Climate change, causes and impacts

Climate change, causes and impacts

New report assesses impact of climate change on forest diseases — Última modificación 19/04/2012 15:58

Climate change is projected to have far-reaching environmental impacts both domestically and abroad. A recently published report by the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station (PSW) examines the impact of climate change on forest diseases and how these pathogens will ultimately affect forest ecosystems in the Western United States and Canada.

Nasa scientist: climate change is a moral issue on a par with slavery — Última modificación 13/04/2012 10:11

From the Guardian. Averting the worst consequences of human-induced climate change is a "great moral issue" on a par with slavery, according to the leading Nasa climate scientist Prof. Jim Hansen.

'Quality control' of climate models can help predict future rainfall — Última modificación 17/02/2012 14:08

Will cotton farmers in India still be able to rely on the south-west monsoon by 2020? Will the Corn Belt in the Midwestern United States become wetter or drier? Are European rivers more likely to burst their banks and cause significant floods? These are important questions that need answering to prepare for climate change. So can climate models provide the answers?

The good news about carbon storage in tropical vegetation — Última modificación 12/02/2012 11:06

A study published in Nature Climate Change today finds that tropical vegetation contains 21 percent more carbon than previous studies had suggested. Using a combination of remote sensing and field data, scientists from Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC), Boston University, and the University of Maryland were able to produce the first "wall-to-wall" map (with a spatial resolution of 500 m × 500 m) of carbon storage of forests, shrublands, and savannas in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and South America.

Earth's energy budget remained out of balance despite unusually low solar activity — Última modificación 09/02/2012 15:50

A new NASA study underscores the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity – not changes in solar activity – are the primary force driving global warming.

Scientists see shortcuts to slow global warming — Última modificación 27/01/2012 09:32

A study by a large international team of scientists says that relatively cheap, simple measures to cut two common pollutants could substantially reduce global warming and improve human health and agriculture in coming decades.

Climate change is altering mountain vegetation at large scale — Última modificación 23/01/2012 08:47

Climate change is having a more profound effect on alpine vegetation than at first anticipated, according to a study carried out by an international group of researchers and published in Nature Climate Change. The first ever pan-European study of changing mountain vegetation has found that some alpine meadows could disappear within the next few decades.

Global warming set to bring colder, snowier winters — Última modificación 20/01/2012 09:49

The world is getting warmer, which should mean warmer winters - right? Wrong - a new study shows that global warming produces colder winters and heavier dumps of snow for large swathes of the northern hemisphere.

Checking global warming’s fingerprint — Última modificación 07/01/2012 14:16

Back in 2007, the IPCC’s fourth assessment report found that "most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely (>90% probability) due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse-gas concentrations”. Now, researchers from the UK, Canada and the US have explained the methods behind the statement in a manner that they hope is suitable for nonspecialists.

New insight into climate change in the Pacific — Última modificación 09/12/2011 09:12

New research providing critical information about how climate change is affecting Australia's Pacific island neighbours and East Timor has been released today by the Australian Government's Pacific Climate Change Science Program (PCCSP).

Energy balance points to man-made climate change — Última modificación 09/12/2011 09:10

A climate model based on the "global energy balance" has provided new evidence for human-induced climate change, according to its creators. Using this simple model, researchers in Switzerland conclude that it is extremely likely (>95% probability) that at least 74% of the observed warming since 1950 has been caused by human activity.

Extreme weather will strike as climate change takes hold, IPCC warns — Última modificación 01/12/2011 09:26

Heavier rainfall, fiercer storms and intensifying droughts are likely to strike the world in the coming decades as climate change takes effect, the world's leading climate scientists said on Friday.

Is climate sensitivity lower than IPCC finding? — Última modificación 01/12/2011 09:25

Despite more than 30 years of research, until recently the figure for climate sensitivity had not become any more certain. Initial estimates for the amount of atmospheric warming associated with a doubling of CO2 levels were 3 +/–1.5 K; later studies suggested a small possibility that climate sensitivity could be more than 10 K.