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Atmospheric Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Jun-2026 22:16 ET (21-Jun-2026 02:16 GMT/UTC)

Making mini-lightning in a block of plastic

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lightning formation and the conditions triggering it have long been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, but new research led by Penn State scientists is lifting the fog. Using mathematical calculations, the researchers discovered that lightning-like discharge doesn’t require a storm cloud — it could be made inside everyday material on a lab bench.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

ESA’s Mars orbiters watch solar superstorm hit the Red Planet

European Space Agency
Peer-Reviewed Publication

What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency’s Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere.

Journal: Nature Communications

ECMWF’s portable global forecasting model OpenIFS now available for all

ECMWF
Business Announcement

A portable version of the global model used by ECMWF to produce medium-range weather forecasts is being made openly available to all for the first time.

Pig farm ammonia pollution may indirectly accelerate climate warming, new study finds

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study shows that ammonia released from intensive livestock farms can significantly increase nearby soil emissions of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and ozone depletion.

Thunderstorms don’t just appear out of thin air - scientists' key finding to improve forecasting

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People may be frustrated by the lack of detail when weather forecasters say “there will be thunderstorms popping up, but we don’t know where”. Now a key finding in a study by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), published in the journal Nature, is set to improve the certainty about the location of upcoming storms on hot days.

Journal: Nature
Funder: Natural Environment Research Council, Met Office, UK

Dangerous thunderstorms: Better models through soil-moisture data

Vienna University of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Some thunderstorms suddenly grow very strong, while others simply fizzle out. Predicting where this will happen has long been extremely difficult. Now researchers present a physical explanation for why thunderstorms intensify at certain locations, based on an analysis of 2.2 million storm events in Africa. The key lies in the interaction between soil moisture patterns and wind conditions in the atmosphere.

Journal: Nature

SwRI upgrades facilities to expand subsurface safety valve testing to new application

Southwest Research Institute
Business Announcement

SAN ANTONIO — March 3, 2026 — To meet increasing demands for carbon capture and storage (CCS) services, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has completed updates to its subsurface safety valve (SSSV) facilities to accommodate testing for CCS applications.

Periphyton closes the nitrogen budget gap in rice paddies

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study in National Science Review reports that periphyton—microbial biofilms at the soil–water interface—captures 6–24% (12% on average) of fertilizer nitrogen in Chinese rice paddies. Combining a 840-field survey with in situ ¹⁵N tracing across climatic zones, this study shows this transient N pool (~0.8 Tg N yr−1) helps close long-standing nitrogen budget gaps in paddy fields.

Journal: National Science Review

Call for dentists to reduce unnecessary nitrous oxide use

University College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Nitrous oxide used for sedating patients during dental appointments has a significant environmental impact, with wide variation in use and wastage across the UK, according to a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers.

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