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 …
New Nasa satellite measurements show that sea ice in the Arctic is more than just shrinking in area, it is dramatically thinning. The volume of older crucial sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk by 57% from the winter of 2004 to 2008. That
Vast amounts of carbon, about twice as much as contained in the atmosphere, are stored in the Arctic, according to a new study. The amount of carbon in the Arctic raises new concerns over the role of the northern regions as future sources of greenhouse gases. Carbon in permafrost is …
With their focus on greenhouse gases, atmospheric scientists have largely overlooked lowly soot particles. But black carbon is now a hot topic among researchers and politicians. Jeff Tollefson investigates.
This latest report is on Arctic and the Antractic under assault from the impacts of rapidly accelerating climate change, from increased industrialisation; and from the unchecked consumption of our planet's resources. The Arctic and the Antarctic: two of the greatest wilderness areas on Earth, with ecosystems vital to the functioning …
Arctic nations are promising to avoid new "Cold War" scrambles linked to climate change, but military activity is stirring in a polar region where a thaw may allow oil and gas exploration or new shipping routes. The six nations around the Arctic Ocean are promising to cooperate on challenges such …
Permafrost thaw and microbial decomposition is considered one of the most likely positive climate feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere in a warmer world, but the rate of carbon release from permafrost soil remains highly uncertain. Here, net ecosystem carbon exchange is measured in a tundra landscape undergoing permafrost …
A rise in concentrations of a powerful greenhouse gas over the Arctic after a decade of stability is stirring worries about a possible thaw of vast stores trapped in permafrost, experts said. Levels of methane in the atmosphere rose 0.6 percent in 2008, according to preliminary data from the Zeppelin …
Experts Worry Melting Permafrost May Release More Gas Oslo: A rise in concentrations of a powerful greenhouse gas over the Arctic after a decade of stability is stirring worries about a possible thaw of vast stores trapped in permafrost, experts said. Levels of methane in the atmosphere rose 0.6% in …
A team of British adventurers measuring ice conditions in the Canadian Arctic said on Wednesday they did not find the thicker, older ice that scientists expected to be there. Instead they found only the thinner, predominantly first-year ice that is likely to melt in summer months, in what could be …
The Obama administration said on Friday it will keep a Bush-era rule that weakens protection for polar bears' icy habitat and plays down links between the threatened status of the species and climate change. "Seeing the polar bear's habitat melting and an iconic species threatened is an environmental tragedy of …
A $500 million North Atlantic shrimp fishery may be vulnerable to climate change that could disrupt the crustaceans' life cycle and mislead them into hatching when food is scarce, scientists said. Any damage to stocks of the northern shrimp -- a small, sweet-tasting variety popular in salads -- could have …
A thaw of the Arctic linked to global warming may slow a drive to get rid of industrial chemicals that are harming indigenous people and wildlife, an expert said on Monday. About 150 nations are meeting in Geneva this week to consider adding nine chemicals, including pesticides and flame retardants, …
Experts and officials from some 150 countries started talks on Monday on banning production of nine chemicals considered potentially dangerous but still used in farming and for other commercial purposes. If agreement is reached at the week-long meeting, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the nine …
In recent decades, the Arctic has undergone major environmental, socio-economic and political changes. The rapid loss of Arctic ice is having negative consequences on northern communities and lifestyles, on iconic species such as the polar bear, and is altering the ecology of the Arctic ocean and the permafrost lands. With …
The global oceans community is very thankful to the Government of Indonesia for hosting the World Ocean Conference 2009 to put the limelight on the relationship between climate change and oceans, coasts, and small island developing States (SIDS). The political consensus that will be reached by governmental representatives in issuing …
The Arctic Council, a forum for climate issues and environmental protection, agreed on close and increased cooperation in carrying out research on the Arctic and identified a number of measures, including a binding guideline for ship operation and revising the guidelines for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic. The …
Arctic nations agreed on Wednesday to crack down on soot that is darkening ice around the North Pole and hastening a thaw that they also blamed on global warming. The eight-member Arctic Council, ending a two-day meeting in Norway, also snubbed requests by China, Italy, South Korea and the European …
