http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —NASA aircraft will take to the skies over the southern United States this summer to investigate how air pollution and natural emissions, which are pushed high into the atmosphere by large storms, affect atmospheric composition and climate. http://phys.org/news289810004.html Space & Earth Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:40:02 EST news289810004 (Phys.org) —Scientists working with data from NASA's Cassini mission have confirmed the presence of a population of complex hydrocarbons in the upper atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, that later evolve into the components that give the moon a distinctive orange-brown haze. The presence of these complex, ringed hydrocarbons, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), explains the origin of the aerosol particles found in the lowest haze layer that blankets Titan's surface. Scientists think these PAH compounds aggregate into larger particles as they drift downward. http://phys.org/news289712878.html Space & Earth Thu, 06 Jun 2013 04:48:10 EST news289712878 As temperatures warm, plants release gases that help form clouds and cool the atmosphere, according to research from IIASA and the University of Helsinki. The new study, published in Nature Geoscience, identified a negative feedback loop in which higher temperatures lead to an increase in concentrations of natural aerosols that have a cooling effect on the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news286350656.html Space & Earth Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:00:04 EST news286350656 It's easy to visualize particles and gases from vehicle exhaust or burning trash wafting into the atmosphere. It's harder to envision similar gases and minute particles emitted from trees and plants in the forest. What these two have in common is carbon. According to a multi-institutional team of scientists led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, when polluted city emissions travel miles away, they eventually mix with forest emissions. The result is the addition of new carbon-containing particles which scientists call secondary organic aerosols. These atmospheric particles can have a large impact air quality, visibility, human health and ultimately, the climate. http://phys.org/news285925428.html Space & Earth Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:44:25 EST news285925428 Tiny particles impact our air quality and cause health problems, but European researchers have been discovering how these particles can also influence climate change. http://phys.org/news282456788.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Mar 2013 05:14:15 EST news282456788 A research team from the State University of New York-Albany and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory used a global atmospheric model to estimate that charged ions produced by cosmic rays in the atmosphere increase new atmospheric particles formed by a factor of ten when compared with particles formed by a corresponding neutral, non-charged, mechanism. Though cosmic rays ionization is important in forming aerosol particles and altering the make-up of clouds, the team determined that the changes during the solar cycle are insufficient to produce a measurable change in the Earth's energy balance. http://phys.org/news279880848.html Space & Earth Tue, 12 Feb 2013 09:30:01 EST news279880848 Researchers at Columbia Engineering and Georgia Institute of Technology have published a study in the online Early Edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showing—for the first time—that certain volatile organic gases can promote cloud formation in a way never considered before by atmospheric scientists. The study will be published the week of February 4, 2013. http://phys.org/news279195653.html Space & Earth Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:17 EST news279195653 (Phys.org)—Researchers have detected the presence of a pollutant-destroying compound iodine monoxide in surprisingly high levels high above the tropical ocean, according to a new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. http://phys.org/news278319295.html Space & Earth Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:20:01 EST news278319295 (Phys.org)—Scientists developed a modeling shortcut to dial in a clearer atmospheric particle signal. A research team from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, the University of Washington, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory fine-tuned the winds simulated in a global climate model to better represent the winds measured in the atmosphere. Their technique increased the signal's clarity by greatly reducing the signal noise. Their work produced shorter, more efficient simulations of the global aerosol particle effects on clouds and a better reception of the atmospheric particle signal. http://phys.org/news274692183.html Space & Earth Fri, 14 Dec 2012 07:23:22 EST news274692183 The small kerosene lamps that light millions of homes in developing countries have a dark side: black carbon – fine particles of soot released into the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news274377915.html Space & Earth Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:05:27 EST news274377915 (Phys.org)—The mineral properties of the aerosol particles and the wavelength distribution of incident light combine to determine whether a dust particle reflects radiation and cools the local atmosphere, absorbs radiation and warms the local atmosphere, or both. While scientists have a good handle on dust's primary effect of reflecting and cooling at the visible wavelengths, the smaller influence of absorbing and warming at the longer infrared wavelengths has remained more of an uncertainty – and most climate models either underestimate it or do not include it at all. http://phys.org/news270931957.html Space & Earth Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:40:01 EST news270931957 (Phys.org)—Call them cloud wannabes. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that when the sky is described as partly cloudy, particles near those clouds swell larger with water vapor. The larger particles then reflect and scatter more sunlight energy, like cloud hopefuls. Scientists gleaned these cloud effect secrets from satellite data to find an increase of about 25 percent in the particles' reflectivity.   http://phys.org/news269766562.html Space & Earth Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:09:44 EST news269766562 (Phys.org)—Atmospheric chemists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have found that when it comes to secondary organic material in the atmosphere, there are two distinct breeds: liquids and jellies. http://phys.org/news269627662.html Space & Earth Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:34:36 EST news269627662 Carbon dioxide is not the only problem we must address if we are to understand and solve the problem of climate change. According to research published this month in the International Journal of Global Warming, we as yet do not understand adequately the role played by aerosols, clouds and their interaction and must take related processes into account before considering any large-scale geo-engineering. http://phys.org/news268336830.html Space & Earth Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:00:49 EST news268336830 It's morning, deep in the Amazon jungle. In the still air innumerable leaves glisten with moisture, and fog drifts through the trees. As the sun rises, clouds appear and float across the forest canopy ... but where do they come from? Water vapor needs solid surfaces to condense on. Airborne particles are the seeds of liquid droplets in fog, mist, and clouds. http://phys.org/news266513789.html