Climate science
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My colleague Dr. Marshall Shepherd of UGA has posted a good article describing the heat wave we are expecting in the Southeast over the next few days, including what is causing it and how it may break records for high temperatures at many locations. You can read it at Forbes.com here. Make sure you are…
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Of all of the atmospheric patterns that affect us here in the Southeast, the one that makes the most statistically predictable impacts on our climate is the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. When an El Niño is forecast to occur, we know with a fair degree of confidence what kind of climate to expect while it is…
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One criticism of the trend in rising temperatures put forth by skeptics is that recent temperatures are being pushed up by growing cities, which tend to be warmer than the surrounding countryside. Even in my hometown of Athens GA you can see temperature differences of up to 10 degrees F from downtown to the rural…
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One of the arguments against human-induced warming of the earth is that changes in solar output are driving temperature variations. And on a glacial time scale, that is true. But how about more recent changes? The Royal Meteorological Society has a new podcast and briefing paper which addresses this issue and the science behind it.…
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The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the main professional society of atmospheric scientists in the world, with several thousand active members. I have been a member since I started graduate school in 1980, and currently serve on their Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists. This week the AMS released their latest statement on climate change, which…
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CNN produced an interesting quiz based on information from Project Drawdown, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse warming in our everyday lives. You can take the quiz here. As you take it, you will note that many of the best solutions don’t have to do with reducing meat consumption or other aspects of agriculture but…
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You’ve all seen mirages. One of the most common is a phantom image that looks like water on a highway. Mirages are caused by vertical variations in temperature that can bend light rays, resulting in distant objects looking much different than their actual appearance. Atlas Obscura has an interesting article on mirages this week that…