English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
Esperanto
French
German
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
UrduEast Africa’s iconic rangelands – under threat from climate change and human activity – have the potential to recover from repeated environmental shocks and degradation, a new study has concluded.
Tag: Climate Change
Study finds sinking tundra surface unlikely to trigger runaway permafrost thaw
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists set out to address one of the biggest uncertainties about how carbon-rich permafrost will respond to gradual sinking of the land surface as temperatures rise. Using a high-performance computer simulation, the research team found that soil subsidence is unlikely to cause rampant thawing in the future.
Excess Nutrients Lead to Dramatic Ecosystem Changes in Cape Cod’s Waquoit Bay; The Bay Is a Harbinger for Estuaries Worldwide, Say Researchers
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020 with associated travel restrictions, Matthew Long thought his students could shift their overseas research projects to instead study the seagrass meadow ecosystem in Waquoit Bay. It’s a shallow, micro-tidal estuary on the south side of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, near the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) where Long is an associate scientist in the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department.
Rationing: A fairer way to fight climate change?
World War II-style rationing could be an effective way to reduce carbon emissions, according to new research from the University of Leeds.
Studying ship tracks to inform climate intervention decision-makers
Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories are studying ship tracks — clouds that reflect sunlight and are formed by moving ships, similar to contrails from planes — to help inform decision-makers of the benefits and risks of one technology being considered to slow climate change.
Chulalongkorn University’s “Plant Trees – Get Mushrooms” Strategy Convinces Nan and Saraburi Farmers to Save the Forests
Lecturers of the Faculty of Science, and the Center of Learning Network for Region (CLNR) Chulalongkorn University successfully planted trees in the forests in Nan and Saraburi provinces through innovative seedlings with ectomycorrhiza fungi, motivating villagers and farmers to “plant trees and get mushrooms”, for extra income.
Climate: lessons from the latest global warming
56 million years ago, the Earth experienced one of the largest and most rapid climate warming events in its history: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which has similarities to current and future warming.
New superalloy could cut carbon emissions from power plants
Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories have shown that a new 3D-printed superalloy could help power plants generate more electricity while producing less carbon.
Climate change could cause mass exodus of tropical plankton
The tropical oceans are home to the most diverse plankton populations on Earth, where they form the base of marine food chains.
Before global warming, was the Earth cooling down or heating up?
A review article published today in Nature addresses this conflict between models and evidence, known as the Holocene global temperature conundrum. Lead author Darrell Kaufman, a Regents’ professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability, and University of Arizona postdoctoral researcher Ellie Broadman, a co-author who worked on this study while earning her Ph.D. at NAU, analyzed a broad swath of available data from the last 12,000 years to break down the conundrum.
Climate Change Portends Wider Malaria Risk as Mosquitos Spread South and to Higher Elevations in Africa
Based on data that span the past 120 years, scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center have found that the mosquitoes responsible for transmitting malaria in Africa are spreading deeper into southern Africa and to higher elevations than previously recorded. The researchers estimate that Anopheles mosquito populations in sub-Saharan Africa have gained an average of 6.5 meters (21 feet) of elevation per year, and the southern limits of their ranges moved south of the equator by 4.7 kilometers (nearly 3 miles) per year.
Record low sea ice cover in the Antarctic
There is currently less sea ice in the Antarctic than at any time in the forty years since the beginning of satellite observation: in early February 2023, only 2.20 million square kilometres of the Southern Ocean were covered with sea ice.
Successive, extreme cold events in the Northern Hemisphere this winter may be linked
Climate change is altering weather patterns, making it increasingly difficult to accurately predict extreme cold weather events in the short term.
New research suggests drought accelerated empire collapse
The collapse of the Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age has been blamed on various factors, from war with other territories to internal strife. Now, a Cornell University team has used tree ring and isotope records to pinpoint a more likely culprit: three straight years of severe drought.
What makes people care about the environment?
A new study analyzes the factors that drive environmental concern among Europeans in an effort to understand how we can bolster popular support for combatting climate change.
Study Finds Adverse Impact of Climate on Mental Health in Bangladesh
Extreme heat and humidity and other climate-related events have an alarming impact on mental health outcomes in terms of depression and anxiety in Bangladesh, the world’s seventh most vulnerable country to climate change.
