Cleaner ship fuel changed clouds, but not their climate balance
Researchers found clouds in North Atlantic region formed with fewer, larger droplets, yet remained unchanged in reflectivity; overall water content increased to maintain balance.
Cloud Physics
Articles tagged with Cloud Physics
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Sky-high smoke
A study published in Science Advances found that unusually large particles of wildfire smoke had a significant cooling effect on the region they were observed in, increasing outgoing radiation by 30-36% compared to smaller smoke particles. This effect has not been included in current climate models.
UAlbany atmospheric scientist proposes innovative method to reduce aviation’s climate impact
Researchers suggest a novel approach to mitigate contrails' climate effect by shortening their lifespan. The method involves introducing tiny ice-nucleating particles into aircraft engine exhaust, creating fewer but larger ice crystals that fade quickly and trap less heat.
Trapping particles to explain lightning
Researchers at ISTA use laser tweezers to capture and charge micron-sized particles, allowing them to observe charging and discharging dynamics over time. This method may provide key insights into what sparks lightning.
Understanding clouds to improve the accuracy of climate predictions
An interdisciplinary team will investigate stratocumulus clouds using the CloudKite observatory and research drones to develop models for turbulent processes. This project aims to improve weather and climate predictions by reducing uncertainty.
The chilling effect of air pollution
A new study shows that reducing air pollution has decreased the brightness of marine clouds, leading to accelerated warming. Scientists attribute 70% of this change to aerosols, and researchers are exploring ways to make clouds shinier without polluting the air.
The crystal that makes clouds rain
Researchers at TU Wien uncover how silver iodide crystals interact with water at the atomic scale to form ice crystals. The study reveals that only one surface structure of the crystal promotes ice nucleation, shedding light on the complex mechanisms behind cloud seeding.
Astronomy breakthrough: The mystery of dark matter can be unraveled using radio telescopes
Researchers from Tel Aviv University predict that detecting radio waves from the cosmic dark ages can help resolve the nature of dark matter. The study uses computer simulations to show that dense clumps of dark matter formed throughout the Universe, pulling in hydrogen gas and causing it to emit intense radio waves.
Scientists track lightning “pollution” in real time using NASA satellite
Researchers from the University of Maryland tracked lightning storms in real-time using NASA's TEMPO instrument, detecting nitrogen oxide emissions that affect climate and air quality. The study reveals how lightning can produce pollutants that travel long distances, influencing air quality far from the original storm.
Do you want to freeze a cloud? Desert dust might help
Researchers at ETH Zurich found that mineral dust particles can trigger freezing of cloud droplets, particularly important in northern regions where clouds form below freezing temperatures. This process affects sunlight reflection and precipitation generation, with major implications for climate models.
Weather-tracking advances are revealing astonishing extremes of lightning
Researchers used space-based instruments to measure a record-setting megaflash spanning 515 miles from Texas to Kansas City. Megaflashes are rare, occurring less than 1% of the time, and can be deadly, striking people up to 15 miles from their storm origin.
Clouding the forecast: Study reveals why so many climate models are wrong about the rate of Arctic warming
Researchers from Kyushu University found that climate models significantly overestimate the fraction of ice in wintertime Arctic clouds, leading to skewed warming predictions. This error has significant implications for current and future global warming projections.
AMS 2025 meeting promotes atmospheric science for a “thriving planet”
The 105th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society will address key issues in weather, water, and climate. The meeting features a Presidential Forum on physical, social, cultural, and economic impacts of climate change, with experts from the region of the Mississippi River Delta.
How can electrons can split into fractions of themselves?
Physicists at MIT have made a breakthrough discovery that sheds light on the conditions that lead to exotic electronic states in graphene and other two-dimensional systems. Through calculations, they show that pentalayer graphene can exhibit fractional charge without a magnetic field.
Shrouded in axions
Researchers from the Universiteit van Amsterdam and other institutions show that axion clouds around neutron stars could provide a new way to observe these elusive particles. The formation and properties of these clouds are studied, offering new opportunities for axion research and potentially solving the dark matter puzzle.
Most tropical lightning storms are radioactive
Researchers used a retrofitted U2 spy plane to detect gamma radiation in large tropical thunderstorms. Over 9 of 10 flights yielded observations, suggesting more than half of all thunderstorms in the tropics are radioactive.
Atoms on the edge
Researchers at MIT have directly observed edge states in a cloud of ultracold atoms, capturing images of atoms flowing along a boundary without resistance. This discovery could enable super-efficient energy transmission and data transfer in materials.
What is "time" for quantum particles?
Physicists from TU Darmstadt propose a new approach to define and measure the time required for quantum tunneling. They suggest using Ramsey clocks, which utilize the oscillation of atoms to determine the elapsed time. The proposed method may correct previous experiments that observed particles moving faster than light during tunneling.
UTA scientists test for quantum nature of gravity
Researchers at UTA used ultra-high energy neutrino particles to search for signatures of quantum gravity, but found no evidence of expected quantum gravitational effects. This non-observation represents a powerful statement about the still-unknown physics operating at the interface of quantum physics and general relativity.
Researchers envision sci-fi worlds involving changes to atmospheric water cycle
A study from Colorado State University explores how human activity is altering the atmospheric water cycle, leading to changes in precipitation distribution and cloud formation. The research uses science fiction narratives to imagine possible futures and spark conversations around water management policies.
MIT physicists capture the first sounds of heat “sloshing” in a superfluid
Researchers visualize second sound, a wave-like movement of heat, independent of physical particle motion in a superfluid. The findings expand understanding of heat flow in superconductors and neutron stars.
