What is the source of mysterious methane emissions at Four Corners?

This is a joint release of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder), NOAA, NASA and the University of Michigan (U-M). A team of scientific investigators is now in the Four Corners region of the U.S. Southwest, aiming to uncover reasons for a mysterious methane …

How Long Can Oceans Continue To Absorb Earth’s Excess Heat?

For decades, the earth’s oceans have soaked up more than nine-tenths of the atmosphere’s excess heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions. By stowing that extra energy in their depths, oceans have spared the planet from feeling the full effects of humanity’s carbon overindulgence. But as those gases build in the air, an energy overload is rising below the waves. A raft of …

What’s Going On In The North Atlantic?

The North Atlantic between Newfoundland and Ireland is practically the only region of the world that has defied global warming and even cooled. Last winter there even was the coldest on record – while globally it was the hottest on record. Our recent study (Rahmstorf et al. 2015) attributes this to a weakening of the Gulf Stream System, which is …

Depaving Cities, Undamming Rivers—Here’s How We’re Undoing the Damage

Releasing the rivers The largest dam-removal project in history reached completion last fall, when excavators dredged the final tons of pulverized concrete from the Elwha River channel in Western Washington. Native fish, banished for 100 years from their historic spawning habitat, already were rediscovering the Elwha’s newly accessible upper stretches. Within weeks of the final explosion in August, threatened bull trout …

A Melting Arctic and Weird Weather: The Plot Thickens

Everyone loves to talk about the weather, and this winter Mother Nature has served up a feast to chew on. Few parts of the US have been spared her wrath. Severe drought and abnormally warm conditions continue in the west, with the first-ever rain-free January in San Francisco; bitter cold hangs tough over the upper Midwest and Northeast; and New England is …

Evolving to cope with climate change

Over the next two centuries, climate change is likely to impact everything from industrial agriculture to the shape of our coastlines. The changing climate will certainly cause huge changes around the world, and the challenge is to predict exactly what impact those changes will have. In the world of marine science, this means grappling with a process called ocean acidification. …

Obama Initiative Seeks to Get 4 Million Fourth Graders Exploring America’s Public Lands

With the backing of President Obama, the National Park Foundation has launched a new program encouraging kids to get outside to play, learn and explore. The initiative, Every Kid in a Park, seeks to connect 4 million fourth graders and their families to enjoy America’s public lands and waters. In their campaign message, they put the onus on adults by reminding them that—via our tax dollars—we actually …