UC Irvine Earth system scientists plot pathways for climate-conscious air travel
With its high-carbon footprint, air travel challenges the goal set by many countries of stabilizing global mean temperature by the middle of the 21st century. The aviation sector could achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through a combination of technology and a change in habits, but it’s not going to be easy, according to Earth system scientists at the University of California, Irvine.
Soil tainted by air pollution expels carbon
New UC Riverside research suggests nitrogen released by gas-powered machines causes dry soil to let go of carbon and release it back into the atmosphere, where it can contribute to climate change.
1.5-degree goal not plausible: social change more important than physical tipping points
Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is currently not plausible, as is shown in a new, central study released by Universität Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society” (CLICCS).
Brookhaven Lab’s Alistair Rogers Named 2022 AAAS Fellow
Alistair Rogers, a plant physiologist who leads the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science & Technology (TEST) Group in the Environmental and Climate Sciences Department at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been named a 2022 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
A fresh look at restoring power to the grid
Sandia National Laboratories computer scientists have been working on an innovative computer model to help grid operators quickly restore power to the grid after a complete disruption, a process called “black start.
DOE Announces a Request for Information to Strengthen and Catalyze Place-Based Regional Innovation
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions and Office of Science today jointly released a request for information (RFI) to strengthen place-based innovation activities by leveraging DOE national laboratories, plants, and sites for the benefit of the American people.
Penguins, Robots, The Ocean and more
Climate change researchers from the University of Delaware are among those in Antarctica conducting fieldwork on penguins, ocean currents and glaciers
Farming more seaweed to be food, feed and fuel
A University of Queensland-led study has shown that expanding global seaweed farming could go a long way to addressing the planet’s food security, biodiversity loss and climate change challenges.
‘Green’ energy patents more focused on ‘clean’ conventional energy instead of renewables
A new study by world leaders in patent data has revealed some unusual trends in energy tech R&D, questioning whether companies are more committed to extracting fossil fuels or in pursuing genuinely ‘green’, renewable energy technologies.
Can Elephants Save the Planet?
In findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Saint Louis University researchers and colleagues report that elephants play a key role in creating forests which store more atmospheric carbon and maintaining the biodiversity of forests in Africa. If the already critically endangered elephants become extinct, rainforest of central and west Africa, the second largest rainforest on earth, would gradually lose between six and nine percent of their ability to capture atmospheric carbon, amplifying planetary warming.
1000 year old record broken: Greenland temperature
Recent high temperatures on the ice sheet in central and northern Greenland lies are unique, when compared to 1000 years of reconstructed climate conditions on the ice sheet.
Just one degree can change a species
It is not exactly a surprise that climate affects life on earth. At least major changes in climate make a difference.
Climate crisis to worsen intensity, frequency of atmospheric rivers
A “parade” of atmospheric river storms that have pummeled California since late December is finally ending, and drier days are ahead. But as the Earth’s climate continues to warm, atmospheric rivers will only become more frequent and intense, warns a University of Miami scientist.
A Climate Change Cautionary Tale: Summer Heatwaves, Low Oxygen Proves Deadly for Bay Scallops as Fishery Collapses in New York
A new study by Stony Brook University researchers published in the journal Global Change Biology demonstrates that warming waters and heat waves have contributed to the loss of an economically and culturally important fishery, the production of bay scallops.
Researchers will harness machine learning to provide residents with personalized warnings for heat emergencies
An automated heat alert system built using innovative machine learning technology could improve preparedness for extreme heat. A research team lead by Iowa State University has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to gather data and develop an automated heat warning system for susceptible Des Moines neighborhoods.
Climate Change Likely to Uproot More Amazon Trees
Tropical forests are crucial for sucking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But they’re also subject to intense storms that can cause “windthrow” – the uprooting or breaking of trees. A new study finds that more extreme thunderstorms from climate change will likely cause a greater number of large windthrow events in the Amazon, which could impact the rainforest’s ability to serve as a carbon sink.