Space & Earth Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:36:35 EST news266513789 (Phys.org)—City carbons and country carbons regularly mix in the atmosphere, but how do they get along? That is essentially the question being tackled by a team of scientists led by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. In the 2010 Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) research campaign they amassed a rich data set that will shed light on key science questions: how do these carbons meet, mix, travel, grow old, and affect the Earth's climate? The scientific overview of the field research was published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics in August 2012. http://phys.org/news265276977.html Space & Earth Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:40:01 EST news265276977 An international research team led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Helsinki has discovered a surprising new chemical compound in Earth's atmosphere that reacts with sulfur dioxide to form sulfuric acid, which is known to have significant impacts on climate and health. http://phys.org/news263647491.html Space & Earth Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:00:10 EST news263647491 Dust and aerosol pollution from Asia travels across the ocean and sullies the air in the United States and Canada, possibly worsening the effects of climate change, a study showed Thursday. http://phys.org/news263137227.html Space & Earth Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:40:35 EST news263137227 Researchers at the University of Bristol with collaborators from ETH-Zurich have shown that the rate of condensation of water on organic aerosol particles in the atmosphere can be very slow, taking many hours for a particle to change in size. This could have significant consequences for understanding how clouds are formed, affecting climate. http://phys.org/news260455923.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:00:02 EST news260455923 A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study appears to answer contentious questions about the onset and cause of Earth's Little Ice Age, a period of cooling temperatures that began after the Middle Ages and lasted into the late 19th century. http://phys.org/news247149227.html Space & Earth Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:34:06 EST news247149227 Engineering our way out of global climate warming may not be as easy as simply reducing the incoming solar energy, according to a team of University of Bristol and Penn State climate scientists. Designing the approach to control both sea level rise and rates of surface air temperature changes requires abalancing act to accommodate the diverging needs of different locations. http://phys.org/news246104229.html Space & Earth Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:17:25 EST news246104229 (PhysOrg.com) -- What happens when tiny seawater particles are intentionally injected into low clouds over the ocean? To answer this question, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration developed a high-resolution model to better understand the effects of particle injection and evaluate whether this technique could be used to offset some effects of global climate change. The study was published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. http://phys.org/news232277402.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:20:01 EST news232277402 Aerosol particles, including soot and sulfur dioxide from burning fossil fuels, essentially mask the effects of greenhouse gases and are at the heart of the biggest uncertainty in climate change prediction. New research from the University of Michigan shows that satellite-based projections of aerosols' effect on Earth's climate significantly underestimate their impacts. http://phys.org/news231431798.html Space & Earth Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:37:04 EST news231431798 Turns out, polluted air from San Francisco is not the culprit. It's a thermal trough pushing north from Arizona. In a surprise result, scientists found that this weather pattern significantly affects the chemistry of fog and clouds over Point Reyes National Seashore. Scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University, the University of Colorado, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found very high amounts of ammonia and organic material in aerosol particles and cloud droplets during a large-scale weather pattern originating in Arizona. Their results also show the interactions between these small airborne particles and the cloud water chemistry during clear and foggy conditions. http://phys.org/news226309469.html Space & Earth Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:20:01 EST news226309469 The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the Earth, and scientists now have more data to understand why. From Fairbanks to Barrow, Alaska, a team of researchers, including scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, found strong seasonal differences in the number of ice-forming particles in Arctic clouds. The results provide a more accurate picture of the number and types of aerosol particles on which cloud droplets and crystals form. http://phys.org/news221479918.html Space & Earth Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:12:07 EST news221479918 Climatologists have known for decades that airborne particles called aerosols can have a powerful impact on the climate. However, pinpointing the magnitude of the effect has proven challenging because of difficulties associated with measuring the particles on a global scale. http://phys.org/news217173502.html Space & Earth Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:58:39 EST news217173502 Many studies show how daytime emissions from coal-fired power plants lead to ultrafine particles, linked to climate and health issues. But few studies watch what happens at night, when conditions favor different reactions. Now, thanks to a team of scientists led by Dr. Rahul Zaveri of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, we know pollutant gases given off at night, which remain concentrated in the atmosphere, can react with naturally occurring compounds to form troubling aerosols. http://phys.org/news208170719.html Space & Earth Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:12:23 EST news208170719 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of atmospheric researchers designed a new computational module that helps scientists better understand how ice crystals form in the atmosphere. The team, including Dr. Xiaohong Liu and Dr. Steve Ghan of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, showed that ice crystal formation depends on both aerosols and humidity. http://phys.org/news208021127.html Space & Earth Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:50:02 EST news208021127 Terrestrial vegetation and atmospheric photochemistry produce large amounts of fine particles in the atmosphere, thereby cooling Earth's climate. According to new research published in the Oct. 14 issue of Nature, the physical state of the fine particles produced by coniferous forests is solid, whereas previously scientists have assumed that these particles were liquid. The new findings have major implications for our understanding of particle formation processes, for the transformation of particles in the atmosphere and for their effects on climate. http://phys.org/news206268320.html Space & Earth Thu, 14 Oct 2010 09:45:38 EST news206268320 Environmental engineers who might better be called "archeologists of the air" have, for the first time, isolated aerosol particles in near pristine pre-industrial conditions. http://phys.org/news203865306.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:15:25 EST news203865306