Events high in the upper atmosphere can cause massive shifts in the behavior even of deep ocean currents, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience. The ocean is very important to the climate, acting as it does as a vast storage and transport mechanism for heat. But the oceans have tremendous mass compared even…
A fossilized forest that flourished more than 2.5 million years ago could return to life thanks to a warming planet, scientists say. The paleo-scene won’t sprout up overnight, of course, said Alexandre Guertin-Pasquier of the University of Montreal, who will present his research at the Canadian Paleontology Conference in Toronto. Rather, he said, climate forecasts…
Global climate revenues fell 5 percent in 2011 to $539 billion from an all-time high the previous year, mainly dragged down by the weak performance of low-carbon energy companies hit by the global economic slowdown, a report by HSBC said. Climate revenues were unlikely to exceed 2010’s all-time high of $567 billion over the next…
A warming trend has contributed to a sharp rise in the number and size of wildfires on forest lands in the U.S. West, where big burns are likely to become the norm, according to a report released by a climate research group. The average annual number of fires that cover more than 1,000 acres has…
Ocean temperatures off the northeast United States have reached a record high. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that the average sea surface temperature for the Northeast continental shelf ecosystem, from North Carolina to Maine, was a little over 50.5 degrees for the first half of 2012. The previous record high for the first…
With Arctic ice melting at record pace, the world’s superpowers are increasingly jockeying for political influence and economic position in outposts previously regarded as barren wastelands. At stake are the Arctic’s abundant supplies of oil, gas and minerals that are, thanks to climate change, becoming newly accessible along with increasingly navigable polar shipping shortcuts. This…
Mitt Romney’s remarks on NBC’s Meet the Press in early September rankled environmental activists hoping for a bipartisan approach to climate change. “I’m not in this race to slow the rise of the oceans or to heal the planet,” the Republican presidential nominee told David Gregory. “I’m in this race to help the American people.”…
One of the world’s leading ice experts has predicted the final collapse of Arctic sea ice in summer months within four years. In what he calls a “global disaster” now unfolding in northern latitudes as the sea area that freezes and melts each year shrinks to its lowest extent ever recorded, Prof Peter Wadhams of…
Researchers have made a startling discovery: the summer Arctic could be an open sea within a decade
The chance to save the world’s coral reefs from damage caused by climate change is dwindling as man-made greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, scientists said in a study released on Sunday. Around 70% of corals are expected to suffer from long-term degradation by 2030, even if strict emission cuts are enforced, according to the…