ScienceDaily: Climate News

Active or 'extremely active' Atlantic hurricane season predicted for 2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:49:49 EDT

In its 2013 Atlantic hurricane season outlook issued today, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is forecasting an active or extremely active season this year.

Earth's mantle affects long-term sea-level rise estimates

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

New findings reveal that the U.S. shoreline -- from Virginia to Florida -- has been uplifted by more than 210 feet, meaning less ice melted than expected. This is big news for scientists who use the coastline to predict future sea-level rise.

Bacterium from Canadian high Arctic offers clues to possible life on Mars

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:38:38 EDT

The recent discovery of a bacterium that is able to thrive at minus 15 degrees Celsius, the coldest temperature ever reported for bacterial growth, is exciting because it offers clues about some of the necessary preconditions for microbial life on Mars.

NASA ships sensors for seafaring satellite to France

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:10:10 EDT

Three NASA-built instruments that are integral components of the next in a series of U.S./European ocean altimetry satellites have arrived in France for integration with their spacecraft in preparation for a 2015 launch. Jason-3 will extend the two-decade series of satellites that are tracking global sea level changes and enabling more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts.

Tropical upper atmosphere 'fingerprint' of global warming

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT

The winds of the quasibiennial oscillation in the tropical upper atmosphere have greatly weakened at some altitudes over the last six decades, according to a new study. The finding is consistent with computer model projections of how the upper atmosphere responds to global warming induced by increased greenhouse gas concentrations.

Carbon capture: Making use of minerals

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:10:10 EDT

Ammonium salts could provide a viable way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via carbon mineralization, studies suggest.

Life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:58:58 EDT

Life scientists provide important new details on how climate change will affect interactions between species in newly published research. This knowledge, they say, is critical to making accurate predictions and informing policymakers of how species are likely to be impacted by rising temperatures.

Volcanoes cause climate gas concentrations to vary

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:53:53 EDT

Trace gases and aerosols are major factors influencing the climate. With the help of highly complex installations, such as MIPAS on board of the ENVISAT satellite, researchers try to better understand the processes in the upper atmosphere. Now, scientists have completed a comprehensive overview of sulfur dioxide measurements.

Climate change and wildfire

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:26:26 EDT

Concerns continue to grow about the effects of climate change on fire. Wildfires are expected to increase 50 percent across the United States under a changing climate, over 100 percent in areas of the West by 2050 as projected by some studies. Of equal concern to scientists and policymakers alike are the atmospheric effects of wildfire emissions on climate. A new article synthesizes recent findings on the interactions between fire and climate and outlines future research needs.

Origins of human culture linked to rapid climate change

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:14:14 EDT

Rapid climate change during the Middle Stone Age, between 80,000 and 40,000 years ago, sparked surges in cultural innovation in early modern human populations, according to new research.

Changing Arctic: What should be done?

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:57:57 EDT

In two critical reports released at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna, Sweden on May 15th, scientists helped inform an international body of senior government officials about changing conditions in the Arctic, and potential responses to those changes.

The mammoth's lament: How cosmic impact sparked devastating climate change

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:55:55 EDT

Researchers have found evidence of a major cosmic event near the end of the Ice Age. The ensuing climate change forced many species to adapt or die.

Amazon River exhales virtually all carbon taken up by rainforest

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:43:43 EDT

Woody plant matter is almost completely digested by bacteria living in the Amazon River. This tough stuff plays a major part in fueling the river's breath. The finding has implications for global carbon models, and for the ecology of the Amazon and the world's other rivers. Until recently, people believed much of the rainforest's carbon floated down the Amazon River and ended up deep in the ocean.

Earth's iron core is surprisingly weak

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:54:54 EDT

Researchers have used a diamond anvil cell to squeeze iron at pressures as high as 3 million times that felt at sea level to recreate conditions at the center of Earth. The findings could refine theories of how the planet and its core evolved.

Why we need to put the fish back into fisheries

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:48:48 EDT

Overfishing has reduced fish populations and biodiversity across much of the world’s oceans. In response, fisheries are increasingly reliant on a handful of highly valuable shellfish. However, new research shows this approach to be extremely risky.

