Latest Climatology Stories
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Two brothers at the Carnegie Institution for Science have undertaken the study of the widespread die-off of Colorado aspen trees. Their most recent study, published online in the journal Global Change Biology, follows on the heels of a previous study they did. Their last study explored two competing theories for how forest trees tend to die off in drought conditions. The first theory suggested that trees actually starved to death...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Because they draw in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, tropical rainforests are often called "the lungs of the planet." However, yearly variations in climate can cause the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed and released by these forests to vary considerably. A new study conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Exeter, the Met Office-Hadley Centre and the Natural Environmental Research Council’s (NERC) Centre for...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Americans could better pull their weight in reducing global climate change by shifting to a Western European work model, according to a new study by the liberal think tank Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR). Adopting such a policy - which would involve working fewer hours and enjoying longer vacations - would cut carbon emissions to such an extent that temperature increases would be half their projected amount by 2100,...
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology Researchers from CSIC's Aula Dei Experimental Station in Zaragoza, Spain have confirmed that the frequency of intense rainfall has been decreasing in the Ebro basin since 1955. Despite what it may seem, intense rain is becoming rarer in the Ebro basin according to two studies carried out by Spanish researchers from the Department of Soil and Water of CSIC's Aula Dei Experimental Station in Zaragoza. Their results have been published...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online An international group of scientists has shown that global warming from greenhouse gases affects global rainfall patterns differently than global warming from solar heating. Using computer model simulations, the research team showed that global rainfall has increased less over the present-day warming period than during the Medieval Warm Period between 950 and 1250 AD despite the fact that temperatures today are higher than...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online It is a well-known fact that cattle produce carbon dioxide and methane throughout their lives. A new study, however, pinpoints the cow-calf stage as a major contributor of greenhouse gases during beef production. The research team estimated greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle during different stages of life in the new study, recently published in the Journal of Animal Science. Their findings reveal that, depending on which...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online New estimates from a Norwegian research project show that policymakers attempting to contain global warming at less than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit have an attainable target. While most news that comes out about global warming is typically negative and ominous, this study has put a slightly more positive twist on the unfolding story of climate change. “These results are truly sensational,” said Caroline Leck of Stockholm University,...
There's a well-known saying in New England that if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute. When it comes to independent voters, those weather changes can just as quickly shift beliefs about climate change. New research from the University of New Hampshire finds that the climate change beliefs of independent voters are dramatically swayed by short-term weather conditions. The research was conducted by Lawrence Hamilton, professor of sociology and senior fellow at the Carsey...
University of Arizona Plants can adapt their demand for water depending on how much is available - However, this resilience has a limit, and prolonged drought conditions threaten the survival of plant communities, especially in more arid areas Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, and their partners have determined that water demand by many plant communities can fluctuate in response to water availability, indicating a capacity for resilience even when changing...
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A group of 20 ex-NASA scientists have concluded that the science used to support the man-made climate change hypothesis is not settled and no convincing physical evidence exists to support catastrophic climate change forecasts. Beginning in February 2012, the group of scientists calling themselves The Right Climate Stuff (TRCS) team received presentations by scientists representing all sides of the climate change debate and...
Latest Climatology Reference Libraries
An urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area that is drastically warmer than its surrounding rural areas because of human activities. The phenomenon was first looked into and described by Luke Howard during the 1810s, although he wasn’t the one to name the phenomenon. The difference in temperature is normally bigger at night as opposed to during the day, and it most obvious when winds are weak. Seasonally, UHI is seen during the summer and the winter. The key cause of the urban heat...
Growing Degree Days are another huge part of our lives even though we may not deal with them directly. Growing degree days have to deal with the growing of fruits and vegetables along with other various crops that are grown throughout the United States for our personal use. As we examine the Baltimore Maryland area we can see how the impacts of a normal, El-Nino and La-Nina cycle have an impact on just the one month of March. These numbers are based on 50F which is the base number used for...
If you live in or around Bismarck North Dakota the graph shows you what you can roughly expect when it comes to heating and cooling your house during the ENSO Phases. Bismarck North Dakota, with its northern latitude, does have an impact on what type of heating and cooling it sees. During an Normal Phase the HDD for the region hits about 1348 on average. When the region enters into an El-Nino they can expect the amount of HDD’s to decrease to around 970 which really helps cut down on the...
The above graph highlights how the ENSO has an impact on water temps. Northern Gulf of Mexico during EL-Nino: The first part of March during this EL-Nino cycle saw water temps in the 56-60F range, while the 8-14th saw water temps warm to the 60-64F range. By the third week of March temps had maintained 60-64F. The last week of March the temps dropped back to around 56-60F. Northern Gulf of Mexico during LA-Nina: The first week of March saw water temps approach the 70-72F range, by the...
Honolulu is located in the Pacific Ocean and has a mostly marine time climate. Honolulu has a pretty consistent temperature average from month to month. This is a look at the La-Nina impacts on the local area. January 2010: For the month of January it is typical to see average high temps in the 80’s while overnight lows drop into the 70’s. During the El-Nino event January temps were 60% of the month at the normal, while 40% of the month was marked with above temps and 0% of the month...
