Atmospheric Sciences

Imaggeo on Mondays: Dust devil sighting in the Atacama Desert

Rita Nogherotto May 20, 2019

Dust devil in Atacama desert. Credit: Rita Nogherotto (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Dust devils are like miniature tornadoes, they form when a pocket of hot air near the surface moves fast upward and meets cooler air above it. As the air rapidly rises, the column of hot air is stretched vertically, thereby moving mass closer to the axis of rotation, which causes intensification of the spinning effect by conservation of angular momentum. In the Atacama Desert [in Chile] they are r ...[Read More]

April GeoRoundUp: the best of the Earth sciences from the 2019 General Assembly

Olivia Trani May 3, 2019

Scientists present research findings at a press conference at the EGU General Assembly 2019 (Credit: EGU / Anastasia Kokori)

The EGU General Assembly 2019 took place in Vienna last month, drawing more than 16,000 participants from 113 countries. This month’s GeoRoundUp will focus on some of the unique and interesting stories that came out of research presented at the Assembly! Major Stories Glacial disappearing act in the European Alps New research from a team of scientists estimated the future of all glaciers within th ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Science above the Amazon rainforest

Achim Edtbauer April 15, 2019

Science above the Amazon rainforest. Credit: Achim Edtbauer (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu).

The color and symmetry of the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) sticks out against the endless green of the rainforest. Built in a remote and pristine location, the ATTO tower is the tallest construction in South America. In a joint Brazilian-German project, atmospheric scientists aim to unravel the interaction of pristine rainforest with the atmosphere. With its height of 325 meters, the ATTO ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: Northern lights in northern Norway

Rita Nogherotto March 18, 2019

Northern lights in northern Norway. Credit: Rita Nogherotto (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Northern lights in Tromsø, displaying the collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun which penetrate the earth’s magnetic shield and strike atoms and molecules in our atmosphere. Collisions excite the atoms causing electrons to move to higher-energy orbits, further away from the nucleus. When electrons move back to lower-energy orbits, they release particles of light call ...[Read More]