UTSA researchers reveal faint features in galaxy NGC 5728 though JWST image techniques
Researchers at UTSA's Department of Physics and Astronomy have used deconvolution algorithms to enhance images of galaxy NGC 5728 obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope. The study reveals a faint extended feature that could be part of an outflow from a supermassive black hole interacting with the host galaxy.
The rock that creates clouds
Researchers at TU Wien discovered that feldspar's unique surface geometry provides the perfect anchoring point for water molecules, enabling efficient cloud formation. The hydroxyl layer formed on the feldspar surface allows water molecules to stick and freeze, forming clouds.
Giant sea salt aerosols play major role in Hawai‘i’s coastal clouds, rain
Researchers found that the coastline produces up to five times more giant sea salt aerosols than the open ocean, affecting cloud formation and rainfall around the Hawaiian Islands. The study's findings can improve numerical weather prediction of nearshore cloud formation and rainfall patterns.
Aerosols: When scents influence our climate
Research by Dominik Stolzenburg reveals that aerosols from volatile organic substances can cluster together to form condensation nuclei for water vapor. This process affects cloud density and global warming, potentially offsetting the effect of CO2 increases on climate change.
MIT physicists generate the first snapshots of fermion pairs
Researchers at MIT have taken the first direct images of fermion pairs in a cloud of atoms, shedding light on how electrons form superconducting pairs that glide through materials without friction. The observations provide a visual blueprint for how electrons may pair up in superconducting materials.
Study revealed rainforest releases oxidized organic molecules that form aerosol particles in tropical free troposphere
A study by the University of Helsinki found that oxidized organic molecules from Amazon rainforests contribute to the formation of aerosol particles in the tropical free troposphere. These molecules, primarily composed of isoprene, can nucleate or condense on nanoparticles, impacting cloud formation and global climate.
Antarctica’s ocean brightens clouds
A study published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics found that phytoplankton productivity in the Southern Ocean contributes to dense clouds that reflect sunlight. The high density of water droplets in these clouds helps regulate global temperatures and precipitation patterns.
Physicist strikes gold, solving 50-year lightning mystery
A University of South Australia physicist has solved the long-standing mystery of lightning's zig-zag pattern and dark electric column. The breakthrough explains how singlet-delta metastable oxygen molecules create these steps.
Opening the eye of the storm
A team of researchers has developed a novel technique using high-energy muon particles to track and visualize tropical cyclones. This technique, called muography, creates X-ray-like images of large objects, including atmospheric weather systems. The resulting images reveal density variations essential to understanding how cyclones work.
Global warming doubled the risk for Copenhagen’s historic 2011 cloudburst
Researchers used counterfactual history to analyze the 2011 cloudburst, demonstrating a clear correlation between heat in the atmosphere leading up to the event and its intensity. The study shows that a century of human-caused temperature increases doubled the risk of similar or stronger cloudbursts in the future.
Artificial hail for more accurate weather forecasts
Researchers at Mainz University created artificial hailstones using a 3D printer to study their behavior in a vertical wind tunnel. The experiments revealed that the form of hailstones determines their velocity before impact, which can affect the severity of precipitation events.
OU meteorologist’s cloud research recognized by National Science Foundation
A $763,930 NSF CAREER Award is supporting OU meteorologist Scott Salesky's project to improve cloud representation in weather and climate models. The research aims to better understand interactions between turbulence and clouds, with potential applications for predicting precipitation and understanding Earth's climate.
Ultraprecise atomic clock poised for new physics discoveries
Researchers develop multiplexed optical lattice atomic clock, achieving unprecedented precision and enabling new physics discoveries, including testing gravitational waves and detecting dark matter. The clock's performance surpasses expectations, allowing for longer experiments and potential applications in real-world settings.
UNH study reveals striking discovery, how lightning actually starts
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have made a groundbreaking discovery about the origin of lightning using radio telescopes. They found that the sources of lightning are indeed the streamers, or tiny spark-like discharges, supporting one of two competing theories on how lightning begins.
Earliest known report of ball lightning phenomenon in England discovered
Researchers at Durham University have identified a medieval text written by Benedictine monk Gervase of Christ Church Cathedral Priory as the earliest known account of ball lightning in England. The description, composed around 1200, matches historical and modern reports of the phenomenon.
University of Helsinki research shows particles formed in boreal forests affect clouds in the troposphere
A new study by University of Helsinki researchers shows that boreal forests can mitigate climate change through aerosol formation and growth, influencing cloud properties and regional climate. The study found that aerosol particles produced by the forests alter cloud reflectivity, potentially cooling the climate.
COVID-19 cough clouds in closed spaces
Researchers estimate COVID-19 cough cloud volume and droplet distribution in closed spaces with and without face masks. The study found that the cloud volume without a mask is 7 times larger than with a surgical mask and 23 times larger than with an N95 mask.
Earth's dust cloud satellites confirmed
Researchers have confirmed the existence of two elusive clouds of dust in semi-stable orbits around the Earth, known as Kordylewski clouds. The observations were made using a linearly polarising filter system attached to a camera lens at Judit Slíz-Balogh's private observatory in Hungary.
Physicists build bigger 'bottles' of antimatter to unlock nature's secrets
Researchers have developed methods to store billions of positrons for hours or more and cool them to low temperatures to study their properties. The largest trap for low-energy positrons is being built, capable of storing trillions of antimatter particles.
Fermilab Physicists Find New Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry
Physicists at Fermilab's KTeV experiment report a large and unexpected direct CP violation, ruling out the Superweak Theory. The finding exceeds previous expectations, raising questions about its accommodation within the Standard Model.
Research Sheds Light On Electron's Structure
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered that the electron's electromagnetic force may not be constant but rather increases towards the central core. The discovery reveals a cloud of virtual particles surrounding the core, which affects how we perceive the electromagnetic force from the electron.