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Ocean carbon cycle research gets boost from satellite data
Science Daily, May 7, 2008: The Earth's oceans play a vital role in the carbon cycle, making it imperative that we understand marine biological activity enough to predict how our planet will react to the extra 25,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the atmosphere annually.
New breed of supercomputers proposed to improve climate change prediction accuracy
Science Daily, May 6, 2008: Three researchers from the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have proposed an innovative way to improve global climate change predictions by using a supercomputer with low-power embedded microprocessors, an approach that would overcome limitations posed by today's conventional supercomputers.
New grass cuts methane gas from cattle, may help reduce global warming
Science Daily, May 6, 2008: Grass that may help tackle global warming by cutting the level of methane given off by cows is being developed by scientists reports the latest issue of the Society of Chemical Industry's magazine Chemistry & Industry.
Global warming will negatively impact tropical species
EurekAlert, May 5, 2008: Global warming is likely to reduce the health of tropical species, scientists from UCLA and the University of Washington report May 6 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. At the same time, a little bit of warming may actually move certain organisms, particularly insects, in the high latitudes closer to their optimal temperature, the researchers say.
Will global warming take a short break? Improved climate predictions suggest a reduced warming trend during the next 10 years
Science Daily, May 5, 2008: To date climate change projections, as published in the last IPCC report, only considered changes in future atmospheric composition. This strategy is appropriate for long-term changes in climate such as predictions for the end of the century. However, in order to predict short-term developments over the next decade, models need additional information on natural climate variations, in particular associated with ocean currents.
Turning fungus into fuel: organism with taste for olive drab shows promise for greener energy
Science Daily, May 5, 2008: A spidery fungus with a voracious appetite for military uniforms and canvas tents could hold the key to improvements in the production of biofuels, a team of government, academic and industry researchers has announced.
Global warming linked to caribou-calf mortality
Science Daily, May 2, 2008: Fewer caribou calves are being born and more of them are dying in West Greenland as a result of a warming climate, according to Eric Post, a Penn State associate professor of biology.
Oxygen depletion: A new form of ocean habitat loss
EurekAlert, May 1, 2008: An international team of physical oceanographers, including a researcher from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, has discovered that oxygen-poor regions of tropical oceans are expanding as the oceans warm, limiting the areas in which predatory fishes and other marine organisms can live or enter in search of food.
Limitations of charcoal as an effective carbon sink
Science Daily, May 1, 2008: Fire-derived charcoal is thought to be an important carbon sink. However, a SLU paper in Science shows that charcoal promotes soil microbes and causes a large loss of soil carbon.
Global warming affects world's largest freshwater lake
Science Daily, May 1, 2008: Russian and American scientists have discovered that the rising temperature of the world's largest lake, located in frigid Siberia, shows that this region is responding strongly to global warming.
New ocean current discovered
Science Daily, April 30, 2008: Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a new climate pattern called the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation.
CU-Boulder researchers forecast 3-in-5 chance of record low Arctic sea ice in 2008
EurekAlert, April 30, 2008: New University of Colorado at Boulder calculations indicate the record low minimum extent of sea ice across the Arctic last September has a three-in-five chance of being shattered again in 2008 because of continued warming temperatures and a preponderance of younger, thinner ice.
Scientists head to warming Alaska on ice core expedition
EurekAlert, April 29, 2008: In an effort to better understand how the Pacific Northwest fits into the larger climate-change picture, scientists from the University of New Hampshire and University of Maine are heading to Denali National Park on the second leg of a multi-year mission to recover ice cores from glaciers in the Alaska wilderness.
Before fossil fuels, Earth's minerals kept carbon dioxide in check
Science Daily, April 29, 2008: Over millions of years carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have been moderated by a finely-tuned natural feedback system – a system that human emissions have recently overwhelmed.
Monitoring of carbon dioxide will require global data collection ten times larger than current set up
Science Daily, April 29, 2008: Monitoring Earth's rising greenhouse gas levels will require a global data collection network 10 times larger than the one currently in place in order to quantify regional progress in emission reductions, according to a new research commentary by University of Colorado and NOAA researchers appearing in the April 25 issue of Science.
Carbon footprint of best-conserving Americans is still double global average
Science Daily, April 28, 2008: An MIT class has estimated the carbon emissions of Americans in a wide variety of lifestyles – from the homeless to multimillionaires, from Buddhist monks to soccer moms – and compared them to those of other nations. The somewhat disquieting bottom line is that in the United States, even the people with the lowest usage of energy are still producing, on average, more than double the global per-capita average.
