Science Alert June 14, 2019 A recent report by the United Nations’ PIPCC found that nations around the globe must implement “rapid and far-reaching” changes in energy sources, infrastructure, industry, and transportation to avoid catastrophic consequences of climate change. But some researchers are looking into geoengineering to address the dangerous warming. If a rogue nation were to start a geoengineering project without international oversight or buy-in, some experts worry the unintended consequences could lead to war. Geoengineering can take many forms, some of which exist already…read more.
Tag Archives: global warming
Climate extremes: Impact on global crop yield variations
Science Daily May 3, 2019 An international team of researchers (Australia, Spain. Germany USA – University of M Minnesota, Switzerland) analyzed the impacts of climate extremes on yield anomalies of maize, soybeans, rice and spring wheat at the global scale using yield data and applying a machine-learning algorithm. They found that growing season climate factors explain 20%–49% of the variance of yield anomalies, with 18%–43% of the explained variance attributable to climate extremes. Temperature-related extremes show a stronger association with yield anomalies than precipitation-related factors. The hotspot regions that are critical for global production include North America for maize, spring […]
Climate panel disbanded by Trump, now regrouped, releases its report
Science Daily April 4, 2019 With support from the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York State and the American Meteorological Society, the Independent Advisory Committee on Applied Climate Assessment released a report that calls for the creation of the Science to Climate Action Network (SCAN) which is independent of the federal government and comprises experts from civil society and state, local, and tribal settings. By providing hubs for businesses, communities and academics to work together on practical challenges, the network is designed to produce guidance for using science to update infrastructure and building codes, reduce wildfire risk, manage flooding, […]
Future of planet-cooling tech: Study creates roadmap for geoengineering research
Science Daily January 8, 2019 A team of researchers in the US (Cornell University, Caltech, PNNL) established a roadmap for responsible exploration of geoengineering. They focus on the idea of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering mimicking the eruption of a volcano. They highlight two important observations, while field experiments may eventually be needed to reduce some of the uncertainties, they expect that the next phase of research will continue to be primarily model-based, and they anticipate a clear separation in scale and character between small-scale experimental research to resolve specific process uncertainties and global-scale activities…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
A century and half of reconstructed ocean warming offers clues for the future
Science Daily January 7, 2019 Most of the excess energy stored in the climate system due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions has been taken up by the oceans, leading to thermal expansion and sea-level rise. Accurate estimates of past ocean heat content is critical for understanding the future anthropogenic warming An international team of researchers (UK, USA) has succeeded in reconstructing ocean temperature change from 1871 to 2017. This work offers an answer to an important gap in knowledge of ocean warming and help predict future patterns of warming and sea level rise…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Six feet under, a new approach to global warming
Science Daily November 26, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Washington State University, UC Santa Barbara) measured carbon held by reactive minerals across a broad range of climates. Carbon retained by reactive minerals was found to contribute between 3 and 72% of organic carbon found in mineral soil, depending on mean annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration. They estimate globally ~600 Gt of soil carbon is retained by reactive minerals, with most occurring in wet forested biomes. For many biomes, the fraction of organic carbon retained by reactive minerals is responsive to slight shifts in effective moisture, suggesting high sensitivity […]
Harvard Scientists Will Actually Launch a Geoengineering Experiment Next Year
Science Alert December 4, 2018 The project – called the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) – is part of Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program. To cool down the surface of the planet, in the experiment Harvard University researchers will fly a high-altitude balloon up to the stratosphere, at an altitude of about 20 kilometres, and release a small aerosol plume of calcium carbonate that is expected to disperse into a perturbed air mass about 1 kilometre long and 100 metres in diameter. The balloon will then fly back and forth through this cloud repeatedly for about 24 hours, analysing the […]
Staggering extent of human impact on planet revealed in new report
Science Daily October 31, 2018 The Living Planet Report 2018 , presents a comprehensive overview of the state of our natural world through multiple indicators including the Living Planet Index, which examines trends in global wildlife abundance. It also focuses on the value of nature to people’s health and that of our societies and economies. The top threats to species identified in the report are directly linked to human activities, including habitat loss and degradation and overexploitation of wildlife. WWF is calling on people, businesses and governments to mobilize and deliver on a comprehensive framework agreement for nature and people […]
Searching for clues on extreme climate change
Science Daily September 18, 2018 An international team of researchers (Germany, France, UK, Switzerland, Czech Republic) combined classic tree-ring width measurements with chemical (stable isotope) analyses of carbon and oxygen in tree-rings to reconstruct climate variables. This resulted in novel insights into the hydrological variability and atmospheric circulation changes during an abrupt climate change event. Studying the fossil pines in a French river valley the scientists proved that it was not a change in mean temperatures that was problematic, but rather the environmental stress presumably leading to the tree die off. This stress was caused by the accumulation of extreme weather […]
Earth at risk of heading towards ‘hothouse Earth’ state
Science Daily July 6, 2018 According to a study by an international team of researchers (Sweden, Australia, Denmark, UK, USA – University of Arizona, Stanford, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany) “Hothouse Earth” climate will in the long-term stabilize at a global average of 4-5°C higher than pre-industrial temperatures with sea level 10-60 m higher than today, even if the carbon emission reductions called for in the Paris Agreement are met. Maximizing the chances of avoiding a “Hothouse Earth” requires not only reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions but also enhancement and/or creation of new biological carbon stores, through […]