In a bid to ditch fossil fuels, some countries are considering carpeting deserts with solar panels.
Articles on Atmosphere
Displaying 81 - 100 of 120 articles
It’s all to do with the light from the Sun and a blanket of air wrapped around Earth called the ‘atmosphere’.
The Atlantic Ocean is still growing physically, but humans are over-harvesting its rich fisheries. The most famous one – North Atlantic cod – has become a textbook example of harmful overfishing.
Unlike our hellish neighbour Venus, Earth was far enough from the Sun for liquid water to form and create a more hospitable environment for life.
It’s not only nuclear bomb tests that disrupt the atmosphere, there are a number of natural events that can do the same. But how long does any damage last?
The Earth’s magnetic field was most likely weaker when life evolved on our planet than it is today.
You might think the more oxygen you breathe in the better. But too much oxygen can make you sick.
Hurricane stalling has become common over the past half-century, and their average forward speed has also slowed.
Last week, much of the Midwest and eastern US experienced hazy skies and red sunsets. The cause was smoke transported from the Western US by the jet stream and spread as far as Boston and even Europe.
Clouds can act as both blanket and parasol – warming our atmosphere at the same time as cooling it. But which effect will dominate?
The man who explained the greenhouse effect was accidentally killed by his wife.
Carbon emissions are chilling the atmosphere 90km above Antarctica, at the edge of space
You might have already felt what it would be like inside a cloud made of condensed water vapor.
Atmospheres can be all different colours, depending on what’s in them.
Not so long ago, people had no idea what would happen to them – and what they would see – once they ascended into the clouds.
More than 600 experts will spend the next year drifting in Arctic waters to gain a better understanding of how climate change is affecting the region and how it can be fought.
Carbon dioxide makes up less than one-twentieth of 1% of Earth’s atmosphere. How does this relatively scarce gas control Earth’s thermostat?
If the Amazon rainforest functions as our planet’s lungs, what do raging wildfires threaten? An atmospheric scientist explains why the fires, though devastating, won’t suffocate life on Earth.
It helps if you imagine the ground here on Earth as a big heater. It keeps us warm, and if you move away from the heater you feel cold.
An expert explains all the wonderful ways the atmosphere protects life on Earth.
Top contributors
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Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
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PhD Candidate, University of Southern Queensland
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Professor of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University
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ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Ocean Sciences, University of Liverpool
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Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Canterbury
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PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature, Western University
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Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Hawaii
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Professor (Physics), University of Southern Queensland
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Timothy J. Jorgensen is a Friend of The Conversation.
Director of the Health Physics and Radiation Protection Graduate Program and Professor of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown University
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Associate Professor of Geography, University of South Carolina
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Professor, Environmental Geochemistry, University of Waterloo
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Geologist, Monash University
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Professor of Atmospheric Science, University of Leeds
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Professor of Space and Atmospheric Physics, University of Reading