Tiny Pikas Seem to Be on March Toward Extinction in Great Basin
December 29 — The tiny rabbit-like American pika, an animal species considered to be one of the best for detecting global warming in the western United States, appears to be veering toward the brink of extinction in the Great Basin. (University of Washington press release) More

Smithsonian Guide to the Biodiverse Marine Environment of Panama's Bocas Del Toro
December 27 — A Caribbean Journal of Science special issue presents the first scientific overview of the marine environment in Bocas del Toro Province near Panama's border with Costa Rica. (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute press release) More

New Research in Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound Shows Hurricanes, Runoff Tax Water Quality Management Efforts
December 22 — A study that analyzed phytoplankton in both North Carolina's Neuse River Estuary/Pamlico Sound and the Chesapeake Bay offers a new lesson in light of recent increased hurricane activity. (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill press release) More

Storing Carbon to Combat Global Warming May Cause Other Environmental Problems, Study Suggests
December 22 — Growing tree plantations to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to mitigate global warming could trigger environmental changes that outweigh some of the benefits, a new study shows. (Duke University press release) More

MSG-2 Will Advance Long-Term Monitoring of Earth's Energy Balance
December 21 — This week's launch of MSG-2 will ensure that satellite images continue to be available to European weather forecasters well into the next decade. (European Space Agency press release) More

Most of Arctic's Near-Surface Permafrost May Thaw by 2100
December 19 — Global warming may decimate the top 10 feet (3 meters) or more of perennially frozen soil across the Northern Hemisphere, according to a new study. (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research press release) More

Research: Snails Were Overlooked Contributors to Marsh Destruction
December 15 — Buoyed by the effects of an intense drought, otherwise harmless snails likely killed off thousands of acres of salt marsh in the Southeast. (University Florida press release) More

DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Mobile Facility Moves to Niger
December 15 — A mobile suite of climate monitoring equipment has moved to Niger to take cloud and aerosol measurements for a year. (Sandia National Laboratories press release) More

Microbes under Greenland Ice May Be Preview of what Scientists Find under Mars’ Surface
December 14 — A study of methane-producing Archaea at the base of Greenland’s ice sheet indicates that about one microbe per cubic centimeter underground could produce enough methane to maintain observed levels in the Martian atmosphere. (University of California-Berkeley press release) More

Meteosat Second Generation-2: Watch the Launch Live
December 14 — The second satellite in the Meteosat Second Generation family is due to be launched on December 21 from Kourou, French Guiana. (European Space Agency press release) More

Amazon Trees Much Older than Assumed, Raising Questions on Global Climate Impact of Region
December 13 — Trees in the Amazon tropical forests are much older than previously believed, surprising a team of researchers studying tree growth in the world’s largest tropical region. (University of California-Irvine press release) More

Glacial Pace of Erosion Was Not So Slow, New Technique Shows
December 9 — Glaciers, rivers and shifting tectonic plates have shaped mountains over millions of years, but earth scientists have struggled to understand the relative roles of these forces and the rates at which they work--until now. (University of Michigan press release) More

New Models of Weather Pattern
December 9 — A researcher is using mathematical theory to build a model of the Madden-Julian Oscillation, a tropical weather pattern that influences drought and rainfall in the western United States. (University of California-Davis press release) More

Changes to Land Cover May Enhance Global Warming in Amazon, Reduce It in Mid-latitudes
December 8 — New simulations of the 21st-century climate show human-produced changes in land cover could produce additional warming in the Amazon region comparable to that caused by greenhouse gases, while counteracting greenhouse warming by 25% to 50% in some mid-latitude areas. (National Center for Atmospheric Research press release) More

ORNL-Led Study Shows Forests Thrive with Increased Carbon Dioxide Levels
December 8 — Forest productivity may be significantly greater in an atmosphere enriched with carbon dioxide, according to findings that challenge recent reports that question the importance of carbon dioxide fertilization. (Oak Ridge National Laboratory press release) More

