Calibrating the Human Impact Within Earth's Climate Record
January 29, 2002Human activity has affected Earth's surface temperature during the last 130 years, according to researchers. The study analyzed historic greenhouse gas concentrations and solar activity between 1865 and 1990. (Spacedaily.com)
Ecology Dramatically Altered by Fertilizers, Acid Rain
January 25, 2002A NASA-funded study of ancient and unpolluted South American forests promises to upend longstanding beliefs about ecosystems and the effects of pollution in the Northern Hemisphere. (Spaceflight Now, ScienceDaily.com)
Antarctic Island Called a Unique Climate Change Lab
January 24, 2002A rapid and unexpected warming of lakes on an Antarctic island provides compelling evidence of the environmental impact that rising global temperatures are having. (Reuters)
Dead Sea Keeps Falling
January 22, 2002Satellite measurements from European Space Agency satellites have observed that the Dead Sea and the land around it has sunk by about 6 meters between 1992 and 1999, and the water level in the Dead Sea keeps dropping. (BBC News On-line)
Massive Ice Cap Could Almost Disappear By 2100
January 22, 2002The world?s largest icecap outside the Polar Regions, called Vatnajokull in Iceland, could almost disappear by the end of this century if global warming develops, according to glaciologists. (Ananova.com)
Study Links El Nino to Deadly South American Disease
January 22, 2002NASA climatologists and U.S. military health specialists may have discovered a way to predict outbreaks of Bartonellosis by observing sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific. (Spacedaily.com, ScienceDaily.com)
United Kingdom Faces Summers of Malaria
January 22, 2002Researcher at Durham University using a mathematical computer model predict that by 2050 large parts of southern England could get malarial transmissions as a result of climate warming. (BBC News online)
Climate Change May Bring More Winter Floods in California
January 22, 2002Over the next century, climate change will likely bring more wintertime flooding, and summertime drought to California, according to a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and the National Weather Service. (Spacedaily.com, ScienceDaily.com)
Growth of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Have Slowed
January 18, 2002A new NASA-funded study shows that the rate of growth of greenhouse gas emissions has slowed since its peak in 1980, due in part to international cooperation that led to reduced cholorfluorocarbon use, slower growth in methane, and a steady rate of carbon dioxide emissions. (Los Angeles Times, CNN, CNN.com, Spaceflightnow.com)
A Chilling Effect on the Global Melt
January 18, 2002A new study reveals that the west Antarctic Ice Sheet is growing and becoming thicker, slightly countering an overall trend toward rising seas. (New York Times, BBC News on-line)
SeaWinds Satellite Provides Faster Cyclone Warnings
January 16, 2002Researchers from Florida State University have been able to detect the formation of tropical cyclones earlier using in instrument on a NASA satellite to detect rotating winds. (Cosmiverse.com, Sciencedaily.com)
New Scheme Could Improve Weather Forecasting
January 16, 2002Sea surface temperatures in various ocean basins have been found to have climatic impacts on the United States, and by observing them, scientists can greatly increase the predictability of precipitation during all seasons. (United Press International, Cosmiverse.com)
Warming Trend Seen for the Northeast
January 13, 2002A report commissioned by Congress on future climate warming for New England and New York says that within 20 years and beyond, maple trees may stop producing sap, beaches will shrink, the region will become more prone to floods, and Boston could become as hot as Atlanta. (Los Angeles Times, Washington Post)
Experts Say El Niño is Returning
January 10, 2002The world may be headed for another bout with El Niño. (Weather.com)
Global Warming to Boost Cotton Yields
January 5, 2002Researchers use global and regional climate models to estimate the effects of global warming on cotton yields. (Science News)