A team from the RIPE project has engineered potato to be more resilient to global warming showing 30% increases in tuber mass under heatwave conditions. This adaptation may provide greater food security for families dependent on potatoes, as these are often the same areas where the changing climate has already affected multiple crop seasons. Their work was recently published in Global Change Biology
Tag: climate change adaptation
UF scientists study how to bring you ‘climate-smart coffee’
Coffee beans consumed across the globe come from two species: Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora, and by 2050, about 80% of Arabica production is predicted to decrease because of climate change. So, scientists are investigating to see if they can find alternative coffee cultivars.
How to Solve the US Homeowners Insurance Crisis
Clifford Rossi, formerly a senior risk executive for the likes of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citigroup and Washington Mutual, proposes a Federal Natural Hazard Insurance Corporation – a private-public approach to providing homeowners insurance across all natural hazards and states that would address myriad failures in today’s insurance market.
Tulane researcher available to talk about the climate-saving power of mangrove forests
Tulane University researcher Daniel Friess and his team work to unveil the critical role that mangrove forests play in the fight against climate change. Mangroves are shrubs or trees that grow mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves have…
Cracking the code: Genome sequencing reveals why songbirds are larger in colder climates
Scientists have unlocked the genetic basis underlying the remarkable variation in body size observed in song sparrows, one of North America’s most familiar and beloved songbirds. This discovery also provides insights into this species’ capacity to adapt to the challenges of climate change.
Increased West Antarctic Ice Sheet melting ‘unavoidable’
Scientists ran simulations on the UK’s national supercomputer to investigate ocean-driven melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet: how much is unavoidable and must be adapted to, and how much melting the international community still has control over through reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists Help Fish Harvesters Implement Adaptive Strategies to Climate Change
For hundreds of years, business owners engaged in New Jersey’s commercial fisheries industry have weathered adversity, from coastal storms to species shifts. Recognizing this resilience, and acknowledging the challenges posed by global climate change, Rutgers scientists have come to their assistance. One of the results of recent efforts is a guide that researchers have developed for marine businesses, A Resilience Checklist for New Jersey’s Commercial Fishing Industry.
New research highlights risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats
Resilient corals, often referred to as ‘super corals’, have recently been seen as potential saviours in the face of climate change and its detrimental effects on coral reefs. Now, a team of scientists is working to better understand these corals in order to develop strategies to protect fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.
Addressing adaptation inequalities in climate research
A new study proposes ways to better incorporate adaptation in climate change research, addressing the uneven distribution of adaptation capacities and needs worldwide.
IIASA analysis underpins new 2040 climate targets by EU Advisors
Today, the European Advisory Board on Climate Change officially published advice to the European Commission, presenting evidence for a 2040 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target, which was substantially informed by an analysis conducted by IIASA.
Framework helps local planners prepare for climate pressures on food, energy & water systems
As the world faces increasingly extreme and frequent weather events brought on by climate change – such as droughts, floods, heatwaves, and wildfires – critical civic resources such as food, water, and energy will be impacted.
Human-wildlife conflicts rising worldwide with climate change
New research shows that a warming world is increasing human-wildlife conflicts globally: Climate shifts can drive conflicts by altering animal habitats, the timing of events, wildlife behaviors and resource availability. It also showed that people are changing their behaviors and locations in response to climate change in ways that increase conflicts.
Forest resilience linked with higher mortality risk in western US, study finds
A forest’s resilience, or ability to absorb environmental disturbances, has long been thought to be a boost for its odds of survival against the looming threat of climate change.
Research reveals plant roots change shape and branch out for water
Researchers have discovered how plant roots adapt their shape to maximise their uptake of water, pausing branching when they lose contact with water and only resuming once they reconnect with moisture, ensuring they can survive even in the driest conditions.
Dam safety: New study indicates probable maximum flood events will significantly increase over next 80 years
The flood capacity of dams could be at greater risk of being exceeded, due to out-of-date modelling for potential maximum rainfall, according to industry-funded research by UNSW and the University of Melbourne.
