Tag Archives: Science

Oceans acidifying faster today than in past 300 million years


An international research with Spanish research members alerts of the unprecedented characteristics of changes in marine chemistry happening in the near future.

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Nanotech helps make plastics without oil

Nearly all chemical products ranging from antifreeze and medicine to plastics and paint are currently made from petroleum. But since it became apparent that the petroleum supply was not as reliable and unending as many had hoped, several techniques have … Continue reading →

When the ice goes, so does the rainforest – boreal warming linked to Amazon droughts

We knew there must have been a connection between climate warming and damaging droughts in the world’s largest rainforest, as the two globally hottest years on record (2005 and 2010) coincide with the two record droughts in the Amazon – … Continue reading →

Today’s paradox: global warming may offset Criegee cooling

And that’s not quite the same as having things the other way around. If you see Criegee biradicals as silver bullet, remember they are already constantly being fired up…

No more ‘horror winters’ for Europe – not for several years ahead – and indeed also not this year

Extremely cold winters for Europe persisting for several months are very rare. The last one to fit the definition occurred in 1963, almost half a century ago. Still many weather forecasters and media seem inclined (as again happened this year) … Continue reading →

Droughts in Horn of Africa have been common for last 20,000 years

This year’s catastrophic drought in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia is thought to be an indirect consequence of the 2010-2011 La Niña. As part of ENSO cycles such droughts come and go – and have been typical for the region … Continue reading →

Drop in CO2 heralded the onset of Antarctic glaciation

For about 100 million years all sorts of animals roamed the then subtropical North and South poles. But then suddenly some 34 million years ago during the Eocene everything changed when temperatures fell dramatically in only a 100,000 year timespan, … Continue reading →

Marine biodiversity driven by environmental changes

Our most important source for knowledge about past life is the fossil record. But how exact is it in telling us about the history of life? According to a new study in Science the evolution of marine life over the … Continue reading →