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Even the South Pole Is warming, and quickly, scientists say
July 1st, 2020Surface air temperatures at the bottom of the world have risen three times faster than the global average since the 1990s. Sharon Stammerjohn (INSTAAR) and Ted Scambos (NSIDC) are quoted on their commentary in Nature Climate Change on the subject, calling for climate action.
Why a ‘feverish’ Arctic will affect everyone on the globe
June 26th, 2020A historic heat wave is occurring in the Arctic, already the fastest-warming place on Earth due to the increasing accumulation of greenhouse gases. Dr. Merritt Turetsky has studied the Arctic for decades. She joins William Brangham on PBS NewsHour to discuss causes and consequences of the Arctic's rising temperatures.
The ticking time bomb of Arctic permafrost
June 25th, 2020Arctic infrastructure is under threat from thawing permafrost, explains this story in Eos featuring Merritt Turetsky.
Radioactive bookkeeping of carbon emissions
June 24th, 2020A new sampling method uses carbon-14 to single out which carbon dioxide molecules in the atmosphere derive from fossil fuels. The method could help track emissions goals for climate mitigation.
New atmospheric radiocarbon measurements pull back the veil on fossil fuels
June 8th, 2020Researchers from NOAA and CU Boulder have devised a breakthrough method for determining emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report the first-ever national estimate of fossil-fuel derived carbon dioxide emissions obtained by observing carbon dioxide and its naturally occurring radioisotope, carbon-14, from air samples collected by the NOAA Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network. This new method is expected to provide a more accurate look at changes in fossil fuel emissions as the economy begins its recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the method will be particularly robust at identifying year-to-year emissions trends, allowing governments to independently assess their progress toward meeting the Paris Climate Agreement goals.
Ocean uptake of CO2 could drop as we cut carbon emissions
June 4th, 2020In recent decades, the oceans have been soaking up greater and greater amounts of carbon dioxide each year. We can’t count on that trend to continue forever, says a new study that includes Nikki Lovenduski.