By Gavin Roy A group led by PAGES (Past Global Changes) has ranked human weather observations in South America as the second-highest priority climate data that must be collected, collated, and integrated to understand South America’s climate. Their highest-ranked priority data is tree-ring records, with ice-core samples, glacial variations, and marine sediment records coming after. […]
Using Climate Models to Predict Mosquito Proliferation
January 28, 2012
by Gavin Roy West Nile Virus, a known disease threat to humans, was first observed to be carried by mosquitoes in the Midwestern United States in 1999. Since then, state and local governments have enacted mosquito abatement plans that involve large-scale spraying to stem the spread of the disease. While spraying can be lifesaving for […]
The Medieval Climate Anomaly
January 21, 2012
By Gavin Roy Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels has increased from 280ppm (parts per million) to 390ppm across the globe. This has led to a net warming in the atmosphere to a magnitude that is still being quantified. Complicating […]
Worms Can Help Farmers Adapt to Climate Change
January 18, 2012
by Pennell Paugh A study performed by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Society concluded that worms can play a key role to help farmers adapt to extreme weather. Worms improve soil structure, reduce water use in the garden, act as natural fertilizers, reduce greenhouse gases and save on the costs of waste removal. Dr Chris […]
The Study of Past Climate Is Key to the Future
January 14, 2012
by Luisa Cristini, PhD., University of Hawaii at Manoa The study of past climate, or paleoclimatology, is one of the most important fields of climate science study. The study of the past, using all time scales, is the basis for climate projections. The past is highly relevant for modern climate change, because it helps us […]
Farming Single Largest Contributor to Global Warming
January 12, 2012
by Pennell Paugh In November 2011, an international group meeting in Durban, South Africa concluded that farming is the single largest contributor to greenhouse-gas pollution on the planet, through deforestation, rice growing and animal husbandry. Food production is rising sharply, requiring more carbon-based fuels and nitrogen-based fertilizers, both of which exacerbate global warming, river and […]
Recent studies on melting permafrost
January 8, 2012
Scientists in Siberia, Alaska and the Arctic are researching what happens when the tiny microbes, the residue of animals and plants that lived thousands of years ago, become exposed with melting that has been occurring with the warming of the planet. They have found that typically melting permafrost releases carbon dioxide. In September 2006, a […]
CEOs of IEDRO and ACRE Speak about Historical Climate Data at UN World Meteorological Organization
January 1, 2012
Executive Directors for IEDRO, Dr. Rick Crouthamel, D.Sc., and ACRE(a conglomeration of data rescue organizations including IEDRO), Dr. Rob Allan represented the data rescue and digitization nonprofit/non-governmental organization community at the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The theme of the meeting, which met in Geneva on December 11, was “Sector applications / Climate observation community […]
IEDRO Meets with Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology, NOAA, USGS
January 1, 2012
The possibility of future collaboration activities between IEDRO and members of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology (Roshydromet, All Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information – World Data Center) and representatives of NOAA and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) were discussed in a meeting at the end of November, 2011. IEDRO’s executive director, Dr. Crouthamel, gave […]
Indonesia to Use GPS Sensors to Monitor Tsunamis
January 1, 2012
By Gavin Roy After the 2004 Christmastime earthquake and tsunami in the northeastern Indian Ocean that killed over 230,000 people and displaced another 1.8 million, Indonesia took bounding steps toward an effective early tsunami warning system. However, like any system under development, kinks and roadblocks must first be worked out in order to arrive at […]