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IMAGE: Intensified convection is just one way urban land and anthropogenically produced aerosols may shape hazardous weather. Longer-lasting rainfall and larger hail are other potential byproducts of the interactions between cityscapes. view more
Credit: (Photo by 12019 | Pixabay.com)
RICHLAND, Wash. Urban landscapes and human-made aerosols particles suspended in the atmosphere have the potential to not only make gusts stronger and hail larger; they can also start storms sooner and even pull them toward cities, according to new research exploring the impact of urban development on hazardous weather, led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Error Correction Means California’s Future Wetter Winters May Never Come Details
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Correcting for the double-ITCZ bias, a persistent error in many climate models, reveals that future U.S. Southwest winters will be drier than expected
California and other areas of the U.S. Southwest may see less future winter precipitation than previously projected by climate models. After probing a persistent error in widely used models, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimate that California will likely experience drier winters in the future than projected by some climate models, meaning residents may see less spring runoff, higher spring temperatures, and an increased risk of wildfire in coming years.
What our clouds might tell us about Venus
Aerobiology, microorganisms and prospects of life.
Credit: Mendowong Photography / Getty Images
Researchers in the emerging field of aerobiology are using microorganisms swept up in the Earth’s atmosphere to probe the prospects for life in the clouds of Venus and on planets circling other stars.
These organisms aren’t just in breezes blowing dust across the ground. Viable organisms have been found all the way into the stratosphere and may extend to the edge of space.
“We don’t know where Earth’s biosphere stops above our heads,” says David Smith, an aerobiologist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, who was one of several scientists to address the topic yesterday at the virtual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. “It looks like everywhere we sample in the atmosphere we find biomarkers of life.”
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RICHLAND, Wash. California and other areas of the U.S. Southwest may see less future winter precipitation than previously projected by climate models. After probing a persistent error in widely used models, researchers at the Department of Energy s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimate that California will likely experience drier winters in the future than projected by some climate models, meaning residents may see less spring runoff, higher spring temperatures, and an increased risk of wildfire in coming years.
Earth scientist Lu Dong, who led the study alongside atmospheric scientist Ruby Leung, presented her findings at the American Geophysical Union s fall meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and will answer questions virtually on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
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