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Earth and Atmospheric Science

Americans used less energy in 2015

Americans used less energy overall in 2015 than the previous year, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.Each year, the Laboratory releases energy flow charts that illustrate the nation's consumption and use of energy. Overall, Americans used 0.8 quadrillion BTU, or quads, less in 2015 than in 2014 (a BTU or…

Climate models underestimate global warming by exaggerating cloud 'brightening'

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Yale University have found that climate models are aggressively making clouds "brighter" as the planet warms. This may be causing models to underestimate how much global warming will occur due to increasing carbon dioxide. The research appears in the April 8 edition of Science.As the atmosphere warms, clouds become…

Researcher sheds light on ocean observations

Oceanographer Paul Durack of the Laboratory’s Program for Climate Modeling and Intercomparison (PCMDI) recently opined about the importance of ocean salinity observations and needed urgent attention for the ocean observing system in the journal, Nature Climate Change. The global water cycle — where, when and how it rains, and the corresponding changes to water availability…

Consequences of today's carbon emissions will linger for thousands of years, study finds

The Earth may suffer irreversible damage that could last tens of thousands of years because of the rate humans are emitting carbon into the atmosphere.In a new study in Nature Climate Change, researchers at Oregon State University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborating institutions found that the longer-term impacts of climate change go well past the…

'Underground battery' could store energy, CO2

Meeting the Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to well below two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels will require increased use of renewable energy and reducing the CO2 intensity of fossil energy use.The intermittency of when the wind blows and when the sun shines is one of the biggest challenges impeding…

Climate models overestimate rainfall increases

Lawrence Livermore researchers and collaborators have found that most climate models overestimate the increase in global precipitation due to climate change.Specifically, the team looked at 25 models and found they underestimate the increase in absorption of sunlight by water vapor as the atmosphere becomes moister, and therefore overestimate increases in global…

It's solid: storing hydrogen in a new form

As part of a tri-lab consortium, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers will develop tools and understanding necessary for designing new solid-state materials for storing hydrogen gas.Storage of hydrogen onboard vehicles is one of the critical enabling technologies for hydrogen-fueled transportation systems that can reduce oil dependency and mitigate the long…

American energy use up slightly, carbon emissions almost unchanged

Americans' energy use continued to grow slowly in 2014, fueled by increases in the use of natural gas, wind and solar, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.Each year, the Laboratory releases charts that illustrate the nation's consumption and use of energy. Overall, Americans used 0.9 quadrillion (quads) British…

Soil organic matter vulnerable to climate change

Soil organic matter, long thought to be a semi-permanent storehouse for ancient carbon, may be much more vulnerable to climate change than previously thought.Plants direct between 40 percent and 60 percent of photosynthetically fixed carbon to their roots and much of this carbon is secreted and then taken up by root-associated soil microorganisms. Elevated carbon dioxide …

'Science On Saturday' to explore groundwater and the impacts of drought and climate change

Who: Lawrence Livermore scientist Andy Thompson and Tracy High School teacher Erin McKay will present "Hydrology of an ‘Ant Farm’," a presentation examining the environmental impact of drought and climate change.What: This informative and entertaining lecture will touch on groundwater interactions with surface water and surface ecosystems. The presenters will discuss some…

'Science On Saturday' to explore green power

WHO: Lawrence Livermore scientists Jeff Mirocha and Suzanne Singer, along with Las Positas Community College instructor Eric Harpell and Granada High School teacher Tom Shefler, will present "Green Power: Making Electricity Out of Thin Air," the second of four lectures for the Science on Saturday series for students.WHAT: This informative and entertaining lecture will…

Lawrence Livermore research finds early Mesoamericans affected by climate change

Scientists have reconstructed the past climate for the region around Cantona, a large fortified city in highland Mexico, and found the population drastically declined in the past, at least in part because of climate change.The research appears in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for the week of Jan. 26.Lawrence Livermore researcher…