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Decline in Species Shows Climate Change Warnings Not Exaggerated

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011EnvironmentAntarctica, bering sea, birds, bivalve mollusks, boreal forests, climate change, effects of climate change on plant and animal species, Europe, extinction, extinction risk, fenno scandia, global biodiversity, global warming, human induced climate change, ilya maclean, Madagascar, marine mammals, nematode worm, pine grosbeak, population declines, robert wilson, species, spectacled eider, tenerife, tiger salamander populations, two barred crossbill, types of habitat, united states of america, university of exeter, yellowstone national park

One in 10 species could face extinction by the year 2100 if current climate change impacts continue.

This is the result of University of Exeter research, examining studies on the effects of recent climate change on plant and animal species and comparing this with predictions of future declines.

Published in leading journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study uses the well-established IUCN Red List for linking population declines to extinction risk. The research examines nearly 200 predictions of the future effects of climate change from studies conducted around the world, as well as 130 reports of changes which have already occurred. (more…)

US West Coast Erosion Spiked In Winter 2009-10, Previewing Likely Future As Climate Changes

By Guest PostJuly 13, 2011Environmentamerican geophysical union, california, climate change scenarios, climatic pattern, el niño, el nino modoki, equatorial pacific, global warming, ocean beach, oregon state university, pacific coast, pacific northwest, patrick barnard, san diego, san francisco, scripps institution of oceanography, us west coast, willapa bay

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Knowing that the U.S. west coast was battered during the winter before last by a climatic pattern expected more often in the future, scientists have now pieced together a San Diego-to-Seattle assessment of the damage wrought by that winter’s extreme waves and higher-than-usual water levels. Getting a better understanding of how the 2009-10 conditions tore away and reshaped shorelines will help coastal experts better predict future changes that may be in store for the Pacific coast, the researchers say.

“The stormy conditions of the 2009-10 El Niño winter eroded the beaches to often unprecedented levels at sites throughout California and vulnerable sites in the Pacific Northwest,” said Patrick Barnard, USGS coastal geologist. In California, for example, winter wave energy was 20 percent above average for the years dating back to 1997, resulting in shoreline erosion that exceeded the average by 36 percent, he and his colleagues found. (more…)

Warming Ocean Layers Will Undermine Polar Ice Sheets

By Guest PostJuly 6, 2011Environmentantarctic ice sheets, atmospheric warming, climate models, future ocean warming, global warming, greenhouse gases, greenland, jianjun yin, joellen l. Russell, nature geosciences, overpeck, polar ice sheets, the university of arizona, undermine polar, underwater, warming air, warming ocean layers, warming of the ocean's subsurface layers, warming seawater

*The UA-led research, based on climate models, shows that melting of the ice sheets will occur in this century and next.

Warming of the ocean’s subsurface layers will melt underwater portions of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets faster than previously thought, according to new University of Arizona-led research. Such melting would increase the sea level more than already projected.

The research, based on 19 state-of-the-art climate models, proposes a new mechanism by which global warming will accelerate the melting of the great ice sheets during this century and the next. (more…)

Are You Alarmed or Dismissive? Americans’ Latest Views on Climate Change Fall Into One of ‘Six Americas’

By Guest PostJuly 1, 2011Environmentalarmed and concerned, americans, anthony leiserowitz, climate and energy policies, climate change, dismissive, doubtful, global warming, renewable energy sources, research, six americas, solar power, united states, wind, yale project on climate change communication, yale university project on climate change communication

In a new report, researchers have found that Americans have a wide range of attitudes and beliefs when it comes to climate change, yet also show some surprising similarities. The report, which is the latest in a series from the Yale University Project on Climate Change Communication, demonstrates how Americans fall into one of six categories called the “Global Warming’s Six Americas,” each reflecting different attitudes and behaviors when it comes to climate change. (more…)

Ocean’s Harmful Low-Oxygen Zones growing, are Sensitive to Small Changes in Climate

