Climate News Articles Archive Page 12 from Sun 17 Apr 2011 to Thu 26 May 2011

Rising temperatures will affect forests carbon storage role says study

Posted Thu, 26 May 2011 12:10:01 GMT by Colin Ricketts

As temperatures rise forest soils will store less carbon says a new study but, according to Jerry Melillo, trees may see carbon-storing growth spurts too. However, the increased temperature also speeded up the nitrogen cycle, enabling trees to store more carbon, partially offsetting the CO2 released from decaying matter in the soil.

Rising temperatures will affect forests carbon storage role says study

South Georgia's unrivaled biodiversity challenged by warming

Posted Wed, 25 May 2011 21:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

The chilly south Atlantic islands of South Georgia can boast a higher level of biodiversity than some tropical islands, says a new study from the British Antarctic Survey. Published in this week's PloS ONE. Over 1,500 marine species have been collected near the islands over the lat century, but the fastest sea warming in the Southern hemisphere may threaten this biodiversity hot-spot.

South Georgia's unrivaled biodiversity challenged by warming

Looking to Amazon natives for a sustainable future

Posted Wed, 25 May 2011 13:41:01 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A new deal aims to involve the indigenous peoples of the Amazon in efforts to protect this vital environment which is one of the front lines in the battle against climate change. The partnership between the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), aims to put the people who actually live in this priceless environment at the heart of protecting it.

Looking to Amazon natives for a sustainable future

Natural disasters linked to climate change, says UN climate chief

Posted Tue, 17 May 2011 21:28:00 GMT by Mario Balzan

A special report assesses the threats of natural disasters and aims at developing strategies for the management of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, floods and droughts. Speaking from Queenland's Gold Coast, the head of the IPCC, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, explained that there is increasing scientific evidence linking current climate change to extreme weather events.

Natural disasters linked to climate change, says UN climate chief

Climate change awareness down in Europe

Posted Fri, 13 May 2011 09:43:00 GMT by Astrid Madsen

Carbon dioxide may be harmful to the environment, but it seems Europeans also believe it to be harmful to their health! Three quarters of those surveyed even considered CO2 to be ''unhealthy'', while 9% said they thought it was flammable and 18% believed it be a water pollutant, none of which is accurate.

Climate change awareness down in Europe

Bringing soot and methane on board, post-Kyoto

Posted Thu, 12 May 2011 18:30:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

Soot and methane are climate-change causing pollutants that need bringing into any new international agreement on slowing global warming. So says a Policy Forum article in today's Science. With Kyoto due to expire in 2012, a replacement mechanism for regulating greenhouse gases is needed fast - and tackling soot and methane could speed up the payback of such an agreement.

Bringing soot and methane on board, post-Kyoto

Food harvests dragged lower by global warming

Posted Thu, 05 May 2011 18:11:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Harvests of corn and wheat are already wilting under the rising temperatures seen since 1980, says a team from Stanford University. They publish their study results - which looks at what crop yields would have have been without climate change - today in Science Express. In contrast, rice and soya crops, and US farmers in general, are so far weathering the global warming storm - but that may be about to change.

Food harvests dragged lower by global warming

Europe's climate fate decided by tussle between oceanic currents

Posted Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new player in Europe's climate change story, as global warming continues its relentless rise, has been suggested by a paper in today's Nature. The 'Agulhas leakage' of warm salty waters from the Indian Ocean, appears to be increasing, says the study - and that could help prevent the predicted slow-down of the North Atlantic Drift.

Europe's climate fate decided by tussle between oceanic currents

Driest March for 50 years in UK prompts fears of summer drought

Posted Wed, 27 Apr 2011 13:07:00 GMT by Laura Brown

A drop in rainfall in March means water companies may be forced to bring in restrictions in the summer. Parts of the country had as little as 2mm of rain last month prompting warnings of potential droughts during the summer months. The dry month has led to a depletion in reservoir levels.

Driest March for 50 years in UK prompts fears of summer drought

Ozone Hole Over the Arctic is of Record Proportions

Posted Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:31:00 GMT by Mike Campbell

The phenomenon of a ''hole'' in the ozone blanket that covers the earth at polar latitudes was first discovered in 1985 by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The ''hole'' was a cylinder of the atmosphere, forming over polar regions, where the level of ozone in the atmospheric column was depleted.

Ozone Hole Over the Arctic is of Record Proportions

Geoengineering is a leap from the fire into the frying pan

Posted Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:47:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Recent geoengineering conferences have raised the profile of how we might tackle global warming with a Plan B - finding ways to cool the planet down, whilst trying to agree on how to cut those pesky CO2 emissions. But could the Plan B of geoengineering be a dangerous distraction that ultimately locks us into a series of even greater risks?

Geoengineering is a leap from the fire into the frying pan

Sea cow teeth point to a wetter Eocene and a 'greenhouse earth'

Posted Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:02:01 GMT by Martin Leggett

Sea cow teeth from 50 million years ago are helping scientists to flesh out the climate of the earth during the Eocene, a time when greenhouse conditions reined supreme. Their paper, published today in Science, confirms that very wet conditions extended right down to the tropics, where rainfall rates were much greater than that seen today.

Sea cow teeth point to a wetter Eocene and a 'greenhouse earth'

Ozone hole's long reach brings climate change to the tropics

Posted Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:00:02 GMT by Martin Leggett

The ozone hole over Antarctica could be causing the tropics to have wetter summers, increasing flooding and landslide risks, according to recent research published today in Science. A team from Columbia University has found that the ozone hole is helping to shift the jet streams south, making parts of the tropics much rainier than they were before. The results imply it is not just greenhouse gases that can change the climate.

Ozone hole's long reach brings climate change to the tropics

Rapid increase in ice loss from the Canadian Arctic

Posted Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:00:00 GMT by Louise Murray

The vast Canadian archipelago of Arctic islands, the territory of Nunavut, covers an area the size of western Europe. New research shows that the melting ice caps and glaciers there play a much greater role in global sea level rise than previously believed - 1mm in only 6 years.

Rapid increase in ice loss from the Canadian Arctic

Arctic coasts slipping away

Posted Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:00:00 GMT by Louise Murray

A quarter of the Arctic's permafrost coastline is suffering from erosion due to climate change. The impact on settlements, shipping, oil and gas installations and coastal infrastructure is likely to grow. As ice free periods increase due to global warming, there is a direct effect on the fragile polar coastline which is largely composed of frozen permafrost.

Arctic coasts slipping away

Shifting from pasture to sugarcane cools Brazilian cerrado

Posted Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:01:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Sugarcane in Brazil's cerrado can have a cooling double whammy. It helps to power private transport, with cane ethanol that has fewer greenhouse gas emissions - and now it has been shown to potentially help cool the local climes too. A paper to be published in Nature Climate Change, has measured the effects of switching from other crops and cattle to sugarcane - and the dense thickets of cane are better at reflecting sunlight, and cooling through water loss.

Shifting from pasture to sugarcane cools Brazilian cerrado

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