Science Daily

Thunderstorms directly above two of the world's busiest shipping lanes are significantly more powerful than storms in areas of the ocean where ships don't travel, according to new research.

The first observation of sea level 'fingerprints' -- tell-tale differences in sea level rise around the world in response to changes in continental water and ice sheet mass -- has been reported by researchers.

Quantitative analysis has evidenced the acceleration system of melting ice: dark water surfaces absorb more heat than white ice surfaces, thus melting ice and making more water surfaces in the Arctic Ocean.

Relatively little is known about the effects of extreme negative pressure on water molecules. Exploring a significant region of negative pressure through molecular dynamic simulations, researchers have now theoretically discovered a new family of ice phases. Called aeroices, these ices have the lowest density of all known ice crystals.

Many tropical or subtropical regions could see increases in naturally occurring temperature variability as Earth warms over coming decades, a new study suggests. These local changes could occur even though Earth's global mean surface temperature variability will likely decrease because of less solar reflection from icecaps at high latitudes.

New findings document a 192-year series of volcanic eruptions in Antarctica that coincided with accelerated deglaciation about 17,700 years ago.

Researchers have warned of an 'urgent worldwide need' to address a broad spectrum of cascading impacts of glacier mass loss on downstream systems.

The sudden, unexpected nosedive in Antarctic sea ice last year was due to a unique one-two punch from atmospheric conditions both in the tropical Pacific Ocean and around the South Pole.

The American pika, a small mammal adapted to high altitudes and cold temperatures, has died out from a 165-square-mile span of habitat in California's northern Sierra Nevada mountains, and the cause appears to be climate change. Researchers surveyed pika habitat throughout the north Lake Tahoe area and found that pikas had disappeared from an area that stretches from near Tahoe City to Truckee, more than 10 miles away, and includes Mount Pluto.

Scientists sampled a pile of frozen pelts left in a hut by Antarctic explorers for Weddell seal tissue from a century ago, at the very start of human activities in Antarctica. By using sophisticated isotope analysis to compare samples from modern and century-old seals, they were able to investigate human impacts on the Antarctic ecosystem.

Temperatures in the Arctic are currently climbing two to three times faster than the global average. The result is dwindling sea ice. Climate researchers now show that, in the course of our planet's history, summertime sea ice was to be found in the central Arctic in periods characterized by higher global temperatures -- but less CO2 -- than today.

The Great Barrier Reef, and most other large reefs around the world, owe their bulk in large part to a type of red algae that grows on corals and strengthens them. New research has found that ancient coral reefs were also bolstered by their bond with red algae, a finding that could help scientists better understand how reefs will respond to climate change.

A team of researchers spent seven weeks in Antarctica collecting and studying 2,000-pound samples of glacial ice cores that date back nearly 12,000 years. The ancient air trapped within the ice revealed surprising new data about methane that may help inform today's policymakers as they consider ways to reduce global warming.

Shelf ice, as found in Antarctica, refers to giant floating ice sheets that can span thousands of square kilometres. Pieces break off at their edges which form icebergs in the ocean. In order to more effectively predict these break-offs, in a process known as calving, a research team has developed mathematical models. On the basis of physical factors, it is claimed that these models can be used to predict when and where the ice may collapse. This is important particularly for research teams situated on the ice shelf.

Ice cores from Denali and Mount Logan offer insight into global climate connections and the history on intensifying storms.

The last ice age transition to a warmer climate some 11,500 years ago did not include massive methane flux from marine sediments or the tundra, new research suggests. Instead, the likely source of rising levels of atmospheric methane was from tropical wetlands, authors of the new study say.

Plate tectonics has shaped the Earth's surface for billions of years: Continents and oceanic crust have pushed and pulled on each other, continually rearranging the planet's façade. As two massive plates collide, one can give way and slide under the other in a process called subduction. The subducted slab then slips down through the Earth's viscous mantle, like a flat stone through a pool of honey.

Researchers have studied satellite photographs of Lake Catalina, an ice-dammed lake in East Greenland -- and were truly amazed: Unnoticed by science as well as people living in the area, the lake has been the source of four major outburst floods over the last 50 years -- each representing an astounding mass of energy, equaling up to 240 Hiroshima-bombs, report investigators.

Methane hydrate under the ocean floor was assumed to be very sensitive to increasing ocean temperatures. But a new study shows that short term warming of the Arctic ocean barely affects it.

Using the most precise seafloor maps ever created of Antarctica's Ross Sea, researchers have discovered a long-dead river system that once flowed beneath Antarctica's ice and influenced how ice streams melted after Earth's last ice age.