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Methane a growing threat to Arctic’s changing climate
Posted by Alaska Dispatch: Doug O'Harra on November 12th, 2011
Alaska Dispatch: New methane-belching microbe found in Alaska permafrost Thawing Arctic permafrost poised to release vast carbon stores Alaska's national parks adjust to warming climate Climate warming accelerates Arctic migration for some species
Climate-changing greenhouse gases continued their unrelenting rise during 2010, with carbon dioxide averaging 389 parts per million over the year, according to the Annual Greenhouse Gas Index posted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.
The capacity of these...
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Are Alaska’s wildfires accelerating global warming?
Posted by Alaska Dispatch: Doug O'Harra on December 12th, 2010
Alaska Dispatch: The natural presence of certain gases like carbon dioxide in the air helps keep the Earth warm enough for life to exist. Solar radiation warms the planet, and these gases slow the loss of that heat back into space. They act somewhat like glass in a greenhouse, hence the nickname. In the past, when the level of CO2 rose -- maybe due to vast rotting swamps or volcanic action -- the climate grew warmer. Sometimes much, much warmer.
And when CO2 levels plunged? Can you say ‘Ice age'? After thousands...