Global aerosol distribution, FIM-Chem data. The FIM-Chem model was created following the success of the original FIM Model (Finite Volume Icosahedral Model). The FIM-Chem is the FIM model with chemistry and aerosol modules added. Aerosols are one of the biggest uncertainties in climate models due to their varied effects on radiation and cloud physics. The FIM-Chem allows researchers to forecast and study the behaviour of aerosols in the atmospher... Global aerosol distribution, FIM-Chem data. The FIM-Chem model was created following the success of the original FIM Model (Finite Volume Icosahedral Model). The FIM-Chem is the FIM model with chemistry and aerosol modules added. Aerosols are one of the biggest uncertainties in climate models due to their varied effects on radiation and cloud physics. The FIM-Chem allows researchers to forecast and study the behaviour of aerosols in the atmosphere, leading to the potential for better Earth system modelling for climate prediction. In this sequence, the FIM-Chem model is used to trace the presence of three aerosols from August 27, 2009 through September 7, 2009. Green shading is dust, red shading is black carbon aerosols and blue is organic carbon aerosols. When there are multiple aerosols present in one location, the color for the aerosols is combined. The two types of carbon often occur together, though in different proportions. Areas of anthropogenic emissions tend to have a redder color while areas of burning, such as wildfires, tend to have a more purplish-pink color because the ratio of organic carbons to black carbons varies for the two emissions sources. Wildfires have a high ratio of organic carbon to black carbon. During the time period of this dataset there were wildfires in California, Alaska and British Columbia and biomass burning in Sub-Equatorial Africa and the Amazon region. The white shading is from the presence of all three aerosols. This can be seen in southern Europe where the anthropogenic emissions from Europe are mixing with the dry, dusty air from the Sahara. Show more Show less

Antarctic ozone hole maximum size, 1979-2015. Ozone concentrations are colour-coded, with the purple and dark blue areas representing the lowest levels, constituting the "hole". The hole was first detected in mid 1970s, and was found to be due to chemical reactions between the atmosphere and chlorofluorcarbon gases (CFCs), which were widely used as refrigerants and propellants. CFCs were banned by the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The maximum extent... Antarctic ozone hole maximum size, 1979-2015. Ozone concentrations are colour-coded, with the purple and dark blue areas representing the lowest levels, constituting the "hole". The hole was first detected in mid 1970s, and was found to be due to chemical reactions between the atmosphere and chlorofluorcarbon gases (CFCs), which were widely used as refrigerants and propellants. CFCs were banned by the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The maximum extent of the hole was recorded in 2006. The measurements were made by NASA’s Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instruments, and by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), from 2004-present. Every year from 1979 to 2015 appears in this montage except 1995, for which there is no data. Show more Show less

Residents of Batlow on the south west slopes of New South Wales have begun to assess the damage.

Those New Year's Eve images of a pitch-black sky thick with smoke, people huddled on the beach, some escaping across the water, are going to stick in the Australian psyche for many years to come. We begin our coverage tonight in the devastated New South Wales town of Cobargo, where two residents died yesterday defending their home. Phil Williams has spent the day there.