. But not all scientists are convinced it’s simply about salt spray.