Climate Change •

Cloud Patterns Change with Warming Climate

July 18, 2016 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

The changing cloud patterns may be another proof of global warming.

The scientists observe a change in cloud patterns that might be driven by climate change.

The satellite images that were collected over a period of 26 years showed that clouds are migrating toward the Earth’s poles, and they are also rising higher into the atmosphere.

The change in cloud patterns may indicate that the mid-latitude zones are expanding, which makes the tropics go beyond the 20 to 30 degrees latitude. The scenario was previously predicted by climate change models. However, there was no actual proof until now that the situation might be real and happening during our lifetime.

The fact that the clouds rise high into the atmosphere shows that the barrier is thicker than before, and the thermal radiation is kept on Earth instead of escaping out into space. The phenomenon could explain the change in climate and the continuous increase in temperatures all over the globe.

The scientists discovered that Earth is, therefore, maintaining 98% of the thermal radiation which comes with the sun rays.

The temperature rise also makes the clouds reach high altitudes, as the low layer becomes warm and the top layer becomes cold. The radiation is no longer traveling through the cloud blanket to warm it up.

One of the researchers that contributed to the study explains that this might be one of the clearest proofs that the climate change is altering our planet during our lifetime, and it is not something of the future but a modification that impacts our lives.

While other climate change models have predicted that such a change in the atmosphere might occur, clouds are very difficult to be studied. The present study would be the first one to confirm that the models were correct, and the warming temperatures indeed change our planet.

There are two factors that might have influenced the cloud patterns. One is linked to human activity, and the second one is connected to volcanic eruptions. Scientists have yet to discover which one is the most dangerous, and in what percentage our behavior may help the process to stop.

Clouds are very difficult to study as the satellites are designed to take measurements that would help the short-term weather predictions. Previous analysis of the data had multiple flaws that could have been due to orbit shifts and instrument degradation.

The present study made a special point of trying to correct these inadequacies, and the authors of the research collaborated with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Colorado State University to ensure the quality of their analysis.

The study raises a new question for scientists. As there is now no doubt that climate change is affecting our planet while we speak, the even more severe problem would be to measure the magnitude of these phenomena. The following research will deal with this issue.

Image Source: Pixabay

Giant Mammals Extinction

June 18, 2016 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

giant mammals reconstruction of a mammoth

The mammoth was one of the giant mammals that disappeared after the last glacial retreat.

The giant mammals of the Ice Age may have perished because of a combination of climate change and human hunting. The large animals’ life was cut short by both natural causes and human intervention.

As beloved as they are now, mammoths were just a food source for the first humans on the continent. They lived in the Pliocene epoch just until the Holocene, being contemporary with the mastodons, the sabre-toothed cats, and the giant ground sloths.

The warmer and drier weather was a second factor that contributed to the disappearance of large animals. Researchers think that the modifications in temperature and the changes it brought to the environment made the mammals have difficulties in finding their food and challenged their biological features.

For example, the sabre-toothed cat was a large predator who consumed immense quantities of food. The mammoth was covered with long hair inappropriate for the warm weather. Mastodons were also large animals that fed off grass, leaves and fruits.

The climate change of the Antarctic Cold Reversal meant that the glaciers were retracting, and the vegetation changed. Grasslands were replaced by forests, which triggered the disappearance of all herbivores that could not adapt to the new type of food. Their predators vanished along with them.

The previous theory was that humans who first reached the continent found a world without any large mammals. The new findings show that early humans arrived some 3,000 years before their extinction.

A recent study involved the analysis of mitochondrial DNA taken from 89 samples of fossils. Out of them, 71 bone and teeth remains were tested with radiocarbon dating. Scientists then measured the temperature of ice cores and compared the results.

The collected data showed that the majority of the mammals died almost at the same time, 12,300 years ago. As the first evidence of human activity on the continent was dated to be as old as 14,000 years, the scientists reached the conclusion that our ancestors were witnesses of giant mammals’ extinction, and possibly they might have even contributed to the decrease in their numbers.

As researchers tested fossils of giant mammals found in Patagonia, they managed to discover the first evidence of the human colonization of the two continents. The period of the event was of only 1,500 years.

Paleontologists are trying to understand what kind of human activity led to the mammals’ disappearance. One explanation would be the sudden growth in human population, which increased the need for hunting. Another possibility would be that humans interfered with the giants’ habitat and disrupted their migration.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Coral Reef Seen From the Sky

June 13, 2016 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

The coral reef is home for many species of fish.

NASA will launch a new research program that will use high-tech imagery to take an extensive view at the coral reef all around the world.

