Global warming

The Dramatic Expanse of Antarctica’s Noctilucent Clouds

It’s summer at the South Pole, which means it’s time for the frozen continent’s noctilucent clouds to make an appearance. But over the last several decades, these beautiful electric blue clouds have been appearing earlier than usual — and they’re getting bigger. It’s yet another example of climate change at work. Noctilucent clouds, or NLCs,…

A huge reservoir of meltwater has been discovered beneath Greenland

Scientists working in Greenland have discovered an extensive aquifer of meltwater that sits under the Greenland ice sheet all year round — but it’s not known if this reservoir, which is about the size of Ireland, will ever make its way to the ocean. Meltwater pouring off from Greenland’s extensive ice sheets is a known…

Chemists discover a greenhouse gas that’s 7,100 times worse than CO2

Scientists from the University of Toronto have discovered a human-made chemical lurking in the atmosphere that’s an exceptionally long-lived greenhouse gas. Called perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), it’s a record-setting molecule that if left unchecked could have a profound impact on climate. Perfluorotributylamine, which has been in use by the electrical industry since the mid-2oth century, is the…

Once we start geohacking, we won’t be able to stop

Desperate times call for desperate measures, which is why geoengineering could save the world from the catastrophic effects of climate change. But a new study suggests that once we get started we won’t be able to stop — and that a sudden halt to our geoengineering efforts could be worse than never doing it in…

Skeptical climate blog shamefully downplays Super Typhoon Haiyan

Before the numbers were even in, the science denialist blog Watts Up With That began downplaying the size, strength, wind speeds, overall effects — and even death toll of Super Typhoon Haiyan — a ferocious storm that may have claimed as many as 10,000 lives. https://gizmodo.com/welcome-to-the-age-of-the-superstorm-1460773814 Above: Super Typhoon Haiyan as seen from space. Credit:…

Welcome to the Age of the Superstorm

Almost exactly one year after Hurricane Sandy hit the U.S. eastern seaboard, the strongest typhoon in recorded history has slammed into the Philippines. That’s two superstorms in two years. It’s the new normal, folks — and climate change is likely to blame. https://gizmodo.com/is-frankenstorm-the-result-of-climate-change-scientist-5955609 “Super Typhoon” Haiyan swept through the Philippines last night. Officials haven’t been…

The effects of global warming have reached even the ocean deep. New analyses – published in the latest issue of Science – reveal that water temperatures a kilometer below the surface of the Pacific Ocean have warmed 15 times faster in the last 60 years than at any time in the last 10,000. [New Scientist]

Watch NASA’s Predictions About Climate Change for the Next 87 Years

News alert! The world is going to get hotter. NASA combined dozens of climate models from around the world to estimate temperature and precipitation patterns for the next 87 years. That’ll get us right to the year 2100. There are a lot of fascinating changes. NASA describes the climate model: To produce visualizations that show…

How Much Global Warming Will Happen Before You Kick The Bucket?

On Friday the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put its collective foot down about global warming. It’s happening and it’s our fault. But as with any issue that affects all of humanity, the most important question is what’s gonna happen to you? Will you have to give up air conditioning? Will the song “White…

IPCC Report: Humans are the ‘dominant cause’ of global warming

Our climate is changing, no doubt about it. The festering controversy we’re in has been about whether humans have anything to do with it. A comprehensive report by a UN-sponsored climate panel may now finally put the issue to rest — and we’re most certainly to blame. Top image: Global Patterns of Carbon Dioxide. Credit:…

This map shows the regions of Earth most vulnerable to climate change

Scientists from Stanford University and the Wildlife Conservation Society in Australia have produced a map illustrating the global distribution of climate instability. Above image: Regions with both high climate and vegetation stability are shown in dark grey. Those regions with high climate stability but low levels of vegetation intactness are shown in dark orange. And…

Why Apples Don’t Taste as Delicious Anymore

Fuji apples were, once upon a time, objectively and irrefutably the most delicious apples you could sink your teeth into—anyone who said otherwise was either a liar or a witch. These days, though, Fuji apples just aren’t quite hitting the spot like they used to, and we might never see them reach their former glory…

This polar bear starved to death thanks to global warming

This emaciated polar bear, a 16 year-old male, was recently found over 150 miles away from its normal range. Experts believe that a lack of sea ice forced the bear into unknown territory as it desperately searched for food — a quest that came to a grim conclusion. Polar bears primarily feed on seals and…

Earth will turn into a Venus-like hell earlier than previously thought

A new study from the University of Victoria is suggesting that our atmosphere is far more susceptible to a runaway greenhouse effect than previously assumed. The culprit here is the sun and its ever-increasing level of activity. Our planet has attained a delicate state of equilibrium in which it releases or blocks as much incoming…

Shocking pictures show North Pole covered in water

An especially hot summer has melted the snow atop the North Pole, leaving a green, watery lake around the pole’s marker. Almost half the North Pole’s snow cover has melted since May. Santa Claus could use a kayak this year as an early Christmas present.

Meltwater has turned the North Pole into a pond

Yes, this is a photo of the North Pole — and it’s under water. But the dramatic scene is not as alarming as you might think. This wide-angle image from the North Pole Environmental Observatory has been making the rounds on a number of blogs and science sites right now, but it’s not anything scientists…

America’s present heat wave is so big you can see it from space

If you live anywhere on the eastern half of the United States, you’ve probably been sweating it out over the past several days in what certainly feels like the warmest week yet for the season. The cause of the oppressive weather? A large mid-level ridge centered over the Ohio Valley — large enough to be…

Here’s what 25 feet of sea-level rise would do to the U.S. west coast

A few months ago, Pittsburgh artist Nickolay Lamm that revealed what 25 feet of sea level rise might look like at a variety of East Coast tourist destinations. Now, Lamm is back with more visions of America’s watery future – but this time he’s focused on the country’s Pacific coastline. Above: San Diego’s Coronado Island…

Is Discovering Global Warming Our Greatest Scientific Achievement?

There are some very smart people on this planet we call Earth and they’ve all done some very smart things to help us understand the world better. Isaac Newton. Charles Darwin. Albert Einstein. No name scientists. Commenters of the Internet. We have them to thank. But of all the discoveries and accomplishments, is finding out…

130 years of global temperature data, converted to music

By using global temperature data collected since 1880 and charting it to music, University of Minnesota undergrad Daniel Crawford has composed a unique cello piece he calls “A Song of Our Warming Planet.” “Climate scientists have a standard tool box to communicate their data,” Crawford explains in the video above. “What we’re trying to do…