Alaska's Columbia Glacier Continues on Disintegration Course
December 7 — Alaska's rapidly disintegrating Columbia Glacier, which has shrunk in length by nine miles since 1980, has reached the mid-point of its projected retreat, according to a new study. (University of Colorado at Boulder press release) More

Mountainous Plateau Creates Ozone 'Halo' around Tibet
December 7 — Not only is the air around the world's highest mountains thin, but it's thick with ozone, says a new study. (University of Toronto press release) More

Global Warming Could Halt Ocean Circulation, with Harmful Results
December 7 — Absent any climate policy, scientists have found a 70 percent chance of shutting down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean over the next 200 years, with a 45 percent probability of occurring this century. (University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign press release) More

Mercury in Atmosphere Could Be Washed Out More Easily than Earlier Believed
December 7 — New research suggests mercury can be carried long distances in the atmosphere, combining with other airborne chemicals to form compounds that are much more water-soluble and so more easily removed from the air in rainfall. (University of Washington press release) More

Modeling of Long-Term Fossil Fuel Consumption Shows 14.5 Degree Hike in Temperature
December 6 — If humans continue to use fossil fuels in a business as usual manner for the next several centuries, the polar ice caps will be depleted, ocean sea levels will rise by seven meters and median air temperatures will soar 14.5 degrees warmer than current day. (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory press release) More

Study: Temperate Forests Could Worsen Global Warming
December 6 — Growing a forest might sound like a good idea to combat global warming since trees draw carbon dioxide from the air and release cool water from their leaves--but they also absorb sunlight, warming the air in the process. (Carnegie Institution press release) More

Why the Amazon Rainforest is So Rich in Species
December 5 — Tropical areas of South and Central America such as the Amazon rainforest are home to some 7,500 species of butterfly compared with only around 65 species in Britain, but scientists have ruled out the common theory that attributed this richness of wildlife to climate change. (University College London press release) More

Climate Models Need Deeper Roots, Scientists Say
December 5 — A new study suggests researchers need to dig to deeper into soils to harvest enough data that would make climate models more fruitful. (University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign press release) More

Warming Could Free Far More Carbon from High Arctic Soil than Earlier Thought
December 5 — Scientists studying the effects of carbon on climate warming are very likely underestimating, by a vast amount, how much soil carbon is available in the high Arctic to be released into the atmosphere, new research shows. (University of Washington press release) More

Reducing Pollution Could Increase Rice Harvests In India
December 4 — Research shows that the combined effects of atmospheric brown clouds and greenhouse gases negatively affect growing conditions for rice in India. (University of California-Berkeley press release) More

UC Davis Wins $8 Million EPA Grant to Study Health Effects of Air Pollution
December 2 — The University of California-Davis will study how air pollution harms human health by triggering premature deaths, sending more sick people to the hospital and damaging children's lungs. (University of California-Davis press release) More

Tropical Atlantic Cooling and African Deforestation Correlate to Drought, Report Scientists
December 2 — Tropical ocean temperatures and land vegetation have an important effect on African monsoon systems and are critical to sustaining agriculture in equatorial Africa, say researchers. (University of California-Santa Barbara press release) More

Crystal Sponges Excel at Sopping Up Carbon Dioxide
December 1 — Since the Industrial Revolution, levels of carbon dioxide---a major contributor to the greenhouse effect---have been on the rise, and now researchers have found that a class of materials invented and developed at the University of Michigan can store vast amounts of the gas. (University of Michigan press release) More

Trade Imbalance Shifts U.S. Carbon Emissions to China, Boosts Global Total
December 1 — The growth of Chinese imports in the U.S. economy boosted the total emissions of carbon dioxide from the two countries by over 700 million metric tons between 1997 and 2003, according to a new study. (National Center for Atmospheric Research press release) More

Back to: News