Super-size deposits of frozen carbon in Arctic a growing threat to climate

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, say scientists. Then "global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today, sea level was approximately 75 to 120 feet higher than today, there was no permanent sea ice cap in the Arctic and very little ice on Antarctica and Greenland," said Aradhna Tripathi, who led the study.

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, a scientist of Indian origin has determined that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels on Earth 15 million years ago were as high as they are today. The research was conducted by Aradhna Tripati, a UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) assistant professor in the department of Earth and space sciences and the department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and colleagues.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, it has been determined that rocky worlds have to be about the size of Earth to be conducive for life. According to a report in New Scientist, the discovery of extrasolar super-Earths - rocky planets about five to ten times the mass of Earth - has raised hopes that some may harbour life.

September 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Melting permafrost in arctic regions, triggered by global warming, will release underground methane. Once released, methane would speed up global warming by trapping the earths heat radiation about 20 times more efficiently than the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.

August 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A climate model has predicted that global warming, combined with nuclear waste, may make the Arctic Ocean a polluted soup by the year 2070. According to a report in New Scientist, Ola Johannessen, director of the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center in Bergen, Norway, and his colleagues, developed the model.

July 6th, 2009 TORONTO - Vast amounts of carbon, about twice as much as contained in the atmosphere, is stored in the Arctic, according to a new study. The amount of carbon in frozen soils, sediments and river deltas raises new concerns over the role of the northern regions as future sources of greenhouse gases.

June 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A researcher has said that scientists studying the impact of climate change on the Arctic need to consider ways to reduce their own carbon footprints. The statement has been made by Ryan Brook, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary.

June 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that ancestors of tapirs and ancient cousins of rhinos living above the Arctic Circle 53 million years ago endured six months of darkness each year in a far milder climate than today that featured lush, swampy forests. According to University of Colorado (CU) Boulder Assistant Professor Jaelyn Eberle, the study shows several varieties of prehistoric mammals as heavy as 1,000 pounds each lived on what is today Ellesmere Island near Greenland on a summer diet of flowering plants, deciduous leaves and aquatic vegetation.

May 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that even tundra plant growth in the Arctic would be unable to offset the permafrost carbon release in the region. The report of the research team, led by a University of Florida (UF) ecologist, indicates that experimental results suggests tundra plant growth may keep up with rising carbon dioxide (CO2) initially.

May 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Large-scale agricultural burning in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, US, Canada and Ukraine is having a much greater impact on the melting of Arctic ice than previously suspected, according to latest research. A singular threat is springtime burning to remove crop residues for new planting or clear brush for grazing - because the black carbon or soot produced by the fires can lead to accelerated melting of snow and ice.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that sediments deposited in the ocean by major Arctic rivers may hold clues to understand how Earth's climate will change in the next few decades. The study was carried out by geoscientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A and M University, US.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by an international team of scientists has determined that an expansion of wetlands and not a large-scale melting of frozen methane deposits is the likely cause of a spike in atmospheric methane gas that took place some 11,600 years ago. The international research team was led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC (University of California) San Diego.

April 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new analysis has determined that the threat of global warming can still be greatly diminished if nations cut emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 70 percent this century. The analysis was done by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Aerosols are possibly behind much of the atmospheric warming in the Arctic since 1976, according to US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists. Emitted by natural and human sources, tiny airborne particles called aerosols can directly influence climate by reflecting or absorbing the sun's radiation.

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research by NASA scientists has suggested that much of the atmospheric warming observed in the Arctic since 1976 may be due to changes in tiny airborne particles called aerosols. Emitted by natural and human sources, aerosols can directly influence climate by reflecting or absorbing the sun's radiation.