Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere hit new record highs in 2022, with no end in sight to the rising trend, according to this new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). This Bulletin represents the latest analysis of observations from the WMO GAW Programme. It shows globally averaged surface …
We perform global-scale inverse modeling to constrain present-day atmospheric mercury emissions and relevant physiochemical parameters in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model. We use Bayesian inversion methods combining simulations with GEOS-Chem and groundbased Hg0 observations from regional monitoring networks and individual sites in recent years. Original Source
This new WMO publication provides a consolidated road map for future weather research to foster the science needed to make society less vulnerable to high-impact weather. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a publication that provides a consolidated roadmap for future weather research in order to foster the science …
Surface weather conditions are closely governed by the large-scale circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere. Recent increases in the occurrence of some extreme weather phenomena have led to multiple mechanistic hypotheses linking changes in atmospheric circulation to increasing probability of extreme events. However, observed evidence of long-term change in atmospheric circulation …
The UK is one of several countries around the world that has enacted legislation to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, we present top-down emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) for the UK and Ireland over the period August 2012 to August 2014. These emissions were …
During the months of June and July 2013, over the Euro–Mediterranean area, the ADRIMED (Aerosol Direct Radiative Impact on the regional climate in the Mediterranean region) project was dedicated to characterize the ozone and aerosol concentrations in the troposphere. It is first shown that this period was not highly polluted …
Fungal spores as a prominent type of primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) have been incorporated into the COSMO-ART (Consortium for Small-scale Modelling Aerosols and Reactive Trace gases) regional atmospheric model. Two literature-based emission rates for fungal spores derived from fungal spore colony counts and chemical tracer measurements were used as …
Seasonal variability of daily particle mass and saccharides and furfural concentrations in atmospheric particulate matter in both coarse aerosols (diameter > 2.4 µm) and fine aerosols (diameter < 2.4 µm) was determined for a semi-urban area in the United Kingdom. Saccharides, which include levoglucosan, and furfural are derived from biomass …
Permafrost contains almost twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. As the Earth warms, permafrost thaws, releasing carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. The amount and rate of this carbon release will greatly impact Earth’s climate trajectory. Carbon emissions from thawing arctic permafrost will become substantial within decades, likely …
Aimed at reducing deficiencies in representing the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) in general circulation models (GCMs), a global model evaluation project on vertical structure and physical processes of the MJO was coordinated. In this paper, results from the climate simulation component of this project are reported. It is shown that the …
Riverine export of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the ocean affects the atmospheric carbon inventory over a broad range of timescales. On geological timescales, the balance between sequestration of POC from the terrestrial biosphere and oxidation of rock-derived (petrogenic) organic carbon sets the magnitude of the atmospheric carbon and oxygen …
The catastrophic collapses of Larsen A and B ice shelves on the eastern Antarctic Peninsula have caused their tributary glaciers to accelerate, contributing to sea-level rise and freshening the Antarctic Bottom Water formed nearby. The surface of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS), the largest ice shelf on the peninsula, is …
A very new paper currently in press shines light on climate feedbacks and the balance of energy flows to and from the Earth. The paper was published by Kevin Trenberth, Yongxin Zhang, John Fasullo, and Shoichi Taguchi. In this study, the authors ask and answer a number of challenging questions. …
All of the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) assume that future emissions of aerosols and aerosol precursors will decline sharply. There is considerable evidence that historically increasing aerosols have substantially affected tropical precipitation, but the effects of projected aerosol declines have received little attention. We compare projections forced by the medium-low …
The organic acids present in the aerosols serve as a unique fingerprint in identifying the source of pollution. Contrary to the general assumption that the southern slopes of the Himalayas act as a barrier and effectively block the transportation of pollutants from India and other parts of South Asia, a …
Unprecedented, widespread, and devastating hailstorms occurred during February and March 2014 over north peninsular India (study area). A diagnostic study has been carried out to understand the causes for the same. Over the study area the atmosphere was convectively unstable due to the incursion of warm and moist air from …
Anaesthetic gases may help doctors to cause temporary loss of sensation in patients and carry out surgery smoothly, but by accumulating in the Earth's atmosphere, they also contribute to climate change, says a new study. Over the past decade, concentrations of the anaesthetics desflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane have been rising …
Fungal spores are ubiquitous in the Earth's atmosphere, especially in the environment of tropical rainforests with intense biological activities. To assess the impact of fungi on chemical components of atmospheric aerosols at a Chinese tropical rainforest site, size-segregated fungal spore tracers (i.e. arabitol and mannitol) were measured along with major …
Extreme haze episodes repeatedly shrouded Beijing during the winter of 2012–2013, causing major environmental and health problems. To better understand these extreme events, we performed a model-assisted analysis of the hourly observation data of PM2.5 and its major chemical compositions. The synthetic analysis shows that (1) the severe winter haze …
In a recent letter, Ricke and Caldeira (2014 Environ. Res. Lett. 9 124002) estimated that the timing between an emission and the maximum temperature response is a decade on average. In their analysis, they took into account uncertainties about the carbon cycle, the rate of ocean heat uptake and the …
Presentation by Ellen Baum, Climate and Health Research Network & Tami Bond, University of Illinois at Anil Agarwal Dialogue 2015: Poor in climate change, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, March 11 – 12, 2015.
