Study links changes in global water cycle to higher temperatures

A new study takes an important step toward reconstructing a global history of water over the past 2,000 years. Using geologic and biologic evidence preserved in natural archives — including globally distributed corals, trees, ice, cave formations and sediments — the researchers showed that the global water cycle has changed during periods of higher and lower temperatures in the recent past.

Less Rain in Town, More Rain on the Farm: the Effects of Urbanization and Irrigation on Mid-Atlantic Summer Precipitation

Researchers investigated how large-scale urbanization and irrigation in the United States affect the three dominant types of summer precipitation in the mid-Atlantic region. They found that urbanization suppresses all three types of precipitation. Irrigation enhances non-convective and isolated deep convection precipitation, and its effects on mesoscale convective systems (MCS) depends on whether an MCS formed locally or remotely.

High-Pressure Systems Favor Sea-Breeze Convection Over Southeastern Texas

In the summer, sea- and bay-breeze circulations are important drivers of the weather in southeastern Texas. This research used machine learning techniques to unpack how these circulations interact with larger-scale weather systems to affect how thunderstorms form in the Houston area. These insights are helping researchers focus their study of aerosol and cloud life cycle, aerosol-cloud interactions, and air quality during the TRACER field campaign in the Houston area in 2021 and 2022.

How long does a tree or ecosystem remember a drought?

A team of NAU scientists, led by SICCS professor Kiona Ogle, won a $3.6 million grant from the NSF to study the legacy of extreme climate events on ecosystems in the American West; they hope to not only know how long an extreme event influences ecosystems but also figure out how to better forecast such effects.

California’s carbon mitigation efforts may be thwarted by climate change itself

Irvine, Calif., July 22, 2021 – To meet an ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2045, California’s policymakers are relying in part on forests and shrublands to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, but researchers at the University of California, Irvine warn that future climate change may limit the ecosystem’s ability to perform this service.

Climate change is driving plant die-offs in Southern California, UCI study finds

Irvine, Calif., June 21, 2021 – A shift is happening in Southern California, and this time it has nothing to do with earthquakes. According to a new study by scientists at the University of California, Irvine, climate change is altering the number of plants populating the region’s deserts and mountains. Using data from the Landsat satellite mission and focusing on an area of nearly 5,000 square miles surrounding Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the research team found that between 1984 and 2017, vegetation cover in desert ecosystems decreased overall by about 35 percent, with mountains seeing a 13 percent vegetation decline.

UCI researchers: Climate change will alter the position of the Earth’s tropical rain belt

Irvine, Calif., Jan. 18, 2021 — Future climate change will cause a regionally uneven shifting of the tropical rain belt – a narrow band of heavy precipitation near the equator – according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions. This development may threaten food security for billions of 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.

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.

Novel Measurement and Forecasting Systems Make ‘Weathering the Storm’ More Precise

In the last several decades, more than half of the deaths associated with tropical cyclones in the U.S. were due to inland flooding. Unfortunately, current forecasting capabilities are limited. Researchers are developing a warning system for more accurate and timely detection and forecasting of inland and coastal floods, under a variety of precipitation regimes. The technology will enable local and state governments to more effectively plan and respond to tropical storms.

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…

Greenhouse gas and particulate pollution emissions drive regional drying around the globe

Despite devastating impacts of drought on human and natural systems, the reasons why long-term regional drying occurs remain poorly understood.

Research led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have identified two signatures or “fingerprints” that explain why arid conditions are spreading worldwide, and why the Western United States has tended towards drought conditions since the 1980s while the African Sahel has recovered from its prolonged drought. The research appears in the July 6 edition of Nature Climate Change.

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…

El Niño–linked decreases in soil moisture could trigger massive tropical-plant die offs

New research has found that El Niño events are often associated with droughts in some of the world’s more vulnerable tropical regions. Associated with warmer than average ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific, El Niños can in turn influence global weather patterns and tropical precipitation, and these changes can lead to massive plant die-offs if other extreme factors are also at play.

Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss Winter’s Snow Drought in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (March 2, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts are available to discuss New Jersey’s mild weather so far this winter. That includes February, which was the third mildest February since record-keeping began in New Jersey in 1895…

Rutgers Experts Available to Discuss Mild January, Low Snowfall in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (Feb. 3, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts are available for interviews on the generally mild January weather and low snowfall in New Jersey so far this winter. “According to preliminary data, January 2020 in New Jersey was the…

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss 2019 Climate, Weather Events in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 8, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor David A. Robinson is available for interviews on New Jersey’s weather and climate in 2019, including the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist’s list of top 10 events. Robinson can also…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Exceedingly Dry, Warm September in N.J.

New Brunswick, N.J. (Oct. 3, 2019) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor David A. Robinson, the New Jersey State Climatologist, can provide insight on one of the driest and warmest Septembers in New Jersey since record-keeping began in 1895. Last month was the sixth driest September…

Columbia Researchers Provide New Evidence on the Reliability of Climate Modeling

Observational data of equatorial circulation pattern confirms that the pattern is weakening, a development with important consequences for future rainfall in the subtropics. Columbia Researchers Provide New Evidence on the Reliability of Climate Modeling Observational data of equatorial circulation pattern…