Trees in old-growth tropical forests in the Amazon live longer than previously thought, which adds to their importance in the effort to control increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Scientists reporting in Nature estimate that these forests can accumulate carbon for more than a century if increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide promote faster tree growth. (University of California-Irvine release)

Scientists have reported the first direct observational evidence that the Earth’s greenhouse effect has increased since 1970. The study in the journal Nature was based on satellite observations of changes in longwave radiation leaving the planet. (Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine release)

Scientists have discovered that planetary waves traveling thousands of miles across Earth’s oceans have a significant impact on the abundance of phytoplankton in the upper ocean. A large planetary, or Rossby, wave takes months or years to cross the ocean. As the wave passes, it causes water motion that pumps more nutrients from the depths to the surface waters of the ocean. (University of Rhode Island release)