Records Show Strong Recent Warming
April 26, 2001British scientists studying 1000 years of climate records concluded that the last three decades were the millennium’s warmest. (BBC News online)
Shrinking African Lake Offers Lessons on Resources
April 26, 2001Researchers using satellite data confirm Lake Chad, once one of Africa’s largest freshwater lakes, has shrunk dramatically over the last 40 years. (NationalGeographic.com)
Deforestation Caused Global Cooling
April 25, 2001Researchers suggest that forests replaced by fields of grass and crops may have cooled the globe between 1000 and 1900 A.D. because lighter color vegetation reflects more heat and sunlight back into space. (Weather.com)
Mongolian Dust Cloud Moves Across America
April 25, 2001Satellites tracked a cloud of pollution and dust from Mongolia that spread across 25 percent of the United States earlier this week. (ENN.com)
Northern Hemisphere Ozone Depletion Less Than Usual
April 24, 2001The World Meteorological Organization reports ozone values at middle and high latitudes during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter and spring appear to be higher than in recent years. (Associated Press, Reuters)
Less Pollution May Boost Global Warming
April 20, 2001New research indicates that reducing nitrogen oxide without reducing carbon monoxide would lead to a long-term increase in atmospheric methane and boost global warming. (Seattletimes.com)
That Sinking Feeling
April 20, 2001The greenhouse effect is warming oceans and making them rise, and Pacific nations are already seeing the effects. The former Hawaiian island known as Bikeman is now under water. (Honolulu Star Bulletin online)
Warming Threatens Buildings in the Arctic
April 19, 2001A study by the University of Delaware warns that global warming could weaken the ice-soil mixture called permafrost around the Arctic Circle, which may damage buildings and pipelines. (United Press International, MSNBC.com)
Dust Cloud Brings Asian Smog to the United States
April 18, 2001This week, NASA satellite imagery revealed dust and pollution from Mongolia and China spreading across the Pacific and into the U.S. and Canada. (MSNBC.com, CBSnews.com)
Earth’s Ghostly Glow Helps Monitor Climate
April 18, 2001Researchers are now monitoring “Earthshine,” the amount of sunlight the Earth reflects onto the moon, to determine how much sunlight is reflected from the Earth. (CNN.com)
Wet Stratosphere May Delay Ozone Recovery
April 18, 2001NASA scientist Drew Shindell says greenhouse gases causing increasing amounts of water vapor in the stratosphere may delay ozone recovery and accelerate climate change. (USAToday.com)
Warming Oceans Portend Destructive El Niño
April 17, 2001Climate scientists believe that the link between tropical ocean warming and the Northern Hemisphere climate trend is a signal of human-induced climate change that has emerged over the last 50 years. (ENN.com)
Climate Change Inspires Extreme Acts of Science at North Pole
April 17, 2001Scientists at the North Pole Environmental Observatory are gathering climate data to fine-tune computer models that simulate global climate in hopes of better understanding climate change in the Arctic. (Andrew Revkin, New York Times)
Scientists to Look for Climate Clues in Mt. Logan’s Ice
April 17, 2001Canadian scientists are hoping to find information about western Canada’s past and future climate through ice samples from the country’s highest peak.
(Canadian Broadcasting Corporation online)
Studies Tie Rise in Ocean Heat to Greenhouse Gases
April 13, 2001Researchers using two different computer simulations of climate and oceans have concluded that greenhouse gases that trapped heat in Earth’s atmosphere caused a buildup of heat in the oceans over the last 50 years.
(Andrew Revkin, New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press)
New Solar Flare Could Cause Geomagnetic Storm on Earth
April 11, 2001After large explosions on the surface of the sun, a large solar flare has sent electromagnetic radiation racing to the Earth this week, threatening to disrupt communications, satellites and poser services. (Reuters)
Global Warming Could Hit Food Production
April 9, 2001According to a report by the agriculture committee of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, global impacts of climate change on food production and food security may include a positive impact in developed temperate countries and a negative impact in tropical developing countries. (Reuters)
Life in the Greenhouse
April 9, 2001Scientists no longer doubt that global warming is happening and humans are responsible, according to the International Panel on Climate Change. The report cites many changes are already happening with many more to come. (Michael D. Lemonick, TIME Magazine)
Panda-Friendly Forests Disappearing
April 6, 2001China’s largest nature reserve, created to house endangered Giant Pandas is itself endangered by growing human population. (Andrew Revkin, New York Times; Associated Press; Reuters; CNN.com; USAToday.com)
Study Shows Forests Will React to Climate Change
April 6, 2001Scientists have discovered that elevated levels of carbon dioxide, a major component behind climate change, have altered the reproductive habits of loblolly pine trees, and may produce more pine seeds and shorten their life span. (USAToday.com)
Gray Predicts Six Hurricanes in 2001
April 5, 2001Colorado State University forecaster Bill Gray says the 2001 Hurricane Season will pack 10 named storms, 6 of them will be hurricanes. (weather.com)
Watching the Sea Grass Grow…From Space
April 5, 2001NASA scientists using SeaWiFS satellite data watched ocean phytoplankton increase its carbon uptake over the last three years from 111 billion tons to 117 billion tons. (Peter Spots, Christian Science Monitor)
Declining Toad Population Due to Warming Trend
April 4, 2001Warmer weather over the South Pacific during the past 30 years has lead to less rain and snow in Oregon’s Cascade Mountain Range, and has proven fatal to western toads. (ABCNews.com, United Press International)
Panel Calls Link Between Warming and Disease Unclear
April 3, 2001A report by the National Research Council indicates that more research is needed to determine if global warming will cause diseases to spread. (Jack Williams, USAToday.com)