Climate News

August 20, 2016

NASA Monitors the 'New Normal' of Sea Ice

Pacific Sea Level Predicts Global Temp Changes

Fewer Low Clouds in the Tropics

Methane Leaks: New Way to Find and Fix

Latest Headlines

updated 11:55am EDT

Mussel Flexing: Bivalve Save Drought-Stricken Marshes, Research Finds

Aug. 18, 2016 — As coastal ecosystems feel the heat of climate change worldwide, new research shows the humble mussel and marsh grass form an intimate interaction known as mutualism that benefits both partner ... read more

New Method for Quantifying Methane Emissions from Manure Management

Aug. 17, 2016 — The EU Commision requires Denmark to reduce drastically emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture. But it is currently not possible to quantify emissions of methane from livestock manure -- and ... read more

Climate Change Alters the Rules of Sperm Competition in the Sea

Aug. 17, 2016 — Increasing ocean acidification, brought about by humanmade carbon emissions, reduces sperm performance in a species of sea urchin, say scientists. The impact of climate change on global seawater ... read more

Thin Tropical Clouds Cool the Climate

Aug. 17, 2016 — Thin clouds at about 5 km altitude are more ubiquitous in the tropics than previously thought and they have a substantial cooling effect on climate, report researchers. The ... read more

July 2016 Was Warmest on Record, NASA Analysis Finds

Aug. 17, 2016 — July 2016 was the warmest July in 136 years of modern record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by NASA. The record warm July continued a streak ... read more

Slower Snowmelt Affects Downstream Water Availability in Western Mountains

Aug. 16, 2016 — Western communities are facing effects of a warming climate with slower and earlier snowmelt reducing streamflows and possibly the amount of water reaching reservoirs used ... read more

Can We Economically Outgrow Climate Change Damages? Not for Hurricanes We Can't

Aug. 16, 2016 — When hurricanes like Katrina in 2005 or Sandy in 2012 impact on highly populated regions they bring about tremendous damages. More than 50 percent of ... read more

Sea Ice Strongly Linked to Climate Change in Past 90,000 Years

Aug. 16, 2016 — Expansion and retreat of sea ice varied consistently in pace with rapid climate changes through past 90,000 years, a new ... read more

New Antarctic Ice Discovery Aids Future Climate Predictions

Aug. 16, 2016 — A team of scientists has discovered a 65 percent reduction in sea ice during the last interglacial period around 128,000 years ... read more

Humble Moss Helped Create Our Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere

Aug. 15, 2016 — The evolution of the first land plants including mosses may explain a long-standing mystery of how Earth's atmosphere became enriched with oxygen, according to an ... read more

Ancient Ice Reveals Earth's Climate History

Is It Safe To Store Carbon Dioxide Deep Underground?

Deadly Methane Gas Is Turned Into Energy in Rwanda

Testing Kelp to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Levels

Warming Climate Likely to Have 'Minor' Impact on Power Plant Output

Aug. 15, 2016 — Future climate warming will likely cause only minor cuts in energy output at most US coal- or gas-fired power plants, a new study finds. The study -- based on records of changes in output levels and ... read more

Today's Electric Vehicles Can Make a Dent in Climate Change

Aug. 15, 2016 — Electric cars that exist today could be widely adopted despite range constraints, replacing about 90 percent of existing cars, and could make a major dent in the nation's carbon emissions, new ... read more

Mapping the Health Threat of Wildfires Under Climate Change in US West

Aug. 15, 2016 — A surge in major wildfire events in the US West as a consequence of climate change will expose tens of millions of Americans to high levels of air pollution in the coming decades, according to a new ... read more

Reduced Ecosystem Functions in Oil Palm Plantations

Aug. 15, 2016 — Large areas of tropical lowland forests have been replaced by oil palm plantations, with major impact on environment and people. An interdisciplinary team of scientists has now performed a complete ... read more

New Map of World Vegetation Reveals Substantial Changes Since 1980s

Aug. 15, 2016 — A new system to map the world's 'biomes' -- large-scale vegetation formations -- has been developed that will provide an objective method for monitoring how vegetation reacts as ... read more

