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26 July 2017
Innovation eases cloud problem in global climate and weather forecast models
CIRES scientist’s new framework promises to improve cloud representation, forecast accuracy Anyone with a cell phone camera and kids or dogs knows that resolution is “expensive”: taking lots of very high-resolution photographs and video clips can quickly fill a device. An analogous resolution challenge in weather and climate modeling has dogged modelers for years: Computationally, it’s just too expensive to represent certain clouds in the detail needed to make them …
8 June 2017
Some clouds filled with ice lollipops
A cloud full of lollipops may sound like the most delicious carnival treat ever… except this cloud’s lollipops are made of ice. Scientists spotted the lollipop-shaped ice crystals during a research flight in southwest England. The researchers flew through a large cloud system in 2009 to better understand how ice forms at relatively mild temperatures.
24 May 2017
LA lawns lose 70 billion gallons of water a year
In summer 2010, Los Angeles was losing about 100 gallons of water per person per day to the atmosphere through the evaporation and plant uptake of lawns and trees, new research finds. Lawns accounted for 70 percent of the water loss, while trees accounted for 30 percent, according to a new study.
10 May 2017
Research finds spike in dust storms in American Southwest driven by ocean changes
People living in the American Southwest have experienced a dramatic increase in windblown dust storms in the last two decades, likely driven by large-scale changes in sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean drying the region’s soil, according to new NOAA-led research. With the increase in dust storms, scientists have also documented a spike in Valley fever, an infectious disease caught by inhaling a soil-dwelling fungus found primarily in the Southwest.
9 May 2017
Paris 1.5°C target may be smashed by 2026
Global temperatures could break through the 1.5°C barrier negotiated at the Paris conference as early as 2026 if a slow-moving, natural climate driver known as the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) has, as suspected, moved into a positive phase.
4 May 2017
Hawaiian mountains could lose snow cover by 2100
A new study, accepted for publication in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, indicate that Hawaii’s two volcano summits are typically snow-covered at least 20 days each winter, on average, but that the snow cover will nearly disappear by the end of the century.
3 May 2017
High-altitude aircraft data may help improve climate models
New research in Geophysical Research Letters provides the first actual measurements of the chemical, SO2, in the tropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere—and there’s a whole lot less than some scientists estimated.
2 May 2017
Development degrades Canary Island’s cherished sand dunes (+video)
A new study published in Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, explores the impact of development on local wind patterns and dune formation on one of Spain’s Canary Islands. By reviewing aerial photographs and topographical measurements, the study’s authors watched how a city’s expansion altered local wind patterns and ultimately changed the surrounding landscape, jeopardizing the long-term sustainability of a major tourist destination.
17 April 2017
Why can we see and hear meteors at the same time?
Light travels nearly a million times faster than sound. But for thousands of years, humans have reported hearing some meteors as they pass overhead, puzzling scientists for decades. Now, a new study puts forth a simple explanation for the phenomenon.
11 April 2017
Researchers find mushrooms may hold clues to effect of carbon dioxide on lawns
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire set out to determine how rising carbon dioxide concentrations and different climates may alter vegetation like forests, croplands, and 40 million acres of American lawns. They found that the clues may lie in an unexpected source, mushrooms.
GeoSpace is a blog on Earth and space science, managed by AGU’s Public Information staff. The blog features posts by AGU writers and guest contributors on all sorts of relevant science topics, but with a focus on new research and geo and space sciences-related stories that are currently in the news.