Phys.org April 15, 2024 An international team of researchers (Sweden, USA – University of New Hampshire, independent org., Northern Arizona University, University of Colorado, NASA, Germany, Finland, Australia, France, Denmark, Canada) has presented comprehensive budgets of CO2, CH4, and N2O by key permafrost land cover types over the period 2000–2020 across the northern permafrost region which was emitting green house gasses (GHGs) throughout the period. While the region was a source of methane and nitrous oxide, the carbon dioxide budget was near neutral with large uncertainties. Carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires and inland waters largely offset the sink in vegetated […]
Category Archives: Global warming
Study reveals giant store of global soil carbon
Phys.org April 11. 2024 Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) remain largely unquantified. A team researchers from many countries found that nearly one billion tons of inorganic carbon are lost to inland waters annually, and that future losses will reduce global SIC by 23 billion tons over the next 30 years under the current scenario. By compiling 223,593 field-based measurements and developing machine-learning models, they reported that global soils store 2305 ± 636 (±1 SD) billion tonnes of carbon as SIC over the top 2-meter depth. Under future scenarios, soil acidification associated with nitrogen additions to terrestrial ecosystems would reduce global SIC […]
Atmospheric observations in China show rise in emissions of a potent greenhouse gas
MIT News March 28, 2024 An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, NOAA, UC San Diego, China, UK, Australia) used long-term atmospheric observations to determine SF6 emissions from China between 2011 and 2021 to evaluate the Chinese national SF6 emission inventory and to better understand the global SF6 budget. SF6 emissions in China substantially increased in 2021. The increase was larger than the global total emissions rise. Emissions in the less-populated western regions of China contributed significantly to the national SF6 emissions. The CO2-eq emissions of SF6 in China in 2021 were 125 million tonnes, comparable to the national […]
Deep Earth electrical grid mystery solved
Science Daily March 20, 2024 Extracellular electron transfer (EET) via microbial nanowires drives important environmental processes and biotechnological applications for bioenergy, bioremediation, and bioelectronics. However, the process is not clear. An international team of researchers (USA – Yale University, Portugal) showed that Geobacter sulfurreducens periplasmic cytochromes PpcABCDE inject electrons directly into OmcS nanowires by binding transiently with differing efficiencies, with the least-abundant cytochrome (PpcC) showing the highest efficiency. This defined nanowire-charging pathway was evolutionarily conserved in phylogenetically diverse bacteria capable of EET. OmcS heme reduction potentials were within 200 mV of each other, with a midpoint 82 mV-higher than reported previously. […]
‘Scientists’ warning’ on climate and technology
Science Daily February 15, 2024 Current technological systems are exacerbating climate change and the wholesale conversion of the Earth’s ecosystems. Adopting new technologies, such as clean energy technologies and artificial intelligence, may be necessary for addressing these crises. Such transformation is not without risks, but it may help set human civilizations on a path to a sustainable future. An international team of researchers (USA – UC Irvine, University of Kansas, Oregon State University, MIT, New Zealand) provided an integrative review of approaches that scholars and practitioners have taken in enacting technological change, and provide a framework for how these approaches […]
The escalating impact of global warming on atmospheric rivers
Phys.org February 13, 2024 Researchers in Hong Kong assessed the performance of atmospheric rivers (ARs) in Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) models on both seasonal and interannual timescales within the historical period and investigated the future projection of ARs under different emission scenarios on a global scale. The multi-model mean results obtained using the PanLu detection algorithm consistently exhibited agreement with the observational AR climatology and captured interannual fluctuations as well as the relationships with large-scale drivers. The future projections revealed increased AR frequency, intensity, duration, and spatial extent and decreased landfall intervals with regional variations […]
Increased temperature difference between day and night could affect all life on Earth, say scientists
Phys.org February 1, 2024 In the latter half of the twentieth century, a significant climate phenomenon “diurnal asymmetric warming” emerged, wherein global land surface temperatures increased more rapidly during the night than during the day. Recent episodes of global brightening and regional droughts and heatwaves have brought notable alterations to this asymmetric warming trend. An international team of researchers (Sweden, China) re-evaluated sub-diurnal temperature patterns, and revealed a substantial increase in the warming rates of daily maximum temperatures (Tmax) while daily minimum temperatures have remained relatively stable. This shift has resulted in a reversal of the diurnal warming trend, expanding […]
Near-surface permafrost could be nearly gone by 2100, scientists conclude
Phys.org September 19, 2023 Accurate understanding of permafrost dynamics is critical for evaluating and mitigating impacts that may arise as permafrost degrades in the future; however, existing projections have large uncertainties. To better understand how near‐surface permafrost may respond to future warming, an international team of researchers (US – University of Alaska, NCAR, University of Connecticut, Columbia University, — UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Sweden) combined a surface frost index model with outputs from the second phase of the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project to simulate the near‐surface (~3 to 4 m depth) permafrost state in the Northern Hemisphere […]
Gloomy climate calculation: Scientists predict a collapse of the Atlantic Ocean current to happen mid-century
Science Daily July 25, 2023 The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a major tipping element in the climate system and its collapse would have severe impacts on climate in the North Atlantic region. In recent years weakening in circulation has been reported, but assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), based on the Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) model simulations suggest that a full collapse is unlikely within the 21st century. Tipping to an undesired state in the climate is a growing concern with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Predictions based on observations rely on detecting early-warning signals, […]
New additives could turn concrete into an effective carbon sink
MIT News March 28, 2023 According to the researchers at MIT one potential option to move towards the 2050 carbon neutrality goal is the direct gaseous sequestration and storage of anthropogenic CO2 in concrete through forced carbonate mineralization in both the cementing minerals and their aggregates. They investigated the underlying mechanisms and chemomechanics of cement carbonation over time scales ranging from the first few hours to several days using bicarbonate-substituted alite as a model system. They showed that the carbonation of transient disordered calcium hydroxide particles at the hydration site led to the formation of a series of calcium carbonate […]