Futurity.org » greenhouse gas

Tree rings fail to capture climate after volcanos

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:16:11 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — Some climate cooling caused by past volcanic eruptions may not be evident in tree-ring reconstructions of temperature change, a new study suggests.

Large enough temperature drops lead to greatly shortened or even absent growing seasons, according to climate researchers who compared tree-ring temperature reconstructions with model simulations of past temperature changes.

“We know these tree rings capture most temperature changes quite well,” says Michael Mann, professor of meteorology and geosciences at Penn State. “But the problem appears to be in their response to the intense short-term cooling that occurs following a very large volcanic eruption.

Charge the electric car while you drive

Mark Shwartz-Stanford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:28:24 +0000

STANFORD (US) — New technology could lead to wireless charging of electric vehicles while they cruise down the highway.

The long-term goal of the high-efficiency charging system—that uses magnetic fields to transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet apart—is to dramatically increasing the driving range of electric cars and trucks and develop an all-electric highway.

Ocean sensors gauge pH on global scale

Gail Gallessich-UC Santa Barbara — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:16:53 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A team of researchers has reported results from the broadest worldwide study of ocean acidification—or pH level—to date.

Acidification is known to be a direct result of the increasing amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The University of California, Santa Barbara, scientists used sensors to measure the acidity of 15 ocean locations, including seawater in the Antarctic and in temperate and tropical waters.

With less hail, flood risk may rise in Rockies

Jim Scott CU-Boulder — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +0000

U. COLORADO-BOULDER (US) — Climate changes may mean summertime hail could disappear from the eastern flank of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains by 2070, a new study shows.

While less hail damage could be good news for gardeners and farmers, a shift from hail to rain can also mean more runoff, which could raise the risk of flash floods.

No real warming from urban ‘heat island’

Louis Bergeron-Stanford — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:02:02 +0000

STANFORD (US) — The urban ‘heat island’ effect contributes less than 5 percent to overall global warming, far less than greenhouse gas or black carbon, new research shows.

The study also finds that if all the roofs in urban areas were painted white, warming would increase, not decrease, as previously believed.

Autumn predicts fate of summer sea ice

Vince Stricherz-UW — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:42:39 +0000

U. WASHINGTON (US) — Relatively accurate predictions for the extent of Arctic sea ice in a given summer can be made by assessing conditions the previous autumn—but only to a point.

A new study finds that forecasting conditions more than five years into the future depends on understanding the impact of climate trends on the ice pack. Eventually those trends overtake current conditions as the primary influence on sea ice’s overall predictability.

Keep grasses to avoid carbon debt

Layne Cameron-Michigan State — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:37:57 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Converting natural cover to corn or soybeans for the production of biofuels will come at a high carbon cost—even when care is taken to protect soil by using no-till cultivation.

A new study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and its influence on carbon debt.

U.S. shale dulls Russian ‘energy weapon’

David Ruth-Rice — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:25:33 +0000

RICE (US) — Increased natural gas production from shale in the United States will slash Russia’s ability to hold power over European customers dependent on the country for their energy needs.

A new Baker Institute study says that by 2040, Russia’s natural gas market share in Western Europe will be as low as 13 percent, down from 27 percent in 2009.

Nixing nuclear plants will strain system

Shilo Raube-Carnegie Mellon — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:10:08 +0000

CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — Curtailing nuclear power will put undue stress on the supply and cost of electricity, while increasing air pollution, carbon emissions, and the reliance on fossil fuels
.

In response to the March earthquake and tsunami that destroyed nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Japan, Germany has decided to shutdown all nine of its nuclear power plants by 2022, and Switzerland will shutdown all five of its plants by 2032.

Dung debate: Most methane from cows?

Richard Ashby-Leeds — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:12:25 +0000

U. LEEDS (UK) — A compound in feces may be developed as a biomarker to estimate how much methane is produced by cows and other animals.

“When it comes to calculating carbon budgets there is currently a lot of uncertainty surrounding animal methane contributions, particularly from wild ruminants,” says Fiona Gill of the University of Leeds.