Portrait of Global Aerosols

High-resolution global atmospheric modeling run on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., provides a unique tool to study the role of weather in Earth's climate system. The Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) is capable of simulating worldwide weather at resolutions of 10 to 3.5 kilometers (km).

This portrait of global aerosols was produced by a GEOS-5 simulation at a 10-kilometer resolution. Dust (red) is lifted from the surface, sea salt (blue) swirls inside cyclones, smoke (green) rises from fires, and sulfate particles (white) stream from volcanoes and fossil fuel emissions.

Image credit: William Putman, NASA/Goddard





A supercomputer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was used to map aerosols - particles suspended in the air - based on observations from August 2006 - April 2007. The result is surprisingly lovely. I've marked a couple of pints you want to pay attention to, like a volcanic eruption near Madagascar; the effect of the event is stunning.

Video Credit: NASA/GSFC (GMAO - Research)
Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod, "Satiate", Incompetech.com
Annotated by Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy)