Ancient Coral May Hold Hint of El Niño's Rise
January 26 — Researchers reading chemical clues in 130,000 year-old coral say that El Niños have almost never before reached the sustained intensity they have during this past century. (Andrew Revkin, New York Times; MSNBC.com)

Forecasting in Cyberspace
January 26 — Scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center are using climate simulations to shed light on how to mitigate the effects of weather-related disasters by predicting their arrival earlier. (Amy Marquis, Weather.com)

Most of U.S. Seeing Fewer Frosty Mornings
January 26 — A climatologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center says the U.S. is experiencing a fewer number of frosty mornings as a likely benefit of global warming. (Chris Cappella, USAToday.com)

Global Warming May Heap Disasters on Africa
January 24 — A United Nations Environment Program report warns that rising global temperatures may bring more natural disasters to the African continent. (Reuters)

Ocean Fertilization Yields Hope, Uncertainty for Global Warming
January 23 — Scientists are studying the treatment of ocean waters with iron sulfate and the resulting production of phytoplankton to draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. (CNN.com)

Future Tsunami Possible for Washington State
January 23 — A computer model projects that a massive tidal wave would be a side effect of a major Puget Sound-area earthquake. (CBSnews.com)

U.N. Sees Faster Global Warming; Humanity Responsible
January 22 — The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that mankind is responsible for climate change and urges preparation for rising sea levels. (Tiffany Wu, Reuters; Jack Williams, USAToday.com; BBCNews.com)

Dry Pattern May Foretell El Niño
January 21 — NASA climate researchers may have found a link between precipitation trends over the Indian Ocean and strong El Niño events over the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (USAToday.com)

Hurricane Forecaster Predicts Calmer Season in 2001
January 20 — Colorado State University's hurricane expert, William Gray predicts a less active season than 2000 with 9 tropical storms, 2 of them major hurricanes. (United Press International)

Antarctic Ice Closer to Breakup
January 17 — A University of Colorado researcher using NASA satellite imagery and historical records has concluded that the climate doesn't have to change much for the Antarctic glaciers to begin melting. (ABCnews.com, FOXnews.com, Space.com)

Eastern U.S. Cooled as the Globe Warmed
January 16 — On average the eastern U.S. cooled 0.1 degree Celsius per decade since the 1950s, while the rest of the world warmed by the same amount. (USAToday.com)

Globe Wetter When El Niño, La Niña Around
January 16 — Researchers studying precipitation patterns around the globe have discovered that extreme precipitation events occur at times when El Niño or La Niña is present in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (USAToday.com)

Antarctic Ice Discovery Warms Climate Change Debate
January 14 — Scientists taking core samples of ice from Antarctica have found evidence of a sudden temperature rise thousands of years ago in that region, adding fuel to the debate on global warming. (Reuters)

Climate Forecasting Beyond El Niño
January 12 — Scientists studying satellite data of Siberia's snow cover say they may have found a connection with the amount of autumn snows in Siberia and sea level pressure, which could play a big role in determining winter conditions in Europe and the United States. (Discovery.com)

Climate Key
January 11 — A single enzyme in peat bogs is the only thing preventing a catastrophic release of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, according to research published in Nature. (New Scientist)

Montreal Protocol Fortified to Further Protect Ozone
January 8 — The number of countries that signed the Montreal Protocol has grown from 24 to 175 in an effort to further protect the atmosphere from chloroflurocarbons. (CNN.com)

Sparrow Decline Alarms British Bird-Lovers
January 6 — Another species of bird has been affected by climate change and urbanization, according researchers in Britain. (CNN.com)

Melting Permafrost Threatens Alps
January 4 — Average temperatures have risen by one degree Celsius over the last 15 years in many ski resorts in the Alps, increasing the danger of rockfalls, landslides and floods. (BBC News Online)

Snowpack Chemistry Can Deplete Ozone
January 4 — Pollutants trapped in Arctic snow can be reactivated by sunlight when the sun returns to high latitudes in the spring, leading to ozone depletion in the snowpack and at low altitudes. (Science News)

Pollution in India May Affect Climate
January 4 — Computer models show that air pollution over India could be preventing up to 15 percent of the sunlight from reaching the ground in the springtime, possibly by causing temperature drops of up to 2 degrees Celsius. (Science News)

Scorched Earth in the Tropics Linked to Europe's Storms
January 1 — Scientists say that burning tropical forests thousands of miles away may be a factor in the increased severity of storms throughout Europe. (Keay Davidson, San Francisco Chronicle)

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