Changes in Ozone Layer Offer Hope for Improvement, Says Team of Scientists
August 30 — Analysis of several different satellite records and surface monitoring instruments indicates that the ozone layer is no longer declining, according to a new study. (University of Chicago press release) More

Oysters: The Natural Way to Protect Our Shores
August 30 — New research suggests oyster reefs would be a cheap, convenient, and natural way to protect shorelines from erosion. (Blackwell Publishing press release) More

South Polar Ozone Hole Makes Big Comeback
August 30 — This season's Antarctic ozone hole has swollen to an area approximately the same size as Europe and still expanding. (European Space Agency press release) More

Snowball Antarctica--Early Drake Passage Opening Led to Global Change
August 30 — New results suggest Antarctica became the icy, barren continent that we know today when South America and Antarctica split apart very rapidly more than 30 million years ago. (British Antarctic Survey press release) More

Ozone Layer Decline Leveling Off, According to New Study
August 29 — A new global study involving long-term data from satellites and ground stations indicates Earth's ozone layer, while still severely depleted following decades of thinning from industrial chemicals in the atmosphere, is no longer in decline. (University of Colorado/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration press release) More

Nature Paper: Burning Asteroids May Play 'More Important Climate Role than Previously Recognized'
August 25 — Dust from asteroids entering the atmosphere may influence Earth's weather more than previously thought, researchers have found. (Department of Energy/Sandia National Laboratories press release) More

Seasonal Weather Forecasts Plus Workshops Boost Efforts of Subsistence Farmers in Zimbabwe
August 24 — New methods, coupling radio-delivered seasonal climate forecasts with participatory workshops for subsistence farmers, is the first to show that communication with farmers at a grassroots level helps them better understand and apply forecast information to their farming decisions. (Boston University press release) More

Climate Model Links Higher Temperatures to Prehistoric Extinction
August 24 — New research supports a theory that increased atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide triggered the Permian extinction 251 million years ago. (National Center for Atmospheric Research press release) More

Fire Fighters, Managers Use New Software to Estimate Fire Hazard; Air Pollution Levels
August 24 — Managers now have a new tool to assign and calculate fuel loadings and other fuel-bed characteristics anywhere in the continental United States, making the job of estimating fire hazard and fire effects faster and more accurate. (USDA Forest Service press release) More

Arctic Ocean Could be Ice-Free in Summer within 100 Years, Scientists Say
August 23 — The current warming trends in the Arctic may shove the Arctic system into a seasonally ice-free state not seen for more than one million years, according to a new report. (University of Arizona press release) More

Microbe Has Huge Role in Ocean Life, Carbon Cycle
August 18 — Researchers have discovered that the smallest free-living cell known also has the smallest genome, or genetic structure, of any independent cell--and yet it dominates life in the oceans, thrives where most other cells would die, and plays a huge role in the cycling of carbon on Earth. (Oregon State University press release) More

University of Colorado Researchers Hunting Down, Studying New Microorganisms
August 17 — Researchers will identify and analyze a potpourri of microbes new to science that are residing in the harsh, cold climate of Colorado's high mountains. (University of Colorado-Boulder press release) More

Ships Bring Alien Jellyfish Invaders to Our Shores
August 15 — Marine environments around the world are being threatened by exotic species of the moon jellyfish being dispersed by international shipping, according to new research. (University of New South Wales press release) More

Global Warming to Boost Scots Farmers
August 15 — Climate change could be good news for Scottish farmers, according to research finding that temperatures and increased carbon dioxide levels could mean increased crop yields and a boost to local economies. (Economic and Social Research Council press release) More

Live Demonstration of 21st Century National-Scale Team Science
August 15 — The University of California-San Diego and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have conducted the first successful test of a new Ethernet optical path connecting the two institutions, to permit collaboration in real time on visualizing Earth science data objects up to 1,000 times larger than is feasible using the World Wide Web. (University of California-San Diego press release) More

Warming Most Evident at High Latitudes, But Greatest Impact Will Be in Tropics
August 12 — Contrary to popular belief, the most serious impact of global warming in the next century likely will be in the tropics, says a group of researchers. (University of Washington press release) More

New Observations and Climate Model Data Confirm Recent Warming of the Tropical Atmosphere
August 11 — For the first time, new climate observations and computer models provide a consistent picture of recent warming of the tropical atmosphere. (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory press release) More

Environmental Lessons from Tsunami as World's Coastal Population Doubles
August 11 — Coastal populations and ecosystems are more likely to bounce back from extreme coastal disasters by protecting local environments and building on local knowledge, according to a new report. (University of East Anglia press release) More

ERS-2 Successfully Targets China's Typhoon Matsa
August 11 — Unique data from the European Space Agency's ERS-2 spacecraft reveals the interior wind fields of Typhoon Matsa. (European Space Agency press release) More

