EurekAlert! - Atmospheric Science

New UC Davis study: Climate 'tipping points' may arrive without warning, says top forecaster

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(University of California - Davis) A new University of California, Davis, study by a top ecological forecaster says it is harder than experts thought to predict when sudden shifts in Earth's natural systems will occur -- a worrisome finding for scientists trying to identify the tipping points that could push climate change into an irreparable global disaster.

Urbanization, export crops drive deforestation

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(The Earth Institute at Columbia University) The drivers of tropical deforestation have shifted in the early 21st century to hinge on growth of cities and the globalized agricultural trade, a new large-scale study concludes. The observations starkly reverse assumptions by some scientists that fast-growing urbanization and the efficiencies of global trade might eventually slow or reverse tropical deforestation. The study, which covers most of the world's tropical land area, appears in this week's early edition of the journal Nature Geoscience.

38 percent of world's surface in danger of desertification

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) A team of Spanish researchers has measured the degradation of the planet's soil using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a scientific methodology that analyses the environmental impact of human activities, and which now for the first time includes indicators on desertification. The results show that 38 percent of the world is made up of arid regions at risk of desertification.

WPI, Colorado School of Mines found Center for Sustainable Metals Recovery and Recycling

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(Worcester Polytechnic Institute) With National Science Foundation support, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Colorado School of Mines have established the Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling, the nation's first research center dedicated to developing new technologies for maximizing the recovery and recycling of metals used in manufactured products and structures. By promoting a more sustainable approach to the use of metals, the center aims to dramatically reduce the energy usage and the carbon footprint associated with metals production.

NTU wins three out of five inaugural Environment Technology and Research Programme grants

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(Nanyang Technological University) Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has won three out of the five inaugural Environment and Technology Research Programme grants awarded by the National Environment Agency (NEA). Awards reaffirm NTU as a leader in environmental engineering and urban sustainability.

URI researcher calls for global effort to monitor marine pollutants

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(University of Rhode Island) A researcher who studies chemical pollutants in the marine environment has called on colleagues around the world to establish a global monitoring network to verify that the chemicals banned by the United Nations in 2003 are no longer in use.

Animals cope with climate change at the dinner table

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(American Friends of Tel Aviv University) Professor Yoram Yom-Tov of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology has been measuring the evolving body sizes of birds and animals in areas where climate change is most extreme. In higher latitudes, Professor Yom-Tov has identified a pattern of birds getting smaller and mammals getting bigger. The change, he hypothesizes, is likely a strategy for survival.

Will earlier springs throw nature out of step?

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) The recent trend towards earlier UK springs and summers has been accelerating, according to a study published today in the scientific journal Global Change Biology. The collaborative study, involving scientists from 12 UK research institutions, universities and conservation organisations, is the most comprehensive and rigorous assessment so far of long-term changes in the seasonal timing of biological events across marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments in the UK.

Dr. Constance Millar earns Forest Service Deputy Chief's Distinguished Science award

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station) Research paleoecologist Connie Millar is well-respected within the scientific community for her leadership in interdisciplinary research, including climate change research. She is also admired for her aptitude and eagerness to clearly communicate complex scientific findings to land managers. For these reasons and more, Millar will be presented the 2009 Research and Development Deputy Chief's Distinguished Science award during ceremonies January 27, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

New facility expected to clarify ecosystem responses to climate change

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Scientists hope to get a glimpse of the future with a proposed experiment facility in northern Minnesota that would allow them to adjust temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide across a broad range of possibilities projected by climate models.

Understanding past and future climate

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK)) The notion that scientists understand how changes in Earth's orbit affect climate well enough for estimating long-term natural climate trends that underlie any anthropogenic climate change is challenged by findings published this week. The new research was conducted by a team led by Professor Eelco Rohling of the University of Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science hosted at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

WIREs win 3 prizes at the PROSE awards

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(Wiley-Blackwell) The Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs), the pioneering new publications launched by Wiley-Blackwell in 2009, have picked up three of the most prestigious awards in scholarly publishing at the annual PROSE awards.

