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Public Release: 24-Nov-2009
 Nature GeoscienceCO2 emissions continue significant climb The annual rate of increase in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has more than tripled in this decade, compared to the 1990s, reports an international consortium of scientists, who paint a bleak picture of the Earth's future unless "CO2 emissions [are] drastically reduced." Contact: WHOI Media Relations
Public Release: 24-Nov-2009
Environmental Science & TechnologyGlobal study of salmon shows: 'Sustainable' food isn't so sustainable Popular thinking about how to improve food systems often misses the point, according to the results of a three-year global study of salmon production systems published bye Dalhousie University, Ecotrust and the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology. Rather than pushing for organic or land-based production, or worrying about simple metrics such as "food miles," the study finds that the world can achieve greater environmental benefits by focusing on improvements production and distribution. 
Moore, Lenfest, others
Contact: Seth Walker
Public Release: 24-Nov-2009
Geophysical Research LettersOceans absorbing carbon dioxide more slowly, Yale scientist finds The world's oceans are absorbing less carbon dioxide (CO2), a Yale geophysicist has found after pooling data taken over the past 50 years. With the oceans currently absorbing over 40 percent of the CO2 emitted by human activity, this could quicken the pace of climate change, according to the study. Contact: Suzanne Taylor Muzzin
Public Release: 24-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesResearchers establish common seasonal pattern among bacterial communities in Arctic rivers New research on bacterial communities throughout six large Arctic river ecosystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scientists could use these communities as markers for monitoring climate change in the polar regions. The study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, shows that bacterial communities in the six rivers shifted synchronously over time, correlating with seasonal shifts in hydrology and biogeochemistry.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Christopher Conner
Public Release: 24-Nov-2009
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care MedicineExposure to both traffic, indoor pollutants puts some kids at higher risk for asthma later New research from the University of Cincinnati presents strong evidence that the "synergistic" effect of early-life exposure to both outdoor traffic-related pollution and indoor endotoxin causes more harm to developing lungs than one or the other exposure alone.
NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Contact: Amanda Harper
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Palaeogeoraphy, Palaeocilmatology, PalaeoecologySupervolcano eruption -- in Sumatra -- deforested India 73,000 years ago A new study provides "incontrovertible evidence" that the volcanic super-eruption of Toba on the island of Sumatra about 73,000 years ago deforested much of central India, some 3,000 miles from the epicenter, researchers report. Contact: Diana Yates
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Agricultural and Resource Economics ReviewCompetitive, trade-friendly nations weather volatile crop yields best Richer nations with competitive crop production and few trade barriers would fare the best if climate change, weather events or other factors cause yields of grain and oilseed crops to become more volatile, a new study has found. Contact: Jeff Reimer
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Entomological Society of America's 57th Annual Meeting Journal of Economic EntomologyInsect resistance to Bt crops can be predicted, monitored and managed With Bt crop acreage increasing worldwide, incorporating enhanced understanding of observed patterns of field-evolved resistance into future resistance management strategies can help to minimize the drawbacks and maximize the benefits of current and future generations of transgenic crops. Contact: Richard Levine
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Nature GeoscienceIntensive land management leaves Europe without carbon sinks A new calculation of Europe's greenhouse gas balance shows that emissions of methane and nitrous oxide tip the balance and eliminate Europe's terrestrial sink of greenhouse gases. Contact: Detlef Schulze
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesClimate change could boost incidence of civil war in Africa Using historical data on the relationship between temperature and conflict in Africa, researchers at UC Berkeley, Stanford, New York University and Harvard have estimated the effect of rising temperatures due to global warming. They concluded that the incidence of African civil war could increase 55 percent by 2030, resulting in an additional 390,000 battle deaths if future wars are as deadly as recent ones.
US Department of Energy, Rockefeller Foundation
Contact: Kathleen Maclay
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Climatic ChangeIs global warming unstoppable? In a provocative new study, a University of Utah scientist argues that rising carbon dioxide emissions -- the major cause of global warming -- cannot be stabilized unless the world's economy collapses or society builds the equivalent of one new nuclear power plant each day.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA
Contact: Lee Siegel
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
Journal of Geophysical Research - PlanetsNew computer-developed map shows more extensive valley network on Mars In a newly published study, scientists used an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of Mars' valley networks. It shows the networks are much more extensive than had been previously depicted. Regions that are most densely dissected by the valley networks roughly form a belt around the planet, consistent with a past climate scenario that included precipitation and the presence of an ocean covering a large portion of Mars' northern hemisphere.
