Most advanced space weather radar to be built in the Arctic
The most advanced space weather radar in the world is to be built in the Arctic. The EISCAT_3D radar will provide UK scientists with a cutting-edge tool to probe the upper atmosphere and near-Earth space, helping them understand the effects of space weather storms on the lower atmosphere, satellites, communications and power grids.
FAAM to measure aerosols from biomass burning around remote Atlantic Island
The Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) team has arrived on Ascension Island ready to start taking measurements of biomass aerosol. The FAAM research aircraft will fly around Ascension Island, a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean that is a hotspot for regional biomass burning aerosols released from the African Continent.
A cautionary tale of identifying the source of a methane plume over the North Sea
Data collected from the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM) research aircraft has been analysed to try and identify the source of a plume of methane observed over the North Sea. A recently published article explains that initial analysis suggested the methane was being emitted from the gas field area, but important analysis of carbon isotopes in the methane revealed that leaked gas was not the main component of the plume.
Climate change to increase severe turbulence
Strong turbulence could become twice or even three times as common because of climate change, according to a new study from the University of Reading.
The study is the first ever to examine the future of severe turbulence, which causes planes to undergo random up-and-down motions that are stronger than gravity.