Global Warming Serves Notice For Public Health
March 28, 2000As global temperatures rise, so do health risks associated with the heat, scientists say. Jonathan Patz of Johns Hopkins University has been assessing the relationship between climate change and health in the United States. Patz says that most of the United States population is protected against health concerns caused by climate changes. (Environmental News Network)
Globe's 'Missing Warming' Found in the Ocean
March 24, 2000Much of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases is going into the ocean, which only delays atmospheric warming, according to climate modelers. Sydney Levitus of the National Oceanographic Data Center has examined millions of deep-ocean temperature measurements and found ocean warming patterns that confirm climate model's ocean warming predictions. (Richard Kerr, Science)
Findings May Help Predict Hurricanes
March 17, 2000Scientists at the University of Washington have found a new tool for predicting hurricanes. Dennis Hartmann and graduate student Eric Maloney were able to predict hurricanes two weeks in advance by watching changes in the Madden-Julian Oscillation, which is a 20 day pattern of strong easterly winds followed by strong westerly winds, recorded in climate and weather records from 1949-1997. (Eric Sorensen, Seattle Times)
Endorsement for Controversial Satellite
March 17, 2000The Earth-monitoring satellite Triana, initially proposed by Vice President Al Gore, has won the support of the National Research Council. Triana will monitor global change while taking pictures of the whole planet. NASA managers reported to Congress that Triana is scheduled to launch during spring 2001. (Andrew Lawler, Science)
Pollution Keeps Rain Up In The Air
March 11, 2000New evidence from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite indicates that aerosols can prevent rainfall. Daniel Rosenfeld at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem used satellite data to track pollution clouds and to determine how much rain the clouds produced. Rosenfeld discovered that while rain fell from unpolluted clouds, the polluted clouds produced no precipitation. (Tina Hesman, Science News)
U.S. Sets Another Record for Winter Warmth
March 11, 2000For the third year in a row, the United States has set a record for warm winter temperatures, scientists reported. Mike Changery at the National Climatic Data Center says that the average temperature of 38.4 degrees Fahrenheit during December 1999 through February 2000 was the warmest winter season in the last 105 years. (William K. Stevens, New York Times)
Plants Seen As Unpredictable Carbon Sponge
March 11, 2000The United States absorbs 0.3 gigaton of carbon dioxide per year, which is only one fifth of the amount of carbon emitted by the U.S. each year, according to researchers. David Schimel of the Max Planck Institute in Germany says that the rate that carbon is absorbed by vegetation is unpredictable, but that in areas that were reforested there was an increase in carbon absorption. (Janet Raloff, Science News)
Science Panel Supports Gore Satellite Plan
March 9, 2000A National Research Council panel reported that the Earth-observing Triana satellite proposed by Vice President Al Gore could make contributions to Earth and solar science at a relatively reasonable cost. (Warren E. Leary, New York Times)
Air Pollution Can Suppress Rain
March 9, 2000Scientists have discovered that air pollution can suppress rain and snowfall. Daniel Rosenfeld at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem says that satellite-based observations show that these pollutants reflect lots of sunshine away from the Earth, perhaps counteracting some of the global warming produced by industrial emissions. (John Nielsen, National Public Radio)
Batten Down The Hatches, Sea Level Is Rising
March 6, 2000By the year 2100, global sea level will rise by 20 inches, inundating 13,000 square miles of land over the Earth, according to a report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The most vulnerable U.S. areas include the mid- and south-Atlantic states, the Gulf Coast, parts of New England, San Francisco Bay, and Puget Sound. (Environmental News Network)
Sprawling Over Croplands
March 4, 2000A satellite survey shows that some of the best croplands are being paved over with cement and asphalt as cities develop. Marc Imhoff at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center says that in California 16 percent of the best agricultural soil lies under California's cities. (Janet Raloff, Science News)
Heat May Indicate Faster Warming
March 4, 2000Researchers have found that over the past 25 years the Earth has been warming at a rate of 2°C per century instead of the 1.5°C rate previously measured. Thomas Karl at the National Climatic Data Center says it is more likely that the rate of global warming has increased even further to 3°C per century. (T. Hesman, Science News)
Little Ice Age Holds Big Climate Clues
March 1, 2000Scientists studying ice cores to analyze two volcanic eruptions have found that there was an abrupt end to the Little Ice Age1500 years ago. Paul Schuster at the U.S. Geological Survey says that these ice core samples document a major and sudden climate change. (Environmental News Network)