Altostratus clouds
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Ronald L. Holle
Clouds, Climate and Cosmic Rays
News story originally written on September 4, 2002
It is well known that our planet is becoming a warmer place right now. However, what scientists find really strange is that higher levels in the atmosphere stay cool while the Earth's surface warms.
Clouds are probably responsible for this trend. "A systematic change in global cloud cover will change the atmospheric heating profile," said Fangqun Yu, author of a new study. High clouds reflect sunlight and low clouds retain surface energy, so, increases in amounts of thick, low clouds can warm the surface of the Earth, but not higher levels in the atmosphere.
How could the worldwide cloud cover change? Cosmic rays may be to blame for changes in the patterns of cloudiness, warming Earth's surface by generating a blanket of low, thick clouds. More cosmic rays, increases the number of low clouds that warm the surface.
Additionally, greenhouse gases boost the impact of cosmic rays. This means that as our pollution sends more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, cosmic rays are able to create even more low clouds.
Last modified September 4, 2002 by Lisa Gardiner.
You might also be interested in:
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,
...more
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd
...more
A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon
...more
Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be
...more
A coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun early last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. The SWICS instrument on ACE has produced a new and very
...more
J.S. Maini of the Canadian Forest Service called forests the "heart and lungs of the world." This is because forests filter air and water pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and maintain
...more
In late April through mid-May 2002, all five naked-eye planets are visible at the same time in the night sky! This is includes Mercury which is generally very hard to see. You won't want to miss this!
...more
