Arctic Explorers Raise Awareness of Climate Change
December 31 — An American-led dogsled team will travel through Canada during the next six months to raise awareness and educate the public about global climate change. (CBC)

Wildfires Reset Rock Clocks
December 29 — By heating up rocks and releasing helium that has been building up since the rock first cooled, wildfires essentially erase the �cooldown� record within rocks, say University of Washington researchers. (Discovery.com)

Ships� Logs Uncover Past Climate
December 29 — A team of UK researchers is looking to 18^th and 19^th Century logbooks from UK, Dutch, French and Spanish fleets to discover more about the changing climate over the world�s oceans. (BBC)

Pine Needles Can Help Prevent Erosion After Fires
December 26 — Researches say scorched pine needles can play a key role in preventing erosion that often escalate to mudslides and flooding. (Scripps Howard)

Report: Mountains Grew a Foot in California Quake
December 24 — California's strongest earthquake in four years caused mountains to grow a foot taller, according to geologists. (Reuters)

When Sand Dunes Collide, Sometimes They Mate and Multiply
December 23 — Contrary to previous beliefs, German researchers say colliding sand dunes do not always merge into one. (New York Times)

Salty Clue to Global Warming
December 19 — A group of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says an estimated 10 percent increase in ocean evaporation rates along with changes in ocean salinity are accelerating global warming. (The Boston Globe, Newsday)

Earth is 20 Percent Darker, Say Experts
December 18 — A new study suggests the levels of sunlight reaching the Earth�s surface have declined by as much as 20 percent in recent years because air pollution is reflecting it back into space, helping to create bigger, longer-lasting clouds. (The Guardian)

Global Warmth Up, Ozone Hole at Record, Arctic Ice Down for 2003
December 17 — Data from the World Meteorological Organizations shows 2003 is on track to be the third warmest over the past 150 years; the size of the Antarctic ozone hole matched an all-time high and the extent of sea ice neared a record low. (UN News Service, Associated Press, Scripps Howard)

Listening to the Climate Models, and Trying to Wake Up the World
December 16 — A senior researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research says there is no doubt global warming is a real phenomenon that deserves more attention. (New York Times)

Arctic Parasites a Sign of Climate Change
December 15 — Researchers say new parasitic animals, particularly those found traveling among caribou, may be another sign of global warming. (CBC)

Climate: A Warming-induced Ice Age
December 15 — Predicted impacts of atmospheric carbon dioxide and warming of a key ocean current may lead to a new Ice Age, according to a Swiss researcher. (United Press International)

Study of Erosion and Precipitation in the Himalayas Present Surprising Findings
December 12 — Despite a vast difference in precipitation between the north and south sides of the Himalayas, rates of erosion are indistinguishable, say University of California-Santa Barbara researchers. (Science Daily)

Global Warming Linked to Diseases, Deaths
December 12 — A UN report finds climate change may to blame for some 150,000 deaths each year across the globe, with tropical environments and poor countries being most susceptible. (Associated Press)

Earth's Magnetic Field Weakens 10 Percent
December 11 — Scientists say the strength of the Earth's magnetic field has decreased 10 percent over the past 150 years, rising the remote possibility that it may collapse and later reverse, flipping the planet's poles for the first time in nearly a millions years. (Associated Press)

Global Warming: 8,000 Years Ago
December 10 — Measurements of ancient air bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice suggests humans have been changing the global climate since the rise of agriculture. (Associated Press)

Scientists Try to Crack Mystery of Falling Ice Balls
December 10 — A Spanish-American scientific team will spend this winter studying megacryometeors–great balls of ice that fall out of the clear blue sky, possibly due to global warming. (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

U.S. Researchers Trying to Bury Gas Causing Global Warming
December 9 — A team of U.S. scientists is drilling deep into the Earth of West Virginia to determine whether a layer of rock 9,000 feet beneath the surface can hold carbon dioxide, a gas that causes global warming. (USA Today)

Climate Scientists Zoom in on Changes
December 9 — The New York Climate and Health Project has divided the 31-county New York metropolitan area into hundreds of grid boxes to study how global warming and climate change over the coming century may affect people and their health differently, depending on where they live. (The New York Times)

