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) —A new study from Germany has studied the tiny dust particles within clouds and their influence on the climate. The influence of dust particles on cloud formation and on the chemical reactions within clouds has been poorly understood until now. http://phys.org/news287389194.html Space & Earth Fri, 10 May 2013 07:20:05 EST news287389194 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 (Phys.org) —Scientists have discovered further evidence for the existence of new molecules in the atmosphere that have the potential to off-set global warming by reacting with airborne pollutants. http://phys.org/news286011887.html Chemistry Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:44:55 EST news286011887 Determining the chemical mechanisms that govern new particle formation, or NPF, in the atmosphere is not something that can be pulled out of thin air. In the atmosphere, nucleating clusters are presumed to be composed of a few common species: sulfuric acid (the key chemical component), ammonia, amines (ammonia derivatives), and water—all of which have different effects on nucleation and particle growth. Moreover, these same clusters may significantly impact cloud condensation nuclei, the particles that spawn cloud formation, and, in turn, affect global climate. Scientists used EMSL's Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer equipped with surface-induced dissociation (SID) to examine and model fragmentation kinetics and energetics of small clusters that may serve as precursors to NPF. http://phys.org/news284801798.html Chemistry Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:36:56 EST news284801798 (Phys.org) —The height of clouds changes by up to 200m during a day under the influence of a global 'electrical heartbeat' in the atmosphere, scientists at the University of Reading have discovered. http://phys.org/news281866073.html Space & Earth Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:20:01 EST news281866073 (Phys.org)—A large multinational team of researchers, led by Markku Kulmala of Finland's University of Helsinki, has for the first time discovered the birth process of a class of aerosols. As they describe in their paper published in the journal Science, the team was able to view the building blocks of aerosols by constructing an ultra-sensitive aerosol-particle detector and analyzing the particles that were captured. http://phys.org/news280749060.html Space & Earth Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:51:11 EST news280749060 For the first time ever, researchers are demonstrating ice crystal icing formation in a full scale engine test facility this month at NASA's Glenn Research Center. http://phys.org/news280570949.html Space & Earth Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:40:01 EST news280570949 When it comes to forming the droplets that make up clouds, a little oily and viscous organic material apparently doesn't matter that much. And that's good news for reducing the uncertainty of climate model predictions. http://phys.org/news280415081.html Space & Earth Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:00:01 EST news280415081 Zhien Wang makes no bones about it. He believes meteorologists could do a better job of predicting the weather. To do so, he believes the clues are in the clouds. http://phys.org/news279797390.html Space & Earth Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:29:57 EST news279797390 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 NASA scientists and engineers are working now to lay the groundwork for the Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystem (ACE) mission, a satellite that will dramatically change what we can do from space to learn about clouds and aerosols. http://phys.org/news277575574.html Space & Earth Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:26:11 EST news277575574 (Phys.org)—As earth's climate warms, scientists have tried to understand why the poles are heating up two to three times faster than the rest of the planet. Airborne dust, it turns out, may play a key role. http://phys.org/news277021755.html Space & Earth Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:29:25 EST news277021755 Scientists at University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) have observed a decrease in the frequency of northeast trade winds and an increase in eastern trade winds over the past nearly four decades, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. For example, northeast trade wind days, which occurred 291 days per year 37 years ago at the Honolulu International Airport, now only occur 210 days per year. http://phys.org/news269255535.html Space & Earth Fri, 12 Oct 2012 10:19:48 EST news269255535 Atmospheric aerosol particles have a significant effect on climate. An international team of researchers has now discovered that a chemical process in the atmosphere called aging determines to a major extent the concentration and the characteristics of aerosol particles. To date, this aspect has not been accounted for in regional and global climate models. In the Muchachas [Multiple Chamber Aerosol Chemical Aging Experiments] project, the team has not only managed to demonstrate the effects of aging but has also been able to measure these. Their findings have been published in the specialist journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://phys.org/news268652117.html Space & Earth Fri, 05 Oct 2012 10:35:27 EST news268652117 (Phys.org)—The warmer the air, the more water can evaporate: a simple relationship familiar to us from everyday life. Researchers from Germany and the Netherlands have now established that this is not always the case: although an increase in the greenhouse gas CO2 makes the climate warmer, it also allows less water to evaporate. Plants, with their billions of tiny leaf pores, are the cause of this apparent contradiction. They influence the gas and moisture content of the air around them. Using new calculations of an atmospheric model, the researchers found that this sets in motion a cascade of processes, finally