Pricing can cut carbon dioxide emissions from electric generators
Science Daily, April 28, 2008: Levying a price on carbon dioxide released by electric generators could considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions – even before the deployment of any environmentally friendly technology – according to scientists in Pennsylvania.
Artificial photosynthesis moves a step closer
Science Daily, April 28, 2008: Imagine a technology that would not only provide a green and renewable source of electrical energy, but could also help scrub the atmosphere of excessive carbon dioxide resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. That's the promise of artificial versions of photosynthesis, the process by which green plants have been converting solar energy into electrochemical energy for millions of years.
Emissions irrelevant to future climate change?
EurekAlert, April 27, 2008: Climate change and the carbon emissions seem inextricably linked. However, new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Carbon Balance and Management suggests that this may not always hold true, although it may be some time before we reach this saturation point.
Arctic marine mammals on thin ice
Science Daily, April 26, 2008: The loss of sea ice due to climate change could spell disaster for polar bears and other Arctic marine mammals. Sea ice is the common habitat feature uniting these unique and diverse Arctic inhabitants.
Scientists reveal presence of ocean current 'stripes'
Science Daily, April 25, 2008: More than 20 years of continuous measurements and a dose of "belief" yield discovery of subtle ocean currents that could dramatically improve forecasts of climate, ecosystem changes.
Stratospheric injections to counter global warming could damage ozone layer
EurekAlert, April 24, 2008: A much-discussed idea to offset global warming by injecting sulfate particles into the stratosphere would have a drastic impact on Earth's protective ozone layer, new research concludes. The study warns that such an approach might delay the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole by decades and cause significant ozone loss over the Arctic.
Newly created microbe produces cellulose and sugars for biofuels
Science Daily, April 24, 2008: A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists from The University of Texas at Austin who say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation's transportation fuel if production can be scaled up.
Better regional monitoring of CO2 needed as global levels continue rising
EurekAlert, April 24, 2008: Monitoring Earth's rising greenhouse gas levels will require a global data collection network 10 times larger than the one currently in place in order to quantify regional progress in emission reductions, according to a new research commentary by University of Colorado and NOAA researchers appearing in the April 25 issue of Science.
Greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane, rise sharply in 2007
Science Daily, April 24, 2008: Last year alone global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global climate change, increased by 0.6 percent, or 19 billion tons. Additionally methane rose by 27 million tons after nearly a decade with little or no increase.
Are Ice Age relics the next casualty of climate change?
EurekAlert, April 24, 2008: The Wildlife Conservation Society recently launched a four-year study to determine if climate change is affecting populations of a quintessential Arctic denizen: the rare musk ox.
Ozone hole recovery may reshape Southern Hemisphere climate change and amplify Antarctic warming
Science Daily, April 24, 2008: A full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole could modify climate change in the Southern Hemisphere and even amplify Antarctic warming, according to scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.
Technological breakthrough in the fight to cut greenhouse gases
Science Daily, April 24, 2008: Scientists at Newcastle University have pioneered breakthrough technology in the fight to cut greenhouse gases. The Newcastle University team has developed a highly energy-efficient method of converting waste carbon dioxide into chemical compounds known as cyclic carbonates.
Want to reduce your food-related carbon footprint? What you eat is more important than where it came from
Science Daily, April 22, 2008: The old adage, "We are what we eat," may be the latest recipe for success when it comes to curbing the perils of global climate warming. Despite the recent popular attention to the distance that food travels from farm to plate, aka "food miles," Carnegie Mellon researchers argue in an upcoming article that it is dietary choice, not food miles, which most determines a household's food-related climate impacts.
Larger Pacific climate event helps current La Niña linger
Science Daily, April 22, 2008: Boosted by the influence of a larger climate event in the Pacific, one of the strongest La Niñas in many years is slowly weakening but continues to blanket the Pacific Ocean near the equator, as shown by new sea-level height data collected by the US-French Jason oceanographic satellite.
Researchers propose way to incorporate deforestation into climate change treaty
Science Daily, April 22, 2008: Purdue University researchers have proposed a new option for incorporating deforestation into the international climate change treaty. The approach, titled "Preservation Pathway," would provide carbon credits for developing countries that both set aside a portion of existing forests and slow the rate at which the remaining forests are cut down.
Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide cause a rise in ocean plankton calcification
Science Daily, April 22, 2008: Increased carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere is causing microscopic ocean plants to produce greater amounts of calcium carbonate (chalk) – with potentially wide ranging implications for predicting the cycling of carbon in the oceans and climate modelling.
