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Atmospheric science is the study of the dynamics and chemistry of the layers of gas that surround the Earth, other planets and moons. This encompasses the interactions between various parts of the atmosphere as well as interactions with the oceans and freshwater systems, the biosphere and human activities.
An absence of precipitation combined with drying of the ground through evaporation can deplete fresh water crucial for societies and ecosystems. However, new research highlights a more remote driver of drought.
After intense winter cooling 2012-2015, Labrador Sea convection continued to intensify to 2018, and subsequently weakened and shoaled due to polar vortex collapse and Arctic sea ice loss, as analyses of Argo-float and ship-based measurements show.
Current levels of winter storminess in the English Channel are similar to those experienced in the early 19th century, but the season and origin of storm activity have changed, according to a data analysis of barometric pressure over 1748-2023.
Daytime surface ocean warming has large-scale patterns associated with the sea surface temperature front, leading to an afternoon slackening of the front and impacts on surface wind variability.
An absence of precipitation combined with drying of the ground through evaporation can deplete fresh water crucial for societies and ecosystems. However, new research highlights a more remote driver of drought.