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Aerosols

All articles tagged with #aerosols

Marine Cloud Brightening May Collapse El Niño Cycle, Study Warns
science17 days ago

Marine Cloud Brightening May Collapse El Niño Cycle, Study Warns

A 2025 study from the University of California, Santa Barbara, suggests that marine cloud brightening, a proposed geoengineering method to cool the planet, could severely disrupt the El Niño Southern Oscillation. Simulations indicate this technique might reduce the cycle's amplitude by 61%, leading to drastic drops in rainfall across the Pacific and threatening global agriculture. Researchers recommend stratospheric aerosol injection as a safer alternative that mimics volcanic eruptions without destabilizing ocean currents.

via bgr.com|
#aerosols#climate-change#el-nino
Toilet Flushes Send Microbes Flying, New Review Finds
health1 month ago

Toilet Flushes Send Microbes Flying, New Review Finds

A review of 22 studies finds that flushing toilets aerosolizes droplets containing bacteria, viruses and fecal matter, sending them several feet into the air and sometimes keeping them airborne for at least 20 seconds. Higher microbial concentration and more water in the flush increase air contamination. Closing the lid helps only modestly against microscopic aerosols, so hygiene practices—regular cleaning, handwashing, and using lower-volume flushes—are advised, especially in public restrooms. More research is needed to develop effective interventions to reduce toilet-generated aerosols.

via New York Post|
#aerosols#air#bacteria
Toilet Flushes Could Release Airborne Germs, Study Warns
science1 month ago

Toilet Flushes Could Release Airborne Germs, Study Warns

A Flinders University review of 22 studies finds that flushing a toilet can eject aerosols containing microbes into the surrounding air, sometimes reaching breathing height. Risk varies with toilet type, conditions, microbial load, and flush volume; some mitigations include closing the lid when possible, improved ventilation, and design changes to reduce aerosol generation—especially in high-risk settings like hospitals.

via Gizmodo|
#aerosols#bioaerosols#public-health
Toilet Flushing Releases Bioaerosols; Closing the Lid Reduces but Doesn’t Eliminate Risk
science1 month ago

Toilet Flushing Releases Bioaerosols; Closing the Lid Reduces but Doesn’t Eliminate Risk

A review of 22 studies finds toilet flushing can eject microbes as aerosols into the air for at least 20 seconds, and closing the lid does not fully prevent exposure, though it may reduce it. Turbulent flushes generate more particles, and higher microbial loads increase bioaerosol release, with potential pathogens including Legionella, influenza and norovirus. Ventilation effects remain unclear, but the findings underscore implications for building design and infection control—especially in hospitals and care settings—advocating lower-volume flushes and lid use as precautionary measures rather than guarantees of safety.

via The Guardian|
#aerosols#bioaerosols#infection-control
Bound Water in Venus Clouds Rewrites Cloud Chemistry
science1 month ago

Bound Water in Venus Clouds Rewrites Cloud Chemistry

A 2025 reanalysis of data from NASA’s Pioneer Venus Large Probe’s 1978 descent suggests Venus’s cloud aerosols may be about 60% water by mass, largely bound in hydrated ferric sulphates (and possibly magnesium sulphates), with most water released only upon heating. This points to hydrated salts as part of cloud composition and does not overturn the sulfuric-acid model, but it does complicate the simple acid-water picture. The finding comes from a single historic descent and could reflect sampling artefacts, so confirming evidence from future dedicated missions (e.g., DAVINCI, Venus Life Finder) is needed across multiple cloud layers.

via Space Daily|
#aerosols#clouds#ferric-sulphate
Methane, aerosols and a warm nightside on a planet circling a white dwarf
astronomy3 months ago

Methane, aerosols and a warm nightside on a planet circling a white dwarf

JWST/NIRSpec PRISM transmission spectra of WD 1856 b, a Jupiter-sized planet transiting a nearby white dwarf, reveal methane and other hydrocarbons, a scattering aerosol haze, and a nightside thermal emission. The atmosphere is metal-rich (CH4 at a few percent to ~7–20% in retrievals) with an opaque cloud deck near 100 mbar, and the planet’s nightside temperature is about 390–412 K, much warmer than the 160 K equilibrium expected for this system. Mass is constrained to ~4.3–10.9 Jupiter masses. The data imply a reheating event during migration into the white dwarf phase, most consistent with high-eccentricity migration and tidal circularization rather than common-envelope evolution, offering a rare window into the fate of giant planets around Sun-like stars after stellar death.

