Climate Change Not Caused By Cosmic Rays

Lancaster University, Durham University
Lead authors: Terry Sloan, Arnold Wolfendale
Where published: Institute of Physics' Environmental Research Letters

The groups went on to hypothesize that the decrease in ionization due to cosmic rays causes the decrease in cloud cover, thereby explaining a large part of the currently observed global warming. We have examined this hypothesis to look for evidence to corroborate it. None has been found and so our conclusions are to doubt it. From the absence of corroborative evidence, we estimate that less than 23%, at the 95% confidence level, of the 11 year cycle change in the globally averaged cloud cover observed in solar cycle 22 is due to the change in the rate of ionization from the solar modulation of cosmic rays.

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Impact of Black Carbon

Scripps, College of Engineering
Lead authors: V. Ramanathan, G. Carmichael
Where published: Nature Geoscience

More than three-quarters of the particulate pollution known as black carbon and transported at high altitudes over the West Coast during spring comes from Asia. The material not only affects climate in Asia, it also carries consequences for the Pacific Ocean region that drives much of the climate around the world.

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Ocean "Deserts" are Expanding

NOAA, U. Hawaii
Lead authors: Jeffrey Polovina, Evan Howell, Melanie Abecassis
Where published: Geophysical Research Letters

The least biologically productive areas of the oceans are expanding much faster than predicted ... This change in ocean biology, linked to the warming of sea surface waters, may negatively affect the populations of many fish species trying to survive in these desert-like environments ... Between 1998 and 2007, these expanses of saltwater with low surface plant life in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans grew by 15 percent or 6.6 million square kilometers

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Stable Climate Needs Near-Zero Carbon Emissions

Carnegie Institution
Lead authors: Ken Caldeira, Damon Matthews
Where published: Geophysical Research Letters

According to a new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution, halfway measures won’t do the job. To stabilize our planet’s climate, we need to find ways to kick the carbon habit altogether.

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Insect Damage to Crops

Pennsylvania State University
Lead author: Ellen Currano
Where published: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

If modern temperatures continue to rise as anticipated in the coming years the planet could see a similar increase in insect damage to crops and other plants ... We see a huge increase in the percent of plants that are being attacked

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Sea Level Rise Could Be Twice As High As Projected

University of Buffalo
Lead author: Beata Csatho
Where published: Journal of Glaciology

If current climate models from the IPCC included data from ice dynamics in Greenland, the sea level rise estimated during this century could be twice as high as what they are currently projecting ... the changes we are seeing now are bigger than can be accounted for by normal, annual perturbations in climate

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Climate May Undergo Sudden Shifts

University of East Anglia
Lead author: Tim Lenton
Where published: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Our findings suggest that a variety of tipping elements could reach their critical point within this century under human-induced climate change ... The greatest threats are tipping of the Arctic sea-ice and the Greenland ice sheet, and at least five other elements could surprise us by exhibiting a nearby tipping point.

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Antarctic Ice Loss Speeds Up

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, U. California
Lead author: Eric Rignot
Where published: Nature Geoscience

Ice loss in Antarctica increased by 75 percent in the last 10 years due to a speed-up in the flow of its glaciers and is now nearly as great as that observed in Greenland, according to a new, comprehensive study

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CO2 Rate of Increase Most in 22000 Years

Bern University
Lead author: Fortunat Joos
Where published: Proceedings of the Natl Academy of Sciences

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the 20th century increased ten times faster than at any other period in the preceding 22,000 years.

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Western US Facing Drought Crisis

Scripps
Lead author: Tim Barnett
Where published: Science

The U.S. West will see devastating droughts as global warming reduces the amount of mountain snow and causes the snow that does fall to melt earlier in the year ... results are not good news for those living in the western United States

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West Antarctica Warming Significantly

University of Washington
Lead author: Eric J. Steig
Where published: Nature

Here we show that significant warming extends well beyond the Antarctic Peninsula to cover most of West Antarctica, an area of warming much larger than previously reported.

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Extreme Ice Melt In Greenland

University of Sheffield, U. Colorado, Danish Meteorological Institute, NASA, U. Maryland
Lead author: Edward Hanna
Where published: Journal of Climate

recent warm summers have caused the most extreme Greenland ice melting in 50 years... summer 2003 was exceptionally warm around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which resulted in the second-highest meltwater running off from the Ice Sheet of the last 50 years. Summer 2005 experienced a record-high melt, which was very recently superseded in summer 2007

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Coral Reefs, Rapid Climate Change

Center for Marine Studies U. Queensland et al
Lead author: O. Hoegh-Guldberg
Where published: Science

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration is expected to exceed 500 parts per million and global temperatures to rise by at least 2°C by 2050 to 2100, values that significantly exceed those of at least the past 420,000 years during which most extant marine organisms evolved.

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Coral Reefs and Ocean Acidification

University of Queensland
Lead author: O. Hoegh-Guldberg
Where published: Science

Under conditions expected in the 21st century, global warming and ocean acidification will compromise carbonate accretion, with corals becoming increasingly rare on reef systems

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Greenland Melt Accelerating

University Colorodo
Lead author: Konrad Steffen

The 2007 melt extent on the Greenland ice sheet broke the 2005 summer melt record by 10 percent, making it the largest ever recorded there since satellite measurements began in 1979

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Methane From Arctic Lakes

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Lead author: Katey Walter
Where published: Science

We estimate that as much as 10 times the amount of methane that is currently in the atmosphere will come out of these lakes as permafrost thaws in the future.

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Extinctions Linked to Rising Temperatures

U. York, U. Leeds
Lead author: Peter Mayhew
Where published: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

The issue here is that we are creating the climate change, and we are creating the climate change at an unprecedented rate ... clearly we are creating the events for a climate-related mass extinction that wouldn't otherwise be happening.

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Oceans Capacity to Absorb CO2 Diminished

Global Carbon Project, Dept of Global Ecology
Lead authors: Chris Field, Joseph Canadell
Where published: Proceedings of the Natl Academy of Sciences USA

For every ton of CO₂ emitted [into] the atmosphere, the natural sinks are removing less carbon than before ... This trend will continue into the future ... A greater buildup of CO₂ means more warming.

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Marine Fossils Show CO2 as Driver of Warming

Cal Tech, U Ottawa, Memorial U Newfoundland, Brock U
Lead author: Rosemarie Came
Published: Nature

A team of American and Canadian scientists has devised a new way to study Earth's past climate by analyzing the chemical composition of ancient marine fossils. The first published tests with the method further support the view that atmospheric CO2 has contributed to dramatic climate variations in the past, and strengthen projections that human CO2 emissions could cause global warming.
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Increase of Methane

University of Bristol, University of London, Department of Geology, Palaeontology Dept Lead Authors: Richard D. Pancost, David S. Steart, Luke Handley
Where Published: Nature

if the processes occurring at Cobham were widespread, then the increase in
methane emissions could have caused further warming, amplifying the climate
change at this time.

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