Study Discovers Why Global Warming Will Accelerate As CO2 Levels Rise

Global warming is likely to speed up as the Earth becomes increasingly more sensitive to atmospheric CO? concentrations, scientists from the University of Reading have warned.

In a new study, published this week in the prestigious journal PNAS, the scientists explain that the influence of increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 on global warming will become more severe over time because the patterns of warming of the Earth’s surface will lead to reduced cloud cover in some sensitive regions and less heat being able to escape into space.

Eruption Clues: UNH Researchers Create Snapshot of Volcano Plumbing

Much like a forensic team recreates a scene to determine how a crime was committed, researchers at the University of New Hampshire are using scientific sleuthing to better understand the journey of magma, or molten rock, in one of Europe’s largest and most active volcanos, Mount Etna. Researchers applied several techniques, in a new way, to create a more accurate picture of the volcano’s plumbing system and how quickly the magma rises to the top to cause an eruption. Their findings contribute to our understanding of how and when volcanoes erupt.

Action Plan To Boost Women's Input On Climate Change

The 23rd UN Conference of the Parties on climate change (COP23) that took place in Bonn this month (November 6—17) took a step forward on emphasising the role of women in the global fight against climate change by adopting a gender action plan (GAP). 

Higher Plant Species Richness May Not Be Enough To Protect Ecosystems From The Worst Impacts Of Climate Extremes

Studies on mild fluctuations in weather have provided support for the idea that higher biodiversity results in more stable functioning of ecosystems, but critical appraisal of the evidence from extreme event studies is lacking.

Stanford researchers test public receptiveness to different wind energy turbines

With global carbon emissions on the rise, wind power continues to be an attractive option for states and countries looking to limit fossil fuel use and increase renewable energy. Wind already accounts for over 5 percent of electricity generation in the United States. However, a number of issues plague the low-carbon energy source, such as complaints from nearby residents about noise and the killing of hundreds of thousands of birds and bats each year that collide with turbine blades.

Call For Workers to Rise Up

James Cook University study has found nearly three quarters of office workers believe there is a negative relationship between sitting down all day at work and their health - and that bosses are crucial to helping solve the problem.

UBC Okanagan Researchers Discover Neurotoxin in Lake Winnipeg

A new study from UBC’s Okanagan campus has found that BMAA—a toxin linked to several neurodegenerative diseases—is present in high concentrations during cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Winnipeg.

Cranberry Growers Tart on Phosphorus

At Thanksgiving, many Americans look forward to eating roast turkey, pumpkin pie, and tangy red cranberries. To feed that appetite, cranberry farming is big business. In Massachusetts, cranberries are the most valuable food crop. The commonwealth’s growers provide one-fourth of the U.S. cranberry supply.

Time Between World-Changing Volcanic Super-Eruptions Less Than Previously Thought

After analysing a database of geological records dated within the last 100,000 years, a team of scientists from the University of Bristol has discovered the average time between so-called volcanic super-eruptions is actually much less than previously thought.

MUSE Probes Uncharted Depths of Hubble Ultra Deep Field

The MUSE HUDF Survey team, led by Roland Bacon of the Centre de recherche astrophysique de Lyon (CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1/ENS de Lyon), France, used MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) to observe the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (heic0406), a much-studied patch of the southern constellation of Fornax (The Furnace). This resulted in the deepest spectroscopic observations ever made; precise spectroscopic information was measured for 1600 galaxies, ten times as many galaxies as has been painstakingly obtained in this field over the last decade by ground-based telescopes.