Science Daily: Climate News

Study findings take a dramatic step towards a greenhouse gas information system that can fundamentally change the way cities, states and the nation tackle the climate change problem.

An analysis of new climate model projections shows southwestern Australia and parts of southern Australia will see longer and more intense droughts due to a lack of rainfall caused by climate change. But Australia is not alone. Across the globe, several important agricultural and forested regions in the Amazon, Mediterranean and southern Africa can expect more frequent and intense rainfall droughts.

A common message in use to convey the seriousness of climate change to the public is: 'Carbon dioxide levels are higher today than they have been for the past one million years!' This new study used a novel method to conclude that today's carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are actually higher than they have been for the past 23 million years.

A research group has identified an atmospheric region unchanged by human-related activities in the first study to measure bioaerosol composition of the Southern Ocean south of 40 degrees south latitude.

Researchers have devised a breakthrough method for estimating national emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels using ambient air samples and a well-known isotope of carbon that scientists have relied on for decades to date archaeological sites.

Researchers looked at the impact of temperature, precipitation, and UV index on COVID-19 case rates in the United States during the spring months of 2020. The findings reveal that while the rate of COVID-19 incidence does decrease with warmer temperatures up until 52 degrees F, further warmer temperatures do not decrease disease transmission significantly.

A study conducted in Sydney, Australia, during the early epidemic stage of COVID-19 has found an association between lower humidity and an increase in locally acquired positive cases. Researchers discovered a 1 percent decrease in humidity could increase the number of COVID-19 cases by 6 percent.

Scientists have conducted an in-depth study that looks at carbon dioxide uptake and ocean acidification in the coastal oceans of North America.

New research suggests dry air combined with warmer temperatures may prompt bigger than expected changes in how water moves through plants. The adjustment may allow plants to survive with less water in future droughts, while downshifting how much carbon they absorb.

Researchers have learned to control the microbiome of cattle for the first time which could inhibit their methane production, and therefore reduce a major source of greenhouse gasses.

In high-pressure experiments, scientists have discovered new forms of the common mineral feldspar. At moderate temperatures, these hitherto unknown variants are stable at pressures of Earth's upper mantle, where common feldspar normally cannot exist. The discovery could change the view at cold subducting plates and the interpretation of seismologic signatures.

A recent study explores the ways parasitism will respond to climate change, providing researchers new insights into disease transmission.

Bangladesh is on track to lose all of its forestland in the next 35-40 years, leading to a rise in CO2 emissions and subsequent climate change, researchers said. However, that is just one of the significant land-use changes that the country is experiencing. A new study uses satellite and census data to quantify and unravel how physical and economic factors drive land-use changes. Understanding this relationship can inform climate policy at the national scale in Bangladesh and beyond.

Climate change could cause abrupt shifts in the amount of vegetation growing in parts of Great Britain, new research shows.

Climate change has contributed to the increase in the number of wildfires in the Arctic and can dramatically shift stream chemistry. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have found that some of the aftereffects, like decreased carbon and increased nitrogen, can last up to five decades and could have major implications on vital waterways like the Yenisei River and the Arctic Ocean.

Ongoing environmental changes are transforming forests worldwide, resulting in shorter and younger trees. Researchers found that a range of factors, including rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, have caused a dramatic decrease in the age and stature of forests.

The ice shelves surrounding the Antarctic coastline retreated at speeds of up to 50 meters per day at the end of the last Ice Age, far more rapid than the satellite-derived retreat rates observed today, new research has found.

Although non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become powerful voices in world environmental politics, little is known of the global picture of this sector. A new study shows that environmental groups are increasingly focused on advocacy in climate change politics and environmental justice. How they do their work is largely determined by regional disparities in human and financial resources.

An international survey of Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) membership found that the majority of members -- health professions schools and programs, including medical, nursing, and public health -- offer learning opportunities related to the health impacts of climate change, yet many also encountered challenges in instituting or developing curricula. The results of the survey provide a baseline assessment of the state of climate-health education internationally among health professions institutions.

The researchers who recently discovered a population of blue whales in New Zealand are learning more about the links between the whales, their prey and ocean conditions that are changing as the planet warms.