The consequences of climate change in the Alps are visible from space
Global warming has a particularly pronounced impact on the Alpine region. Like the Arctic, this European mountain range is becoming greener. Writing in the journal Science, researchers from the University of Lausanne and the University of Basel have now used satellite data to show that vegetation above the tree line has increased in nearly 80% […]
Large-scale ocean sanctuaries could protect coral reefs from climate change: About 75% of all tropical reefs have experienced coral bleaching
Earth’s oceans are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, but warming temperatures are causing many marine animals, including coral, to die out. A new study into managing the effect climate change has on these organisms says that more international collaboration is needed to ensure the future of the more than […]
Paris Climate Agreement goal still within reach, suggests new study
The Paris Climate Agreement goal to limit global warming this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) over pre-industrial temperatures is still within reach, while apocalyptic, worst-case scenarios are no longer plausible, suggests a new CU Boulder analysis. Out today in Environmental Research Letters, the new study finds that a subset of climate scenarios […]
Warmer soil stores less carbon
Global warming will cause the world’s soil to release carbon, new research shows. Scientists used data on more than 9,000 soil samples from around the world, and found that carbon storage “declines strongly” as average temperatures increase. This is an example of a “positive feedback,” where global warming causes more carbon to be released into […]
Warming Atlantic drives right whales towards extinction
Warming oceans have driven the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population from its traditional and protected habitat, exposing the animals to more lethal ship strikes, disastrous commercial fishing entanglements and greatly reduced calving rates. Without improving its management, the right whale populations will decline and potentially become extinct in the coming decades, according to […]