Modern Global Warming More Damaging than in the Past
August 27 — New research illustrates major differences between global warming today and past natural climate fluctuations as they relate to species extinctions. (University of Michigan) More

Weather Extremes Shed Light on Prairie's Past and Environment's Future
August 18 — Newly available, long-term climate data now say the rich soils of the Midwest, especially tall grass areas that seemingly should support diverse forests but instead appear as barren flatlands to travelers, are the products of weather extremes. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) More

Nitrous Oxide Record Sheds Light on Glacial Carbon Dioxide
August 14 — A 106,000 year long record of nitrous oxide concentrations and a shorter record of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes show that both marine and terrestrial nitrous oxide production increased in unison and effectively by the same proportional amount during the end of the last glacial period, according to Penn State researchers. (Penn State) More

Research: Coral Reefs' Decline Actually Began Centuries Ago
August 14 — Global warming and pollution are among the modern-day threats commonly blamed for decline of coral reefs, but new research shows the downfall of those resplendent and diverse signatures of tropical oceans actually may have begun centuries ago. (University of Florida) More

With Supercooling and the Right Geometry, 'Warm' Glaciers Can Trap and Transport Silt
August 14 — It may take them a century to advance a few meters, but the bottoms of some glaciers churn with supercooled activity, according to an article by a Lehigh University geologist in the Aug. 14 issue of Nature magazine. (Lehigh University) More

Genomes of Tiny Microbes Yield Clues to Global Climate Change
August 13 — By analyzing the genomes of several microscopic ocean-dwelling organisms, scientists are gaining new insights into how the planet?s oceans affect its climate. (DOE/Joint Genome Institute) More

Atmospheric Bromine, Which Attacks Ozone Layer, Is Decreasing
August 13 — Researchers have discovered that total bromine in the lower atmosphere has been decreasing since 1998 and is now more than five percent below the peak reached that year. (American Geophysical Union) More

Lake Ecosystem Critical to East African Food Supply Is Threatened by Climate Change
August 13 — In a new study directly linking climatic warming with the survival of lake organisms, researchers have found multiple lines of evidence showing that increasing air and water temperatures and related factors are shrinking fish and algae populations in a major lake. (National Science Foundation) More

Global Warming Not Man-Made Phenomenon
August 12 — According to a new study, global warming will not be helped much by efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere because temperature variations are due more to cosmic forces than to the actions of man. (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) More

NASA Funds U. of Colorado Study of Changes in Earth?s Glacier Systems
August 11 — Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder will receive $1.8 million from NASA to compile an online database of the world's glaciers that combines historical records with measurements from the latest technologies in satellite remote sensing. (University of Colorado at Boulder) More

Envisat Focuses on Carbon-rich Peat Swamp Forest Fires
August 6 — Multiple sensors on European Space Agency's Envisat environmental satellite have been used to peer beneath a vast pall of smoke above tropical Borneo and detect fire hotspots — known to add millions of tons of harmful greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. More

Another Global Warming Surprise: Grasslands May Become Wetter as Temperatures Rise
August 4 — Grassland ecosystems could become wetter as a result of global warming, according to a new study, contradicting numerous climate models predicting that higher temperatures could dry out natural landscapes, including grasslands. (Stanford University) More

Inside the Glacier Fire: Mobile Radar Tracks Swirling Winds in Montana Blazes
August 4 — A mobile Doppler radar tracking the twists and turns of air billowing around a wildland fire in Montana has gathered data that will shed light on fire dynamics and could help improve forecasting of these intense blazes and their weather impacts. (National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) More

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