Science and Technology - Briefs
India granted 'observer' status in Arctic Council
Earth-like tectonic plates on ancient Venus may explain its carbon dioxide- & nitrogen-rich atmosphere
New research suggests Earth’s sister planet may have been home to microbial life billions of years ago due to tectonic activities
‘Predictions wrong, but give indications’
India Meteorological Department is often accused of making incorrect predictions. The Ministry of Earth Sciences regularly gets funds to …
Warming bad for rice
Rice is a staple diet for many. But a recent study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) under the United States department of agriculture has …
Unmasking aerosols
Forget health impacts, tiny particles floating in the air are altering regional climates and affecting monsoon patterns and agricultural yield. …
Pre industry climate was cloudier, finds experiment
It has been believed that sulphuric acid vapours generated from fossil fuel combustion and industrial activity aid cloud formation
The weather mart
Met department is not the only one predicting weather in India. Forecasts are now sold by businesses to businesses
Indigenous radar to track monsoon winds now functional
CUSAT ST-205 Radar is specifically designed to scan the stratosphere which is the upper skies
Bidding low for first-ever US emissions auction
Most of the permits to pollute set up for auction by the US Environmental Protection Agency could not be sold, as the bidding failed to reach the …
Air losing self-cleaning ability
Recent studies indicate increasing pollution may be hampering the atmosphere's inherent cleansing abilty
Not more, not less
Oxygen is the component that sustains life on earth. Too much or too little of it could change the entire life scenario on the planet. How does …
Looking for life
The rightplace to look for extraterrestrial life is not planets of other solar systems but their moons
Simply unpredictable
Despite using satellites and supercomputers, meteorologists are still baffled by the monsoon, unable to say precisely when it will occur and how …
The stratosphere, the earth’s blanket is disappearing
The shrinking stratosphere is a stark signal of the climate emergency and the planetary-scale influence that humanity now exerts
First global map of atmospheric ammonia distribution published
Researchers also found that past assumptions about atmospheric ammonia levels are largely inaccurate and that the levels are much higher than …
Gasping for breath
Entire tree species face the threat of extinction from the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide
Evolving into the danger zone
The Earth's atmosphere has been evolving ever since the planet was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. But, with industrialisation, human activity,…
Noble judgement
Environmentalists exchange victory signs as three Atmospheric scientists and an anti-nuclear activist are awarded Nobel prize
"Brown clouds are a transcontinental issue"
Asian Brown Clouds created a lot of heat in South Asia, a few years ago (see: 'Aerial Raid,' Down To Earth, August 15, 2002). Now the chief …
More carbon dioxide spurring plant growth
New measurement techniques show the level of atmospheric oxygen is decreasing in direct proportion to the burning of fossil fuels. These …
Nature's laboratory
The ice cover almost 4.8 km thick is perhaps the most valuable feature of Antarctica, with its record of past atmospheres in the trapped air bubbles
Hope for Earth
We are producing less CFCs - the main agent for ozone depletion. That, say experts, is a good sign
Fuel for thought
To reduce the level of carbon in the atmosphere, growing and using biomass as an energy substitute for fossil fuels is of greater advantage than …
'Village level forecast will take time'
What prevents Indian scientists from making weather forecasts for farmers? Sailesh Naik, secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, tells …