Coldest Northern Hemisphere temperature, first recorded by UW–Madison, officially confirmed

Nearly 30 years after recording a temperature of minus 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 69.6 Celsius) in Greenland, the measurement has been verified by the World Meteorological Organization as the coldest recorded temperature in the Northern Hemisphere. The measurement was first recorded by a University of Wisconsin–Madison Antarctic Meteorological Research Center Automatic Weather Station in December 1991.

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss Fall Foliage Outlook in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (Sept. 23, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson and tree expert Jason Grabosky are available for interviews on the outlook for the fall foliage season in the Garden State. “Seasonable temperatures, including some cool nights, and adequate rainfall during…

Evaporation Critical to Coronavirus Transmission as Weather Changes

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, it is increasingly urgent to understand how climate impacts the spread of the coronavirus, particularly as winter virus infections are more common and the northern hemisphere will soon see cooler temperatures. In Physics of Fluids, researchers studied the effects of relative humidity, environmental temperature, and wind speed on the respiratory cloud and virus viability. They found a critical factor for the transmission of the infectious particles is evaporation.

James Randerson, UCI professor of Earth system science, available to comment on western U.S. wildfires

Prof. Jim Randerson is a leading U.S. expert on human impacts on biogeochemical cycles, with particular empasis on climate and wildfires. A good summary of his research activities can be found here: https://sites.uci.edu/randersonlab/media/. Jim’s lab website: https://sites.uci.edu/randersonlab/. If you would…

China’s ecological restoration projects deplete terrestrial water stores

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 10, 2020 – Through concerted, policy-driven efforts, China has converted large swaths of desert into grassland over the past few decades, but this success has come at a cost. In a study published recently in Nature Sustainability, scientists at the University of California, Irvine report that the Asian nation’s environmental reclamation programs have substantially diminished terrestrially stored water.

UCI and international institutions link Southeast Asia megadrought to drying in Africa

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 21, 2020 – Physical evidence found in caves in Laos helps tell a story about a connection between the end of the Green Sahara – when once heavily vegetated Northern Africa became a hyper-arid landscape – and a previously unknown megadrought that crippled Southeast Asia 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, scientists at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Pennsylvania, William Paterson University of New Jersey and other international institutions explain how this major climate transformation led to a shift in human settlement patterns in Southeast Asia, which is now inhabited by more than 600 million people.

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss Tropical Storm Isaias Threats, Record N.J. Warmth in July

New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 4, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson and meteorologist Steve Decker are available for interviews on the outlook for Tropical Storm Isaias in New Jersey and the record warmth in July. “Isaias has the potential…

UCI engineers evaluate snow drought in different parts of the world

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 3, 2020 — Environmental engineers at the University of California, Irvine have developed a new framework for characterizing snow droughts around the world. Using this tool to analyze conditions from 1980 to 2018, the researchers found a 28-percent increase in the length of intensified snow-water deficits in the Western United States during the second half of the study period.

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Global Climate Change Mortality Study

New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Robert E. Kopp is available to discuss a major study released today on the global consequences of climate change on death rates. The study by the Climate Impact Lab,…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Heat Wave and Hot Summer in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (July 20, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the ongoing heat wave in New Jersey and the hot summer weather to date. The worst of the heat wave is expected today,…

Geoengineering is Just a Partial Solution to Fight Climate Change

Could we create massive sulfuric acid clouds that limit global warming and help meet the 2015 Paris international climate goals, while reducing unintended impacts? Yes, in theory, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Earth System Dynamics. Spraying sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere at different locations, to form sulfuric acid clouds that block some solar radiation, could be adjusted every year to keep global warming at levels set in the Paris goals. Such technology is known as geoengineering or climate intervention.

Geoengineering’s Benefits Limited for Apple Crops in India

Geoengineering – spraying sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to combat global warming – would only temporarily and partially benefit apple production in northern India, according to a Rutgers co-authored study. But abruptly ending geoengineering might lead to total crop failure faster than if geoengineering were not done, according to the study – believed to be the first of its kind – in the journal Climatic Change.

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Tropical Storm Fay in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (July 10, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on Tropical Storm Fay as it approaches New Jersey. “Tropical Storm Fay could deposit several inches of rain across a good portion of the…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Dry, Warm June in N.J., Potential Drought

New Brunswick, N.J. (July 8, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the dry, unusually warm June in New Jersey, the dry and very warm first six months of 2020 and the potential for drought…

How to Tackle Climate Change, Food Security and Land Degradation

How can some of world’s biggest problems – climate change, food security and land degradation – be tackled simultaneously? Some lesser-known options, such as integrated water management and increasing the organic content of soil, have fewer trade-offs than many well-known options, such as planting trees, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Global Change Biology.

South Pole Warmed More Than Three Times Global Rate in 30 Years

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 29, 2020) – The South Pole warmed more than three times the global rate from 1989 to 2018 – a record period of warming, according to a Rutgers coauthored study in the journal Nature Climate Change.…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss New Home and Property Flood Risk Data

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 29, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick professor Robert E. Kopp is available for interviews on new flood risk data for more than 142 million homes and properties in the United States. The data were released by the First Street Foundation, a…

Know the risks of investing in forests

Some governments are counting on planted forests as offsets for greenhouse gas emissions—a sort of climate investment. But as with any investment, it’s important to understand the risks. If a forest goes bust, researchers say, much of that stored carbon could go up in smoke.
Forests can be best deployed in the fight against climate change with a proper understanding of the risks to that forest that climate change itself imposes.

