NASA scientists believe the Earth's "sunscreen" -- a layer of aerosol particles such as dust that counters greenhouse gas warming -- has become thinner.
March 19, 2007 (Press Release) --
NASA scientists believe the Earth's "sunscreen" -- a layer of aerosol particles such as dust that counters greenhouse gas warming -- has become thinner.
A National Aeronautics and Space Administration study found the Earth's "sunscreen" has become thinner since early 1990s. And in a related study, scientists found the opposing forces of global warming and the cooling from aerosol-induced "global dimming" can occur at the same time.
"When more sunlight can get through the atmosphere and warm Earth's surface, you're going to have an effect on climate and temperature," said lead author Michael Mishchenko of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "Knowing what aerosols are doing globally gives us an important missing piece of the big picture of the forces at work on climate."
The study used the longest uninterrupted satellite record of aerosols in the lower atmosphere dating to 1978. The resulting data showed large, short-lived spikes in global aerosols caused by major volcanic eruptions in 1982 and 1991, but a gradual decline since about 1990. By 2005, global aerosols had dropped as much as 20 percent from the relatively stable level between 1986 and 1991.
The study appears in the journal Science.
Source: http://www.playfuls.com/
A National Aeronautics and Space Administration study found the Earth's "sunscreen" has become thinner since early 1990s. And in a related study, scientists found the opposing forces of global warming and the cooling from aerosol-induced "global dimming" can occur at the same time.
"When more sunlight can get through the atmosphere and warm Earth's surface, you're going to have an effect on climate and temperature," said lead author Michael Mishchenko of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "Knowing what aerosols are doing globally gives us an important missing piece of the big picture of the forces at work on climate."
The study used the longest uninterrupted satellite record of aerosols in the lower atmosphere dating to 1978. The resulting data showed large, short-lived spikes in global aerosols caused by major volcanic eruptions in 1982 and 1991, but a gradual decline since about 1990. By 2005, global aerosols had dropped as much as 20 percent from the relatively stable level between 1986 and 1991.
The study appears in the journal Science.
Source: http://www.playfuls.com/
Email
Print
SPAM
LEAVE A COMMENT
