Microfossils Show Promise in Prospecting Climate History
October 31 — By examining sediment cores, researchers hope to find more evidence that a 30-year lull in hurricane activity is truly over and that we are at the beginning of a new multi-decade period of larger and more frequent storms. (University of North Carolina-Charlotte press release) More

California's Oak Woodlands Face a New Threat: Climate Change
October 31 — California's iconic oak woodlands have endured many assaults over the years, but a current and future threat, climate change, could drastically reduce the areas in which oaks can grow. (University of California-Santa Cruz press release) More

Study: Arctic Undergoing Holistic Climate-Change Response
October 28 — From glaciers to caribou, and rivers to roads, Arctic climate change is having a broad effect on almost every aspect of life in the North, new research finds. (University of Alaska-Fairbanks press release) More

New Science Study: Mangroves Shielded Communities against Tsunami
October 27 — Areas buffered by coastal forests, like mangroves, were strikingly less damaged by the 2004 tsunami than areas without tree vegetation, a new study shows. (World Wildlife Fund press release) More

Tropical Cloud 'Dust' Could Hold the Key to Climate Change
October 26 — Scientists at the University of Manchester will set off for Australia this week to undertake an in-depth study of tropical clouds and the particles sucked up into them to gain further insight into climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer. (University of Manchester press release) More

ERS-2 Has Ringside View of Hurricane Wilma's Violent Winds
October 24 — As Hurricane Wilma barrels towards the Florida coast, a last-minute acquisition by a unique instrument aboard ERS-2 is helping strengthen weather forecasters' final predictions of its landfall course and strength. (European Space Agency press release) More

Tracking Desertification with Satellites Highlighted at UN Conference
October 24 — With a quarter of the Earth's land surface affected, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification regards desertification as a worldwide problem, and delegates from many nations are being briefed on how satellites are used to track desertification in Europe. (European Space Agency press release) More

Seeing the Forest and Trees
October 21 — Simulated tree extinctions find that less diverse tropical forests have reduced capacity to sequester carbon and to provide critical ecosystem services. (The Earth Institute at Columbia University press release) More

Selective Logging Causes Widespread Destruction of Brazil's Amazon Rainforest, Study Finds
October 20 — A new satellite survey of the Amazon Basin in Brazil reveals that every year unregulated selective logging of mahogany and other hardwoods destroys an area of pristine rainforest big enough to cover the state of Connecticut. (Stanford University press release) More

Breakup of Glaciers Raising Sea Level Concern
October 20 — Some "startling changes" on the margin of ice masses in Antarctica and Greenland has been observed in recent years, raising concerns about sea level rise. (Oregon State University press release) More

Entire Lakes Feel Effects of Climate Warming, University of Alberta Study Shows
October 18 — Climate warming is producing major ecological changes in remote Arctic lakes at an alarming rate, according to the first study to show a whole-lake biological response to warming. (University of Alberta press release) More

Climate Model Predicts Dramatic Changes over Next 100 Years
October 17 — The most comprehensive climate model to date of the continental United States predicts more extreme temperatures throughout the country and more extreme precipitation along the Gulf Coast, in the Pacific Northwest and east of the Mississippi. (Purdue University press release) More

Seafloor Creatures Destroyed by Ice Action during Ice Ages
October 17 — Research by marine scientists reveals a time of mass destruction in the past when whole communities of animals were wiped out by ice sheets scouring the sea floor. (British Antarctic Survey press release) More

Mountain Winds May Create Atmospheric Hotspots
October 17 — Rapidly fluctuating wind gusts blowing over mountains and hills can create "hotspots" high in the atmosphere and significantly affect regional air temperatures. (American Geophysical Union press release) More

Link between Tropical Warming and Greenhouse Gases Stronger than Ever, Say Scientists
October 13 — New evidence from climate records of the past provides some of the strongest indications yet of a direct link between tropical warmth and higher greenhouse gas levels, say scientists. (University of California-Santa Barbara press release) More

