Category Archives: Air

All topics situated between the Earths surface and space

El Niño: a historical exploration and 2014 outlook

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Sophie

‘El Niño’ – a Spanish phrase describing a global climate phenomenon. How did this phrase, which translates to ‘the child’ or ‘the boy’, come to define the ever changing tropical Pacific temperatures, winds and rainfall? I’ll present a short history … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Circulation, Climate, Ocean, Tropics | Tagged atmosphere, convection, El Nino, Ocean, sea surface temperatures, Weather | Leave a comment

What can paleoclimate archives tell us about the timing of events during rapid climate shifts?

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Francesco Muschitiello

Our ability to predict future climate changes relies heavily on the goodness of physical climate models to capture short-term, regional to local expressions of atmospheric circulation dynamics. This diagnostic ability is aided by knowledge on paleoclimate scenarios. Indeed, we can … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Circulation, Climate, Ocean, Past | Leave a comment

Sulphate Aerosol Geo-engineering: A simple solution?

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Mike Newland

“Climate change is the greatest challenge currently faced by mankind”. This quote or one like it has been uttered by many of the leading academics, politicians and celebrities in recent years. So what is climate change? It tends to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Climate, Solar | Tagged Geo-engineering, Global warming, Solar Management, Sulphate aerosol | 1 Comment

Captain Climate – Talking to WALLY BROECKER Part II: CO2 and Global Warming

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Hella Wittmeier

Wally Broecker is a climate researcher who has had so much impact in his field that he is considered one of the most important figures in ongoing climate research. If we picture climate research as a ship navigating in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Climate, Future, Ice, Past, Present, Sea | Tagged CO2 | Leave a comment

Cough for Coal at COP19

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Gabriele Messori

by Isobel Braithwaite and Gabriele Messori Carrying a pair of giant pink lungs in front of the Polish Ministry of Economy wasn’t really where either of us had imagined we’d end up on a cold November morning. Why were we … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Climate, Communication, Conference, Future | Tagged Climate change, COP19, Health, UNFCCC, Warsaw | 1 Comment

Excitement at the front: one island, two sea breezes

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Sophie

The dark days of winter may have you longing for warmer and sunnier times. For the sake of science, let us get away from this misery. Imagine a nice summer day and place yourself on a beach in Florida. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Sea, Wind | Tagged convection, gfd, sea breeze, Weather | 1 Comment

Saharan dust: the Amazon’s fertiliser

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Siân Williams

Most PhD students try to perfect a way of describing their research in a few sentences. These ‘elevator pitches’ (cringe) come in useful when meeting new people at seminars, conferences or the pub. My own little snippet is this: dust … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Climate, Regional, Rock | Tagged Amazon, Amazon Basin, Amazon rainforest, Atlantic, Cayenne, Dust, Nutrient, Sahara, South America | Leave a comment

Climate pollution in the near term

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Matt Kasoar

A lot of emphasis when it comes to climate change is placed on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, to prevent future global mean warming. CO2 stays in the atmosphere for a very long time though, and any emission reductions will take … Continue reading →