By Guest PostJune 18, 2011Environmentatmospheric and oceanic sciences, consume nitrogen, curtis deutsch, expansion and contraction of low-oxygen zones, fluctuations in climate, global warming, kim derose, low-oxygen water, marine ecosystems, molecular oxygen, nobel prize, oscillations in climate, oxygen and nitrogen depletion, oxygen zones, oxygen-depleted environments, respiring bacteria, rising global temperatures, university of california

Fluctuations in climate can drastically affect the habitability of marine ecosystems, according to a new study by UCLA scientists that examined the expansion and contraction of low-oxygen zones in the ocean.

The UCLA research team, led by assistant professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences Curtis Deutsch, used a specialized computer simulation to demonstrate for the first time that the size of low-oxygen zones created by respiring bacteria is extremely sensitive to changes in depth caused by oscillations in climate. These oxygen-depleted regions, which expand or contract depending on their depth, pose a distinct threat to marine life. (more…)

With Global Warming, Arctic Access Will Diminish By Land But Improve By Sea

By Guest PostMay 31, 2011Environmentalaskan coastal town, anticipated temperature, Arctic, arctic transportation networks, baltic sea, bathurst inlet, bering strait, canada, climate change, commercial shipping, diamond road, dutton books, finland, fishing, geography, global shipping, global warming, greenland, history channel, ice road, ice road truckers, Iceland, john a agnew, laurence c smith, Netherlands, nome, north pole route, northern sea route, norway, panama canal, rotterdam, russia, scott stephenson, sea, shipping, stephenson and smith, strait of malacca, suez canal, Sweden, tibbitt contwoyto, tibbitt contwoyto winter road, tourism, type a vessels, united states, yellowknife

Global warming over the next 40 years will cut through Arctic transportation networks like a double-edged sword, limiting access in certain areas and vastly increasing it in others, a new UCLA study predicts.

“As sea ice continues to melt, accessibility by sea will increase, but the viability of an important network of roads that depend on freezing temperatures is threatened by a warming climate,” said Scott Stephenson, a UCLA graduate student in geography and the study’s lead author. (more…)

After a Three-Decade Hiatus, Sea-Level Rise May Return to the West Coast

By Guest PostMay 4, 2011Environmentart miller, beach erosion, coastal sea level rise, eastern north pacific ocean, el niño, extreme wave conditions, global sea level, global warming, guillermo auad, high tides, pacific decadal oscillation, pacific ocean climate cycle, pdo, peter bromirski, reinhard flick, rising sea level, scripps institution of oceanography, sea level, storm surges, west coast, west coast of north america, wetlands inundation

WASHINGTON — The West Coast of North America has caught a break that has left sea level in the eastern North Pacific Ocean steady during the last few decades, but there is evidence that a change in wind patterns may be occurring that could cause coastal sea-level rise to accelerate beginning this decade.

That is the conclusion of a new study that says that conditions dominated by cold surface waters along the West Coast could soon flip to an opposite state.

“There are indications that this is what might be happening right now,” says Peter Bromirski, a researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and lead author of a study now in press in the Journal of Geophysical Research–Oceans, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. (more…)

Democrats and Republicans Increasingly Divided Over Global Warming

By Guest PostApril 21, 2011Environment, Politicsaaron m. mccright, democrats and republicans, depressing trend, gallup survey, global warming, michigan state university, political spectrum, scientific consensus

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Despite the growing scientific consensus that global warming is real, Americans have become increasingly polarized on the environmental issue, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by a Michigan State University researcher.

The gap between Democrats and Republicans who believe global warming is happening increased 30 percent between 2001 and 2010 – a “depressing” trend that’s essentially keeping meaningful national energy policies from being considered, argues sociologist Aaron M. McCright. (more…)

Tag Archives: global warming

*The UA-led research, based on climate models, shows that melting of the ice sheets will occur in this century and next.