Arctic ice more vulnerable to sunny weather, new study shows
Science Daily, April 21, 2008: The shrinking expanse of Arctic sea ice is increasingly vulnerable to summer sunshine, new research concludes. The study, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Colorado State University, finds that unusually sunny weather contributed to last summer's record loss of Arctic ice, while similar weather conditions in past summers do not appear to have had comparable impacts.
Current spike in atmospheric methane mirrors early climate change events
Science Daily, April 21, 2008: Ice cores are essential for climate research, because they represent the only archive which allows direct measurements of atmospheric composition and greenhouse gas concentrations in the past.
Antarctic deep sea gets colder, which might stimulate circulation of oceanic water masses
Science Daily, April 21, 2008: The Antarctic deep sea gets colder, which might stimulate the circulation of the oceanic water masses. At the same time satellite images from the Antarctic summer have shown the largest sea-ice extent on record. In the coming years autonomous measuring buoys will be used to find out whether the cold Antarctic summer induces a new trend or was only a "slip".
Questioning nuclear power's ability to forestall global warming
Science Daily, April 21, 2008: Rising energy and environmental costs may prevent nuclear power from being a sustainable alternative energy source in the fight against global warming, according to a new study.
Climate change likely to intensify storms, new study confirms
Science Daily, April 19, 2008: Hurricanes in some areas, including the North Atlantic, are likely to become more intense as a result of global warming even though the number of such storms worldwide may decline, according to a new study by MIT researchers.
Global land temperature warmest on record in March 2008
Science Daily, April 18, 2008: The average global land temperature last month was the warmest on record and ocean surface temperatures were the 13th warmest. Combining the land and the ocean temperatures, the overall global temperature ranked the second warmest for the month of March.
Seven months on a drifting ice floe
Science Daily, April 18, 2008: For the first time, a German has taken part in a Russian drift expedition and has explored the atmosphere above the central Arctic during the polar night.
While stability far from assured, Greenland perhaps not headed down too slippery a slope
EurekAlert, April 17, 2008: Lubricating meltwater that makes its way from the surface down to where a glacier meets bedrock turns out to be only a minor reason why Greenland's outlet glaciers accelerated their race to the sea 50 to 100 percent in the 1990s and early 2000s, according to University of Washington's Ian Joughin and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Sarah Das.
Jet streams are shifting and may alter paths of storms and hurricanes
Science Daily, April 17, 2008: The Earth's jet streams, the high-altitude bands of fast winds that strongly influence the paths of storms and other weather systems, are shifting – possibly in response to global warming. Scientists at the Carnegie Institution determined that over a 23-year span from 1979 to 2001 the jet streams in both hemispheres have risen in altitude and shifted toward the poles.
Tiny tremors can track extreme storms in a warming planet
EurekAlert, April 17, 2008: Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves – often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations around the world – suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America.
Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, largest in Northern Hemisphere, has fractured into three main pieces
Science Daily, April 16, 2008: A team of scientists including polar expert Dr. Derek Mueller from Trent University and Canadian Rangers have discovered that the largest ice shelf in the Northern Hemisphere has fractured into three main pieces.
Ancient method, 'black gold agriculture' may revolutionize farming, curb global warming
Science Daily, April 15, 2008: Fifteen hundred years ago, tribes people from the central Amazon basin mixed their soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark. Today, at the site of this charcoal deposit, scientists have found some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world. Now this ancient, remarkably simple farming technique seems far ahead of the curve, holding promise as a carbon-negative strategy to rein in world hunger as well as greenhouse gases.
Forests' long-term potential for carbon offsetting
EurekAlert, April 14, 2008: As well as cutting our fossil fuel emissions, planting new forests, or managing existing forests or agricultural land more effectively can capitalise on nature's ability to act as a carbon sink. Research published online in the open access journal Carbon Balance and Management shows that although planting trees alone is unlikely to solve our climate problems, large-scale plantations could have a significant effect in the longer term.
Scientists debate the accuracy of Al Gore's documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth'
Science Daily, April 14, 2008: There is no question that Al Gore's 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth is a powerful example of how scientific knowledge can be communicated to a lay audience. What is up for debate is whether it accurately presents the scientific argument that global warming is caused by human activities.
How sweet it is: 'Revolutionary' process points to sugar-fueled cars
EurekAlert, April 9, 2008: Chemists are describing development of a "revolutionary" process for converting plant sugars into hydrogen, which could be used to cheaply and efficiently power vehicles equipped with hydrogen fuel cells without producing any pollutants.
Carbon dioxide removed from smokestacks could be useful in DVD and CD-ROM manufacture
Science Daily, April 9, 2008: Carbon dioxide removed from smokestack emissions in order to slow global warming in the future could become a valuable raw material for the production of DVDs, beverage bottles and other products made from polycarbonate plastics, chemists are reporting.
