Antarctic Fish Study May Aid Cardiac Research
March 31, 2004A species of fish that lives in Antarctic waters may hold clues to climate change and lead to advances in heart medicine, say British researchers. (Medical News Today)
Glaciers, from Both Sides Now
March 31, 2004A new study says ice ages hit the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at the same time and that the atmosphere plays a key role in quickly conveying cold across the equator. (Science)
Asian Sandstorms Darken Horizon
March 31, 2004A UN report says the dust and sand storms that have plagued Northeast Asia for centuries are getting worse. (Reuters)
Lightning Strikes and Rays Follows
March 29, 2004Researchers say invisible gamma rays shoot out of the sky minutes to hours after lightning strikes, and nuclear reactions fizzing in the atmosphere may be the source, and lightning could be the trigger. (Science)
UN Warns about Ocean �Dead Zones'
March 29, 2004A UN report says the spreading of so-called "dead zones," oxygen-starved areas of the ocean devoid of fish, is quickly becoming a major environmental challenge. (Associated Press)
Rare Hurricane Forms in South Atlantic
March 27, 2004The first-ever known hurricane to form in the South Atlantic slammed into Brazil causing moderate damage. (Associated Press, Reuters)
New England Salt Marshes at Risk from Increasing Global Warming
March 26, 2004A Boston University study finds that projected rises in ocean levels may spell doom for many salt marshes, especially those in New England, by 2100. (Boston University Bridge)
Caribbean Coral Catastrophe
March 26, 2004New research shows that the demise of the Caribbean staghorn corals in the early 1980s was the result of human activity, not natural processes. (Science)
How Clean Is Mountain Snow?
March 26, 2004In an effort to determine what toxic compounds and metals drop from the atmosphere into U.S. national parks, and whether their concentrations are significant, a group of scientists is packing blocks of snow into freezers for testing. (CBS)
World Getting �Literally Greener�
March 26, 2004Satellite data shows plant growth has been measurably more vigorous over the last 25 years, according to a UN report. (BBC)
NASA Uses a �Sleuth� to Predict Urban Land Use
March 25, 2004NASA-funded researchers using a USGS computer model called SLEUTH, have found that developed land in the greater Washington-Baltimore metro area will likely increase by 80 percent by 2030. (Science Daily)
Warming Trend Means Disease
March 25, 2004Canada's changing climate will expose southern Ontario residents to an array of exotic and emerging illnesses that until now have been considered rare, delegates to a conference on climate change were told Thursday. (Toronto Star)
Future Forecast from Seafloor to Ionosphere
March 25, 2004A group of international organizations is meeting in hopes of integrating existing networks that monitor land, sea, and the sky, to improve weather forecasting and help scientists better understand humanity�s impact on the Earth. (Christian Science Monitor)
Australia to Ban Fishing from Third of Barrier Reef
March 25, 2004Australia will soon ban fishing and shipping in a large portion of the Great Barrier Reef to protect the world�s largest living structure, which has recently suffered from record high temperatures, pollution and over-fishing. (Reuters)
Melting Glaciers: Unexpected Boost to Rising Oceans
March 25, 2004A pair of U.S. scientists has found that oceans rose at a global rate of 6 to 8 inches a century and that water from melting glaciers, not a natural swelling of oceans caused by higher temperatures, is responsible. (Christian Science Monitor)
Land Cover Changes Affect U.S. Summer Climate
March 24, 2004While climate may be impacted by carbon dioxide emissions, aerosols and other factors, a new study offers further evidence land surface changes may also play a significant role. (Science Daily)
Ozone-Destroying Gas in Atmosphere Increased Significantly during Industrial Age, Study Shows
March 23, 2004Scientists at the University of California-Irvine say human activity has significantly increased atmospheric levels of methyl bromide, a gas known for harming the ozone layer in the Earth�s stratosphere. (Science Daily)
Africa to Brace for Global Warming
March 23, 2004African-based scientists are calling for governments in the region and around the world to do more to prepare for the effects of global warming, including better crop management and improved forestation and water policies. (Environmental News Network)
Scientists Find New Carbon Pollution Called �Tar Balls�
March 22, 2004An international team of scientists has discovered new carbon-bearing particles, which they call �tar balls,� in air pollution over Hungary, the Indian Ocean, and southern Africa, that form in smoke from wood fires and agricultural burning. (Science Daily)
Carbon Dioxide Levels Reported at Record Levels
March 22, 2004Carbon dioxide, the gas largely blamed for global warming, has reached record-high levels in the atmosphere after growing at an accelerated pace in the past year, say scientists monitoring the sky atop a Hawaiian volcano. (Associated Press, Reuters)
Climate Change Could Affect Maple Syrup Production
March 21, 2004Experts say global warming will vastly alter the climate needed to support a northern hardwood forest, including the curious sugar maple. (Associated Press)
URI Study Shows Global Warming Having a Chilling Effect on Songbirds
March 20, 2004Scientists say black-capped chickadees avoid feeding on caterpillars that have eaten leaves with high levels of carbon dioxide, a finding that could mean more gypsy moth caterpillars and fewer chickadees in Rhode Island. (The Providence Journal)
Scientists Look to the 1930s Dust Bowl to Predict Droughts
March 19, 2004NASA scientists using a climate-modeling computer pinpointed the cause of America's "Dust Bowl" drought that devastated the Southern Great Plains during most of the 1930s. (Scripps Howard News Service, MSNBC)
Research Overturns Quake Theory
March 19, 2004A University of Barcelona scientist says major earthquakes do not follow a "seismic cycle" model, and other methods are required in earthquake forecasting. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Southern Ocean Study to Better Understand Global Warming
March 19, 2004Scientists on a New Zealand research vessel are to test a theory that fertilizing oceans with iron sulphate could slow down global warming. (The Daily News, New Zealand)
Isolated Reefs at Risk from Climate Change
March 18, 2004Australian researchers say isolated coral reefs are more vulnerable to global warming because of their lack of genetic diversity. (United Press International)
Ice Age to Warming - and Back?
