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Another Vertebrate Species Reported Extinct from the Hawaiian Islands

HONOLULU – A species of lizard is now extinct from the Hawaiian Islands, making it the latest native vertebrate species to become extirpated from this tropical archipelago.

The copper striped blue-tailed skink (Emoia impar) — a sleek lizard with smooth, polished scales and a long, sky-blue tail — was last confirmed in the Na’Pali coast of Kauai in the 1960s. But repeated field surveys on Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawai’i islands from 1988 to 2008 have yielded no sightings or specimens. (more…)

Deep Oceans May Mask Global Warming for Years at a Time

By Guest PostSeptember 22, 2011Environmentatlantic, climate system, community climate system model, computer simulations of global climate, coupled model intercomparison project phase 5, earth, el niño, eric deweaver, gerald meehl, global air temperatures, greenhouse gas, ice and snow, john fasullo, kevin trenberth, la niña, missing heat, national center for atmospheric research, ncar, oceanic circulation, rate of global warming, software tool, temperature, tropical pacific, warming the upper ocean

*Computer simulations of global climate lead to new conclusions*

Earth’s deep oceans may absorb enough heat at times to flatten the rate of global warming for periods of as long as a decade–even in the midst of longer-term warming. This according to a new analysis led by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

The study, based on computer simulations of global climate, points to ocean layers deeper than 1,000 feet as the main location of the “missing heat” during periods such as the past decade when global air temperatures showed little trend. (more…)

Tag Archives: tropical pacific

Another Vertebrate Species Reported Extinct from the Hawaiian Islands

Deep Oceans May Mask Global Warming for Years at a Time