NATURE

Nature (journal)

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Nature is a prominent British

scientific journal, first published on 4 November
1869. Most scientific journals are now highly specialized, and Nature is
among the few journals (the other weekly journals

Science and

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
are also prominent examples) that still publish

original research articles across a wide range of


scientific fields. There are many fields of

scientific research in which some^[vague]
important new advances and original research are published as either

articles or letters in Nature.

Research

scientists are the primary audience for the journal,
but summaries and accompanying articles make many of the most important papers
understandable for the general public and to scientists in other fields. Toward
the front of each issue are

editorials, news and feature articles on issues of
general interest to scientists, including current affairs, science funding,
business, scientific

ethics and research breakthroughs. There are also
sections on books and arts. The remainder of the journal consists mostly of
research articles, which are often dense and highly technical. Because of strict
limits on the length of articles, in many cases the printed text is actually a
summary of the work in question with many details relegated to accompanying
supplementary material on the journal's website.

In 2007 Nature (together with

Science) received the

Prince of Asturias Award for Communications an

 

Atmosphere, climate, and weather

A

supercell

thunderstorm.

Main articles:

Earth's atmosphere,

Climate, and

Weather

The atmosphere of the Earth serves as a key factor in sustaining the
planetary

ecosystem. The thin layer of

gases that envelops the Earth is held in place by the planet's gravity. Dry

air consists of 78%

nitrogen, 21%

oxygen, 1%

argon and other

inert gases, carbon dioxide, etc.; but air also contains a variable amount
of

water vapor. The atmospheric pressure declines steadily with altitude, and
has a

scale height of about 8

kilometres at the Earth's surface: the height at which the atmospheric
pressure has declined by a factor of

e (a mathematical constant equal to 2.71...).^[26][27]
The

ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere plays an important role in depleting
the amount of

ultraviolet (UV) radiation that reaches the surface. As

DNA is readily damaged by UV light, this serves to protect life at the
surface. The atmosphere also retains heat during the night, thereby reducing the
daily temperature extremes.

Terrestrial weather occurs almost exclusively in the

lower part of the atmosphere, and serves as a convective system for
redistributing heat. Ocean currents are another important factor in determining
climate, particularly the major underwater

thermohaline circulation which distributes heat energy from the equatorial
oceans to the polar regions. These currents help to moderate the differences in
temperature between winter and summer in the temperate zones. Also, without the
redistributions of heat energy by the ocean currents and atmosphere, the tropics
would be much hotter, and the polar regions much colder.

Weather can have both beneficial and harmful effects. Extremes in weather,
such as

tornadoes or

hurricanes and

cyclones, can expend large amounts of energy along their paths, and produce
devastation. Surface vegetation has evolved a dependence on the seasonal
variation of the weather, and sudden changes lasting only a few years can have a
dramatic effect, both on the vegetation and on the animals dependent on its
growth for their food.