Roots of future tropical rainfall: Sea level influenced tropical climate during the last ice age

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:04:04 EDT

How will rainfall patterns across the tropical Indian and Pacific regions change in a future warming world? Climate models generally suggest that the tropics as a whole will get wetter, but the models don't always agree on where rainfall patterns will shift in particular regions within the tropics.

Heat-related deaths in Manhattan projected to rise: Killing season may push into spring and fall

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:04:04 EDT

Researchers say deaths in Manhattan linked to warming climate may rise some 20 percent by the 2020s, and, in some worst-case scenarios, 90 percent or more by the 2080s. Higher winter temperatures may partially offset heat-related deaths by cutting cold-related mortality -- but even so, annual net temperature-related deaths might go up a third.

Frogs, salamanders and climate change

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:37:37 EDT

Increasingly erratic rainfall patterns can lead to declines in southeastern frog and salamander populations, but protecting ponds can improve their plight.

Reading rock to understand how climate change unfolds

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:32:32 EDT

Geologists reads rock, looking for the natural rules that govern the Earth’s climate in the absence of human activity. New work is challenging many assumptions about the ways drastic climate change unfolds – and what to expect next.

Climate change may have little impact on tropical lizards: Study contradicts predictions of widespread extinction

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:58:58 EDT

Climate change may have little impact on many species of tropical lizards, contradicting a host of recent studies that predict their widespread extinction in a rapidly warming planet.

Topography of Eastern Seaboard muddles ancient sea level changes

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:20:20 EDT

The distortion of the ancient shoreline and flooding surface of the US Atlantic Coastal Plain are the direct result of fluctuations in topography in the region and could have implications on understanding long-term climate change, according to a new study.

Team wins Cubesat berth to gather Earth energy imbalance measurements

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:57:57 EDT

A team of scientists has won a berth on a tiny satellite to explore one of NASA's most important frontiers in climate studies: the imbalance in Earth's energy budget and the extent to which fast-changing phenomena, like clouds, contribute to that imbalance.

Research into carbon storage in Arctic tundra reveals unexpected insight into ecosystem resiliency

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:27:27 EDT

When a doctoral student and her advisor went north not long ago to study how long-term warming in the Arctic affects carbon storage, they had made certain assumptions.

World's biggest ice sheets likely more stable than previously believed

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:25:25 EDT

A new study suggests that the previous connections scientists made between ancient shoreline height and ice volumes are erroneous and that perhaps our ice sheets were more stable in the past than we originally thought. The study found that the Earth's hot mantle pushed up segments of ancient shorelines over millions of years, making them appear higher now than they originally were millions of years ago.

World's melting glaciers making large contribution to sea rise

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:25:25 EDT

While 99 percent of Earth's land ice is locked up in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the remaining ice in the world's glaciers contributed just as much to sea rise as the two ice sheets combined from 2003 to 2009, says a new study.

Scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:30:30 EDT

A comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed articles on the topic of global warming and climate change has revealed an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-caused.

Methane emissions higher than thought across much of U.S.

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:50:50 EDT

After taking a rented camper outfitted with special equipment to measure methane on a cross-continent drive, a scientist has found that methane emissions across large parts of the US are higher than currently known, confirming what other more local studies have found.

Emotional response to climate change influences whether we seek or avoid further information

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:14:14 EDT

Because information about climate change is ubiquitous in the media, researchers looked at why many Americans know so little about its causes and why many are not interested in finding out more.

'Fish thermometer' reveals long-standing, global impact of climate change

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Climate change has been impacting global fisheries for the past four decades by driving species towards cooler, deeper waters, according to scientists.

Billion-year-old water could hold clues to life on Earth and Mars

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Scientists have discovered ancient pockets of water, which have been isolated deep underground for billions of years and contain abundant chemicals known to support life. This water could be some of the oldest on the planet and may even contain life. Not just that, but the similarity between the rocks that trapped it and those on Mars raises the hope that comparable life-sustaining water could lie buried beneath the Red Planet's surface.

Fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula driven by tropically forced circulation

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:14:14 EDT

New research shows that, in recent decades, fall is the only period of extensive warming over the entire Antarctic Peninsula, and it is mostly from atmospheric circulation patterns originating in the tropics.

Helping forests gain ground on climate change

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:50:50 EDT

Researchers in Canada have developed guidelines being used by foresters and the timber industry to get a jump on climate change when planting trees.