Tropical Sea Urchins Caught Between a Rock and a Hot Place

Aug. 15, 2016 — The balmy waters of the Caribbean could turn into a deadly heat trap for countless tiny creatures. Authors of a new study have discovered that microscopic sea urchin eggs and larvae may suffer ... read more

Nature and the Nurture of Aerosols

Aug. 12, 2016 — Scientists conducted a collaborative study that answered foundational questions about how nature influences the composition of aerosols. The team's findings could help avoid unintended ... read more

'Chemtrails' Not Real, Say Atmospheric Science Experts

Aug. 12, 2016 — Well-understood physical and chemical processes can easily explain the alleged evidence of a secret, large-scale atmospheric spraying program, commonly referred to as 'chemtrails' or ... read more

Caught in the Act: Coral's Bleaching Behavior

Aug. 12, 2016 — Coral researchers have for the first time captured the specific behavior of a coral as it's bleaching. While scientists have known for some time that coral bleaching occurs when the relationship ... read more

Discovery of Sunlight-Driven Organic Chemistry on Water Surfaces

Aug. 11, 2016 — Fatty acids found on the surface of water droplets react with sunlight to form organic molecules, a new study reports, essentially uncovering a previously unknown form of ... read more

Global Warming's Next Surprise: Saltier Beaches

Aug. 11, 2016 — Batches of sand from a beach on the Delaware Bay are yielding insights into the powerful impact of temperature rise and evaporation along the shore that are in turn challenging long-held assumptions ... read more

Ecosystems in the Southeastern US Are Vulnerable to Climate Change

Aug. 11, 2016 — At least several southeastern US ecosystems are highly vulnerable to the impacts of present and future climate change, according to two new reports. At-risk ecosystems occur in states ranging from ... read more

Historically Robust Natural Ecosystems Could Collapse Due to Climate Change, Human Activity

Aug. 11, 2016 — Global change will strike the oldest and most complex ecosystems of the world hardest, regardless of their past stability, warn experts in a new ... read more

Managing Climate Change Refugia to Protect Wildlife

Aug. 10, 2016 — Natural and cultural areas that will remain similar to what they are today -- despite climate change -- need to be identified, managed and conserved as 'refugia' for at-risk species, ... read more

New Analysis Shows Threats to 8,000 Red List Species

Aug. 10, 2016 — Less than a month away from the kick-off the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii, a team of scientists reports that three quarters of the world's threatened species are imperiled because ... read more

With Droughts and Downpours, Climate Change Feeds Chesapeake Bay Algal Blooms

Aug. 10, 2016 — A study shows that weather patterns tied to climate change may increase the severity of algal blooms in Chesapeake Bay as extreme rainfall cycles flush larger amounts of nitrogen from fertilizer and ... read more

How Climate Change Will Hurt Humanity's Closest Cousins

Aug. 10, 2016 — The consequences of climate change are an increasing concern for humans around the world. How will we cope with rising sea levels and climbing temperatures? But it's not just humans who will be ... read more

Specialized Life Forms Abound at Arctic Methane Seeps

Aug. 10, 2016 — Methane seeps have strong effects on the community structure at the bottom of the Arctic ... read more

Climate Change Already Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Study Finds

Aug. 10, 2016 — Greenhouse gases are already having an accelerating effect on sea level rise, but the impact has so far been masked by the cataclysmic 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, according to ... read more

Warmer Climate Could Lower Dengue Risk

Aug. 10, 2016 — Health researchers predict that the transmission of dengue could decrease in a future warmer climate, countering previous projections that climate change would cause the potentially lethal virus to ... read more

Monday, August 15, 2016

Friday, August 12, 2016

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Monday, August 8, 2016

Friday, August 5, 2016

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Monday, August 1, 2016

Saturday, July 30, 2016

A new leaf: Scientists turn carbon dioxide back into fuel

Friday, July 29, 2016

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Monday, July 25, 2016

Friday, July 22, 2016

Pathogenic bacteria hitchhiking on tiny plastic particles to North and Baltic Seas?

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Tuesday, July 19, 2016