The Dark Side of Black Carbon by Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi Image Credit: NASA As interest in Earth's changing climate heats up, a tiny dark particle is stepping into the limelight: black carbon. Commonly known as soot, black carbon enters the air when fossil fuels and biofuels, such as coal, wood, and diesel are burned. Black carbon is found worldwide, but its presence and impact are particularly strong in Asia. Black carbon, a short-lived particle, is in perpetual motion across the globe. The Tibetan Plateau's high levels of black carbon likely impact the region's temperature, clouds and monsoon season. Black soot deposited on Tibetan glaciers has contributed significantly to the retreat of the world's largest non-polar ice masses, according to new research by scientists from NASA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Soot absorbs incoming solar radiation and can speed glacial melting when deposited on snow in sufficient quantities. Temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau -- ...
Geology played major role in carving caves by ancient civilization. By Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi Caves of Barabar hills near Gaya. A visit to Barabar caves near Gaya in Bihar, which is an isolated location away from the mainstream, makes one imagine the activities at the place in ancient times, as the abode of the mendicants. Not much seems to have changed in the timeline of history, if one spends some time to meditate inside the caves which still bear the Mauryan Polish in a way as if it had been polished just yesterday. Several inscriptions are to be seen on the caves. The Hills have always remained mysterious and convey a spiritual reverberation. The Hills were first excavated for the Ajivikas during the reign of Asoka and were occupied during the following centuries by different groups of sages and mendicants. I visited the Hills at Barabar in August, 2015 during my way back to Ranchi from Patna. About 40 kilometers to the north of Gaya in Bihar, near Belaganj, there are seve...
CO2 Data Set: Original data file created by NOAA on Wednesday February 10, 2010 (10:13:56) Measuring Location: Mauna Loa Observatory , Hawaii Data Source: Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Why is CO2 significant? Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the chief greenhouse gas that results from human activities and causes global warming and climate change. To see whether enough is being done at the moment to solve these global problems, there is no single indicator as complete and current as the monthly updates for atmospheric CO2 from the Mauna Loa Observatory . What is the current trend? The concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are increasing at an accelerating rate from decade to decade. Accelerating from decade to decade. The latest atmospheric CO2 data is consistent with a continuation of this long-standing trend. What level is safe? The upper safety limit for atmospheric CO2 is 350 parts per million (ppm). Atmospheric CO...
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