How carbon dioxide cools the upper atmosphere—and warms Earth below

How carbon dioxide cools the upper atmosphere—and warms Earth below

Even as temperatures rise on Earth's surface and in the lower atmosphere, the planet's upper atmosphere has cooled dramatically. This paradoxical pattern is a well-known sign of humanity's climate impacts—but until now, the underlying physics has remained a mystery.

A new study explains how carbon dioxide cools the upper atmosphere—and warms earth below

Even as temperatures rise on Earth’s surface and in the lower atmosphere, the planet’s upper atmosphere has cooled dramatically. This paradoxical pattern is a well-known sign of humanity’s climate impacts—but until now, the underlying physics has remained a mystery. In a new study, researchers from Columbia University describe the phenomenon’s mechanics, illuminating how it is […] The post A new study explains how carbon dioxide cools the upper …

Wavelengths Of Light Are Why CO2 Cools The Upper Atmosphere But Warms Earth

There are concerns about projected warming on the Earth’s surface and in the lower atmosphere even while the planet’s upper atmosphere has cooled.It's not a paradox, it's a pattern and a recent paper described the mechanics of how it works. The short answer is that carbon dioxide (CO2) reacts differently to wavelengths of light. Closer to earth, CO2 traps it but it makes the stratosphere better at radiating, which cools it—but because it becomes…

New Study Reveals How CO2 Cools the Upper Atmosphere While Heating Earth

Researchers from Columbia Climate School have unveiled new findings explaining one of climate science’s long-standing mysteries: how rising levels of carbon dioxide cool the upper atmosphere while simultaneously warming the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere. The study was published in Nature Geoscience. Scientists say the phenomenon is linked to the way CO2 molecules interact with […] The post New Study Reveals How CO2 Cools the Upper Atmosph…