Runaway West Antarctic ice retreat can be slowed by climate-driven changes in ocean temperature
New research finds that ice-sheet-wide collapse in West Antarctica isn’t inevitable: the pace of ice loss varies according to regional differences in atmosphere and ocean circulation.
NASA says 2022 fifth warmest year on record, warming trend continues
Earth’s average surface temperature in 2022 tied with 2015 as the fifth warmest on record, according to an analysis by NASA.
UAlbany Meteorologist Available to Discuss California Storms
Newswise — ALBANY, N.Y. – A series of strong storm systems known as “atmospheric rivers” have dumped massive amounts of rain and snow on California since late December, producing deadly flooding, mudslides, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. California officials reported on…
Using machine learning to help monitor climate-induced hazards
Combining satellite technology with machine learning may allow scientists to better track and prepare for climate-induced natural hazards, according to research presented last month at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Significant reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions still possible
About a quarter of the world’s electricity currently comes from power plants fired by natural gas. These contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions (amounting to 10% of energy-related emissions according to the most recent figures from 2017) and climate change.
Research reveals new links behind climate change in Australia
Cornell College Professor Rhawn Denniston and a team of collaborators have combined stalagmites and climate model simulations to reveal links between monsoon rains and tropical cyclones (called hurricanes in the U.S.) in Australia.
Research reveals new links behind climate change in Australia
A team of scientists, including those from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), have combined stalagmites and climate model simulations to reveal links between monsoon rains and tropical cyclones in Australia.
Corridors between Western U.S. national parks would greatly increase the persistence time of mammals
A new study analyzed the value of establishing ecological corridors for large mammals between Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks and between Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks. These corridors would enlarge populations and species to shift their geographic ranges more readily in response to climate change.
Telehealth cuts health care’s carbon footprint and patient’s costs during pandemic
UC Davis Health researchers assessed the carbon footprint and potential savings in lives, costs and time of telehealth visits during the pandemic’s first two years. They found that video visits in five UC health systems resulted in substantial savings in patient costs and carbon emissions.
Nature conservation needs to incorporate the human approach
An international study led by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) stresses the need to apply a biocultural approach in nature conservation programs.
How climate change impacts the Indian Ocean dipole, leading to severe droughts and floods
With a new analysis of long-term climate data, researchers say they now have a much better understanding of how climate change can impact and cause sea water temperatures on one side of the Indian Ocean to be so much warmer or cooler than the temperatures on the other — a phenomenon that can lead to sometimes deadly weather-related events like megadroughts in East Africa and severe flooding in Indonesia.
Cyclone researchers: Warming climate means more and stronger Atlantic tropical storms
Researchers report a warming climate could increase the number and intensity of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic, potentially creating more and stronger hurricanes. Researchers also examine a possible explanation for the relatively constant number of tropical cyclones around the globe every year.
Climate change could cause “disaster” in the world’s oceans, say UC Irvine scientists
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 4, 2023 — Climate-driven heating of seawater is causing a slowdown of deep circulation patterns in the Atlantic and Southern oceans, according to University of California, Irvine Earth system scientists, and if this process continues, the ocean’s ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere will be severely limited, further exacerbating global warming.
Study Finds Climate Impact Labels on Sample Fast Food Menu Had Strong Effect on Food Selection
A new study has found that including climate impact labels on a sample fast food menu influenced participants’ food choices in favor of more climate-friendly items. The study was led by a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Skiing over Christmas holidays no longer guaranteed – even with snow guns
For many people, holidays in the snow are as much a part of the end of the year as Christmas trees and fireworks. As global warming progresses, however, white slopes are becoming increasingly rare.
Massive “marimo” algae balls at risk from deadly winter sunburn
Climate change could overexpose rare underwater “marimo” algae balls to sunlight, killing them off according to a new study at the University of Tokyo.
Model analysis of atmospheric observations reveals methane leakage in North China
Natural gas is a relatively clean burning fossil fuel, that causes less air pollution than coal and is widely used in the world.
Inflation Reduction Act Offers Significant Benefits for Public Health
An analysis published today in the New England Journal of Medicine describes the significant benefits The Inflation Reduction Act offers to improve public health through tax credits and other financial incentives.