The aim of the study is to make a map of the coral reef, which may help researchers to understand the changes that influence the marine ecosystems. Moreover, reefs are extremely sensitive to climate change and their preservation is crucial to human habitat.

The research team will focus on the reefs of Mariana Islands, Palau, Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef from Australia.

Until now, scientists studied corals only by underground explorations and by taking direct samples from the waters.

The new approach will bring a wider view of the coral reefs as the images will be taken from 23,000 feet above the waters. The name of the project is CORAL – Coral Reef Airborne Laboratory. The campaign is programmed to last three years, and it will use special monitoring instruments.

The researchers hope to discover how pollution, acidification, and global warming influence the coral reefs. They want to create detailed models of how a reef ecosystem works. In order to do so, they will match the view from atop with baseline measurements in order to validate the data.

The instrument that will be used is PRISM, a portable remote imaging spectrometer that will be loaded into an uninhabited aerial vehicle and transported above the Pacific zone.

The coral reefs bear an enormous importance to humans. Not only they are tourist attractions, but they also constitute a habitat for the fish that are consumed by the population. Another one of their roles is to protect the lines of the shores against storms and the rising ocean levels.

More than this, scientists managed to extract medicinal substances from corals, including a painkiller that does not cause addiction.

The study is a part of the sustainable strategy approach, and the research team will try to develop theories and models that will support later interventions dedicated to saving and preserving coral reefs around the world.

A report from the International Society for Reef Studies shows that more than 50% of coral reefs were destroyed by both local factors and global warming. The degradation happened abruptly in a couple of decades.

Researchers involved in this project say that the new data will prove to be precious for the conservation community and the international scientists.

Consequently, all information will be made publicly available. Once all details are registered, the researchers will need another six months to process the data.

The traditional approach involves scientists going directly into the water in order to collect samples and make measurements. Even though the new method will not completely exclude the need for diving, it will offer additional information at a faster pace than that which was possible until now.

Image Source: Wikipedia

Seeds Saved Birds from the Dinosaur Extinction

April 22, 2016 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

The fossils of several feathered non-avian Maniraptoran dinosaurs

While the reason behind the extinction of the dinosaurs is a generally known fact, it was only in a recent study that we found out that the giant reptiles that ruled out planet in the past had been on the decline for some fifty million years before they went extinct.

This had to do with more than a single factor, as volcanic eruptions, the separation of the continents, and on-going climate change caused by billions of tons of carbon dioxide being pumped into the atmosphere all contributed to the dinosaurs’ slow but certain decline. But that’s not to say that had the asteroid not hit the dinosaurs would have still been extinct.

Oh no, they would likely have still been around today, only in a much different form than the one to which we are used. This is even proven by the fact that there are still members of the theropod class of dinosaurs still alive today. And yes, I am talking about birds.

But seeing as they evolved from dinosaurs that were alive sixty-six million years ago, how exactly did they manage to evolve? Well, according to a recent study from the Universities of Toronto and Alberta, seeds saved birds from the dinosaur extinction. Well, not birds as we know them today, but maniraptoran dinosaurs, a clave of small carnivorous theropods that largely resembled today’s birds.

So if the modern day birds’ ancestors were carnivorous and they were alive when the asteroid hit, how is it that we still have birds, and what did seeds have to do with anything? Well, as the climate was changing, as the dinosaurs were dying off, and as the sunlight was covered by a cloud of ash, food was beginning to be very scarce.

While meat was getting rarer and rarer, and plants couldn’t really photosynthesize with no sunlight, one of the very few sources of food remaining were seeds. Buried in the ground and viable for consumption for up to five decades, the dinosaurs that wanted to survive had to adapt to their new conditions.

Of course, larger dinosaurs couldn’t really survive on just seeds, so the smaller, carnivorous, toothed maniraptorans had to combine their meaty diet with plenty of seeds. Over time, they evolved so that they lost their teeth and started eating mostly seeds and other creatures smaller than them, eventually reaching the form of today’s birds.

One of the biggest problems with identifying that particular class of dinosaurs was that their bones were very fragile. So, it’s a very common occurrence for the only fossils encountered by scientists to be the teeth, as they tended to be stronger than the regular bones. This made it quite hard for the team to actually find out when maniraptorans evolved into birds, even if they tried to reverse engineer the process by following the birds’ ancestors instead of the dinosaurs’ descendants.

Image source: Wikimedia

Now We Know Where The Earth Is Most Sensitive To Climate Swings

February 20, 2016 By Germaine Hicks Leave a Comment

Climate-change-earth-melting.-Source-Bruce-Rolff-Shutterstock-e1409508274516

Some parts of the world may be more sensitive to temperature changes than others.

