Tag Archives: Journal of Geophysical Research

New study: Recent drought eastern Mediterranean (Levant, incl. Syria) worst since Middle Ages, but complicated story

Droughts, or rather ‘air subsidence, hence low precipitation and high evaporation’ belong to the subtropics – therefore much of North Africa and the Middle East is covered by (semi) desert. What is a concern though, is possible further drying due … Continue reading →

Extremophile bacteria found living on South American volcanoes

South American volcano in Atacama regionResearchers who were looking for organisms that eke out a living in some of the most inhospitable soils on Earth have found a hardy few. A new DNA analysis of rocky soils in the martian-like landscape on some volcanoes in South America has revealed a handful of bacteria, fungi, and other rudimentary organisms, called archaea, which seem to have a different way of converting energy than their cousins elsewhere in the world.

Continue reading →

Natural and human-made CO2 differentiation possible thanks to new monitoring technique

A large diversity of gasses in the atmosphere influence air quality, climate change and the recovery of the ozone layer. Measuring the concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere is quite straightforward. But pinpointing wether the gasses are a natural … Continue reading →

Today´s paradox: European cold winters associated with Arctic warming – and positive(!) AO

Warming in the Arctic would increase the chance of cold winters in Europe and parts of North America and Asia. There have now been three consecutive studies that reach this conclusion in as many years. That means it is about … Continue reading →

Climate models underestimate Arctic melting – ice dynamics feedback not taken into account

Yes, indeed, we’re a couple of days late bringing you the news. But this could be an important update to our Arctic melting coverage. It’s feedback-driven (after all), American and French researchers say.

Houston may have a problem, other coastal cities likely do not

A new US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) urbanisation versus wind-driven pollution study does not make much sense -on a global scale- to us, mere science writers, who however by accident were raised by a couple of wild meteorologists … Continue reading →

NASA: temperature is all about CO2

Two new studies by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies help improve basic quantitative understanding of the Earth’s greenhouse system. The one, ‘CO2: The Thermostat that Controls Earth’s Temperature’, is a Goddard climate model based study (lead-author Andrew Lacis) to … Continue reading →