GENEVA (WMO) | According to the World Meteorological Organization’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide. This injected even greater urgency into the need for concerted international action against accelerating and potentially devastating climate […]
Earth Science Research
Both the “fog of ignorance” and “glow of discovery” emphasize need for data rescue
August 29, 2014
Philip Brohan, climate scientist at the Met Office Hadley Centre, combines information from old documents, tree-rings and large computers, into a clear picture of what the weather used to be like. At the August 2014 ACRE (Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth) workshop, attended by IEDRO, Philip presented this particular visualization (seen below) of mean […]
Part 15: What should we expect? Future climate projections
August 14, 2012
By Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa Note from the editor: This is the fifteenth and last in a series of blog entries that focused on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and served to provide insight into the current understanding of the science.] Given the increasing evidence of climate change, what […]
Ocean acidification and the “short term“ marine carbon cycle
August 1, 2012
By Franziska Kersten, PhD Candidate in Marine Geology and Paleontology – Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany). The 2007 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Synthesis Report discusses ocean acidification and its potential to harm marine calcifiers (e.g. corals) in the future. Yet a recent report in Science unequivocally states that parts of the […]
Part 14: How to project climate into the future: Emission scenarios
July 16, 2012
By Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [Note from the editor: This is the fourteenth in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will serve to provide insight into the current understanding of the science.] Changes in external forcing (e.g., solar forcings, astronomical […]
Carbon Balance in the Arctic under Study
July 3, 2012
By Penny Paugh Over half of the Arctic is covered by forest. Snow blanketing over a forest actually keeps the soil at a fairly high temperature. Most climate models do not account for the size of forestry in that area, but some are models are now beginning to account for this variable. Climate modeler Isabelle […]
Part 13: Holocene and Anthropocene
June 28, 2012
By Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa [Note from the editor: This is the thirteenth in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will serve to provide insight into the current understanding of the science.] In addition to the low frequency variability of […]
Role of Phytoplankton in Atmospheric Regulation
June 19, 2012
By Penny Paugh Scientists have been examining the self-regulating factors of climate and the oceans. A study conducted at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, WA, has been looking at the role of the tiny organisms and the planet’s atmosphere. “For many years, we thought that chemical emissions from phytoplankton was the major player in […]
Part 11: The Timescales of Climate Change: Internal Climate Variability
June 16, 2012
by Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa [Note from the editor: This is the eleventh in a series of blog entries that will focus on introductory topics in climate dynamics and modeling, and will be a great insight into the current understanding of the science.] Since the beginning of Earth’s history, climate has […]
A Study of the Good and Bad Effects of Volcanic Ash
June 10, 2012
By Pennell Paugh A study that has been conducted for the past six years by Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at University of Miami is revealing a link between large dust storms on Iceland and glacial melting. While the dust is accelerating glacial melting it also is contributing important nutrients to the […]