March 18, 2004While scientists have worried long and hard about global warming, a growing body of evidence suggests natural forces could just as easily plunge Earth's average temperatures downward, say NOAA researchers. (Christian Science Monitor)
Study: Many Species at Risk of Extinction
March 18, 2004A steep decline in birds, butterflies, and native plants in Britain supports the theory that humans are pushing the natural world into the Earth's sixth big extinction event and the future may see more and more animals disappearing. (Associated Press, CBC)
Do Global Warming Dangers Lie Under Seas?
March 17, 2004A researcher warns that large-scale tests need to be completed to simulate what the oceans of the late 21st century might look like if emissions of carbon dioxide continue to rise. (MSNBC)
Genetic Engineering Could Help Plants Adapt to [CO2] Warming
March 16, 2004A British scientist believes genetic engineering might offer a way of reducing the impact of global warming on indigenous species of plants and trees. (Reuters)
Climate Risk to UK Apple Orchards
March 16, 2004A researcher with the Royal Horticultural Society says global warming could cause some apple orchards to vanish or shift north, but it will likely become easier to grow other fruits, including peaches. (BBC)
Satellite Finds Warming "Relative" To Humidity
March 15, 2004A NASA-funded study found some climate models might be overestimating the amount of water vapor entering the atmosphere as the Earth warms. (Associated Press, Albuquerque Journal, LA Times, NY Newsday)
Fish Vulnerable to Climate Change, Study Says
March 15, 2004Climate changes may have a bigger role in bringing back fish stocks than previously believed, say British researchers. (Cape Cod Times)
Climate Change Threatens Alpine Ecosystems
March 15, 2004Scientists say global warming is encouraging species from lower elevations to climb higher, leading to over-competition and a decline in species atop mountains. (Independent Online)
Pollution's Impact Poorly Studied, OSU Studies Find
March 13, 2004While the effect of air pollution on human health get most of the headlines, the impact of pollutants such as acid rain, ozone and other compounds on crops, forests and other vegetation is inadequate, according to Oregon State University researchers. (Corvallis Gazette-Times)
Baffled Bumble Bee Lured Out Early By Changing Climate
March 12, 2004A new study says climate change is confusing many creatures, including bumblebees, which now often emerge from hibernation in England as early as Christmas. (The Telegraph, UK)
Global Warming Has Gone to the Bogs
March 11, 2004Swedish bogs are releasing more methane as climate warms and permafrost melts, potentially accelerating global warming. (Christian Science Monitor)
Chilling End to Global Warming Forecast
March 11, 2004Global warming could disrupt the world's sea currents, sending Europe into a chill within 100 years and devastating tropical ocean life, says a group of research scientists. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Radar Looked to Prevent Plane Icing
March 10, 2004Researchers are developing new radar systems to help determine the amount of tiny supercooled droplets of water in the air, a major source of aircraft icing. (Associated Press)
Carbon Dioxide Wreaking Havoc with Amazonian Forest
March 10, 2004Carbon dioxide released by fossil fuels is silently causing a dramatic change in the composition of tree species in the Amazonian forest, according to a new study. (Associated Press)
Researchers Says Northwest Climate Changing
March 10, 2004Rising temperatures could threaten the Pacific Northwest's water supply and endanger the surrounding wildlife, according to University of Washington research. (University of Washington Daily)
East Coast Blizzards Rated
March 9, 2004Scientists from the National Weather Service and The Weather Channel have developed a scale that ranks the power of blizzards in the northeastern United States in the same way tornadoes and hurricanes are categorized. (Associated Press)
Weather Satellite Could Go Up as Early as November
March 7, 2004Japan, which has been relying on the U.S. GOES-9 satellite since May to provide visual images for weather forecasts, says it plans to launch a new weather satellite as early as November to support weather observation and air traffic control over vast areas of Asia and Pacific. (The Japan Times)
Arctic Climate Changes Could Bring an End to Polar Bears
March 7, 2004A new study says if the North continues to warm, polar bears may disappear within the next century. (Anchorage Daily News)
Glacier Melt Indicates Global Warming Changes
