climate science16
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Eavesdropping on the Ocean’s Mighty Microorganisms
Now, nearing the end of our three-week cruise of the North Pacific off Hawaii, we are working to understand how these tiny bacteria connect and communicate with one another.
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Surging Heat May Limit Aircraft Takeoffs Globally
Rising temperatures due to global warming will make it harder for many aircraft around the world to take off in coming decades, says a new study. During the hottest parts of the day, 10 to 30 percent of fully loaded planes may have to remove some fuel, cargo or passengers, or else wait for cooler…
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Warming Climate Could Abruptly Increase Rain in Africa’s Sahel
Climate change could turn one of Africa’s driest regions wet, according to a new study. Scientists have found evidence in computer simulations for a possible abrupt change in the Sahel, a region long characterized by aridity and political instability. In the study, just published in the journal Earth System Dynamics, the authors detected a self-amplifying…
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Fueled by Melting Glaciers, Algae Bloom Off Greenland
Iron particles catching a ride on glacial meltwater washed out to sea are likely fueling a recently discovered summer algal bloom off the southern coast of Greenland, according to a new study. Microalgae, also known as phytoplankton, are plant-like marine microorganisms that form the base of the food web in many parts of the ocean.…
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As Climate Stirs Arctic Sea Ice Faster, Pollution Tags Along
A warming climate is not just melting the Arctic’s sea ice; it is stirring the remaining ice faster, increasing the odds that ice-rafted pollution will foul a neighboring country’s waters, says a new study.
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Christine McCarthy: A Cheerleader for the Physics of Ice
Christine McCarthy, a geophysicist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, scrunches blocks of ice between hunks of rock to study how ice behaves under pressure. Her work provides an important piece of the puzzle of how glaciers move, what makes them speed up, and how they are contributing to sea level rise as the climate warms.
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Could Climate Change Shut Down the Gulf Stream?
In the 2004 disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow,”, global warming accelerated the melting of polar ice, disrupting circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean and triggering violent changes in the weather. Could climate change shut down the Gulf Stream?
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Meltwater Lakes Existed Under Antarctic Ice in Ancient Times
In recent years, scientists have discovered hundreds of lakes lying hidden deep beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Now a team of researchers has found the remains of at least one sub-ice lake that existed when the ice was far more extensive, in sediments on the Antarctic continental shelf.
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IRI Unveils Its New Generation of Climate Forecasts
This spring, IRI implemented a new methodology for seasonal temperature and precipitation forecasts. We asked Simon Mason, Andrew Robertson and Tony Barnston, senior climate scientists who lead the development and tailoring of IRI’s forecasts, to answer some fundamental questions about the new forecast.
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