Cyclone Oli reaches category 4 strength on its way to open waters

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Oli has exploded in strength and as of February 4 it was a Category 4 cyclone with peak sustained winds of 132 mph (115 knots/213 km/hr). NASA's Aqua and TRMM satellites observed Oli's clouds grow colder and rainfall become heavier over the last day. Residents of French Polynesia should watch for local weather advisories.

GOES-P all fueled up

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The GOES spacecraft continues its processing at the Astrotech Facility in Titusville, Fla., and fuel was loaded into the GOES-P spacecraft on Saturday, Jan. 30. The fuel will keep GOES-P in orbit for about 14 years.

Oceans reveal further impacts of climate change, says UAB expert

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(University of Alabama at Birmingham) The increasing acidity of the world's oceans -- and that acidity's growing threat to marine species -- are definitive proof that the atmospheric carbon dioxide that is causing climate change is also negatively affecting the marine environment, says world-renowned Antarctic marine biologist Jim McClintock, Ph.D., professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Biology.

According to new survey, Americans support strong climate, energy policies

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(George Mason University) Despite a sharp drop in public concern over global warming, Americans -- regardless of political affiliation -- support the passage of federal climate and energy policies, according to the results of a national survey released today by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities.

Commercial fishing endangers dolphin populations

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(University of Haifa) Extensive commercial fishing endangers dolphin populations in the Mediterranean. This has been shown in a new study carried out at the University of Haifa's Department of Maritime Civilizations. "Unfortunately, we turn our backs to the sea and do not give much consideration to our marine neighbors," states researcher Dr. Aviad Scheinin.

Now a hurricane, Oli passing Bora Bora

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Tropical cyclone Oli has attained hurricane strength today, Feb. 3, with maximum sustained winds near 74 mph.

NASA's Aqua Satellite sees Tropical Depression Fami fading fast

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) Now that Fami has crossed Madagascar, its fading fast. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared satellite image earlier today that showed the storm was elongating and losing its circulation.

Caldeira, Fei and Shirey elected AGU Fellows

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(Carnegie Institution) Carnegie scientists Kenneth Caldeira of the department of global ecology, Yingwei Fei of the Geophysical Laboratory, and Steven Shirey of the department of terrestrial magnetism have been elected 2010 Fellows of the American Geophysical Union. AGU is an international organization of more than 50,000 scientists from over 135 countries. Only one in a thousand members is elected a fellow each year.

Mother's exposure to bisphenol A may increase children's chances of asthma

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston) Mouse experiments by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have produced evidence that a mother's exposure to bisphenol A may increase the odds that her children will develop asthma.

Black carbon a significant factor in melting of Himalayan glaciers

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan mountains are thinning is not disputed. However, few researchers have attempted to rigorously examine and quantify the causes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Surabi Menon set out to isolate the impacts of the most commonly blamed culprit -- greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide -- from other particles in the air that may be causing the melting.

University of Oklahoma National Weather Center to host public discussion on climate change

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(University of Oklahoma) The University of Oklahoma National Weather Center will host a free, public discussion on the climate and its impacts at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 8, as the opening event for the Regional Climate Symposium, " Regional Climate -- Monitoring, Modeling, Predicting and Impacts," being held Feb. 9 and 10 at the National Weather Center.

Enlisting a drug discovery technique in the battle against global warming

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(American Chemical Society) Scientists in Texas are reporting that a technique used in the search for new drugs could also be used in the quest to discover new, environmentally friendly materials for fighting global warming. Such materials could be used to capture the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from industrial smokestacks and other fixed sources before it enters the biosphere. The new study appears in ACS' bimonthly journal Energy & Fuels.

Invasive plants are beneficiaries of climate change in Thoreau's woods

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

(Harvard University) Invasive plants could become even more prevalent and destructive as climate change continues, according to a new analysis of data stretching back more than 150 years. The Harvard University scientists who conducted the study say that non-native plants, and especially invasive species, appear to thrive during times of climate change because they're better able to adjust the timing of annual activities like flowering and fruiting.