Beneficial Effects of No-Till Farming Depend Upon Future Climate Change
October 13 — By storing carbon in their fields through no-till farming practice, farmers can help countries meet targeted reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide and reduce the harmful effects of global warming. (University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana press release) More

Oil Spills and Climate Change Double the Mortality Rate of British Seabirds
October 13 — New research from the University of Sheffield has shown that major oil spills and a changing climate have had a far greater impact on populations of British sea birds than was previously thought. (Blackwell Publishing press release) More

Warmer Seas, Wetter Air Make Harder Rains as Greenhouse Gases Build
October 13 — Storms will dump heavier rain and snow around the world as Earth's climate warms over the coming century, according to several leading computer models. (National Center for Atmospheric Research press release) More

Katrina Floodwaters Not as Toxic to Humans as Previously Thought, Study Says
October 11 — The floodwaters that inundated New Orleans immediately following Hurricane Katrina were similar in content to the city's normal storm water and were not as toxic as previously thought, say researchers. (American Chemical Society press release) More

Researchers Analyze Liquid that Lies Beneath the Surface
October 11 — While we generally think of water in nature as a cool liquid that we can see -- streams, lakes, oceans -- there is a great deal of "hot fluid" activity taking place deep within the Earth that influences what ultimately takes place on the surface, including the amount of rainfall and buildup of new land masses. (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem press release) More

The Tropics Play a More Active Role than Was Thought in Controlling the Earth's Climate
October 11 — Researchers have discovered that a million years ago global climate changes occurred due to changes in tropical circulations in the Pacific, similar to those caused by El Nino today. (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona press release) More

Climate Change Will Stress Stormwater Drainage Systems
October 11 — The storm that dropped over 10 inches of rain on the Keene, New Hampshire, area this past week will be a more frequent phenomenon due to climate change, according to two researchers. (Antioch New England Graduate School press release) More

Tiny Bubbles a Storehouse of Knowledge
October 11 — Fluid inclusions--tiny bubbles of fluid or vapor trapped inside a rock as it forms--are clues to the location of ores and even petroleum; and they are time capsules that contain insights on the power of volcanoes and hints of life in the universe. (Virginia Tech University press release) More

Woods Hole Research Center Scientist Part of International Initiatives to Save the Great Apes
October 11 — The extinction of the great apes -- gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans -- is imminent if strict conservation practices are not implemented in the immediate future, say researchers. (Woods Hole Research Center press release) More

Underlying Cause of Massive Pinyon Pine Die-Off Revealed
October 10 — The high heat that accompanied the recent drought was the underlying cause of death for millions of pinyon pines throughout the Southwest, according to new research. (University of Arizona press release) More

Better Measurements Reveal Seasonal Changes in Sulfur
October 7 — Researchers have developed a new and improved technique for the measurement of sulfur and concentrations of atmospheric sulfate using snow samples from Greenland and Kyrgyzstan. (National Institute of Standards and Technology press release) More

Sea-Level Expedition Gets Underway
October 7 — A six-week research expedition will investigate global sea level rise since the last glacial maximum, approximately 23,000 years ago. (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International press release) More

Air Quality in U.S. West Going South
October 6 — By mid-century, air quality throughout the western United States will deteriorate, according to a study based on a new computer simulation. (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory press release) More

Earth Sinks Three Inches under Weight of Flooded Amazon
October 4 — As the Amazon River floods every year, a sizeable portion of South America sinks several inches because of the extra weight--and then rises again as the waters recede, a study has found. (Ohio State University press release) More

Sun's Direct Role in Global Warming May Be Underestimated, Physicists Report
October 3 — At least 10 to 30 percent of global warming measured during the past two decades may be due to increased solar output rather than factors such as increased heat-absorbing carbon dioxide gas released by human activities, two Duke University physicists report. (Duke University press release) More

A Space View on Giant Lightning
October 3 — New research suggests the International Space Station might help scientists determine if giant, upward lightning strikes from the tops of clouds alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere, playing a role in ozone depletion and climate. (European Space Agency press release) More

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