EurekAlert! News by Subject: Atmospheric Science - News by Subject: Atmospheric Science

Atmospheric Science

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Apr-2025 11:08 ET (28-Apr-2025 15:08 GMT/UTC)

‘Microlightning’ in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A Stanford study shows that electrical charges in sprays of water can cause chemical reactions that form organic molecules from inorganic materials. The findings provide evidence that microlightning may have helped create the building blocks necessary for early life on the planet.

Journal: Science Advances

Growing solar: Optimizing agrivoltaic systems for crops and clean energy

SPIE--International Society for Optics and Photonics
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Combining solar energy and farming can be enhanced by smart tracking to adjust the position of solar panels based on weather conditions, crop types, and growth stages. This approach ensures an optimal balance between light available for photosynthesis and for electricity production, as demonstrated by a recent study published in the Journal of Photonics for Energy (JPE). The study explores optimized solar panel positioning in agrivoltaics, using apple orchards in southwestern Germany as a case study. Introducing tailored tracking strategies and specific irradiation targets to improve agricultural yields while maintaining energy production, the study addresses critical yield-loss thresholds. Results showed that optimized control can deliver 91 percent of the required light to apple trees with only a 20 percent reduction in energy generation. These findings and subsequent field tests will advance the understanding of the impact of agrivoltaic systems on crop growth and energy efficiency.

Journal: Journal of Photonics for Energy

Breakthrough in Wild Barley Genomics paves the way for climate-resilient crops

Murdoch University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An international team of scientists from Australia and China has unveiled the first chromosome-scale genome of a wild barley species, with their findings offering direct implications for more sustainable agriculture and significant yield improvements for Australian grain production. An international team of scientists from Australia and China has unveiled the first chromosome-scale genome of a wild barley species, with their findings offering direct implications for more sustainable agriculture and significant yield improvements for Australian grain production.

Journal: Nature Plants
Funder: Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences

Deep learning technique enhances lightning risk prediction for power grids

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers developed a deep learning–based nowcasting model, which can effectively predict the location and frequency trends of organized thunderstorms, providing robust support for predicting lightning risks to power grids.

Journal: Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters

NASA taps UTA to shape future of autonomous aviation

University of Texas at Arlington
Grant and Award Announcement

NASA has awarded a $1 million grant through its University Leadership Initiative (ULI) to a team from The University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute (UTARI) in Fort Worth to address safety in autonomous aviation.

Funder: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

As next hurricane season nears, Rice study explores impacts of 2024’s storms

Rice University
Reports and Proceedings

When major storms hit Houston last spring and summer, losing power was a nightmare for residents, but for many, the financial fallout was just as devastating. A new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research finds that more than half of Houston-area workers lost income due to these storms, either because they couldn’t get to work or their jobs were forced to close.

Signs of alien life may be hiding in these gases

University of California - Riverside
Peer-Reviewed Publication

UC Riverside scientists identify a new way to detect life in outer space with currently existing telescopes. The method hinges on worlds that look nothing like Earth, and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal Letters

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