Radio Waves Can Be Used To Measure Climate Change

The ionosphere, one of the regions of the upper atmosphere, plays an important role in global communications. Ionized by solar radiation, this electricity-rich region is used for the transmission of long wave communications, such as radio waves. Now Prof. Colin Price of Tel Aviv University (he discovered the link between lightning and climate change) has found that the radio waves reflecting back to Earth from the ionosphere offer valuable news on climate change as well.

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The new research shows that the strength of radio signals on the ground is a reliable indicator of temperature change above. Price and his team used simple radio antennae on the ground to measure radio waves broadcast by navigational transmitters around the globe, then compared information on the strength of these radio signals with data on temperature fluctuations in the upper atmosphere. They discovered that climate change in the upper atmosphere — caused by an abundance of greenhouse gases — may lead to a greater absorption of radio waves. Weaker signals could therefore be indicative of greater climate change.

Detailed in the Journal of Geophysical Research, this simple, cost-effective measurement can be a valuable contribution to the ongoing effort to track climate change, says Prof. Price, adding to measurements of ground and lower atmospheric temperatures to create a more holistic picture.

Bridging the statistical gap

On the Earth’s surface and in the lower atmosphere, an increase of greenhouse gases has a warming effect, the gases acting as a “blanket” and keeping heat from escaping from the Earth into space. But these gases, including carbon dioxide, are increasing in the upper atmosphere as well, where they have a cooling effect.
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Via Green Prophet
Photo: NASA Goddard Photo and Video