Spanish Supercomputer to Aid Medical, Climate Research
February 28, 2004The Spanish government has agreed to spend $87 million in building the world�s second most powerful supercomputer to aid in scientific research on medicine, climate change, and new materials for aeronautics and mechanical engineering. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Violent Storms Affect a Continent�s Climate as Rain Goes Up in Smoke
February 27, 2004Smoke drifting from burning forests in the Amazon is affecting the climate of the entire South American continent, drying up rain, but making storms that do develop much more violent than usual. (Reuters)
Smog Goes Camping
February 27, 2004Experts examine the growing air quality crisis in Rocky Mountain National Park. (CBS News)
Glacier Marches on to Nature�s Explosive Finale
February 26, 2004The world�s glaciers have been forced into retreat by global warming, but the Moreno Glacier is still on the march and has now, against all predictions, started to prepare for a rare and spectacular explosion of ice and water. (The Times)
Coral Family Strife
February 26, 2004Researchers made a major revision to the coral family tree that may spur stepped-up efforts to conserve the unsung Atlantic corals. (Nature)
Thawing Permafrost Means More Methane
February 26, 2004A study finds permafrost is thawing, vegetation is becoming more marsh-like and emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, have risen by 66 percent in the Swedish sub-arctic. (ScienceNow)
Climate Control
February 25, 2004Researchers from James Cook University�s School of Tropical Environment Studies and Geography say that other planets in the solar system are also likely in a state of change. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Scientists Say Asian Brown Cloud Threatens Gulf
February 24, 2004A leading environmental scientist says a body of pollution that has been identified in the skies across Asia is now threatening to engulf the Middle East and make the planet a drier place. (Reuters, Associated Press)
Climate: Hard Lessons from Climates Past
February 23, 2004Harvard researchers discuss the dire consequences of global climate change over the next millennium. (United Press International)
Reef at Risk as Climate Changes: Report
February 23, 2004Australia's Great Barrier Reef will lose most of it coral cover by 2050 and, at worst, the world�s largest coral system could collapse by 2100 because of global warming. (Reuters, Associated Press)
Climate Expert Warning of Dangers to Ski Resorts
February 20, 2004A climate expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council�s climate center says snowpack may decrease by as much as 50 percent in the Rocky Mountains in coming decades, resulting in disastrous consequences for an already drought-stricken area. (Aspen Daily News)
Breaking the Ice
February 20, 2004European researchers have found that the unpredictable nature of how and when a slab of snow falls apart may make avalanches almost impossible to predict. (Nature)
Seas and Climate
February 19, 2004A worldwide system of ocean floats is being developed to help scientists forecast potentially devastating events like floods or droughts months or even years in advance. (ScienCentral News)
Strong Link Found Between Climate Extremes and Malaria Epidemics in Africa
February 19, 2004Researchers say seasonal fluctuations in a region�s climate, rather than consistently high annual temperatures or levels of rainfall, play an important role in causing malaria epidemics in the African highlands. (Newswise)
Global Warming to Affect Texas Ag Output
February 19, 2004Researchers say expected temperature increases over the next several decades could damage Texas� agricultural output by as much as 25 percent. (Country World News)
Global Warming Might Hurt New Mexico Snowpack
February 18, 2004Research conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory shows that New Mexico�s northern mountains could see a 30 percent drop in their average winter snowpack by 2050. (KOBTV.com)
Pacific Nation�s Annual Swamping Revives Global Warming Debate
February 18, 2004The Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu was inundated during high or �king� tides this week, giving weight to dark predictions that it will become the first victim of rising global sea levels. (Nature)
Climate Change Could Boost Cash Crops
February 17, 2004Climate change could boost yields from some of America�s most important crops, including soybeans, according to plant biologists who have simulated expected atmospheric conditions of 2050 in a U.S. field. (Nature)
Global Warming Hitting Northwest Hard, Researchers Warn
February 17, 2004Global warming will diminish the amount of water stored as snow in the western United States by up to 70 percent in the coastal mountains over the next 50 years, according to a new climate change model. (The Seattle Times)
New Zealand Could Cash in as Aussie Climate Change Snowballs
February 16, 2004New Zealand�s alpine industry is in line to benefit from an Australian climate meltdown that threatens to cut snowfall by up to 20 percent. (Fairfax New Zealand Limited)
Climate: Arctic Faces a Warmer Tomorrow
February 16, 2004Researchers say several factors, particularly changes in the Arctic Oscillation, are responsible for the decrease in the Arctic�s ice extent and thickness over the past several decades. (United Press International)
