This is the 33rd issuance of the annual assessment now known as State of the Climate, published in the Bulletin since 1996. As a supplement to the Bulletin, its foremost function is to document the status and trajectory of many components of the climate system. However, as a series, the …
The Arctic is responding more rapidly to global warming than most other areas on our planet. Northward-flowing Atlantic Water is the major means of heat advection toward the Arctic and strongly affects the sea ice distribution. Records of its natural variability are critical for the understanding of feedback mechanisms and …
On the basis of projected losses of their essential sea-ice habitats, a United States Geological Survey research team concluded in 2007 that two-thirds of the world
A federal judge ordered the Obama administration on October 20 to review whether polar bears, at risk because of global warming, are endangered under U.S. law. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan wants the Interior Department to clarify a decision by the administration of former President George W. Bush that polar …
Ice cover in the Arctic has declined to its third lowest point this summer, scientists have found and predicted that within next 20-30 years the region will be ice-free in summers. Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) in Colorado who came out with the disturbing figures …
The Arctic Report Card tracks recent environmental changes throughout the Arctic, and is updated annually. In 2010, it is clear that the Arctic is experiencing the impacts of a prolonged and amplified warming trend, highlighted with many record-setting events. Not surprisingly, the impact of this warming is most evident in …
Biological diversity of the 72% of our planet covered by seawater is crucial to global resource security, ecosystem function and services, and climate dynamics. Current and future trends in marine biodiversity remain an important element to be fully assessed by the international community. It would be valuable to understand where …
International efforts to protect the ozone layer-the shield that protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays-are a success and have stopped additional ozone losses and contributed to mitigating the greenhouse effect. The executive summary of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2010 provides new information about the …
On 27 May 2010, with crude oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig, the Obama administration announced it would pause offshore drilling plans in the Arctic Ocean, one of the planet’s most pristine ecosystems. Hailed by environmental groups, the decision was …
Air pollution can cause a widespread haze in the Arctic. A study of the lower atmosphere there suggests that haze particles might take up free radicals, and so extend the lifetime of air pollutants in the region.
The judge said the record reflected missing information about the Chukchi Sea environment and effects of lease sale on wildlife A US Washington, July 22: A US judge ordered a halt to offshore oil and gas drilling off the north coast of Alaska for a new environmental review. Federal Judge …
London: The world is on course for the hottest year since records began in 1880 after record-breaking temperatures in four of the first six months of the year, according to meteorologists. The first six months of 2010 brought a string of warmest-ever global temperatures
Arctic New York, June 17: Arctic sea ice melted 50 per cent faster than the average rate during May 2010, with combined global land and ocean surface temperature being the warmest on record for the period from January-May, studies have suggested. Research at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration …
Washington: Arctic sea ice is at its record low in the recent geologic history, says an international study. The first comprehensive history of Arctic ice, carried out by a team of scientists from five countries, found that the recent retreat is the worst in thousands of years.
The primary goal of the annual State of the Climate collection of articles is to document the weather and climate events in 2009 from around the world and put them into accurate historical perspective, with a particular focus on unusual or anomalous events. In total, 37 Essential Climate Variables were …
THE soil-to-air cycle of carbon dioxide or, more precisely, soil respiration is a major source of carbon dioxide emission. The soil is likely to respire even faster in future as temperatures rise due to global warming. Plants photosynthesize during the day and produce oxygen from carbon dioxide. At night a …
Climate change does not occur uniformly around the world: instead, in a process called polar amplification, the Arctic warms more rapidly than the tropics or mid-latitudes. Recent work published in Nature suggested that upper-atmospheric transport processes accounted for much of the recent polar amplification, but this conclusion proved controversial. Using …
