Climate295
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Picturing Climate Change
Intense public interest in changing climate has led to a wave of books. Among the entries, one upcoming standout is Climate Change: Picturing the Science, from W.W. Norton in April. The book is a journey around the globe via essays and images from top-flight scientists and photographers. The visuals and narration range from field research in remote polar regions to the giant gates now being erected in European…
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Meeting the Climate Challenge: The Columbia Climate Center Launch
This blog’s proud parent, the Columbia Climate Center, is having its public launch on Tuesday, March 31—and you’re invited! We are hosting this event to spread the word about our new center and its mission, so it is a great opportunity for readers of Climate Matters to come and learn more about the climate challenge…
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Wind Shifts May Stir CO2 From Antarctic Depths
Releases May Have Speeded End of Last Ice Age—And Could Act Again
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Ecosystems Push South
Warming Climate Drives Plankton and Penguins Poleward
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Snowstorms in a Warming World
On March 2 snowstorms hit the eastern seaboard, coinciding with a widely publicized protest against the coal industry in Washington DC . This garnered some attention, with Time noting the irony of people chanting about global warming while shivering in the cold and snow. One might wonder if a March snowstorm is inconsistent with a…
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A Q+A on climate risk management in practice
I had the pleasure of interviewing Graeme Hammer from the Univ. of Queensland a while back about his experiences incorporating climate information into the decision-making process of farmers in Australia. Something he emphasized a number of times during our conversation: simply giving out additional information such as seasonal forecasts isn’t likely to solve any problems…
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(Almost) Ten things I learned at GROCC-6
The sixth meeting of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change (GROCC) took place on February 26 and 27. Around 150 corporations, non-governmental organizations, and government groups have been meeting since 2005 to discuss the science, technology, and economic considerations required for sound public policies on climate change. Some commenters to our posting to announce the meeting wondered…
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Drought and Fire Continue to Threaten Koalas and Humans in Australia
By now, most people are familiar with the above image from the recent devastating wildfires in Australia. But while the rapid internet proliferation of this example of interspecies camaraderie mimicked the spread of the fire itself, there was no happy ending for many victims in Australia’s Victoria state on February 7th. The death toll has…
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Deep Thoughts on Deep Convection
Deep convection refers to the thermally driven turbulent mixing that moves air parcels from the lower to the upper atmosphere. In the tropics, this generally involves the vertical ascent of warm moist air and, ultimately, precipitation. But while some aspects of deep convection are well understood, others remain a mystery. Dr. Larissa Back, a NOAA…
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