Documenting a Paradox: Smoke Decreases Rainfall but Ultimately Increases Its Intensity
February 26 — Air pollution and smoke suppress rainfall, but cause the remaining rain amounts to fall in greater intensities, with lightning and hail, says a researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (Hebrew University of Jerusalem press release) More

Faster Carbon Turnover in Basal Food-chain Levels in Aquatic than Terrestrial Ecosystems
February 25 — Global temperatures have increased dramatically over the past century, largely due to a rise of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, of which carbon dioxide is one of the most important. (Blackwell Publishing press release) More

Thawing Sub-arctic Permafrost Increases Greenhouse Gas Emissions
February 24 — The permafrost in the bogs of sub-arctic Sweden is undergoing significant changes, leading to new vegetation patterns and an increase in emission of the greenhouse gas methane. (American Geophysical Union press release) More

Atmospheric Water Clusters Provide Evidence of Global Warming
February 23 — Researchers at Hamilton College have identified several methods for successfully determining the structures and thermodynamic values for the formation of atmospheric water clusters, which scientists have speculated may accelerate global warming. (Hamilton College press release) More

Ancient Desert Markings Imaged from Orbit
February 20 — Visible from ESA's Proba spacecraft 600 kilometers (372 miles) away in space are the largest of the many Nasca Lines; ancient desert markings now at risk from human encroachment as well as flood events feared to be increasing in frequency. More

Slow-moving Ground Water Slows Down Water-quality Improvements in Chesapeake Bay
February 18 — A recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study finds too many nutrients, particularly nitrogen, are the principal cause for poor water-quality conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. (USGS press release) More

Global Warming to Squeeze Western Mountains Dry by 2050
February 16 — Global warming will diminish the amount of water stored as snow in the Western United States by up to 70 percent in the coastal mountains over the next 50 years, according to a new climate change model. (Department of Energy/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory press release) More

Statistical Technique Helps Researchers Gain More Information from a Single Data Run
February 16 — For certain classes of data that may be very expensive or difficult to obtain, a new statistical technique may provide useful information from a single data run by allowing meaningful re-sampling. (Georgia Institute of Technology press release) More

Duke Open-air Experiment Results Could Deflate Hopes that Forests Can Alleviate Global Warming
February 15 — A futuristic Duke University simulation of forest growth under the carbon dioxide-enriched atmosphere expected by 2050 does not reinforce the optimism of those who believe trees can absorb that extra CO2 by growing faster. (Duke University press release) More

A Shrinking Sink? Carbon Fertilization May be Flimsy Weapon Against Warming
February 15 — Scientists say a growing body of evidence questions calculations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the land will automatically provide a significant, long-term carbon "sink" to offset some of the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. (American Association for the Advancement of Science press release) More

Carbon Dioxide Fertilization is Neither Boon Nor Bust
February 15 — Trees absorb more carbon dioxide when the amount in the atmosphere is higher, but the increase is unlikely to offset the higher levels of carbon dioxide, according to results from large-scale experiments conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and elsewhere. (Department of Energy/Oak Ridge National Laboratory press release) More

Symposium Examines the Growing Influence of Aerosols on Climate
February 14 — Scientists say aerosols, tiny atmospheric particles made up of various elements and produced by a range of sources, have become a prominent concern due to their ability to influence climatic, atmospheric and hydrological phenomena and their important impact on localized regions. (University of California-San Diego press release) More

Weather Eye on Europe
February 13 — ESA's new Weather Today website allows you to access data from space relied upon by weather forecasters across Europe. (European Space Agency press release) More

Bighorn Sheep Threatened by Climate Change
February 11 — UC Berkeley-led research has found a link between population declines in California's desert bighorn sheep and the effects of climate change. (University of California-Berkeley press release) More

Laser Technology to Map Industrial Plant Gases Available through Alberta Research Council
February 6 — Alberta Research Council Inc. (ARC) scientists are seeking industry partners to test laser technology that measures emissions from flares, storage tanks, gas processing plants, feedlots and refineries remotely over distances up to 2 kilometers. (Alberta Research Council press release) More

Century May Bring Unprecedented Climate Change to Southern Hemisphere
February 5 — The new century may bring hundreds or even thousands of plant and animal extinctions to the Andes Mountains of Peru according to new research by Florida Institute of Technology paleo-ecologist Mark Bush. (Florida Institute of Technology press release) More

The Scoop on Poop: Insect Feces, Dead Leaves May Provide Clues to Health of World
February 5 — Insect feces and leaf litter in the rainforest may provide important clues to better understanding global climate change, according to a group of scientists conducting research in the Panamanian rainforest on a JASON Project expedition. (Smithsonian Institution press release) More

Landslide Warnings from Satellites May Save Lives
February 4 — A new technique involving instruments such as the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) aboard ESA's ERS spacecraft enables landslide susceptibility mapping across parts of Italy and Switzerland. (European Space Agency) More

Scientists Find Ozone-destroying Molecule
February 3 — Using measurements from a NASA aircraft laboratory flying over the Arctic, Harvard scientists observed the CIOOCI molecule in the stratosphere, long believed to play a key role in destroying ozone. (American Geophysical Union press release) More

Increasing Greenhouse Gases Lead to Dramatic Thinning of the Upper Atmosphere
February 2 — The highest layers of the Earth's atmosphere are cooling and contracting, most likely in response to increasing levels of greenhouse gases, according to a new study by scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory. (Naval Research Laboratory press release) More

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