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Southern Californians and writers love to blame the hot, dry Santa Ana winds for tense, ugly moods, and the winds have long been associated with destructive wildfires. Now, NOAA researchers have fo und that on occasion, the winds have an accomplice with respect to fires, at least: Natural atmospheric events known as stratospheric intrusions, which bring extremely dry air from the upper atmosphere down to the surface, adding to the fire danger effects of the Santa Anas, and exacerbating some air pollution episodes.

This summer, middle and high school students are helping build and test 3-D structures that complement and mimic the cutting-edge ‘photo origami’ research conducted at the Â鶹¹ÙÍø.

It’s been difficult to explain patterns of toxic mercury in some parts of the world, such as why there’s so much of the toxin deposited into ecosystems from the air in the southeastern United States, even upwind of usual sources. A new analysis led by researchers at the Â鶹¹ÙÍø shows that one key to understanding mercury’s strange behavior may be the unexpected reactivity of naturally occurring halogen compounds from the ocean.

A Â鶹¹ÙÍø scientist unexpectedly discovered two lichen species new to science in the same week while conducting research in Â鶹¹ÙÍø Colorado, near the city’s eastern limits.

If planets had personalities, Mars would be a rock star according to recent preliminary results from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. Mars sports a "Mohawk" of escaping atmospheric particles at its poles, "wears" a layer of metal particles high in its atmosphere, and lights up with aurora after being smacked by solar storms. MAVEN is also mapping out the escaping atmospheric particles. The early results are being discussed at a MAVEN-sponsored "new media" workshop held in Berkeley, California, on June 19-21.

After a 47-year journey as steward of CU Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Glenn Miller Archive at the American Music Research Center, Alan Cass will retire as curator on July 1.

The moon is engulfed in a permanent but lopsided dust cloud that increases in density when annual events like the Geminids spew shooting stars, according to a new study led by Â鶹¹ÙÍø.

A consortium led by the Â鶹¹ÙÍø has received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to start flying drones over parts of Texas and Oklahoma this spring in the heart of Tornado Alley to conduct weather research.

In a state known for its dramatic weather and climate, Colorado’s history of extreme precipitation varies considerably by season and location, according to a new study led by the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, a partnership between the Â鶹¹ÙÍø and NOAA.

Â鶹¹ÙÍø Distinguished Professor Margaret Murnane has been elected to the prestigious American Philosophical Society (APS). Murnane, a fellow at JILA -- a joint institute of CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø and the National Institute of Standards and Technology -- and professor in the physics department, is the fourth CU-Â鶹¹ÙÍø faculty member to be elected to APS. There were 34 people worldwide elected in 2015 to the society, which was founded in 1743 in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin, who later became its first president.