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Archive for August 15th, 2014
Antarctica may lift sea level faster in threat to megacities
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2014
Bloomberg: Antarctica glaciers melting because of global warming may push up sea levels faster than previously believed, potentially threatening megacities including New York and Shanghai, researchers in Germany said.
Antarctica’s ice discharge may raise sea levels as much as 37 centimeters (14.6 inches) this century if the output of greenhouse gases continues to grow, according to a study led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The increase may be as little as 1 centimeter, they said....
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As climate changes, ‘underwater mortgage’ may take on new meaning’
Posted by Bloomberg: James Tarmy on August 15th, 2014
Bloomberg: Looking to buy a house? That’s great, unless you’re in your 20s and 30s and regularly read climate reports. They tend to project dramatic changes to the climate over the next 50 years, and given that current life expectancy is hovering around 80, we’ll likely be around to see it.
So. If you’re looking to settle down for the long haul, where’s the best place to do it?
Great Plains? You're looking at higher temperatures and more demand for water and energy.
The Southeast, perhaps? The region...
Humans to blame for much of recent glacier melt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2014
Climate Central: From Alaska to the Alps, photos of today's diminished glaciers contrasted with grainy black-and-white images of their former, more massive states are some of the most widely used examples of the impact of human-caused climate change, with their melt threatening water supplies, enhancing sea level rise, and posing threats like floods from bursting glacial lakes.
"Everybody is using [these photos],' said Ben Marzeion, a climate scientist with the University of Innsbruck in Austria. "But nobody actually...
Antarctic melt could raise sea levels faster
Posted by Deutsche Welle: None Given on August 15th, 2014
Deutsche-Welle: Cold, white, forever icy – the Antarctic should be the last place to melt in a warming climate. But a new study shows the ice continent could become the major contributor to sea level rise before the end of the century.
Melting ice from the frozen continent of Antarctica currently makes up less than 10 percent of the observed rise in global sea levels - the rest comes from the thermal expansion of warming seas, and from melting glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet.
But a new analysis by an...
Humans seen as biggest force behind glacier meltdown
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2014
Leader Post: Over the past 20 years, human influences have become the strongest driver of melting glaciers, Austrian and Canadian glaciologists reported Thursday in the journal Science.
The world's glaciers have been shrinking since the end of the Little Ice Age but scientists say they now have "unambiguous evidence" that human activities are making them melt faster.
Over the past 20 years, human influences on the global climate have become the strongest driver of melting glaciers, a team of Austrian and...
Human impact on glacier melt increasing – study
Posted by RTCC: None Given on August 15th, 2014
RTCC: Human activity is playing an increasing role in the melting of glaciers, Austrian and Canadian scientists have found.
One of the most disruptive effects of climate change, glacier retreat leads to rising sea levels, landslides and unpredictable availability of water downstream.
Meanwhile, a separate study found ice discharge from the Antarctica could raise sea levels by up to 37cm this century, more than previously thought.
Scientists and policymakers are calling for international collaboration...
Study blames humans for most of melting glaciers
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on August 15th, 2014
Associated Press: More than two-thirds of the recent rapid melting of the world’s glaciers can be blamed on humans, a new study finds.
Scientists looking at glacier melt since 1851 didn’t see a human fingerprint until about the middle of the 20th century. Even then only one-quarter of the warming wasn’t from natural causes.
But since 1991, about 69 percent of the rapidly increasing melt was man-made, said Ben Marzeion, a climate scientist at the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
“Glaciers are really shrinking...
‘Highly influential’ scientists still rare in the developing world
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on August 15th, 2014
SciDevNet: The latest list of the world's most highly cited researchers features few scientists based in developing countries -- and none from Africa outside South Africa -- exposing the North--South divide and raising questions on how the impact of science is measured.
Thomson Reuters has issued its The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds: 2014 report based on analysis of recent citations of published papers across science.
But only 86 out of the approximately 3,200 scientists on the list are affiliated...
Fracking taking place US shallower depths than first thought – study
Posted by Blue and Green: None Given on August 15th, 2014
Blue and Green: Ongoing research suggests fracking is taking place at much shallower depths than first thought. Authors say there is no evidence of water contamination, but more research needs to be done to assess the impact of activity at these levels.
In a presentation at the American Chemical Society conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, two researchers described their ongoing study into the depths of fracking by energy companies in the US.
The researchers from Stanford Universities School of Earth Sciences...
Africa makes inroads on open development data
Posted by SciDevNet: None Given on August 15th, 2014
SciDevNet: New statistical and open data platforms are being set up to remedy long-standing challenges of development data access across Africa, promising to improve services and increase transparency.
Open data on developing countries can be used "to improve the efficiency and coverage of public services in a variety of development sectors such as education, health, transport, energy', says Amparo Ballivian, a lead economist at the World Bank.
Open data can also help generate new businesses and therefore...