http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/climate/ Climate change and climate prediction. Read science articles on regional climates and global climate shifts. Updated daily. en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:05:02 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/climate/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111083055.htm Because land use changes are responsible for 50 percent of warming in the US, policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation and urbanization on climate change, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions, experts urge. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111083055.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110202859.htm The lush, tropical Congo Basin was much different 150 million to 200 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed Gondwana, the single continent formed by Africa and South America. Geochemical analysis of rare ancient soils from Central Africa suggests the land was arid, with a small amount of seasonal rainfall, and few bushes or trees. There's very little data for the paleoclimate of the Late Jurassic, but it's important because climate determines plant communities. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110202859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141842.htm New data show that the balance between the airborne and the absorbed fraction of carbon dioxide has stayed approximately constant since 1850, despite emissions of CO₂ having risen from about 2 billion tons a year in 1850 to 35 billion tons a year now. This suggests that terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans have a much greater capacity to absorb CO₂ than had been previously expected. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141842.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111130952.htm The global ocean covering the Earth 3.4 billion years ago was far cooler than has been thought, according to researchers who analyzed isotope ratios in rocks formed on that ancient ocean floor. Instead of a hot primordial soup, much more tepid temperatures prevailed. Cooler temperatures may have had effects on the evolution of the early atmosphere and could have opened the door to an earlier spread of photosynthetic life forms across the planet. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111130952.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111142518.htm Scientists have developed a more definitive and reliable tool for measuring the sun's rotation when sunspots aren't visible ---- and even when they are -- based on observations of common lightning strikes on earth. Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111142518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121117.htm Large blooms of tiny marine plants called phytoplankton are flourishing in areas of open water left exposed by the recent and rapid melting of ice shelves and glaciers around the Antarctic Peninsula. This remarkable colonization is having a beneficial impact on climate change. As the blooms die back phytoplankton sinks to the sea-bed where it can store carbon for thousands or millions of years. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091109121117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161532.htm Climate models that predict heavy rainfall don't give the whole picture, according to the results of a new study. Researchers examined climate changes that have taken place over the past 800,000 years, and discovered that the melting icebergs in the North Atlantic and changes in the El Niño Southern Oscillation have a great influence on the intensity of monsoon rains. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029161532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm California experienced centuries-long droughts in the past 20,000 years that coincided with the thawing of ice caps in the Arctic, according to analysis of stalagmites from a cave in the Sierra Nevada. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111111257.htm Carbon is usually typecast as a villain in terms of the environment but researchers have now devised a novel way to miniaturize a technology that will make carbon a key material in some extremely green heating products for our homes and in air conditioning equipment for our cars. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111111257.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111092049.htm The kelp forests off southern California are considered to be some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet a new study indicates that today's kelp beds are less extensive and lush than those in the recent past. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111092049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171750.htm Fossil plants provide clues as to what our planet looked like millions of years ago. Identifying fossil plants can be tricky, however, when plant organs fail to be preserved. Researchers recently discovered abundant fossilized specimens of a conifer (previously known as "Libocedrus" prechilensis) found in Argentinean Patagonia. Characteristics of these fossils match those currently found only in tropical, montane New Guinea and the Moluccas. This discovery helps to explain the remarkable plant and insect diversity found in Eocene Patagonia. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171750.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171647.htm The American health-care sector accounts for 8 percent of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, according to a first-of-its-kind calculation of health care's carbon footprint. Researchers used expenditures from different parts of the health care sector to measure the industry's potential effect upon global warming through the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110171647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141840.htm Researchers have created a glacier in a freezer that could help scientists understand how glaciers slide across their beds. That could help researchers predict how climate change accelerates glacier sliding and contributes to rising sea levels. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110141840.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110105353.htm Aerosols, very small particles suspended in the air, play an important role in the global climate balance and in regulating climate change. They are one of the greatest sources of uncertainty in climate change models. ESA's GlobAerosol project has been making the most of European satellite capabilities to monitor them. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110105353.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm The seriousness of current global warming is underlined by a reconstruction of climate at Maxwell Bay in the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Peninsula over approximately the last 14,000 years, which appears to show that the current warming and widespread loss of glacial ice are unprecedented. