North Pole's Ancient Past Holds Lessons for Future Global Warming
May 31 — Detailed information on greenhouse gases and a subtropical heat wave at the North Pole 55 million years ago is providing information about the Earth's past and clues for its future. (Yale University press release) More

Ecosystems with Many Plant Species Produce More and Survive Threats Better
May 31 — Ecosystems containing many different plant species are not only more productive, they are better able to withstand and recover from climate extremes, pests and disease over long periods, finds a new study. (National Science Foundation press release) More

Sun's Past Strength Took Toll on Tropical Glaciers, Worsens Today's Outlook
May 31 — Variations in the strength of the Sun have played a major role in glacial fluctuations in the tropical Andes for hundreds of years, and combined with current greenhouse gases generated by humans paint an alarming picture for tropical glaciers. (University of Alberta press release) More

Climate History Rewritten: Arctic Ice an Early Arrival
May 31 — Arctic ice formed about 45 million years ago � roughly 14 million years ahead of previous predictions � according to new research. (Brown University press release) More

Levees Are Sinking in New Orleans
May 31 — A new study shows most of New Orleans is sinking at an average rate of 6 millimeters per year and in some areas subsidence is occurring as much as 29 millimeters per year. (University of Miami press release) More

Climate Change May Be Responsible for Increased Hurricanes
May 30 — Human-induced climate change, rather than naturally occurring ocean cycles, may be responsible for the recent increases in frequency and strength of North Atlantic hurricanes, according to researchers. (Penn State University press release) More

Historic Colorado River Streamflows Reconstructed Back to 1490
May 25 — A new tree-ring-based reconstruction of Colorado River streamflow confirms that droughts more severe than the 2000-2004 drought occurred before stream gages were installed on the river. (University of Arizona press release) More

Faster Atmospheric Warming in Subtropics Pushes Jet Streams Toward Poles
May 25 — The atmosphere is warming faster in subtropical areas while each hemisphere's jet stream has moved toward the pole by about 70 miles, new research shows. (University of Washington press release) More

Tropical Forests Leak Nitrogen Back into Atmosphere, Say Scientists
May 22 — In findings that could influence our understanding of climate change, a research team has learned that tropical forests return to the atmosphere up to half the nitrogen they receive each year. (Princeton University press release) More

Greenhouse Gas/Temperature Feedback Mechanism May Boost Future Warming
May 22 — A team of European scientists report that climate change estimates for the next century may have substantially underestimated the potential magnitude of global warming. (American Geophysical Union press release) More

New Century of Thirst for World's Mountains
May 18 — A new forecast model predicts that by century's end, the Andes in South America will have less than half their current winter snow-pack and mountain ranges in the western United States will have lost nearly half of their snow-bound water. (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory press release) More

Risks Associated with Living in Low-Lying Coastal Areas
May 17 — Low-elevation coastal zones are in increasing danger of flooding in the face of rising sea level and storm activity. (The Earth Institute at Columbia University press release) More

Satellites Reveal Photosynthetic Trends in Northern High Latitudes
May 17 — Using a 22-year record of satellite observations across the northern high latitudes, scientists find the boreal forest biome might be responding to climate change in previously unexpected ways. (Woods Hole Research Center press release) More

Seismologists Detect a Sunken Slab of Ocean Floor Deep in the Earth
May 17 — By analyzing seismic waves reflected from the deepest layer of Earth's mantle off the west coast of Central America, seismologists have detected a massive folded slab of rock that once formed the ocean floor. (University of California -Santa Cruz press release) More

Coral Reef Reveals History of Fickle Weather in the Central Pacific
May 16 — A new study using evidence from Pacific corals suggests the climate in the Pacific diverged from the rest of the world during the "Little Ice Age" and the "Medieval Warm Period." (University of Chicago Press Journals press release) More

Fabled Equatorial African Icecaps to Disappear
May 15 — The Rwenzori Mountains are home to one of four remaining tropical ice fields outside of the Andes, and new research suggests these glaciers will disappear within the next 20 years. (American Geophysical Union press release) More

Pollution, Greenhouse Gases and Climate Clash in South Asia
May 11 — Researchers report polluted clouds in South Asia appear to mask aspects of the region's climate, leading to drought and other impacts. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography press release) More

Pollutant Haze Heats the Arctic
May 10 — A study finds a surprising new way society's pollutants warm the far north: the Arctic's well-known haze � made of particulate pollution from mid-latitude cities � mixes with thin clouds, making them better able to trap heat. (University of Utah press release) More

Monster Hurricanes
May 10 — New research calls into question the linkage between major Atlantic hurricanes and global warming. (University of Virginia press release) More

Laboratory Scientists Study Soot in Mega-city Pollution
May 8 — A team of scientists recently returned from a data-gathering trip to Mexico City designed to examine the chemical and physical transformations of gases and aerosols. (Los Alamos National Laboratory press release) More

Ozone Recovering, But Unlikely to Stabilize at Pre-1980 Levels, Says Study
May 3 — While Earth's ozone layer is slowly being replenished following an international 1987 agreement banning CFCs, the recovery is occurring in a changing atmosphere and is unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, says a new study. (University of Colorado-Boulder press release) More

Slowdown in Tropical Pacific Flow Pinned on Climate Change
May 3 — The vast loop of winds that drives climate and ocean behavior across the tropical Pacific has weakened since the mid-1800s and a new study finds the only plausible explanation is human-induced climate change. (National Center for Atmospheric Research press release) More

UCSD Study Reveals How Plants Respond to Elevated Carbon Dioxide
May 1 — A new study shows how the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere controls the opening and closing of leaf stomata�pores through which plants �breathe� in carbon dioxide. (University of California-San Diego press release) More

Back to: News