Rutgers Climatologist Can Discuss Role of Snow in Climate System

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 15, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the role of snow in the climate system, snow variability and the extent of snow cover during the satellite era. “The extent of snow on…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Cool, Dry May With Snow and ‘Endless Spring’

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 10, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the unusually cool May in New Jersey, including  the first measurable May snow in the Garden State since 1977. While many people remark…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Family’s 43-Year Backyard Bird Citizen Science Project

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 8, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Kimberly Russell is available for interviews on an upstate New York family’s 43-year family tradition – a competition to predict the arrival of American robins in their backyard every spring…

Mangrove Trees Won’t Survive Sea-Level Rise by 2050 if Emissions Aren’t Cut

Mangrove trees – valuable coastal ecosystems found in Florida and other warm climates – won’t survive sea-level rise by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced, according to a Rutgers co-authored study in the journal Science. Mangrove forests store large amounts of carbon, help protect coastlines and provide habitat for fish and other species. Using sediment data from the last 10,000 years, an international team led by Macquarie University in Australia estimated the chances of mangrove survival based on rates of sea-level rise.

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…

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss 2020 Hurricane Season Outlook in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (May 19, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts are available for interviews on the 2020 hurricane season outlook in New Jersey, the Garden State’s vulnerability to hurricanes and tropical storms, and the state’s tropical cyclone history. Hurricane…

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Windy, Cool April Weather

New Brunswick, N.J. (May 7, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the unusually windy and cool April in New Jersey, as well as the third least snowy season since 1895. “New Jersey’s May weather…

Ellen Druffel elected to National Academy of Sciences

Irvine, Calif., April 30, 2020 – University of California, Irvine chemical oceanographer and biogeochemist Ellen Druffel has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s most distinguished scientific organizations. One of 146 scientists from around the world to have been elected, Druffel researches the carbon cycle of the planet’s oceans and how humanity’s burning of fossil fuels affects that cycle.

UCI faculty create curricula for kids worldwide confined by coronavirus

Irvine, Calif., April 22, 2020 – On this Earth Day, the United Nations is announcing the start of a new environmental education program for the world’s 1.5 billion youth who are confined to their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and unable to physically attend school. Earth School – sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and TED-Ed and supported by numerous global organizations such as UNESCO, the National Geographic Society and the World Wildlife Fund – will include teaching modules developed and delivered by faculty from three University of California, Irvine schools.

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss Earth Day Legacy on 50th Anniversary

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 20, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick professors Robert E. Kopp and Karen M. O’Neill are available for interviews on the legacy of Earth Day and what the future may hold for humanity and the environment on our fragile planet. Kopp…

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss Emissions, Climate Change During COVID-19 Crisis

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 13, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts are available for interviews on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and efforts to promote a greener economy and lifestyles. “During the 2007…

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Mild March and 2020 Warmth

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 10, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick climatologist David A. Robinson is available for interviews on the unusually mild March weather in New Jersey and the second warmest start of any year since record-keeping began in 1895. March 2020…

A Rapidly Changing Arctic

A new study by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their international colleagues found that freshwater runoff from rivers and continental shelf sediments are bringing significant quantities of carbon and trace elements into parts of the Arctic Ocean via the Transpolar Drift—a major surface current that moves water from Siberia across the North Pole to the North Atlantic Ocean.

Ocean’s ‘biological pump’ captures more carbon than expected

Scientists have long known that the ocean plays an essential role in capturing carbon from the atmosphere, but a new study from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that the efficiency of the ocean’s “biological carbon pump” has been drastically underestimated, with implications for future climate assessments.

How Stable is Deep Ocean Circulation in Warmer Climate?

If circulation of deep waters in the Atlantic stops or slows due to climate change, it could cause cooling in northern North America and Europe – a scenario that has occurred during past cold glacial periods. Now, a Rutgers coauthored study suggests that short-term disruptions of deep ocean circulation occurred during warm interglacial periods in the last 450,000 years, and may happen again.

East Antarctica’s Denman Glacier has retreated almost 3 miles over last 22 years

Irvine, Calif., March 23, 2020 – East Antarctica’s Denman Glacier has retreated 5 kilometers, nearly 3 miles, in the past 22 years, and researchers at the University of California, Irvine and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are concerned that the shape of the ground surface beneath the ice sheet could make it even more susceptible to climate-driven collapse.

$8.3M award to WHOI extends observational record of critical climate research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently awarded $8.2 million to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to extend the life of the Overturning in the Sub-polar North Atlantic Program (OSNAP) in a key part of Earth’s ocean-climate system. The award is part of a $15.5 million grant to four U.S. institutions that will help add four years to the record being assembled by the observatory.

California’s strict air quality regulations help farmers prosper, UCI-led study finds

Irvine, Calif., March 16, 2020 – Farmers in California’s Central Valley are not known for their love of government regulations, but those same growers have seen a boost in the productivity of their high-value crops – and greater earnings – as a result of the Golden State’s strict air pollution controls. For a study published today in Nature Food, researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions conducted a statistical analysis of pollution exposure and yields from 1980 to 2015 on a key sector making up about 38 percent of the state’s total agricultural output: perennial crops such as almonds, grapes, nectarines, peaches, strawberries and walnuts.