Category Archives: Aerosols

How climate modelling can help us better understand the historical temperature evolution

Posted on 24 June, 2019 by danaallen

By: Andrea Dittus Figure 1: Annual global mean surface temperatures from NASA GISTemp, NOAA GlobalTemp, Hadley/UEA HadCRUT4, Berkeley Earth, Cowtan and Way, Copernicus/ECMWF and Carbon Brief’s raw temperature record. Anomalies plotted with respect to a 1981-2010 baseline. Figure and caption from Carbon Brief (https://www.carbonbrief.org/state-of-the-climate-how-world-warmed-2018). Earth’s climate has warmed … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Climate, Climate change, Climate modelling | Leave a comment

Why was the sky Orange?

Posted on 10 September, 2018 by hjia

By William Davies I was sitting in my house one morning in October 2017, engrossed in what I was doing. Gradually I noticed that an eerie darkness was smothering the natural light in the room. I stopped and looked outside. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Atmospheric chemistry, Atmospheric optics, Climate, Climate modelling, earth observation, Environmental hazards, Numerical modelling, Remote sensing, University of Reading | Leave a comment

Characteristics of cumulus population and microphysical properties observed over Southeast Atlantic

Posted on 28 August, 2018 by hjia

By Yann Blanchard Figure 1. Cumulus in the vicinity of Ascension Island, in a 100 x 100km image (which is close to global climate model spatial resolution) from MODIS onboard AQUA (22 July 2016) Shallow cumulus cover large areas in … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Atlantic, Atmospheric chemistry, Climate modelling, earth observation, Numerical modelling, Oceans, Remote sensing, Solar radiation, University of Reading | Leave a comment

What’s the secret of coarse dust?

Posted on 18 June, 2018 by hjia

By Claire Ryder Mineral dust aerosol particles are regularly lifted into the atmosphere in arid regions, such as deserts, and transported over thousands of kilometres by the wind, such as from the Sahara desert to the Caribbean Sea, as shown … Continue reading →

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Hidden in the clouds

Posted on 30 April, 2018 by Stephen Burt

By Nicolas Bellouin Our atmosphere contains varying amounts of tiny liquid or solid particles called aerosols. Some aerosols have a natural origin, like the mineral dust particles that form sandstorms, or the sea spray emitted by breaking waves. Other aerosols … Continue reading →

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Skirting the Issue

Posted on 16 April, 2018 by Stephen Burt

By Geoff Wadge During a major explosive volcanic eruption a set of three main processes transfers mass and heat from the solid earth to the atmosphere. These three processes are: a gas thrust (jet) extending up from the volcanic vent, … Continue reading →

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Simulating the effect of electrical charge on cloud drops using Direct Numerical Simulation

Posted on 30 October, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Torsten Auerswald In the atmosphere, clouds develop when water vapour condenses leading to the formation of cloud drops. This process is usually supported by the presence of condensation nuclei which allow drop formation at low supersaturations. Aerosol particles in the … Continue reading →

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The Role of Synoptic Meteorology on UK Air Pollution

Posted on 14 August, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Chris Webber In the past year the issue of air pollution within the UK has been elevated, driven by the loss of life that it causes (in 2013 > 500,000 years of UK lives lost due to air pollution … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Atmospheric chemistry, Boundary layer, Environmental hazards, Urban meteorology | Tagged | Leave a comment

Why has there been a rapid increase in heat-related extremes in Western Europe since the mid-1990s?

Posted on 22 May, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Buwen Dong In the last few decades, Europe has warmed not only faster than the global average, but also faster than expected from anthropogenic greenhouse gas increases (van Oldenborgh et al., 2009). With the warming, Europe experienced record-breaking heat … Continue reading →

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Measuring radiation with aircraft

Posted on 23 January, 2017 by Stephen Burt

By Peter Hill In my career as an atmospheric scientist I’ve relied on observational data from a wide range of sources including satellite imagery, surface measurements, ground-based and satellite based radar, and aircraft measurements. Last July I had my first … Continue reading →

Posted in Aerosols, Africa, Atmospheric chemistry, Climate, Climate change, Climate modelling | Tagged | Leave a comment