The stratosphere ozone layer is slowly recovering and the recovery will be complete in most parts of the atmosphere in the coming decades, according to the latest bulletin by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The bulletin with the updated status of the ozone layer by WMO-Global Atmosphere Watch bulletin returned …
aerosols are mitigating the effects of global warming over the South Asian region, including India. This was the finding of a new study conducted by researchers from the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (iitm) and San Diego-based Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The study proves that though India's summer temperatures …
Human activities are releasing tiny particles (aerosols) into the atmosphere. These human-made aerosols enhance scattering and absorption of solar radiation. They also produce brighter clouds that are less efficient at releasing precipitation. These in turn lead to large reductions in the amount of solar irradiance reaching Earth's surface, a corresponding …
Every year, from December to April, anthropogenic haze spreads over most of the North Indian Ocean, and South and Southeast Asia. The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) documented this Indo-Asian haze at scales ranging from individual particles to its contribution to the regional climate forcing. This study integrates the multiplatform observations …
Addition of antioxidants such as vitamins E or C to sunscreen lotions can help prevent skin cancer. A university of Illinois, usa -based researcher, Kerry Hanson, found that the stratum corneum
Latitudinal distribution of radiative flux at different layers has been measured for the first time over the Indian Ocean from 15°N to 20°S during intensive field phase of INDOEX 1999. Simultaneously measurements have been made over three Indian ground stations, viz. Delhi, Pune and Trivandrum. The basic feature of radiative …
Measurements and models show that enhanced aerosol concentrations can augment cloud albedo not only by increasing total droplet cross-sectional area, but also by reducing precipitation and thereby increasing cloud water content and cloud coverage. Aerosol pollution is expected to exert a net cooling influence on the global climate through these …
Studies by researchers at the Oregon State University, US, have shown that exposure to UV-B radiation is killing the eggs of some amphibian species. As a result, two species of amphibians
generating electricity from the sun at night? That is what the Solar ii power plant in the us is doing. It soaks up sun's heat during the day and releases it at night or over the course of several cloudy days. If Solar ii functions without any glitches during its …
researchers in the us have shown that a technology called extreme ultraviolet light ( euv ) lithography may illuminate the path to the next generation of semiconductor chips. Chips manufactured with euv technology are likely to be 10 times faster than today's chips and will be able to store 1,000 …
the first comprehensive global analysis of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's ( nasa 's) 15-year satellite data reveals that increasing amounts of solar ultraviolet ( uv ) radiation have been hitting the earth's surface, with the thinning of the atmospheric ozone shield (see Down To Earth , Vol 5, No …
who needs a roof? Cover your house with solar cells instead. The idea may seem weird, but this is exactly what the architects of a us-based engineering and architectural firm have done while designing William and Deborah Lord's home in Kennebunkport, Maine, us. Now, when the morning sun breaks over …
THE discovery of x-ray emission from the newest visitor to the realm of solar system on March 27: the Comet Hyakutake (pronounced yah-koo-tah- kay) by the German x-ray satellite called the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), has puzzled astrophysicists the world over. The comet was emitting x-rays in an unusual crescent pattern …
RESEARCH on climatic shifts and patterns acquires new dimensions every time scientists add a new reason to the list of factors responsible for these changes. The latest of these proposes that the waxing and waning of the sun - in a regular II -year cycle - may be responsible for …
THE sun's bright rays can play havoc with one's flawless skin. Sun bathing for as short a period as two to three minutes can lead to tissue damag~ and prema- ture aging of the human skin. A te~ of researchers at the University of Michigan, us, headed by Gary Fisher, …
This document contains the summary for Policymakers: The Science of Climate Change - IPCC Working Group I. It details the following key features: 1. Greenhouse gas concentrations have continued to increase 2. Anthropogenic aerosols tend to produce negative radiative forcings 3. Climate has changed over the past century 4. The …
THE sun and the moon came together yet again on October 24, 1995, after I long years, in a dazzling display of cele tial reunion. Earthlings watched - awestruck and spellbound. But which the sociocultural significance of th event was well marked, scientists kel their fingers crossed over any new …
DO YOU prefer the natural light that floods the room, but abhor the heat that it invariably brings along, especially on hot summer afternoons? Now, a system devised by a Queensland University of Technology lecturer, will not only help you cut lighting costs, but obviate the need for expensive airconditioning …
WHILE it was still dark on a recent February night, a swath of light streaked across Europe for a few moments, telling the world that brightness at midnight had become a reality. For six minutes beginning 0522 GMT (1052 AM in India) on February 4, sunlight reflected by a space-based, …
MONSOON modeller A D Vernekar and his colleagues at the University of Maryland have worked out how the snow cover in Europe and Asia, especially in the Tibetan plateau, affects the Indian monsoon. Using what he calls a COLA (Centre for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Interactions) global circulation model, Vernekar simulated the global …
TWO RECENT climate studies have found that while changes in solar radiation do contribute to global warming, this effect is small as compared to that of human-made greenhouse gases. The increase in the annual average global temperature at the earth's surface was as much as 0.8o C between 1880 and …
