Increased Hurricane Activity Linked to Sea Surface Warming
January 31 — The link between changes in the temperature of the sea's surface and increases in North Atlantic hurricane activity has been quantified for the first time. (University College London press release) More

Humans are Cause of Diminishing Water Flow in the U.S. West
January 31 — Scientists have noted that water flow in the Western region of the U.S. has decreased for the last 20 to 30 years, and they have now pinpointed the cause of that diminishing water flow on a regional scale: humans. (DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory press release) More

Baffin Island Ice Caps Shrink by 50 Percent Since 1950s
January 28 — A new study has shown that ice caps on the northern plateau of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic have shrunk by more than 50 percent in the last half century as a result of warming, and are expected to disappear by the middle of the century. (University of Colorado at Boulder press release) More

Man-Made Changes Bring about New Epoch in Earth's History
January 25 — Geologists propose that humankind has so altered the Earth that it has brought about an end to one epoch of Earth's history and marked the start of a new epoch. (University of Leicester press release) More

Earth's Getting 'Soft' in the Middle
January 24 — A new study suggests that material in part of Earth's lower mantle has unusual electronic characteristics that make sound propagate more slowly, suggesting that the material there is softer than previously thought. (Carnegie Institution press release) More

When Accounting for the Global Nitrogen Budget, Don't Forget Fish
January 24 — Commercial fisheries play an important but declining role in removing terrestrial nitrogen from coastal waters, and accounting for this withdrawal is crucial, researchers say. (Institute of Ecosystem Studies press release) More

Seismic Images Show Dinosaur-Killing Meteor Made Bigger Splash
January 23 — The most detailed 3-D seismic images yet of the Chicxulub impact crater may modify a theory explaining the "KT Extinction Event" that wiped out most life on Earth, including the dinosaurs. (University of Texas at Austin press release) More

Forests Could Benefit When Fall Color Comes Late
January 22 — Autumn colors are appearing later and later, if at all, and scientists say that increasing amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are prolonging the growing season, making forests more productive. (Michigan Technological University press release) More

Hot Springs Microbes Hold Key to Dating Sedimentary Rocks
January 22 — Scientists studying microbial communities and the growth of sedimentary rock at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park have made a surprising discovery about the geological record of life and the environment. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign press release) More

Newly Discovered Active Fault Building New Dalmation Islands off Croatian Coast
January 22 — A newly identified fault that runs under the Adriatic Sea is pushing two continents together which is actively creating more of the famously beautiful mountains on the Dalmatian Islands and expanding the Dinaride Mountains of Croatia, according to a new research report. (University of Arizona press release) More

First Evidence of Under-Ice Volcanic Eruption in Antarctica
January 20 — Researchers describe the first evidence for the eruption of a volcano on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet 2,000 years ago, and say the volcano remains active. (British Antarctic Survey press release) More

Human Activities Contribute to California's Global Warming
January 17 — Recent research shows that California temperatures have jumped statewide by more than 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit between 1915 and 2000, and the warming is likely related to human activities. (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory press release) More

Record Warm Summers Cause Extreme Ice Melt in Greenland
January 15 — Researchers have demonstrated that recent warm summers have caused the most extreme Greenland ice melting in 50 years. (University of Sheffield press release) More

Alaska Glacier Speed-Up Tied to Internal 'Plumbing' Issues
January 15 — Meltwater can overwhelm the interior "drainpipes" of Alaska's Kennicott Glacier and cause it to lurch forward, similar to processes that could explain the acceleration of glaciers on the Greenland ice sheet that are contributing to global sea rise, a new study suggests. (University of Colorado at Boulder press release) More

Evidence of Glaciation in 'Super Greenhouse' World
January 11 — U.S. and European scientists have found evidence that glaciers existed during the "super greenhouse" world when it was so warm that alligators lived in the Arctic. (Newcastle University press release) More

A Warming Climate Can Support Glacial Ice
January 10 — New research challenges the generally accepted belief that substantial ice sheets could not have existed on Earth during past super-warm climate events. (University of California - San Diego press release) More

Older Arctic Sea Ice Replaced by Young, Thin Ice
January 10 — A new study by University of Colorado at Boulder researchers indicates older, multiyear sea ice in the Arctic is giving way to younger, thinner ice, making it more susceptible to record summer sea-ice lows like the one that occurred in 2007. (University of Colorado at Boulder press release) More

Quakes Under Pacific Floor Reveal Unexpected Circulatory System
January 9 — Seismologists working under 8,200 feet of water on a mid-ocean ridge in the eastern Pacific Ocean have used tiny earthquakes to make the first images of the interior of a hydrothermal vent system, and it does not look at all the way many had assumed it would. (The Earth Institute at Columbia University press release) More

Electric Sand Findings Could Lead to Better Climate Models
January 7 — Scientists have discovered that sweeping sands across deserts are blown by more than just wind, as powerful electric fields spring up near the desert floor and propel sand grains into the air. (University of Michigan press release) More

North Atlantic Warming Tied to Natural Variability; Global Warming May Be At Play Elsewhere
January 3 — A new analysis of available records shows that while the North Atlantic Ocean's surface waters warmed in the 50 years between 1950 and 2000, the change was not uniform and in fact, the subpolar regions cooled at the same time that subtropical and tropical waters warmed. (Duke University press release) More

Plate Tectonics May Take a Break
January 3 — Scientists have assumed that the shifting of crustal plates has been slow but continuous over most of the Earth's history, but a new study suggests that plate tectonics may have ground to a halt at least once in our planet's history – and may do so again. (Carnegie Institution press release) More

Earthquake 'Memory' Could Spur Aftershocks
January 3 — Using a novel device that simulates earthquakes in a laboratory setting, researchers have shown that seismic waves – the sounds radiated from earthquakes – can induce earthquake aftershocks, often long after a quake has subsided. (DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory press release) More

Losing More Than We Gain From Autumn Warming in the North
January 2 — An international study investigating the carbon sink capacity of northern terrestrial ecosystems discovered that the duration of the net carbon uptake period has, on average, decreased due to warmer autumn temperatures. (Global Carbon Project press release) More

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