By Torben Stichel, PhD., University of Hawaii at Manoa The ongoing debate on global climate change tends to give the impression that there is nothing new on this front. Of course, the candidates and media outlets involved in the upcoming election for the presidency of the United States will again use this topic as a political […]
Climate Change
Part 10: How does the climate system respond to a perturbation?
May 29, 2012
by Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [Note from the editor: This is the tenth 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.] The concepts of radiative forcing (previously discussed […]
Capacity Building Workshop on Data Rescue and Climate Change Indices: A Contribution to the Implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services in the Caribbean
May 23, 2012
By Teddy Allen, IEDRO Science Applications Manager May 7-10, 2012 –The University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. IEDRO recently participated in the Capacity Building Workshop on Data Rescue and Climate Change Indices as part of the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). The remaining ETCCDI members supporting the workshop represented NOAA, […]
Part 9: What drives climate changes?
May 20, 2012
by Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [Note from the editor: This is the ninth 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.] The climate system can be influenced by different […]
Methane: It’s Not Just for Jupiter Any More
May 15, 2012
By Jason Klein, Environmental Writer and Editor The molecule methane (CH4) can be found on many planets in our solar system, including Earth. Its presence is essential for life as we know it, and can be found in the guts of cattle and termites. Methane is also a by-product of plant decomposition, and is the […]
Ocean acidification
May 13, 2012
By Gavin Roy, MS candidate. When thinking about climate change, one’s mind often turns to smokestacks, smoggy skies, and the image of mirages on a hot, hazy day. Less considered is what has been called global warming’s “evil twin”: the acidification and warming of the world’s oceans. In a new research study, marine chemists warn […]
Part 8: Climate modeling
May 10, 2012
By Luisa Cristini, PhD, University of Hawaii at Manoa. [Note from the editor: This is the eighth 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.] Simply stated, climate models are mathematical representations of […]
Tree Rings: A Type of Weather Data
May 8, 2012
By Penny Paugh Trees grow on every continent except Antarctica, and the rings they contain embody a record of climate change going back thousands of years. Each ring represents a single year’s growth, so not only can a ring count tell us how old a tree is, but they can also help reconstruct climatic history […]
The Economic Impact of Extreme Weather in the US
May 4, 2012
A team of social scientists and economists from Colorado and California recently completed a study on the United States economy’s sensitivity to weather variability: extreme heat, extreme cold, droughts, and floods. This study marked the first time that US economic susceptibility to extreme weather had been explicitly quantified. Seventy years of atmospheric data were used […]
The UK Cuts Antarctic Research
May 2, 2012
By Penny Paugh The British polar research community is at risk. The UK government plans massive cuts, more than 25 percent, to the budget of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The cuts are ordered as a means to reduce the UK’s national deficit. BAS is the leading UK polar research body and one of the […]