'Revolutionary' carbon dioxide maps zoom in on greenhouse gas sources
Science Daily, April 8, 2008: A new, high-resolution, interactive map of US carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that the emissions aren't all where we thought.
Why is Arctic sea ice melting faster than predicted? NOAA probing Arctic pollution
Science Daily, April 7, 2008: NOAA scientists are now flying through springtime Arctic pollution to find out why the region is warming – and summertime sea ice is melting – faster than predicted. Some 35 NOAA researchers are gathering with government and university colleagues in Fairbanks, Alaska, to conduct the study through April 23.
Climate change will erode foundations of health, World Health Organization warns
Science Daily, April 7, 2008: Scientists tell us that the evidence the Earth is warming is "unequivocal." Increases in global average air and sea temperature, ice melting and rising global sea levels all help us understand and prepare for the coming challenges.
Harmful algae takes advantage of global warming: more algae blooms expected
Science Daily, April 7, 2008: You know that green scum creeping across the surface of your local public water reservoir? Or maybe it's choking out a favorite fishing spot or livestock watering hole. It's probably cyanobacteria – blue-green algae – and, according to a paper in the April 4 issue of the journal Science, it relishes the weather extremes that accompany global warming.
Multi-century high-resolution climate simulations created using supercomputers
Science Daily, April 5, 2008: Using state-of-the-art supercomputers, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientists have performed a 400-year high-resolution global ocean-atmosphere simulation with results that are more similar to actual observations of surface winds and sea surface temperatures.
Airborne study of Arctic atmosphere, air pollution launched
Science Daily, April 4, 2008: This month, NASA begins the most extensive field campaign ever to investigate the chemistry of the Arctic's lower atmosphere. The mission is poised to help scientists identify how air pollution contributes to climate changes in the Arctic.
Climate change is not caused by cosmic rays, according to new research
Science Daily, April 3, 2008: New research has dealt a blow to the skeptics who argue that climate change is all due to cosmic rays rather than to man-made greenhouse gases. The new evidence shows no reliable connection between the cosmic ray intensity and cloud cover.
Protection for polar bears urged by National Wildlife Federation
Science Daily, April 3, 2008: At a hearing on Capitol Hill April 2, the National Wildlife Federation urged immediate action to protect America's polar bears from the impacts of climate change by listing polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.
Algae could one day be major hydrogen fuel source
Science Daily, April 2, 2008: As gas prices continue to soar to record highs, motorists are crying out for an alternative that won't cramp their pocketbooks. Scientists at US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are answering that call by working to chemically manipulate algae for production of the next generation of renewable fuels – hydrogen gas.
Indigenous peoples hardest hit by climate change describe impacts
EurekAlert, April 2, 2008: Indigenous peoples have contributed the least to world greenhouse gas emissions and have the smallest ecological footprints on Earth. Yet they suffer the worst impacts not only of climate change, but also from some of the international mitigation measures being taken, according to organizers of a United Nations University co-hosted meeting April 3 in Darwin, Australia.
Carbon dioxide emission reduction assumptions overly optimistic, study says
Science Daily, April 2, 2008: Reducing global emissions of carbon dioxide over the coming century will be more challenging than society has been led to believe, according to a new research commentary appearing April 3 in Nature.
Climate changing gas from some surprising microbial liaisons
Innovations Report, April 2, 2008: The climate changing gas dimethyl sulphide is being made by microbes at the rate of more than 200 million tonnes a year in the world's seas, scientists heard at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
Climate models look good when predicting climate change
Science Daily, April 2, 2008: The accuracy of computer models that predict climate change over the coming decades has been the subject of debate among politicians, environmentalists and even scientists. A new study by meteorologists at the University of Utah shows that current climate models are quite accurate and can be valuable tools for those seeking solutions on reversing global warming trends.
Some biofuels risk biodiversity and could end up harming environment
Science Daily, April 1, 2008: Biofuels are widely considered one of the most promising sources of renewable energy by policy makers and environmentalists alike. However, unless principles and standards for production are developed and implemented, certain biofuels will cause severe environmental impacts and reduce biodiversity – the very opposite of what is desired.
Tropical forests not likely to limit expected rapid rise in carbon dioxide, major study suggests
Science Daily, April 1, 2008: More than two million trees belonging to nearly 5000 species, growing in tropical forests spread over 12 sites and three continents, have been monitored since the 1980s. The aims of this major study were to analyze the carbon storage capacity of tropical forests and measure the effects of climate change on how they function.
