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Categories: Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms, Geoscience: Severe Weather
Published Why are forests turning brown in summer?


European forests are increasingly turning brown in the course of hot, dry summers. In the scorching summer of 2022, Europe experienced more trees turning brown than ever, with 37% of temperate and Mediterranean forest regions affected. In the three-year meteorological history of low-?greenness events, characteristic weather signals can be found as precursors of the events.
Published AI could set a new bar for designing hurricane-resistant buildings


Being able to withstand hurricane-force winds is the key to a long life for many buildings on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast of the U.S. Determining the right level of winds to design for is tricky business, but support from artificial intelligence may offer a simple solution.
Published Machine learning model helps forecasters improve confidence in storm prediction


When severe weather is brewing and life-threatening hazards like heavy rain, hail or tornadoes are possible, advance warning and accurate predictions are of utmost importance. Weather researchers have given storm forecasters a powerful new tool to improve confidence in their forecasts and potentially save lives. Over the last several years, Russ Schumacher, professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science and Colorado State Climatologist, has led a team developing a sophisticated machine learning model for advancing skillful prediction of hazardous weather across the continental United States. First trained on historical records of excessive rainfall, the model is now smart enough to make accurate predictions of events like tornadoes and hail four to eight days in advance -- the crucial sweet spot for forecasters to get information out to the public so they can prepare. The model is called CSU-MLP, or Colorado State University-Machine Learning Probabilities.
Published SMART warnings could protect communities at risk from flooding


Engaging communities in developing a real-time early warning system could help to reduce the often-devastating impact of flooding on people and property -- particularly in mountainous regions where extreme water events are a 'wicked' problem, a new study reveals.
Published The global economics of climate action


Climate change has serious consequences for the environment and people and is a major threat to economic stability. A new assessment reviews innovative, integrated research that underpins the economic case for strong near-term climate action.
Published Genome of a drought-tolerant plant: Many genes are involved in 'resurrection'


Some plants can survive months without water, only to turn green again after a brief downpour. A recent study shows that this is not due to a 'miracle gene.' Rather, this ability is a consequence of a whole network of genes, almost all of which are also present in more vulnerable varieties.
Published Drought, heat waves worsen West Coast air pollution inequality


A new study found drought and heat waves could make air pollution worse for communities that already have a high pollution burden in California, and deepen pollution inequalities along racial and ethnic lines. The study also found financial penalties for power plants can significantly reduce people's pollution exposure, except during severe heat waves.
Published Phytoplankton blooms offer insight into impacts of climate change


The first study into the biological response of the upper ocean in the wake of South Pacific cyclones could help predict the impact of warming ocean temperatures, researchers believe.
Published Sea otters killed by unusual parasite strain


An unusually severe form of toxoplasmosis killed four sea otters and could pose a threat to other marine wildlife and humans, finds a new study.
Published East Coast, US, landslide impacts from Puerto Rico to Vermont and in between


In the U.S., we may often think of landslides as primarily a West Coast problem, mostly plaguing the mountainous terrain of California, Oregon, and Washington. New research highlights the major impacts of landslides on the U.S. East Coast and what is being done to save lives and deal with the damages.
Published High winds can worsen pathogen spread at outdoor chicken farms


A study of chicken farms in the West found that high winds increased the prevalence of Campylobacter in outdoor flocks, a bacterial pathogen in poultry that is the largest single cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. Researchers found that about 26% of individual chickens had the pathogen at the 'open environment' farms in the study, which included organic and free-range chicken farms. High winds the week prior to sampling and the farms' location in more intensive agricultural settings were linked to a greater prevalence of Campylobacter.
Published A mechanistic and probabilistic method for predicting wildfires


In the event of dry weather and high winds, power system-ignited incidents are more likely to develop into wildfires. The risk is greater if vegetation is nearby. A new study provides the methodology for predicting at what point during a high wind storm, powerline ignition is likely.
Published Entire populations of Antarctic seabirds fail to breed due to extreme, climate-change-related snowstorms


The arrival of the new year is a prime time for Antarctic birds like the south polar skua, Antarctic petrel, and snow petrel to build nests and lay their eggs. However, from December 2021 to January 2022, researchers did not find a single skua nest on Svarthamaren, one of the regions where the birds go to raise their young. Similarly, the number of Antarctic petrel and snow petrel nests dropped to almost zero.
Published The world's atmospheric rivers now have an intensity ranking like hurricanes


Atmospheric rivers, which are long, narrow bands of water vapor, are becoming more intense and frequent with climate change. A new study demonstrates that a recently developed scale for atmospheric river intensity (akin to the hurricane scale) can be used to rank atmospheric rivers and identify hotspots of the most intense atmospheric rivers not only along the U.S. West Coast but also worldwide.
Published Underused satellite, radar data may improve thunderstorm forecasts


Tens of thousands of thunderstorms may rumble around the world each day, but accurately predicting the time and location where they will form remains a grand challenge of computer weather modeling. A new technique combining underused satellite and radar data in weather models may improve these predictions, according to a team of scientists.
Published Seabirds in the eye of the storm


Hurricanes are becoming more intense due to the climate crisis. Therefore, researchers have studied the wind speeds that different seabird species can withstand. The team was able to show that the individual species are well adapted to the average wind conditions in their breeding grounds, but use different strategies to avoid flying through the storm. Within their research, one behavior of the albatrosses particularly surprised the scientists.
Published How to predict city traffic


A new machine learning model can predict traffic activity in different zones of cities. To do so, a researcher used data from a main car-sharing company in Italy as a proxy for overall city traffic. Understanding how different urban zones interact can help avoid traffic jams, for example, and enable targeted responses of policy makers -- such as local expansion of public transportation.
Published One is bad enough: climate change raises the threat of back-to-back hurricanes


Driven by a combination of rising sea levels and climate change, destructive hurricanes and tropical storms could become far more likely to hit coastal areas in quick succession, researchers found. In some areas such double hits could occur as frequently as once every 3 years.
Published Human-wildlife conflicts rising worldwide with climate change


Scientists reveal that a warming world is increasing human-wildlife conflicts globally. They show that climate shifts can drive conflicts by altering animal habitats, the timing of events, wildlife behaviors and resource availability. It also showed that people are changing their behaviors and locations in response to climate change in ways that increase conflicts.
Published Clues about the Northeast's past and future climate from plant fossils


A team of researchers is working to understand the details of the climate for the eastern portion of the United States from the Miocene, which unfortunately is a blank spot on paleo-climate maps. New findings suggest the future climate will be very close to the warmer, wetter, and more homogeneous climate similar to conditions experienced 5 million years ago.