Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere hit new record highs in 2022, with no end in sight to the rising trend, according to this new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). This Bulletin represents the latest analysis of observations from the WMO GAW Programme. It shows globally averaged surface …
AN ESTIMATED 35 million tonnes of methane goes up into the atmosphere each year, thanks to leaks in Russian gas pipelines and wellheads, says an unpublished report from Russian researchers. This comes to around a tenth of all anthropogenic emissions of the gas, second only to carbon dioxide as a …
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) has detected Water inthe planetary nebula NGC7027. The ISO is ideally suited for observations, since it is outside the earth's atmosphere, which acts a major absorber of infrared radiations. Thus a major advance has been made in solving the "missing oxygen problem". The amount of …
ALL the diatribe and deliberations about protecting the ozone layer have not been just a lot of talk. Recently scientists reported that the concentration of ozone-depleting chemicals in the lower atmosphere began decreasing for the first time last year since their introduction in the early '60s. The discovery has revived …
WHILE the debate on global warming -continues, the detection of an astounding 45 per cent depletion of the mone layer, over an area stretching froth Greenland to western Siberia, gives atmospheric scientists MoTe woorries. The discovery was repwted by the World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agetcy, in Geilmeva, Switzerland, …
IT IS the phosphorus element that holds the key to the oxygen feedback mechanism, according to Philippe Van Cappellen of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and Eltery Ingall of the University of Texas at Austin, us. Atmospheric oxygen is mostly produced by the photosynthetic algae floating on the …
Opinions on Jupiter's evolution have undergone a revision, following the data sent by the Galileo probe. Previous measurements had suggested that Jupiter contained about 10 times more oxygen than the sun. The old theory says that young Jupiter, bombarded by comets containing carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, became much richer in …
THE race to save the depleting ozone layer may yet be won. Scientists belonging to the Yale University in New Haven, us, announced recently that they have discovered a new method by which chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which eat into the ozone layer can be broken down into harmless derivatives. A particular …
With anti nuclear sentiments riding High today, porticularly in developing Countries it is appropriate that the hd Peace Prize went to an active besnifter inespon campaigner - ob 1, 11 and his Pugwash Siftfillon. 'I really feel that it is Id tor dw scientific community," liftid" In response to the …
THE NOBLE for chemistry for the Year 1995 to three atmospher- Scientist on October 11, is a vindication for environmentalists who have Wl6m boarse for decades over phown caused by humanmade LUC WMDcrs of the us $1 million we Dutch scientist Paul k1ft Un Planck Institute for Oft bdamz Germany, …
RECENT research findings have come as a breath of fresh air. A study based on data from 27 monitoring stations all over the world reveals that the carbon monoxide levels in the atmosphere have taken a nosedive and the atmosphere is getting cleaner for the first time in 3 decades …
SWELLING concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are threatening the diversity of tree life on Earth, say 2 US ecologists (Science, Vol 263, No 5149). O L Phillips of the Missouri Botanical Garden, USA, and the late A H Gentry (1945-1993) analysed independent surveys of tropical forests worldwide and …
Terre! Terre! (Earth! Earth!), an exhibition held in New Delhi in October, seemed to draw more children than adults. As is evident from its name, the exhibition aimed at a better understanding of the Earth's environment and its social, biological and physical dimensions. Experiments, visuals and complementary video films served …
Even as the Uttar Pradesh government faces a barrage of criticism for its otherwise lacklustre performance, it has undertaken an impressive afforestation programme that state forest secretary Mohinder Singh says is aimed at reducing environmental pollution in urban settlements. During 1993-94, 400 million saplings will be planted in select towns …
EMISSIONS of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides play a key role in the formation of acid rain and consequently, the acidification of soils. Production of nitrogen oxides leads to ozone build-up in the troposphere -- the layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth -- and, in turn, affects the …
Human-induced changes in the composition of the atmosphere has lent urgency to the task of understanding their effect on the earth's climate, which is crucial to life on the planet. Atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas found in abundance on earth, has increased by more than 25 per …
PALAEOCLIMATIC data -- geological evidence of climatic change contained in fossils, rocks, sediments and ice -- play a crucial role in studies of atmospheric changes and their effect on climate because it is the only empirical evidence of what happened in the past. Such data serve as a yardstick to …
COMPARISONS between planets in the Solar System, which have distinct atmospheres, especially Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, cast light on the massive interactions that determine the evolution of climates. Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, has an extremely tenuous atmosphere, consisting mainly of hydrogen, helium and nitrogen, which are …
TRADITIONALLY associated with young lovers and new life, spring may soon become a time of worry because new data shows winter depletion of the protective ozone layer over Antarctica begins much earlier than was believed. The data also shows ozone levels over the Northern Hemisphere are falling rapidly. Both findings …
IN SPITE of receiving 150 bids, the response to the first-ever auction of pollution rights, organised recently by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is termed poor. The 150 bids are a benchmark in the US agency's market-based strategy to reduce acid rain. Most of the allowances offered by private …
A VOLCANIC explosion does not affect only those living in the vicinity -- it's impact can be global and it may be felt for years afterwards. A volcanic eruption can cause unexpected changes in the earth's climate and environment and the onset of the Ice Age, global cooling, depletion of …
