Global warming - problems and solutions

Process Used By Microges To Make Greenhouse Gases Uncovered

livep6 — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:55:56 +0000

Researchers here now have a picture of a key molecule that lets microbes produce carbon dioxide and methane – the two greenhouse gases associated with global warming.

The findings relate to organisms called methanogens and are explained in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

NASA Launches Ocean Satellite To Keep A Weather, Climate Eye Open

livep6 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:05:02 +0000

A new NASA-French space agency oceanography satellite launched June 20 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a globe-circling voyage to continue charting sea level, a vital indicator of global climate change. The mission will return a vast amount of new data that will improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts (more…)

Even The Antarctic Winter Cannot Protect Wilkins Ice Shelf

livep6 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:28:35 +0000

Wilkins Ice Shelf has experienced further break-up with an area of about 160 km² breaking off from 30 May to 31 May 2008. ESA’s Envisat satellite captured the event – the first ever-documented episode to occur in winter. (more…)

Apparent Problem With Global Warming Climate Models Resolved

livep6 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:06:00 +0000

Yale University scientists reported that they may have resolved a controversial glitch in models of global warming: A key part of the atmosphere didn’t seem to be warming as expected. (more…)

Climate Change Does Double-whammy To Animals In Seasonal Environments

livep6 — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:16:52 +0000

Plant-eating animals in highly seasonal environments, such as the Arctic, are struggling to locate nutritious food as a result of climate change, according to research that will be published in the 21 May 2008 online edition of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Led by Penn State Associate Professor of Biology Eric Post, the research, which focused on caribou, suggests that not only are these animals arriving at their breeding grounds too late in the season to enjoy the peak availability of food–the focus of previous research by Post–but they also are suffering from a reduced ability to locate the few high-quality plants that remain before these plants, too, become unavailable. (more…)

Solar Variability: Striking A Balance With Climate Change

livep6 — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:27:53 +0000

The sun has powered almost everything on Earth since life began, including its climate. The sun also delivers an annual and seasonal impact, changing the character of each hemisphere as Earth’s orientation shifts through the year. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, new forces have begun to exert significant influence on Earth’s climate. (more…)

Trouble In Paradise: Global Warming A Greater Danger To Tropical Species

livep6 — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:08:54 +0000

Polar bears fighting for survival in the face of a rapid decline of polar ice have made the Arctic a poster child for the negative effects of climate change. But new research shows that species living in the tropics likely face the greatest peril in a warmer world.

A team led by University of Washington scientists has found that while temperature changes will be much more extreme at high latitudes, tropical species have a far greater risk of extinction with warming of just a degree or two. That is because they are used to living within a much smaller temperature range to begin with, and once temperatures get beyond that range many species might not be able to cope. (more…)