Science Daily

Arctic sea ice helps keep Earth cool, as its bright surface reflects the Sun's energy back into space.

Substances used to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) may be just as problematic as their predecessors, a new study shows.

A study shows evidence vital to understanding human prehistory beneath the seas in places that were dry during the Last Glacial Maximum. This paper informs one of the 'hottest mysteries' in science: the debate over when the first Asians peopled North America.

A research team has developed a way to use satellite images to determine the amount of methane being released from northern lakes, a technique that could help climate change modelers better account for this potent greenhouse gas. By using synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, researchers were able to find a correlation between 'brighter' satellite images of frozen lakes and the amount of methane they produce.

Scientists found that the global mean sea-level rise could exceed 1 meter by 2100 and 5 meters by 2300 if global targets on emissions are not achieved.

Over the past quarter-century, changes in Antarctic sea-ice cover have had profound impacts on life on the ocean floor.

Global warming is approaching a tipping point that during this century could reawaken an ancient climate pattern similar to El Niño in the Indian Ocean, new research has found.

New study indicates the increase in rainfall forecast by global climate models is likely to hasten the release of carbon dioxide from tropical soils, further intensifying global warming by adding to human emissions of this greenhouse gas into Earth's atmosphere.

Global warming has affected the entire planet's surface, except for one particular area of the ocean, which has bucked the trend. A research team has unraveled the causes of this conundrum.

A new study shows that coastal sea ice used by Arctic residents for hunting and fishing will be reduced as the planet warms.

Using the most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument NASA has ever flown in space, scientists have made precise, detailed measurements of how the elevation of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years.

For years, geologists have debated how and when canyons under the Greenland Ice Sheet formed, especially one called 'Greenland's Grand Canyon.' Its shape suggests it was carved by running water and glaciers, but until now its genesis remained unknown, scientists say.

By comparing new measurements from NASA's ICESat-2 mission with the original ICESat mission, which operated from 2003 to 2009, scientists were able to measure precisely how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years.

A new study from climate researchers concludes that some of the latest-generation climate models may be overly sensitive to carbon dioxide increases and therefore project future warming that is unrealistically high.

On the evening of 5 August 2013, a startling event occurred deep in the remote interior of the United States' largest national park. A half-kilometer-long tongue of Alaska's Flat Creek glacier suddenly broke off, unleashing a torrent of ice and rock that rushed 11 kilometers down a rugged mountain valley into the wilderness encompassed by Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

A new study shows that plant materials originating in Arctic sea ice are significantly incorporated into marine food webs that are used for subsistence in local communities of the greater Bering Strait region. The research has the potential to demonstrate the importance of sea ice ecosystems as a source of food in Arctic waters in Alaska and beyond.

Scientists have simulated conditions along potential routes for the MOSAiC polar expedition, using today's conditions in the 'new Arctic.' The results suggest that thinner sea ice may carry the ship farther than would be expected compared to historical conditions and the sea ice around the ship may melt earlier than the 12-month goal.

Over-reliance on promises of new technology to solve climate change is enabling delay, say researchers. They argue instead for cultural, social and political transformation to enable widespread deployment of both behavioral and technological responses to climate change.

The Arctic Ocean in summer will very likely be ice free before 2050, at least temporally, according to new research. The efficacy of climate-protection measures will determine how often and for how long.

Last year was one of the worst years on record for the Greenland ice sheet, which shrunk by hundreds of billions of tons. According to a new study, that mind-boggling ice loss wasn't caused by warm temperatures alone; the new study identifies exceptional atmospheric circulation patterns that contributed in a major way to the ice sheet's rapid loss of mass.