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106095636.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106140757.htm Despite the fact that summer 2009 had more sea ice than in 2007 or 2008, scientists are seeing drastic changes in the region from just five years ago and at rates faster than anticipated. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106140757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106145308.htm As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106145308.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm Deep under the sea, a fossil the size of a sand grain is nestled among a billion of its closest dead relatives. Known as foraminifera, these complex little shells of calcium carbonate can tell you the sea level, temperature, and ocean conditions of Earth millions of years ago. That is, if you know what to look for. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106201613.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030100022.htm More than 1.2 billion lightning flashes occur around the world every year. Each of those billion lightning flashes produces a puff of nitrogen oxide gas (NOx) that reacts with sunlight and other gases in the atmosphere to produce ozone. Using data gleaned from aircraft observations and satellites, NASA scientists recently took steps toward a better global estimate of lightning-produced NOx and found that lightning may have a considerably stronger impact on the climate in the mid-latitudes and subtropics. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030100022.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123032.htm Scientists in Washington, D.C. are reporting laboratory evidence supporting the possibility that some of Earth's oil and natural gas may have formed in a way much different than the traditional process described in science textbooks. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104123032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106111214.htm Predictions made over the last decade about the impacts of climate change on biodiversity may be exaggerated, according to a paper published in the journal Science. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091106111214.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104111725.htm New research examines some of the potential problems with current prediction methods and calls for the use of a range of approaches when predicting the impact of climate change on organisms. The study uses examples from recent paleoecological studies to highlight how climate variability of the past has affected the distributions of tree species, and even how events that occurred many centuries ago still shape present-day distributions patterns. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104111725.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143823.htm An innovative proposal by the Ecuadorian government to protect an untouched, oil rich region of Amazon rainforest is a precedent-setting and potentially economically viable approach, says a team of environmental researchers. Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143823.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104000925.htm Biologists have explained why corals spawn for just a few nights in some places but elsewhere string out their love life over many months. A new study shows that corals spawn when regional wind fields are light. When it is calm, the eggs and sperm have the chance to unite before they are dispersed. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104000925.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172243.htm Most land use changes occurring in the continental US result in raised regional surface temperatures, according to new research. The study found that almost any change that makes land cover less "green" contributes to warming. A perhaps less intuitive finding is that conversion of any land to agricultural use results in cooling, even land that was previously forested. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172243.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172247.htm About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from US waters as they move farther offshore, according to a new study. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172247.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172251.htm Researchers spent two months this summer high in the Peruvian Andes and brought back two cores, the longest ever drilled from ice fields in the tropics. This latest expedition focused on a yet-to-be-named ice field 5,364 meters above sea level in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102172251.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132821.htm Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Julio Friedmann, in collaboration with the Center for American Progress, the Asia Society Center and with partner Monitor Group, today released the report, "A Roadmap for US-China Collaboration on Carbon Capture and Sequestration." Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132821.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122526.htm Is there such a thing as "weather" on Mars? There are some doubts, considering the planet's atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of the Earth. Mars, however, definitely has clouds, drastically low temperatures and out-of-this-world dust storms. A professor of atmospheric sciences now hopes to analyze and forecast Martian weather. Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104122526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171559.htm Deep-sea ecosystems occupying 60 percent of the Earth's surface could be vulnerable to the effects of global warming, warn scientists. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102204438.htm As African leaders prepare to present an ambitious proposal to industrialized countries for coping with climate change in the part of the world that is most vulnerable to its impacts, a new study points to where and how some of this money should be spent. The study projects that climate change will have highly variable impacts on East Africa's vital maize and bean harvests over the next two to four decades. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102204438.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171209.htm The remaining ice fields atop famed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania could be gone within two decades and perhaps even sooner, based on the latest survey of the ice fields remaining on the mountain . The findings indicate a major cause of this ice loss is very likely to be the rise in global temperatures. Although changes in cloudiness and precipitation may also play a role, they appear less important, particularly in recent decades. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102171209.