Thanks to new research published Wednesday in the journal Nature, now we know where the Earth is most sensitive to climate swings. Global satellites have identified areas with vegetation most susceptible to fluctuations to climate and the findings are very interesting.

Global warming’s most recent effect is the minimal slowing down of the sea level rise. However, the increase in planet Earth’s overall temperture may pose different effects on different parts of the world. In this new study, a team of scientists developed a map that reveals which regions on Earth are more sensitive to climate variability.

Most climate scientists know that planet Earth’s temperatures are continuously warming. They also know that some parts of the world may be more sensitive to temperature changes than others. What has been lacking is a way to identify how sensitive an ecosystem is and how to apply an indicator of sensitivity of the various parts of the planet for comparison.

That being said, researchers from the University of Bergen in Norway developed a metric to measure the climatic sensitivity of various ecosystems. Nicknamed the Vegetation Sensitivity Index, the map reveals how much a region on the planet will be affected by warming temperatures.

The research team used satellite data collected from 2000 to 2013 to look at plants at a global scale. They identified climate drivers of vegetation productivity on monthly timescales and computed the sensitivity index.

Moreover, the 14-year worth of satellite data measured the key climate variables of air temperature, water availability and cloud cover. The index then compares these variables with the productivity of vegetation under changing climate on a global scale.

The new satellite map shows which parts of the world are more sensitive to climate change. (Photo: University of Bergen)

According to the the new map, the researchers found that the alpine regions worldwide, tropical rainforests, parts of the boreal forest belt and areas in the Arctic tundra are ecologically sensitive regions with heightened responses to climate change. Other parts of the world include prairie and steppe parts of North and South America and Central Asia as well as South American and east Australian forests.

Now we have this global picture, it can guide the next areas of research.

stated Dr. Alistair Seddon, the lead author of the new study.

As the research focused solely on how plants responded to changes in climate, Seddon told HuffPost that more research is needed to explore how such sensitivity might impact human populations.

The Washington Post reported that Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University in Virginia who was not involved in the study, called the new study ‘an important advance’.

Lovejoy also stressed the research is also an underestimate of sensitivity. Since biological interactions show major ecosystem impacts can occur on top of and as part of vegetation or ecosystem impacts. So climate change should be limited to only 1.5 degrees.

All in all, the new method will reveal valuable data that can be used in assessing ecosystems and anticipating how specific parts of the world will be affected by either short- or long-term climate changes. However, predicting when and where such transitions will occur remains a challenge for the scientists.

Image Source: popularresistance.org; techtimes.com.

Climate Shift Drained Poopo Lake

January 23, 2016 By Brian Galloway 1 Comment

Climate changes, El Nino, drought spells and mining operation have contributed to Lake Poopo’s drainage.

The Bolivian Government has recently declared the area around Poopo Lake a “disaster area”. It would seem that a climate shift drained Poopo, up till now considered the second largest lake in Bolivia.

Due to recent climate changes Poopo Lake, dubbed the second largest lake in Bolivia, has completely dried up. Because of this natural disaster, thousands of families living in the vicinity of the lake have decided to sell up their livestock and move to the cities.

Lake Poopo, apart from being one of Bolivia’s natural wonders, harbored several thousand species of underwater creatures and was also the livelihood for many families.

According to several reports, it would seem that the recent climate shift had something to do with the lake’s demise. But global warming is not the only one to take the blame for the drained lake. Specialists have discovered that several factors contributed to the draining of the lake including El Nino, the recent drought spells, and climate shift. Their reports don’t rule out human interference.

Mining activities, especially tin mining, seem to be directly related to the lake’s demise. It would seem that, over the years, several mining companies have made a habit of diverting water from Lake Poopo, which was used in different mining activities. Failing to substitute the level of water drawn directly from the lake, they inadvertently contributed to the natural disaster.

Recent estimates have revealed that the Poopo’s water level in a little under two percent. Moreover, approximately 75 percent of the species of fish have already perished. All in all, the lakes draining took its toll on approximately 3250 individuals (100 families), most of them earning their livelihood through fishing.

Climate shift drained lake Poopo, but the authorities are ready to put the blame on the local mining companies, who mismanaged the water resources. According to Angel Flore, one of the local leaders, since the companies started mining operations in the area in 1982, the lake’s water levels began to falter.

Furthermore, it seems that the intense mining activity has managed to alter even the weather pattern. Measurements have determined that the temperature has gone up by one degree Celsius in the area surrounding Poopo Lake, thus contributing to the lake’s early demise.