Warming in central China greater than most climate models indicated

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:49:49 EDT

New data from Central China reveal that temperatures have risen 10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 20,000 years in this region, an increase two to four times greater than what many scientists previously thought.

European winter weather harder to forecast in certain years

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:52:52 EDT

Weather forecasters have a tougher job predicting winter conditions over Europe in some years over others, concludes a new study.

Cooling ocean temperature could buy more time for coral reefs

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:28:28 EDT

Limiting the amount of warming experienced by the world's oceans in the future could buy some time for tropical coral reefs, say researchers.

Sulfate aerosols cool climate less than assumed

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:53:53 EDT

Life span of cloud-forming sulfate particles in the air is shorter than assumed due to a sulfur dioxide oxidation pathway which has been neglected in climate models so far.

Could carbon dioxide be injected in sandstone? Would it stay there?

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:53:53 EDT

As carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere top 400 parts per million, options such as storing the greenhouse gas in porous sandstone rock formations found in abundance on the sea floor are of increasing interest. But how do we know if carbon dioxide can be safely injected into spongy sandstone, and that once it is there, that it will stay there?

Scientists use crowd-sourcing to help map global carbon dioxide emissions

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:50:50 EDT

Climate science researchers from Arizona State University are launching a first-of-its-kind website to better understand and track greenhouse gas emissions from global power plants.

Scientists find extensive glacial retreat in Mount Everest region

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:48:48 EDT

Researchers taking a new look at the snow and ice covering Mount Everest and the national park that surrounds it are finding abundant evidence that the world's tallest peak is shedding its frozen cloak. The scientists have also been studying temperature and precipitation trends in the area and found that the Everest region has been warming while snowfall has been declining since the early 1990s.

Global warming trends contribute to spread of West Nile virus to new regions in Europe

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:52:52 EDT

Global warming trends have a significant influence on the spread of West Nile Virus to new regions in Europe and neighboring countries, where the disease wasn’t present before, according to a new study. The study found that rising temperatures have a more considerable contribution than humidity, to the spread of the disease, while the effect of rain was inconclusive.

As Canada takes Arctic Council helm, experts stress north's vulnerability to spills, emergencies

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:33:33 EDT

It is crucial that northern nations strengthen response capabilities to shipping-related accidents foreseen in newly-opened northern waters, as well as to more-common local emergencies such as floods, forest fires and rescue situations, experts say.

Climate change will cause widespread global-scale loss of common plants and animals, researchers predict

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:09:09 EDT

Climate change will cause widespread global-scale loss of common plants and animals. More than half of common plants and one third of the animals could see a dramatic decline this century due to climate change, according to new research. The study looked at 50,000 globally widespread and common species and found that more than one half of the plants and one third of the animals will lose more than half of their climatic range by 2080 if nothing is done to reduce the amount of global warming and slow it down.

Carbon dioxide at NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory reaches new milestone: Tops 400 parts per million

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:06:06 EDT

On May 9, the daily mean concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, surpassed 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time since measurements began in 1958. Independent measurements made by both NOAA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been approaching this level during the past week. It marks an important milestone because Mauna Loa, as the oldest continuous carbon dioxide measurement station in the world, is the primary global benchmark site for monitoring the increase of this potent heat-trapping gas.

No-win situation for agricultural expansion in the Amazon

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:55:55 EDT

The large-scale expansion of agriculture in the Amazon through deforestation will be a no-win scenario, according to a new study. The study shows that deforestation will not only reduce the capacity of the Amazon’s natural carbon sink, but will also inflict climate feedbacks that will decrease the productivity of pasture and soybeans.

Dust in the clouds: Cirrus clouds form around mineral dust and metallic particles

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:21:21 EDT

Cirrus clouds influence global climate, cooling the planet by reflecting incoming solar radiation and warming it by trapping outgoing heat. Understanding the mechanisms by which these clouds form may help scientists better predict future climate patterns. Scientists have now identified the major seeds on which cirrus clouds form.

Ice-free Arctic may be in our future, international researchers say

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:20:20 EDT

Analyses of the longest continental sediment core ever collected in the Arctic provide "absolutely new knowledge" of Arctic climate from 2.2 to 3.6 million years ago. The research has major implications for understanding how the Arctic transitioned from a forested landscape without ice sheets to the ice- and snow-covered land we know today.

