Polar regions are known to be warming at an enhanced rate compared to lower latitudes, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change citing a ~5 °C increase in air temperature over Arctic land masses during the 20th ...
As global temperatures continue to rise, India is grappling with increasingly severe heat waves. As early as April, many Indian cities, including New Delhi, the capital, have experienced record temperatures above 115 degrees ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 1, 2024
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67
You can think of our atmosphere as a big chemistry set, a global churn of gaseous molecules and particles that constantly bounce off and change each other in complicated ways. While the particles are very small, often less ...
Environment
Jul 12, 2024
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208
A forest fire at a major national park in western Canada reached an evacuated town on Wednesday evening, with the army preparing to send in reinforcements.
Environment
Jul 25, 2024
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44
Bees and other beneficial bugs are disproportionately harmed by air pollution when compared to crop-destroying pests, a new study published in Nature Communications has found.
Plants & Animals
Jul 11, 2024
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125
One of the privileges the wealthiest Americans enjoy is living wherever they want. But new research published in Risk Analysis suggests they should be cautious when choosing their Shangri-La.
Social Sciences
Jul 10, 2024
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Industrialized farming is often thought to reduce the risk of zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from animals to humans) because of better control, biosecurity and separation of livestock.
Agriculture
Jul 16, 2024
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46
Switching from a gas stove to an electric induction stove can reduce indoor nitrogen dioxide air pollution, a known health hazard, by more than 50 percent according to new research led by scientists at Columbia University ...
Environment
Jul 22, 2024
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30
Mountain hikes are invigorating. Crisp air and clear views can refresh the soul, but thin air presents an additional challenge for high-altitude birds. "All else being equal, bird wings produce less lift in low density air," ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 1, 2024
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15
A research team from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen has investigated the risk of fire on spacecraft in a recent study. The results show that fires on planned exploration ...
Space Exploration
Jul 16, 2024
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1
The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. It has a mass of about five quadrillion metric tons. Dry air contains roughly (by volume) 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1%. The atmosphere protects life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night.
There is no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. It slowly becomes thinner and fades into space. An altitude of 120 km (75 mi) marks the boundary where atmospheric effects become noticeable during atmospheric reentry. The Kármán line, at 100 km (62 mi), is also frequently regarded as the boundary between atmosphere and outer space. Three quarters of the atmosphere's mass is within 11 km (6.8 mi; 36,000 ft) of the surface.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