resulting in global warming. http://phys.org/news265962103.html Space & Earth Tue, 04 Sep 2012 07:21:55 EST news265962103 (Phys.org)—An international team of researchers looking to understand the way nature originally caused cloud formation and subsequent rain to fall, have undertaken a study in the Amazon River basin, where scientists say, the air is much closer to its natural state than in other areas due to the constant influx of fresh air from over the ocean and nearly constant rainfall. There they have found, as they describe in their paper published in the journal Science, that fungi spores covered with organic gel, attract moisture leading to cloud formation and rain, which results in a form of feedback loop as the water evaporates. http://phys.org/news265613481.html Space & Earth Fri, 31 Aug 2012 06:31:53 EST news265613481 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 (Phys.org) -- High above the Earth, clouds too thin to see cover the tropics. Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a creative technique to identify the clouds' origins. Using several satellite data sources, they identified cloud formation mechanisms that occur in two distinct conditions. Knowing the different formation mechanisms will help scientists predict the amount of water vapor in the upper atmosphere, which affects the balance of warming and cooling that determines the Earth's climate. Their research was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research. http://phys.org/news254644626.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:37:15 EST news254644626 Arctic sea ice has been declining over the past several decades as global climate has warmed. In fact, sea ice has declined more quickly than many models predicted, indicating that climate models may not be correctly representing some processes controlling sea ice. http://phys.org/news252393239.html Space & Earth Sat, 31 Mar 2012 06:14:43 EST news252393239 Scientists have succeeded in detecting and analyzing a new atmospheric molecule whose existence has long been suspected but never proved. http://phys.org/news245923785.html Space & Earth Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:40:01 EST news245923785 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the complex molecular mixer that is the atmosphere, some molecules dance with others and some are wallflowers, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Using a unique environmental testing chamber located at PNNL, the team was able to watch vapors and particles mix in real time. The scientists focused on how a specific vapor, responsible for the aromatic scent of fir trees, forms carbon-containing particles that mix with certain carbon-containing acids in the atmosphere. Their findings show that climate models are underestimating the total amount of carbon-containing particles formed in the air. http://phys.org/news243590265.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:20:01 EST news243590265 (PhysOrg.com) -- Motor vehicles and industry are primary producers of ammonia in Houston's atmosphere, and cars and trucks appear to boost their output during the winter, according to a new study by researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston (UH). http://phys.org/news237541919.html Space & Earth Tue, 11 Oct 2011 08:52:10 EST news237541919 (PhysOrg.com) -- Jasper Kirkby, a physicist at CERN and colleagues have built an experimental climate chamber to measure the impact of cosmic rays on aerosol creation to mimic the creation of clouds in Earth's atmosphere. So far, as the team describes in their paper published in Nature, there appears to be some evidence of aerosol creation, but not enough to account for cloud formation, and thus there’s no evidence yet to show that cosmic rays have an impact on global temperatures. http://phys.org/news233481014.html Physics Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:20:01 EST news233481014 (PhysOrg.com) -- A microlaser no bigger than a pinprick can accurately detect and count individual viruses, the particles that jumpstart cloud formation or those that contaminate the air we breathe. http://phys.org/news228454058.html Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:28:24 EST news228454058 A new study of how storms are generated could improve rainfall prediction in dry regions of Africa, where drought and short growing seasons are common. http://phys.org/news227073340.html Space & Earth Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:00:08 EST news227073340 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 New research indicates that the interactions of microscopic organisms around a particular organic material may alter the chemical properties of the ocean and ultimately influence global climate by affecting cloud formation in the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news198402872.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:00:09 EST news198402872 The secret life of water just got weirder. For years water has been known to exist in 15 phases -- not just the merry threesome of solid, liquid and gas from grade school science. Now, University of Utah chemists have confirmed the coexistence of ice and liquid after water crystallizes at very low temperatures. http://phys.org/news195901507.html Physics Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:05:21 EST news195901507 Tropical storm Omais has run into wind shear in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, but as it has weakened overnight it has also doubled in size. NASA's Aqua satellite has captured both infrared and visible images early this morning of the larger Omais. http://phys.org/news188740258.html Space & Earth Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:10:24 EST news188740258 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research from scientists at The University of Manchester is set to improve predictions about climate and air quality - and make life easier for those suffering from respiratory problems. http://phys.org/news180628222.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:30:58 EST news180628222