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Glaciers existed in Britain as late as Georgian era

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2014Environment9th millennium, bc, beryllium 10 isotope, Britain, British Geological Survey, cairngorm mountain range, climate, cosmogenic dating, east kilbride, edinburgh, geography, georgian era, glacier climate model, glaciers, highlands, jez everest, katie brady, little ice age, martin kirkbride, numerical, plymouth university, scotland, scottish highlands, scottish mountains, simulate, small glaciers, snowy mountains, stephan harrison, technique, university of dunde, university of exeter

New evidence indicates glaciers present 11,000 years later than believed

Research led by a scientist from the University of Exeter has shown that Britain was home to small glaciers within the last few centuries – around 11,000 years later than previously thought.

Dr Stephan Harrison of Geography has established that small glaciers almost certainly existed in the Cairngorm mountain range in Scotland as recently as the 18^th century, contrary to the long held belief that Britain’s last glaciers melted around the 9^th millennium BC. (more…)

Surveying Ice and Fire: The First Map of All of Iceland’s Glaciers and Subglacier Volcanic Calderas Released

By Guest PostSeptember 26, 2013Environmentdanish geodetic survey, Europe, eyjafjallajökull, glacier, glacier outburst flood, glaciers of iceland, Iceland, icelandic meteorological office, imo, landsat, largest ice cap, little ice age, map, oddur sigurosson, spot, usgs, vatnajokull, volcanic calderas, volcano glaciological hazard

For the first time, all of Iceland’s glaciers are shown on a single map, produced by the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), in collaboration with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Iceland Geosurvey. The map is the first to incorporate historical data and coverage from aerial photographs and remote sensing satellites, such as Landsat and SPOT, to show the change in the areal extent of glaciers during the past century.

Iceland has about 300 glaciers throughout the country, and altogether, 269 glaciers, outlet glaciers and internal ice caps are named. The glaciers that lack names are small and largely newly revealed, exposed by melting of snow pack due to warmer summer temperatures. The number of identified glaciers has nearly doubled at the beginning of the 21^st century. (more…)

Study Provides New Insights on Drought Predictions in East Africa

By Guest PostFebruary 4, 2013Environment20th century, aridity, atmospheric convection, charcoal, climate, climate model simulations, climate variability, columbia university, drought conditions, drought predictions, earth observatory, east africa, east african climate, eastern africa, el niño, famine, future predictions, geologic past, geologist, geopolitical significance, global warming, gulf of aden, historical fluctuations, historical patterns, horn of africa, humanitarian crisis, indian ocean, jason smerdon, jessica tierney, lake sediment cores, lamont-doherty, little brother, little ice age, long term shifts, medieval times, moisture balance, oceanographic institution, pacific, pacific ocean, paleoclimate record, paleorecord, pollen, precipitation, projections, rainfall, region, run off events, study, surface temperatures, temperature, warm sea surface, water isotopes, western indian ocean, whoi, woods hole

Research May Also Help Determine Effects of Global Warming in the Region

With more than 40 million people living under exceptional drought conditions in East Africa, the ability to make accurate predictions of drought has never been more important. In the aftermath of widespread famine and a humanitarian crisis caused by the 2010-2011 drought in the Horn of Africa—possibly the worst drought in 60 years— researchers are striving to determine whether drying trends will continue.

While it is clear that El Niño can affect precipitation in this region of East Africa, very little is known about the drivers of long-term shifts in rainfall. However, new research described in the journal Nature helps explain the mechanisms at work behind historical patterns of aridity in Eastern Africa over many decades, and the findings may help improve future predictions of drought and food security in the region. (more…)

Handful of Heavyweight Trees Per Acre Are Forest Champs

By Guest PostMay 5, 2012Natureandrew larson, biomass, carbon dioxide, dynamic process, fir, incense cedars, james freund, james lutz, little ice age, mark swanson, photosynthesis, plant tissue, sandra hines, sugar, temperate forest, trees, trunk, university of montana, university of washington, washington state university, yosemite national park

Big trees three or more feet in diameter accounted for nearly half the biomass measured at a Yosemite National Park site, yet represented only 1 percent of the trees growing there.

This means just a few towering white fir, sugar pine and incense cedars per acre at the Yosemite site are disproportionately responsible for photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide into plant tissue and sequestering that carbon in the forest, sometimes for centuries, according to James Lutz, a University of Washington research scientist in environmental and forest sciences. He’s lead author of a paper on the largest quantitative study yet of the importance of big trees in temperate forests being published online May 2 on PLoS ONE. (more…)

New CU-led Study May Answer Long-Standing Questions About Enigmatic Little Ice Age

By Guest PostJanuary 30, 2012Environmentalps, Arctic sea ice, baffin island, bette otto bliesner, canadian arctic, China, climate feedback system, climate model, cooling effect, darren larsen, dead plant material, european glacier, feedback, gifford miller, greenland, ice, ice cap, kurt refsnider, langjökull ice cap, little ice age, london, melting icecaps, middle age, Netherlands, north atlantic ocean, norway, ocean, sea, sediment core, simulation, solar radiation, south america, thames river, tropical volcanic eruptions, volcanic aerosols, waterways, yafang zhong

A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study appears to answer contentious questions about the onset and cause of Earth’s Little Ice Age, a period of cooling temperatures that began after the Middle Ages and lasted into the late 19th century.

According to the new study, the Little Ice Age began abruptly between A.D. 1275 and 1300, triggered by repeated, explosive volcanism and sustained by a self- perpetuating sea ice-ocean feedback system in the North Atlantic Ocean, according to CU-Boulder Professor Gifford Miller, who led the study. The primary evidence comes from radiocarbon dates from dead vegetation emerging from rapidly melting icecaps on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, combined with ice and sediment core data from the poles and Iceland and from sea ice climate model simulations, said Miller. (more…)

Fastest Sea-Level Rise in Two Millennia Linked to Increasing Global Temperatures

By Guest PostJune 21, 2011Environmentaalto university school of engineering, andrew kemp, atlantic coast, benjamin horton, changes in global mean surface temperature, climate changes, coastal salt marshes, earth sciences, finland, foraminifera, Germany, global temperature, global tide gauge records, jeffrey donnelly, little ice age, martin vermeer, massachusetts, medieval climate anomaly, michael mann, microfossils, national science foundation, north Carolina, nsf, paul cutler, pennsylvania state university, potsdam institute for climate impact research, radiocarbon dating, rate of sea level rise, scenarios of future rise, scenarios of future temperature increases, sea level, sediment cores, stefan rahmstorf, university of pennsylvania, warm climate period, woods hole oceanographic institution, yale university

*Rate is greater now than at any time during past 2,100 years*

The rate of sea level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years–and has shown a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level.

The findings are published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). (more…)

Glaciers Contributing To Faster Sea-Level Rise

By Guest PostApril 9, 2011Environmentglaciers, industrial revolution, little ice age, mountain glaciers, neil glasser, outlet glaciers, patagonian icefields, sea-level rise, south america, stephan harrison

Melting mountain glaciers are contributing to sea-level rise faster than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience.

A research team from the University of Exeter, Aberystwyth University, and Stockholm University undertook a survey of the 270 largest outlet glaciers of the South and North Patagonian Icefields of South America. (more…)

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