Revelation and Resilience After Superstorm Sandy: Experts Discuss Extreme Weather, Hurricane Ida and Impact on Climate Change
Rutgers has resources, experts and stories on the impacts for any of your Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Ida and climate-related coverage. Please let me know if you’d like to speak with an expert or discuss work and research related to climate…
Greener Air-Conditioning for a Warmer World
Air-conditioning needs an energy overhaul—PNNL research provides a roadmap to get there using energy efficient adsorption cooling.
Evolving to outpace climate change, tiny marine animal provides new evidence of long-theorized genetic mechanism
Some copepods, diminutive crustaceans with an outsized place in the aquatic food web, can evolve fast enough to survive in the face of rapid climate change, according to new research that addresses a longstanding question in the field of genetics. Barely more than a millimeter long, the copepod Eurytemora affinis paddles its way through the coastal waters of oceans and estuaries around the world in large numbers — mostly getting eaten by juvenile fish, like salmon, herring and anchovy.
Brain Size Determined The Chances of Survival Among Large Animals
Researchers at Tel Aviv University, and the University of Naples, have examined the mass extinction of large animals over the past tens of thousands of years and found that extinct species had, on average, much smaller brains than species that survived.
Managing Water Resources in a Low-to-No-Snow Future
A new Berkeley Lab analysis finds that if greenhouse gas emissions continue along the high-emissions scenario, low-to-no-snow winters will become a regular occurrence in the western U.S. in 35 to 60 years.
Male dragonflies lose their ‘bling’ in hotter climates
A study led by Michael Moore at Washington University in St. Louis finds that dragonfly males have consistently evolved less breeding coloration in regions with hotter climates. The work reveals that mating-related traits can be just as important to how organisms adapt to their climates as survival-related traits.
UNH Research: More Than One Way for Animals to Survive Climate Change
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire found that to live in hotter more desert-like surroundings, and exist without water, there is more than one genetic mechanism allowing animals to adapt. This is important not only for their survival but may also provide important biomedical groundwork to develop gene therapies to treat human dehydration related illnesses, like kidney disease.
Climate change cut farming productivity growth 21% since 1960s
Despite important agricultural advancements to feed the world in the last 60 years, a Cornell University-led study shows that global farming productivity is 21% lower than it could have been without climate change. This is the equivalent of losing about seven years of farm productivity increases since the 1960s.
Global river flow contingent upon climate change
New study shows that as climate change impacts extreme river flows, it could be worsening flooding or increasing water scarcity during dry seasons
Under climate stress, human innovation set stage for population surge
Instead of a collapse amid dry conditions, development of agriculture and increasingly complex human social structures set the stage for a dramatic increase in human population in central plains of China around 3,900 to 3,500 years ago.
Impacts of Climate Change on Our Water and Energy Systems: It’s Complicated
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara have developed a science-based analytic framework to evaluate the complex connections between water and energy, and options for adaptations in response to an evolving climate.
Protecting the global food supply chain
The University of Delaware’s Kyle Davis led a collaborative effort to research how to protect food chains from environmental shocks—everything from floods, droughts, and extreme heat to other phenomena like natural hazards, pests, disease, algal blooms, and coral bleaching.
Coronavirus: a wake-up call to strengthen the global food system
A new commentary in the journal One Earth highlights not only climate-related risks to the global food system, such as drought and floods, but also exposes the coronavirus pandemic as a shock to the system that has led to food crises in many parts of the world. To address the challenges of a globally interconnected food system, a systems approach is required.
Humanity’s best hope for confronting the looming climate crisis rests with the new science of complexity. Roland Kupers offers insights in his new book, A Climate Policy Revolution: What the Science of Complexity Reveals about Saving Our Planet
Roland Kupers offers insights in his new book, A Climate Policy Revolution: What the Science of Complexity Reveals about Saving Our Planet Humanity’s best hope for confronting the looming climate crisis rests with the new science of complexity. The sheer…
Adapting to climate change: We’re doing it wrong
When it comes to adapting to the effects of climate change, scientists and policymakers are thinking too small, according to a new research review.