via Nature|
#aerosols#astronomy#exoplanet-atmosphere
Mars Terraforming: Scientists Map a Long-Term Plan to Warm the Red Planet
space-exploration3 months ago

Mars Terraforming: Scientists Map a Long-Term Plan to Warm the Red Planet

Space scientists have published a blueprint for warming Mars as a potential first step toward terraforming, exploring approaches like aerosol dispersion and solid-state greenhouse membranes. The plan emphasizes a modular, long‑term campaign, outlines costs and risks, and calls for more data (subsurface ice maps, climate monitoring, and Mars sample return) before any large‑scale effort, while noting the proposal does not claim warming Mars is inherently desirable.

via Space|
#aerosols#astrobiology#atmosphere
High-Rrise Ventilation Shaped COVID Spread, Study Finds
science-health4 months ago

High-Rrise Ventilation Shaped COVID Spread, Study Finds

A 2020 outbreak in Santander’s seven-story building was likely driven by shared bathroom ventilation ducts, with virus-laden aerosols moving between vertically connected apartments. Researchers sequenced viruses to confirm links, monitored air flow and CO2 levels, and found infections only in units connected via the same shaft; blocked vents appeared protective. The findings underscore the risk of shared infrastructure in multi-unit housing and echo past scenarios like Amoy Gardens, prompting proactive ventilation safeguards in buildings.

via CIDRAP|
#aerosols#covid-19#high-rise
PACE Opens a Multispectral Window on Earth’s Oceans, Atmosphere and Life
earth-science5 months ago

PACE Opens a Multispectral Window on Earth’s Oceans, Atmosphere and Life

NASA’s PACE satellite uses hyperspectral imaging and polarimeters to monitor Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land—tracking dust and wildfire smoke plumes, mapping three-dimensional cloud structure, identifying ship-induced cloud effects, and detecting phytoplankton types (including diatoms) and blooms such as cyanobacteria in the Great Lakes and Karenia off Australia. These data help warn water managers, support emergency response, and deepen climate and ocean ecosystem understanding, while Artemis II imagery showcases Earth from space.

via NASA Science (.gov)|
#aerosols#earth-science#harmful-algal-bloom
Why a few people spread flu far: biology, speech, and the air we share
health8 months ago

Why a few people spread flu far: biology, speech, and the air we share

New research shows that flu outbreaks are often driven by a small minority of people whose high viral loads, particle types, and behaviors—like loud speech and heavy breathing—combine with environmental factors (dry air, poor ventilation) to boost transmission. Factors such as stage of infection, lung capacity, mucus properties, and social context determine who becomes a superspreader, suggesting that biology and behavior together shape who—and where—an outbreak escalates.

via BBC|
#aerosols#droplets#health
Toilet Plumes Meet Your Toothbrush: What Actually Reduces Microbes
health8 months ago

Toilet Plumes Meet Your Toothbrush: What Actually Reduces Microbes

Flushing toilets creates toilet plumes that spread aerosols in the bathroom, and toothbrushes can collect these droplets and harbor biofilms. Studies show common brushes in communal bathrooms carry fecal bacteria, though oral microbes from the user can outcompete some contaminants; closing the lid doesn’t fully prevent spread and covers can trap moisture, promoting other pathogens. The recommended defenses are chemical disinfection or soaking, regular toothbrush replacement, and keeping brushes far from the toilet (ideally in a drying cabinet). Upgrading to vacuum toilets would help, but for now the goal is reducing cross-contamination rather than achieving sterility.

via ZME Science|
#aerosols#bacteria#disinfection
Can Closing the Toilet Lid Reduce Disease Transmission?
health1 year ago

Can Closing the Toilet Lid Reduce Disease Transmission?

A Japanese research team led by Takashi Fukuda at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of closing toilet lids in preventing disease spread. Using a water-saving Japanese toilet, they found that closing the lid reduced aerosol generation to a quarter of that with the lid open, though some particles still escaped. Virus samples placed in the bowl showed minimal risk of infection from surfaces like toilet seats or walls. The team recommends closing the lid, standing 15 cm away when flushing, and cleaning nearby walls regularly.

via The Mainichi|
#aerosols#covid-19#health