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Southwestern Bird and Reptile Distributions to Shift as Climate Changes

Dramatic distribution losses and a few major distribution gains are forecasted for southwestern bird and reptile species as the climate changes, according to just-published research by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of New Mexico, and Northern Arizona University.

Overall, the study forecasted species distribution losses – that is, where species are able to live – of nearly half for all but one of the 5 reptile species they examined, including for the iconic chuckwalla. The threatened Sonoran (Morafka’s) desert tortoise, however, is projected to experience little to no habitat losses from climate change. (more…)

Remote Clouds Responsible for Climate Models’ Glitch in Tropical Rainfall

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2013EnvironmentAntarctica, atmospheric scientists, clouds, dargan frierson, equatorial africa, future pattern, global climate models, global climate predictions, Java, modern climate models, prediction, rain in zambia, rainfall, rainfall forecasts, rainfall patterns, shift, simulation of cloud, southern hemisphere, Southern Ocean, tropical island, tropical rainfall, university of washington, warmer ocean temperatures, yen ting hwang

It seems counterintuitive that clouds over the Southern Ocean, which circles Antarctica, would cause rain in Zambia or the tropical island of Java. But new research finds that one of the most persistent biases in global climate models – a phantom band of rainfall just south of the equator that does not occur in reality – is caused by poor simulation of the cloud cover thousands of miles farther to the south.

University of Washington atmospheric scientists hope their results help explain why global climate models mistakenly duplicate the inter-tropical convergence zone, a band of heavy rainfall in the northern tropics, on the other side of the equator. The study appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

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A Few Winners, But Many More Losers

Remote Clouds Responsible for Climate Models’ Glitch in Tropical Rainfall