Abandoned Penguin Colonies May Help Refine Antarctic Climate Studies
December 8 — New research finds a previously unnoticed cooling trend that persisted for a millennium caused enough ice to build up in Antarctica's Ross Sea that thousands of penguins left their colonies about 2000 years ago. (Innovations Report)

A Less Dusty Future? Computer Climate Simulation Looks to Past for Answers
December 8 — One of the first global-scale simulations of dust and climate from pre-industrial times to the year 2100 projects a worldwide decrease in airborne dust of 20-63 percent by the end of this century, potentially altering the globe's climate. (Associated Press)

Atmospheric Compound is Double-Edged Sword in Climate Change
December 8 — Recent studies suggest that sulfuric acid, a chemical that normally cools the Earth's atmosphere, can also warm the planet by combining with other compounds in the atmosphere to form clouds. (Associated Press)

For the Mile High City, Miles to go on Smog
December 8 — Marked, unprecedented rises in ozone levels along Colorado�s Front Range signal rising urgency to address growth and congestion. (Christian Science Monitor)

Experts: Europe May Get Colder
December 6 — Western Europe might actually get colder as a result of global warming, because the melting Arctic ice cap is cooling off the warm ocean current that is largely responsible for Europe's mild weather, say scientists and environmentalists. (MSNBC)

Global Warming Could Submerge Three of India's Largest Cities: Scientist
December 6 — An Indian scientist warns that if global warming continues there will be a one meter increase in sea level by 2020 and cities like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras will be completely submerged. (Associated Press)

France Links Fatal Floods to Global Warming
December 5 — Floods that have killed five people and forced thousands from their homes in southeastern France are directly linked to global warming, say government officials. (Reuters)

Fly Lower to Cut Climate Impact
December 4 — Flying aircraft 6,000 feet below current altitudes could help curb the contribution to climate change made by aircraft, according to UK scientists. (BBC News)

This Year Likely to be Third Hottest; Warm Fall is Cited—Many Scientists Say Trend to Higher Temperatures is Due to Gas Emissions
December 4 — Meteorologists say 2003 will likely be the third-hottest year on record and the 27^th consecutive year that average temperatures have exceeded historical averages, and many scientists believe greenhouse gas emissions are to blame. (The Wall Street Journal)

Study: Massive Pacific Quake to Come
December 4 — The Pacific Northwest is facing the possibility of a devastating magnitude 9 earthquake, say geophysicists studying earthquake-caused tsunamis that struck Japan in 1700. (Discovery.com)

Climate Change could be Affecting Glaciers, Lakes: Report
December 4 — Canadian researchers find a decline in water levels in the Great Lakes goes beyond what can be explained by natural weather variability and could signal climate change. (The Canadian Press)

Seeing Through Clouds
December 4 — A newly approved flight instrument for private and commercial aircraft will give pilots a real-time simulated view of everything needed to fly safely. (CBS News)

Top Scientists Conclude Human Activity is Affecting Global Climate
December 3 — Two of the nation's best-known atmospheric scientists, after reviewing extensive research by their colleagues, say there is no doubt human activities are having significant impacts on global climate. (Associated Press, Reuters)

Putting the Shovel to Scientific Data
December 3 — A group of Syracuse University scientists concludes an upward trend in snowfall in Syracuse and other locations is likely linked to increased lake-effect snowfall as a result of global warming. (Syracuse.com)

Australia to Protect Great Barrier Reef
December 3 — The newly unveiled Zoning Plan for the Great Barrier Marine Park will limit fishing and tighten restrictions on shipping through the delicate ecosystem to protect the reef from pollution and over-fishing. (Discovery.com)

Global Warming Threatens Ski Resorts
December 2 — Researchers at the University of Zurich say rising temperatures over the next several decades will steadily push the snowline to higher altitudes across much of the globe, hurting the ski industry. (Associated Press, Reuters)

Science Center for Weather and Climate to be Constructed Near University of Maryland
December 1 — NOAA will receive more than $10 million for construction of a new science center for weather and climate prediction to replace the National Weather Service�s World Weather Building in Camp Springs, Maryland. (The Washington Post)

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