AS
Atmospheric Sciences

Atmospheric Science

What? Ice lollies falling from the sky?

What? Ice lollies falling from the sky?

You have more than probably eaten many lollipops as a kid (and you might still enjoy them. The good thing is that you do not necessarily need to go to the candy shop to get them but you can simply wait for them to fall from the sky and eat them for free. Disclaimer: this …[Read More]

Black Carbon: the dark side of warming in the Arctic

Black Carbon: the dark side of warming in the Arctic

When it comes to global warming, greenhouse gases – and more specifically CO2 – are the most often pointed out. Fewer people know however that tiny atmospheric particles called ‘black carbon’ also contribute to the current warming. This post presents a paper my colleague and I recently published in Nature Communications . Our study sheds …[Read More]

Science Communication – Brexit, Climate Change and the Bluedot Festival

Science Communication – Brexit, Climate Change and the Bluedot Festival

Earlier this summer journalists, broadcasters, writers and scientists gathered in Manchester, UK for the Third European Conference of Science Journalists (ECSJ) arranged by two prestigious organisations. Firstly, the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW) who provides support to those who write about science and technology in the UK through debates, events and awards. Secondly the …[Read More]

How does weather affect volcanoes?

How does weather affect volcanoes?

I was taking a plane trip home recently. To kill the time I got talking with the person sitting next to me and naturally one of their first questions was to ask me what I did for a living. To avoid a complicated discussion about the nuances of my research I summarised – ‘I am …[Read More]

Atmospheric Modelling with Meso-NH

Atmospheric Modelling with Meso-NH

Twice a year in Toulouse Meteo-France runs a tutorial on Meso-NH – the non-hydrostatic mesoscale atmospheric model of the French research community. Last week I was fortunate enough to attend their autumn 2015 tutorial. But, what is this model and was the tutorial useful? Atmospheric models solve the governing equations for atmospheric motions. This allows us, …[Read More]

What is the biggest air pollution event in the modern era?

What is the biggest air pollution event in the modern era?

It’s hard to think of the scale of the biggest air pollution event in the modern era. Immediately my mind conjures up memories of black and white photographs of the Great London Smog of 1952. Then I start thinking bigger, how about the 1.2 billion vehicles world-wide on the road churning out nitrogen dioxide every …[Read More]