Global Warming or Climate Change

"We've failed." FIONA MACDONALD 10 APR 2017 The last thing the world needs now is more bad news, but unfortunately we can't ignore the fact that, after yet another mass bleaching event, scientists are now admitting Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in a " terminal stage ". After a record-hot Australian summer, the latest surveys reveal that two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef has now been damaged by severe coral bleaching – less than 12 months after  93 percent  of it experienced bleaching in 2016. This year, the damage has spread further south. Out of the 2,300 km (1,430 miles) of Great Barrier Reef, 1,500 km (932 miles) is now bleached,  the surveys found  – and this year we can't  blame an El Nino event . Researchers estimate that it would take even the fastest growing coral about a decade to recover - but that would require a year or two without any bleaching to give the corals an opportunity to regrow. ...

Ice-albedo feedback as a result of sea-ice melting, notably in the Arctic, is known to reinforce global warming. What is less known, however, is the impact of a no-summer ice scenario on the world's ambition to maintain global warming below 2°C by 2100. A study conducted under the TRANSRISK project paints a rather dark picture, highlighting the need to better understand the impact of rapid climate change in the region. 'More stringent mitigation efforts globally.' This is what researchers of the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) have come to recommend after studying the potential consequences of an Arctic ice-free month of September 2050 - something doomed to happen according to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report. Whilst in line with the growing number of pessimistic studies on the pace and impact of climate change, the new study takes a new approach, highlighting the remaining gap in our understanding of the Arctic's role in the regulation of Earth...

Palm trees bend in the winds of Hurricane Wilma as the storm makes landfall in Plantation, Florida on Oct. 24, 2005. Wilma was the last major hurricane to make landfall in the U.S.   Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images WEATHER Scientists Have Figured Out Why Big Hurricanes Keep Missing the U.S. Justin Worland Jan 04, 2017 Scientists have scratched their heads in recent years as a series of  major hurricanes  have steered clear of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, defying probability. Now, new  research  published in the journal  Nature  explains the unlikely phenomenon as at least in part the result of an occurrence called "protective barriers," which help keep major hurricanes from making landfall. Cool ocean temperatures combine with strong vertical wind shear, a measure of how quickly wind changes speed or direction, off the Atlantic coast. Faced with those conditions, ...

Date: January 30, 2017 Source: University of New Hampshire Summary: While scientists and policy experts debate the impacts of global warming, Earth’s soil is releasing roughly nine times more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than all human activities combined. This huge carbon flux from soil, which is due to the natural respiration of soil microbes and plant roots, begs one of the central questions in climate change science. As the global climate warms, will soil respiration rates increase, adding even more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and accelerating climate change? Share: FULL STORY While scientists and policy experts debate the impacts of global warming, Earth's soil is releasing roughly nine times more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than all human activities combined. This huge carbon flux from soil, which is due to the natural respiration of soil microbes and plant roots, begs one of the central questions in climate change science. As the glo...