Specially-designed soils could help combat climate change
Science Daily, March 31, 2008: Could part of the answer to saving the Earth from global warming lie in the earth beneath our feet? A team from Newcastle University aims to design soils that can remove carbon from the atmosphere, permanently and cost-effectively. This has never previously been attempted anywhere in the world.
No laughing matter – bacteria are releasing a serious greenhouse gas
EurekAlert, March 30, 2008: Unlike carbon dioxide and methane, laughing gas has been largely ignored by world leaders as a worrying greenhouse gas. But nitrous oxide must be taken more seriously, says Professor David Richardson from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK.
Global warming bringing early spring seasons to Eurasian forests
Science Daily, March 30, 2008: With the help of satellite data, researchers from laboratories in France, the UK, Japan and Russia have completed the accurate and large-scale mapping of leaf appearance dates in boreal forests. Their work has revealed a remarkable trend towards earlier foliation, which occurred between 1987 and 1990, over a large part of northern Eurasia, caused by the unprecedented increase in spring temperatures since 1921.
Increased knowledge about global warming leads to apathy, study shows
EurekAlert, March 27, 2008: The more you know the less you care – at least that seems to be the case with global warming. A telephone survey of 1,093 Americans by two Texas A&M University political scientists and a former colleague indicates that trend, as explained in their recent article in the peer-reviewed journal Risk Analysis.
New approach to measuring carbon in forests
PhysOrg, March 26, 2008: Forests are the world's main above-ground carbon store and are therefore critical in controlling the global carbon cycle. But estimating the amount of carbon stored in forests over a large scale is difficult. An American project is using the CSIRO-designed ECHIDNA instrument, together with airborne sensors, to provide a practical technique for broad-scale structural mapping of forests.
Black carbon pollution emerges as major player in global warming
Innovations Report, March 25, 2008: Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Antarctic ice shelf 'hangs by a thread'
EurekAlert, March 25, 2008: British Antarctic Survey has captured dramatic satellite and video images of an Antarctic ice shelf that looks set to be the latest to break out from the Antarctic Peninsula.
Gulf Stream leaves its signature seven miles high
Science Daily, March 24, 2008: The Gulf Stream's impact on climate is well known, keeping Iceland and Scotland comfortable in winter compared to the deep-freeze of Labrador at the same latitude. That cyclones tend to spawn over the Gulf Stream has also been known for some time.
Insects take a bigger bite out of plants in a higher CO2 world
EurekAlert, March 24, 2008: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are rising at an alarming rate, and new research indicates that soybean plant defenses go down as CO2 goes up. Elevated CO2 impairs a key component of the plant's defenses against leaf-eating insects, according to the report.
Scientists investigate marine photosynthesis
Innovations Report, March 20, 2008: Scientists from the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Essex have been awarded £400,000 to study the effects of phosphorous and iron limitation on photosynthetic algae crucial to combating global warming.
Reducing carbon emissions could help – not harm – US economy
EurekAlert, March 19, 2008: A national policy to cut carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent over the next 20 years could still result in increased economic growth, according to an interactive website that reviews 25 of the leading economic models used to predict the economic impacts of reducing emissions.
Researchers say Arctic sea ice still at risk despite cold winter
EurekAlert, March 18, 2008: Using the latest satellite observations, NASA researchers and others report that the Arctic is still on "thin ice" when it comes to the condition of sea ice cover in the region. A colder-than-average winter in some regions of the Arctic this year has yielded an increase in the area of new sea ice, while the older sea ice that lasts for several years has continued to decline.
Satellites can help Arctic grazers survive killer winter storms
EurekAlert, March 18, 2008: Rain falling on snow sounds like a relatively harmless weather event, but when it happens in the far north it can mean lingering death for reindeer, musk oxen and other animals that normally graze on the Arctic tundra.
Glaciers are melting faster than expected, UN reports
Science Daily, March 18, 2008: The world's glaciers are continuing to melt away with the latest official figures showing record losses, the UN Environment Programme announced today.
Satellite makes first ever observation of regionally elevated carbon dioxide from manmade emissions
Science Daily, March 18, 2008: Using data from the SCIAMACHY instrument aboard ESA's Envisat environmental satellite, scientists have for the first time detected regionally elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide – the most important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming – originating from manmade emissions.
Coolest winter since 2001 for US, globe, according to NOAA data
Science Daily, March 15, 2008: The average temperature across both the contiguous US and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC.
Promote green buildings for biggest, easiest cuts in North American CO2 emissions: CEC report
EurekAlert, March 13, 2008: Promoting the green design, construction, renovation and operation of buildings could cut North American greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change more deeply, quickly and cheaply than any other available measure, according to a new report issued by the trinational Commission for Environmental Cooperation.