Dark clouds hover over Bangkok. Isoprene emissions can lead to cloud formation, but the results of a study on the subject were clouded by biased and inaccurate reports in the conservative media.
Credit: Diego Azubel/EPA

Isoprene: it’s a gas that helps aerosols form in the atmosphere. It’s relevant to climate change because aerosols help clouds form, which can have cooling (by reflecting sunlight) or warming (by trapping heat) effects, depending on the type of cloud. Aerosols also cause cooling by directly scattering sunlight.

Past field measurements indicated that the oceans were releasing less isoprene than climate model simulations suggested they should. A new study found that previously unidentified reactions in the sea surface microlayer might represent a significant source of isoprene that could reconcile […]