Errors in the Measurement of Global Warming Corrected
August 11 — Researchers say the effect of the sun's heat on weather balloons largely accounts for a data discrepancy that has long contributed to a dispute over the existence of global warming. (Yale University press release) More

Nitrogen in the Air Feeds the Oceans
August 10 — A new study provides the first direct evidence that atmospheric nitrogen is an important nutrient for marine life. (University of Southern California press release) More

Are Hurricanes Increasing? Ask a Georgia Pine Tree
August 10 — Centuries of hurricane records have been discovered in the rings of pine trees. (Geological Society of America press release) More

Clear View of the Clouds Will Bring Better Weather Forecasts
August 10 — Accurately forecasting rain will be easier thanks to new insights into clouds from a study led by the University of Leeds and University College London. (University College London press release) More

Getting to the TOPP of Houston's Air Pollution
August 9 — As state environmental regulators prepare to implement Texas' latest plan to bring Houston into compliance with federal clean air standards, researchers are conducting the first systematic survey of ozone levels in the air above Houston using weather balloons. (Rice University press release) More

University of Oregon Study Says Sunnier Oregon Summers Reflect Global Warming
August 9 — The majority of Oregon is seeing a remarkable increase in sunny days, according to new research. (University of Oregon press release) More

Model Gives Clearer Idea of How Oxygen Came to Dominate Earth's Atmosphere
August 8 — A new model offers plausible scenarios for how oxygen came to dominate Earth's atmosphere 2.4 billion years ago, and why it took at least 300 million years after bacterial photosynthesis started producing oxygen in large quantities. (University of Washington press release) More

Field Tested: Grasslands Won't Help Buffer Climate Change as Carbon Dioxide Levels Rise
August 8 — An ongoing experiment shows that production responses of the grassland to changes in climate and carbon dioxide concentration are unlikely to lead to increased productivity on their own. (Public Library of Science press release) More

Global Warming's Effects Extend to World's Smallest Butterfly
August 5 — A new study shows that human-induced global warming will accelerate the extinction of this species. (Blackwell Publishing press release) More

Spanish Forest Fire Aftermath Surveyed by Envisat
August 4 — The damage done to Spain's Guadalajara province by July's fierce forest fire has been measured from space by Envisat. (European Space Agency press release) More

NRL Measures Record Wave during Hurricane Ivan
August 4 — Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory--Stennis Space Center (NRL-SSC) measured a record-size ocean wave when the eye of Hurricane Ivan passed over moorings in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004. (Naval Research Laboratory press release) More

Climate Change over the Last 2000 Years -- What do we (Really) Know?
August 4 — In a round table discussion at IGBP-PAGES (Past Global Changes) Open Science Meeting in Beijing on August 10-12, Mike Mann, Gavin Schmidt and Dmitry Sonechkin will debate the myths and realities of what we really know about temperature change during the last two millennia. (Past Global Changes IPO press release) More

LSU Researchers Say 2005 Hurricane Season Could Be Historic
August 4 — Based on their research into hurricane season records dating back to 1851, two LSU climatologists believe 2005 could rival some of the busiest seasons ever recorded. (Louisiana State University press release) More

Envisat Monitoring China Floods as Part of Dragon Program
August 3 — China's rainy season has led to serious flooding and a joint Chinese-European team is gathering Envisat radar imagery of the developing situation to give authorities a way to swiftly assess affected areas and plan their responses. (European Space Agency press release) More

Drought Bumps Up Global Thermostat
August 3 — As this summer's European drought continues, two climate research groups have warned that it will unleash large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, giving further impetus to global warming. (New Scientist press release) More

Collapse of Antarctic Ice Shelf Unprecedented
August 3 — The Antarctic Peninsula is undergoing greater warming than almost anywhere on Earth and a new study suggests the spectacular collapse of Antarctica's Larson B Ice Shelf is unprecedented during the past 10,000 years. (Hamilton College press release) More

Fossil Fuel Emissions Can Overwhelm Planet's Ability to Absorb Carbon
August 3 — If fossil fuel emissions continue to rise, the land and oceans will eventually exceed their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to a new, improved computer climate model. (University of California-Berkeley press release) More

Penn State to Host U.S. DOE Regional Climate Center
August 2 — How energy production and use influences climate and environment will be the focus of Penn State's newly awarded Northeastern Regional Center of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Institute for Climatic Change Research (NICCR). (Penn State University press release) More

Scientists Weather a Space Storm to Find Its Origin
August 2 — A team of researchers from the United Kingdom and France used SOHO, ACE and the four Cluster spacecraft to study a huge eruption on the Sun, tracing its progress from birth to when it reached Earth. (European Space Agency press release) More

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