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Researchers discover a cause of rapid ice melting in Greenland

Science Daily - Mon, 05/08/2023 - 18:05
While conducting a study of Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland, researchers uncovered a previously unseen way in which the ice and ocean interact. The glaciologists said their findings could mean that the climate community has been vastly underestimating the magnitude of future sea level rise caused by polar ice deterioration.

Pollen production could impact climate change by helping clouds form

Science Daily - Mon, 05/08/2023 - 14:09
For millions of people with seasonal allergies, springtime means runny noses, excessive sneezes and itchy eyes. And, as with many things, climate change appears to be making allergy season even worse. Researchers have now shown that common allergen-producing plants ryegrass and ragweed emit more smaller, 'subpollen particles' (SPPs) than once thought, yet climate would likely be most affected by their intact pollen grains, which can boost cloud formation.

Vanishing glaciers threaten alpine biodiversity

Science Daily - Thu, 05/04/2023 - 10:18
With glaciers melting at unprecedented rates due to climate change, invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps will face widespread habitat loss, warn researchers. Many of the species are likely to become restricted to cold habitats that will only persist higher in the mountains, and these areas are also likely to see pressures from the skiing and tourism industries or from the development of hydroelectric plants.

Researchers discover that the ice cap is teeming with microorganisms

Science Daily - Tue, 05/02/2023 - 08:03
Greenlandic ice is teeming with life, both on the surface and underneath. There are microscopic organisms that until recently science had no idea existed. There is even evidence to suggest that the tiny creatures color the ice and make it melt faster.

West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated far inland, re-advanced since last Ice Age

Science Daily - Mon, 05/01/2023 - 13:30
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting rapidly, raising concerns it could cross a tipping point of irreversible retreat in the next few decades if global temperatures rise 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. New research finds that 6,000 years ago, the grounded edge of the ice sheet may have been as far as 250 kilometers (160 miles) inland from its current location, suggesting the ice retreated deep into the continent after the end of the last ice age and re-advanced before modern retreat began.

The future is foggy for Arctic shipping

Science Daily - Thu, 04/27/2023 - 16:35
As the Arctic warms and loses sea ice, trans-Arctic shipping has increased, reducing travel time and costs for international trade. However, a new study finds that the Arctic Ocean is getting foggier as ice disappears, reducing visibility and causing costly delays as ships slow to avoid hitting dangerous sea ice.

Massive iceberg discharges during the last ice age had no impact on nearby Greenland, raising new questions about climate dynamics

Science Daily - Mon, 04/24/2023 - 12:35
New findings suggest that Heinrich Events had no discernible impact on temperatures in Greenland, which could have repercussions for scientists' understanding of past climate dynamics.

Arctic ice algae heavily contaminated with microplastics

Science Daily - Fri, 04/21/2023 - 08:21
The alga Melosira arctica, which grows under Arctic sea ice, contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater. This concentration at the base of the food web poses a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface. Clumps of dead algae also transport the plastic with its pollutants particularly quickly into the deep sea -- and can thus explain the high microplastic concentrations in the sediment there.

Puerto Rico tsunami deposit could have come from pre-Columbian megathrust earthquake

Science Daily - Thu, 04/20/2023 - 16:16
Tsunami deposits identified in a coastal mangrove pond in Northwest Puerto Rico could have come from a megathrust earthquake at the Puerto Rico Trench that occurred between 1470 and 1530, according to new research.

Greenhouse gas release from permafrost is influenced by mineral binding processes

Science Daily - Thu, 04/20/2023 - 12:53
New insights into the binding of carbon to mineral particles in permafrost can improve the prediction of greenhouse gas release.

Polar ice sheet melting records have toppled during the past decade

Science Daily - Thu, 04/20/2023 - 07:07
The seven worst years for polar ice sheets melting and losing ice have occurred during the past decade, according to new research, with 2019 being the worst year on record. The seven worst years for polar ice sheets melting and losing ice have occurred during the past decade, according to new research, with 2019 being the worst year on record. The melting ice sheets now account for a quarter of all sea level rise -- a fivefold increase since the 1990's -- according to researchers who have combined 50 satellite surveys of Antarctica and Greenland taken between 1992 and 2020, funded by NASA and the European Space Agency.

A once-stable glacier in Greenland is now rapidly disappearing

Science Daily - Wed, 04/19/2023 - 11:51
As climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise, one of Greenland's previously most stable glaciers is now retreating at an unprecedented rate, according to a new study.

The diversity of present tree species is shaped by climate change in the last 21,000 years

Science Daily - Tue, 04/18/2023 - 13:24
A new global survey of 1000 forest areas shows how climate change since the peak of the last ice age has had a major impact on the diversity and distribution of tree species we see today. The results can help us predict how ecosystems will react to future changes, thus having an impact on conservation management around the globe.

Nullarbor rocks reveal Australia's transformation from lush to dust

Science Daily - Tue, 04/18/2023 - 09:14
Researchers have discovered how long ago the Australian Nullarbor plain dried out, with a new approach shedding light on how ancient climate change altered some of the driest regions of our planet.

Less ice, fewer calling seals

Science Daily - Mon, 04/17/2023 - 13:25
For several years, a team of researchers used underwater microphones to listen for seals at the edge of the Antarctic. Their initial findings indicate that sea-ice retreat has had significant effects on the animals' behavior: when the ice disappears, areas normally full of vocalizations become very quiet.

As rising temperatures affect Alaskan rivers, effects ripple through Indigenous communities

Science Daily - Tue, 04/11/2023 - 18:59
Six decades of river gage data gathered from nine rivers in Alaska highlight the cumulative and consequential impacts of climate change for local communities and ecosystems in the Arctic.

Researchers correlate Arctic warming to extreme winter weather in midlatitude and its future

Science Daily - Wed, 04/05/2023 - 10:21
A warmer Arctic has been linked to extreme winter weather in the midlatitude regions. But, it is not clear how global warming affects this link. In a new study, researchers show, using weather data and climate models, that while the 'Warm Arctic-Cold Continent' pattern will continue as the climate continues to warm, Arctic warming will become a less reliable predictor of extreme winter weather in the future.

Ice sheets can collapse faster than previously thought possible

Science Daily - Wed, 04/05/2023 - 10:21
Ice sheets can retreat up to 600 meters a day during periods of climate warming, 20 times faster than the highest rate of retreat previously measured. An international team of researchers used high-resolution imagery of the seafloor to reveal just how quickly a former ice sheet that extended from Norway retreated at the end of the last Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago.

The unexpected contribution of medieval monks to volcanology

Science Daily - Wed, 04/05/2023 - 10:21
By observing the night sky, medieval monks unwittingly recorded some of history's largest volcanic eruptions. An international team of researchers drew on readings of 12th and 13th century European and Middle Eastern chronicles, along with ice core and tree ring data, to accurately date some of the biggest volcanic eruptions the world has ever seen. Their results uncover new information about one of the most volcanically active periods in Earth's history, which some think helped to trigger the Little Ice Age, a long interval of cooling that saw the advance of European glaciers.

Warming Arctic draws marine predators northwards

Science Daily - Tue, 04/04/2023 - 10:41
Marine predators have expanded their ranges into the Arctic waters over the last twenty years, driven by climate change and associated increases in productivity.

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