Ozone and nitrogen change the way rising CO2 affects Earth’s water

September 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new international research, scientists have determined that human activities have already pushed the Earth system beyond three of the planet's biophysical thresholds, with consequences that are detrimental or even catastrophic for large parts of the world. The research was conducted by 29 European, Australian and US scientists.

September 16th, 2009 TORONTO - Ozone layer alterations, prompted by climate change, will enhance ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the tropics and Antarctica, according to a discovery by physicists. Climate change is an established fact, but scientists are only just beginning to understand its regional manifestations, said Michaela Hegglin, a physics researcher at the University of Toronto (U-T) and lead study author.

September 16th, 2009 TORONTO - A new study by University of Toronto (U of T) physicists has shown that climate change will lead to less ultraviolet radiation over northern high latitudes. They discovered that changes in the Earth's ozone layer due to climate change will reduce the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in northern high latitude regions such as Siberia, Scandinavia and northern Canada.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that depletion in the ozone layer is reducing the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake of the Southern Ocean. Most current models predict that the strength of the Southern Ocean CO2 sink should increase as atmospheric CO2 rises, but observations show that this has not been the case.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists at University of California Irvine (UCI) have discovered a previously unknown chemical reaction that could account for up to 40 parts per billion of ozone. This reaction is not included in computer models used to predict air pollution levels and the effectiveness of ozone control strategies that can cost billions of dollars.

July 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), US, gives important new information on how plants can change "nitrogen cycling" to gain nitrogen and how this allows plant species to invade and take over native plants. In the research, UNL biologist Johannes Knops has demonstrated how one invasive plant species replaces native species because of its ability to take up and hold on to nitrogen.

June 19th, 2009 London, June 19 (ANI): Some plants can increase the rate of ozone production by up to 50 times, according to a study. Rosemary, juniper, and pine trees are among certain plants that emit chemical compounds known as terpenes, thought to help deter insect predators, or protect the plant from other stresses like high temperatures.

June 5th, 2009 Washington, June 5 (ANI): Scientists have discovered that Mother Nature has a previously unknown cleaning agent that scrubs away toxic air pollution, cleaning Earth's atmosphere. Many studies have shown that trace gases and pollutants in the lowest level of our atmosphere break down naturally, thanks to molecules called hydroxyl (OH) radicals.

April 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by NASA scientists has suggested that the ozone layer might recover in the future, thanks to the changing climate and atmospheric circulation. According to the scientists, Earth's ozone layer should eventually recover from the unintended destruction brought on by the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar ozone-depleting chemicals in the 20th century, since greenhouse gases are changing the dynamics of the atmosphere.

April 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Global warming will set back the recovery of the ozone layer of the earth's atmosphere, warns a NASA study. Previous studies have shown that while the build up of greenhouse gases makes it warmer in the troposphere, up to 10 km high from sea level, these gases actually cool the upper stratosphere, between 30 to 50 km high.

April 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Rocket launches in future may require more stringent regulation to minimise damage to the ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere, according to a new study. Today, just a handful of NASA space shuttle launches release more ozone-depleting substances in the stratosphere than the entire annual use of CFC-based medical inhalers used to treat asthma and other diseases in the US, said Darin Toohey, professor of Colorado University at Boulder (CUB) atmospheric and oceanic sciences department.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have used a new tool to differentiate between man-made and natural nitrogen oxide emissions. Nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, which are produced by lightning, biomass burning, and soil outgassing, are converted into atmospheric nitrate through oxidation reactions.

March 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new simulation has shown that if 193 nations had not agreed to ban ozone-depleting substances, then nearly two-thirds of Earth's ozone would have been gone by the year 2065. The simulation was developed by atmospheric chemists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Bilthoven.

March 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Long-term exposure to ground-level ozone, a component of smog, may result in increased risk of death from respiratory ailments, according to a new study throughout the US. Ozone, a gas made up of three oxygen atoms - forms a protective layer from the sun's ultraviolet radiation when located in the Earth's upper atmosphere.

February 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers have identified factors that cause airway irritation and wheezing after exposure to a common urban air pollutant like ozone. 'We found that it is not the ozone itself that causes the body to wheeze, but the way the lungs respond to ozone,' said Stavros Garantziotis, principal investigator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and co-author of the study.