Climate swings in northern hemisphere linked with changes in tropicsSeptember 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have found evidence that climate swings in the northern hemisphere over the past 12,000 years have been tightly linked to changes in the tropics. The scientists found that a prolonged cold spell that caused glaciers in Europe and North America to creep forward several hundred years ago may have affected climate patterns as far south as Peru, causing tropical glaciers there to expand as well.
Peruvian glacial retreats linked to European events of Little Ice Age about 150 to 350 years agoSeptember 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study that reports precise ages for glacial moraines in southern Peru links climate swings in the tropics to those of Europe and North America during the Little Ice Age approximately 150 to 350 years ago. According to lead author Joe Licciardi, associate professor of Earth sciences at the University of New Hampshire, "The study brings us one step closer to understanding global-scale patterns of glacier activity and climate during the Little Ice Age.
Satellite lasers show rapid thinning of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheetsSeptember 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Using satellite lasers, scientists have made the most comprehensive picture of the rapidly thinning glaciers along the coastline of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Researchers from British Antarctic Survey and the University of Bristol describe how analysis of millions of NASA satellite measurements from both of these vast ice sheets shows that the most profound ice loss is a result of glaciers speeding up where they flow into the sea.
American glaciers shrinking dramatically in response to global warmingSeptember 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Reports indicate that most glaciers in Washington and Alaska in the US are dramatically shrinking in response to a warming climate. During the past 50 years, USGS (US Geological Survey) scientists have measured changes in the mass (length and thickness) of three glaciers: Alaska's Gulkana and Wolverine Glaciers and Washington's South Cascade Glacier.
Humans causing erosion comparable to world's largest rivers and glaciersSeptember 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that large-scale farming projects by humans can erode the Earth's surface at rates comparable to those of the world's largest rivers and glaciers. The research offers stark evidence of how humans are reshaping the planet.
Shrinking glaciers in North America tell story of climate changeSeptember 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A long-term study of key glaciers in western North America has shown that glacial shrinkage is rapid and accelerating, and that it is a result of climate change. William Shilts, a geologist at the University of Illinois, spent nearly two decades studying glaciers on Bylot Island, an uninhabited island about 300 miles southwest of Thule, Greenland.
Why Himalayan glaciers grew while Asia heated up 9,000 years agoAugust 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by scientists at Brigham Young University (BYU), US, has pieced together the chain of events surrounding the unexpected glacial growth in the Southeast Himalayas 9,000 years ago, when the rest of Asia was heating up. While most other Central Asian glaciers retreated under hotter summer temperatures, this group of glaciers advanced from one to six kilometers.
'Motion picture' of past warming paves way for snapshots of future climate changeJuly 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - By accurately modeling Earth's last major global warming and answering pressing questions about its causes, a team of scientists is unraveling the intricacies of the kind of abrupt climate shifts that may occur in the future. "We want to know what will happen in the future, especially if the climate will change abruptly," said Zhengyu Liu, a UW-Madison professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and director of the Center for Climatic Research in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
Mysterious South American glaciers grow as others shrinkJune 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In times when most glaciers in the world are shrinking due to global warming, two mysterious South American glaciers are displaying strange behavior in the sense that they are growing. "Most of the 50 massive glaciers draped over the spine of the Patagonian Andes are shrinking in response to a global warming," said Andres Rivera, a glaciologist at the Center for Scientific Studies in Valdivia, Chile.
Glaciers can shrink "in a geologic instant"June 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by scientists has revealed that modern glaciers in deep ocean water can undergo periods of rapid retreat, where they can shrink even more quickly than has recently been observed. According to new findings by paleoclimatologists at the University at Buffalo (UB), US, modern glaciers, such as those making up the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, are capable of undergoing periods of rapid shrinkage or retreat.
Titan's clouds hang onto summer for longJune 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists with NASA's Cassini mission, studying Saturn's moon Titan say its clouds are still noticeable in the southern hemisphere while fall is approaching. They monitored Titan's atmosphere for three-and-a-half years, between July 2004 and December 2007, and observed more than 200 clouds.
Experts warn swine flu could flourish in coming southern hemisphere winterMay 4th, 2009 Flu could flourish in southern hemisphere winterSYDNEY, Australia — Southern hemisphere countries that have largely escaped swine flu infections could soon become more vulnerable, experts warn, as the approaching winter brings with it an elevated risk of the virus spreading and mutating. So far, the worst affected nations — such as Mexico, the United States, Canada and countries in Europe — have been in the northern hemisphere, which is heading into summer.
Antarctic dust helps scientists unravel details of past climate changeMarch 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, dust trapped deep in Antarctic ice sheets is helping scientists unravel details of past climate change. The study, carried out by the Universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Lille, has found that the very coldest periods of the last ice age correspond with the dustiest periods in Antarctica's past, thus establishing a link between the two.
Agulhas Current in southern hemisphere may stabilise or destabilise Europe's climateMarch 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - New data has emerged that provides evidence in support of the hypothesis that the Agulhas Current, in the southern hemisphere, may stabilise or destabilise climate in Europe. The data was presented by scientist Martinez-Mendez, in her PhD thesis titled "Surface and Deep Circulation off South Africa: Agulhas Leakage Influence on the Meridional Overturning Circulation During the Last 345 kyr".
Glaciers in and around Tibet shrink at alarming rateFebruary 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A three-year study shows that glaciers in the Yangtze source area, central to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in south-western China, have receded 196 square kilometres over the past 40 years. Glaciers at the headwaters of the Yangtze, China's longest river, now cover 1,051 square km compared to 1,247 square km in 1971, a loss of nearly a billion cubic metres of water.
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