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‘Fingerprinting’ Method Tracks Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plant

By Guest PostDecember 17, 2011Environmentatmosphere, brains of fetuses, central nervous system, chemical fingerprints, chlorine producing plants, coal, coal combustion, coal fired power plants, coal samples, crystal river, crystal river plant, eastern kentucky, effects on humans, element mercury, environmental pollution, gerald keeler, global atmospheric pool, global mercury reservoir, heart, immune system, incinerators, isotopic fractionation, jason demers, joel blum, laura sherman, mass dependent fractionation, mdf, mercury emissions, mercury emissions in florida, mercury fingerprinting technique, mercury isotope fingerprints, methylmercury, microorganism, natural phenomenon, naturally occurring element, non radioactive, nuclei, power plant, primary source of mercury pollution, protons, rainfall, timothy dvonch, toxic, university of michigan, west virginia

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— For the first time, the chemical “fingerprints” of the element mercury have been used by University of Michigan researchers to directly link environmental pollution to a specific coal-burning power plant.

The primary source of mercury pollution in the atmosphere is coal combustion. The U-M mercury-fingerprinting technique – which has been under development for a decade – provides a tool that will enable researchers to identify specific sources of mercury pollution and determine how much of it is being deposited locally. (more…)

Researchers Find Ocean Temperature Threshold for Hurricanes is Rising

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2010Environmentatmospheric convection, climate model, global warming, hurricanes, nat Johnson, rainfall, sea surface temperature, shang ping xie, sst, threshold, tropical atmosphere, tropical ocean thunderstorms

Average observed tropical (black) and estimated SST (blue) rose together in the last 30 years. Image credit: University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Scientists have long known that atmospheric convection in the form of hurricanes and tropical ocean thunderstorms tends to occur when sea surface temperature rises above a threshold. So how do rising ocean temperatures with global warming affect this threshold? If the threshold does not rise, it could mean more frequent hurricanes.

A new study by researchers at the International Pacific Research Center (IPRC) of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa shows this threshold sea surface temperature for convection is rising under global warming at the same rate as that of the tropical oceans. Their paper appears in the Advance Online Publications of Nature Geoscience. (more…)

Volcanic Eruptions Affect Rainfall over Asian Monsoon Region

By Guest PostNovember 7, 2010Environment, Natureaffect, asian monsoon, climate, climate models, dinosaurs, el chichón, huaynaputina, indonesia, kevin anchukaitis, krakatau, mount pinatubo, neanderthals, particles, peru, Philippines, pinatubo, rainfall, solar energy, solar radiation, tambora eruption, tree ring lab, volcanic explosions, volcanoes, weather

Scientists have long known that large volcanic explosions can affect the weather by spewing particles that block solar energy and cool the air.

Some suspect that extended “volcanic winters” from gigantic eruptions helped kill off dinosaurs and Neanderthals.

In the summer following Indonesia’s 1815 Tambora eruption, frost wrecked crops as far away as New England, and the 1991 blowout of the Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo lowered average global temperatures by 0.7 degrees F — enough to mask the effects of greenhouse gases for a year or so. (more…)

Tag Archives: rainfall

‘Fingerprinting’ Method Tracks Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plant

Researchers Find Ocean Temperature Threshold for Hurricanes is Rising

Volcanic Eruptions Affect Rainfall over Asian Monsoon Region