Archaeology News Online

In a new study, scientists found that aerosol particles released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels are a primary driver of changes in rainfall patterns across the globe. Top map: Spatial distribution of the annual-mean precipitation averaged from 1979-2008. Bottom: Time series of the  annual mean precipitation anomaly relative to the 1971-2000 climatology over the Sahel region of Africa  [Credit: Top: Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data set. Bottom: Global Historical  Climatology Network (GHCN) data set. Background image: Drought - George Safonov] The results of the climate system-model simulations conducted by researchers Brian Soden and Eui-Seok Chung from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science revealed that changes in clouds, as a result of their interaction with these human-made aerosols in the atmosphere, are driving large-scale shifts in rainfall and temperature on Earth. A southward shift of the tropic

If there is anywhere for carbon dioxide to disappear in large quantities from the atmosphere, it is into the Earth’s oceans. There, huge populations of plankton can soak up carbon dioxide from surface waters and gobble it up as a part of photosynthesis, generating energy for their livelihood. When plankton die, they sink thousands of feet, taking with them the carbon that was once in the atmosphere, and stashing it in the deep ocean. MIT climate scientists have found that the ocean’s export efficiency, or the fraction of total plankton growth  that is sinking to its depths, is decreasing, due mainly to rising global temperatures [Credit: MIT News] The oceans, therefore, have served as a natural sponge in removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, helping to offset the effects of climate change. But now MIT climate scientists have found that the ocean’s export efficiency, or the fraction of total plankton growth that is sinking to its depths, is decreasing, due mainly to rising glob

A new analysis of Greenland's past temperatures will help scientists figure out how fast the island's vast ice sheet is melting, according to a new report from University of Arizona atmospheric scientists. Taken from the International Space Station in 2016, this picture of the southern tip of Greenland shows the island's vast  ice sheet fringed by glaciers that flow into the sea. The glaciers and ice sheet of Greenland cover a land area greater  than the European countries of Germany, France, Spain and Italy combined. If all Greenland's ice melted,  sea levels would rise by about 7 meters (23 feet) [Credit: NASA] The ice sheet has been shrinking since 1900 and the yearly loss of ice has doubled since 2003, other researchers have shown. The accelerated melting of the Greenland ice sheet is contributing to sea level rise. The glaciers and ice sheet of Greenland cover a land area greater than the European countries of Germany, France, Spain and Italy combined. If all Green

In a new study, scientists found that aerosol particles released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels are a primary driver of changes in rainfall patterns across the globe. Top map: Spatial distribution of the annual-mean precipitation averaged from 1979-2008. Bottom: Time series of the  annual mean precipitation anomaly relative to the 1971-2000 climatology over the Sahel region of Africa  [Credit: Top: Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data set. Bottom: Global Historical  Climatology Network (GHCN) data set. Background image: Drought - George Safonov] The results of the climate system-model simulations conducted by researchers Brian Soden and Eui-Seok Chung from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science revealed that changes in clouds, as a result of their interaction with these human-made aerosols in the atmosphere, are driving large-scale shifts in rainfall and temperature on Earth. A southward shift of the tropic