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Long-term ocean sampling in Narragansett Bay reveals plummeting plankton levels: Impact uncertain for local food web
Long-term ocean sampling in Narragansett Bay reveals plummeting plankton levels: Impact uncertain for local food web Narragansett Bay is one of the most studied estuaries in the world, and its long-running URI plankton survey offers important historical context for the past half-century in the bay. Recent analysis of ocean sampling of the bay reveals plummeting […]
Abrupt permafrost thaw found to intensify warming effects on soil CO₂ emission
Abrupt permafrost thaw found to intensify warming effects on soil CO₂ emission Thermokarst landscape on the Tibetan Plateau. Credit: Wang Guanqin According to a recent study published in Nature Geoscience, scientists have found that soil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are more sensitive to climate warming in permafrost-collapsed areas than in non-collapsed areas. This study, based on […]
Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds
Coastal hurricanes around the world are intensifying faster, new study finds With landfalling hurricanes comes strong winds and boosted precipitation, two factors that can exacerbate the impacts of storm surge and coastal flooding. In new work, PNNL scientists find that amplified warming in the upper troposphere and changes in heating patterns are driving hurricanes to […]
Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds
Climate change supercharged a heat dome, intensifying 2021 fire season, study finds Evolution and strength of the 2021 PNW heat dome. Credit: Communications Earth & Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-024-01346-2 As a massive heat dome lingered over the Pacific Northwest three years ago, swaths of North America simmered—and then burned. Wildfires charred more than 18.5 million acres across […]
Don’t blame Dubai’s freak rain on cloud seeding—the storm was far too big to be human-made
Don’t blame Dubai’s freak rain on cloud seeding—the storm was far too big to be human-made Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Some years ago, I found myself making my way up the narrow stairs of a Learjet on a sultry runway in a deserted airport near the South Africa-Mozambique border. The humidity was there to taste—the […]
‘So hot you can’t breathe’: Extreme heat hits the Philippines
‘So hot you can’t breathe’: Extreme heat hits the Philippines The heat index was expected to reach the ‘danger’ level of 42 degrees Celsius or higher in at least 30 cities and municipalities of the Philippines. Extreme heat scorched the Philippines on Wednesday, forcing thousands of schools to suspend in-person classes and prompting warnings for […]
Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra
Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra Open-top chambers (OTCs) in Latnjajaure, Sweden, provide a controlled environment to study simulated warming of the tundra ecosystem. Credit: Sybryn Maes The warming climate shifts the dynamics of tundra environments and makes them release trapped carbon, according to a new study published in Nature. These changes could transform […]
Hidden threat: Global underground infrastructure vulnerable to sea-level rise
Hidden threat: Global underground infrastructure vulnerable to sea-level rise Dr. Shellie Habel of the University of Hawai’i measures the salt concentration of emerging groundwater in a basement in Waikiki. Credit: Chloe Obara, University of Hawai’i As sea levels rise, coastal groundwater is lifted closer to the ground surface while also becoming saltier and more corrosive. […]
Study identifies atmospheric and economic drivers of global air pollution
Study identifies atmospheric and economic drivers of global air pollution Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Carbon monoxide emissions from industrial production have serious consequences for human health and are a strong indicator of overall air pollution levels. Many countries aim to reduce their emissions, but they cannot control air flows originating in other regions. A new […]
Advances and challenges in understanding compound weather and climate extremes
Advances and challenges in understanding compound weather and climate extremes Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In the context of global warming, many extremes, such as heat waves, heavy precipitation, and droughts, have become increasingly frequent and intense, as expected theoretically. Somewhat unexpectedly, these extremes have also exhibited tightened linkage in both time and space, constituting compound […]
Polar plastic: 97% of sampled Antarctic seabirds found to have ingested microplastics
Polar plastic: 97% of sampled Antarctic seabirds found to have ingested microplastics Global distribution of study sites and relative 13 species considered (red dots = Arctic sites; red line = Arctic species and samples; yellow dots = Antarctica sites; yellow line = Antarctica species and samples). For each species, the matrices analyzed are shown in […]
Ecological doom-loops: Why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected
Ecological doom-loops: Why ecosystem collapses may occur much sooner than expected Credit: Anna Kucherova / Shutterstock Around the world, rainforests are becoming savanna or farmland, savanna is drying out and turning into desert, and icy tundra is thawing. Indeed, scientific studies have now recorded “regime shifts” like these in more than 20 different types of ecosystem where […]
Scientists warn of widespread drought in the 21st century
Scientists warn of widespread drought in the 21st century Frequency changes (%) of different drought metrics from 1970–99 to 2070–99 under the (left) SSP2-4.5 and (right) SSP5-8.5 scenarios projected by CMIP6 multimodel ensemble mean. Credit: IAP Drought is among the most damaging natural hazards in the world, often causing severe losses to agriculture, ecosystems and […]
Early humans gained energy budget by increasing rate of energy acquisition, not energy-saving adaptation
Early humans gained energy budget by increasing rate of energy acquisition, not energy-saving adaptation Major transitions in hominoid subsistence energetics.(A) The shift from great ape–like foraging to hunting and gathering (1) and the adoption of subsistence farming during the Neolithic Revolution (2) involved changes in behavior and technology to allow access to novel food resources. […]
If all 2030 climate targets are met, the planet will heat by 2.7 C this century
If all 2030 climate targets are met, the planet will heat by 2.7 C this century Corals will not likely survive more than 2℃ global warming. Credit: Shutterstock If nations make good on their latest promises to reduce emissions by 2030, the planet will warm by at least 2.7℃ this century, a report by the […]