March 6, 2004A team of international scientists recently discovered that a key glacier in the Antarctic is melting much faster than expected, raising more concern over global warming. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Global Warming Could Be Affecting Wolf-Moose Balance
March 6, 2004Researchers say global warming might explain population shifts seen among moose and wolves at Michigan's Isle Royale National Park. (Newswise)
Europe’s Summer of 2003 Was Hottest in 500 Years Study Shows
March 5, 2004The summer of 2003, when more than 20,000 people in Europe were killed by extreme heat, was the continent�s warmest in five centuries, according to researchers. (Associated Press, Reuters)
Climate Change Could Come Suddenly
March 5, 2004A new report released by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution says changes in the Gulf Stream could bring abrupt climate shifts and catastrophic results in a little as a decade. (The Fort Smith Times Record)
Study Expects Climate Change to Drive Migration
March 4, 2004A recent study says Canada could see an influx of environmental refugees from countries rocked by hurricanes, droughts and other disturbing effects of global climate. (CTV News)
Climate Blamed for Thinning Ozone
March 4, 2004New scientific findings strongly suggest that the problem of thinning Arctic ozone won�t get better for decades and could actually worsen in coming years because of climate change driving temperatures in the stratosphere, according to University of Toronto researchers. (The Toronto Star)
Climate Findings Let Fishermen Off the Hook
March 4, 2004British researchers say over-fishing is not the sole cause of dramatically declining fish stocks in the north Atlantic, and that global warming may be just as important. (Nature)
Ocean’s Surface Could Have Big Impact on Air Quality, Study Says
March 4, 2004Researchers from Ohio State University say certain ions bouncing around on the ocean�s surface and in droplets formed by waves may play a role in increasing ozone levels in the air we breathe. (Science Daily)
Climate Data to Predict Crop Yields
March 3, 2004Agricultural specialists in Uganda are now able to produce computer cropping models based on climate forecasts to give farmers better planning advisories. (AllAfrica Global Media)
Climate Change Set to Poke Holes in Ozone
March 3, 2004Researchers say the upper reaches of the Arctic atmosphere may get colder, and then the rate of ozone depletion could be three times greater than currently forecast. (Nature)
Climate Change Could Release Large Amounts of Carbon
March 2, 2004Using carbon-14 data, scientists from the United States and Germany have been able to determine the approximate age of dissolved organic carbon in the Arctic for the first time, helping researchers understand more about global warming. (Innovations Report)
Support for Global Climate Monitor
March 2, 2004Officials from more than 30 countries are laying the foundation for an ambitious plan to link thousands of land, sea, and space-based observation facilities to improve the prediction of environmental changes and to assist countries in managing natural disasters. (AllAfrica Global Media)
Studies Find Climate Change Solution: Limit Jet Flights
March 1, 2004Researchers say commercial jet aviation, already a major factor in global warming, has the potential to soon become the number one cause of man-made climate change. (U.S. Newswire)
Heating Trend in North Pacific Baffles Researchers
March 1, 2004Oceanographers are puzzled by rapidly warming waters in the North Pacific, a trend not anticipated by respected computer models and not related to other climate signals, like El Nino. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Where There’s Smoke, There’s Climate Change
March 1, 2004New research suggests that the atmospheric effects of biomass burning are profound and may significantly impact climate on regional and continental scales. (Scientific American)
Cold Climates and Global Warming
March 1, 2004Countries with cold climates and widely dispersed populations produce significantly higher carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study. (Newswise)
Satellite Tots Up Volcanic Heat
March 1, 2004Volcanoes throw out only a tiny fraction of energy compared with that produced by mankind, say scientists who have used satellite measurements to do a survey of the Earth�s heat output. (Nature)
Fairmont NASA Facility to Back Up Weather Service Computer
March 1, 2004A backup system for the National Weather Service�s forecasting supercomputer soon will be located at the NASA facility near Clarksburg, West Virginia. (Clarksburg Exponent Telegram)