ScienceDaily

A radar signature may help distinguish which severe storms are likely to produce dangerous tornadoes, potentially leading to more accurate warnings, according to scientists.

The South Pole has been warming at more than three times the global average over the past 30 years, according to recent research.

Dust storms from Africa's Saharan Desert traveling across the Atlantic Ocean are nothing new, but the current dust storm has been quite expansive and NASA satellites have provided a look at the massive June plume. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite showed the blanket of dust had moved over the Gulf of Mexico and extended into Central America and over part of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Traffic density is the most important factor for much the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2). However, weather also has an influence, according to a new study, which evaluated the influence of weather conditions on nitrogen dioxide concentrations in Saxony 2015 to 2018. It was shown that wind speed and the height of the lowest air layer are the most important factors that determine how much pollutants can accumulate locally.

Researchers studied the impact of a historic drought in California on economic and environmental impacts for electric power systems.

A new analysis uncovers the basis of the severe rainfall declines predicted by many models.

Scientists have discovered that the summer sea ice in the Weddell Sea sector of Antarctica has decreased by one million square kilometers -- an area twice the size of Spain -- in the last five years, with implications for the marine ecosystem.

With more accurate modeling data, response teams can better predict the search area grid from the air, and reduce emergency response time when lives are on the line.

Extreme space weather events can significantly impact systems such as satellites, communications systems, power distribution and aviation. They are driven by solar activity which is known to have an irregular but roughly 11 year cycle. By devising a new, regular 'sun clock', researchers have found that the switch on and off of periods of high solar activity is quite sharp, and are able to determine the switch on/off times.

Researchers have found that while higher heat and humidity can slow the spread of COVID-19, longer hours of sunlight are associated with a higher incidence of the disease, in a sign that sunny days can tempt more people out even if this means a higher risk of infection.

For 25 years, Carol Augspurger visited a patch of ancient woods near Urbana, Illinois to look at the same 25 one-square-meter plots of earth she first demarcated for study in 1993. Her 600,000+ observations revealed that herbaceous plants are shifting their schedules in response to climate change, with distinct patterns for early- and late-spring-emerging plants.

Researchers have examined the drying time of respiratory droplets from COVID-19-infected subjects on various surfaces in six cities around the world.

A study led by ecohydrologists at IUPUI is the first to show it's possible to use satellite data to understand how fog reduction from climate change is harming vegetation in ecologically rare regions.

Solar power systems with double-sided (bifacial) solar panels -- which collect sunlight from two sides instead of one -- and single-axis tracking technology that tilts the panels so they can follow the sun are the most cost effective to date, researchers report. They determined that this combination of technologies produces almost 35% more energy, on average, than immobile single-panel photovoltaic systems, while reducing the cost of electricity by an average of 16%.

Scientists have reproduced a process that occurs in space to deepen understanding of what happens when the Earth encounters the solar wind.

Study finds reflecting sunlight to cool the planet will weaken extratropical storm tracks, causing other global changes.

New research suggests dry air combined with warmer temperatures may prompt bigger than expected changes in how water moves through plants. The adjustment may allow plants to survive with less water in future droughts, while downshifting how much carbon they absorb.

June 1 is the start of hurricane season in the Atlantic, and with 2020 predicted to be particularly active, residents in coastal regions are keeping watchful eyes on the weather. Flooding is often the most damaging effect of tropical storms, and it can disproportionately affect vulnerable people and ecosystems. Researchers have studied water quality impacts of two recent hurricanes in North Carolina and suggest interventions to protect susceptible areas.

On May 29, 2020, a family of sunspots -- dark spots that freckle the face of the Sun, representing areas of complex magnetic fields -- sported the biggest solar flare since October 2017. Although the sunspots are not yet visible (they will soon rotate into view over the left limb of the Sun), NASA spacecraft spotted the flares high above them.

Climate change could cause abrupt shifts in the amount of vegetation growing in parts of Great Britain, new research shows.