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One Map That Shows NASA’s New Climate Projections
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on June 11th, 2015
Climate Central: NASA has put a new item up on Amazon. But there's no price tag and you won't necessarily find it by using the marketplace's search bar or browsing the electronics section.
Instead, you'll have to look at Amazon's cloud, where NASA scientists have shared 11 terabytes of high resolution climate projections. A snapshot of July in 2100 in the map below shows how detailed the projections are. The new dataset is available to anyone with an internet connection, but comes courtesy of supercomputers only...
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Climate Change Could Melt Everest Region’s Glaciers
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on May 27th, 2015
Climate Central: The Dudh Koshi basin spans 1 million acres and includes some of world's tallest peaks including Mount Everest. Glaciers tumble down from the highest reaches to the valleys below, shaping the landscape and culture of the region.
But climate change has the region primed for a major meltdown. A new study published in The Cryosphere shows that by 2100, the jagged tongues of ice that define the region could shrink by 70 percent or greater as the region warms.
More than a bucket list item for mountaineers,...
Drought Weakens the Amazon’s Ability to Capture Carbon
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on March 9th, 2015
Climate Central: During drought, trees across the Amazon continue to stretch their limbs. But they shirk one of their more important, planet-saving tasks: inhaling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In the drought of 2010, the ability of the Amazon's trees, shrubs, bushes and vines to absorb carbon was greatly diminished, according to new research that used on-the-ground measurements for the first time. That data reveals a slightly higher estimate than recent computer and satellite studies and paints a worrisome...
Global Warming Upped Heat Driving California’s Drought
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on March 2nd, 2015
Climate Central: Despite a recent influx of snow and rain this past weekend, extremely low snowpack in the Sierra Nevada has conspired with warm temperatures to keep the state in the grips of one its worst droughts on record for at least another year. The precipitation has been the key ingredient to start the drought, but heat has played an important role in maintaining and intensifying it. A new paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows that human greenhouse gas emissions...
NASA satellites show rain like never before
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on February 27th, 2015
Climate Central: Few things on our planet connect us like precipitation. The storm that drops snow in the mountains of Tennessee can one day bring rain to the plains of Spain a week later.
Yet there hasn't been a way to effectively monitor all the precipitation across the globe at once, let alone create a vertical profile from the clouds to the ground. All that changed last year, though, when NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the last piece of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission,...
5 graphics that show 2014’s record heat
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on January 17th, 2015
Climate Central: Unless you've been living under a climate news rock, you've probably heard that 2014 was the warmest year on record. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released data on Friday confirming last year took the crown from 2010 by about 0.1°F and running 1.24°F above the long-term average. That makes it the latest in a string of warm years with all 10 of the hottest years coming since 1998 and nine of the 10 hottest since 2002. The last cooler-than-average year was 1976 and...
No Recovery, But a Sliver of Drought Gain for Calif
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on November 6th, 2014
Climate Central: The phrase "abnormally dry' might conjure up a skin condition or your preferred type of martini. But it might just be the most positive words uttered in months about California's relentless drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor released Thursday, a tiny sliver of the Golden State is no longer in drought, the first time that's happened since late April.
"Abnormally dry' is what the Drought Monitor uses to describe areas on the fringes of drought. This week's Drought Monitor shows a fraction...
Drying Amazon Could Be Major Carbon Concern
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on October 27th, 2014
Climate Central: The lungs of the planet are drying out, threatening to cause Earth to cough up some of its carbon reserves.
The Amazon rainforest inhales massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping keep the globe's carbon budget in balance (at least until human emissions started throwing that balance off). But as a new study shows, since 2000 drier conditions are causing a decrease in lung capacity. And if the Amazon's breaths become more shallow, it's possible a feedback loop could set in,...
Calif. Heads for Warmest Year As Drought Hangs On
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on October 14th, 2014
Climate Central: Heavy precipitation fell across parts of the West in September, and while some locations saw top-10 wettest Septembers, much of the region is still mired in deep drought. Part of that is due to the excess heat that's afflicted the region this year, including what's been the warmest year to date in California according to U.S. temperature data released on Tuesday.
In a role reversal, the normally parched landscape of the Southwest saw record rainfall while verdant New England had a top-10 driest...
El Niño is Kinda Sorta Maybe Here
Posted by Climate Central: Brian Kahn on September 18th, 2014
Climate Central: On Tuesday, researchers at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society said a borderline El Niño is upon us, with the odds for further development increasing throughout the fall and winter.
Chart showing ocean temperatures in different regions of the Pacific used to gauge El Niño, including the recent rise in temperatures. Credit: IRI
This El Niño has played a game of hide and seek since an El Niño Watch was declared way back in March. After picking up steam in the spring and...