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Atmospheric helium levels are on the rise

Physics World

Levels of helium-4 in the Earth’s atmosphere have been increasing since at least 1974, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, US that resolves a longstanding anomaly in atmospheric science. When the gas is extracted and burned, the helium is released into the atmosphere.

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The State of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere Based on Global Observations through 2020

Environmental News Bits

The latest analysis of observations from the WMO GAW in situ observational network shows that globally averaged surface mole fractions(1) for CO2, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) reached new highs in 2020, with CO2 at 413.2 ± 0.2 ppm(2), CH4 at 1889 ± 2 ppb(3) and… Read more →

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Grim 2022 drought outlook for Western US offers warnings for the future as climate change brings a hotter, thirstier atmosphere

Environmental News Bits

has been in the grip of an unrelenting drought since early 2020. Heading … Continue reading Grim 2022 drought outlook for Western US offers warnings for the future as climate change brings a hotter, thirstier atmosphere. by Imtiaz Rangwala, University of Colorado Boulder Much of the western U.S.

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Spencer’s Shenanigans

Real Climate

Now, this is the exact same model data that Spencer is using (from McKitrick and Christy (2020) (though the screening uses the TCR from our paper), and updated TLT satellite data. Model trends: 0.29ºC (all models) [0.20,0.46] 95% spread, 0.27ºC/dec (screened) [0.20,0.34]. Casas, G.A. Schmidt, R.L. Tsigaridis, L.S. Nazarenko, S.E.

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Covid Lockdowns Helped Fuel a Methane Surge, Study Finds

Yale E360

When pandemic-related lockdowns grounded planes and brought car traffic to a near standstill in early 2020, transport emissions plummeted, leading to a drop in levels of a short-lived gas that scrubs methane from the atmosphere. The slump in traffic helped fuel a spike in methane, a new study finds. Read more on E360 ?.

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The CO2 problem in six easy steps (2022 Update)

Real Climate

The fact that there is a natural greenhouse effect (that the atmosphere restricts the passage of infra-red (IR) radiation from the Earth’s surface to space) is easily deducible from; i) the mean temperature of the surface (around 15ºC) and, ii) knowing that the planet is normally close to radiative equilibrium. in IPCC TAR).

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A Nobel pursuit

Real Climate

The key aspects were the inclusion of water vapour feedback as temperatures increased, and the use of ‘convective adjustment’ to maintain stability of the lower atmospheric column. The basic issue stems from the different timescales of the ocean and atmosphere. Fred Singer, before his turn to the dark side).