RSS Feed
Author Archive
Global warming: Heat trapped by greenhouse gases going deep into the Atlantic Ocean
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on August 22nd, 2014
Summit Voice: Ancient currents that circulate the sun`s energy deep into the Atlantic Ocean may be swallowing up some of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. In the past decade, the current has intensified, drawing surface heat as deep as mile beneath the surface of the sea, scientists said after analyzing data from a network of ocean buoys.
The new findings may help explain why the pace of warming has slowed, and suggest that, when the current reverts to weaker phase, surface temperatures could spike upward...
Posted in 
Climate: Greenhouse gases drive Australia drying trend
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on July 14th, 2014
Summit Voice: Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and ozone depletion over Antarctica are the main drivers of the long-term decline in rainfall over southwestern Australia, federal scientists said in a weekend press release.
The findings, published in Nature Geoscience, are derived from a new high-resolution climate model that may help researchers identify more links between heat-trapping gases and regional climate trends, including here in the U.S.
"This is really the first study to explicitly...
Global warming: Study shows Arctic sea ice melt season lengthening five days per decade
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on March 5th, 2014
Summit Voice: Averaged across the Arctic, the melt season is lengthening by five days each decade, with much of the change coming in the fall, when a warmer ocean simply takes longer to freeze than in the past.
“The extent of sea ice in the Arctic has been declining for the last four decades,” said University College London researcher Julienne Stroeve, part of a research team that studied satellite data to track sea ice trends in the age of global warming.
The data confirm that the Arctic Ocean absorbing...
South America glacier decline linked with global warming
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on February 26th, 2014
Summit Voice: Geologists are getting better at unraveling the mysteries of historic glacial episodes, as technology helps understand how the ice sheets respond to climate change.
One recent research project led by scientists from Dartmouth University suggests that temperature is the driving factor in shaping the size of Peru`s Quelccaya Ice Cap. The 17-square mile glacier in the Andes has been shrinking dramatically in the past few decades, making it a global warming symbol.
The findings support the idea...
California drought linked global warming
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on January 31st, 2014
Summit Voice: While drought conditions have eased across parts of the U.S. in recent months, conditions have worsened in the far West, and particularly in California, where water shortages will have consequences spreading far beyond the state`s borders. And the western drought has global warming fingerprints all over, according to four researchers who discussed the links between climate change and drought at a teleconference organized by Climate Nexus, a communications group focused on highlighting the wide-ranging...
Study says UK to see more flooding
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on July 24th, 2013
Summit Voice: Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to drive more frequent and intense flooding in the UK, as global warming increases the threat of atmospheric rivers in mid-latitudes.
In their study, researchers, from the University of Reading and University of Iowa found that the number of atmospheric river events will probably double by late this century, compared to the number of events between 1980 ad 2005.
The study was published July 24 in IOP Publishing`s Environmental Research...
Melting of Greenland’s ‘fringe’ glaciers adds to sea level rise
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on March 19th, 2013
Summit Voice: Glaciers on the edge of Greenland are pouring at about 50 gigatons of water into the Atlantic every year. That’s about half the volume of Lake Geneva, one of Europe’s largest lake, and enough to account for about 10 percent of annual global sea level rise, according to a new study by Swiss and Danish scientists. The research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, will help scientists improve the predictions of the future contribution of Greenland’s ice to sea-level rise. The data could also...
Cold-weather lizards facing climate crunch
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on March 9th, 2013
Summit Voice: Lizards that give birth to live young may be headed for a climatic cul-de-sac in the next 50 years, according to a new study by scientists with the University of Exeter and the University of Lincoln.
“Climate change must not be underestimated as a threat to modern patterns of biodiversity," said University of Exeter biologist Dr. Dave Hodgson. "Our work shows that lizard species which birth live young instead of laying eggs are restricted to cold climates in South America ... high in the Andes...
Northern hardwood forests taking a hit from climate change
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on November 25th, 2012
Summit Voice: Global warming plays out on a stage that`s much more complex than just a rising graph line in a climate model.
In the northern hardwood forests of New England, for example, the models don`t account for factors critical to understanding forest response, such as hydrology, soil conditions, and plant-animal interactions, according to Dr. Peter Groffman, a microbial ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
Those and other factors combined mean that climate change is poised to reduce...
Global warming could lead to runaway ice cap meltdown
Posted by Summit Voice: Bob Berwyn on November 18th, 2012
Summit Voice: A new study confirms the strong links between global temperatures, melting ice and sea level and suggests that sea level responds more quickly that previously believed, probably because of the feedback warming effect of open water.
Ice volume changes during ancient times can be reconstructed from sea-level records, but detailed assessments of the role of ice volume in climate change is hindered by inadequacies in sea-level records and/or their timescales.
Now, a research team led by Eelco Rohling,...