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Declining Sea Ice Increases Precipitation in Arctic Climate System

The melting of sea ice will significantly increase Arctic precipitation, creating a climate feedback comparable to doubling global carbon dioxide, a Dartmouth College-led study finds.

23 Dec 2015

Harmful Algal Blooms are Threat to Aquatic Ecosystems, Public Health

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur naturally, but their outbreaks are influenced by climate change and droughts, nutrient enrichment and manmade factors, such as contaminants from sewage and stormwater discharge, natural resource extraction or agricultural runoff, to name a few. When an outbreak occurs, it causes restrictions on fisheries, recreation and drinking water, and it can have significant economic consequences.

23 Dec 2015

Climate Change Threatens Freshwater Ecosystems

Climate change is rapidly heating up lakes around the world, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems across the planet, according to a study spanning six continents.

22 Dec 2015

Two Rare Short Nosed Sea Snakes Discovered in Ashmore Reef

Scientists from James Cook University have discovered two critically endangered species of sea snakes, previously thought to be extinct, off the coast of Western Australia.

22 Dec 2015

Duke University Releases Study on Marsh Plant Productivity Under Climatic Changes

Accelerating rates of sea-level rise linked to climate change pose a major threat to coastal marshes and the vital carbon capturing they perform. But a new Duke University study finds marshes may be more resilient than previously believed.

22 Dec 2015

Recent UBC Study Reveals how Animals Respond to Climate Change

The key to helping animals evolve quickly in response to climate change could actually be their predators, according to a new UBC study.

18 Dec 2015

NOAA-Sponsored Report Shows Warmer Air Continues To Trigger Changes in Arctic Ocean

A new NOAA-sponsored report shows that air temperature in 2015 across the Arctic was well above average with temperature anomalies over land more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit above average, the highest since records began in 1900.

16 Dec 2015

New Accounting Approach May Provide More Accurate Picture of Carbon Sequestration in US Forests

Scientists with the USDA Forest Service have developed a new approach to forest carbon accounting that will result in a more accurate picture of how much carbon is sequestered in forests - the planet's greatest terrestrial carbon sink - and the ramifications of changes in land use, wildfire and invasive insects on carbon sequestration.

1 Dec 2015

Computer Simulations Reveal Much More Complexity in Earth's First Ecosystems

Computer simulations have allowed scientists to work out how a puzzling 555-million-year-old organism with no known modern relatives fed, revealing that some of the first large, complex organisms on Earth formed ecosystems that were much more complex than previously thought.

28 Nov 2015

Climate Change to Proceed Faster Than Previously Believed

Global warming will progress faster than what was previously believed. The reason is that greenhouse gas emissions that arise naturally are also affected by increased temperatures. This has been confirmed in a new study from Linköping University that measures natural methane emissions.

28 Nov 2015