Greenhouse gases are atmospheric constituents that absorb and emit infrared radiation, thereby contributing to the greenhouse effect and Earth’s radiative energy balance. Major greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), ozone (O₃), and various halogenated compounds, along with water vapour (H₂O) as a feedback agent. Their radiative forcing depends on concentration, spectral absorption properties, atmospheric lifetime, and overlap with other absorbers. In climate research, greenhouse gases are quantified via metrics such as global warming potential and effective radiative forcing to assess their contribution to anthropogenic climate change and to inform emissions mitigation strategies.
A new study by Hashem Akbari, a professor in the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, offers a simplified way of calculating the degree to which surface reflectivity, known as albedo, can offset carbon ...
Environment
Apr 14, 2026
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Research by microbiologists Reinier Egas and Cornelia Welte of Radboud University shows that many methane-consuming microorganisms actually prefer carbon monoxide over methane. When carbon monoxide is present, they consume ...
Ecology
Apr 14, 2026
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Urban emissions of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—are rising faster than bottom-up accounting estimates anticipated, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering. The discrepancy was found with satellite ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 13, 2026
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Microbial methane leaking from non-producing oil and gas wells is being emitted at rates about 1,000 times higher than previously estimated, according to a new study led by McGill University researchers. "Origins of Subsurface ...
Environment
Apr 9, 2026
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The world's oceans may be quietly amplifying climate change in ways scientists are only beginning to understand. In a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Rochester scientists—including ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 9, 2026
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New research out of the University of New Hampshire reveals that the majority of New Hampshire ski industry professionals are concerned about the effects of global warming on the ski industry, which generates close to $278.8 ...
Environment
Apr 9, 2026
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A new Earthset image has been captured by the crew of Artemis II, 58 years since the iconic Earthrise photograph taken by the crew of Apollo 8. Over these past six decades, the climate has changed dramatically.
Environment
Apr 7, 2026
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Billions of tons of carbon dioxide are being classified as "dealt with" in global climate plans before anyone can know whether that is true. UT Researcher Rosalie Arendt has given a name to this problem in a new Correspondence ...
Environment
Apr 7, 2026
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In Dante's "Divine Comedy," Hell is described as an "inferno" with nine concentric circles, the entrance of which has a sign that reads "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." For the planets of the solar system, Venus is ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 6, 2026
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Australia marks 50 years of monitoring the world's cleanest air in remote northwest Tasmania at Kennaook / Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station, supporting global efforts to track human-driven changes to the atmosphere.
Environment
Apr 1, 2026
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