Jan. 30, 2009 -- Without getting a weather report -- or even stepping outside -- scientists have found a way to predict when a winter storm is on its way. The tip-off? Tabulating the number of cosmic ray particles reaching detectors a half-mile underground. Cosmic rays originate from beyond our solar system. Scientists aren't sure what causes them, but they arrive regularly and steadily at Earth's door. It is not a subtle greeting. As the high-energy beams smash into the atmosphere, they create cascades of subatomic particles, including odd little creatures known as muons -- electron-like bits that can pass through solid rock. That got atmospheric scientist Scott Osprey wondering if he could track changes in the atmosphere by surveying muon populations. Related Content: Get the Latest in Science and Tech News From Discovery Visit Discovery Earth for Videos, Photos, Interviews and More Space Particles to 'X-Ray' Hidden Pyramids Osprey, a researcher at the United Kingdom's National Center for Atmospheric Science, reasoned that when temperatures are higher, there are fewer molecules for muon parent particles to collide with, leaving more of them intact to degrade into muons. Over coffee chats with physicist colleagues, Osprey refined the idea and eventually hooked up with Giles Barr at the University of Oxford. "What we brought together was some specialist knowledge that the other didn't have," Osprey told Discovery News. "We knew it would exist, and we went out to find it." The two formed a research team and began correlating meteorological reports with muon data collected as part of particle physics experiments, primarily from a detector inside an abandoned iron mine in Minnesota. The team, which eventually grew to 160 scientists, didn't know just how tightly intertwined the phenomena would be. Most striking: huge jumps in the number of muons during weather events known as sudden stratospheric warmings, which can send temperatures in the upper atmosphere zooming upward as much as 50 degrees in a few days. The temperature spikes can redirect the jet stream, triggering wind shears that peel off and affect the weather, sometimes causing brutal cold fronts like the one sweeping the United States this week. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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