NASA
Contact: Tom Parisi
Public Release: 23-Nov-2009
BMC PhysiologyRoad rage Outrageous prices may not be the only thing causing anger at the petrol pumps. A new study, published in the open-access journal BMC Physiology, has shown that rats exposed to fumes from leaded and unleaded gasoline become more aggressive. Contact: Graeme Baldwin
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
International expedition investigates climate change, alternative fuels in Arctic NRL marine biogeochemistry and geology and geophysics scientists return from Arctic expedition exploring methane hydrate deposits in the Beaufort Sea and spatial variation of sediment contribution to Arctic climate change. Contact: Daniel Parry
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
2009 AGU Fall MeetingNew method to measure snow, vegetation moisture with GPS may benefit farmers, meteorologists A research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder has found a clever way to use traditional GPS satellite signals to measure snow depth as well as soil and vegetation moisture, a technique expected to benefit meteorologists, water resource managers, climate modelers and farmers.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Kristine Larson
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ORNL, Los Alamos pioneer new approach to assist scientists, farmers Sustainable farming, initially adopted to preserve soil quality for future generations, may also play a role in maintaining a healthy climate, according to researchers at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories. Contact: Ron Walli
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
SMOS satellite instrument comes alive The MIRAS instrument on ESA's SMOS satellite, launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally. MIRAS will map soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the role these two key variables play in regulating Earth's water cycle. Contact: Robert Meisner
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
NatureMysteriously warm times in Antarctica A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. The latest analysis of ice core records suggests that Antarctic temperatures may have been up to 6°C warmer than the present day.
British Antarctic Survey
Contact: Heather Martin
Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
ScienceAfter mastodons and mammoths, a transformed landscape Roughly 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, North America's vast assemblage of large animals -- including such iconic creatures as mammoths, mastodons, camels, horses, ground sloths and giant beavers -- began their precipitous slide to extinction.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, National Science Foundation
Contact: John Williams
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Berkeley Lab lends expertise to India to promote energy efficiency India may rank only a distant fourth in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, behind China, the United States and Russia, but its rapid economic growth rate coupled with aging and inefficient energy infrastructure suggest dire environmental consequences if "business as usual" continues. That's why experts from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have been working to expand collaborations with India on energy efficiency. Contact: Julie Chao
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Environmental Science & TechnologyHidden threat: Elevated pollution levels near regional airports Scientists are reporting evidence that air pollution -- a well-recognized problem at major airports -- may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports. Those airports are becoming an increasingly important component of global air transport systems. The study, one of only a handful to examine airborne pollutants near regional airports, suggests that officials should pay closer attention to these overlooked emissions, which could cause health problems for local residents. Contact: Michael Bernstein
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
NASA's QuikScat and Aqua providing important data on Tropical Storm Anja Tropical Storm Anja has continued to weaken over the last 24 hours, and NASA's QuikScat satellite has confirmed that the once mighty Category 4 Cyclone is now a tropical storm in the southern Indian Ocean. Two instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite have also helped forecasters determine Anja's location and change of shape.
NASA
Contact: Rob Gutro
Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
NatureOceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. Now, the first year-by-year accounting of this mechanism during the industrial era suggests the oceans are struggling to keep up with rising emissions -- a finding with potentially wide implications for future climate. The study appears in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Kim Martineau
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Nature GeoscienceHuman emissions rise 2 percent despite global financial crisis Despite the economic effects of the global financial crisis, carbon dioxide emissions from human activities rose 2 percent in 2008 to an all-time high of 1.3 tons of carbon per capita per year, according to a paper published today in Nature Geoscience. Contact: Imogen Jubb
Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Nature GeoscienceFossil fuel CO2 emissions up by 29 percent since 2000 The strongest evidence yet that the rise in atmospheric CO2 emissions continues to outstrip the ability of the world's natural "sinks" to absorb carbon is published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience. Contact: Simon Dunford
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