Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) report that when three atmospheric patterns came together over the Indian and Pacific oceans, they drove so much precipitation over Australia in 2010 and 2011 that the world’s ocean levels dropped measurably. The new research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, notes that the continent of Australia […]
Astronomers making visible-light observations with the Hubble Space Telescope have deduced the actual color of a planet orbiting another star 63 light-years away. This turbulent alien world is one of the nearest exoplanets to Earth that can be seen crossing the face of its star. Known as HD 189733b, the planet is a deep cobalt […]
Using a DC-8 aircraft to scoop-up air samples from the troposphere, scientists have identified significant numbers of living microorganisms – mostly bacteria – six miles above the Earth’s surface. The work, detailed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is of interest to atmospheric scientists as the microorganisms could play a role in forming […]
Using high speed video, researchers from Georgia Tech have observed how mosquitoes can fly through rain even though a single raindrop can weigh 50 times more than the insect. According to lead researcher David Hu, the technique of yielding to an incoming attack, rather than attempting to meet it with opposing force, enables the bugs […]
Bioprecipitation researchers say that most precipitation events could depend on a type of bacterium whose outer membrane binds water molecules in an ordered arrangement, thus providing a very efficient nucleating template which greatly enhances ice crystal formation. The new evidence for airborne microorganisms influencing weather events was presented yesterday at the 111th General Meeting of […]
Scientists from Montana State University and Louisiana State University have found evidence that globally distributed airborne bacteria play a pivotal role in the rain cycle. The research, published inScience, will have far reaching implications in fields such as ecology, microbiology, plant pathology and climatology. The researchers examined precipitation from locations around the world, including California, […]