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103121616.htm Launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard an United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle, Oct. 18, 2009, the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) developed by the Naval Research Laboratory offers a first of its kind technique for remote sensing of the ionosphere and thermosphere from space. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103121616.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103112237.htm Large-scale distributions of two important nutrient pools -- dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic phosphorus have been systematically mapped for the first time over the Atlantic Ocean in a new study. The findings have important implications for understanding nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles and the biological carbon pump in the Atlantic Ocean. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091103112237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111845.htm A rocket carrying the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite blasted off successfully today. SMOS is the first-ever satellite to attempt to measure ocean salinity from space. It will provide global maps of soil moisture over land and surface salinity over the ocean. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102111845.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102085825.htm Nature inspires technology as an engineer and an ecologist have teamed to develop robots that use advanced materials to swim like fish to probe underwater environments. Robotic fish -- perhaps schools of them operating autonomously for months -- could give researchers far more precise data on aquatic conditions, deepening our knowledge of critical water supplies and habitats. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102085825.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027170853.htm Isotopic measurements performed on fossil land snail shells found in ancient soils on the subtropical eastern Canary Islands resulted in oxygen isotope ratios that suggest the Spanish archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa has become progressively drier over the past 50,000 years, according to new research. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091027170853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121628.htm Scientists have discovered that interactions between iron supply, transported through the atmosphere from deserts, and large-scale oceanic circulation control the availability of a crucial nutrient, nitrogen, in the Atlantic. Their findings have potentially important implications for understanding global climate, both past and future. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102121628.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030100020.htm For decades, climate scientists have worked to identify and measure key substances -- notably greenhouse gases and aerosol particles -- that affect Earth's climate. And they've been aided by ever more sophisticated computer models that make estimating the relative impact of each type of pollutant more reliable. Yet the complexity of nature -- and the models used to quantify it -- continues to serve up surprises. The most recent? Certain gases that cause warming are so closely linked with the production of aerosols that the emissions of one type of pollutant can indirectly affect the quantity of the other. And for two key gases that cause warming, these so-called "gas-aerosol interactions" can amplify their impact. Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091030100020.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm A new European Earth observation satellite will be launched in the early hours of Monday November 2 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. The European Space Agency Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite will measure moisture levels in the Earth's soils and the saltiness of the world's oceans from space for the very first time. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029111907.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028090530.htm One of the first-ever analyses of the effects of global warming on endangered primates has examined how El Niño warming has affected the abundance of four highly threatened New World monkeys. All four monkey species showed drops in abundance relating to large-scale climate fluctuations. The study suggests that the consequences of intensified climate fluctuations could be devastating for several primate species. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028090530.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028192617.htm An international team of environmental scientists has shown that sea-level rise in North Carolina is accelerating, a jump that appears to have occurred during a time of industrial change. Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091028192617.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016093913.htm Experts have revealed jaw-dropping dollar values of the "ecosystem services" of biomes like forests and coral reefs -- including food, pollution treatment and climate regulation. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016093913.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163509.htm While most people head to Myrtle Beach for vacation, a group of scientists have been hitting the famous South Carolina beach for years to figure out how to keep the sand from washing away. Their work is a model for beach preservation that can apply elsewhere. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091023163509.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026162546.htm Relatively minor increases in ocean acidity brought about by high levels of carbon dioxide have significant detrimental effects on the growth, development, and survival of hard clams, bay scallops, and Eastern oysters, according to researchers. Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026162546.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162929.htm An analysis of sediment cores indicates that biological and chemical changes occurring at a remote Arctic lake are unprecedented over the past 200,000 years and likely are the result of human-caused climate change, according to a new study. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019162929.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019122835.htm A new report examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market prices of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity and gasoline produced from them. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091019122835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152944.htm New technologies and policies that save energy, remove atmospheric carbon and limit greenhouse gas emissions are needed to fight global climate change -- but face daunting technological, economic and political hurdles, a scientist said. The good news: Basic actions taken by everyday people can yield fast savings at low cost. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091026152944.htm