The authorities tried their best to enforce water management policies, but it seems that they either came too late or no one abided by them. A report drafted in 2013 showed that the lake received 163 billion fewer liters, than necessary in order to maintain a balance.

Photo credits:www.wikipedia.org

Bee Population Decline May Spell Disaster for US Crops

December 22, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

Without bees, our food supply will start to slowly decrease up to the point when the threat of starvation becomes reality.

After US President Obama urged a tally of wild bee population numbers in 2014, researchers across the US have found that their numbers are currently dwindling and that a wild bee population decline may spell disaster for US crops. The farms and crops in question are those that rely heavily on bee pollinators for reproduction and the general well-being of their crops.

Even though other insect pollinators are also responsible for plant reproduction, wild bees are by far the most effective as well as the most wide-spread of pollinators. The tally in question was carried out for over 5 years, due to the difficulty of exactly counting the number of wild bees. The percentage fell about 34% across the US, mostly due to converting vast areas of land to biofuel crops made out of corn.

The economic impact of bees is estimated to reach almost $3 billion on a yearly basis. The removal of this intake in agricultural value would completely throw the market in disarray. Unfortunately, this cannot be circumvented by only a reduction in biofuel crops.

Because according to US laws, fuel has to contain at least 10% ethanol, gathered from corn, crops have been multiplying by almost 200% over the entire US region. Key agricultural regions like the Midwest and California have suffered the most from this extensive increase in corn crops, while, at the same time, the wild bee population faced a decrease of 29%.

This is almost completely different from the bee crisis present in Europe. There, the main factors that are currently being carefully studied are insecticides containing neonicotinoid chemicals. These types of insecticides lead to mass colony collapse disorder outbreaks. Even if in the US the study linked biofuel crops to the population decline, insecticides were not completely ignored, because the main areas currently suffering are those who had a massive boom in agriculture.

The safety-net provided by operators of honey bees that put bee hives up for rent in order to supply pollinators has been suffering over the past couple of years as well. This method leaves honey bees extremely vulnerable to colony collapse disorder, a fact that was clearly seen since 2014 when operators faced a devastating number of losses in their honey bee numbers.

Circumventing this decline is not a hard to reach goal. By simply allocating a plot of unaltered land in which bees can thrive, without being under the constant threat of insecticides, their number will slowly start to grow. Because farmers have marginal lands near their farms, this method is both cost effective and easy to do. But it comes at the price of slowing down the expansion of said farm.

Even if the general public can mainly think of only two types of bees, honeybees and wild bees, there are over 4.000 bee species in the US. All of them are under the same threats of chemical intoxication, various disease outbreaks, natural environment decrease and especially climate change. The most common side effect of these factors is colony collapse disorder in which worker bees flee the hive, leaving the queen behind, effectively sentencing the hive to death.

Because a wild bee population decline may spell disaster for US crops, researchers and scientists are urging farmers to take measures in order to counteract this phenomenon. But these measures have to be taken on a massive scale if the goal of quelling this decrease, and in best cases even boosting population numbers, is to be achieved in the near future.

Image source:www.pixabay.com

US Anti-Evolution Efforts Evolve In The Same Way Species Do

December 19, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee 2 Comments

By completely dismissing evolutionism, science gets held back by a rather considerable amount, in a manner similar to that of the Dark Ages.

By applying phylogenetic approaches to politics and beliefs, Nicholas Matzke from Australia’s National University found that US anti-evolution efforts evolve in the same way species do. This discovery will undoubtedly help scientists and researchers that are currently facing opposition from these types of efforts.

Phylogenetic analysis revolves around the study of family trees and shared characteristics between the various branches of said tree in order to identify a common ancestor as well as the process of evolution. This method is done through DNA sampling and careful observation of similar traits presented by the different branches of a species, eventually leading back to a common single-celled ancestor.

In order to apply this analysis to anti-evolution laws and proposals, Matzke switched DNA sampling with paragraphs and documents created with the goal of increasing the popularity of creationism while at the same time dismissing evolution. His study started from the first wave of anti-evolution laws, back in 1920 when the idea of evolution was deemed unconstitutional. This lasted for over 40 years, ending in the 1960s when anti-evolutionism started to evolve in a different manner.

The second wave engulfed both creationism as well as evolutionism, By maintaining a careful balance between the two, both of them maintained a steady growth across the country, even if evolutionism grew by a much lesser extent than its counterpart.

The final third wave stemmed from the case of Kitzmer vs Dover in 2005. This signaled scientists that a wave of “stealthy creationism” started to emerge among the general public. This type of movement does not mention either intelligent design or creationism, focusing on an alleged academic freedom. Intelligent design refers to the way through which the evolutionary process functioned throughout the ages, keeping in accord with a type of schematic, eliminating natural selection altogether. This schematic was supposedly created by a higher being, thus making this ideology a religious argument, not a scientific one.