Europe�s Weather Could Flip Annually Between Extremes
February 16, 2004Europe�s weather could flip from floods to droughts every year as climate change kicks in, according to scientists who have modeled the mechanisms behind the continent�s most recent bouts of extreme weather. (New Scientist)
Ozone Levels Rise Increases Mortality Rates
February 16, 2004A rise in ozone levels, particularly during the summer, pushes up mortality rates, according to South Korea researchers. (Medical News Today)
Aerosols Now Believed to Be as Important as Greenhouse Gases
February 14, 2004Researchers say aerosols, tiny atmospheric particles made up of various elements and produced by a range of sources, have become a prominent concern due to their ability to influence atmospheric and hydrologic phenomena. (Newswise)
Fertilizing Oceans Could Affect Food Chain, Scientists Say
February 14, 2004Scientists debate whether adding iron to oceans, so they absorb more carbon dioxide, will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases warming the planet. (San Diego Union Tribune)
Soil Erosion as Big a Problem as Global Warming, Say Scientists
February 14, 2004Erosion of topsoil, already a serious problem in Australia, China, and parts of the U.S., threatens modern civilization, researchers warn. (Guardian Unlimited)
Cloud Forests, Water Source to Millions, Face Risk
February 13, 2004A warming climate threatens tropical mountain forests that strip moisture from clouds and supply water to millions of people in Africa and Latin America, according to a UN report. (Environmental News Network)
Climate Change Puts Reefs in Hot Water
February 13, 2004Half the world�s coral reefs could be wiped out or badly damaged by the end of the century because of climate change, according to a U.S. ocean scientist. (Environmental Media Services)
Global Warming Debate Rages On, Focuses on Land Use
February 13, 2004A small, but growing number of atmospheric scientists are investigating whether land-use changes are a major cause of global warming. (The Christian Science Monitor)
Clouds Provide Insight in Understanding Climate
February 12, 2004A University of Utah researcher says the study of tropopause cirrus clouds, found high in the atmosphere, is crucial in predicting future climate changes. (The Daily Utah Chronicle)
Edinburgh Scientist Offers Hope on Climate Change
February 11, 2004A University of Edinburgh scientist says climate change may have been slowed by an increase in the growth rate of trees in the Amazon rainforests. (The Scotsman)
Bighorn Sheep Threatened by Climate Change, Finds New Study
February 10, 2004Researchers at the University of California-Berkeley have linked population declines of California�s desert bighorn sheep with the effects of climate change. (University of California-Berkeley)
IBM Supercomputer to Forecast Global Warming
February 10, 2004Scientists at the University of California-Irvine will use the IBM supercomputer, called the Earth System Modeling Facility (ESMF) to simulate how pressures on the planet�s climate will affect climate conditions during the next 300 years. (Enterpriseitplanet.com)
Beyond Brrr: The Elusive Science of Cold
February 10, 2004Meteorologists continue to debate the correct formula for computing the wind chill index. (New York Times)
Global Warming Threatens Lobster Farms, Researcher Says
February 10, 2004A research scientist at Cornell College of Veterinary medicine says lobsters in New York�s Long Island Sound are dying of suffocation as warmer temperatures cause a build-up of calcium in their gills. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Two NASA Satellites Aid Weather Forecasters
February 9, 2004NASA scientists are working with NOAA and the National Weather Service to train forecasters how to interpret data from NASA�s Terra and Aqua satellites that provide much more clarity and detail. (Palm Beach Post)
Orbital Tracking Reveals Thinning Upper Atmosphere
February 4, 2004The orbits of 27 free-floating objects in Earth�s uppermost atmosphere have not dropped as much as expected over the last 30 years as the thermosphere has cooled and decreased in density. (New Scientist)
Ping-Pong Ball Avalanches May Help Prevent Real Disasters
February 4, 2004A series of experiments, some involving over half a million ping-pong balls and a ski slope, are helping scientists understand the complex physics underlying avalanches. (New Scientist)
Ozone-thinning Molecule Found above Arctic
February 3, 2004Scientists have observed for the first time a molecule high in the atmosphere that may be a key player in ozone depletion. (UPI, Discovery.com)
Ancient Global Warming May be from Methane
February 2, 2004A release of methane into the atmosphere may have caused a brief but severe episode of global warming during the dinosaur age. (BBC)
Glacier Study Helps Assess Effects of Climate Change
February 1, 2004Researchers in several western states are studying how climate change and its impact on snowfall in the mountains affect wildfire and forest growth. (The Missoulian)
Ocean Fluctuations Seen as a Key to Climate
February 1, 2004Researchers are using high-tech sensors on buoys off the southern Africa coast to monitor changes in temperature that could affect climate all the way to Europe. (The Charleston Post and Courier)