Ozone layer changes may increase UV radiation in tropics

October 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Global warming is caused by excess of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, but cutting down other pollutants such as soot can help slow climate change in a big way, say the world's leading scientists, including an Indian American. Nobel laureate Mario Molina of the University of California San Diego (UCSD), Veerabhadran Ramanathan, of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD and other leading climate scientists said in a new paper that black carbon soot, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), as well as expanding bio-sequestration, can forestall fast approaching abrupt climate changes.

September 16th, 2009 TORONTO - A new study by University of Toronto (U of T) physicists has shown that climate change will lead to less ultraviolet radiation over northern high latitudes. They discovered that changes in the Earth's ozone layer due to climate change will reduce the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in northern high latitude regions such as Siberia, Scandinavia and northern Canada.

September 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Taking a step further in their efforts to conduct a Green Commonwealth Games next year, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Wednesday announced that recycled paper and stationery will be used for official work during the event. "We are all out to make Commonwealth Games as Green Games.

September 15th, 2009 North America backs plan to cut greenhouse gasesUNITED NATIONS — Small island nations gained North America's powerful backing Tuesday for a plan to convert the U.N. ozone treaty into a tool for phasing out some of the globe's most powerful climate-warming gases.

August 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that nitrous dioxide, popularly known as 'laughing gas', has now become the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human activities, and is expected to remain the largest throughout the 21st century. The study was authored by A.R.

August 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has determined that Carbonyl Sulphide gas warmed the world and saved it from freezing over during the Archean eon more than 3 billion years ago. When Planet Earth was just cooling down from its fiery creation, the sun was faint and young.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that depletion in the ozone layer is reducing the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake of the Southern Ocean. Most current models predict that the strength of the Southern Ocean CO2 sink should increase as atmospheric CO2 rises, but observations show that this has not been the case.

July 28th, 2009 SYDNEY - Mammals living in the tropics are evolving faster than those inhabiting cooler regions, according to a new study. Previously, it had been assumed that rates of genetic change in warm-blooded animals were independent of climate.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists at University of California Irvine (UCI) have discovered a previously unknown chemical reaction that could account for up to 40 parts per billion of ozone. This reaction is not included in computer models used to predict air pollution levels and the effectiveness of ozone control strategies that can cost billions of dollars.

July 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of NASA-funded researchers have found that future concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone in the atmosphere and of nitrogen in the soil are likely to have an important but overlooked effect on the cycling of water from sky to land to waterways. With the help of a modeling experiment, the researchers concluded that models of climate change may be underestimating how much water is likely to run off the land and back into the sea as atmospheric chemistry changes.

June 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research indicates that high ozone conditions causes a 30 percent decrease in yield and an increase in the concentration of a group of toxic compounds within oilseed rape plants. Scientists arrived at these findings by combining the results of previous studies which have shown a decrease in oil, protein and carbohydrate content of oilseed rape seeds in high ozone.

June 27th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, scientists have found that the ozone hole is responsible for the drop in carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption in the Southern Ocean, which is considered as a major carbon sink. In theory, oceans should absorb more CO2 as levels of the gas in the atmosphere rise.

June 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has suggested that hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are good for protecting the ozone layer from destruction, could increasingly contribute to global warming. The research was conducted by scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and their colleagues.

June 19th, 2009 London, June 19 (ANI): Some plants can increase the rate of ozone production by up to 50 times, according to a study. Rosemary, juniper, and pine trees are among certain plants that emit chemical compounds known as terpenes, thought to help deter insect predators, or protect the plant from other stresses like high temperatures.

May 1st, 2009 Island nations want treaty to cut greenhouse gasesUNITED NATIONS — Two small island nations, worried by rising sea levels, proposed drastic global cuts Thursday in the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a class of powerful greenhouse gases commonly used as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners. Micronesia and Mauritius urged 195 nations that signed on to the U.N.