Matzke’s research pointed out the fact that every anti-creationist bill started from one place, with every following bill growing out of the original one through the copying of segments or by simply maintaining its main idea. The point of origin was located in the state of Alabama in its early stages, expanding towards Louisiana and Tennessee in the following years. One of the most influential factors was the Ouachita policy, due to its call for an alleged critical analysis of evolution and even climate change.

Out of all the anti-evolution bills covered in the study, 65 in number, almost 95% of them were directly linked to creationism. This link was established through the statements which they contained or through identification of the sponsors of the bill.

Taking into account that US anti-evolution efforts evolve in the same way species do, it’s not that suprising the current widespread that creationism has in the country. Almost 35% of American citizens completely reject evolution, while, from the group that accepts it, 48% of them adopt the belief of an intelligent design, attributing evolution to a higher power.

Image source:www.pixabay.com

COP21 Paris Talks Might Bring the End of Fossil Fuel Subsidies

December 7, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Views like this might become rare in the near future, because of the high cost of construction and maintenance these pumps require. Without government funding, these oil pumps might even be completely extinct.

The threat that the COP21 Paris talks might bring the end of fossil fuel subsidies is starting to loom over the head of big fossil fuel dependent companies. As the conference starts its second week since it began last Monday, November 30^th, it seems apparent that all the political parties involved want to cut greenhouse gas emissions completely.

If this goal will eventually be brought to fruition, the second-largest industry on the planet, the fossil fuel one, will find that its government subsidies have been officially cut. This is due to the fact that fossil fuels are the biggest greenhouse gas emitters on Earth, making their use very likely to be prohibited in the near future.

This news will most likely make companies either plan ahead and focus on cleaner energy sources or they might actually attempt to boycott the pledge signed at the COP21. This signed agreement expects the parties involved to basically remove their greenhouse gas emissions almost completely, thus making the fossil fuel market extremely unstable. An emphasis on renewable and clean energy production is also highly advisable.

Steps towards the cut of government subsidies have already been made back in 2009, with the signing of an agreement between 20 nations. This agreement focused on phasing out subsidies and during that year, over $150 billion have been saved.

These payments made by governments towards fossil fuel companies helps in keeping the regular gas prices fairly low so that normal everyday consumers will still be able to use their cars.

The fact that in the US, the oil and fossil fuel industry has experienced a massive boom in the past years, alongside an increased investment from the government, will likely make US oil companies rethink their policies. Movements from different parties in order to quell the growing oil industry have already been seen.

For example, states residing on the US East Coast have proposed a bill in order to stop the offshore drilling planned to take part in the Atlantic ocean due to the fear of potential environmental disasters that may occur if an oil spill happens.

Repercussions from the elimination of government subsidies, if it occurs at some point in the near future, will boost gas prices by a fairly large amount. This might even make people completely give up on using their cars for travel due to the high cost.

The question if the COP21 Paris talks might bring the end of fossil fuel subsidies will more than likely be answered in the coming week. If the 200 nations will reach a common agreement, this might bring the end of the fossil fuel market as we know it.

Image source:www.pixabay.com

Will Reduction of Carbon Decrease the Value of Coal?

November 24, 2014 By Germaine Hicks Leave a Comment

A combination of energy resources utilized in the production of electricity is gradually altering. However, scientists predicts that coal which is considered as the king would lead the area for several more decades.

As per the analysis of U.S Energy Information Administration, Coal would be responsible for 39 percent world’s net electricity in 2015. Unfortunately, the researchers suppose that this proportion will reach 36 percent till 2040.

However, numerous people wish to view a considerable descend in the importance of coal. Nowadays, people are extremely worried about the negative impact of greenhouse gases on our environment. Hence, concern authorities are trying to reduce the amount of carbon emission from their power production

Therefore, the power industry makes an attempt to utilized renewable energy sources. Additionally, scientists claims to get hold of a technology which will capture majority of the carbon dioxide release by a plant.

Howard J. Herzog, a research engineer informed that clean coal expected to play a vital role in the arena of electricity in future.

On the flip side, several nations such as China, United States and European Union joined together to sign an agreement to deal with climate change.. Though all these deals and promises looks pretty less in front of the uncontrollable temperature but still representatives of 12 countries intend to this December in Lima, Peru. The chief reason of this seminar is to work on the agreement which is expected in Paris in 2015. Recently, researchers gave warning to few nations regarding the hazards of natural disasters like heat waves, ocean acidification and floods.

Categories