Coral reefs suffering, but collapse not inevitable

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:34:34 EDT

Coral reefs are in decline, but their collapse can still be avoided with local and global action. That's according to findings based on an analysis that combines the latest science on reef dynamics with the latest climate models.

Geologists study mystery of 'eternal flames'

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:07:07 EDT

"Eternal flames" fueled by hydrocarbon gas could shine a light on the presence of natural gas in underground rock layers and conditions that let it seep to the surface, according to new research.

In ancient China, sago palms were major plant food prior to rice cultivation

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:21:21 EDT

Before rice cultivation became prevalent, ancient populations on the southern coast of China likely relied on sago palms as staple plant foods, according to new research.

Dietary flexibility may have helped some large predators survive after last ice age

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:14:14 EDT

During the late Pleistocene, a diverse assemblage of large-bodied mammals inhabited the "mammoth steppe" of northern Eurasia and Beringia. Of the large predators -- wolves, bears, and big cats -- only the wolves and bears were able to maintain their ranges well after the end of the last ice age. A new study suggests that dietary flexibility may have been an important factor giving wolves and bears an edge over saber-toothed cats and cave lions.

Decline in snow cover spells trouble for many plants, animals

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:44:44 EDT

For plants and animals forced to tough out harsh winter weather, the coverlet of snow that blankets the north country is a refuge, a stable beneath-the-snow habitat that gives essential respite from biting winds and subzero temperatures.

Landsat thermal sensor lights up from volcano's heat

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:17:17 EDT

As the Landsat Data Continuity Mission satellite flew over Indonesia's Flores Sea April 29, it captured an image of Paluweh volcano spewing ash into the air. The satellite's Operational Land Imager detected the white cloud of smoke and ash drifting northwest, over the green forests of the island and the blue waters of the tropical sea. The Thermal Infrared Sensor on LDCM picked up even more.

Climate change, not human activity, led to megafauna extinction

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:17:17 EDT

Most species of gigantic animals that once roamed Australia had disappeared by the time people arrived, a major review of the available evidence has concluded. The research challenges the claim that humans were primarily responsible for the demise of the megafauna in a proposed "extinction window" between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago, and points the finger instead at climate change.

The Black Sea is a goldmine of ancient genetic data

Mon, 06 May 2013 18:17:17 EDT

When one marine paleoecologist was mining through vast amounts of genetic data from the Black Sea sediment record, he was amazed about the variety of past plankton species that left behind their genetic makeup (i.e., the plankton paleome).

Scaling up gyroscopes: From navigation to measuring Earth's rotation

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:12:12 EDT

Researchers discuss “large ring laser gyroscopes” that are six orders of magnitude more sensitive than gyroscopes commercially available.

Scientists alarmed by rapid spread of brown streak disease in cassava

Mon, 06 May 2013 09:55:55 EDT

Cassava experts are reporting new outbreaks and the increased spread of Cassava Brown Streak Disease or CBSD, warning that the rapidly proliferating plant virus could cause a 50 percent drop in production of a crop that provides a significant source of food and income for 300 million Africans.

More hurricanes for Hawaii?

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:59:59 EDT

Hawaii, fortunately, has been largely free from hurricanes, only two having made landfall in more than 30 years. Now a new study shows that Hawaii could see a two-to-three-fold increase in tropical cyclones by the last quarter of this century.

As climate changes, boreal forests to shift north and relinquish more carbon than expected

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:59:59 EDT

New research maps how Earth's myriad climates -- and the ecosystems that depend on them -- could move from one area to another as global temperatures rise. The approach foresees big changes for one of the planet's great carbon sponges. Boreal forests will likely shift north at a steady clip this century. Along the way, the vegetation will relinquish more trapped carbon than most current climate models predict.

Brighter clouds, cooler climate? Organic vapors affect clouds, leading to previously unidentified climate cooling

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:58:58 EDT

Scientists have shown that natural emissions and humanmade pollutants can both have an unexpected cooling effect on Earth's climate by making clouds brighter.

Global highways of invasive marine species calculated

Sun, 05 May 2013 07:37:37 EDT

New research has mapped the most detailed forecast to date for importing potentially harmful invasive species with the ballast water of cargo ships.