All articles tagged with #climate science
Space debris in low Earth orbit is increasing, forcing satellites to perform more collision-avoidance maneuvers. Each maneuver uses fuel and can degrade data from climate-observing satellites (Aqua, Terra, Aura), potentially erasing long-running climate records. As debris grows, collision risk rises and insurability drops, pressuring public agencies and private operators to safeguard vital science data.
A team of climate scientists led by Benjamin Santer rebuts a US Department of Energy report they say misrepresents evidence of humanity’s role in warming, reaffirming the distinctive fingerprint of climate change—tropospheric warming and stratospheric cooling—and warning the DOE analysis should not be used to justify regulatory decisions like the EPA’s endangerment finding.
Europe-wide researchers drilled a 2.8-km Antarctic ice core to produce the longest continuous climate record, about 1.2 million years, showing atmospheric CO2 closely tracking global temperatures across repeated cycles and offering new clues to why ice ages intensified during the Mid-Pleistocene transition. The Beyond EPICA findings—presented at the European Geosciences Union meeting—are early results, not yet peer‑reviewed, with more data to come from the ancient air bubbles trapped in the ice.
Forecasters say this year’s El Niño could become one of the strongest on record, with ECMWF data showing central Pacific temperatures potentially 3°C above average by year’s end. If confirmed, it could approach or surpass the 1877 and 2015 records and potentially exceed the threshold for a super El Niño. NOAA also expects a strong El Niño to form by July, with a notable chance that 2027 could be the warmest year on record, signaling widespread global impacts on climate, agriculture, water, and economies through late this year and beyond.
A Nature Climate Change study finds microplastics, especially colored pieces, absorb more heat than they reflect, potentially contributing to atmospheric warming; while their impact is not as large as major pollutants, the particles’ near-ubiquitous presence across ecosystems calls for more research into their climate effects.
A Science Advances study shows soil-dwelling Mortierellaceae fungi secrete water-soluble ice-nucleating proteins that act as cloud seeds, triggering ice formation and rain even at relatively warm temperatures. This bio-precipitation loop links forest soils to atmospheric rainfall, complements bacterial ice-nucleating proteins, and arose via horizontal gene transfer from bacteria. The finding highlights the climate relevance of soil microbes and suggests natural, biodegradable options for cloud seeding while underscoring the rainfall impact of forest conservation.
New shallow Allan Hills blue-ice cores extend greenhouse-gas records to about 3.1–0.5 million years ago. They show mean CH4 changing little over the period, with CO2 falling by ~20 ppm from 2.9 to 1.2 Ma and then staying stable within ±10 ppm through the mid‑Pleistocene Transition; respiration-corrected samples from 2.8–3.1 Ma yield CO2 of 250 ± 10 ppm, indistinguishable from the early Pleistocene. These results suggest long‑term stability of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 and demonstrate that ice-core gas measurements can be extended into the late Pliocene, providing snapshots of climate during a era of global cooling.
Researchers identify a fungal protein from the Mortierellaceae family that triggers ice formation at about -2°C, offering a non-toxic alternative to silver iodide for cloud seeding and potential bioinspired freezing technologies, with evolutionary ties to bacterial ice nucleators.
Researchers from BAS and KOPRI partially lowered instruments under Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier to study warm, subglacial waters; the mooring got stuck as the borehole refroze and time/weather forced an abandonment, but the team still obtained valuable measurements to inform future efforts.
British and South Korean scientists’ ambitious drill under Thwaites Glacier collapsed at the final step when the borehole refroze and entombed the instruments, forcing an abrupt end to a mission intended to install long‑term tidal‑water sensors. Earlier attempts did yield some preliminary measurements from beneath the glacier, revealing warm, turbulent waters that fuel its melt, but time and bad conditions prevented deployment of the moored instruments and completion of the study.
Weather delays finally allowed scientists to set up a field camp on Antarctica's fast-melting Thwaites Glacier. Over the coming weeks they will bore about half a mile into the ice to deploy instruments in the warming ocean beneath, seeking to understand how seawater is eroding the glacier and what its collapse could mean for global sea levels. The temporary camp includes ten single-occupancy tents, a science tent and two toilet tents after helicopter landings were previously blocked by clouds.
The Trump administration's plan to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research threatens to impair weather, wildfire, and climate research, risking public safety and hindering the ability to respond to extreme weather events, according to scientists and officials.
NOAA has launched new AI-driven weather models that significantly improve forecast speed and accuracy while reducing computational costs, enhancing weather prediction capabilities without replacing traditional models.
The White House has announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, citing concerns over climate alarmism, prompting strong opposition from Colorado officials and raising fears about impacts on weather research and public safety.
Trump officials plan to dismantle the global climate and weather forecasting system, which could impact international climate science and weather prediction efforts.